The Varangians of Byzantium [Paperback]

This book examines how the Norsemen came to be drawn into the Imperial service.An aura of romance has clung about the Varangians for over six centuries. This book examines how the Norsemen came to be drawn into the Imperial service until the greatest of all the Emperors of the East, Basil II, formed them into the regiment of guards which was to give unique service to the Empire.An aura of romance has clung about the Varangians for over six centuries. This book examines how the Norsemen came to be drawn into the Imperial service until the greatest of all the Emperors of the East, Basil II, formed them into the regiment of guards which was to give unique service to the Empire.An aura of romance has clung about the Varangians for over six centuries. This book examines how the Norsemen came to be drawn into the Imperial service until the greatest of all the Emperors of the East, Basil II, formed them into the regiment of guards which was to give unique service to the Empire. It surveys the history of the regiment down to the collapse of High Byzantium in 1204 and traces the remnant of the Varangians to the very last day of the Empire in May 1453.Illustrations; Preface; 1. Varangians and their origins; 2. The army and navy of the High Byzantine Empire; 3. Norse and Russian forces in the Byzantine army to the death of Romanos III; 4. Haraldr Siguroarson and his period as a Varangian in Constantinople, 10341043; 5. The Varangians between 1042 and 1081; 6. Varangians during the period 10811204; 7. The ghost of the regiment: Varangian evidences 12041453; 8. The Emperor, his Court, his guards and his city; 9. Some individual Norse and English Varangians and travellers to Byzantium; 10. Runic inscriptions concerning Varangians; Select bibliography; Index.