Editing Runestone (section)

====Expeditions in the East====
[[File:Ög 8, Västra Steninge.jpg|thumb|right|upright|The [[Varangian Runestones#Ög 8|Kälvesten Runestone]], Sweden]]
[[File:Sö 65, Djulefors.jpg|thumb|right|upright|The [[Italy Runestones#Sö 65|Djulafors Runestone]], Sweden]]
The first man who scholars know fell on the eastern route was the [[Östergötland|East Geat]] Eyvindr whose fate is mentioned on the 9th century [[Varangian Runestones#Ög 8|Kälvesten Runestone]].<ref name="harrison196"/> The epitaph reads:

{{quote|Styggr/Stigr made this monument in memory of Eyvindr, his son. He fell in the east with Eivísl. Víkingr coloured and Grímulfr.<ref name="harrison197">Harrison & Svensson 2007:197</ref><ref name="rundataög8">The entry Ög 8 in [[Rundata]].</ref>}}

It is unfortunate for historians that the stones rarely reveal where the men died.<ref name="harrison197"/> On the [[Varangian Runestones#Vg 184|Smula Runestone]] in [[Västergötland]], we are informed only that they died during a war campaign in the East: "Gulli/Kolli raised this stone in memory of his wife's brothers Ásbjôrn and Juli, very good valiant men. And they died in the east in the retinue".<ref name="harrison197"/><ref name="rundatavg184">The entry Vg 184 in [[Rundata]].</ref> Another [[runemaster]] in the same province laconically states on the [[Varangian Runestones#Vg 197|Dalum Runestone]]: "Tóki and his brothers raised this stone in memory of their brothers. One died in the west, another in the east".<ref name="harrison197"/><ref name="rundatavg197">The entry Vg 197 in [[Rundata]].</ref>

The country that is mentioned on the most runestones is the [[Byzantine Empire]], which at the time comprised most of [[Asia Minor]] and the [[Balkans]], as well as a part of Southern Italy. If a man died in the Byzantine Empire, no matter how he had died or in which province, the event was noted as "he died in Greece". Sometimes an exception could be made for Southern Italy, which was known as the land of the [[Lombards]], such as Inga's Óleifr who, it is presumed, was a member of the [[Varangian Guard]], and about whom the [[Italy Runestones#Sö 65|Djulafors Runestone]] in Södermanland says: "Inga raised this stone in memory of Óleifr, her ... He ploughed his stern to the east, and met his end in the land of the Lombards."<ref name="harrison197"/><ref name="rundatasö65">The entry Sö 65 in [[Rundata]].</ref>

Other Norsemen died in [[Gardariki]] (Russia and Ukraine) such as Sigviðr on the [[Varangian Runestones#Sö 171|Esta Runestone]] who his son Ingifastr reported had fled in [[Novgorod]] (''Holmgarðr''): "He fell in Holmgarðr, the ship's leader with the seamen."<ref name="harrison197"/><ref name="rundatasö171">The entry Sö 171 in [[Rundata]].</ref> There were others who died not as far from home and it appears that there were close contacts with [[Estonia]] due to many personal names such as ''Æistfari'' ("traveller to Estonia"), ''Æistulfr'' ("Wolf of Estonians") and Æistr ("Estonian"). One of the runestones that report of deaths in Estonia is the [[Baltic expeditions runestones#U 356|Ängby Runestone]] which tells that a Björn had died in [[Vironia]] (''Virland'').<ref name="harrison197"/>

There were many ways to die as reported by the runestones. The [[Baltic expeditions runestones#Sö 39|Åda Runestone]] reports that Bergviðr drowned during a voyage to [[Livonia]],<ref name="harrison197"/> and the [[Varangian Runestones#G 134|Sjonhem Runestone]] tells that the [[Gotlander]] Hróðfúss was killed in a treacherous way by what was probably a people in the [[Balkans]].<ref name="harrison197ff">Harrison & Svensson 2007:197ff</ref> The most famous [[Varangian Runestones|runestones that tell of eastern voyages]] are the [[Ingvar Runestones]] which tell of [[Ingvar the Far-Travelled]]'s expedition to [[Serkland]], i.e., the Muslim world. It ended in tragedy as none of the more than 25 runestones that were raised in its memory tells of any survivor.<ref name="harrison198">Harrison & Svensson 2007:198</ref>