Ingvar Runestones
| Runestones that mention expeditions outside of Scandinavia |
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The Ingvar Runestones (Swedish: Ingvarstenarna) is the name of c. 26 Varangian Runestones that were raised in commemoration of those who died in the Swedish Viking expedition to the Caspian Sea of Ingvar the Far-Travelled.
The Ingvar expedition was the single Swedish event that is mentioned on most runestones, and in number, they are only surpassed by the c. 30 Greece Runestones and the c. 30 England Runestones. It was a fateful expedition taking place between 1036 and 1041 with many ships. The Vikings came to the south-eastern shores of the Caspian Sea, and they appear to have taken part in the Battle of Sasireti, in Georgia. Few returned, as many died in battle, but most of them, including Ingvar, died of disease.
The expedition was also immortalized as a saga on Iceland in the 11th century, the Yngvars saga víðförla, and in the Georgian chronicle Kartlis tskhovreba, where king Julfr of the saga corresponds to king Baghrat IV.
Beside the Tillinge Runestone in Uppland and a rune stone on Gotland, the Ingvar Runestones are the only remaining runic inscriptions that mention Serkland. Below follows a presentation of the runestones, but additional runestones that are associated with the expedition are: Sö 360, U 513, U 540, U 785, Vs 1-2, Vs 18 and Vg 184.
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