What was the name of the Viking army that invaded Anglo-Saxon England in 865?

The Great Heathen Army invaded Anglo-Saxon England in 865. Anglo-Saxon sources used the name “Great Heathen Army” for the large Viking force that landed in East Anglia.

The army campaigned across several English kingdoms, capturing York in 866 and defeating Northumbrian rulers. It later fought in Mercia and East Anglia, helping transform the political map of England.

Later tradition connects its leaders with figures such as Ivar the Boneless, Halfdan, and Ubba, although the surviving accounts are not always consistent. The army was more than a single raiding party: it included warriors, commanders, families, and followers who helped create permanent Scandinavian settlements.