Initially, the Rus' appeared in Serkland in the 9th century travelling as merchants along the Volga trade route, selling furs, honey, and slaves.

The Rus' undertook the first large-scale expedition in 913; having arrived on 500 ships, they pillaged in the Gorgan region, in the territory of present-day Iran, and more to the west, in Gilan and Mazandaran, taking slaves and goods.

Sviatoslav's campaign established the Rus's hold on the north-south trade routes, helping to alter the demographics of the region.

Raids continued through the time period with the last Scandinavian attempt to reestablish the route to the Caspian Sea taking place in c. 1041 by Ingvar the Far-Travelled.

[3] Thomas S. Noonan suggested that the Rus' reached Baghdad as early as 800; this argument is supported by the finding of Sassanid, Arab, and Arabo-Sassanid dirham coins dated no later than 804–805 at Peterhof, near Saint-Petersburg.

In the interpretation of the Normanist scholars, the word Saqaliba was also frequently applied to all fair-haired, ruddy-complexioned populations of Central, Eastern, and Northeastern Europe, so ibn Khordadbeh's language is ambiguous here.

[a] The second raid took place in 909 or 910[7] and was likewise aimed at Abaskun;[5] just like the previous attack, this expedition was a minor one with only sixteen ships participating in it.

[9] An attempt to repel them as they lay in anchor near islands in the southwestern part of the Caspian Sea proved unsuccessful, and they were then able to roam and raid at will.

Across the sea they raided at Baku, penetrating inland a distance of three days' journey,[8] and plundering the regions of Arran, Tabaristan, Beylagan, and Shirvan.

[b] During the 943 expedition, the Rus' rowed up the Kura River, deep into the Caucasus, defeated the forces of Marzuban bin Muhammad,[11] and captured Bardha'a, the capital of Arran.

[12] According to ibn Miskawaih, the local people broke the peace by stone-throwing and other abuse directed against the Rus', who then demanded that the inhabitants evacuate the city.

The Rus', their chief riding on a donkey, made an unsuccessful sally after which they lost 700 warriors but evaded encirclement and retreated to the Bardha'a fortress, where they were besieged by the Muslims.

Exhausted by the disease and the siege, the Rus' "left by night the fortress in which they had established their quarters, carrying on their backs all they could of their treasure, gems, and fine raiment, boys and girls as they wanted, and made for the Kura River, where the ships in which they had issued from their home were in readiness with their crews, and 300 Russes whom they had been supporting with portions of their booty.

[23] A visitor to Atil wrote soon after Sviatoslav's campaign: "The Rus' attacked, and no grape or raisin remained, not a leaf on a branch.

In 989, this same Maymun is reported to have refused the demand of a local preacher to turn over his Rus' mercenaries to him for either conversion to Islam or death.

[5] In 1030, the Rus' raided the region of Shirvan; the ruler of Ganja then paid them much money to help suppress a revolt in Beylagan.

Pritsak also speculated that the Rus', operating from the Caspian basin, shortly thereafter lent support to the Oghuz in a power struggle in Khwarezm.

[5] in 1042 Ingvar the Far-Travelled led an unsuccessful large Viking attack against Persia with a fleet of 200 ships (around 15–20 thousand men).

According to Minorsky, "the initiative of Bek-Bars was independent of Kiev, and he must have used bands of free-lances (бродники) who were roaming in the south, as a prototype of the future Cossacks".

[29] The shirvanshah Ahsitan I turned to the Georgian king, George III for aid and a combined army, which also included the future Byzantine emperor Andronikos Komnenos,[29] defeated the invaders and recaptured the fortress of Shabaran.