That Time the Vikings Became Roman

Nobody wanted to mess with the Varangian Guard.

These towering warriors, clad in chainmail and gripping their trademark double-edged axes, were the embodiment of Byzantine (or Eastern Roman) fighting power and regional supremacy.

They were also known for their unwavering loyalty, partly because they had begun as foreign mercenaries with no local political affiliations or loyalties. This served to reduce the risk of them getting involved in the complex internal politics of the Eastern Roman empire, ultimately keeping them from organizing and betraying their stations.

Exotic. Loyal. Incredibly Well Trained. Formidable.

Serving in the Varangian Guard was considered highly prestigious, and it paid quite well to boot. Emperor Basil II had seen to that, ensuring that these double-edged axes were on his side, not fighting against him. Members of the Guard often accumulated wealth and status, and many of them settled in Constantinople, the center of the Empire.

Although Basil had in mind for these elite warriors to be his personal bodyguard, protecting him during both peacetime and war, their role expanded to include serving as shock troops in battle, policing the capital city of Constantinople, and taking on various high-profile military missions.

The origins of the Varangian Guard can be traced back to the arrival of Viking traders and warriors in Constantinople, the capital city of the Roman Empire for a thousand years.

These men were initially mercenaries.

Over time, these mercenaries became merchants, and the elite fighters among the group were hired by Roman officials.

Basil II wasn’t the first Eastern Roman Emperor to employ Norsemen (or Varangians, as the Romans had begun to call them) as mercenaries, but he is credited with formally establishing the Varangian Guard as the elite personal bodyguard of the Roman Emperor around the end of the 10th century.

Basil probably didn’t want to see a repeat of the Treaty of 911, which established a homeland on the European continent for other Vikings, led by Rollo. Instead, Basil kept these formidable warriors very close to the vest.

After a few of these Vikings helped Basil suppress a revolt, he decided to make his move. In heavy contrast to anyone he could hire locally, these men had little reason to betray their boss, provided they were paid extremely well.

They were.

I love stories like these. Two areas of history that don’t seem linked at all—the Vikings and the Romans—were actually interwoven in complex ways. Even when two cultures don’t interact directly, they’re still going to affect one another through butterfly effects.

I think about how gunpowder and printing spread west from China by way of the Silk Road, and how the Abbasid Caliphate facilitated the translation of ancient Greek texts with math and science that was picked up during the Islamic Golden Age. History is crammed with examples of unexpected cultural interconnections.

Can you think of any instances in history like this, where one culture surprisingly intersected with another culture? Share an example today if you can!