Posted on 08/22/2022 12:06:45 PM PDT by Morgana
The Vikings opened trade routes, founded cities, created new feats of engineering and captured ancient hubs. This complete series chronicles the incredible rise and fall of the Vikings, revealing new discoveries that turn Viking history on its head. We tell their incredible history with the help of the foremost experts on Viking warfare and way of life.
(Excerpt) Read more at youtube.com ...
Actually they FOUNDED Ukraine and its derivative country of Russia! The Swedes went east and south as opposed to the Danes & Norse that went west and south. From the Baltic, the natural trading route was the Dnieper River which, with some portages, led to the Black Sea and the great city of Constantinople. By the 800s, the Varangians / Swedes had conquered Kiev which strides the confluence of the Dnieper and Desna river systems. Over time the polity from Kiev north to the Baltic was known as the "Land of the Rus" which may have come from the Finnish name for the Swedes.
While initially pagan, this area was strongly influenced by Byzantium Orthodoxy and Western Catholicism, as can be seen even today as west Ukraine is Catholic while the east is Orthodox. The Kievan Rus basically was an entity from the late 800s to the Mongol invasion of the mid 1200s. Batu Khan, grandson of Genghis, raized Kiev in 1240, ending its independence for centuries.
The fall was the conversion to Christianity in the last half of the 11th Century.
Correct. I still remember old movies in which an invader sets the town on fire as they are fighting their way in.(Helen of Troy 1956)
In reality, all fires were put out by the new conquerors, then began a systematic looting of each house, temple and public buildings all through the town.
Then the booty and slaves were divvied up.
When all was done, then the signal was given to burn the town.
In the comic strip Prince Valiant all the vikings had horns or wings on their helmets.
I believe the Russians were originally from the Viking tribe of RUS. Hence the name.
correct. he played a muslim.
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