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Ímar (; died c. 873) was a Viking leader in Ireland and Scotland in the mid-late ninth century who founded the Uí Ímair dynasty, and whose descendants would go on to dominate the Irish Sea region for several centuries. He was the son of the king of Lochlann, identified in the non-contemporary ''Fragmentary Annals of Ireland'' as Gofraid. The ''Fragmentary Annals'' name Auisle and Amlaíb Conung as his brothers. Another Viking leader, Halfdan Ragnarsson, is considered by some scholars to be another brother. The Irish Annals title Amlaíb, Ímar and Auisle "kings of the foreigners". Modern scholars use the title "kings of Dublin" after the Viking settlement which formed the base of their power. Some scholars consider Ímar to be identical to Ivar the Boneless, a Viking commander of the Great Heathen Army named in contemporary English sources who also appears in the Icelandic sagas as a son of the legendary Viking Ragnar Lodbrok. During the late 850s and early 860s Ímar was involved in a protracted conflict with Máel Sechnaill, overking of the Southern Uí Néill and the most powerful ruler in Ireland. The cause of the conflict is uncertain, but it may have been sparked by competition for control of Munster and its resources. Ímar allied successively with Cerball, King of Ossory and Áed Findliath, overking of the Northern Uí Néill against Máel Sechnaill. Máel Sechnaill died in 862 and his lands were split, effectively ending the conflict. Following this Ímar and his kin warred with several Irish leaders in an attempt to expand their kingdom's influence. Ímar disappears from the historical record in Ireland between the years 864 and 870; this is consistent with Ímar being identical to Ivar the Boneless - Ivar was active in England between these two dates and he is not mentioned by English sources after 870. In 870 the annals record that Dumbarton Rock, the chief fortress of the Kingdom of Strathclyde, was successfully captured by Ímar and Amlaíb following a four month long siege. Ímar died in 873 and is given the title "King of the Norsemen of all Ireland and Britain" in contemporary annals. The ''Fragmentary Annals'' record that Ímar's father also died that year, and it is believed that at that time their combined territory encompassed Dublin, the Isle of Man, the Western Isles, Orkney, and large parts of the northern and western Scottish coast including Argyll, Caithness and Sutherland. ==Background== Norse contact with Scotland predates the first written records in the 8th century, although the nature and frequency of these contacts is unknown.〔Graham-Campbell and Batey, pp. 2, 23〕 Excavations on the island of Unst in Shetland indicate that Scandinavian settlers had reached there perhaps as early as the mid-7th century〔Ballin Smith, Taylor and Williams, p. 289, 294〕 and from 793 onwards repeated raids by Vikings on the British Isles are recorded. "All the islands of Britain" were devastated in 794〔Thomson, pp. 24–27〕 with Iona being sacked in 802 and 806.〔Woolf (2007), p. 57〕 The Frankish ''Annales Bertiniani'' may record the conquest of the Inner Hebrides by Vikings in 847.〔Woolf (2007), pp. 99–100, 286–289; Anderson, p. 277; Graham-Campbell and Batey, p. 45〕 Scholarly interpretations of the period "have led to widely divergent reconstructions of Viking Age Scotland",〔Barrett, p. 412〕 especially in the early period, and Barrett has identified several competing theories, none of which he regards as proven.〔Barrett, pp. 419, 422〕 Ó Corráin notes: "when and how the Vikings conquered and occupied the Isles is unknown, perhaps unknowable".〔Ó Corrain (1998), p. 25〕 The earliest recorded Viking raids in Ireland occurred in 795.〔Ó Corrain (1998), p. 27; Annals of Ulster, s.a. 795〕 Over time, these raids increased in intensity, and they overwintered in Ireland for the first time in 840–841.〔Ó Corrain (1998), p. 28; Annals of Ulster, s.a. 840〕 In 841 a longphort was constructed at Áth Cliath (Irish for ''hurdled ford''), a site which would later develop into the city of Dublin.〔Holman, p. 180〕 Longphorts were also established at other sites around Ireland, some of which developed into larger Viking settlements over time. The Viking population in Ireland was boosted in 851 with the arrival of a large group known as "dark foreigners" – a contentious term used to refer to the newly arrived Vikings, as opposed to the "fair foreigners", i.e. the Viking population which was resident in arrival prior to this influx.〔Downham, p. 14〕 A kingdom in Viking Scotland was established by the mid ninth-century, and it exerted control over some of the Vikings in Ireland. By 853 a separate kingdom of Dublin had been set up which claimed control over all the Vikings in Ireland.〔Ó Corrain (1998), pp. 28–29〕 The main historical sources for this period are the Norse sagas and the Irish annals. Some of the annals, such as the ''Annals of Ulster'' are believed to be contemporary accounts, whereas the sagas were written down at dates much later than the events they describe and are considered far less reliable. A few of the annals such as the ''Fragmentary Annals of Ireland'' and the ''Annals of the Four Masters'' were also complied at later dates, in part from more contemporary material and in part from fragments of sagas.〔Radner, pp. 322–325〕 According to Downham: "apart from these additions (saga fragments ), Irish chronicles are considered by scholars to be largely accurate records, albeit partisan in their presentation of events".〔Downham, p. 12〕 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Ímar」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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