Viking raid on Seville

Viking raid on Išbīliya
Part of the Viking expansion
Date25 September – 11 or 17 November 844
Location
Išbīliya (today Seville) and the surrounding area, Emirate of Cordoba, Iberian Peninsula
37°30′N 5°30′W / 37.500°N 5.500°W / 37.500; -5.500
Result Emirate of Córdoba victory
Belligerents
Vikings of Noirmoutier, Francia[1] Emirate of Cordoba
Banu Qasi
Commanders and leaders
Unknown Isa ibn Shuhayd [ar]
Musa ibn Musa al-Qasi
Abd al-Wāḥid ben Yazīd al-Iskandarānī[2]
Strength
Early Muslim accounts:
16,000 men
80 ships[3][4]		 Unknown
Casualties and losses
Early Muslim accounts:
500–1,000 killed
30 ships destroyed[5][6]		 Unknown

The Viking raid on Išbīliya, then part of the Umayyad Emirate of Córdoba, took place in 844. After raiding the coasts of what are now Spain and Portugal, a Viking fleet arrived in Išbīliya (now Seville) through the Guadalquivir on 25 September and took the city on 1 or 3 October. The Vikings pillaged the city and the surrounding areas. Emir Abd ar-Rahman II of Córdoba mobilized and sent a large force against the Vikings under the command of the hajib (chief-minister) Isa ibn Shuhayd. After a series of indecisive engagements, the Muslim army defeated the Vikings on either 11 or 17 November. Seville was retaken and the remnants of the Vikings fled Spain. After the raid, the Muslims raised new troops and built more ships and other military equipment to protect the coast. The quick military response in 844 and the subsequent defensive improvements discouraged further attacks by the Vikings.[3]

Historians such as Hugh N. Kennedy and Neil Price contrast the rapid Muslim response during the 844 raids, as well as the organization of long-term defenses, with the weak responses by the Carolingian dynasty and Anglo-Saxons against Viking aggression.[3][7]

  1. ^ Price 2008, p. 462.
  2. ^ "ʿAbd al-Wāḥid ben Yazīd al-Iskandarānī, general andalusí". Condadodecastilla.es (in Spanish). 7 April 2015. Retrieved 17 April 2022.
  3. ^ a b c Kennedy 2014, p. 47.
  4. ^ Cite error: The named reference kutia34 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  5. ^ Cite error: The named reference adhari36 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  6. ^ Price 2008, p. 464.
  7. ^ Price 2008, p. 466.