Vikings in Iberia
Viking activity in the Iberian peninsula seems to have begun around the mid-ninth century as an extension of Viking raids on and establishment of bases in Frankia in the earlier ninth century. While connections between the Norse and Eastern Islamic lands were well-established, particularly involving the Rus') along the Volga and around the Caspian Sea, relations with the Western edge of Islam were more sporadic and haphazard. Although Vikings may have over-wintered in Iberia, no evidence has been found for trading or settlement. Indeed, the Iberian peninsula may not have offered particularly wealthy targets, in the ninth to tenth centuries. Sporadic raiding continued until the end of the Viking Age.
Viking raid on Seville
Accounts of the Viking raid appeared in the works of Muslim historians, including Ibn al-Qūṭiyya of Córdoba (d. 977), Ibn Idhari (wrote , copying 10th-century sources), and al-Nuwayri (1284–1332). In the Islamic calendar, the attack took place in the "hijri" year 230. In the Muslim sources, the Vikings were referred with the epithet the "Majus" ("fire-worshipper": a term initially used for Zoroastrians in the East). Since the Viking fleet attacked the Christian Kingdom of Asturias before raiding Seville, Spanish chronicles also contain records of the Viking raid.