⚔️ October 1038 | Vikings in Sicily What you’re seeing: A Norwegian warrior named Harald Sigurdsson, known to history as Harald Hardrada, joins the Byzantine reconquest of Sicily. He commands the Varangian Guard, the Norse mercenaries of the Greek emperor. According to Snorri Sturluson’s Heimskringla, he takes four Arab fortresses through cunning. Where is this? Eastern Sicily, roughly 1,500 miles (2,400 km) from Norway. The Byzantine fleet under General George Maniakes landed near Messina in 1038. Who are these people? Harald Sigurdsson (later King Harald Hardrada of Norway), the Varangian Guard, the Greek general George Maniakes, and the Kalbid Arab emirs who had ruled Sicily for two centuries. Why did this happen? Sicily had been Byzantine territory for centuries before Arab forces conquered it in the 9th century. Emperor Michael IV saw an opening in 1038 when civil war broke out among the Kalbid emirs, and launched the campaign to reclaim the island. Maniakes’ army included Gre...