Björn Ironside in the context of House of Munsö

Nekor (Arabic: نقور) is a historic site in the Rif region of Morocco near modern-day Bni Bouayach. It was founded by Idris ibn Salih, Emir of the medieval Kingdom of Nekor, between 749 and 761 AD. His son Sa'id I ibn Idris moved the capital to Nekor from Temsaman. At its height, it was described as the greatest center of Berber culture in the region of Rif.

In 859, a major long-distance Viking expedition, under the command of two famed Vikings, Björn Ironside and Hásteinn, set out for Spain from their base on the Loire with the objective of sacking the city of Rome. They tried to land at Galicia and were driven off. Then they sailed down the west coast of the peninsula and burned the mosque at Seville, but were repelled by a large Muslim force there before entering the Mediterranean through the Straits of Gibraltar and burning the mosque at Algeciras, following which they headed south to Nekor on the coast of Morocco, plundered the city and defeated a Muslim force that attempted to stop them.

Halfdan Ragnarsson (Old Norse: Hálfdan; Old English: Halfdene or Healfdene; Old Irish: Albann; died 877), nicknamed Hvitserk (“White-Shirt”), was a Viking leader and a commander of the Great Heathen Army that invaded the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England starting in 865.

Halfdan was one of six sons of Ragnar Lodbrok named in Norse sagas; his brothers and half-brothers included Björn Ironside, Ivar the Boneless, Sigurd Snake-in-the-Eye, Ubba and Hvitserk. Because Halfdan is not mentioned in any source that mentions Hvitserk, some scholars have suggested that they are the same individual – a possibility reinforced by the fact that Halfdan was a relatively common name among Vikings and Hvitserk "white shirt" may have been an epithet or nickname that distinguished Halfdan from other men by the same name.

Ivar the Boneless (Old Norse: Ívarr hinn Beinlausi [ˈiːˌwɑrː ˈhinː ˈbɛinˌlɔuse]; died c. 873), also known as Ivar Ragnarsson, was a Viking leader who led invasions into England and Ireland. According to the Tale of Ragnarr Loðbrók, he was the son of Aslaug and her husband Ragnar Loðbrok, and was the brother of Björn Ironside, Halvdan (or Hvitserk), Sigurd Snake-in-the-Eye, and Ragnvald. However, it is not known whether this is historically accurate. Ivar is sometimes regarded as the same person as Ímar, a Viking king of Dublin between 870 and 873.

It is unclear why Ivar acquired the nickname "boneless". Some sagas claim that he was born with a skeletal condition which left him unable to walk, while others suggest that he was merely impotent.