Information about which path from the Varangians to the Greeks, that is, from the lands adjacent to the Baltic Sea to the Mediterranean countries, was chosen by our ancestors for trade travels, and sometimes military campaigns, are kept in the yellowed pages of ancient chronicles. Having opened them, we will try to feel that era long sunk into oblivion and trace the route of fearless merchant travelers.

Waterways - predecessors of land roads

In those times, the description of which is contained in the Tale of Bygone Years - the most ancient compilation of chronicles, the authorship of which is attributed to the St. Nestor the Chronicler of Kiev, there were no roads in our understanding of this word yet. But since the development of trade relations required constant traveling, rivers, which Europe is very rich in, became alternative routes of communication.

It was along these waterways that merchant boats moved, filled with goods that they delivered to neighboring countries. Over time, travelers began to give preference to certain, most convenient routes for themselves, from which already certain trade routes were formed, the movement along which became more and more intensive every decade.

The longest trade route

The formation of such trade routes had a very beneficial effect on the inhabitants of the coastal regions. Their settlements grew rich, gradually became trading centers, and some of them eventually turned into cities. In addition, river and sea communications, connecting the economically developed West with the rich countries of the East, contributed to the establishment of international relations, as well as the development of world culture.

One of these highways was the trade route from the Varangians to the Greeks, described in detail by the chronicler Nestor. It is considered the longest known to science. Its length only across the territory of ancient Russia was about 2850 kilometers, and it ran not only along rivers and lakes, but partly overland, where the boats had to be dragged.

From the harsh Baltic to the shores of sunny Hellas

The route from the Varangians to the Greeks is a trade route connecting the economically developed centers of the Baltic Sea coast (the chronicler calls him Varangian) with Central Russia, and later with its numerous appanage principalities. Then he went to the steppe expanses of the Black Sea region, which at that time were a refuge for nomads, and, having overcome the Black Sea, reached Byzantium - the eastern territory of the once powerful, but by that time disintegrated Roman Empire. Leaving behind the bustling markets of Constantinople, the northern merchants continued on their way to the Mediterranean, where wealthy coastal cities awaited them. Let us consider in more detail the trade route from the Varangians to the Greeks and dwell on its main stages.

The beginning of a long journey

It is believed that it took its origin on Lake Mälaren, located on the territory of modern Sweden. On the island, located in its center, to this day there is a settlement called Birka, which in ancient times was a large trade center, where goods were brought from all over Scandinavia, and where there was a brisk trade. This is evidenced by ancient coins from different states found during recent archaeological excavations.

From there, the boats loaded with goods went out to the Baltic and moved to the large trading center, the inhabitants of which derived considerable benefits from commercial operations, and therefore warmly welcomed guests. Having made a number of intermediate trade deals there and replenishing their stocks, merchants, following along the Baltic coast, entered the mouth of the Neva and, climbing along it, fell into Lake Ladoga.

From the Ladoga open spaces to Novgorod

It should be noted that the journey from the Varangians to the Greeks was an extremely difficult and dangerous undertaking. Not only sea sections of the route, but also river and lake sections, were fraught with many dangers. Already at the beginning of the journey, overcoming the Neva rapids, it was necessary to pull the boats to the shore, and drag them a considerable distance, which required considerable strength and endurance. As for Ladoga, notorious for its sudden storms, it sometimes concealed mortal danger for travelers.

Further, describing the detailed path from the Varangians to the Greeks, the chronicler reports that from the caravans of ships they ascended and, reaching Novgorod, the first large Russian city that they met on their way, stayed there for a long time. Some merchants, not wanting to continue their further journey and thus tempt fate, having sold their goods in the Novgorod markets and bought a new one, turned back.

On the way to the Dnieper

Those who certainly wanted to enrich themselves on the sunny shores of the Mediterranean continued on their way. Leaving Novgorod, they climbed the Volkhov and, having reached, followed up the Lovat River that fell into it. Further, the merchants, who sat in the boats among the bales of goods, had the opportunity to stretch their legs: after passing Lovat, they had to pull their ships ashore and, using log rollers, drag them to the bank of the Western Dvina.

On its ancient shores, trade was resumed, and here Slavic merchants joined the Scandinavians in large numbers, also heading for the cities of the Mediterranean in search of profit. All of them ahead faced new hardships, since between the basins and the Dnieper, where their path lay, there was a pedestrian crossing, coupled with the same dragging on dry land, albeit small, but loaded with goods, ships.

Trade in the cities of the Dnieper region

Once in the waters of the Dnieper, on the banks of which they were met by such large cities as Smolensk, Chernigov, Lyubich and, finally, the mother of Russian cities - Kiev, travelers received a worthy reward for all the labors they had incurred. In each of them there was a brisk trade, due to which the sold goods were replaced by newly purchased ones, and the voluminous merchant purses acquired a pleasant roundness.

Here, as in Novgorod, some of the travelers completed their journey and from here returned home with a new load. Then only the most desperate followed, because in those ancient times the journey from the Varangians to the Greeks was, in fact, a challenge to fate, so many unforeseen and unpredictable daredevils could expect.

Way over the sea

Their further adventures began immediately at the Dnieper rapids, which in those years represented a serious danger to navigation, since the boats had to be dragged along the coast, where they were already awaited by ambushes of nomads, who sounded the banks with the whistle of their arrows. But even those who managed to safely pass these ruinous places and go to the Black Sea, still could not breathe a sigh of relief - new dangers awaited them ahead.

But now, having finally reached the opposite bank, the merchants kept by fate found themselves in the rich and luxurious capital of Byzantium - Constantinople, which the Slavs used to call Constantinople. Here, in noisy and polyphonic markets, the brought goods were sold at a profit, giving way to new stocks.

The crown of labor and the return home

The path from the Varangians to the Greeks, a description of which we find in Nestor the Chronicler, continued further through the waters of the Mediterranean Sea. He led those who managed to avoid storms, fevers, or encounters with pirates who ruled the waterways to blessed Rome, as well as other wealthy cities in Italy and Greece. This was the end point of the journey - the result of many months of work. However, it was too early to thank fate for her favor - an equally dangerous return journey lay ahead.

In order to return home and enter under their native shelter, merchants led their caravans to the Atlantic across the Mediterranean and, skirting the entire coast of Western Europe, reached the Scandinavian shores. Trying to minimize the risk and moving as close to the coast as possible, they stopped in all the major coastal cities, where they also conducted their endless sale and purchase. Thus, the path from the Varangians to the Greeks, a brief description of which became the topic of this article, went around the whole of Europe and ended at its starting point.

Assortment of merchant goods

What did those who made such a difficult and dangerous path from the Varangians to the Greeks trade? The cities located along the shores of the seas and rivers through which their route ran had their own individual economic characteristics, and this, of course, affected the range of both imported and exported goods. It is well known, for example, that Volyn and Kiev offered in large quantities, and therefore at very similar prices, bread, silver, weapons and all kinds of products of local artisans.

The inhabitants of Novgorod generously supplied the market with fur of fur-bearing animals, honey, wax, and most importantly - timber, cheap and available in their regions and extremely scarce in the south. Since the path from the Varangians to the Greeks passed through a large number of cities and even countries with different characteristics of the economy, the range of goods was constantly changing.

The common thing, as a rule, was that the merchants began their campaign by thoroughly filling the boats with the primordial gifts of the Baltic countries: weapons, amber and timber. And they came back loaded with spices, overseas wines, books, expensive fabrics and pieces of jewelry.

The influence of the trade route on the development of the state

According to the most authoritative researchers, the path from the Varangians to the Greeks was the most important factor that influenced the development of international relations of that era. It was thanks to him that Ancient Russia established relations with Byzantium, from where Christianity and various technical innovations came to it, as well as with the states of the Mediterranean.

He influenced the internal life of the Old Russian state, linking two such large centers as Novgorod and Kiev. In addition, thanks to such a well-established route for merchant caravans, each nearby city was able to freely sell the goods widespread in its regions. This had the most favorable effect on the country's economy as a whole.

Trade route that became the road of war

As is known from the annals, and primarily from the Tale of Bygone Years, many ancient Russian commanders used the path from the Varangians to the Greeks in their campaigns. The rivers, which served as highways for trade communications, in these cases became the roads of war.

As an example, we can cite Prince Oleg, nicknamed the Prophet and widely known for the immortal poem of A.S. Pushkin. In 880, using the already well-known river route, he and his squad managed to reach Kiev and seize it.

Having also subjugated all the cities that met along the road, the prince thereby united most of the Slavic lands. Thus, the path from the Varangians to the Greeks, briefly described by the chronicler Nestor, played a significant role in the creation of a unified Russian state.

Further, in 907, Prince Oleg, using the same waterway, made his historical campaign against Byzantium, took possession of Constantinople and, having nailed his own shield on its gates as a sign of victory, concluded a number of profitable trade and political agreements.

By the same route in 941, making a military campaign, his successor, Prince Igor, reached the shores of the Bosphorus. In addition, one can recall the names of Prince Svyatoslav, nicknamed for his military leadership talent by the ancient Russian Alexander the Great, Alexander Nevsky and many others who skillfully used the waterway trodden by the merchants.

The long-established and familiar expression "the way from the Varangians to the Greeks" is heard not only among historians and archaeologists, but also among ordinary people: schoolchildren, history teachers at school and others. What does this mean? Different experts see the content of this expression slightly differently. In my opinion, it is more correct to understand this as a definition of a certain geographic space, during which cultural and trade relations were carried out between different peoples and tribes. This space at one end included Northern Europe and Scandinavia, and at the other - the Balkan world and Byzantium, and between them - Eastern Europe and Ancient Russia. Relatively recently, the understanding of the path from the Varangians to the Greeks, not as a well-planned transport route, but rather as a direction along which various kinds of contacts were made, was proposed by the famous archaeologist E.N. Nosov.

The history of the name "path ..."

The very expression "the way from the Varangians to the Greeks" actually sounds a little different from what we are used to. In the undated part of the Tale of Bygone Years, Nestor the chronicler says: "the path from the Varangians to the Greeks and from the Greeks to ...". Apparently, a two-way traffic was meant - not only from Scandinavia to Byzantium, but also from Byzantium to the north.

Archaeological finds related to the Eastern European section of the route from the Varangians to the Greeks have been known since the 19th century. It was then that the first excavations were carried out on the southern shore of Lake Ladoga, in the lower reaches of the Volkhov, on the Upper Dnieper in Gnezdovo (near Smolensk), in the Middle Dnieper region, primarily in Kiev, and also in Chernigov. In the mounds dating back to the end of the 9th and 10th centuries, Arab and Byzantine coins, expensive glazed utensils, Scandinavian jewelry, etc. were found. By the way, at the same time, excavations of the famous Swedish monument Birka took place, in the mounds of which eastern and Byzantine coins, Byzantine textiles were discovered ... And by the beginning of the 20th century, archaeologists and numismatists had collected significant material that could illustrate the words of the Old Russian chronicle about the legendary path.

Geography of the path

The path itself in a rather general way and without specific details is described in the annals in the introduction, which tells about the glades and the journey of the legendary Apostle Andrew, who visited the northern peoples: When the glades lived separately in the mountains, this was the way from the Varangians to the Greeks and from the Greeks along the Dnieper, and in the upper reaches of the Dnieper it was dragged to Lovati, and along Lovati you can enter Ilmen, a great lake; Volkhov flows out of this lake and flows into Lake Great Nevo, and the mouth of that lake flows into the Varangian Sea". As we know, the Volkhov River flows into Lake Ladoga, which is connected to the Gulf of Finland by the Neva River. But in those days, the Neva was not just a river, but a much wider water channel. Therefore, some written sources of the X-XI centuries did not separate Lake Ladoga and the Gulf of Finland at all, their Lake Nevo is just part of the Gulf of Finland and Ladoga at the same time.

// Image: wikipedia.org

So, the chronicler said that along the Volkhov one can get to the "great lake Nebo", and the mouth of the same lake flows into the Varangian Sea, and "on that sea one can sail to Rome." The Varangian Sea is the Baltic Sea. To sail along it to Rome, in fact, you need to go around the whole of Europe and, having passed numerous straits, enter the Mediterranean Sea. And the chronicler notes that from Rome you can sail along the same sea to Constantinople and from there to the Pontus Sea, that is, into the Black Sea, into which the Dnieper flows. This is how the circle closes. If we look at the map, we will see that the route described in the chronicle (if we do not pay attention to the words that from the Varangian Sea to get to Rome) is in fact a whole system of rivers included in the basins of the Dnieper, Western Dvina and Volkhov, which forms the Baltic-Dnieper route, connecting the Baltic Sea with the Black Sea.

But, besides this, there is also another system of rivers that connects the Baltic Sea with the Caspian. From the Ilmen basin, the Msta and Pola rivers went out to the Upper Volga, from where the path lay further down the Volga to the Caspian Sea through the Khazar limits - this is the so-called Baltic-Volga route. It is easy to see that both routes have a common northern section connected with the Volkhov. Thus, the Scandinavians who came to Lake Ilmen had a choice: to sail south, to Constantinople, or east for Arab silver. In this regard, I note that the Eastern route, or Austrweg, known from Scandinavian sources (that is, all the routes by which the Scandinavians reached the southeastern coast of the Baltic Sea or moved to Russia), at some time included the Baltic-Dnieper option , which we traditionally consider as the path from the Varangians to the Greeks.

Natural conditions

Many researchers tried to understand how the routes could actually pass through the vast expanse of Eastern Europe, along which rivers it would be more convenient to wade from north to south or from south to north, they carefully studied geographical maps, analyzed the ratio of river systems. In addition, messages from written sources of different times were considered: commercial letters of the XII-XIV centuries, sagas, notes of travelers of the XVI-XVII centuries, etc. A comprehensive study of various types of sources, including archaeological and numismatic, allows you to answer some questions about the conditions, the ways and time of using the route from the Varangians to the Greeks, the length of which was about 2000 kilometers only across the territory of Eastern Europe (and from the coast of Central Sweden to Constantinople - more than 4000 kilometers).

It is quite obvious that it was not so easy to go from Lake Nevo to the mouth of the Dnieper or vice versa, and not only because in a number of cases in some areas the boats had to move against the current, which is difficult. In most cases, the northern territory, along which the path outlined by specialists passed, in the 9th-10th centuries was sparsely populated or completely deserted. One of the serious obstacles was the river rapids, where the rapid current and stones threatened to sink the boats of the warrior merchants. For example, moving from Ladoga up the Volkhov, it was necessary to overcome the Volkhov and Pchev rapids, which greatly impeded movement on water for a total of almost 20 kilometers. In total, according to some authors, the total length of the thresholds to be overcome on this highway could reach up to 200 kilometers.

Lake Ilmen is also very stormy, you have to be able to walk along it even now. Continuing from Ilmen the path to the south along the Lovat River, again one must go against the current, and to a certain place, closer to the upper reaches of the river. From Lovat, you can get to the Dnieper only using a network of small rivers that flow into the Western Dvina from the left side, from the south - they are connected by their upper reaches with the right tributaries of the Dnieper. Such rivers could be Zherespeya and Kasplya, in the basin of which well-known rare finds - Scandinavian jewelry and oriental coins - were discovered. It should be borne in mind that in the middle reaches of the Kaspli, up to the beginning of the 19th century, a significant rapids area is known.

The Dnieper in its upper part flows from east to south-west, and it was relatively calm to sail along it until the place where it turns sharply to the south - this is approximately in the Orsha region, near this place are the Kobelyatsky rapids. And in the lower reaches of the Dnieper, in the area flooded by the Dnieper reservoir, there were nine more serious rapids described by the Byzantine emperor Constantine Porphyrogenitus in the middle of the 10th century. The Slavic and Scandinavian names of these thresholds, given by the emperor, are quite expressive: Do not sleep, Sparkling, Raging, Insatiable and others. For us, the message of Konstantin Porphyrogenitus is important that monoxyls, collected in spring in Kiev from different lands: from Novgorod, Smolensk, Lyubech, Vyshgorod, Chernigov, are sailing to Constantinople - and here they are largely re-equipped. Judging by the description of the difficulties that the Rus experienced when passing the Dnieper rapids, some repair of the boat might have been required even after overcoming other rapids, for example, on Volkhov or Kaspla. In this regard, the observations of archaeologists about the emergence of a chain of small settlements along the banks of the Volkhov in the area of ​​the rapids I mentioned, as well as the finds of ship boards with rivets used in the construction of one of the buildings in the layers of Staraya Ladoga of the 10th century, are interesting.

Travel process

If we talk about the route from the Varangians to the Greeks, then for the Scandinavians it could start on the island of Gotland, and in one of the coastal points of Central Sweden, and in other places. Travel through the Baltic Sea and further to the lower reaches of the Volkhov could be carried out on a ship (boat) of a rather large size - at least 16 meters in length with a width of more than 2 meters, such a boat had at least 8-10 pairs of oars and a sail. But sea boats could not pass along the rivers: they are too large and heavy, although the draft of the Viking ships, it is believed, was no more than a meter. Such a slight draft helped them to be very active during predatory campaigns to coastal territories in Western Europe: they landed directly on the coast. But with the depths of Eastern Europe, it did not work out that way. Now, among experts, the opinion is increasingly being confirmed that the Scandinavian sea vessels reached approximately to Ladoga, and there merchants or soldiers were transferred to a smaller boat. River single-tree boats could also have a sail, but the number of rowers was less. Experiments were carried out on the passage of such boats along small rivers, which showed that the most acceptable size of a boat for the internal rivers of Eastern Europe is no more than 12 meters in length (preferably up to 10 meters), and the draft is no more than half a meter.

// Image: Dragging. N.K. Roerich, 1915. (c) wikipedia.org

The rapids had to either be overcome by boats or by land. Overcome on boats - this means that they need to be led through the rapids, partially unloading, leaning on poles, or by pulling the string. This means that people are needed who know how to get through these thresholds, and know how to do it. And for the passage on land, you need to imagine where to go through the forest and how to drag boats along the ground. Drags were usually represented as follows: boats were dragged ashore, wheels or rollers were substituted under them, and rolled or dragged using mossy swampy terrain. In the early 1990s, it was suggested that the route from the Varangians to the Greeks could combine land and water sections, and its northern part within Eastern Europe could be rather productively used in winter: rolling boats on ice is easier than dragging them along the shore, sleds could also be used. By the way, in one of the sagas it was reported about the Scandinavians' journey from Novgorod to Ladoga in winter, that is, on the Volkhov ice or along the river.

How long did the journey take and when did it start? From the message of Constantine Porphyrogenitus, as well as from the numerous references in the Scandinavian sagas, it follows that the beginning of the journey from north to south in most cases fell on the spring and only sometimes in the fall - in this case, travelers had to interrupt their journey and winter, staying, for example , in Ladoga until next spring.

In 1980, the Swedes proposed to go from the Varangians to the Greeks on boats, but since they were not given permission to go through the territory of the Soviet Union, another version of the experimental campaign was developed - through Poland and Romania. The expedition climbed up the Vistula, then the boats moved to the Western Bug, then to the Tisza and went to the Danube. Using paddles and sail and passing about 20 kilometers per day, the expedition covered the distance from the coast of Central Sweden to the lower Danube in a little more than three months. Comparing the length of the routes, it can be assumed that the journey to Constantinople along the Baltic-Dnieper route should have taken no less than three months. This was confirmed by the results of the Swedish-Russian project implemented in stages in 2012–2014. Only the passage through the stormy Baltic from Birka to the mouth of the Neva took 11 days.

Archaeological evidence

The most expressive sign of the directions of trade routes is usually considered to be the topography of treasures and finds of "imported" items. In our case, we will focus mainly on the finds of Arab silver coins, items of Scandinavian and Byzantine origin. Numismatic materials play an important role in the study of the path from the Varangians to the Greeks. From the end of the VIII century, Arab silver began to enter the territory of Eastern Europe and Scandinavia - Arab coins that were minted in different centers of Western Asia or North Africa. For the Scandinavians, Arab silver was the embodiment of wealth, a source of raw jewelry, and it prompted to look for ways to its sources.

The first treasures of Arabian silver from the late 8th - first third of the 9th century were found in Gotland, in Central Sweden and at the mouth of the Neva, in the Staraya Ladoga region, on the Upper Volga, as well as in the space between the Western Dvina and the Upper Dnieper. But the bulk of such finds of the 8th – 9th centuries are located in the Baltic-Volga section. There is a very interesting Peterhof treasure, buried at the beginning of the 9th century. This treasure contains Arabic coins with graffiti - Scandinavian and Turkic runes. And on one coin the Greek name Zacharias is scrawled - is this not evidence of one of the first contacts of the Scandinavians with Byzantium thanks to the path from the Varangians to the Greeks? The second interesting find is a treasure from the first third of the 9th century, among the oriental coins of which one stands out - this is the so-called Hedeby semi-bractate, a coin issued in one of the early city centers of Northern Europe.

The topography of the Scandinavian finds on the territories of the Baltic-Dnieper route suggests that in the second half of the 9th century, the contacts of the Scandinavians with the population of the ancient Russian territories were already quite stable. Most of the finds are associated with two points: with Staraya Ladoga in the lower reaches of the Volkhov and the Rurik settlement at the source of the Volkhov, from where several small treasures of eastern coins originate. In addition, there are some known finds of things of Scandinavian origin and oriental coins in small rural settlements of the Volkhov region. The interfluve of the Western Dvina and the Dnieper gives a series of separate Scandinavian finds and treasures of Arabian silver dating from the 9th century. But to the south of the interfluve, on the left bank of the Dnieper and further downstream, there are practically no such complexes. One gets the impression that the Dnieper part of the route from the Varangians to the Greeks until the 10th century is unknown or almost unknown to the Scandinavians. Some historians half-jokingly say that in Askold and Dir, who appeared in Kiev in 863, one can see Varangian pioneers. If this is true, then Oleg's campaign with the Varangian squad from Novgorod (or Ladoga) to Kiev in 882 fits into the process of its development. Indirectly confirmed by the first attempts to develop the Dnieper section of the route from the Varangians to the Greeks, in my opinion, rare finds of Byzantine coins of the 9th - early 10th centuries, known in the territory of Central Sweden, mainly in Birka.

// Image: Painted copy of the Varangian runestone telling about the dangers of the Dnieper rapids (c) wikipedia.org

The functioning of the route from the Varangians to the Greeks, understood as a kind of space and direction of contacts, for the 10th century is largely associated with the vigorous activity of immigrants from Scandinavia, archaeological data on the presence of which are concentrated on such monuments as Staraya Ladoga and the Ryurik settlement in Povolkhovye, Gnezdovo on Upper Dnieper, Kiev and Shestovitsa (vicinity of Chernigov) in the Middle Dnieper region. Most of the finds of Byzantine origin are also associated with these points.

Trade on the way from the Varangians to the Greeks

What could be transported from north to south? First, furs: marten, sable, beaver skins. These goods went to Byzantium and along the Volga road to the Khazars and further to the east. Precious furs from the northern forests of Eastern Europe were apparently exported to Scandinavia - at least, some sagas mention this.

Furs, traditional honey and wax are commodities known to us only from written data, and they cannot be traced archaeologically. Arab authors report that the Rus (here the Rus are Scandinavians, different from the Slavs, noted on the Volga Route), in addition to furs, also carry slaves. The fact that the slaves were taken along the Dnieper route is also reported by Konstantin Porphyrogenitus when he describes how difficult it is to pass the Dnieper rapids. He says that there the boats were unloaded, the slaves were landed on the shore and, accompanied by the soldiers, these slaves moved part of the cargo further down, while the boats were dragged over the rapids, and after overcoming the rapids they were again put on boats and the caravan moved on. Slaves, as a rule, became prisoners captured during hostilities, of course, mainly representatives of the local tribes of Eastern Europe. Some experts believe that raw iron in the form of commercial bars could have come from Scandinavia to the territory of Eastern Europe, but this requires proof.

To the north, up the Dnieper and Volkhov, both mass and exclusive goods were carried, of interest to certain layers of both Scandinavian and Old Russian society. Glass jewelry: beads, rings and bracelets are not too expensive, unlike glass vessels. Although glass bracelets decorated with gold painting, of course, cannot be attributed to a mass product - their finds for the 10th century are rare. Glass beads of various shapes and colors are well known in the materials of many Slavic and Scandinavian mounds of the 10th century. Glass vessels are a rare find, found only in some of the richest burials. Silk (pavoloks of the ancient Russian chronicle), gold fabrics and braid, polychrome and monochrome glazed ceramics from the imperial workshops are all also expensive goods. The export of silk from Byzantium was generally limited, those pieces of textiles that were allowed to be bought had to be sealed with a special seal and received permission for export. In passing, I note that the finds of Byzantine textiles are also known from the materials of the Swedish Birka and some other burial grounds in Sweden.

One of the most archaeologically noticeable group of Byzantine imports is amphorae - a container in which oil, wine, and spices were transported. But it is believed that in the X century, only a few specimens of amphorae of the Byzantine cultural circle penetrated into Russia, fragments of which are known from excavations of such monuments as Staraya Ladoga, Ryurikovo settlement, Gnezdovo, Kiev, Shestovitsa. For the 11th century, fragments of amphora containers were noted in Kiev, Novgorod, Pskov and other large cities.

// Image: Varangians in Byzantium. Illustration from the Chronicle of Skylitsa (c) wikipedia.org

In addition to the Varangians, the local population also participated in the trade, especially those who lived in the area of ​​those places where they stopped to repair and replenish supplies. In addition, furs for sale were harvested using polyuds. On the way, the local population exchanged furs for jewelry, glass, carnelian, crystal beads. If the Scandinavians brought their iron bars, then they probably could also exchange them for something.

We do not know for sure who and how equipped the ships for travel along the way. We can only assume that the boats, military or commercial, went in a caravan. One boat is five pairs of oars, that is, ten people oarsmen, besides them, there must be at least the same number of soldiers on the boat, a kind of guard. When the boats had to be dragged over the rapids, someone had to deal directly with this work, and someone had to lead and protect goods and slaves. On average, a caravan of 5–6 boats included about 100–150 people. The main movement along these paths took place in early autumn and then in spring - at the beginning of summer, because in summer there is little water, and in spring and autumn, due to rains and melting snows, the water level in the rivers rose slightly.

The further fate of the path from the Varangians to the Greeks

The path, of course, has not ceased to exist. Rather, the nature of its use and meaning has changed somewhat. Routes may have changed on specific sites. So, in the XI century, the through route Dnieper - Western Dvina - Baltic Sea was formed and became more active. Previously, it functioned only on separate sections in the upper and lower reaches of the Western Dvina. Of course, in the XI-XII centuries, because of the restless Polovtsy, the southern section of the route in the lower reaches of the Dnieper remained as dangerous as before under the Pechenegs in the X century. But the massive import of Byzantine goods in amphorae to the ancient Russian territory can be traced in the XII - the first half of the XIII century. The appearance of amphorae and Byzantine textiles in the materials of rural monuments of Rus was noted earlier - in the 11th – 12th centuries. The Scandinavians' acquaintance with this path and the centers located on it is confirmed by the mention of such ancient Russian cities as Novgorod, Smolensk, Polotsk, Kiev, in the sagas and Scandinavian geographical works of the XII-XIII centuries.

The waterway "from the Varangians to the Greeks" was also called the Varangian or Eastern. It connected the north (Baltic Sea) and south (Byzantium), remaining one of the most important and demanded until the 12th century. The route was of great importance for Russian merchants who could trade with Constantinople and the Scandinavian countries, although initially the Varangians used the road to attack Europe.

Route length

The path "from the Varangians to the Greeks" ran only along the water surface: rivers, lakes and seas. In the conditions of the IX-X centuries. It was extremely convenient for those who wanted to get from one point to another as soon as possible.

It should be noted right away that the names "Varangians" and "Greeks" do not fully correspond to modern ones. The Varangians on the map are Scandinavian inhabitants, usually hired soldiers, while the Greeks in Ancient Rus were the inhabitants of Byzantium, who spoke Greek. The route "from the Varangians to the Greeks" took the following route:

1. It began on the Scandinavian Peninsula in one of the major trading cities - Sigtuna or Birke. It could also start on the island of Gotland or on the southern coast of the Baltic Sea - in Szczecin, Starigard, Vineta or Ralsvik.
2. Then he passed through the Baltic (Varangian) Sea and went out through the Gulf of Finland.
3. After that, the ships followed the Neva River to Lake Ladoga.
4. They sailed the Volkhov River into Lake Ilmen, followed the Lovat and Dnepr rivers.
5. Through the Black Sea, ships reached Constantinople (Tsargrad), present-day Istanbul.

We swam in the same way in the opposite direction.

Geographic features

It is quite easy to trace the road "from the Varangians to the Greeks" on the map; there you can also see that it connected Northern Europe with South Europe. The route was over 2 thousand kilometers long. Travelers had to have strong and reliable ships that would make it easy to travel such a distance. Usually boats were of considerable size (from 16 m in length and 2 m in width), they were equipped with sails and several pairs of oars (at least 8-10).

Most often, travelers walked along the rivers in spring and summer, few set off in autumn, as the approaching winter blocked the road with ice. Travelers often had to stop in cities for the winter. Other features of the path:

1. Heading towards Byzantium, the ships had to sail along the Volkhov and Lovat rivers against the current. In the opposite direction, we had to move against the current of the entire Dnieper.
2. There is no water passage between Lovat and Dnieper (more precisely, between Lovat - Dvina, Dvina and Dnieper), that is, travelers had to pull ships on themselves for several kilometers.
3. Some historians believe that the travelers did not sail on one ship, but changed from heavy sea to lighter and more mobile river ones. The latter were no more than 10-12 meters long and sank only half a meter into the water. Most often they were transplanted twice. After the passage of the Baltic Sea, sea vessels were changed for river ones. The second time they transplanted in the Black Sea: they mainly used Byzantine merchant ships of the Mediterranean type.
4. Many rivers were difficult to navigate due to the large number of rapids, and lakes Ladoga and Ilmen were shaken by storms.

Despite all the difficulties, the waterway is much safer and cheaper than the overland one: there was no need to feed the horses and change them, the travelers also fished for themselves. In addition, robbers lay in wait for many merchants on the banks, from whom it was easier to break away along the rivers.

Historical meaning

Historians still cannot establish exactly who first discovered this path. There are two points of view:

1. The development proceeded from the north, and was first discovered by the king (supreme ruler) Ivar the Acquirer (Wide Arms) in the 7th century. Descriptions in Scandinavian sources indicate that the discovery was made by Eirik the Traveler. This is indirectly confirmed by the beginning of the raids of the Scandinavians on the southern coast of the Black Sea and the Crimea.
2. Monk Nestor, author of The Tale of Bygone Years, gave a detailed definition and description of the path, but in the opposite direction - from the Greeks to the Varangians. He also mentions that the Apostle Andrew passed this way from the south, preaching the Gospel. However, this event could have happened only in the 1st century AD. BC, which makes Nestor's story somewhat implausible.

Most historians today adhere to the first version. In the 9th century, the Scandinavian Vikings raided Europe, they probably traveled part of the way by rivers, gradually opening the way to Byzantium. But the warlike northern inhabitants brought more than just destruction. At that time, princes with a retinue already ruled on their lands, there was a well-thought-out religion, while the Slavic tribes only formed tribal alliances. It is not surprising that Rurik, the first ruler summoned by the Russians, came to Ancient Russia this way.

For some time the Varangian route was used for military purposes and robberies, gradually the Vikings were ousted by merchants from all adjacent lands. However, the first merchants were the Vikings themselves, who brought Slavic slaves to Byzantium. In the XI century, villages and fortresses were gradually lined up along the entire route, people who were engaged in servicing ships and travelers settled.

With the development of trade, the path itself decreased. Now the merchants did not need to sail all the way from the Baltic to the Black Sea - it was enough to deliver the goods to major transshipment points - Kiev and Novgorod. We traded in various goods:

1. Soldiers and slaves, raw iron, ambergris, whale skin things, and walrus bone were sent from Scandinavia. They also brought looted goods: French wines, jewelry and silver items, delicate fabrics.
2. Amber came from the Baltic States.
3. Northern Russia (Novgorod) supplied furs (furs), flax and leather, resin, honey and wax, forests, forged utensils and ceramics.
4. Southern Russia (Kiev) traded in bread, silver, handicrafts.
5. Constantinople sold dishes, fabrics, wines, books, icons, glass and jewelry, spices.

Each side supplied its own weapons and products of its artisans and artists.

It is worth noting that with the development of trade, the role of raids did not diminish: even after the accession of Rurik, the Slavs continued to go to Constantinople for prey.

The path experienced the greatest significance in the X-XI centuries. ekah under the princes Svyatoslav Igorevich and Vladimir Svyatoslavovich. Since the 12th century, its role began to decline. This was facilitated by the fragmentation of the Russian state, the decline of Byzantium and the subsequent transfer of the center of trade to Venice, the capture of the Lower and Middle Dnieper by the Horde.

The sea road "from the Varangians to the Greeks" existed for about 250 years, but its significance for the development of Russia is enormous. At first, the Varangians used this route in raids, then merchants began to actively cross it, thanks to which large trading cities appeared and developed on the territory of the Russian lands - Kiev and Novgorod. The first Russian prince Rurik passed the same way.

- Sigtuny, Birka or Visby and the southern coast of the Baltic - Volina (Vineta, Jomsburg), Starigard, Ralsvik on Rügen, Szczecin passed through the Baltic Sea through the Gulf of Finland, then along the Neva River (there were rapids here), along the stormy Ladoga Lake, the Volkhov River ( one more rapids) to Lake Ilmen. From there - up the rivers Lovat, Kunya, Seryozha; then in the area of ​​the present village of Volok by dragging into the Toropa River, which flows into the Western Dvina. Down the Dvina - to Kaspli, and along this river - up to its source from Lake Kaspla, where in the area of ​​the settlement of Gnezdovo there was an ancient portage to the Katyn River, which flows into the Dnieper. Further, the path went out into the Black Sea, bypassing the Dnieper rapids. By sea - along the European coast (Rumeli coast) to Constantinople. Before going to the Black Sea, the ships required additional equipment. Near the mouth of the Dnieper on the island of Berezan or on the island of Khortitsa on the Dnieper, merchants made a stop for these purposes. Another stopping point existed on the Snake Island near the Danube Delta.

The path had numerous ramifications:

Parallel to it there was also the Eastern waterway "from the Varangians to the Persians" - through the Volga and the Caspian. And also the Western Route - along the Atlantic coast of Europe up to the port cities of Italy in the Mediterranean, which is confirmed by numerous written sources and archaeological finds.

There is also an opinion among historians that the Way "from the Varangians to the Greeks" split into three main directions: 1) Smolensk-Novgorod-Baltic - along it, starting from the 13th century, the main trade with the Hansa was going on; 2) "Greek" - according to it until the middle of the XIII century. communications between Kiev and Byzantium were carried out; 3) Kiev-Novgorodskoe - used mainly for internal trade and relations.

Alternative point of view

Meaning

The path arose at the beginning of the 9th century. (no later than 825-830), as evidenced by the finds of treasures of Arab silver coins - dirhams of the 1st quarter of the 9th century. It was of the greatest importance in the 10th - 1st third of the 11th centuries, that is, during the reign of Svyatoslav Igorevich and Vladimir, the Red Sun. In the 2nd half of the XI - the beginning of the XII centuries. Trade relations between Russia and Western Europe were strengthened, and the path "from the Varangians to the Greeks" gave way to the Pripyat-Buzhsky, West Dvinsky, and others.

Initially, this path, like the parallel ones, was used by the Varangians for predatory raids on the economically and culturally more developed cities and countries of Europe, as well as Byzantium. Subsequently, this route became an important trade route between Scandinavia, Northern Europe, rich Byzantium, and the East.

As they mastered this route, the Vikings settled on the adjacent lands and assimilated with the populated Slavic, Baltic and Finno-Ugric tribes. There were strong Slavic tribal unions that fought a fierce struggle with the Germanic tribes. At the time of the creation of tribal unions among the Eastern Slavs, the Baltic Slavs already had state formations with princes, squads, a detailed pagan religion, very close to East Slavic paganism. From here, there were constant migrations to the east, to the shores of Lake Ilmen. Rurik's invitation to reign at the Ilmen Slovenes in the city of Ladogev. Then he moved to Novgorod, which contributed to the further development of the state-principality of the Rurik dynasty. This case was very typical for all European history. Preserved information that the invited princes were relatives of the former local princely dynasty of Priilmen Slovenes. ... First in Novgorod (Rurikovo Gorodische) and Staraya Ladoga, and then in Smolensk and Kiev.

Over time, the importance of the trade route declined. The fragmentation of Russia, the centralization of the Scandinavian countries, the decline of Byzantium, when in 1204 the crusaders destroyed Constantinople and the center of world trade moved to the Republic of Venice and, finally, finally fell into decay when the Horde captured the Lower and Middle Dnieper, and put an end to the path "from the Varangians to the Greeks" .

Trade and robbery. Subsequent eras

Since in this historical era, among tribes like the Vikings, the border between trade (exchange of goods) and plunder was very unstable, it is difficult to say exactly when trade began to prevail over plunder and water piracy. Even after the formation of the state of the Rurik dynasty ("Kievan Rus"), the campaigns to Constantinople for "booty" did not stop.

In a later historical era, the same waterway and the same floating craft were used by the Zaporozhye Cossacks in their predatory campaigns to the capital of the Ottoman Empire Constantinople (Istanbul). Compare similar processes on the Volga-Caspian waterway - the campaign of the Cossacks led by Stepan Razin to Persia "for zipuns."

Basic swimming facilities

The Scandinavians used ships of the type of small knorr for trade navigation in the Baltic Sea and the rivers flowing into it, and from the XII century. - augers (Novgorodians called them "augers"). The advantage of the northern route was the ability to pass the skerries, that is, almost without leaving the open sea, from the shores of present-day Sweden to the mouth of the Gulf of Finland. This made it possible to use relatively small ships that could go up the rivers to Novgorod, where some of the goods were sold, some were bought, and all the cargo was loaded onto smaller vessels suitable for sailing along small Russian rivers.

Ancient Russian ships used to navigate both rivers and seas are commonly referred to as a boat (lodya). There were also "ships", attachments, skedi, beads and shitiks. According to Konstantin Porphyrogenitus (10th century), the Krivichi and other tribes in the spring carried to Miliniska (Smolensk) and Chernigoga (Chernigov) large dugout boats for 30-40 people - one-woods, which were then floated down the Dnieper to Kiev. Here they were refitted, loaded and sent down the river. After the rapids, on the island of Khortitsa or Berezan, boats were equipped with sails for sailing along the Black Sea coast. At the transfer sites - in the areas of Toropets and Smolensk, there was obviously an infrastructure associated with the portage - towers in the shallow upper reaches of the rivers, a tree passage with drags on the portage itself and people and animals serving them; there were also shipyards for small river boats.

For navigation in the Black Sea, Byzantine merchant ships of the Mediterranean type were also used. They did not have a special name and were simply called "naus", that is, a ship.

The escorting of ships along the skerries, bays and rivers was carried out under the guidance of people of a special profession: in Varangian they were called navigators, in Slavic - helmsmen, horners, and in Greek - cybernets.

see also

Notes (edit)

1. T.N.DZHAKSON. AUSTR í GÖRÐUM
2. Constantine Porphyrogenitus, X century.
3. L.A. Plechko. Ancient waterways. M., 1985.
4. Bernshtein-Kogan S.V. The way from the Varangians to the Greeks // Questions of geography. 1950. No. 20
5. Zvyagin Yu. Yu. The Way from the Varangians to the Greeks. A millennial mystery of history. M .: Veche, 2009
6. Nikitin A. L. Foundations of Russian history: Mythologemes and facts. M .: AGRAF, 2001
7. Tsvetkov S.E.Russian history. Book 1. M .: Tsentrpoligraf, 2003
8. Dnieper-Bug waterway
9. Gurevich A. Ya.Viking campaigns M .: KDU, 2005
10. Sawyer P. The Viking Age. SPb .: Publishing house "Eurasia", 2002
11. Sakharov A. N., Buganov V. I. History of Russia from ancient times to the end of the XU11 century. M, Enlightenment, 2003
12. Sphragistic shorter. Kyiv 2011, Institute of Ukrainian Archeography and Dzhereloznavstva IM. M. S. Hrushevsky National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine Art. 196, 197
13. Norman Knorr (XIII century). General form
14. Norman auger (late 13th century). General form
15. Russian combat boat (lodya). General form
16. Novgorod ship. General form
17. Prof. K. V. Bazilevich. From the history of sea voyages in the VII-XII centuries.
18. This is how the Smolensk portage imagines itself in the middle. XI century modern writer:
    “And the ropeway earnings, affordable, easy: a couple of horses pulls up a heavily loaded boat, and all that is needed for such a thing is one boy of about twelve years old. In addition, to add the work of maintaining the coastline, which was done by common forces by all who were engaged in fishing, each in his own place ... On the banks, instead of berths, platoons were made for boats, they are also descents. Two logs are sunk in at the ends, in Smolyan - "drowned by the water", in a dry place others are cut to their ends, then - the third. The span between the logs is two arshins, and a fathom, and more, so that any boat can enter from the water between the logs-passages. From the inside, the running logs are ironed with plows, greased with lard. Having guided the boat, ropes are wrapped around it behind the stern and pulled either by people or by horses. Lode goes easily until the end of the turns, which will have long paths with the same moves on them. Drogs are also different - by boat. Having tied the boat, they harness as many pairs of horses as needed, and take them down the road to the Dnieper along the same passages. This is an old business, the drafting craftsmen are experienced, they work quickly: they get money not for time, but in a row, it is more profitable for them to get rid of one business, to attach to another. There is not one artel on the drag, not two, not three. If you hesitate, they will beat off the customer. Each artel has its own platoons-descents, and the drag road is common. They also sell new boats. Old boatmen know how to choose a tree, to withstand a log, to steam out and bend the contours, to assemble a boat, to grind it, and it will serve you until your old age. They also build other boats, roughly made of thick planks and logs, suitable for sailing only down, for one voyage. These are very cheap, and they serve those merchants who go down to the steppe places, where, having sold the goods, they will also sell a boat for handicrafts, for fuel. The prince and his warriors had nothing to buy or sell, they were not going to change their boats. The crewmen, without hesitation, dragged both boats along greased passages with fat, set them on the road and drove them to the Dnieper. The road is about ten miles, no more. We passed it on foot, stretching our legs, slowly keeping up with the droves ... In total, three hours were spent from water to water. Few would have overcome the same distance, paddling against the current. The waterway is good when there is order on the passages. The drag is the head all the way. In the Smolensk land the main portages converged: from the Volga through Vazuza to the Dnieper; from the Dnieper to the Ugra or from the Ugra to the Dnieper near Dorogobuzh; from the Ugra to the Desna or from the Desna to the Ugra near Yelnya; from the Dnieper through Kasplya to Lovat at Usvyat; from Dvina Zapadnaya through Toropa at Toropets to Lovat; to the same Dvina through Kasplya. With the help of these drags, old, well-known, with skilled craftsmen, you can swim-drive to all Russian lands and cities and to all foreign possessions: to the Bulgars, Arabs, Turks, Greeks, Latins to Italy, to all Germans, to Danes, Swedes, Normans, French - in a word, here is the way to the whole wide world. " (Valentin Ivanov. Great Russia)
19. Mediterranean ship (late IX century). General form

Literature

• Slavs and Scandinavians = Wikinger und Slawen: Zur Frühgeschichte der Ostseevölker. - Akademie-Verlag, Berlin, 1982 / Per. with it .; Common ed. Cand. philol. Sciences E. A. Melnikova .. - M .: Progress, 1986. - 416, p. - 23,000 copies.

Links

The route "from the Varangians to the Greeks" is the conventional name of the waterway that ran along the rivers and led from the Baltic Sea to the Black Sea, to the shores of Byzantium. It was one of the key routes for its trade and cultural ties.

One of the most famous Old Russian testimonies of the path "from the Varangians to the Greeks" is contained in the Tale of Bygone Years by the monk Nestor: “There was a way from the Varangians to the Greeks and from the Greeks along the Dnieper, and in the upper reaches of the Dnieper there was a portage to Lovoti, and along Lovoti you can enter Ilmen, a great lake; from the same lake the Volkhov flows out and flows into the great lake Nero, and the mouth of that lake flows into the Varangian Sea. And on that sea you can sail to Rome, and from Rome you can sail along the same sea to Constantinople, and from Constantinople you can sail to the Pontus Sea, into which the Dnieper River flows "... Despite such a detailed description of the route and data from historical disciplines, modern science cannot determine the exact geography of the route.

Historians continue to argue who was the first to make this route. Nestor himself described it initially, rather, as a path "from the Greeks to the Varangians", focusing on the movement from south to north. Some sections of the route involved sailing against the flow of rivers, which still raises doubts among researchers. Nevertheless, the path was most likely initiated by the inhabitants of the northern lands. During the 9th century, almost all regions of Europe were affected by the expansion of the Scandinavians, the so-called movement. Penetrating into the north of the East European Plain, the Vikings met with the Slavs, and one of their eminent kings - became the head of the Ilmen Slovenes. In addition, one of the theories of the origin of the term “Rus” itself is the “northern” concept. According to her, a word derived from the Scandinavian verb "row" in the Finnish version ruotsi, called themselves the Viking squads, who passed on rowing ships along the rivers.

As for the specific names, according to the medieval Scandinavian sagas, the glory of the discoverer of the path "from the Varangians to the Greeks" belongs to the Danish king Eirik the Traveler. The saga says that the leader was looking for Odainsak - mythical gardens of immortality, which, according to legend, were somewhere in the East. In their search, Eirik the Traveler overcame many obstacles and ended up in the territories of future Rus and Byzantium. The events of this saga were also confirmed by archeology: scientists discovered Scandinavian household items characteristic of the Middle Ages in the places where the king followed.

An alternative point of view on this issue belongs to Swedish scientists. They argue that the path "from the Varangians to the Greeks" was known almost 100 years before the events of the saga. Scientists attribute the discovery of the path to Ivar Vidfamma, another Old Norse king who visited Constantinople. However, this version is not supported by material finds.

In general, the path "from the Varangians to the Greeks" became the main path both for the formation of the ancient Russian state and for trade and cultural exchange between northern and southern countries. It survived its heyday under the ancient Russian princes Svyatoslav and Vladimir the Holy in the X-XI centuries, and finally lost its significance after the capture of the Lower and Middle Dnieper during the Mongol invasion.