| Battle of Dollar | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Part of theViking invasions of Scotland | |||||||
 The Ochil Hills as seen from south-west ofTillicoultry | |||||||
| |||||||
| Belligerents | |||||||
| Kingdom of Scotland | Vikings | ||||||
| Commanders and leaders | |||||||
| King Constantine I | Halfdan Ragnarsson | ||||||
  Location of Dollar within modernClackmannanshire | |||||||
TheBattle of Dollar was fought in 875 atDollar,Scotland, betweenViking invaders underHalfdan Ragnarsson and the defenders led byKing Constantine I. The Vikings had previously been part of theGreat Heathen Army which had been assaulting theAnglo-Saxon kingdoms of England before moving to a base by theriver Tyne to raid the lands of thePicts andStrathclyde Britons.
The battle ended in victory for the Vikings who occupied the east-central lowlands of Scotland for a year before settling inNorthumbria. Constantine was forced back to the highlands ofAtholl and would later die in a further battle with the Vikings in 876. The Picts disappear from the record after the devastation of 875–878.
The firstViking raids in Scotland targeted the community ofIona which was attacked four times between 795 and 825.[1] This threat encouraged the union of thePicts andScots withKenneth MacAlpin becoming the first king to rule both from 843.[2] Kenneth's sonConstantine I would succeed to the throne in 862 after the death of Constantine's uncle,Donald I.[3]
TheGreat Heathen Army invaded England in 865 withHalfdan Ragnarsson among their leaders, takingYork in 867. After invading the otherAnglo-Saxon kingdoms, the army divided in 874 and Halfdan took his forces to a base on theTyne from where he raided the Picts and theKingdom of Strathclyde.[4]
Constantine was defeated by Halfdan atDollar in modernClackmannanshire.[3] TheScottish Chronicle gives the location, and states "the Scots were annihilated atAtholl".[5] TheAnnals of Ulster states "the Picts encountered the dark foreigners [the Danes] in battle and a great slaughter of the Picts resulted".[5]
The battle of Dollar is the first time theScottish Chronicle uses the wordScoti, used when describing the defeated force.[6]
Following his defeat, Constantine was driven back to the highlands of Atholl, with the east-central lowlands occupied by the Vikings for a year. Constantine was killed by Vikings in another battle known asinber dub fáta ('long dark river-mouth') in 876.[3] This may refer to Inverdovat inFife.[5] Constantine was succeeded by his brotherÁed, after a possible year-long interregnum.[3] Constantine and Aed were the last rulers to be referred to as kings of the Picts, and the Picts disappear from the historical record after the devastation suffered in 875-878.[7]
According to theAnglo-Saxon Chronicle Halfdan's army settled inNorthumbria in 876 where they "proceeded to plough and to support themselves".[4] Halfdan did not settle with the army and is recorded as being active in Ireland, where he was killed in 877 at thebattle of Strangford Lough.[4]
