From the Frozen North to the Golden Horn

During the Viking Age (roughly 8th to 11th centuries), Norsemen were masters of navigation and movement. While many sailed west to raid and settle in the British Isles, Iceland, and North America, a significant number turned east and south. These adventurers, known as the Rus’, paddled their longships down the vast river systems of modern-day Russia and Ukraine—a network they called the Austrvegr, or the “East Way.”

This “Route from the Varangians to the Greeks”, as it was later chronicled, connected the Baltic Sea to the Black Sea. It was a perilous journey of trade and plunder that eventually brought the Norsemen to the gates of the wealthiest city they had ever seen: Miklagard, the “Great City”, their name for Constantinople. For decades, the Rus’ alternated between trading with and raiding the Byzantine Empire. They were a violent and persistent nuisance, but the Byzantines also recognized their exceptional martial prowess.

The Birth of an Elite Guard

The Varangian Guard was officially born out of a moment of desperation. In 988, Byzantine Emperor Basil II was facing a devastating civil war. His own troops were unreliable, and his throne was in jeopardy. In a stroke of genius, he looked north for help, appealing to Vladimir the Great, the Rus’ ruler of Kyiv.

Vladimir agreed to help, sending 6,000 elite warriors to Basil’s aid. In exchange, Basil gave Vladimir his own sister, Anna, in marriage—an unprecedented honor—which helped pave the way for the Christianization of the Kievan Rus’. The Rus’ warriors arrived and, with brutal efficiency, crushed Basil’s opponents. Emperor Basil II, deeply impressed by their loyalty and ferocity, and profoundly distrustful of his own scheming Byzantine courtiers and guards, decided to retain them as his personal bodyguard. The Varangian Guard was formed.

The term “Varangian” itself likely comes from the Old Norse word væringjar, meaning “men of the pledge” or “sworn men”, signifying the solemn oath of loyalty they swore directly to the Emperor. They were loyal not to a specific person, but to the throne itself, a distinction that made them uniquely reliable in the cutthroat world of Byzantine politics.

The Axe-Wielding Giants of Constantinople

The Varangians quickly became a legendary sight in the Great City. Tall, fair-haired, and powerfully built, they towered over the local populace. They were known to the Byzantines as the pelekyphóroi phroura—the “axe-bearing guard.” Their primary weapon was a fearsome, long-handled broadaxe, often double-bladed, which they could wield with terrifying force, capable of cleaving through a helmet or a shield. Complemented by a sword, mail armor, and a kite shield, they were the ultimate heavy infantry.

Their duties were threefold:

• Palace Bodyguards: Their most important role was protecting the Emperor’s life. They stood guard in the Great Palace, flanked the imperial throne during ceremonies, and accompanied the Emperor everywhere, even into church. Their imposing presence was a constant and visible deterrent to any would-be assassins.
• Elite Shock Troops: On the battlefield, the Varangians were the army’s elite. Held in reserve until the critical moment, they would be unleashed in a thunderous charge that could break enemy lines and turn the tide of battle. They served on every front of the empire, from Italy and the Balkans to Syria and Armenia.
• Imperial Agents: The Guard was also entrusted with sensitive missions, serving as guardians of the imperial treasury, special police in the capital, and even as interrogators and torturers when the Emperor needed information extracted.

The 11th-century Byzantine historian Michael Psellus noted their “frightful” appearance and their “unshakable” loyalty to the emperor, viewing them almost as loyal family heirlooms passed down from one ruler to the next.

A Path to Unimaginable Wealth

For a young man in Scandinavia or Iceland, service in the Varangian Guard was the ultimate path to fame and fortune. The pay was exceptionally high, but the real wealth lay in other opportunities. Upon the death of an emperor, the Varangians had a unique and legally sanctioned right known as apolompíai. They were permitted to run to the imperial treasury and take whatever gold, gems, and fine fabrics they could carry away. This practice, while seemingly chaotic, cleverly incentivized the Guard to fiercely protect the *current* emperor and ensure a stable (though profitable for them) transfer of power.

The most famous example of a Varangian who struck it rich is Harald Sigurdsson, better known to history as Harald Hardrada (“the Hard Ruler”). After fleeing Norway as a young exile, he joined the Guard and rose through the ranks to become a commander. He campaigned for the empire across the Mediterranean, fighting Saracens in Sicily and Bulgars in the Balkans. He accumulated such a vast fortune that he had to send it back to Kyiv for safekeeping. He eventually returned to Norway, used his Byzantine gold to fund an army, and successfully claimed the throne. The man who would die in 1066 at the Battle of Stamford Bridge, attempting to conquer England, began his career as an elite imperial bodyguard in Constantinople.

The Guard’s Evolution and Final Stand

After the Norman Conquest of England in 1066, a new wave of recruits began to arrive in Constantinople. Dispossessed Anglo-Saxon nobles and warriors, fleeing William the Conqueror, traveled to the Byzantine Empire to offer their services. Known for their own skill with axes, they were eagerly welcomed into the Guard. For the next century, the unit became a unique blend of Norsemen and Englishmen, united in their service to the Emperor.

The Varangian Guard continued to serve with distinction for centuries, but its fate was tied to that of the empire it protected. As the Byzantine Empire waned, so did the Guard. Their last great, tragic act came in 1204, when the knights of the Fourth Crusade betrayed their fellow Christians and brutally sacked Constantinople. While the Byzantine nobles and much of the army fled, the Varangian Guard mounted a desperate and heroic last stand against the invaders, fighting to the death to defend the city. It was the effective end of the Guard as an elite institution.

The Varangian Guard remains a testament to the interconnectedness of the medieval world. They were Vikings who became the protectors of Rome’s legacy, Norsemen who swore allegiance in a Greek-speaking court, and adventurers who traded their frozen fjords for the golden mosaics of the greatest city in Christendom. They were, in every sense, legends in their own time, and their story remains one of the most compelling chapters in world history.