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Varangian Guard

Type Object Region Byzantine Empire Time c. 988–1400

A royal guard corps of Byzantine Empire built around Norse and Anglo-Saxon mercenaries, serving as imperial bodyguards and shock infantry from the la…

Timeline

  1. c. 988Constantinople · Byzantine EmpireBasil II reorganized Kievan Rus reinforcements into a palace guard, establishing the institutional foundation for Varangians serving as the emperor's personal bodyguards.
  2. 1000–1100Constantinople · Byzantine EmpireAfter the Norman Conquest, large numbers of Anglo-Saxon exiles and Norse warriors joined the guard, expanding its ranks to several thousand, armed with great axes for court ceremonies and field assaults.
  3. 1131–1140Eastern Asia Minor · Byzantine EmpireIn John II and Manuel I's wars of recovery against the Seljuks and in Asia Minor, the Varangian Guard served as the emperor's own troops in sieges and rear-guard actions, retaining high pay and court privileges.
  4. 1204–1400Constantinople · Byzantine EmpireAfter the Latin Empire captured Constantinople, the guard split; some continued with the exile court, and its function shifted from pure bodyguard to more general mercenary shock infantry, finally vanishing with the empire's decline.

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