Madjus in Isibiliya (844)

During a period of focused study on the Viking Age and its incursions into the Iberian Peninsula, I created this illustration inspired by the Viking raid on Seville in 844. The scene depicts three Norse warriors—referred to in Arabic sources as majūs—roaming freely through the outskirts of the city during the sack.

In 844, a Viking fleet sailed up the Guadalquivir River and captured Seville after looting coastal regions of Iberia, marking one of the first large-scale Norse incursions into al-Andalus. The city was eventually retaken by forces of the Emirate of Córdoba after a decisive military response that inflicted heavy losses on the invaders.