Varangians to the Greeks

The Dnieper river route linking Scandinavia and the Baltic with Constantinople from the 9th to 11th centuries.

Overview

Scandinavian traders and warriors known as Varangians or Rus sailed from the Baltic up the Volkhov to Novgorod, then dragged their boats over portages to the Dnieper and descended past Kyiv and the dangerous rapids to the Black Sea and Constantinople. They brought furs, wax, honey and slaves and returned with silk, wine, silver and Byzantine coins. Treaties between Kyivan Rus and Byzantium in the 10th century regulated their trade in the city. The route shaped the rise of Kyiv, carried Orthodox Christianity north after 988, and supplied the Varangian Guard of the emperors before declining as the Crusades opened other paths.