Serkland

In Old Norse sources, such as sagas and runestones, Serkland (also Særkland, Srklant, Sirklant, Serklat, etc.)

Serk- may derive from "Saracen"; from sericum, Latin for "silk", implying a connection with the Silk Road; from the Khazar fortress of Sarkel; or from serkr, shirt or gown, i.e., "land of the gown-wearers".

Originally, it referred to the land south of the Caspian Sea, but it gradually expanded to cover all Islamic lands, including parts of Africa (and possibly even Muslim Sicily).

[1][2] Notably one of the Ingvar runestones, the Sö 179, raised circa 1040 at Gripsholm Castle, commemorates a Varangian loss during an ill-fated raid in Serkland.

[5] This article contains content from the Owl Edition of Nordisk familjebok, a Swedish encyclopedia published between 1904 and 1926, now in the public domain.

srklant on the Tillinge Runestone raised in memory of a Varangian who did not return from Serkland, at the church of Tillinge in Uppland , Sweden .