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Varangians

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This is an old revision of this page, as edited by Alphasinus (talk | contribs) at 17:07, 21 August 2011 (Lead is long enough already, anti-normanist theory should be added to Rus (name) or Rus (people). Varangian in English means eastern Viking.). The present address (URL) is a permanent link to this revision, which may differ significantly from the current revision.

This article is about Norse Vikings who ventured eastwards. For other uses, see Varangian (disambiguation).
Through a Portage by Nicholas Roerich:The Varangians often had to pull their ships between portages to reach new waters.

The Varangians or Varyags (Old Norse: Væringjar; Greek: Βάραγγοι, Βαριάγοι, Varangoi, Variagoi; Russian and Ukrainian: Варяги, Varyagi / Varyahy; Belarusian: Варагі, Varahi), were Norse Vikings,[1][2][3] who from the 9th to 11th centuries ventured eastwards and southwards along the rivers of Eastern Europe,[4][5] connecting Scandinavia with the Byzantine and the Arab world.

Engaging 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. They controlled the Volga trade route (Route from the Varangians to the Arabs), connecting Baltic to the Caspian Sea, and the Dnieper trade route (Route from the Varangians to the Greeks) leading to the Black Sea and Constantinople.[6] Those were the critically important trade links at that time, connecting the Dark Age Europe with wealthy and developed Arab Caliphates and Byzantine Empire; via those routes most of the silver coinage came from the East to the West.

According to the Primary Chronicle, compiled by the Kievan monk Nestor in about 1113 AD, a group of Varangians known as the Rus,[7] had relocated from Scandinavia in the 9th century and organized an early politity centered around Ladoga and Novgorod under their leader Rurik, who founded the Rurik dynasty. Under the leadership of Rurik's relative Oleg, the Varangians expanded southwards by capturing Kiev from the Khazars, founding the medieval state of Rus'.[8] Attracted by the riches of Constantinople and the Arab world, Rus' Varangians initiated a number of Caspian expeditions and Rus'-Byzantine Wars, some of which resulted in advantageous trade treaties. At least from the early 10th century many Varangians served as personal bodyguards of the Byzantine Emperor, comprising the elite Varangian Guard. Eventually most of them, both in Byzantium and in Eastern Europe, were converted from paganism to Orthodox Christianity, culminating in the 988 Christianization of Kievan Rus' during the reign of Vladimir the Great.

The successor descendants of Rurik were the ruling dynasty of medieval Rus', the successor principalities of Galicia-Volhynia (after 1199), Chernigov, Vladimir-Suzdal, Grand Duchy of Moscow, and the founders of the Tsardom of Russia.[9] Coinciding with the general decline of the Viking Age, the influx of Norsemen stopped, and the Rus' were eventually assimilated by East Slavs by the late 11th century. Yet, their name became that of the land modern Russia and the ethnonym of its population.[7][10]

Etymology

Guests from Overseas, Nicholas Roerich (1899).

Greek Várangos and Old East Slavic varęgŭ are derived from Old Norse væringi, originally a compound of vár "pledge" and gengi "companion", i.e. "a sworn person" or "a foreigner who has taken service with a new lord by a treaty of fealty to him, or protégé".[11][1] Some scholars seem to assume a derivation with the common suffix -ing-.[12] Yet, this suffix is inflected differently in Old Norse, and furthermore, the word is attested with -gangia- in other Germanic languages in the Early Middle Ages: Old English wærgenga, Old Frankish wargengus, Langobardic waregang.[13] The reduction of the second part of the word is parallel to that seen in Old Norse foringi "leader" = Old English foregenga, Gothic fauragangja "steward".[14][15]

Eastern Europe

Main articles: Rus' Khaganate, Kievan Rus', Trade route from the Varangians to the Greeks, and Volga trade route
Map showing the major Varangian trade routes: the Volga trade route (in red) and the Trade Route from the Varangians to the Greeks (in purple). Other trade routes of the eighth–eleventh centuries shown in orange.

Having settled Aldeigja (Ladoga) in the 750s, the Norsemen formed an early politity called the Rus' Khaganate. The Varangians (Varyags, in Old East Slavic) are first mentioned by the Primary Chronicle as having exacted tribute from the Slavic and Finnic tribes in 859. It was the time of rapid expansion of the Vikings in Northern Europe; England began to pay Danegeld in 859, and the Curonians of Grobin faced an invasion by the Swedes at about the same date. It is generally believed that most of the Varangians came from the area of modern Sweden.[16]

In the 9th century, the Rus' operated the Volga trade route, which connected Northern Russia (Gardariki) with the Middle East (Serkland). As the Volga route declined by the end of the century, the trade route from the Varangians to the Greeks rapidly overtook it in popularity. Apart from Ladoga and Novgorod, Gnezdovo and Gotland were major centres for Varangian trade.[17]

The Invitation of the Varangians by Viktor Vasnetsov.

According to the Primary Chronicle, in 862, the Finnic and Slavic tribes in the area of Novgorod rebelled against their Varangian rulers, driving them overseas back to Scandinavia, but soon started to conflict with each other. The disorder prompted the tribes to invite back Varangians "to come and rule them" and bring peace to the region. Led by Rurik and his brothers Truvor and Sineus, the invited Varangians (called Rus') settled around the town of Holmgård (Novgorod). The Primary Chronicle twice names Rus' among the other Varangian peoples, including Swedes, Normans, Angles, Gutes[18] (Normans was an Old Russian term for Norwegians, while Angles may be interpreted as Danes).

Longships Are Built in the Land of the Slavs , Nicholas Roerich (1903).

Under the leadership of Rurik's relative Oleg, the Rus' Varangians expanded southwards by capturing Kiev from the Khazars, founding the medieval state of Rus'.[19] Attracted by the riches of Constantinople and the Arab world, Rus' Varangians initiated a number of Rus'-Byzantine Wars, some of which resulted in advantageous trade treaties. Meanwhile, descendants of Rurik expanded the Russian state and unified the local tribes. Contact with the Byzantine Empire increased, culminating in the 988 Christianization of Kievan Rus' during the reign of Vladimir the Great.

In contrast to the intense Norse influence in Normandy and the British Isles, Varangian culture did not survive to a great extent in the East. Instead, the Varangian ruling classes of the two powerful city-states of Novgorod and Kiev were gradually Slavicised by the end of the 11th century.[20] However, the successor descendants of Rurik were the ruling dynasty of medieval Rus', the successor principalities of Galicia-Volhynia (after 1199), Chernigov, Vladimir-Suzdal, Grand Duchy of Moscow, and the founders of the Tsardom of Russia.[21] The name of the Varangian Rus became that of the land modern Russia and the ethnonym of its population.[7][22]

Islamic world

Ship burial of a Rus chieftain as described by the Arab traveler Ahmad ibn Fadlan who visited Kievan Rus in the 10th century.
Heinrich Semiradzki (1883)
Further information: Volga trade route and Caspian expeditions of the Rus'

Initially, the Rus' appeared in Serkland in the 9th century traveling as merchants along the Volga trade route, selling furs, honey, and slaves. Hoards of 9th century Baghdad minted silver coins have been found in Sweden, particularly in Gotland. The first small-scale raids took place in the late 9th and early 10th century. The Rus' undertook the first large-scale expedition in 913; having arrived on 500 ships, they pillaged Gorgan, in the territory of present day Iran, and the adjacent areas, taking slaves and goods. On their return, the northern raiders were attacked and defeated by Khazar Muslims in the Volga Delta, and those who escaped were killed by the local tribes on the middle Volga.

During their next expedition in 943, the Rus' captured Barda, the capital of Arran, in the modern-day Republic of Azerbaijan. The Rus' stayed there for several months, killing many inhabitants of the city and amassing substantial plunder. It was only an outbreak of dysentery among the Rus' that forced them to depart with their spoils. Sviatoslav, prince of Kiev, commanded the next attack, which destroyed the Khazar state in 965. Sviatoslav's campaign established the Rus's hold on the north-south trade routes, helping to alter the demographics of the region. Raids continued through the time period with the last Scandinavian attempt to reestablish the route to the Caspian Sea taking place in 1041 by Ingvar the Far-Travelled.

Byzantine Empire

Further information: Trade route from the Varangians to the Greeks and Christianization of Rus'
Varangian Guardsmen, an illumination from the 11th century chronicle of John Skylitzes.

The earliest Byzantine record of the Rus' may have been written prior to 842. It is preserved in the Greek Life of St. George of Amastris, which speaks of a raid that had extended into Paphlagonia. Contemporary Byzantine presence of the Rus are the mentioned in the Frankish Annals of St. Bertin. These relate that Emperor Louis the Pious' court at Ingelheim, in 839, was visited by a delegation from the Byzantine emperor. In this delegation there were two men who called themselves Rhos (Rhos vocari dicebant). Louis enquired about their origins and learnt that they were Swedes. Fearing that they were spies for their brothers, the Danes, he incarcerated them.

In 860, from Kiev, that the Rus under Askold and Dir launched their first attack on Constantinople. The result of this initial attack is disputed, but the Varangians continued their efforts as they regularly sailed on their monoxyla down the Dnieper into the Black Sea. The Rus' raids into the Caspian Sea were recorded by Arab authors in the 870s and in 910, 912, 913, 943, and later. Although the Rus had predominantly peaceful trading relations with the Byzantines, the rulers of Kiev launched the relatively successful naval expedition of 907 and the abortive campaign of 941 against Constantinople, as well as Sviatoslav I's large-scale invasion of the Balkans in 968–971.

These raids were successful in the sense of forcing the Byzantines to re-arrange their trading arrangements; militarily, the Varangians were usually defeated by the superior Byzantine forces, especially in the sea and due to the Byzantines' use of Greek fire.

Varangian Guard

Main article: Varangian Guard
Varangian Guardsmen, an illumination from the Skylitzis Chronicle.

The Varangian Guard (Greek: Τάγμα των Βαράγγων, Tágma tōn Varángōn) were a part of Byzantine Army and personal bodyguards of the Byzantine Emperors from the 9th to the 14th centuries. Intially the guard was composed of Varangians who came from in the Kievan Rus.

The guard was first formed under Emperor Basil II's after 988, following the Christianization of Kievan Rus' and union with Vladimir I of Kiev, who sent 6,000 men to Basil as a part of military assistance agreement. Basil's distrust of the native Byzantine guardsmen, whose loyalties often shifted with fatal consequences, as well as the proven loyalty of the Varangians, many of whom served in Byzantium even before, led the Emperor to employ them as his personal guard. Over the years, new recruits from Sweden, Denmark, and Norway kept a predominantly Scandinavian cast to the organization until the late 11th century. So many Scandinavians left to enlist in the guard that a medieval Swedish law from Västergötland stated that no one could inherit while staying in "Greece"—the then Scandinavian term or the Byzantine Empire.[23] In the eleventh century, there were also two other European courts that recruited Scandinavians:[24] Kievan Rus' c. 980–1060 and London 1018–1066 (the Þingalið).[24]

Composed primarily of Scandinavians for the first 100 years, the guard began to see increased inclusion of Anglo-Saxons after the successful invasion of England by the Normans. By the time of the Emperor Alexios Komnenos in the late 11th century, the Byzantine Varangian Guard was largely recruited from Anglo-Saxons and "others who had suffered at the hands of the Vikings and their cousins the Normans". The Anglo-Saxons and other Germanic peoples shared with the Vikings a tradition of faithful (to death if necessary) oath-bound service, and after the Norman Conquest of England there were many fighting men who had lost their lands and former masters and looked for a living elsewhere.

The Varangian Guard not only provided security for the Byzantine Emperors, but participated in many wars involving Byzantium and often played a crucial role, since they were usually used at the critical moments of a battle. By the late 13th century Varangians were mostly ethnically assimilated by Byzantines, though the guard operated until at least mid-14th century and in 1400 there were still some people identifying themselves as "Varangians" in Constantinople.

References

  1. ^ a b Etymonline.com. "Varangian". Retrieved 18 August 2011. Cite error: The named reference "Etymvarangian" was defined multiple times with different content (see the help page).
  2. ^ Encyclopedia Britannica. "Russia". Retrieved 18 August 2011.
  3. ^ Collins English dictionary. "Varangian". Harper Collins. Retrieved 18 August 2011.
  4. ^ Milner-Gulland, R. R. Atlas of Russia and the Soviet Union. Phaidon. p. 36. ISBN 0714825492. {{cite book}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |coauthors= (help)
  5. ^ Schultze, Sydney (2000). Culture and Customs of Russia. Greenwood Publishing Group. p. 5. ISBN 0313311013. {{cite book}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |coauthors= (help)
  6. ^ Stephen Turnbull, The Walls of Constantinople, AD 324–1453, Osprey Publishing, ISBN 1-84176-759-X.
  7. ^ a b c Etymonline.com. "Russia". Retrieved 18 August 2011.
  8. ^ Duczko, Wladyslaw (2004). Viking Rus. Brill Publishers. pp. 10–11. ISBN 9004138749. Retrieved December 1, 2009.
  9. ^ Encyclopedia Britannica. "Rurik dynasty". Retrieved 18 August 2011.
  10. ^ Collins English dictionary. "Rus". Harper Collins. Retrieved 18 August 2011.
  11. ^ H.S. Falk & A. Torp, Norwegisch-dänisches etymologisches Wörterbuch, 1911, pp. 1403–4; J. de Vries, Altnordisches etymologisches Wörterbuch, 1962, pp. 671–2; S. Blöndal & B. Benedikz, The Varangians of Byzantium, 1978, p. 4
  12. ^ Hellquist 1922:1096, 1172; M. Vasmer, Russisches etymologisches Wörterbuch, 1953, vol. 1, p. 171.
  13. ^ Blöndal & Benedikz, p. 4; D. Parducci, "Gli stranieri nell’alto medioevo", Mirator 1 (2007)in Italian, English abstract
  14. ^ Falk & Torp, p. 1403; other words with the same second part are: Old Norse erfingi "heir", armingi "beggar", aumingi "beggar", bandingi "captive", hamingja "luck", heiðingi "wolf", lausingi / leysingi "homeless", cf. Falk & Torp, p. 34; Vries, p. 163.
  15. ^ S. Bugge, Arkiv för nordisk filologi 2 (1885), p. 225
  16. ^ Forte, Angelo, Richard Oram, and Frederik Pedersen. Viking Empires. Cambridge University Press, 2005 ISBN 0-521-82992-5. p. 13–14.
  17. ^ A massive majority (40,000) of all Viking-Age Arabian coins found in Scandinavia were found in Gotland. In Skåne, Öland and Uppland together, about 12,000 coins were found. Other Scandinavian areas have only scattered finds: 1,000 from Denmark and some 500 from Norway. Byzantine coins have been found almost exclusively in Gotland, some 400. See Arkeologi i Norden 2. Författarna och Bokförlaget Natur & kultur. Stockholm 1999. See also Gardell, Carl Johan: Gotlands historia i fickformat, 1987. ISBN 91-7810-885-3.
  18. ^ Duczko, Wladyslaw (2004). Viking Rus. BRILL. pp. 10–11. ISBN 9004138749. {{cite book}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |coauthors= (help)
  19. ^ Duczko, Wladyslaw (2004). Viking Rus. Brill Publishers. pp. 10–11. ISBN 9004138749. Retrieved December 1, 2009.
  20. ^ Encyclopedia Britannica. "Viking". Retrieved 19 August 2011.
  21. ^ Encyclopedia Britannica. "Rurik dynasty". Retrieved 18 August 2011.
  22. ^ Collins English dictionary. "Rus". Harper Collins. Retrieved 18 August 2011.
  23. ^ Jansson 1980:22
  24. ^ a b Pritsak 1981:386

Bibliography

Rus' Varangians

Varangian Guard

  • Buckler, Georgina. Anna Comnena: A Study. Oxford: University Press, 1929.
  • Blondal, Sigfus. Varangians of Byzantium: An Aspect of Byzantine Military History. Trans. by Benedikt S. Benedikz, Cambridge: 1978. ISBN 0-521-21745-8.
  • Davidson, H.R. Ellis. The Viking Road to Byzantium. London: 1976. ISBN 0-04-940049-5.
  • Enoksen, Lars Magnar. (1998). Runor : historia, tydning, tolkning. Historiska Media, Falun. ISBN 91-88930-32-7.
  • Jansson, Sven B. (1980). Runstenar. STF, Stockholm. ISBN 91-7156-015-7.
  • English Refugees in the Byzantine Armed Forces: The Varangian Guard and Anglo-Saxon Ethnic Consciousness by Nicholas C.J. Pappas for De Re Militari.org

See also

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