Map showing the major Varangian trade routes: the Volga trade route (in red) and the Dnieper and Dniester routes (in purple). Other trade routes of the 8th–11th centuries shown in orange.
v
t
e
Rus'–Byzantine Wars
Paphlagonia (830s)
Constantinople (860)
Constantinople (907)
Bosporus & Bithynia (941)
Thrace & Bulgaria (970–971)
Lemnos (1024)
Constantinople & Aegean Sea (1043)
The Varangians (/vəˈrændʒiənz/; Old Norse: Væringjar; Medieval Greek: Βάραγγοι, Várangoi;[1][2] Old East Slavic: варяже, varyazhe or варязи, varyazi) were Viking[3] conquerors, traders and settlers, mostly from present-day Sweden.[4][5][6] The Varangians settled in the territories of present-day Belarus, Russia and Ukraine from the 8th and 9th centuries, and established the state of Kievan Rus' as well as the principalities of Polotsk and Turov. They also formed the Byzantine Varangian Guard, which later also included Anglo-Saxons.[7][8]
According to the 12th-century Primary Chronicle, a group of Varangians known as the Rus'[9] settled in Novgorod in 862 under the leadership of Rurik. Before Rurik, the Rus' might have ruled an earlier hypothetical polity known as the Rus' Khaganate. Rurik's relative Oleg conquered Kiev in 882 and established the state of Kievan Rus', which was later ruled by Rurik's descendants.[10][11]
Engaging in trade, piracy, and mercenary service, Varangians roamed the river systems and portages of Gardariki, as the areas north of the Black Sea were known in the Norse sagas. They controlled the Volga trade route (between the Varangians and the Muslims), 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.[12] Those were the main important trade links at that time, connecting Medieval Europe with Abbasid Caliphates and the Byzantine Empire.[13] Most of the silver coinage in the West came from the East via those routes.
Attracted by the riches of Constantinople, the Varangian Rus' began the Rus'-Byzantine Wars, some of which resulted in advantageous trade treaties. At least from the early 10th century, many Varangians served as mercenaries in the Byzantine Army, constituting the elite Varangian Guard (the bodyguards of Byzantine emperors). Eventually most of them, in Byzantium and in Eastern Europe, were converted from Norse paganism to Orthodox Christianity, culminating in the Christianization of Kievan Rus' in 988. Coinciding with the general decline of the Viking Age, the influx of Scandinavians to Rus' stopped and Varangians were gradually assimilated by East Slavs by the late 11th century.
^"Varangian Archived 12 June 2018 at the Wayback Machine," Online Etymology Dictionary
^"Varangian". TheFreeDictionary.com. Archived from the original on 11 July 2018. Retrieved 30 September 2015.
^Ildar Kh. Garipzanov, The Annals of St. Bertin (839) and Chacanus of the Rhos Archived 28 September 2011 at the Wayback Machine. Ruthenica 5 (2006) 3–8 sides with the old theory.
^"væringer". Store norske leksikon. Archived from the original on 12 June 2018. Retrieved 30 September 2015.
^Little, Becky. "When Viking Kings and Queens Ruled Medieval Russia". HISTORY. Archived from the original on 6 April 2022. Retrieved 4 April 2022.
^"Rus | people | Britannica". www.britannica.com. Archived from the original on 24 March 2022. Retrieved 4 April 2022.
^Milner-Gulland, R. R. (1989). Atlas of Russia and the Soviet Union. Phaidon. p. 36. ISBN 0-7148-2549-2. Archived from the original on 4 April 2023. Retrieved 30 March 2023.
^Schultze, Sydney (2000). Culture and Customs of Russia. Greenwood Publishing Group. p. 5. ISBN 0-313-31101-3. Archived from the original on 4 April 2023. Retrieved 31 March 2023.
^"Пушкинский Дом (ИРЛИ РАН) > Новости". Archived from the original on 16 March 2015. Retrieved 30 September 2015.
^Duczko, Wladyslaw (2004). Viking Rus. Brill Publishers. pp. 10–11. ISBN 90-04-13874-9. Archived from the original on 14 April 2023. Retrieved 1 December 2009.
^"Rurik Dynasty". Encyclopædia Britannica. Archived from the original on 27 March 2015. Retrieved 30 September 2015.
^Stephen Turnbull, The Walls of Constantinople, AD 324–1453, Osprey Publishing, ISBN 1-84176-759-X.
^Schofield, Tracey Ann Vikings Archived 14 April 2023 at the Wayback Machine, Lorenz Educational Press, p. 7, ISBN 978-1-5731-0356-5
(between the Varangians and the Muslims), connecting the Baltic to the Caspian Sea and the Dnieper and Dniester trade route (between Varangians and the Greeks)...
(inscription made by Swedish Varangians) Swedes (Germanic tribe) Thingmen Trade route from the Varangians to the Greeks Varangian runestones Västgötalagen...
(Russian: Krariyskaya crossing), where the Varangians were often attacked by the Pechenegs. The Varangians stopped at St. George Island. Then they equipped...
The calling of the Varangians, calling of the (Varangian) princes or invitation to the Varangians (Russian: призвание варягов, romanized: prizvaniye varyagov;...
diary Turisas official website "Turisas - The Varangian Way". Metal Storm. Trade route from the Varangians to the Greeks The Long Ships (historical novel...
notably, the Kälvesten Runestone Ög 8 was made in the 9th century when the Varangians played a central role in what would become Russia and Ukraine. This vast...
The Snowball Earth is a geohistorical hypothesis that proposes during one or more of Earth's icehouse climates, the planet's surface became entirely or...
(including the Chuds, Slovenes, Krivichs, Meryans and Ves) "drove the Varangians back beyond the sea, refused to pay them tribute, and set out to govern...
HMS Varangian was a British built U class submarine, a member of the third group of that class to be built. The submarine carried out patrols in the Norwegian...
Knirk, Runer i Hagia Sofia i Istanbul, Nytt om runer 14 (1999), 26-27 (archived) Relics Of The Varangians - Grafitti in Hagia Sophia (with pictures)...
the new emperor. While some of the Varangians helped guard the emperor, Harald became the leader of the Varangians who supported the revolt. The emperor...
"Calling of the Varangians", dating it to the Byzantine years of the world 6368–6370 (AD 860–862): The tributaries of the Varangians drove them back beyond...
and Volga trade routes in eastern Europe, where they were also known as Varangians. They also briefly settled in Newfoundland, becoming the first Europeans...
route from the Varangians to the Greeks, and lost its importance in the 11th century. The Volga trade route was established by the Varangians who settled...
The Cryogenian (from Ancient Greek: κρύος, romanized: krýos, meaning "cold" and γένεσις, romanized: génesis, meaning "birth") is a geologic period that...
first East Slavic states in the 9th century coincided with the arrival of Varangians, the Vikings who ventured along the waterways extending from the eastern...
modern-day Russia, Belarus, and Ukraine, where they were also known as Varangians. The Normans, Norse-Gaels, Rus' people, Faroese, and Icelanders emerged...
9th century, Varangians used the waterways of Eastern Europe for military raids and trade, particularly the trade route from the Varangians to the Greeks...
of England in 1066, and one of the specified weapons common with the Varangian Guard. Most axes, both in period illustrations and extant artifact, that...
tributary of the Khazars, until its capture by the Varangians (Vikings) in the mid-9th century. Under Varangian rule, the city became a capital of Kievan Rus'...
and the Bulgars. Later invasions, such as the Vikings, the Normans, the Varangians, the Hungarians, the Arabs, the Turks, and the Mongols also had significant...
862: The calling of the Varangians. The various tributaries of the Varangians attempted to rid themselves of the Varangian lordship, which led to quarrels...
all Ukraine. The Dnieper Rapids were part of the trade route from the Varangians to the Greeks, first mentioned in the Kyiv Chronicle.[clarification needed]...
Varyag or Variag may refer to: Varangians, ancestors of the Rus' sometimes called "Vikings" in English publications Russian ship Varyag, Russian warships...
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