The Varangians

The Vikings, predominantly from southeastern Sweden, established trade routes throughout the Baltic Sea during the 8th century, focusing on fur and slave trading in markets such as Byzantium, Khazaria, and the Abbasid Caliphate.

Connections existed with trade hubs like Hedeby, Gotland, and Birka, leading to the establishment of Staraya Ladoga around 753 CE, which served as a trading center for the indigenous populace and Vikings alike. They accessed this site via the Neva River from the Gulf of Finland.

As Staraya Ladoga flourished, many sought a route south via the Volkov River to Novgorod, known to the Vikings as ‘Aldeigjuborg’ (Old Ladoga), while Novgorod was called Holmgaard or Veliky Novgorod, meaning ‘great new city.’ These locations were situated along the Volkov River, with Staraya Ladoga to the north and Novgorod further south.

In historical literature from Nordic and early Russian sources, the Vikings are often referred to as the Varangians. Their primary goal in navigating eastward was to find waterways leading to the imperial court of Byzantium, where they sought positions in the Emperor's Varangian guard, having learned of the city from fellow Vikings who had traveled there.

Founded about a century after Staraya Ladoga, Novgorod became known as ‘Holmgaard’ to the Varangians. Rurik, invited to rule in 862, established it as the capital of the Rurikid Dynasty. Rurik is believed to have hailed from coastal eastern Sweden, with the term ‘Rurik’ linked to an old Norse word meaning ‘the men who row.’

Upon Rurik’s death in 869, his domain was passed to his kinsman Oleg, who took charge of his son Igor. Much of this information is derived from Orthodox Russian chronicles, which explain the absence of old Norse nomenclature. Throughout these records, the Rus’ are frequently identified as Varangians, primarily by Orthodox monks from the 11th and 12th centuries.

The Rus’

The Dnepr Trade Route

Over time, trade routes expanded, with the Dnepr River (also known as Dneiper or Dnipro) becoming a crucial pathway to the Black Sea, characterized by several portages among rivers and lakes. The seven rapids on the Dnepr’s final stretch were perilous for travelers, with references to them appearing on runestones in Gotland commemorating lost companions, as well as on a runestone discovered at the Dnepr's mouth on Berezan Island.

Emperor Constantine VII (905–959) documented these rapids as ‘Aeiphor,’ noting their Varangian name, while the local Slavic name ‘Neas’t’ (meaning “The Insatiable”) is still in use today, albeit the area is now submerged by the Zaporizhia hydroelectric dam.

The primary commodities traded included slaves and furs bound for Byzantium or local markets in the Baltic. Scandinavian imports featured wine, spices, jewelry, glass, fabrics, icons, and books from the Byzantine Empire, while local tribes like the Volyn from southwestern Poland brought goods such as spinning wheels.

The Varangians supplied timber, furs, honey, and wax, while Baltic tribes traded amber and slaves. Discoveries of dirhams and silver in Staraya Ladoga, Estonia, and Scandinavia indicate the Volga route's growing significance.

The Volga Trade Route

By the late 8th century, the Volga trade route emerged northeast of Staraya Ladoga, establishing connections with the Volga Bulgars and further south to the Khazar Khanate, eventually reaching the Abbasid Caliphate and Baghdad. They accessed large slave markets in these regions, where they could sell captives acquired during their travels or purchased in Staraya Ladoga.

Following the Volkhov River to Novgorod and Lake Ilmen, they navigated a short portage area to the Volga's sources, leading them to the Volga Bulgars’ markets and, subsequently, to Atil, the Khazar capital, and the Caspian Sea with its various markets.

The Caliphate's markets eagerly accepted slaves, referred to as ‘Saq?liba,’ which originally denoted Slavs and later encompassed all types of slaves. The most coveted were the Saq?liba eunuchs, and they paid well for furs, which were also common in al-Andalus. In contrast, numerous dirhams minted in al-Andalus during the 8th-9th centuries have been found in excavations throughout Staraya Ladoga and Scandinavia.

Ahmad Ibn Fadlan's best-known account of the Rus’ interactions with the Volga Bulgars stems from his 927 CE embassy by the Abbasid Caliph al-Muqtadir to the Volga Bulgars’ vassal king. Although his report primarily aimed to convey Islamic law, it includes invaluable observations about trade routes, market conditions, and Viking burial practices.

Ibn Fadlan described the Rus’ as “tall as palm trees, with blond hair and ruddy skin,” but was appalled by their lack of hygiene, labeling them as the “filthiest of all Allah’s creatures.”

The Khazars converted to Islam around 800 CE, despite previously being documented as Jewish. This is evidenced by imitation dirhams dated 838 CE discovered in Gotland’s Spillings Hoard, which remains the largest Viking treasure unearthed to date. The Khazars were a diverse and multilingual society, where Muslims, Christians, Jews, and Shamanists coexisted.

Cyril and Methodius engaged in discussions on Christianity and Judaism before the Khazar Kh?q?n, successfully converting two hundred of his followers, though the Kh?q?n himself declined baptism. Under H?r?n al-Rash?d, the Kh?q?n ultimately converted to Islam, as noted in Ibn Fadlan's account. The Khazar regime faced challenges from the expanding Kyivan Rus’.

The Rus’ fortified their trading outposts along rivers and portages, gradually asserting dominance over these waterways. They organized the collection of honey, wax, furs, and slaves for the lucrative Khazar and Muslim markets, demanding tribute from the populations along their routes, often paid in furs.

The Rus’ were warrior-traders operating under Rurik's lineage, beginning with Oleg, who conquered Kyiv in 882 CE, thereby establishing the Kyivan Rus’ state, controlling both the Dnepr-Dniester and Volga trade routes.

Curio: The term for ‘marten fur’ in Slavic was kuna, which is the name of Croatia's currency today.

Most information concerning the Rus’ is contained in the Primary Chronicle, compiled in the early 13th century using the Glagolitic alphabet, the first script for Old Church Slavonic developed by Cyril and Methodius. This chronicle details the history of the Kyivan Rus’ from 850 to 1110 CE, existing in various versions, but I reference ‘Nestor’s Chronicle,’ a Danish translation based on years of research aimed at establishing a consistent version of the Primary Chronicle, often known as the Tale of Bygone Years.

The first mention of the Rus’ appears in the writings of Ya’qubi, a geographer from Baghdad, who wrote Kitab al-Buldan (The Book of Countries) around 880 CE. He described the ‘maj?s’ sailing their longships up the Guadalquivir River to sack Sevilla, stating that the maj?s, called al-R?s, raided it in the year 229/884.

An earlier mention of the Rus’ occurs in an embassy from Byzantine Emperor Theophilus to Louis the Pious, Charlemagne’s son, in 838 CE, wherein some delegates were identified as Rhos. Theophilus requested Louis’ assistance for the Rhos to return to their land in Sweden, as they could not pass through the territories of the Bulgarian Magyars. Louis imprisoned them, suspecting them to be spies sent by the Vikings raiding his coasts.

This indicates that the Rus’ had begun to integrate into foreign lands, a process that would ultimately lead to their blending with the Slavic populace, similar to how Danish and Norwegian Vikings transformed into French-speaking Normans. Historian F. Donald Logan noted, “In 839, the Rus’ were Swedes; in 1043 the Rus were Slavs.”

The Kyivan Rus’

Oleg, Rurik's kinsman, continued securing trade routes to protect against the Khazar Khanate's expansion that threatened trade interests. His conquest of Kyiv is recounted in the Primary Chronicle, beginning with his capture of Smolensk on the Dnepr River before proceeding to Kyiv. His army consisted of Varangians, Chuds, Slavs, and Merians.

Oleg seized Kyiv from rulers Askold and Dir, burying them at what is now Hungarian Hill, as noted in the Primary Chronicle in 882 CE. The chronicle uses two dating systems: one from creation (6390) and the other from Christ's birth (882 CE). Oleg’s death is typically dated to 912 CE, although some sources suggest 941 or 942 due to gaps in the chronicle.

Oleg also attacked Byzantium in 907 CE, plundering Thrace. Accounts of this campaign vary, but his forces reached the gates of Byzantium, leading to a peace agreement and tribute from every ship involved.

Rurik’s son, Igor, succeeded Oleg around 912 CE. Various accounts detail Oleg’s death, though a mound at the Volkov River is attributed to him. Igor is noted for his sieges of Byzantium in 941 and 944, securing less favorable terms than Oleg. He died in 945 while gathering tribute from the Drevlians, a tribe he had previously conquered. His wife, Olga, sought vengeance and governed as regent while their son, Sviatoslav I, matured.

Sviatoslav I reigned for twenty-seven years, expanding into the Volga River valley, the Pontic steppes, and the Balkans, forming the largest state in Europe. In 969, he moved his base to a Danube town while campaigning against the first Bulgarian empire. During this time, the Pechenegs attacked Kyiv, but Sviatoslav’s general repelled them. The Primary Chronicle vividly describes the anxieties in Kyiv, especially for Sviatoslav’s mother, Olga.

Returning from the Danube in 969, Sviatoslav appointed his sons Yaropolk and Oleg as subordinate princes of Kyiv and Drelinia, while his illegitimate son Vladimir was named prince of Novgorod.

Vladimir I later protected King Olav I Tryggvason’s mother and half-brother Harald. Initially, he faced obstacles from his half-brothers, particularly after Yaropolk killed Oleg. After raising a Varangian army, Vladimir deposed Yaropolk and became the sole ruler by 980 CE, consolidating his realm and fortifying borders against Bulgarian, Baltic, and eastern nomadic threats.

Vladimir I, the first ruler to embrace Orthodox Christianity in 988, Christianized the Kyivan Rus’. His grandmother, Olga, was the first in the Rurik dynasty to be baptized and the initial ruler to expand and secure the territory. Although she aspired to eradicate pagan customs, it was Vladimir who accomplished this thirty years later. The conversion in 988 is often seen as the pivotal moment when the Kyivan Rus’ transitioned from being Vikings or Varangians to ‘Russian,’ having settled, intermingled with local tribes, cultivated the land, and established trade under their regulations.

The connections to their Scandinavian heritage persisted, primarily through trade and marriage alliances among the ruling elite. This provides insight into the naming of the Danish king Valdemar, whose lineage traces back to Ingegerd of Kyiv, daughter of Mstislav I and Christina Ingesdotter of Sweden, linked to Vladimir III of Kyiv. Ingegerd named her son after her grandfather, Vladimir II Monomach of Kyiv.

Valdemar II, son of Valdemar I, was also named after his grandfather, Vladimir Vsevolodich, a descendant of the Rurik Dynasty. However, by this time, the dynasty was beginning to fragment.

Mstislav marked the last ruler of a unified state, and his death led to the proliferation of princely families, which eventually splintered into multiple branches. A century later, Alexander Nevsky, Prince of Novgorod from one branch, defeated Sweden at the Battle of the Neva (1240). The family ties had weakened; Alexander took on the title ‘of the Neva’ to distinguish himself.

The era of the Varangians had concluded, as had that of the Kyivan Rus’, yet the name ‘Rus’ endured, designating the new nation forged by the descendants of the Rus’ and the Slavs. Several early Rus’ leaders were later canonized by the expanding Kyivan, subsequently Russian Orthodox Church, which had its origins with missionaries dispatched from Byzantium. As F. Donald Logan observed, “In 839, the Rus’ were Swedes; in 1043 the Rus were Slavs,” now facing the impending Mongol invasions alongside the rest of Eastern Europe and the Caliphates.

Returning to where this journey began, at the walls of Tallinn, I have learned that Olav I Tryggvason's mother sought refuge with her brother Sigurd, who served the king of Gardarike. On their journey, they were ambushed by Estonian Vikings, and Olav was sold to a kind couple, with whom he spent six years until his uncle, Sigurd, recognized him and brought him back to Gardarike. He spent the following nine years with King Vladimir and Queen Allogia before embarking on his Viking adventures.

The two Danish kings, Valdemar I and II, were named in honor of their grandfathers. Both were warrior kings, expanding their territories similarly to their Rus’ relatives. Valdemar II’s incursion into Estonia in the early 13th century was not an attack on kin but a crusade.

References

1. Further reading on Olav I of Norway can be found in my piece regarding the Danish Viking-Age Ring Fortresses.
2. A brief presentation on Aldeigjuborg is available on YouTube — https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b4AOcRFwN9k
3. In the 1990s, a reconstructed Viking ship named Aifur, based on the Gokstad ship, was crafted by a Swedish association. They undertook several expeditions, including one called "Expedition Holmgård," navigating from Sigtuna in Sweden to Novgorod and onward to the Black Sea.
4. The term for ‘slaves’ in the West shares roots with Byzantine Greek, derived from a Slavic tribe's self-designation ‘Slov?ne.’
5. Many may recognize Ahmad Ibn Fadlan from Antonio Banderas's portrayal in The Thirteenth Warrior, a film adaptation of Michael Crichton’s novel Eaters of the Dead.
6. These observations on the Rus’ hygiene are noted in the section ‘The uncleanliness of the Rus,’ p. 47 of the Penguin Classics edition of Ibn Fadlan and the Land of Darkness.