Leif Erikson
c. 970 CE–c. 1020 CE · Explorer · Eiríksstaðir, Haukadalur
Leif Erikson was a Norse explorer, son of Erik the Red and grandson of Thorvald Ásvaldsson. Born in Iceland around 970, he moved as a child to the Norse colony his father founded in Greenland. The two main Icelandic sagas diverge on his Vinland voyage: Eiríks saga rauða has him sail to Norway around 999, be baptized at the court of Olaf Tryggvason, and reach Vinland on the return, while Grœnlendinga saga has him buy Bjarni Herjólfsson's ship and sail deliberately from Greenland to Vinland with no baptism episode. On that voyage he reached a land he called Vinland, generally identified with the North Atlantic coast of North America, centuries before later European crossings. He is credited with introducing Christianity to Greenland and later led the family settlement at Brattahlíð, where he is thought to have died around 1020.
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Eiríksstaðir, Haukadalur
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Luminaries & Explorers world
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Islamic world
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Rulers world
- Basil II· 958 CE–1025 CE
- Hisham II· 966 CE–1013 CE
- Mahmud of Ghazni· 971 CE–1030 CE
- al-Qadir· 947 CE–1031 CE
- Ly Thai To· 974 CE–1028 CE
- Vladimir the Great· 958 CE–1015 CE
- Rajendra Chola I· 971 CE–1044 CE
- Rajaraja Chola I· 947 CE–1014 CE
- al-Aziz Billah· 955 CE–996 CE
- Yaroslav the Wise· 978 CE–1054 CE
- Almanzor (al-Mansur ibn Abi Aamir)· 938 CE–1002 CE
- al-Zahir li-I'zaz Din Allah· 1005 CE–1036 CE
- Yaropolk I of Kiev· 958 CE–980 CE
- Tughril I· 990 CE–1063 CE
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