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Varangian Guard

Type Object Region Constantinople Time 1071–1080

The Varangian Guard (Τάγμα τῶν Βαραγγίων) was a body of Scandinavian and Anglo-Saxon mercenary heavy infantry directly serving the Byzantine emperors…

Timeline

  1. c. 1071–1077Great Palace of Constantinople · ConstantinopleAfter Manzikert, the empire's eastern crisis deepened; Michael VII relied on the Varangian Guard to defend the Great Palace and the treasury; members were mostly exiles from England after the Norman Conquest and Nordic mercenaries, their loyalty maintained by lavish rewards.
  2. 1078Constantinople · ConstantinopleWhen Nikephoros III Botaneiates marched on the capital in 1078, the Varangian Guard took sides in the civil war and participated in the palace change of power; its tradition of raising emperors to the throne made it a force courted by all factions in the civil war.
  3. c. 1079–1080Constantinople · ConstantinopleIn the last years of Nikephoros III's reign, the Varangian Guard still bore palace ceremonial duties and the emperor's personal protection; its strength numbered several thousand, including a royal guard detachment and mobilizable auxiliary mercenaries, inherited by the soon-to-accede Alexios I.

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