Varangians

thumb|upright=1.5|Map showing the major Varangian trade routes: the Volga trade route (in red) and the Dnieper and Dniester routes (in purple). Other trade routes of the 8th–11th centuries shown in orange.

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The Varangians were Norse merchants and warriors who established major trade routes through Eastern Europe from the 8th to 11th centuries, connecting Scandinavia to the Middle East and beyond via rivers like the Volga and Dnieper. They were historically significant because they facilitated extensive long-distance commerce across vast territories and played a foundational role in the early development of Eastern European states.

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Commons category: Varangians

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Article

11 sections

Contents

Etymology
Runestones
Kievan Rus'
Islamic world
Byzantine Empire
Varangian Guard
In popular culture
See also
References
Further reading
External links

The Varangians ( ; ; ; , or ) were Viking warriors, traders and settlers, mostly from present-day Sweden, who settled in the territories of present-day Belarus, Russia and Ukraine from the 8th and 9th centuries and established the state of Kievan Rus' as well as the principalities of Polotsk and Turov. They also formed the Byzantine Varangian Guard.