Caspian expeditions of the Rus' in the context of "Vikings"

⭐ In the context of Vikings, the Caspian expeditions of the Rus' are considered a notable example of their:

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⭐ Core Definition: Caspian expeditions of the Rus'

The Caspian expeditions of the Rus' were military raids undertaken by the Rus' between the late 9th century and c. 1041 on the Caspian Sea shores, of what are nowadays Iran, Dagestan, and Azerbaijan. Initially, the Rus' appeared in Serkland in the 9th century travelling as merchants along the Volga trade route, selling furs, honey, and slaves. The first small-scale Viking raids took place in the late 9th and early 10th century. The Rus' undertook the first large-scale expedition in 913; having arrived on 500 ships, they pillaged in the Gorgan region, in the territory of present-day Iran, and more to the west, in Gilan and Mazandaran, taking slaves and goods. On their return, the northern raiders were attacked and defeated by the Khazars in the Volga Delta, and those who escaped were killed by the local tribes in the middle Volga.

During their next expedition in 943, the Rus' captured Bardha'a, the capital of Arran, in the modern-day Republic of Azerbaijan. The Rus' stayed there for several months, killing many inhabitants of the city and amassing substantial plunder. It was only an outbreak of dysentery among the Rus' that forced them to depart with their spoils. Sviatoslav, prince of Kiev, commanded the next attack, which destroyed the Khazar state in 965. Sviatoslav's campaign established the Rus's hold on the north-south trade routes, helping to alter the demographics of the region. Raids continued through the time period with the last Scandinavian attempt to reestablish the route to the Caspian Sea taking place in c. 1041 by Ingvar the Far-Travelled.

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👉 Caspian expeditions of the Rus' in the context of Vikings

Vikings were a seafaring people originally from Scandinavia (present-day Denmark, Norway, and Sweden), who from the late 8th to the late 11th centuries raided, pirated, traded, and settled throughout parts of Europe. They voyaged as far as the Mediterranean, North Africa, the Middle East, Greenland, and Vinland (present-day Newfoundland in Canada, North America). In their countries of origin, and in some of the countries they raided and settled, this period of activity is popularly known as the Viking Age, and the term "Viking" also commonly includes the inhabitants of the Scandinavian homelands as a whole during the late 8th to the mid-11th centuries. The Vikings had a profound impact on the early medieval history of northern and Eastern Europe, including the political and social development of England (and the English language) and parts of France, and established the embryo of Russia in Kievan Rus'.

Expert sailors and navigators of their characteristic longships, Vikings established Norse settlements and governments in the British Isles, the Faroe Islands, Iceland, Greenland, Normandy, and the Baltic coast, as well as along the Dnieper and Volga trade routes across Eastern Europe where they were also known as Varangians. The Normans, Norse-Gaels, Rus, Faroese, and Icelanders emerged from these Norse colonies. At one point, a group of Rus Vikings went so far south that, after briefly being bodyguards for the Byzantine emperor, they attacked the Byzantine city of Constantinople. Vikings also voyaged to the Caspian Sea and Arabia. They were the first Europeans to reach North America, briefly settling in Newfoundland (Vinland). While spreading Norse culture to foreign lands, they simultaneously brought home slaves, concubines, and foreign cultural influences to Scandinavia, influencing the genetic and historical development of both. During the Viking Age, the Norse homelands were gradually consolidated from smaller kingdoms into three larger kingdoms: Denmark, Norway, and Sweden.

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Caspian expeditions of the Rus' in the context of Ingvar the Far-Travelled

Ingvar the Far-Travelled (Old Norse: Yngvarr víðfǫrli, Swedish: Ingvar Vittfarne) was a Swedish Viking who led an expedition that fought in the Kingdom of Georgia.

The Rus' undertook several Caspian expeditions in the course of the 10th century. The Yngvars saga víðförla describes the last Viking campaign in the Caspian in 1041, embellishing the historical facts with a great deal of legend. The expedition probably aimed to reopen old trade-routes after the Volga Bulgars and the Khazars no longer proved obstacles. Ingvar the Far-Travelled launched this expedition from Sweden, travelling down the Volga River into the land of the Saracens (Serkland). While there, the Vikings apparently took part in the 1042 Battle of Sasireti between the Georgians and Byzantines.

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LINKED FROM (PARENTS)
← Vikings ← Viking ← Ingvar the Far-Travelled
LINKS TO (CHILDREN)
Raid (military) → Rus' (people) → Caspian Sea → Iran → Dagestan → Azerbaijan → Serkland → Volga trade route → Viking → Gorgan → Gilan Province → Mazandaran Province → Khazars → Volga Delta → Volga → Barda, Azerbaijan → Arran (Azerbaijan) → Dysentery → Sviatoslav I of Kiev → Kyiv → Ingvar the Far-Travelled →