Draft:Swedish Semigallian war

The Semigallian was a military expedition that was launched as a response to the Semigallian tribe's refusal to pay tributes to Sweden. It was ordered by Olof Skötkonung who sent his commander Ingvar to reestablish Swedish supremacy over Semigallia. According to the Yngvars saga víðförla it was described as a successful Swedish expedition.

Prelude
Olof Skötkonung had a problem collecting taxes in Semigallia according to the Ingvar Saga. The Semigallian tribe had refused to pay taxes to Sweden so Olof sent his chieftain Ingvar and his son Anund to reestablish the tax system. With three ships, they arrived to convince the Semigallian leaders to continue to pay taxes to the Swedes, as they were the tribes in the Baltic area that refused to pay such taxes. Most Semigallian chieftains and their king now accepted paying protection money to Sweden again. Due to Ingvar's convincing speech, the Semigallian leaders saw no choice but to pay protection money.

The Swedish campaign
Three tribal Semigallian chieftains, however, refused to pay the tributes and armed their troops to banish the Swedes. They declared war against Sweden. Ingvar then requested reinforcements and got it. After a great loss of life on both sides the Swedes emerged victorious. One Semigallian chieftain was captured and hanged. While the two other chieftains barely got away with their lives after being utterly defeated. Olof Skötkonung received tribute from the rebellious Semigallians after the war. The victory was celebrated in Sweden as a great success and Ingvar became known as a great chieftain in Sweden. The success paved the way for Ingvar's later expedition into Kievan Rus and his ability to attract volunteers in Sweden. While the plunder taken from the semigallians could finance it.

Archeological remains support a Scandinavian presence in the region and that the coastline were dominated by Scandinavians. The saga in Ingvar is mythical in parts but a Swedish presence in Latvia is supported by archeology.