Björn Ironside and Viking Battles in Muslim Spain

Björn Ironside has become famous because of the TV show Vikings. In the ninth century, Björn and Hastein launched a daring raid against the Iberian Peninsula. In this documentary, we take a look at Viking attacks on al-Andalus and other areas of early medieval Spain. The Emir of Córdoba rallied his troops to defend his coastline from the Norse fleet.
Get my book about the Crusades:
www.amazon.com/Why-Does-Heathe...
Support my work on Patreon:
/ realcrusadeshistory
Video games graphics sampled by J Stephen Roberts from Total War: ATTILA - Age of Charlemagne Campaign Pack.
Sources:
-Barraclough, Geoffrey - The Crucible of Europe: The Ninth and Tenth Centuries in European History, (University of California, 1976)
-Collins, Roger - Caliphs and Kings: Spain, 796-1031, (Wiley Blackwell, 2014)
-Ferguson, Robert - The Vikings, (Penguin, 2010)
-Haywood, John - Northmen: The Viking Saga, AD 793-1241, (Head of Zeus, 2020)
-Lomax, Derek W. - The Reconquest of Spain, (Longman Group, 1978)
-O’Callaghan, Joseph - A History of Medieval Spain, (Cornell, 1975)
#Vikings #Spain #TotalWar
Music credits:
Heavy Interlude by Kevin MacLeod is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 license. creativecommons.org/licenses/... Source: incompetech.com/music/royalty-...

[@raquelalhaqab5994]

As a muslima I appreciate this rare mention of Muslim culture and victories.

[@kahumanu5022]

Why?

[@ibrahimnet707]

Ramadan Mubarak..

[@KristinkaAranova]

Why are the Middle Ages so interesting it’s so awesome

[@thebeautifulones5436]

You look like a Viking yourself

[@KristinkaAranova]

@@thebeautifulones5436 maybe I am

[@kylian6849]

You R a slav. The Vikings sold slavic slaves to byzantines and spain

[@TrueSkeptic77]

@@kylian6849 So what, what is your point?

[@severalmalfunctions]

Not just the middle ages. Most of history in Europe and around the Mediterranean is awesome: from the Bronze Age, to the Greek Empire, to the Roman and Cartaginian Empire, to the dark ages ang gothic europe up to the discovery and colonization ages.

[@danielr1843]

Nothing like a real crusades premier on lunch break!

[@Chilly_Billy]

When one usually thinks of Spain, the Vikings just don't feature. Great to see their history in southern Europe has made it to KZbin and it's enormous audience.

[@TrueSkeptic77]

@Ali Yaser Blablabla, you know nothing about history. I can hire you, you seem to have had many defeats in your life.

[@abeladam5997]

Vikings: Weeks of raiding backfires as they lose 2/3 of their fleet, most of their men and loot. Also Vikings: Let's raid some more!

[@RealCrusadesHistory]

It's an incredible story!

[@abeladam5997]

@@RealCrusadesHistory Tell me about it :D

[@padredemishijos12]

@@RealCrusadesHistory I'm Spanish got some trace Scandinavian but somehow no Moorish DNA to my disappointment, no French or German or Italian, but Scandinavian.

[@warrioromarzthefirst5949]

@@padredemishijos12 well you are blessed.

[@cjvipinosa3328]

@@padredemishijos12 well you're lucky because you have Nordic/Viking/Scandinavian DNA on you

[@chainmbl4257]

As if Spaniards vs Moors weren't epic enough Vikings shows up outta knowhere

[@donfierro777]

I know right lol

[@tablettablet4792]

Yess gog was released and till today their descandants are still doing what they always did read the bible

[@mumu1520]

@@tablettablet4792 Vikings were the true Gog and Magog

[@mohammedyassine9263]

@@mumu1520 Mongols : how cute

[@mohammedyassine9263]

Try mongols vs Muslims Mamlukes defeated both mongols and crusader alliance

[@ironwolf2244]

Much appreciated sharing this moment not often mentioned in terms of Iberian or Norse history when discussion occurs.

[@kurtisgonzales37]

Agreed .. you never hear of anything with of france and england . Especially nothing in the Mediterranean. I'm not sure why? Maybe because it was so brief?

[@khalilmarragh2354]

@@kurtisgonzales37 8 centuries of history

[@anthonyhargis6855]

As outstanding as always, J.

[@RealCrusadesHistory]

Hastein's battles with Alfred the Great: kzbin.info/www/bejne/aKuxi42eed-HrJY

[@Sigibert]

Real Viking History :) lol

[@ephraimprestley640]

Thank you

[@Hborn]

Slave's in there army

[@-RONNIE]

Nice video & keep up the good work 👍🏻

[@vinkelitz]

This is like something out of a history fanfiction. Can't overstate how cool this is

[@RahmanBae-st9cp]

sorry but this is really written neatly in our book until now, even the Greek philosophy still exists.

[@RahmanBae-st9cp]

If you didn't burn thousands of books in libraries after the conquest of Granada as the Romans did after the conquest of ancient Egypt, perhaps you will find many more, but the European character has always been that way.

[@RahmanBae-st9cp]

Without the Arabs, Europe would not have been able to study the important records of ancient Greek civilization, ironic isn't it?

[@gallowglass3764]

​@Rahman Bae yeah, Arabs never burn books

[@mrmu7ammed1]

I thought that Seville wasnt protected by walls, but after the first viking attack the emir ordered the walls to be built.

[@snowmoon7385]

Yes thats what happened.Ameer was angry 🤭

[@crzahmed9707]

​@@snowmoon7385common thing back then and even today

[@nichep1]

Nicely done.

[@kaloarepo288]

Vikings are also supposed to have raided Italy -having entered the Mediterranean Sea they thought that they had come to Rome and instead attacked a city near Genoa called Luna which they mistook for Rome.Much later the Normans,descendants of the Vikings conquered Sicily and southern Italy from Arabs,Byzantines and Lombards and established a flourishing kingdom.

[@emilpeterson7034]

Dont forget Rus-kiev Empire was ruled by Vikings and was raided there aswell as Poland for ages before becoming rulers in those lands. Sailing through Volga to all the way to the black sea to byzantium. Not mentioning reaching America aswell as settling everything they could

[@husseinalsharaa202]

That is a really interesting topic.

[@twilabarnett7734]

Thank you for the History on this. Very interesting.

[@jerzygawor958]

Hugely interesting - thanks.

[@deltabravo1969]

Thank you!

[@qwertynaughty3256]

In movie they literally removed this part from movie

[@sanjmalik6282]

What is the movie called plse

[@qwertynaughty3256]

Viking

[@AmeerMuawiyahAS]

⁠you mean the netflix series?

[@baltichammer6162]

One thing the Vikings had was persistence.

[@rider0715]

They had nothing. That’s why they were able to raid. Nothing to lose literally

[@baltichammer6162]

@@rider0715 The Norwegians were really in a squeeze, quite literally in those narrow valleys. Its no wonder they sought greener pastures, no pun intended. Its a tough place to make a living when you have families of 10-12 kids. I always thought Norwegians had smaller families but they were quite fertile at least in my family tree.

[@crzahmed9707]

​@@rider0715except lives?

[@tombrown6628]

Learned virtually nothing about the Vikings in school! Thanks for the information!👍👍

[@warrioromarzthefirst5949]

You dont get it in school because they dont want you to know how powerful and fierce you truelly can be. Here in Scotland we already know.

[@egriz4461]

@@warrioromarzthefirst5949 no Unfortunately that not true western europeans and Especially england and it People were thé weakest in the world back then

[@Ben-yw8be]

Incredible.

[@RealCrusadesHistory]

Great story isn't it? Would be a great film.

[@bareqn8626]

Interesting history, as a proud Arab it’s fascinating to hear stories like these because I’m a big fan of Viking culture.

[@hamidayman4114]

@علي ياسر hhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh

[@kris_ajah3340]

Go to Europa brother. And found peace in other believe as paganism, christian, and more.. You got that Europa very beautiful

[@RISE.....]

@@kris_ajah3340 arab countries are safe for decent people And hell for criminals....

[@fartz3808]

This channel went from Medieval 2 Total War footage to Attila Total War footage now!

[@bigwaynebigwayne1084]

I couldn't imagine what it would've been like to see two hundred Viking ships sailing in my direction let alone finding out who was sailing them.

[@edstar83]

Then they made the mistake of trying to attack Christian KIngdoms of Galicia and Asturias and lost half their men and ships. Instead of joining them in defending Europa from Islam.

[@syarizansulaiman6554]

So Viking on Netflix are wrong information, thanks for sharing

[@TheBayzent]

I mean, bru...

[@daudmaybach7449]

Lol it’s a TV Show what did you expect?

[@Philipp.of.Swabia]

Yeah, the series is horrible from a historical perspective, so yeah 🤷🏼‍♂️😂

[@ilyes3624]

Yep you see in the show that the vikings easily raid spain what really happened is the Arabic dude abdul rahman and his mens defeated them in couple of days

[@omarhaq9635]

I hated the show Vikings and the episode the crossing the makers of the show should’ve follow what had happened in al Andalusia

[@pellechanslos3905]

that björn was Shipwreck is speculations made up by an doubtful englishman. Another speculation(sounds more true) goes that björn gets hes own kingdom, in the area what today calls Sweden.

[@bjornrosenlund135]

Yes I did 👌🤣

[@kryoboy36]

@@bjornrosenlund135 😂😂😂🍻skol. All hail king bjorn of rosenlund

[@Louis-tr6uc]

And where are the News during all of this ?

[@emmanuelokondu7435]

I love the reconquisters

[@kangaroosavy1261]

What game is that from?

[@briansedlacek5225]

Asturia: Ilberia belongs to us! Umajaad: No, it's ours! *Vikings joined the channel*

[@TheBayzent]

To be fair, the Ummyad did take it in it's entirety. If the court at Baghdad hadn't been so d*ckish I'd be speaking Arabic right now. (Instead of that, it's my gradnkids who will have to speak Arabic)

[@alangervasis]

@@TheBayzent Lol..No..The Frankish kingdom of north would have easily pushed out the moors by the 11th century had charlamagne not signed a treaty with the ummayad muslims. You would speaking French then.

[@bruhmcchaddeus413]

thats like saying crusaders took middle east entire because crusader states were present there from 1098-1291 lol@@TheBayzent

[@edstar83]

​@@alangervasis Cool story bro. Napoleon back stabbed Spain ambushed her by surprise causing the down fall of the Spanish Empire yet I'm still speaking Spanish.

[@frekitheravenous516]

Bjorn died in Sweden as the first king of the Munso dynasty. He is even buried there. Sorry, but the ending of this is wrong.

[@Olebull93]

And Jesus is buried in Japan.

[@GhostsOfTheAngelcynn]

@@Philipp.of.Swabia go on then, let us in on it?

[@qwertynaughty3256]

Yeah bjorn was defeated but wasn't killed

[@benhaney9629]

Captured a harem? “Tell the king we’ll be a little later than expected...”

[@arcticknight4117]

Interesting 🤔

[@abdallahahmed333]

in back then its called al-andalous not spain

[@omarhaq9635]

Thanks Real Crusades History I even didn’t like the show Vikings how they portray al Andalusia when they attacked and taking harems as prisoners

[@krigry32]

Interesting but this could be a bit more critical of the sources. It is hard to imagine that Viking war lords could gather so many ships for such a far off and unknown destination. This was before thee Scandinavian countries were united to Norway, Denmark and Sweden. On the other hand the losses in asturia and in Spain seem a bit too much. And wi dont really know who led those fleets. the sources namiming them came much later.

[@user-cg2tw8pw7j]

Buren: That's me, man 😂😂😂😂

[@Tomara632]

I'm not surprised Bjorn lost the battles in Spain. He wasn't the best Viking leader. His brother Ivar would have done a better job.

[@NubiansNapata]

Mate the Vikings were overrated warriors they were mostly raiders

[@aburoach9268]

nope, not against greek fire he won't

[@snowmoon7385]

Well ottomon empire wasnt formed that time...Andalus was a civilised city.

[@ahmadnaser8172]

i dont think vikings could do anything against a well prepeared army ,, they usually were good at attacking defenseless people

[@nicolaspace1182]

@mizzou5551 at the end of the day the Muslims heavily defeated the Vikings including destroying most of their ships.

[@qs7b]

I don't understand English that much, so who won?

[@mouaddaragmhe6378]

Brother, please translate the video into Arabic

[@pedrokarstguimaraes2817]

They did more than the Charlenagne dinasty, which spend hundreds of years fighting eatch other!

[@fartz3808]

The Carolingians captured a lot more land and also consolidated long-term rule in those lands than the Vikings did though

[@Philipp.of.Swabia]

That’s is not true at all, read the Story again, there is much more they did than the Vikings achieved.

[@ComradeCommissarYuri]

I like that 😆 “As they saw the size of the city the vikings must have been giddy!!” Imagining happy viking noises 😂

[@TrueSkeptic77]

They attacked any city really, smaller, bigger. Even Constantinopel.

[@timothygazda9441]

The Pyrenees had thwarted invaders time immortal because nature never fails to remind man of his fallibility! Incredible crossing that costs most their lives! Better b a good reason to try! Best Wishes,!

[@gernnnblanstennn7862]

Chuck Norris showed up wanting some paella. But he was told they had none. Chuck was so ticked off he kicked all their butts. They were so embarrassed they had to invent this story.

[@m8rte]

People should know its not easy to take the Christian kingdoms of north península down. Its funny in the show the vikings raided Spain very easly. History Channel as usual

[@TheBayzent]

Had they done it before 711, the vikings would have been unopposed. They just went in at a...difficult time.

[@peo4989]

Norse chieftain Haesteinn took control of northern france i believe.

[@mikearmbruster2171]

Rollo got normandy.his grandson was William the conqueror

[@vetiarvind]

Haesstein of montigue.(Nantes)

[@peo4989]

@@mikearmbruster2171 yes but before that Haesteinn took brittanny

[@Sksk27547]

That must of been a tough time to be alive in europe

[@JessePer81]

Nice try Vikings but us Northern Spaniards are always battle ready.

[@gallowglass3764]

We'll let our Norman brothers take care of you 😉

[@JessePer81]

@@gallowglass3764 I’m related to the Bettencourt family a famous Norman family. Jean De Bettencourt conqueror of the Canary Islands, Spain. Nothing but love for my fellow Normans.

[@bruhmcchaddeus413]

..normans helped northern spain lol wym? re conquista itself picked speed because of normans in 1030s, roger of tosny?@@gallowglass3764

[@jalaldjo3684]

It was the Arabs who defeated the Vikings, not you

[@JessePer81]

@@jalaldjo3684 Vikings were defeated in Galicia which was even documented by an Arab historian Nowairi. This is why they tried attacking the south because they were beaten on multiple occasions in the north. Vikings just weren’t successful on the Iberian peninsula whether it be the Spanish or the Arabs.

[@hkmma6543]

Bjorn did all that just to lose his wealth in the ocean

[@snowmoon7385]

Beautiful history even though funny too at times 😂🤭🤭...

[@stiannobelisto573]

Reconquista!🏹

[@suspiciousmind192]

Seems like there are many contradictions in the series "Vikings. "

[@ronmexico8531]

The show Vikings played very fast and loose with actual history. Very frustrating at times .

[@daudmaybach7449]

I’m baffled at people who take TV show that’s meant for entertainment as actual History.

[@suspiciousmind192]

@@daudmaybach7449 Do you mean me ??? 😁 I don't believe in series nor in history, both can be lies.

[@ronmexico8531]

@@daudmaybach7449 agree completely. I was a history major so I am very sensitive to these things . Get annoyed how people are misled by all the “artistic license “

[@seanbragg1696]

You mean lumeria

[@finty077]

Nothing to do with the video lol. I was wondering, are you Catholic?

[@roncasa4042]

👍👍🎈😀😄😀🎈

[@gamecopproductions9303]

Now, films and TV shows sell Vikings as really good and skilled warriors, but that's a fake. They only won in Spain when they faced villagers, but when they faced the Spanish Christian army or the Muslim army, they were defeated. Spanish warriors were way more skilled and powerfull! Btw, Asturians defeated both, Vikings and Muslims!

[@apklinkman4566]

Lol stop with the bs the Muslims took over everything bruh half europe and africa and asia were concerned by them thier was no spanish army when the vikings came it was only the muslims cause they r the ones in controll they invaded spain along time ago lol spain has no his lol

[@gamecopproductions9303]

Ah! Muslims were in Spain for about 800 years, but never dominated all regions. A small Christian kingdom resisted in the north as a kingdom. That's history. I know that abroad, history of Spain is misunderstood and you only look at maps with colours to try to identify kingdoms, but these are the facts that you cannot deny. Learn about Ramiro or the King Pelayo and you will find that is true what I'm talking about.

[@azmolhossain9244]

@@gamecopproductions9303 mountainous terrain . Thats what protected them.

[@edstar83]

​@@azmolhossain9244For 700 years? Cool story bro. Real men dont need protection. Islam had 700 years and huge powerfully armies to crush the Christian Kingdoms of the North but couldn't. Be a man of honour. Give credit where credit is due.

[@shuflz6705]

Vikings were soo overrated

[@waynemcauliffe2362]

I like it before the Vikings were christians and followed their own gods

[@alangervasis]

Viking paganism was kicked out for good otherwise scandanavia would still be in dark ages and a sh!th0Ie like middleeast or north india..

[@waynemcauliffe2362]

@@alangervasis Kick all religion out makes everywhere a shithole.Especially don`t import you gods from the Mid East.If you`re going to invent fake sky fathers at least create them in your image

[@warrioromarzthefirst5949]

Its amazing now after all this time most people are ditching jesus an abrahamic god or prophet for our old true gods onve again. All over europe you can see this and its amazing this is what saves europe.

[@waynemcauliffe2362]

@@alangervasis Go atheism

[@kris_ajah3340]

@@waynemcauliffe2362 woww..atheism movement.. How you used religion before you speak up you're atheism 😆

[@pyatig]

Heroism and adventure lol you left out pillaging and rape

[@waynemcauliffe2362]

Skal