The Mediterranean

That the Norse, and the vikings at the sharp end of their activities, were a dominant force in Europe has long been clear. In the east and south, the familiar story centres on their contacts with the Byzantine Empire with its capital at Constantinople (modern Istanbul) and territories in Greece, and their service in the famous Varangian Guard. But Scandinavians also had extensive interactions – both violent and more peaceful – with the peoples living on both shores of the Mediterranean. Following ambitious campaigns of viking raids, the Muslim emirate of al-Ándalus sent a diplomat to the Danish court; the Moroccan kingdom of Nakur was plundered by the Norse; and one Arab source even places a viking fleet in the delta of the Nile – to take just a few examples. Connecting the continents of Europe, Asia and Africa, the Middle Sea is a largely unexplored frontier of Viking studies, and a key focus of the WIVA Centre.