Viking Age Scandinavia Eastern exploration
Eastern exploration starts ca 750 Primarily Scandinavians from Central Sweden and island of Gotland Promise of profitable trade with the East: Khazars, Bulgars and the Caliphate (Pax Khazarica ca 700-950)
Who did the Scandinavians meet? Finno-Ugrian hunters-gatherers Turkic Khazars and Bulgars with agricultural villages and craft centers Steppe nomads in southern Russia and the Ukraine Eastern Slavs Byzantium The Caliphate
Staraya Ladoga (Aldeigjuborg) established after the year 750 Control of the river Volkhov and river routes East and South Inhabited by merchants and craftsmen (weak evidence for presence of Scandinavian women)
Early trade Furs, pelts, slaves from the North were transported to Khazarian Itil at the mouth of the Volga or taken all the way to Baghdad, the capital of the Caliphate. Exchanged for silver coins-dirhams
Rus relationship with Khazars? The early Scandinavian explorers in the East are called RUS or RHOS Rus (etymology) Slavic transformation of Finnish name for Sweden Ruotsi/Roosti Originate from Scandinavian ro r rowing or oarsmen Early political organization around Lake Ladoga: Rus khaganate Scandinavian Rus loosely unified under the rule of one leader, subjugated local Finnish pupulation and extorted tributes
Russian Primary Chronicle/ Nestor s Chronicle (ca 1050-1120) According to the chronicle: 859 Rus attacked Finns and Slavs in NW Russia. Forced tribute. Driven out in 862. The Finns and Slavs invited a group of people from the North to govern over them. These people were called Rus and were led by Riurik, his two brothers (Sineus and Trevor) and their kinsmen.
Rus in the 10 th c: Increase of settlements along major waterways (Volkhov, Oka-Volga and Dniepr) Immigration of whole families: merchants, craftsmen and farmers Continuous importance of trade and tribute collection
Staraya Ladoga in the 10th century rebuilt and fortified trade station multiethnic character (Scandinavian, Finnish and Slavic)
Riurikovo Gorodishche (Holmgård) by Lake Ilmen established in the middle of the 9th c craft, trade and political center ruled by Scandinavian (Rus) elite with continous contacts with Sweden replaced bu Novgorod in the late 10th c
Gnezdovo On river Dnepr important for trade with the Black Sea Two fortified sites and three workshop and trade centres 5000 graves ca 90 with Scandinavian objects and ritual features typical to burial customs practices in Central Sweden (e.g., cremation, boat burials, warrior graves, large mounds, objects such as oval brooches, Thor-hammer pendants)
Rus trade in the 10 th c Bulghar emerges as a major trading place and meeting point for Rus and Muslim merchants (connected with Khazar and Arab trading places and with the Silk Road from China) Ahmad Ibn Fadlan meets Rus traders in Bulghar Risala, ca 922
Rus trade in the 10 th c Around the year 922 in Bulghar: 1 dirham (ca 3 gr of silver) = 1 glass bead or 1 amber bead or 1 marten fur, or 1 loaf of bread or 1 chicken (ibn Fadlan) Slave trade and approx. slave prices Scandinavia: 225-340 gr of silver Western Slavs: 180-240 gr of silver Northern Rus: 255 gr of silver or more Kiev: 340 gr of silver or more Constantinople: 400 gr of silver Baghdad: 1500-3000 gr of silver!!!!!
Mid and late 9th c increase of Eastern trade large amount of dirhams (Arabic coins) flows into the Baltic Sea rim Arabic weight system and measurments is adopted by the merchants operating in the Baltic Sea Exclusive objects of Eastern origins found in the Baltic Sea trading places (e.g. Birka graves) Eastern merchants (?) visit Scandinavia: DNA analysis from the 11 th c in Kongemarken near Roskilde (Denmark) Journeys to the East desribed on runic stones
Back in the East... 970 s the flow of dirhams decline and stops entirely in 1030s (Collapse of the Samanid state + silver crisis in Asia) Rus merchants from the northern Russia turn to the Baltic and western Europe western coins Rus merchants from Dniepr area develop stronger relationships with Constantinople Political development in the East: emergence of the first Rus states with centers in Novgorod and Kiev
Novgorod Established in late 10th and early 11th c Replaced Staraya Ladoga & Riurikovo Gorodishche Political, ecclesiastical and commercial center in the northern Russia
Kiev Slavic territory under Khazar dominion 830s Khazars involvement in the Dnepr region diminish due to pressures from steppe peoples End of 9th c Developed into a major town ruled by a dynasty of Scandinavian origin (Oleg Helge from Ilmen area) Became the centre of the Kiev Rus state
Emperor Constantine Porphyrogenitus about Rus from Kiev collecting tribute from Slavs: When the month of November begins, their chiefs together with all the Rhos at once leave Kiev and go off on the poliudie, which means rounds, that is, to the Slavonic regions (...) tributaries of the Rhos. There they are maintained throughout the winter, but then, once more, starting from the month of April, when the ice of the Dnieper melts, they come back to Kiev.
Rulers in Kiev Rus 882-1054 Oleg (Helge): 882-912 (moved the center of Rus from Rurikovo to Kiev) Igor (Ingvar): 941-945 Olga (Helga): 945-962 (first to convert to Greek Christianity) Sviatoslav I: 962-972 (considerably extanded Kiev overlordship to the East) Yaropolk: 972-980 Vladimir: 980-1015 (further territorial expansion, baptism of Rus in 988, sponsor of culture in Kiev) Sviatopolk: 1015-1019 Yaroslav the Wise: 1019-1054 (Kiev reaches zenith of its cultural flowering and military power)
Territorial extension of Kiev Rus during Yaroslav the Wise rule
Changing identities and impact of Byzantine culture on Kiev Rus Term Rus changes its meaning: from the late 10th c onwards it is used to describe both Scandinavians and the local Slavic and Finnish population Slavization Slavic language, Slavic names of the Rus rulers, Glagolitic and Cyrillic alphabet (e.g., birch bark letters) Byzantine-Slavic-Scandinavian synthesis in culture and art (religion and Church ceremony, government, law, architecture)
Female burial from Kiev West-Slavonic Byzantine Christian Scandinavian The dynamics of interaction in the Rus capital
Cathedral of St. Sophia, (the Holy Wisdom of God) in Novgorod built ca 1045-50 Cathedral of St. Sophia, (the Holy Wisdom of God) in Kiev, built ca 1037-54
Birch bark letters: written in vernacular Old Eastern Slavic (cyrillic alphabet), 1 in Old Norse Diverse character of the letters: legal issues, love letters, school homeworks Earliest examples are dated to ca 1050 s Scandinavian names of some of the authors and individuals mentioned in the letters
Scandinavian mercenaries in the East varangians) employed by the early rulers in Novgorod and Kiev to help them winning the throne 945 treaty between the Rus and Constantinople, which guaranteed employment of mercenaries (varangians) at the Emperor s court (Varangian Guards) 11th c nomadic auxiliaries became the mercenaries of choice (more effective)
Summary: Scandinavians in the East Appear around lake Ladoga and Ilmen ca 750, establish trading posts and trade contacts with Khazars and the Caliphate. Called Rus From the late 9th c onwards increased family immigration to the East, new settlements are established Trade and extortion of tribute from Finnish and Slavic people constitute major source of revenue Foundation of Kiev Rus with capital in Kiev Convertion to Orthodox Christianity (Vladimir 988 AD), Slavization and impact of Eastern culture on art, learning and religious life. Loosening of ties with Scandinavia. Rus=all people living in the territory overlooked by Kiev Rus In the 11 th peak of Kiev Rus