Ingvar the Far-Travelled

Ingvar the Far-Travelled (, ) was a Swedish Viking who led an expedition that fought in the Kingdom of Georgia.

The Rus' undertook several Caspian expeditions in the course of the 10th century. The Yngvars saga víðförla describes the last Viking campaign in the Caspian in 1041, embellishing the historical facts with a great deal of legend. The expedition probably aimed to reopen old trade-routes after the Volga Bulgars and the Khazars no longer proved obstacles. Ingvar the Far-Travelled launched this expedition from Sweden, travelling down the Volga River into the land of the Saracens (Serkland). While there, the Vikings apparently took part in the 1042 Battle of Sasireti between the Georgians and Byzantines.

No less than twenty-six Ingvar runestones – twenty-four of them in the Lake Mälaren region of Uppland in Sweden – refer to Swedish warriors who went out with Ingvar on his expedition to the Saracen lands. A stone to Ingvar's brother indicates that he went east for gold but died in Saracen land.