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Atlantic Europe - Iceland and Faeroe Islands : The Norse reached the Faeroes in 860 and began the colonization of Iceland in the year 871. The parliament of Iceland, the Althing, was established in 930 when the world was still living in feudalism. - England: Viking incursions begin with the raid of Lindisfarne monastery in the year 793. In 866 Danish Vikings establish a kingdom in York and made the city flourish to become the most important town outside of London. - The Danes conquer England in 1013 : King Sweyn Forkbeard of Denmark establishes the Danish dynasty in England. In 1028 King Knut (Canute), king of England and Denmark, conquers Norway. - Battle of Hastings in 1066 : William the Conqueror, Duke of Normandy, conquers England and began a three century Norman occupation of England, Wales, Scotland, and later Ireland. - Scotland and Ireland : The Vikings found the city of Dublin in the year 841. In northern Scotland, Viking settlers maintained their language and political links to the homeland well into the 15th century. The Danes gave the Orkney and Shetland Islands to Scotland in 1468 as part of a royal wedding dowry. Normandy - 9th century : Danish raids in the Frankish kingdom become more frequent after the death of Emperor Charlemagne. In 845 the Vikings make their first assault on Paris. - Year 911 : King of the West Franks Charles the Simple gives the Duchy of Normandy to Viking chief Rollo. In return, Rollo pledged his allegiance to Charles and defended the lands against other Viking raids. - The Normans used their territory in France as a base to explore the Mediterranean. They found principalities in southern Italy and Sicily in the 11th-12th centuries, participated in the Crusades, and conquered England after the Battle of Hastings in the year 1066. Continental Europe - The wealthy Carolingian Empire : After Charlemagne’s death in year 814, the Vikings began raiding important towns in the Low Countries, Germany and France. - Frisia : The Vikings started raiding the Low Countries in the year 834. In the year 850 Frankish king Lothar gave trading town Dorestad and all its lands north of the river Maas to Viking chief Rorik. - France : Besides their base in Normandy and eventual attacks to Paris and other towns like Nantes or Toulouse, the Vikings settled at the region of Aquitaine for a number of years as a base to attack west Europe and the Mediterranean. Eastern Europe and Asia - The Svear Vikings, who lived in what nowadays is called "Sweden", traded with Finland and the Baltic area. The Svear Vikings traveled further east up the river Neva to Ladoga, and then as far as the Caspian sea and Persia. - Year 862 : Viking princes become rulers of Novgorod (Russia) and Kiev (Ukraine). The Slavs, exhausted by internal wars, offered the crown of their Kingdom to the Rus Vikings. The Rus Vikings were expected to impose peace and order among the Slavic tribes. - The name "Russia" come from the Rus Vikings. Nestor, a monk from Kiev, wrote "It's after these Vikings that the country of Novgorod now bears the name «Land of Rusers»". - Year 879 : - King Rurik (Rörek) establishes Kiev as the center of the Kievan Rus' domains. The Rurikidernas dynasty, Rurkovitch ruled over the Volchov-Lovat-Dnieper area until the year 1610, when the last Rurikiden, Vassilij IV Sjusjkij, died and was replaced by the Romanov dynasty. - Trade routes : The Vikings travelled through East Europe sailing rivers with their highly maneuverable ships and establishing trading stations along the way. When they couldn't sail any further they pulled their ships overland until they reached another navigable river. They got as far as Constantinople and the Caspian Sea (they attacked the town of Bredaa, South of Baku, Azerbaijan, in the year 943). Persian and Arabic writers have described in detail their encounters with the "Ruser". Southern Europe and Mediterranean - Trading : Norwegians and Danes traded with the major southern ports and many used Normandy as a stop over in their route. They exchanges slaves, fabric and swords from the west by spices and exotic artiffacts from the east. Arabic and Persian historians have written about their meetings with the Vikings or northerners, giving great detail about their traditions. - Spain and Italy : In 844 AD a first Viking fleet raids Seville, north Africa and Italy. The Normans arrive to Italy in 1016 on the way back from the Crusades. By 1070 the whole south of Italy was under Normandic rule. - Eastern Roman Empire : The Vikings sailed south to Constantinople through the Black Sea. Miklagård ("the big city", as they called her) was first attacked by the Vikings in 860. Basil II, emperor of the East-Roman Empire, incorporated an army of 6,000 Vikings in the year 980, the "Varangians". They were the best paid troops in the empire and served the emperor for over 300 years. The most famous of the Varangians was Harald Sigurdsson (1015-1066) who later became King of Norway under the name Harald Hardrada. Greenland and America - Erik the Red explored and first settled Greenland in the year 982-985. The Viking colony died out in the 15th century but was resettled in the 18th century by the Danes. Greenland belongs nowadays to the Kingdom of Denmark. - Year 985-86: Icelander Bjarni Herjolfsson was the first European to report seeing the coast of North America. After going off course during one of the journeys from Iceland to Greenland he spotted a forested land, but turned back to Greenland withouth exploring it. - Year 997-1003 : Leif becomes the first European to arrive to America. Erik the Red's eldest son, Leif, learns Bjarni's story and decides to sail westward to find new land. He reaches the shores of North America and calls it Vinland ("Wineland"). - The colony probably settled in L' Anse aux Meadows, Canada, for only a decade. Snorri Thorfinnson was the first European born in North America, son of Thorfinn Karlsefni and Gudrid Thorbjarnardottir. Gudrid and Thorfinn later returned to live on a farm in north Iceland. - Leif's colony in North America is believed to be found in L' Anse aux Meadows, Newfoundland, Canada. A wealth of Norse items have been found at Inuit sites in the eastern Canadian Arctic and in western Greenland, and a Norwegian coin from the 11th century was also found on an Indian village in Maine, United States. 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