Medieval trade route between Scandinavia and the Eastern Roman Empire.
The trade
route from the Varangians to the Greeks
was a medieval
trade route
that connected
Scandinavia
,
Kievan Rus'
and the
Eastern Roman Empire
. The route allowed merchants along its length to establish a direct prosperous trade with the Empire, and prompted some of them to settle in the territories of present-day
Belarus
,
Russia
and
Ukraine
. The majority of the route comprised a long-distance
waterway
, including the
Baltic Sea
, several rivers flowing into the Baltic Sea, and rivers of the
Dnieper
river system
, with
portages
on the
drainage divides
. An alternative route was along the
Dniester
river with stops on the western shore of
Black Sea
. These more specific sub-routes are sometimes referred to as the
Dnieper trade route
and
Dniester trade route
, respectively.
The route began in Scandinavian trading centers such as
Birka
,
Hedeby
, and
Gotland
, the eastern route crossed the Baltic Sea, entered the
Gulf of Finland
, and followed the
Neva River
into
Lake Ladoga
. Then it followed the
Volkhov River
upstream past the towns of
Staraya Ladoga
and
Velikiy Novgorod
(where it met the Volga trade route and which became a
major trade centre
), crossed
Lake Ilmen
, and continued up the
Lovat River
, the
Kunya River
and possibly the
Seryozha River
[
ru
]
. From there, a
portage
led to the
Toropa River
[
ru
]
and downstream to the
Western Dvina River
. From the Western Dvina, the ships went upstream along the
Kasplya River
and were portaged again to the
Katynka River
(near
Katyn
), a tributary of the Dnieper. It seems probable that once the route was established, the goods were unloaded onto land transport to cross the portage and reloaded onto other waiting ships on the Dnieper. Along the Dnieper, the route crossed several major rapids and passed through
Kiev
. After entering the
Black Sea
, it followed its west coast to
Constantinople
.
History
[
edit
]
The route from the
Varangians
to the Greeks was first mentioned in the early 12th-century
Primary Chronicle
(on page 7, line 2),
although it does not describe it in detail.
Line
|
Primary Chronicle
Ostrowski et al. (2014)
[2003]
|
English translation
Ines Garcia de la Puente (2010)
|
7.1
|
Поляномъ же живъшимъ особь по горамъ
|
When the Polianians lived by themselves among the hills,
|
7.2
|
симъ, и б?
путь из Варягъ въ Грьки
и из
|
and there was a
route from the Varangians to the Greeks
and from
|
7.3
|
Грькъ по Дън?пру, и вьрхъ Дън?пра волокъ до
|
the Greeks along the Dnepr, and above the Dnepr a portage to
|
7.4
|
Ловоти, и по Ловоти вънити въ Илмерь озеро
|
the Lovat, and along the Lovat one enters the great lake
|
7.5
|
великое, из негоже озера потечеть Вълховъ, и
|
Ilmen, from this lake flows the Volkhov,
|
7.6
|
вътечеть въ озеро великое Нево, и того
|
and it flows into the great lake Nevo [Ladoga], and from this lake
|
7.7
|
озера вънидеть устие въ море Варяжьское. И по
|
the outfall flows into the Varangian Sea [Baltic Sea], and along
|
7.8
|
тому морю вънити доже и до Рима, а отъ Рима прити по
|
this sea one arrives at Rome, and from Rome one arrives along
|
7.9
|
томуже морю къ Цьсарюграду, и отъ Цьсаряграда
|
the same sea at
Tsargrad
[Constantinople], and from Tsargrad
|
7.10
|
прити въ Понтъ море, въ неже вътечеть Дън?пръ
|
one enters the Pontic Sea [Black Sea], into which the river Dnepr
|
7.11
|
р?ка.
|
flows.
|
But its effects were reported much earlier, in the ninth chapter of
Byzantine emperor
Constantine VII Porphyrogenitus
's book
De Administrando Imperio
, who noted that the
Rhos
came down the river Dnieper from
Veliky Novgorod
,
Smolensk
,
Liubech
,
Chernigov
,
Vyshgorod
, gathering in
Kiev
before sailing furhter down the Dnieper towards the Black Sea in June.
Though "Varangians" has come to mean "Vikings" to many, the term for the Byzantines meant all Scandinavians and their kindred living in what is now Russia.
[
citation needed
]
The route was probably established in the late 8th and early 9th centuries, when Varangian explorers searched for plunder but also for
slaves
and lucrative goods. The route gained significant importance from the 10th until the first third of the 11th century, concurrently with the
Volga trade route
and the
trade route from the Khazars to the Germans
.
[
citation needed
]
According to
Constantine VII
, the
Krivichs
and other tribes dependent on
Kiev
transported hollowed-out sailboats, or
monoxyla
, which could accommodate thirty to forty people, to places along the rivers. These sailboats were then transported along the Dnieper to Kiev. There they were sold to the Varangians who re-equipped them and loaded them with merchandise.
Routes and places
[
edit
]
Places named include
Smolensk
(Μιλινισκα),
Liubech
(Τελιουτζα),
Chernihiv
(Τζερνιγωγα),
Vyshhorod
(Βουσεγραδε),
Vitichev
[
pl
]
(Βιτετζεβη), and
Kiev
(Κια[ο]βα). Some of these cities had alternate names in
Old Norse
, and Constantine quotes some of them: So
Novgorod
(Νεμογαρδα) is the same as
Holmgarðr
(‘Island Enclosure’) and
Nygarðr
(‘New Enclosure’);
Kiev
is equally called
Kœnugarðr
(‘Boatyard’) or Σαμβατα?, which might derive from Norse
Sandbakki-ass
(‘Sandbank Ridge’). Though
Constantin Zuckerman
suggests a more obvious etymology, from the Turkic (Khazar) roots
sam
and
bat
(literally, ‘upper fortress’).
[7]
The
runestone N 62
preserves the name
Vitaholmr
(‘demarcation islet’), which could refer to Vitichev, according to Boris Kleiber.
[8]
Judith Jesch
, however, suggests
Vitaholmr
may refer either to
Witland
, a historical region on the east side of the
River Vistula
,
[9]
or to
Vindau
on the coast of
Courland
.
[10]
Dnieper route
[
edit
]
On the
Dnieper
, the
Varangians
had to
portage
their ships around seven
rapids
, where they had to be on guard from
Pecheneg
nomads. The rapids began below the modern city of
Dnipro
, where the river turns south, and fell 50 meters in 66 kilometers. Today, the rapids are underwater, due to the construction of the dam of
DniproHES
, a hydroelectric power station, in 1932.
[
citation needed
]
Below the rapids, they had to pass a narrow rocky spot called the
Ford of Vrar
(Russian:
Krariyskaya
crossing), where the Varangians were often attacked by the
Pechenegs
. The Varangians stopped at
St. George Island
. Then they equipped their ships with sails
in the Dnieper estuary
and continued to navigate along the western shore of the
Black Sea
all the way to
Constantinople
(
Slavic
:
Tsargrad
, Old Norse:
Miklagarðr
).
[
citation needed
]
Western Black Sea shores
[
edit
]
The Varangian boats were used along the rivers and along the Black Sea shores. According to
Constantine VII
, the navigation near the western shore of Black Sea contained stops at Sulina (Danube Delta), Conopa, Constantia (localities today in Romania). There are some remains of the Varangian presence in this area at
Murfatlar Cave Complex
near Constantia (today Constan?a, Romania).
Numerous runic inscriptions, symbols and even a graffiti of a Viking navy are visible on the walls of the rock church from Murfatlar.
A rune stone from the Sjonhem cemetery in Gotland dating from the 11th century commemorates a merchant Rodfos who was traveling to Constantinople and was killed north of the Danube by the Blakumenn (Vlachs).
Trade activities
[
edit
]
The Trade Route from the Varangians to the Greeks was connected to other waterways of Eastern Europe, such as the
Pripyat
-
Bug
waterway leading to
Western Europe
, and the
Volga trade route
, which went down the
Volga
waterway to the
Caspian Sea
. Another offshoot was along the Dnieper and the
Usyazh-Buk River
towards
Lukoml
and
Polotsk
.
[
citation needed
]
The Trade Route from the Varangians to the Greeks was used to transport different kinds of merchandise.
Wine
,
spices
,
jewelry
,
glass
, expensive fabrics,
icons
, and books came from the
Byzantine Empire
.
Volhyn
traded
spinning wheels
and other items. Certain kinds of
weapons
and
handicrafts
came from
Scandinavia
. Northern Rus' offered timber, fur, honey, and wax, while the
Baltic tribes
traded
amber
.
[
citation needed
]
In the second half of the eleventh century, the
Crusades
opened more lucrative routes from Europe to the Orient through the Crusader states of the Middle East. By that time,
Rus'
had strengthened its commercial ties with Western Europe, and the route from the Varangians to the Greeks gradually lost its significance. For a related military route, see
Muravsky Trail
.
[
citation needed
]
In popular culture
[
edit
]
- A large part of the best-selling Swedish historical novel
The Long Ships
(original Swedish
Rode Orm
) by
Frans Gunnar Bengtsson
describes the adventures of a Swedish ship crew (with a pilot from
Gotland
) taking this route in the late 10th century.
[
citation needed
]
- Rosemary Sutcliff
's 1976 novel
Blood Feud
takes place during the 10th-century, and depicts a half-
Saxon
orphan who joins a
Viking
crew and takes this route, joining the
Varangian Guard
and ultimately settling in
Constantinople
.
[
citation needed
]
- The second book of
Henry Treece
's
Viking Trilogy
,
The Road to Miklagard
, published in the late 1950s describes a
Viking
voyage through the
Mediterranean
to
Constantinople
, where the main characters are taken as slaves and later become members of the
Varangian Guards
. They eventually make their way back to their home village via the trade route.
[
citation needed
]
- In
Stephen R. Lawhead
's novel
Byzantium
, the main character, a 9th-century
Irish
monk
, is taken by Viking raiders from
Scandia
to
Constantinople
via this route.
[
citation needed
]
- In the comic strip
Prince Valiant
, pages 932 (19 Dec 1954) to 988 (15 Jan 1956), the eponymous main character and company travel on two
Viking longships
from Constantinople to Scandia via this route, during which they encounter
Patzinaks
and
Polotjans
.
[
citation needed
]
- Two music albums coincidentally released in 2007 deal with fictional journeys down the trade route,
heavy metal
band
Rebellion
's
Miklagard ? The History of the Vikings Volume 2
[
citation needed
]
and Finnish
folk metal
band
Turisas
'
The Varangian Way
. Turisas' songs feature Scandinavian names (
Jarisleif
in "In the Court of Jarisleif" for
Grand Prince Yaroslav
) and
Old Norse exonyms
for toponyms (such as
Holmgard
in "
To Holmgard and Beyond
" for
Veliky Novgorod
, and
Miklagard
in "Miklagard Overture" for
Constantinople
) connected to Kievan Rus'. According to Bosselmann (2018) and DiGioia (2020), Scandinavian names are used by Turisas 'as a way to convey the historical context of the songs' subject matter', namely 'the stories of the Scandinavian pre-Christian populations and their travels eastwards along the way known as the Way of the Varangians to the Greek to Constantinople'.
See also
[
edit
]
Citations
[
edit
]
- ^
Zuckerman 2000
, p. 117: "C'est alors que debutent des tentatives pour ressusciter le trafic commercial sur le Dniepr, interrompu depuis un demi-siecle, et que commence le developpement urbain de Kiev qui aurait aussi porte, selon le
De administrando imperio
de Constantin Porphyrogenete (952), le nom de Sambatas, sans doute d'origine turco-khazare (
sam
+
bat
, fortresse superieure)."
- ^
Pritsak 1981
, p. 372: "Kleiber connects
viti
with the name Viti?ev (xolm), for which there is no Slavic etymology, and identifies the first Vitaholm with Viti?ev xolm."
- ^
Jesch 2001
, p. 90: "The secondary inscription on the Alstad stone (N 62) records the death of a man
i uitahol(m)(i)
‘in
Vitaholmr
’, on his way to Russia (see also below). It has been conjectured that this otherwise unidentified place-name has some connection with the
Witland
, on the east side of the mouth of the River Vistula (
NlyR
I, 155-7), that is mentioned by Wulfstan in the late ninth century (Lund 1984, 23)."
- ^
Jesch 2001
, p. 90: "There may or may not be some connection between this and the place called
Vindau
, on the coast of Kurland, directly opostite Gotland (
SR
XI, 271), which is probably mentioned in G 135, in which it is said of the commemorated that he
--rþ tauþr a ui(t)au
‘died in
Vindau
’."
References
[
edit
]
- Mih?escu, Haralambie; ?tefan, Gheorghe, eds. (1970).
Izvoarele istoriei Romaniei
(in Romanian, Latin, and Greek). Vol. II De la anul 300 pan? la anul 1000. Bucharest: Editura Academiei Republicii Socialiste Romania.
Further reading
[
edit
]
- Jordan, Robert Paul (March 1985). "When The Rus Invaded Russia... Viking Trail East".
National Geographic
. Vol. 167, no. 3. pp. 278?317.
ISSN
0027-9358
.
OCLC
643483454
.
- Thomas Schaub Noonan (1965).
The Dnieper Trade Route in Keivan Russia (900-1240 A.D.)
. Vol. 1.
- Thomas Schaub Noonan (1967).
The Dnieper Trade Route in Kievan Russia (900-1240 A.D.)
. Vol. 2. University Microfilms.
- Dixon, D.F., 1998. Varangian-Rus warrior-merchants and the origin of the Russian state. Journal of Macromarketing, 18(1), pp. 50?61.
- Adelson, H.L., 1960. Early medieval trade routes. The American Historical Review, 65(2), pp. 271?287.
- Sverdlov, M.B., 1970. Transit Routes in Eastern Europe in the 9th to 11th Centuries. Soviet Geography, 11(6), pp. 472?479.
- Petrukhin, V.J., 2006. The Dnieper rapids in" De administrando imperio": the trade route and its sacrificial rites. BAR INTERNATIONAL SERIES, 1499, p. 187.
- Jakobsson, Sverrir,
The Varangians: In God’s Holy Fire
(Palgrave Macmillan, 2020),
ISBN
978-3-030-53796-8
.