2 years later...
Hey everyone, Rognvald here. My life has gone a pretty crazy direction the past two years, but I recently had some brief free time. So, I will finish the Saga with a summary (not as grand, I know, but its closure for me [and probably mostly me as no one else probably remembers this]).
----------------------------
Beyond Særkland:
The Journey to Drekigarðr
In the Year 1030, Yngvarr, mighty warrior and noble leader among the Sveans, came to King Anund Jakob and gave him a grand proposal. Svea was under pressure from Knútr, the King of Danmǫrk, Norvegr, Ængle-land, and some Sveans (his actual title), who dominated the Northern tier of Europe. Additionaly, the Varangian Way- the water highway to Constantinople- was less profitable, due to increased Byzantine trade restrictions. Yngvarr told Anund Jakob that he had, while on a raid in Særkland (the Middle East), he had learned from a merchant he had captured of a land far to the East, a land ruled by a son of dragons- Drekigarðr. It was here that silk and other goods could be found at cheap prices. Yngvarr believed that he could find a water route to this land, and bring wealth and prestige back to Svea. Anund Jakob, anxious to get Yngvarr out of his nation (as he feared Yngvarr as a potential threat to the throne, due to his popularity among the people) sent him away with his blessing- and, initially, little more than that.
However, Yngvarr, usurping some authority from the King, calls for the leiðangr (the equivilant of the Anglo-Saxon fyrd) of Svea to gather and urges as many as will to sail with him. Due to his popularity and the general thirst for profit and glory among the Sveans, Yngvarr gets many volunteers- including the young Haraldr, brother of the slain Norwegian claimant, Olafr.
Anund Jakob, seething with anger yet unable to condemn Yngvarr due to his fear of popular reaction, allows this grand voyage to set off. They depart in the Spring of 1031. The Sveans begin to sail down the Varangian Way in a great fleet; some turn back, their cowardice getting the better of them as the realize the task ahead of them. Yngvarr makes up for these losses by recruiting aming the Rus, both Slav and Scandinavian. With an even mightier flotilla, Yngvarr takes the Don Portage and arrives in the Caspian Sea.
He raids along the Western coast of the Caspian to help supplement his war chest, as well as sate his men's bloodlust, greed, and desire for glory. This puts him and his fleet at the attention of the Ghaznavid Sultan, Mahmud (who is still alive in 1032, the year in which the Sveans arrive after taking a break to recruit, having shrugged off disease and would be assasin alike). Mahmud is under threat from the Seljuks, who ride South from the steppes and threaten his realm. He sends messengers to Yngvarr, and the two men meet. He hires Yngvarr as a mercenary, sending him and his men to fight the Seljuks in Central Asia. When inquired by Yngvarr of a sea route further East, he lies and claims that there is but a brief portage from the Caspian to the next river (the Amu Darya), when it is really hundreds of miles away. Mahmud reasons that the Infidel Horde will perish somewhere between the Caspian and the river, but not before fighting and weakening the Seljuks (who also have been following the progress of this fleet with some trepidation). While in Persia, Haraldr purchases a Zoroastrian slave girl from the steppes who has a La Malinche level of aptitude.
Yngvarr and his fleet make for the eastern shore of the Caspian, where they prepare for what they assume will be a short portage. This short portage turns out to be a terrifying trek- the distance is long, the weather hot, the Seljuks merciless in the attack. However, partly out of desperation and partly out of sheer determination, the Yngvarr leads his men to the Amu Darya- from there, they partly sail, partly march, partly crawl their disorganized force against Khiva, which the Seljuks have made their main city in the region.
The Seljuks, who have been weakened a bit by the Yngvarr campaign, are now faced with an attack by Mahmud, who leads his Ghaznavid forces North in an effort to retake his territory. They decide to try to destroy Yngvarr's men before they threaten Khiva (which, in their weakened state, is still debatable). The Northmen and Slavs are pinned near their destination of Khiva, and build a fortress out of their boats. It is here in Our Timeline that they die in a blaze of glory- but with several altered events, notably the addition of Haraldr and his purchase of the slave girl, things turn out differently.
Haraldr proves to be an able military mind- after Yngvarr is wounded, he rallies the flagging Norsemen-Slavs to fend off Seljuk attacks. Using his slave girl, Haraldr, under the direction of Yngvarr, begins a campaign to win the assistance of groups that have suffered beneath the Seljuk boot, as well as disatissfied nobles. With a new coalition, the Norsemen-Slav-Turkic-Iranian army manages to achieve it's goal and take Khiva.
It is at this point that Mahmud arrives. Surpised at the Norsemen's success, and threatened by their newfound power, he seeks to destroy them. However, before he can fully launch his campaign he falls to palace intrigue. His army returns home and his realm falls into infighting between his successors. Yngvarr, coming to realize the importance of the region in the Silk Road, moves to establish a new kingdom. He is crowned King, and he spends much of the remainder of his life seeking to secure and expand his realm. Haraldr is tasked with returning back to Svea with riches; his "treasure fleet" arrives in 1051, twenty years after it set out. He finds the land much changed, however- Svea, weakened by those leaving for Yngvarr's expedition, fell to Knútr. The Kingdom of that great monarch went so far as to include major portions of Norse Ireland before the King finally died. His son did not prove as able as his father; and within a few years of his death, the various parts of the "North Seas Empire" had broken apart. Svea, under the rule of a bitter new monarch, seeks to slay Haraldr and take his treasure; he instead escapes, sails to Norvegr, and uses it to reclaim his inheritance. He manages to create a new version of the North Seas Empire before he dies in 1070.
Contact between the Central Asian Norse and their Scandinavian brethren continues for many decades, as Haraldr and his descendants send ships to trade and Yngvarr's descendanrs send them back loaded with goods. A new Norse-Turkic-Iranian culture arises, and Central Asia becomes a major crossroads for ideas, religion, and cultures. The region experiences over a hundred years of a so-called "Golden Age".
But all good things must come to an end. Howling down from the steppes to the Northeast, a new batch of nomads arrive. They conquer the Central Asian realm and destroy many of its people. Its legacy is eventually lose to time, save for genetics, some obscure tribal groups in isolated mountains, ruins, runestones (in both Asia and Scandinavia), and, of course...
The Sagas.
------------------
And thus concludes the story of Yngvarr. I, Rognvald, told this story. I began it in the 2015th Year of Our Lord, and completed it in the 2017th Year of Our Lord.
Hey everyone, Rognvald here. My life has gone a pretty crazy direction the past two years, but I recently had some brief free time. So, I will finish the Saga with a summary (not as grand, I know, but its closure for me [and probably mostly me as no one else probably remembers this]).
----------------------------
Beyond Særkland:
The Journey to Drekigarðr
In the Year 1030, Yngvarr, mighty warrior and noble leader among the Sveans, came to King Anund Jakob and gave him a grand proposal. Svea was under pressure from Knútr, the King of Danmǫrk, Norvegr, Ængle-land, and some Sveans (his actual title), who dominated the Northern tier of Europe. Additionaly, the Varangian Way- the water highway to Constantinople- was less profitable, due to increased Byzantine trade restrictions. Yngvarr told Anund Jakob that he had, while on a raid in Særkland (the Middle East), he had learned from a merchant he had captured of a land far to the East, a land ruled by a son of dragons- Drekigarðr. It was here that silk and other goods could be found at cheap prices. Yngvarr believed that he could find a water route to this land, and bring wealth and prestige back to Svea. Anund Jakob, anxious to get Yngvarr out of his nation (as he feared Yngvarr as a potential threat to the throne, due to his popularity among the people) sent him away with his blessing- and, initially, little more than that.
However, Yngvarr, usurping some authority from the King, calls for the leiðangr (the equivilant of the Anglo-Saxon fyrd) of Svea to gather and urges as many as will to sail with him. Due to his popularity and the general thirst for profit and glory among the Sveans, Yngvarr gets many volunteers- including the young Haraldr, brother of the slain Norwegian claimant, Olafr.
Anund Jakob, seething with anger yet unable to condemn Yngvarr due to his fear of popular reaction, allows this grand voyage to set off. They depart in the Spring of 1031. The Sveans begin to sail down the Varangian Way in a great fleet; some turn back, their cowardice getting the better of them as the realize the task ahead of them. Yngvarr makes up for these losses by recruiting aming the Rus, both Slav and Scandinavian. With an even mightier flotilla, Yngvarr takes the Don Portage and arrives in the Caspian Sea.
He raids along the Western coast of the Caspian to help supplement his war chest, as well as sate his men's bloodlust, greed, and desire for glory. This puts him and his fleet at the attention of the Ghaznavid Sultan, Mahmud (who is still alive in 1032, the year in which the Sveans arrive after taking a break to recruit, having shrugged off disease and would be assasin alike). Mahmud is under threat from the Seljuks, who ride South from the steppes and threaten his realm. He sends messengers to Yngvarr, and the two men meet. He hires Yngvarr as a mercenary, sending him and his men to fight the Seljuks in Central Asia. When inquired by Yngvarr of a sea route further East, he lies and claims that there is but a brief portage from the Caspian to the next river (the Amu Darya), when it is really hundreds of miles away. Mahmud reasons that the Infidel Horde will perish somewhere between the Caspian and the river, but not before fighting and weakening the Seljuks (who also have been following the progress of this fleet with some trepidation). While in Persia, Haraldr purchases a Zoroastrian slave girl from the steppes who has a La Malinche level of aptitude.
Yngvarr and his fleet make for the eastern shore of the Caspian, where they prepare for what they assume will be a short portage. This short portage turns out to be a terrifying trek- the distance is long, the weather hot, the Seljuks merciless in the attack. However, partly out of desperation and partly out of sheer determination, the Yngvarr leads his men to the Amu Darya- from there, they partly sail, partly march, partly crawl their disorganized force against Khiva, which the Seljuks have made their main city in the region.
The Seljuks, who have been weakened a bit by the Yngvarr campaign, are now faced with an attack by Mahmud, who leads his Ghaznavid forces North in an effort to retake his territory. They decide to try to destroy Yngvarr's men before they threaten Khiva (which, in their weakened state, is still debatable). The Northmen and Slavs are pinned near their destination of Khiva, and build a fortress out of their boats. It is here in Our Timeline that they die in a blaze of glory- but with several altered events, notably the addition of Haraldr and his purchase of the slave girl, things turn out differently.
Haraldr proves to be an able military mind- after Yngvarr is wounded, he rallies the flagging Norsemen-Slavs to fend off Seljuk attacks. Using his slave girl, Haraldr, under the direction of Yngvarr, begins a campaign to win the assistance of groups that have suffered beneath the Seljuk boot, as well as disatissfied nobles. With a new coalition, the Norsemen-Slav-Turkic-Iranian army manages to achieve it's goal and take Khiva.
It is at this point that Mahmud arrives. Surpised at the Norsemen's success, and threatened by their newfound power, he seeks to destroy them. However, before he can fully launch his campaign he falls to palace intrigue. His army returns home and his realm falls into infighting between his successors. Yngvarr, coming to realize the importance of the region in the Silk Road, moves to establish a new kingdom. He is crowned King, and he spends much of the remainder of his life seeking to secure and expand his realm. Haraldr is tasked with returning back to Svea with riches; his "treasure fleet" arrives in 1051, twenty years after it set out. He finds the land much changed, however- Svea, weakened by those leaving for Yngvarr's expedition, fell to Knútr. The Kingdom of that great monarch went so far as to include major portions of Norse Ireland before the King finally died. His son did not prove as able as his father; and within a few years of his death, the various parts of the "North Seas Empire" had broken apart. Svea, under the rule of a bitter new monarch, seeks to slay Haraldr and take his treasure; he instead escapes, sails to Norvegr, and uses it to reclaim his inheritance. He manages to create a new version of the North Seas Empire before he dies in 1070.
Contact between the Central Asian Norse and their Scandinavian brethren continues for many decades, as Haraldr and his descendants send ships to trade and Yngvarr's descendanrs send them back loaded with goods. A new Norse-Turkic-Iranian culture arises, and Central Asia becomes a major crossroads for ideas, religion, and cultures. The region experiences over a hundred years of a so-called "Golden Age".
But all good things must come to an end. Howling down from the steppes to the Northeast, a new batch of nomads arrive. They conquer the Central Asian realm and destroy many of its people. Its legacy is eventually lose to time, save for genetics, some obscure tribal groups in isolated mountains, ruins, runestones (in both Asia and Scandinavia), and, of course...
The Sagas.
------------------
And thus concludes the story of Yngvarr. I, Rognvald, told this story. I began it in the 2015th Year of Our Lord, and completed it in the 2017th Year of Our Lord.