The Varangians or Varyags ( Russian,, Varyagi ) sometimes referred to as Variagians were Scandinavians, often Swedes, who migrated eastwards and southwards through what is now Russia and Ukraine mainly in the 9th and 10th centuries.

At this point, the Varangians ( mainly Anglo-Saxons who had left England after the Norman Conquest ) joined in the pursuit of the Norman right.

Others trace the word to Varangians and derive it from the Swedish knutpiska, a kind of whip with knots.

In the Middle Ages, the lake formed a vital part of the Trade Route from the Varangians to the Greeks, with the Norse emporium at Staraya Ladoga defending the mouth of the Volkhov since the 8th century.

The establishment of the first East Slavic states in the 9th century coincided with the arrival of Varangians, the traders, warriors and settlers from the Baltic Sea region.

Most scholars identify them with the Rus ' or Varangians, which would make Ibn Fadlan's account one of the earliest portrayals of Vikings.

Oleg set forth, taking with him many warriors from among the Varangians, the Chuds, the Slavs, the Merians and all the Krivichians.

The news of this triple murder reached Sviatopolk's younger brother Yaroslav, Prince of Novgorod, who decided to go to war against Sviatopolk with the support from the citizens of Novgorod and the Varangians.

Maniakes was then proclaimed emperor by his troops ( including the Varangians ), and marched towards Constantinople, in 1043 his army clashed with troops loyal to Constantine near Thessalonika, and though initially successful, Maniakes was killed during the melee after receiving a fatal wound ( according to Psellus ' account ).

Basil's distrust of the native Byzantine guardsmen, whose loyalties often shifted with fatal consequences, as well as the proven loyalty of the Varangians, many of whom served in Byzantium even before, led the Emperor to employ them as his personal guardsmen.

About 700 Varangians served along with Dalmatians as marines in Byzantine naval expeditions against the Emirate of Crete in 902 and a force of 629 returned to Crete under Constantine Porphyrogenitus in 949.

In September Exaugustus Boioannes was sent to Italy with only a small contingent of Varangians to replace the disgraced Doukeianos.

In 1047 John Raphael was sent to Bari with a contingent of Varangians, but the Bariots refused to receive his troops and he spent his term at Otranto.

The Varangians had been ordered to march just in front of the main line with a strong division of archers a little behind them.

An important trade route called the Road from Varangians to Greeks passed through the land of the Polans and connected Northern Europe with the Black Sea and the Byzantine Empire.

In the 860s, the Varangians ( Vikings ) arrived and organized a few successful military campaigns against the Byzantine Empire, who eventually defeated them and made peace with them, the Pechenegs and the Polochans.

Having settled around the Trade route from the Varangians to the Greeks, the Krivichs traded with the Varangians.

In the chronicles which narrate about the founding of Russia, the Chudes are mentioned as one of the founder races, with the Slav and the Varyags ( Varangians ).

The prince was discovered still breathing when his body was being transported in a bag to Kiev, but the Varangians put him out of his misery with the thrust of a lance.

There they were sold to the Varangians who re-equipped them and loaded them with merchandise.

This was done with the help of Varangians, and according to Ingvar's saga, they were led by Ingvar's father Eymund.

Nielloed items were mass produced using molds that still survive today and were traded with Greeks, the Byzantine Empire, and other peoples that traded along the trade route from the Varangians to the Greeks.

They deal with the adventures of Varangians in the service of Yaroslav I the Wise.

Scandinavian Norsemen, called " Vikings " in Western Europe and " Varangians " in the East, combined piracy and trade in their roamings over much of Northern Europe.

It was a vital part of the most important trade route connecting Northern Europe to the Orient, by way of the Volga ( Volga trade route ) and Dnieper ( trade route from the Varangians to the Greeks ).

The only information about him is contained in the 12th-century Russian Primary Chronicle, which states that Chuds, Slavs, Merias, Veses and Krivichs "… drove the Varangians back beyond the sea, refused to pay them tribute, and set out to govern themselves ".

The Scandinavian Vikings, or Varangians, also took part in the forming of Russian identity and state in the early Kievan Rus ' period of the late 1st millennium AD.

The Russian Varangians later forgot the meaning of óskyldr so Nestor wrote about two rulers of Kiev — about Askold and Dir.

Vasily Tatischev, Boris Rybakov and some other Russian and Ukrainian historians interpreted the 882 coup d ' état in Kiev as the reaction of the pagan Varangians to Askold's baptism.

The reign of Oleg of Novgorod in the early tenth century witnessed the return of the Varangians to Novgorod and relocation of their capital to Kiev on the Dnieper.

The sagas note that aside from the significant spoils of battle he had retained, he had participated three times in polutasvarf, a term which implies either the pillaging of the palace exchequer on the death of the emperor, or perhaps the disbursement of funds to the Varangians by the new emperor in order to ensure their loyalty.

A number of ancient civilizations, most notably the Thracians, Ancient Greeks, Romans, Ostrogoths, Slavs, Varangians and especially Bulgars, have left their mark on the culture, history and heritage of Bulgaria.

However, when Maniakes ostracised the Lombards by publicly humiliating their leader, Arduin, the Lombards deserted and the Normans and Varangians followed them.

The Varangians relied on a long axe as their main weapon, although they were often skilled swordsmen or archers as well.

The Varangians hacked their way through the enemy's circle of Pecheneg wagons, collapsing the Pecheneg position and causing a general rout in their camp.

Writing about her father Alexius's seizing of Imperial throne in 1081, Anna Komnene notes that he was advised not to attack the Varangians who still guarded the Emperor Nikephoros for the Varangians " regard loyalty to the emperors and the protection of their persons as a family tradition, a kind of sacred trust.

Thus, instead of defending their absent emperor, the Varangians were used by the usurpers — proving their loyalty to the throne, if not always the current occupier of that throne.

The Varangians stood their ground while the Byzantine left, including some of Alexius ' elite troops, attacked the Normans.

With their massive battle axes, the Varangians attacked the Norman knights, who were driven away after their horses panicked.

The route from the Varangians to the Greeks was first mentioned in the Primary Chronicle, but its effects were reported much earlier, in the early ninth century when the Byzantines noted newcomers in their regions, the Varangians.

On the Dnieper the Varangians had to portage their ships round seven rapids ( they don't exist anymore as a chain of basins was established in 1950-70s ), where they had to be on guard for Pecheneg nomads.