mount and blade viking conquest walrus ivory

Eventually most of them, both in Byzantium and in Eastern Europe, were converted from paganism to Orthodox Christianity, culminating in the Christianization of Kievan Rus' in 988. At least from the early 10th century many Varangians served as mercenaries in the Byzantine Army, constituting the elite Varangian Guard (the personal bodyguards of Byzantine Emperors). Those were the critically important trade links at that time, connecting Medieval Europe with wealthy and developed Arab Caliphates and the Byzantine Empire Most of the silver coinage in the West came from the East via those routes.Īttracted by the riches of Constantinople, the Varangian Rus' initiated a number of Rus'-Byzantine Wars, some of which resulted in advantageous trade treaties. They controlled the Volga trade route (between the Varangians and the Arabs), connecting the Baltic to the Caspian Sea, and the Dnieper and Dniester trade route (between Varangians and the Greeks) leading to the Black Sea and Constantinople.

Įngaging in trade, piracy, and mercenary activities, Varangians roamed the river systems and portages of Gardariki, as the areas north of the Black Sea were known in the Norse sagas. Rurik's relative Oleg conquered Kiev in 882 and established the state of Kievan Rus', which was later ruled by Rurik's descendants. Before Rurik, the Rus' might have ruled an earlier hypothetical polity. According to the 12th century Kievan Primary Chronicle, a group of Varangians known as the Rus' settled in Novgorod in 862 under the leadership of Rurik. الفارنغ (Varangians ؛ Old Norse: Væringjar؛ Greek: Βάραγγοι Varangoi, Βαριάγοι Variagoi) was the name given by Greeks and East Slavs to Vikings, who between the 9th and 11th centuries ruled the medieval state of Kievan Rus', settled among many rivers in territories of modern Ukraine, Belarus and Russia and formed the Byzantine Varangian Guard. Other trade routes of the 8th–11th centuries shown in orange. Map showing the major Varangian trade routes: the Volga trade route (بالأحمر) and the Dnieper and Dniester routes (بالبنفسجي).

Mount and blade viking conquest walrus ivory