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Viking Baltic Trade Network
During the 9th century, Scandinavian Vikings built a wide trade network along the eastern Baltic coast and inland waterways, linking Northern Europe,…
Timeline
- 801–850Gotland · GotlandSwedish Vikings set out from islands such as Gotland, sailing south along the eastern Baltic coast, establishing trade contacts with coastal Slavic tribes and exchanging northern products like furs, honey, and beeswax.
- 850–900Dnieper River—Varangian Route · UkraineViking merchants (Varangians) used inland river systems such as the Dnieper and Volga to carry goods to the Black Sea and Caspian, trading with Byzantium and the Islamic world, with large quantities of silver coins flowing into Northern Europe.
- 870–900Hedeby · Schleswig-HolsteinTrading ports such as Hedeby, Ribe, and Birka became key nodes of the Baltic network; large numbers of Arab silver coins and Byzantine coins excavated archaeologically attest to the scale and range of 9th-century trade.
Sources
- The Viking Rus: Studies on the Presence of Scandinavians in Eastern Europe — Wladyslaw Duczko (2004)
- Silver Economy in the Viking Age — James Graham-Campbell and Gareth Williams (2007)