How was the way from the Varangians to the Greeks. The path from the Varangians to the Greeks and "from the Greeks to the Varangians
The famous Volkhov-Dnieper route "from the Varangians to the Greeks" occupies an exceptional place in the medieval history of Eastern Europe. After all, in addition to purely economic significance, it is also credited with an outstanding state-forming role - that geographical "core" on which the ancient Russian lands were "strung". However, recent studies convince us that we have a historical and geographical phantom typical of the Middle Ages.
The path “from the Varangians to the Greeks” appears in The Tale of Bygone Years on the very first pages, in an insert legend about the journey of the Apostle Andrew to Rus': “And the path from the Varangians to the Greeks and from the Greeks to the Dnieper and the top of the Dnieper was dragged to Lovat, and along Lovat, enter the great lake into Ilmer; from the same lake the Volkhov will flow and the great Nevo will flow into the lake; and the mouth of that lake will enter the Varangian Sea; and on that sea to go even to Rome ... ". After an insertion about the “Okovsky Forest”, the chronicler continues: “And the Dnieper will flow into the Pontes [Black] Sea by three mouths [mouths], which the sea is known as Russian, the Apostle Andrei, brother Petrov, taught from it ...”. And then it turns out that the First-Called Apostle was the first who traveled all this way (in the opposite direction - “from the Greeks to the Varangians”).
Can we question this news from The Tale of Bygone Years? Not only we can, but we must. The fact is that this path is not described in any other medieval source. And moreover, the Apostle Andrew's walking on it - doubtful in every sense, which will be discussed later - today is the only confirmation of its existence. It may seem unbelievable, but, nevertheless, this is the case.
First of all, Scandinavian sources are silent about the route “from the Varangians to the Greeks”, which is recognized even by those scientists who do not doubt the reality of the Volkhov-Dnieper route ( See: Brim V.A. The path from the Varangians to the Greeks // IAN USSR, VII series. Department of social sciences. L. 1931. S. 219, 222, 230; Jaxon T.N., Kalinina T.M., Konovalova I.G., Podosinov A.V. "Russian River": River routes of Eastern Europe in ancient and medieval geography. M., 2007. S. 285). Arab geographers and historians do not know anything about him either, reporting only about a certain Russian or Slavic river, whose sources border on the Sea of gloom and the country of Yajudzha and Majudzha (Gog and Magog), that is, the Baltic Sea and the Northern Urals. But not the Dnieper, but the Don or the Volga can claim the role of this river, so that in the Arab news we see the vague outlines of the Baltic-Volga route.
Emperor Constantine Porphyrogenitus, a man certainly well-versed in Russian-Byzantine trade, describing the navigation of the Rus along the Dnieper to the Black Sea, noted that Russian boats were cut and launched into the water in the upper reaches of the Dnieper and along its tributaries. And these were just blanks for the ships, which were equipped in Kyiv, where, in fact, the trade caravan was equipped to Constantinople. Byzantium did not know about any merchants from the Baltic, sailing along the Dnieper.
Of the Western European historians, there is only the testimony of Adam of Bremen (repeated then by Helmold) that “ships usually depart from the Schleswig harbor to Sklavania [Slavic Pomerania], Svedia [Sweden], Semland [Semland Peninsula] and even to Greece itself. To understand how the Greeks got into this passage, it must be remembered that the German chroniclers of the 11th-12th centuries. generally had a rather vague idea of Eastern Europe. Judging by the geographical description of the same Adam, it seemed to him that the Baltic Sea was “like a belt ( The name of the Baltic Sea comes from the Latin balteus - "belt" - S.Ts.) extends through the regions of Scythia to Greece itself, ”connecting with the Sea of \u200b\u200bMarmara - the Hellespont. Thus, Kyiv turned out to be "a worthy rival of the sovereign Constantinople, the most glorious decoration of Greece."
Apparently, the source of the formation of such geographical representations was the encyclopedic work of the Roman scientist-compiler of the 5th century BC. Marcian Capella "On the wedding of Philology and Mercury", in which you can read that the "Meotian swamps" (Sea of \u200b\u200bAzov) are "the bay of the Northern Ocean." Adam of Bremen, by his own admission, sought to rely on the authority of ancient tradition in his geographical descriptions, but did not find any mention of the Baltic Sea from anyone except Marcian ( Ancient Rus' in the light of foreign sources. M., 1999. S. 276).
So, "Greece" by Adam of Bremen begins immediately after the Eastern Baltic. As for the path itself “to the Greeks”, Adam, as we can see, was convinced of the existence of not a river, but a sea route from the Baltic to Constantinople - bypassing the Novgorod land and straight to the Sea of Azov. Therefore, it is impossible to connect his news with the Volkhov-Dnieper route.
A description of the medieval route from Riga to Smolensk has been preserved (a treaty of 1229). According to this document, after the delivery of goods along the Western Dvina, the goods were reloaded onto carts and sent by land to Smolensk. Here, even the West Dvina and Dnieper basins turn out to be completely closed water systems.
According to The Tale of Bygone Years, Vladimir, preparing in 1014 to make a campaign against Novgorod in order to bring his son Yaroslav, who had stopped paying the “lesson” to Kiev, into obedience, punished his people: “Demand a path and build a bridge.” Even if Danilevsky is right, believing that in this case “the author of the chronicle, through the lips of Vladimir, indirectly quoted the prophet Isaiah: “And he said: raise, raise, equalize the path, remove the obstacle from the path” ( Danilevsky I.N. Ancient Rus' through the eyes of contemporaries and descendants (IX-XII centuries). Lecture course. M., 1999. S. 121), - then all the same, albeit in other words, the chronicler reflected the real circumstance: in order to get at the beginning of the 11th century. from Kyiv to Novgorod, special engineering measures were required. In general, the chronicle does not report any voyages from Novgorod to Kyiv and the Black Sea.
Topography of Kufic coin hoards with graffiti finds
Unable to confirm the reality of the Volkhov-Dnieper route and archeology. V.Ya. Petrukhin formulates her conclusions as follows: “According to archeology, in the 9th century, the main international trade route of Eastern Europe was the way to the Black Sea along the Don, and not the Dnieper. From the turn of the 8th and 9th centuries to the 11th century. along this route from the countries of the Arab Caliphate to Eastern Europe, Scandinavia and the Baltic countries, thousands of silver coins - dirhams - move in an almost continuous stream. They settle in treasures in those settlements where trade was carried out and merchants lived. Such treasures of the 9th century are known on the Oka, in the upper reaches of the Volga ... along the Volkhov up to Ladoga (Nestor has “Lake Nevo”), but they are not on the Dnieper ”( Petrukhin V.Ya. Scandinavia and Rus' on the Ways of World Civilization // The Way from the Varangians to the Greeks and from the Greeks to the Varangians. Exhibition catalogue. May 1996. M., 1996. S. 9).
Ways of silver entering Birka:
1 - western; 2 - east; 3 - places of minting oriental coins found in Sweden (according to H. Arbman); 4 - other cities and shopping centers; 5 - original range of Western silver; 6 - original range of oriental silver; 7 - areas of Eastern European analogies to things found in Birka
Byzantine archaeological material also does not confirm the existence of the Volkhov-Dnieper route. The earliest Byzantine vessels in the cultural layers of Novgorod date back to the 10th century. (despite the fact that similar products were not found either in Kyiv or in other large cities of Rus'), and Byzantine coins of the 9th-10th centuries. - a rarity even on the banks of the Dnieper. At the same time, only in the Kama region (on the Baltic-Volga trade route), archaeologists found about 300 Byzantine coins. The very location of the ancient Novgorod settlements is not oriented towards connections with the Dnieper. Beyond Russa to the south (to the Dnieper) there are no large settlements, but to the southeast (Baltic-Volga trade route) Novy Torg and Volok Lamsky have grown.
Map of treasures of Arab and other coins of the IX-XI centuries. in Northwestern Rus' (Nosov, 1976):
1 - Staraya Ladoga; 2 - Knyazhchino; 3 - Lay out; 4 - Demyansk; 5 - Nabatovo; 6 - Semyonov Gorodok; 7 - Zagorodye; 8 - Uglich; 9 - Ugodichi; 10 - Sarsk settlement; 11 - Staraya Ladoga; 12 - Novgorod (Kirillov Monastery); 13 - Patients; 14 - Shumilovo; 15 - Kuznetsk; 16 - Rays; 17 - Vitebsk province; 18 - oz. Zelikowie; 19 - Pankino; 20, 21 - Timerevo; 22 - Moscow; 23 - St. Petersburg; 24 - Staraya Ladoga; 25 - Petrozavodsk; 26 - New mill; 27–29 - Novgorod; 30 - Lubyny; 31 - Selection; 32 - oz. Shlino; 33 - Ilovets; 34 - Paltsevo; 35 - Toropetsky district, r. Kunya; 36 - Velikoluksky district; 37 - Velikiye Luki; 38 - Vitebsk; 39 - Rzhev; 40 - Vladimir. Symbols: I - the end of the VIII century. - 833; II - 833–900; III - 900 - 970 years.
The attempts of modern enthusiasts to overcome the route from Lovat to the Dnieper ended in constant failure - most of the way from the reservoir to the reservoir, their yawls and boats were transported by army all-terrain vehicles ( Nikitin A.L. Foundations of Russian history. M., 2000. P. 129. The researcher refers to the testimony of a member of the 1985 expedition A. M. Miklyaev). But the water level in these hydraulic systems in the IX-X centuries. was lower by 5 meters!
Expedition "Ayfur" (1994). Volok. “The experience gained in this expedition shows that only very light ships were suitable for the northern part of the ancient route from the Varangians to the Greeks.”
That is, not trading boats. Voila! 
Variants of routes through the watershed proposed by different authors
Lovat - Western Dvina - Dnieper:
1. Through the lake. Zhadene (Coverage) - lake. Luchanskoe; 2. Through the lake. Vydbino - r. Semi; 3. Through the lake. Chelno - oz. Seryozha; 4. Through the lake. Dvinye - r. Kunyu; 5. Through the lake. Usvyatskoe - r. Kunyu; 6. Through the lake. Usvyatskoye - lake. Reduce; 7. Through the lake. Ezerishche - lake. Yemenets. In addition, the following paths were supposed: 8. Through the river. Ushchu - r. Udraika; 9. Through the river. Ushchu - r. Naswu
Finally, the way to the Baltic through Novgorod and Ladoga simply makes no sense, because, turning from the headwaters of the Dnieper to the Western Dvina, the traveler shortens the route by 5 times. Yu. Zvyagin, the author of the only comprehensive study of the path “from the Varangians to the Greeks” to date, sums up his observations with the following words: “The collected data indicate that in the VIII-IX centuries. there was no found way between Kievan and Novgorod Rus. The climate at that time was drier, the rivers were smaller and therefore impassable" ( Zvyagin Yu. Great way from the Varangians to the Greeks. A thousand years of history. M., 2009. S. 236).
The situation began to change in the 10th century, when, due to the onset of warming and moisture, the river systems of North-Eastern Rus' became more abundant in water. However, even then the route along the Dnieper had mainly internal, and not transit, significance. International trade was carried out from two centers: Kyiv and Novgorod, constant communication between which (and not necessarily water) was established no earlier than the 12th century. ( Bernstein-Kogan S.V. The Way from the Varangians to the Greeks // Questions of Geography. 1950. No. 20). In the index of ways from Novgorod of the 17th century. there is only a land route along the Lovat to the Hill and to Velikiye Luki ( see: Golubtsov I.A. Ways of communication in the former lands of Novgorod the Great in the 16th-17th centuries and their reflection on the Russian map of the middle of the 17th century // Questions of Geography. 1950. No. 20).
Nevertheless, the path "from the Varangians to the Greeks" existed, although it was never officially called that. And it ran not along the Volkhov, Lovat and Dnieper, but along the river valleys of the Rhine and Elbe with further access to the upper reaches of the Danube, from where the traveler was given a choice of two directions: one - to the Upper Adriatic, followed by sailing around Greece, the other - down the Danube. Along this path since the 16th century. BC. Baltic amber came to Southern Europe (and, obviously, it was on it that the mentioned Byzantine vessels were brought to Novgorod).
The Amber Route in Antiquity by M. Gimbutas
And of course, it never occurred to anyone to change the route, well-trodden for centuries, through long-settled areas to an unreliable, full of vicissitudes path, lost in dense thickets along the Volkhov-Dnieper banks and coming out into the light of God only south of Kiev, but only in order to give the traveler to hands of steppe predators: Konstantin Porphyrogenitus calls the section of the path from Kiev to the mouth of the Dnieper "torturous, terrible, unbearable and difficult" - an excellent recommendation for merchants and travelers! It was the “Rhine-Danube” way, through Germany, that in 1098 King Eric Ayegoda traveled to Constantinople in the “Knutlingasag”.
It is clear that all this hammers a stake in the heart of the "Norman theory". The merchants from the Baltic had no interest in Kyiv, which they diligently skirted along the Rhine-Danube or Volga-Don arc.
Now we can take a closer look at the legend of the walk of the Apostle Andrew. It turns out that the Apostle Andrew is the only known historical character who made the famous route from end to end. But is it? Did he really undertake a journey from Chersonese to Rome via Novgorod-on-Volkhov?
Let's go back to the first pages of The Tale of Bygone Years and carefully read what is written there: “And the way from the Varangians to the Greeks and from the Greeks to the Dnieper and dragged the top of the Dnieper to Lovat, and along Lovat enter the great lake into Ilmer; from the same lake the Volkhov will flow and the great Nevo will flow into the lake; and the mouth of that lake will enter the Varangian Sea; and even to Rome to flow along that sea ... And the Dnieper will flow into the Pontes [Black] Sea with three mouths [mouths], which the sea is known as Russian, the Apostle Andrei, brother Petrov, taught from it ... ".
From the seaside town of Sinop, Asia Minor, Andrey comes to the Crimean Korsun (Tauric Chersonese). Here, having learned that the mouth of the Dnieper was nearby, he rather unexpectedly "would like to go to Rome." By chance (“accidentally”), the apostle stops for the night on the banks of the Dnieper, where Kyiv was later destined to arise. “Rising in the morning”, he prophesies to his disciples about the future greatness of Kyiv, overshadowed by God’s grace, rises to “this mountains”, blesses them and erects a cross on this place. Then he continues his journey to Novgorod, where he becomes an astonished witness to the self-torture of the Novgorodians: “... how they wash and tail ... they barely get out alive; and they shall be covered with icy water, and thus shall they live; and they do this all the days, not tormented by anyone, but they themselves are tormenting ... ". Having reached Rome, he tells about this custom that struck him, and the Romans “hearing wonder.” After that, the apostle returns without incident to Sinop.
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22 comments: "From the Varangians to the Greeks" - the path from nowhere to nowhere
Andrey says:
Evgeniya Ozornaya says:
Valery says:
Elena Ivanova says:
Nicholas says:
described the path thus:
Be the way from Varg to the Greeks. and from Greek along the Dnieper. and the top of the Dnieper dragged to the catch. [and] by fishing, enter the Great Zero into the Elmer. Volkhov will flow from the worthless lake and flow into the Great Sky Lake. [and] that lake to see the mouth into the Varzhian sea. and go along that sea to Rome and go to Rome along the same sea to the city of Tsr҃ѧgorod and go to the city of Tsr҃ѧgorod into the sea, into which the Dnieper river will flow.
It is obvious that, despite the fact that the chronicler calls this path "the path from the Varangians to the Greeks", it is described in the opposite direction, as "the path from the Greeks to the Varangians."
According to V. Pchelov, the chronicler knew about the "normal" direction of the path, calling it "the path from the Varangians to the Greeks." But for the chronicler, the path along which the Christianization of Rus' proceeded, from Byzantium, from south to north, was more relevant, and therefore the path turned out to be described “from the Greeks”.
Translated into modern names, the path from the ancient trading centers of Scandinavia (Sigtuna, Birka or Visby) and the southern coast of the Baltic (Volin / Vineta, Jomsburg /, Starigard, Ralsvik on the island of Rügen, Szczecin) passed by the Baltic Sea through the Gulf of Finland, then along the river Neva (there were rapids), along the stormy Lake Ladoga, the Volkhov River (another rapids) through the Rurikovo settlement to Lake Ilmen, and from there up the Lovat River with a further transition to the Dnieper.
How exactly the path passed from Lovat to the Dnieper (or in the opposite direction) is not exactly known. Perhaps the routes were different. One of the possible options for the path ran through the Western Dvina: from Lovat by dragging through the watershed to the lakes Usvyatskoye and Uzmen, from where along the Usvyache River to the Western Dvina.
The most convenient crossings from the Dnieper to the Western Dvina were in the section between Smolensk and Orsha, on the one hand, and Vitebsk and Surazh, on the other hand, where the distance between the Dnieper and the Western Dvina reaches 80 km, and the tributaries of these rivers approach each other for distance up to 7-15 km, which made it possible to transport ships and cargo by portage.
It is assumed that there were two main routes between the Dnieper and the Western Dvina.
In summer, when the water level is low - dragging from Lake Kuprinsky through the village of Volokovaya to the Klets River or directly to Kasplyanskoye Lake, then along the Kasple River to the Western Dvina.
The existence of this variant of the path is confirmed by numerous monuments: fortified settlements at the beginning and end of the portage (Lodeinitsy and Kasplya); small fortified shelters along the highway (Kuprino, Ermaki, Sobol, Volokovaya); ancient burial mounds, single and group, on the Katynka River, Kuprinskoe Lake, Udra River and Kasplya Lake. The location of the portages and toponymy data are confirmed by the names of Katyn, Lodeynitsy, Volokovaya.
The second route option is from the Dnieper near the village of Komissarovo along the Berezyanka River to the city of Rudnya, then dragging through the village of Perevolochye to Bolshoye Rutavech Lake between the village of Mikulino and the village of Zaozerye, then along the Rutavech River to Kasplya and Zapadnaya Dvina. There were also fortified points along the way: Privolye, Rudnya, Mikulino, Kovali, Ponizovye, Koshevichi, as well as a large number of burial mounds near the villages of Zaozerye, Kovali, Siluyanovo and others. The toponym Perevolochye also confirms the presence of portage here.
Without a doubt, there were other options for crossing the Dnieper to the Western Dvina, but they are not so clearly traced from archaeological data.
Alternative point of view
The latitudinal route of the Ross from the upper reaches of the Dnieper “to Black Bulgaria and Khazaria” to the Volga, described in chapter 42 of the Byzantine treatise of the 10th century “On the Administration of the Empire”, coincides with the conclusions of archaeologists that the latitudinal trade route “Western Dvina - Dnieper - Oka - Volga ”was the main communication artery in the history of the early Gnezdov, and the“ Way from the Varangians to the Greeks ”became the main trade route in Gnezdovo only from the middle of the 10th century.
Transported goods
Meaning
It is believed that the reconnaissance of river routes to the Black Sea and further to Miklagard (Constantinople) was carried out by Ivar Broad Embrace (7th century). The Scandinavian sagas attribute the discovery of the path to Eirik the Traveler, who reached the "Meadow of Immortality" Odainsak. This is confirmed by Scandinavian raids on the Crimea (Surozh) and the southern coast of the Black Sea (Amastrida) in the 8th - early 9th centuries; hoards of dirhams minted before 832 on the Right Bank of the Dnieper and in Moldova; links between Ladoga and Great Moravia through Plesnesk; finds of Scandinavian origin in Volhynia; the presence in the Byzantine elite of immigrants from Scandinavia. So Inger-Ingvar, father of Evdokia, the wife of Basil I, became metropolitan of Nicaea in 825. The path was of the greatest importance in the 10th - 1st third of the 11th centuries, that is, during the reign of Svyatoslav Igorevich and Vladimir Svyatoslavich. In the 2nd half of the XI - the beginning of the XII centuries. Rus'’s trade relations with Western Europe intensified, and the path “from the Varangians to the Greeks” gave way to the Pripyat-Bug, West Dvina, etc.
Initially, this path, as well as parallel ones, was used by the Vikings 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 this path was developed, the Varangians settled on the lands adjacent to it and assimilated with the settled Slavic, Baltic and Finno-Ugric tribes. There were strong Slavic tribal unions that fought hard against 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 pagan religion developed in detail, very close to East Slavic paganism. From here there were constant resettlements to the east, to the shores of Lake Ilmen.
Rurik was invited to reign at the Ilmen Slovenes in the city of Staraya Ladoga, then moved to Veliky Novgorod, which contributed to the further development of the state-principality of the Rurik dynasty. Information has been preserved that the invited princes were relatives of the former local princely dynasty of the Ilmen Slovenes.
Over time, the value of the trade route fell. This was facilitated by the fragmentation of Rus', centralization in the countries of Scandinavia, the decline of Byzantium (when in 1204 the Fourth Crusade destroyed Constantinople and the center of world trade moved to the Venetian Republic). It finally fell into decline 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 the border between trade (exchange of goods) and robbery was very unstable in this historical era among tribes like the Vikings, it is difficult to say exactly when trade began to prevail over robbery and water piracy. Even after the formation of the state of the Rurik dynasty (“Kievan Rus”), campaigns against Constantinople for “booty” did not stop.
In a later historical era, the same waterway and the same watercraft were used by the Zaporizhzhya Cossacks in their predatory campaigns against the capital of the Ottoman Empire, Tsargrad (Istanbul). For comparison, there are 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 vessels such as small knorrs for trading navigation along the Baltic Sea and the rivers flowing into it, and from the 12th century. - shnekkers (Novgorodians called them "augers"). The advantage of the northern route was the ability to pass through skerries, that is, almost without going out into the open sea, from the shores of present-day Sweden to the mouth of the Gulf of Finland. This allowed the use of relatively small ships that could go up the rivers to Novgorod, where some of the goods were sold, some were bought, and all cargo was transferred to smaller ships suitable for navigation on small Russian rivers.
Ancient Russian ships, used for navigation both along rivers and seas, are usually called by the general term ladya (lodya). There were also "ships", nasads, skedii, beads and shitiki. According to Constantine Porphyrogenitus (X century), the Krivichi and other tribes in the spring were taken to Miliniska (Smolensk) and Chernigoga (Chernigov) large dugout boats for 30-40 people - one-trees, which were then rafted along the Dnieper to Kiev. Here they were converted, loaded and sent down the river. After passing through the rapids, on the island of Khortitsa or Berezan, the boats were equipped with sails for sailing along the Black Sea coast. At the places of transfers - in the areas of Toropets and Smolensk, obviously, there was an infrastructure associated with portages - towpaths in the shallow upper reaches of the rivers, a tree passage with drogs on the portage itself and people and animals serving them; there were also shipyards for small river boats.
Byzantine merchant ships of the Mediterranean type were also used to navigate the Black Sea. They did not have a special name and were simply called "naus", that is, a ship.
Piloting ships through skerries, bays and rivers was carried out under the guidance of people of a special profession: in Varangian they were called navigators, in Slavic - pilots, feeders, and in Greek - cybernets.
an ancient water trade route from the Baltic to the Black Sea, along which in the 9th-12th centuries. there was trade between Rus' and the countries of Northern Europe with Byzantium. Laid from the Baltic m. along the river. Neva, Lake Ladoga, r. Volkhov, oz. Ilmen, r. Catching, dragging to the river. Western Dvina, dragged to the river. The Dnieper and further to the Chernoye m. On this path were the largest cities: Novgorod the Great, Smolensk, Kyiv, etc.
Great Definition
Incomplete definition ↓
THE WAY "FROM THE VARANGIANS TO THE GREEKS"
the oldest trade route connecting the Baltic and Black Seas was a branch of the Great Silk Road and connected Byzantium with the North. Europe. Passed from the Baltic Sea along the river. Neva, Lake Ladoga, r. Volkhov, oz. Ilmen, r. Lovat, then dragging near Smolensk to the Dnieper and further along the Dnieper, bypassing its rapids by dragging, to the Black Sea. In The Tale of Bygone Years, the Apostle Andrew the First-Called walked this way from south to north.
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Incomplete definition ↓
THE ROAD FROM THE VARANGIANS TO THE GREEKS
the name of the water trade route of Kievan Rus, which connected Northern Rus' with Southern Russia, the Baltic States and Scandinavia with Byzantium. The term is found in The Tale of Bygone Years. The path arose in k. IX - n. 10th century It had the greatest importance in the X - 1st third of the XI centuries. The Byzantines knew its southern part well. According to Konstantin Porphyrogenitus (X century), the Krivichi and other tribes subject to Kiev in the spring brought to Smolensk, Lyubech, Chernigov and other cities large (for 30-40 people) dugout boats - "one-trees", which were then rafted along the Dnieper to Kiev. Here they were converted, loaded and sent down the Dnieper. Having passed 7 rapids (the largest Nenasytetsky was bypassed by portage), as well as a rocky and narrow place "Crariysky ferry" (where the Pechenegs often ambushed), the merchants stopped on about. Khortitsa, then, having equipped the boats with sea sails in the Dnieper estuary, sailed along the western coast of the Black Sea to Tsargrad. The northern part of the route, according to the "Tale of Bygone Years", through the portage connecting the Dnieper and Lovat, went along Lovat, Lake Ilmensky, Volkhov, Lake Ladoga, Neva to the Varangian (Baltic) Sea. However, judging by the location of the hoards of Arab, Byzantine and Western European coins, the main route went from the Dnieper to the river. Usyazh-Buk to Lukoml and Polotsk and from the Dnieper to the river. Kaslyu to Vitebsk and further along the Western Dvina to the Baltic. The absence of treasures between Vitebsk and Velikie Luki testifies that the route from the Dnieper to Lovat had mainly internal significance. The path from the "Varangians to the Greeks" was connected with other waterways of Rus': the Pripyat-Bug, which went to Western Europe, and the Volga, leading to the Arab Caliphate. From the south, along the way, they brought: from Byzantium - wine, spices, jewelry and glassware, expensive fabrics, icons, books, from Kiev - bread, various handicraft and art products, silver in coins, etc .; from Volhynia - slate whorls, etc. From the north along the way they brought: from Scandinavia - some types of weapons and artistic crafts, from Northern Rus' - wood, fur, honey, wax, from the Baltic countries - amber. In the 2nd floor. XI-XII centuries ties with Western Europe intensified and the path from the "Varangians to the Greeks" gave way to the Pripyat-Bug, West Dvina, etc.
Great Definition
Incomplete definition ↓
THE ROAD FROM "VARANGIANS TO GREEKS"
name water trade. the path of Kievan Rus, which connected the North. Rus' from the South, the Baltic states and Scandinavia with Byzantium. The term is found in The Tale of Bygone Years. The path arose in con. 9 - beg. 10th century It had the greatest importance in the 10th - 1st third of the 11th centuries. South part of it was well known to the Byzantines. According to Konstantin Porphyrogenitus (10th century), the Krivichi and other tribes subject to Kiev in the spring brought to Smolensk, Lyubech, Chernigov and other cities large (for 30-40 people) dugout boats - "one-trees", which were then rafted along the Dnieper to Kiev. Here they were converted, loaded and sent down the Dnieper. Having passed 7 rapids (the largest Nenasytetsky was bypassed by portage), as well as a rocky and narrow place "Crariysky ferry" (where the Pechenegs often ambushed), the merchants stopped on about. Khortitsa, then, having equipped the boats with sea sails in the Dnieper estuary, sailed along the west. coast of the Black m. to Tsargrad. Sev. part of the way, according to the "Tale of Bygone Years", through the portage connecting the Dnieper and Lovat, went along Lovat, Lake Ilmensky, Volkhov, Lake Ladoga, Neva to the Varangian (Baltic) m. However, judging by the location of the treasures, the Arab. , Byzantine. and Western European coins, ch. the path went from the Dnieper to the river. Usyazh-Buk to Lukoml and Polotsk and from the Dnieper to the river. Kaslyu to Vitebsk and further along the West. Dvina to the Baltic. The absence of treasures between Vitebsk and Vel. Bows testify that the route from the Dnieper to Lovat was mainly internal. meaning. P. from "v. to g." was associated with other waterways of Rus': Pripyat-Bug, which went to the West. Europe, and the Volga, which led to the Arab. Caliphate. From the south along the way they brought: from Byzantium - wine, spices, jewelry and glassware, expensive fabrics, icons, books, from Kyiv - bread, various crafts. and arts. products, silver in coins, etc.; from Volhynia - slate whorls, etc. They brought from S. along the way: from Scandinavia - certain types of weapons and arts. crafts, from Sev. Rus' - forest, fur, honey, wax, from the Baltic states. countries - amber. In the 2nd floor. 11th-12th centuries strengthened ties with the West. Europe and P. from "v. to g." gave way to Pripyat-Buzhsky, Zap.-Dvinsky and others. Bernshtein-Kogan S.V., The Way from the Varangians to the Greeks, "VG", Sat. 20, M., 1950; Alekseev L.V., Polotsk land (Essays on the history of Northern Belarus). IX-XIII centuries., M., 1966. L. V. Alekseev. Moscow.
The expression "from the Varangians to the Greeks" is widely heard today. It is clear that historians and archaeologists put their own meaning into it, more concrete. Ordinary people sometimes do not even think where and on what road the one who chooses the famous ancient path will go.
One of the points of departure of this water (river and sea) route is Northern Europe and Scandinavia - it was here that the Vikings lived. Points of arrival - Byzantium and the Balkan Peninsula. But the whole of Eastern Europe and Ancient Rus' - this is the road between these points.
Of course, there was no clearly marked path as such, there was a direction associated with navigable rivers, and if you follow certain established rules, you can repeat this fascinating journey without much difficulty.
In the remarkable creation of Nestor the chronicler, this expression sounds a little different, namely: “the path from the Varangians to the Greeks and from the Greeks to ...” That is, it was understood that the movement was two-way and with no less success it was possible to return back to the north.
Already in the 19th century, the first excavations on the southern shore of Lake Ladoga, in the lower reaches of the Volkhov, in Gnezdovo (near Smolensk), in Kiev and Chernigov, made it possible to find Byzantine coins, expensive dishes, Scandinavian jewelry and much more. By the beginning of the 20th century, so much historical material had accumulated that there was no doubt about the veracity of the Old Russian version of the legendary path.
The main route map is the description of the journey of the legendary Apostle Andrew, who visited the northern peoples. And his road runs along the Dnieper, in the upper reaches of the Dnieper it drags to the Lovat, and along the Lovat you can enter Ilmen, the Volkhov flows out of it and flows into Lake Nevo, and here it is within easy reach of the Varangian Sea. Varangian is the well-known Baltic Sea.
In addition, there is another system of rivers that connects the Baltic Sea with the Caspian Sea. From the Ilmensky basin you can get to the Upper Volga, and from there down the Volga - to the Caspian Sea.
The main thing is that both routes have a common northern segment connected with Volkhov. Therefore, the Scandinavians who sailed to Lake Ilmen had a choice: to sail south, to Tsargrad, or to the east - for Arab silver.
The reader immediately has a question: how long can such a journey take? Today, on a comfortable boat, people get from St. Petersburg to Moscow in a week, but this is with visits to see tourist attractions, and then ...
From the messages of Constantine Porphyrogenitus, as well as from numerous references in the Scandinavian sagas, it follows that such a journey took all spring or all autumn. Sometimes it was necessary to interrupt the journey and spend the winter on Ladoga until the next spring.
From north to south, mainly furs, ambergris, walrus ivory, weapons, honey and wax were transported. Among the goods were items looted by the Vikings in Western Europe: wines, jewelry and jewelry.
To the north, up the Dnieper and Volkhov, they carried both mass and exclusive goods: jewelry and glassware, silk, gold fabrics and braid, ceramics, icons and books.
Over time, the significance of this trade route was lost. The reason for this was the fragmentation of the Russian lands, centralization in the countries of Scandinavia, the decline of Byzantium. The capture by the Golden Horde of the Lower and Middle Dnieper regions generally put an end to the path "from the Varangians to the Greeks."
This military-trade route is considered the longest known (total length of more than 3,000 km). Its existence contributed to the flourishing of cities and countries and determined their importance for their neighbors. Its name is used as a common name for a long journey, often without knowing what kind of route it really was.
Baltic and Asia Minor Greece
Map of the trade route from the Varangians to the Greeks
Varyag is the old Russian name for a Scandinavian mercenary warrior and a Scandinavian in general. Representatives of Byzantium were called “Greeks” in Rus', since Greek was the “state language” of the empire (as we can see, this route has nothing to do with Hellas). The trade route is known more from Russian sources, which is why the terminology is used accordingly.
Obviously: “the path from the Varangians to the Greeks” is a route along which it was more or less convenient to get from Byzantium to Scandinavia and vice versa. It is equally obvious that its main part passed through the Russian lands. The path connected the Baltic and Mediterranean seas.
Scandinavians are considered to be the pioneers of the route: the sagas call the names of Ivar the Wide Embrace and Eric the Traveler. It was active from the 9th to the 12th centuries, when the change in the balance of power in Europe also affected the direction of the flow of people and goods.
Route from the Varangians to the Greeks
The main feature of the route is that the vast majority of its length falls on waterways. This is its main advantage - after all, there were no normal land roads at that time at all. On land, there was also a greater risk of being attacked by enemies or robbers. Such a journey required more consumables (horses must be fed, and rivers and lakes themselves feed travelers).
Surely the path from the Varangians to the Greeks had many different variations, but several of its main points can be named. It began in one of the shopping centers of the Scandinavian Peninsula (Birka, Sigguna); then the route looked like this: the Baltic Sea - the Gulf of Finland - and the rivers: Neva - Ladoga - Volkhov - Ilmen - Lovat. Then followed a long portage (that is, dragging ships overland) to the Western Dvina. From it the drag led to the Dnieper, and they could manage to the Black Sea, bypassing only rapids by land.
Some experts suggest that the path from the Baltic to the Dnieper could also run through the Vistula and the Bug. One thing is clear: the Dnieper is the main part of the ancient trade route.
Stages of a long journey
It is a mistake to think that anyone who embarked on the path from the Varangians to the Greeks passed it entirely. Scandinavian merchants are not mentioned at all in written sources. In raids on the Byzantine shores, the Varangians often went by sea (for which there is evidence).
It is more reasonable to assume that the route was used by logical parts. Consequently, the goods could get from Scandinavia to Byzantium, but it was already brought by a Russian merchant or a Byzantine who acquired what he needed in Kyiv (dealers did not appear yesterday). The same is true in the opposite direction. We see the same thing in military affairs. Oleg the Prophet used the route from the Varangians to the Greeks for military purposes; but the first time (in 882) he went from Novgorod to Kyiv, and the second (in 907) - from Kyiv to Byzantium, passing, to put it mildly, not the entire route. Igor Stary did the same. Harald the Bold (future son-in-law) passed from Norway to Kyiv. Russian ambassadors from Kyiv traveled to Scandinavia; the same way Harald carried his wife Elizaveta Yaroslavna. The proof of this position can be the fact that the “intermediate stations” of the route benefited more than others from the existence of the route: the Varangians and Greeks forged the prosperity of Kyiv and Novgorod.
