Trade route from the Varangians to the Greeks
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The Trade Route from the Varangians to the Greeks (Путь «из варяг в греки» in Russian) was a trade route, which connected Scandinavia, Kievan Rus' and the Byzantine Empire.
The route began in Scandinavian trading centres such as Birka, Hedeby, and Gotland, crossed the Baltic Sea entering the Gulf of Finland, followed the Neva River, into the Lake Ladoga. Then it went upstreams the Volkhov River past the towns of Staraya Ladoga and Velikiy Novgorod into Lake Ilmen and over to the Lovat River. From there, the ships had to be portaged to the Dnieper River. A second route was along the Western Dvina between the Lovat and the Dnieper in the Smolensk region, and along the Kasplya River.
History
The route from the Varangians to the Greeks was first mentioned in the Primary Chronicle, but its effects were reported much earlier, in the early 9th century when the Byzantines noted newcomers in their regions, the Varangians. Though this has come to mean "Vikings" to many, the term for the Bzyantines meant all Scandinavians and their kindred living in what is now Russia.It was probably established in the late 8th - early 9th century as Varangian explorers searched for plunder but also for slaves and lucrative goods. The route gained significant importance in the 10th until the first third of the 11th century.
According to Constantine VII, the Kriviches and other tribes dependent on Kiev transported hollowed-out sailboats, or monoxyla, which could accommodate 30 to 40 people, to places along the rivers. Places named include Smolensk (Μιλινισκα), Lyubech (Τελιουτζα), Chernigov (Τζερνιγωγα), Vyshgorod (Βουσεγραδε), Vitechev (Βιτετζεβη), Kiev (Κια(ο)βα). Some of these cities had alternate names in Old Norse, and Constantine quotes some of them: Novgorod = Νεμογαρδα = Hólmgarðr = "island enclosure", and Nýgarðr = "new enclosure"; Kiev = Kœnugarðr = "boatyard" and Σαμβατας = Sandbakki-áss = "sandbank ridge". Then, these sailboats were transported along the Dnieper to Kiev. There, they were sold to the Varangians who re-equipped them and loaded them with merchandise. [link]
On the Dnieper the Varangians had to portage their ships round seven rapids and at each they had to watch out for Pecheneg nomads. The old and modern names of those rapids are:-
| modern name | Constantine's spellings | original form | meanings | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Norse | Slavonic | Norse | Slavonic | Norse | Slavonic | modern name | |
| Εσσουπη | Εσσουπη | Sof eigi | Ne sǔpi | don't sleep | |||
| Surskij; Lochanskij | Ουλβορσι | Οστροβουνιπραχ | Holmfors | Ostrovǐnyj pragǔ | island-waterfall | the severe one; ? | |
| Zvonets(kij) | Γελανδρι | Gellandi | roaring | clanger | |||
| Nenasytets(kij) | Αειφορ | Νεασητ | Eyforr | Nejasytǐ | ever violent | pelican (which nested there) | the insatiable |
| Volnyj, Volninskij | Βαρουφορος | Βουλνηπραχ | Bárufors | Vlǔnǐnyj pragǔ | wave-waterfall | [place] of waves | |
| Tavolzhanskij | Λεαντι | Βερουτζη | Hlæjandi | Vǐruchi | laughing (ref. noise of water) | ? | |
| Lishnij | Στρουκουν | Ναπρεζη | Strukum | Naprjazi? Na bǔrzǔ? | [at the] rapids | bend, strain? quick? | superfluous |
Afterwards 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 Gregory Island (Khortitsa 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 (Old Norse: Mikligarðr, Slavic: Tsarigrad).
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 waterway leading to the Caspian Sea. Another offshoot was along the Dnieper and the Usyazh-Buk River towards Lukoml and Polotsk. 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. Kiev used to trade bread, handmade goods, silver coins etc. Volhyn traded spinning wheels and other items. Certain kinds of weapon and handicrafts used to come from Scandinavia. Northern Rus' offered timber, fur, honey and wax, the Baltic tribes traded amber.
In the second half of the 11th century, Rus' strengthened its commercial ties with Western Europe, and the route from the Varangians to the Greeks gradually lost its significance.
References
- [An English translation of Constantine VII's account]
- pp 172-174, "Russian and the Slavonic Languages", by W.J.Entwistle and A.Morison, publ. Faber & Faber, 1949 & 1969.
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