This tale describes the 943 Rus expedition through the Caspian sea, for decades they had been raiding coastal Caspian cities by that point, however, no expedition was as noteworthy as this one, as the Rus sailed upstream the wide Kura river and laid waste the region, raiding land and towns, remaining in the major city of Barda for for 7 months, launching assaults from fortresses they captured on the way, until they were forced to leave.
(the bolded text is just my writing to split the text in order to avoid a large text block)
The following is an extract from "The Eclipse of the Abbasid Caliphate" by the 9th/10th century Persian chronicler Ibn Miskawayh
Account of the exploits of the Rus and their issue
They are a mighty nation with vast frames and great courage.
They know not defeat, nor does any of them turn his back till he slay or be slain, it is the practice of the individual among them to carry his armor, while suspended upon his person an artisan outfit, axe, saw, hammer and the like. He fights with spear and shield; he wears a sword and has hung upon him a lance and an instrument resembling a poniard.
They fight on foot, especially these invaders.
Jace Sanders
The Rus invade the Sallarids
When they reached the Kur they were met by Marzuban's officer who served as governor of Bardha'ah at the head of three hundred Dailemites and about the same number of Su'luks and Kurds. He also summoned the whole people of the place to arms and was joined by some 5000 volunteers anxcious to fight these invaders.
They were however under a delusion, for not knowing the might of the Rus, whom they expected to behave like Greeks or Armenians. When they met them in battle not more than an hour elapsed before the Rus made a fierce slaughter which routed the army of Bardha'ah; the volunteers and the rest of the troops turned their backs with the exception of the Dailemites, who stood their ground and were killed to a man, except such of them as were mounted. The Rus then pursued the fugitives to the town, whence everyone, soldier or civilian, who had a mount to carry him, fled, leaving the town to be entered and siezed by the Rus.
Dominic Roberts
Rus capture of the capital of Arran, Barda, and face off incoming Muslim armies along with the hostile local populace
I was informed by Abu'l Abbas Ibn Nudar and a number of careful enquirers how the Rus when they hurried into the town made a proclamation to the citizens;
There is no dispute between us on the matter of religion; we only desire the sovereignty; it is our duty to treat you well and yours to be loyal to us.
The armies however came against them from all sides, only to be routed again by the Rus, who made sorties. When the Moslems charged the Rus, the people of Bardha'ah cried out Allah Akbar, and flung stones at the Rus. The latter had charge the people of Bardha'ah to restrain themselves, and not interfere between them and the Sultan; but thought this advice was accepted by the respectable classes, the common people and the rabble would not restrain themselves, but gave vent to their feelings by attacking the Rus when the followers of the Sultan charged them.
Alexander Perez
Failed evacuation of civilians and subsequent sack of the city
After some time they issued a proclamation that none of the inhabitants were to remain in the city after three days from the day of the proclamation. All who had mounts to carry them, their women and their children left the place. These however, were the small minority; when the fourth day came, the majority were still there, so the Rus put them to the sword, slaughtering countless numbers. After the massacre they bound over 10 000 men and lads with their women, their wives and their daughters; they proceeded to place the women and children in a fortress within the city called locally Shahristan, where they had taken up their quarters, lodged their troops and entrenched themselves. They then gathered the men into the Public Mosque, set guards at the doors and bade the men ransom themselves. Thus the Rus possessed themselves a vast amount of property. They retained for themselves the women and boys, on whom they gratified their lust, and whom they enslaved
Brody Clark
News of Rus atrocities spread, Muslims gather a massive army for campaign against them, but they fail
When the terrible nature of the calamity was realized, and the Moslems in the different countries heard about it, they called for a general expedition. Marzuban b. Mohammed mustered the troops and called for a general enlistment. Volunteers joined him from all directions.
He marched at the head of 30 000 men, but in spite of the numbers that he had gathered, he was unable to make head against the Rus, or to produce any effect upon them.
Morning and evening he used to attack them, and regularly retired defeated.
The war continued to be waged in this style for many days, and the moslems were always vanquished.
Colton King
Epidemic of dysentery spreads among the Rus because of excessive consumption of local fruits
It so happened that when the Rus had got into Bardha'ah, they indulged excessively in the fruit of which there are numerous sorts there. This produced an epidemic among them, as theirs is an exceedingly cold country, where no fruit tree grows, and the little fruit which they have is imported from distant regions. When their numbers begand thereby to be reduced, Marzuban, seeking for a stratagem, bethought him of laying an ambush for them at night.
Marzuban attempts to conquer the Rus again
He therefore arranged with his army that they should make a hurried attack; when the Rus charged, he with his followers should let themselves be routed, thereby encouraging them to hope they would be able to annihilate the Moslem army; when the Rus got beyond the place where the ambush lay, Marzuban with his followers should return to the charge and shout to the ambush a cry on which they had agreed; when the Rus hadthus got between the two forces, the Moslem would have them in their power. The morning after this scheme had been arranged, Marzuban with his followers advanced, and the Rus came out to meet them. Their commander was mounted on an ass, and his followers came out and ranged themselves in order of battle.
Jaxson Perez
Feint retreat does not go as planned, Rus retreat to city with casualties
The usual procedure occurred.
Marzuban with the Moslems took to flight and were pursued by the Rus till they had got beyond the place of the ambush. Only the Moslems continued to flee. Marzuband afterwards narrated how, when he saw his followers act thus, and his earnest entreaties to them to renew the fight were unavailing, owning to the terror of the Rus which had seized their hearts, he recognized that if this went on, the Rus on their return would not fail to notice the ambush, which would in consequence be destroyed. So he said, I turned round myself with my personal attendants, my brother, my staff and my retainers, having made up my mind to die a martyrs death.
Thereupon most of the Dailemites were shamed into doing the like; we charged, cried out to the ambush, which issued forth behind the Rus, fought them in brave style and killed 700 of them, including their commander. The remainer made their way into the fortress and the town, where they had established their quarters and whither they had moved a quantity of food and stores, and where they housed their captives and their treasures.
... (Marzupan continues his protracted campaign, but is then attacked by another Muslim ruler, the Hamdanid amir of Mosul, Nasir al-Daula, who launches a campaign of conquest, likely an act of opportunism because of the Rus invasion, which forces Marzupan to react and move westwards and successfully fend off the invasion)
Thomas Perry
The Rus grow weary and leave the land with their plunder
The followers of Marzuban continued to attack and besiege the Rus till the latter grew weary. The epidemic became severe in addition. When one of them died they buried with him his weapons, clothes and equipment, also his wife or some other of the womenfolk, and his slave, if he happened to be attached to it; this being their practice. After their power had come to an end, the Moslems disturbed their graves and brought out a number of their swords, which are in great demand to this day for their sharpness and excellence. When their numbers were reduced, they left by night the fortresses in which they had established their quarters, carrying on their backs all they could of their trasure, gems and fine raiment, and burning the rest.
They dragged with all women, boys and girls as they wanted, and made for the Kur, where the ships in which they had issued from their home were in readiness with their crews, and 300 Rus whom they had been supporting with portions of their booty. They embarked and departed, and God saved the Moslems from them.
Gavin Hernandez
On the prowess of the Rus warriors
From persons who witnessed these Rus, I heard stories of wonder of their prowess and contempt of the Muslim forces gathereed against them. Thus there was a story current in the region which I heard from many persons, how five Rus were assembled in a garden in Bardha'ah, one of them beardless lad of fair appearence, the son of one of their chieftains, with some captive women. When the Moslems learned of their presence, they surrounded the garden and a large number of Dailemite and others came together to fight these five Rus.
They tried hard to get a single prisoner out of the number but it was not possible, for none of them would capitulate, and they could not be killed before they had slain many times their number of the Moslems. The beardless lad was the last survivor. When he percieved that he was going to be captured, he mounted a tree that was near him, and kept slashing away his vital parts with his sword till he fell dead.
The End
Zachary Torres
Rus had formed Kiev some two centuries before, they already spoke Slavonic at the time.
Caleb Hughes
> Muslim army of 30 000 men > fails miserably against some ragtag band of retarded Slavs led by a couple Swedes > this described by a Muslim source, obviously biased against the Rus, meaning the reality was probably even worse for the Mooselambs
Chase Jones
Pretty cool OP
Any idea of the long reaching consequences of this invasion?
Samuel Gomez
> they already spoke Slavonic at the time
They also worshipped Slavic gods as early as the late 9th century.
In the 907 treaty with the Romans, they are described as giving oath to Perun and Volos, not Odin and Thor.
> Any idea of the long reaching consequences of this invasion?
None really, this was not the first Rus raid over the Caspian, but it was definitely the most destructive one.
However, some historians argue that Igor did not participate in this raid and that the riches brought back from the raid were the main reason for his double taxation of the Drevlians, as allegedly Drevlian Slavs got mysteriously incredibly rich just after this event, which caused jealousy among the nordic variag bodyguard of Igor, who convinced him to go into the drevlian forest to enforce more taxes, which resulted in the Drevlians massacring everyone and then based loyal waifu Olga massacring a lot of the Drevlians in turn, after refusing to marry any of the princes and burying her suitors alive.
Owen Moore
>even the little boys got raped by vikings
Why the fuck did everyone like shota so much?
Julian Campbell
Why don't you, user?
Adam Barnes
he is obviously a furry kang
Christopher Peterson
They were afraid of the Aryan warrior.
Ryan Davis
slaryan
Colton Baker
Bumping good thread Thanks OP, you weren't a faggot today
Jack Nelson
One stick to few to be a faggot.
Justin Hall
>furry kang The worst kind of fetish.
Isaac Martin
So the moral of the story is that even in the Xth century, the Slavs were Kebab Removers par excellence? Good to know. Thanks for sharing OP!
"Leaving Igor in Kiev, Oleg attacked the Greeks. He took with him a multitude of Varangians, Slavs, Chuds, Krivichians, Merians, Polianians, Severians, Derevlians, Radimichians, Croats, Dulebians, and Tivercians, who are Tors. All these tribes are known as Great Scythia by the Greeks. With this entire force, Oleg sallied forth by horse and by ship, and the number of his vessels was two thousand."
The Rus Primary chronicle states that only 1 of the 12 warrior tribes of the Rus horde is Scandinavian, the rest are Slavs and one Finnic.
Only during the age of Rurik himself were the Rus actually Swedes, even when Oleg first sails his ships the Romans write he is leading a fleet of Slavs.
Also, Muslim chroniclers for the most part call the Rus Slavs, for instance Ibn Khurdadbeh who wrote circa 840-880 clearly calls the Rus Slavs.
> Why?
Because whites are retarded.
Asher Ross
>Merians
correction, Merians could also be Finns, so 2 Finnic tribes, 9 Slavic tribes and 1 Scandinavian tribe
Jace Torres
>whites are retarded Conpared to who, Arabs?
Grayson Robinson
Because they shit on their balls.
Isaiah Russell
Its kind of muddy. The Rus were made up a powerful minority of Scandis ruling over a majority Slavic populace. The Norse were practical people, and were willing to adopt the mannerisms of the people they ruled over as evidenced by their legacy in Normandy. As the years progressed, the elites became increasingly Slavicized. That being said, the Rus still held close relations with other Nordics as evidenced in the Sagas.
Yes, by the time of Igor's death they were basically Slavs, even their names in the Roman treaties are slavenized nordic names among slavic names.
Also, the Scandinavians were only the main royal class in Novgorod and Kiev, everywhere outside these two bases the ruling princes were Slavic.
Jace Evans
>tfw you'll never be a rus raider with a sick haircut and mustache >tfw you'll never lead an inbred gang of slav drunkards to victory against muslims >tfw you'll never bring a harem of women, girls and boys back home to sweden
Also where did these chronicles draw the line between boys/girls and men/women?
Ryan Nelson
> Also where did these chronicles draw the line between boys/girls and men/women?
probably around 12 years old
Carson Bell
Compared to Arya ns
Leo Mitchell
> you weren't a faggot today
wasn't he though?
wasn't he?
Lucas Howard
They were clearly neither ragtag nor retarded. It's doubtful they were even a band if the local governor felt it necessary to raise over 5,000 troops in the first place.
And if the Muslim source was biased in that way against the Rus, it wouldn't spend the time to mention how they were elite and courageous warriors who fought to the death and instead be busily making up numbers or even ignore them altogether since there was no permanent change in local politics. The author even mentions how the Rus offered the locals an explanation that they were just here to conquer and be fair rulers (meaning they were more than just a ragtag band), and how they gave three days warning for everyone to evacuate before sacking and enslaving them. A biased author would have probably denigrated their religion, made all sorts of curses at them, and only mention their attacks on civilians without any context.
Hudson Wood
> A biased author would have probably denigrated their religion, made all sorts of curses at them, and only mention their attacks on civilians without any context.
No, a more biased author would, the mentioned author is still biased, just not as much as to remove sections of the story he thought were important.
Brayden Cox
I didn't mean biased in general, only biased in a way that he'd downplay the incident. The source seems pretty fair and probably didn't leave anything out that he could find.
> The Seljuk Turks(Oguz) also took the Russians under control
...but the Rus were allied with the Oguz?
They literally raided the Khazar Jew empire together, never coming into recorded conflicts.
Tyler Nelson
>thinking the viking were good fighters ever
Cooper Torres
“Today not a trace remains of Bulghars, nor of Burtas, nor of Khazars. Because the Rus annihilated them all, took from them all their lands and made them their own. Those who survived fled to neighboring cities in order to remain close to their homes in the hope that they would make peace with them, and submit to the Rus.” - Muḥammad Abū’l-Qāsim Ibn Ḥawqal
> conquer an area 4 times the size of France > by constantly fighting steppe hordes along the way > not good fighters hmmm
Matthew Morgan
The Seljuqs, and Turkmens, who arrived in the Middle East came after the Khazars, and were Muslims. The Oghuzes who raided towards Ukraine were pagans, who were forced to leave todays Kazakhstan after a civil war between Muslim and Pagan Oghuzes.
Oliver Green
> by constantly fighting steppe hordes along the way
Those hordes were fighting each other and were not united.
Hunter Roberts
>> by constantly fighting steppe hordes along the way With gunpowder. Even China crushed them doing the same.
Bentley Martinez
> Those hordes were fighting each other and were not united.
neither were the Rus and so did the Rus.
Hell, the formation of Kiev into their center was culminated by Olegs civil war against Askold and Dir.
> With gunpowder.
lmao what?
Ayden Murphy
For example, it were the Pechenegs who really crushed the Khazars. Not to mention the civil war between Oghuzes, Kipchaks and Cumans.
Charles Turner
> For example, it were the Pechenegs who really crushed the Khazars
fucking lol no
What kind of pseudohistory you speak off?
The Pechenegs were not mentioned by anyone east of the Dnieper since the 920s.
Literally every single source mentioning the demise of the Khazars states the Rus being the cause, with only the last eastern conquest of Itil being supported by Oguz Turks employed by the Rus as support.
In fact, even the Volga Bulgaria is described as totally swamped by Rus raids to such an extent that they had to abandon their massive capital city until they finally reconquered after Sviatoslav died and the retard Rus divided their country into three, constantly bickering princedoms.
Brandon Baker
>lmao what? That means with muskets and cannons
Henry Smith
They are talking about the 10th century Rus, you cumstain
Cameron Johnson
lol wolo
Noah Edwards
...what?
Aaron Sullivan
Hairlessness, mostly facial hair, but perhaps around the genital area as well. The last part is purely speculation on my part though.
Justin Sullivan
> but perhaps around the genital area as well.
i would argue that it is more this than facial hair
Josiah Sanchez
>le slavs ruled by vikaaangz XD The lands of the Slavs stretch from the Syrian Sea to the Ocean in the north... They comprise numerous tribes, each different from the other... At present, there are four kings: the king of the Bulgars; Bojeslav, King of Faraga, Boiema and Karako; Mesko, king of the North; and Nakon on the border of the west...
As far as the relm of Mesko is concerned, this is the most extensive of their lands. It produces an abundance of food, meat, honey, and fish. The taxes collected by the king from commercial goods are used for the support of his retainers. He keeps three thousand armed men divided into detachments... and provides them with everything they need, clothing, horses, and weapons... The dowry system is very important to the Slavs, and is similar to the customs of the Berbers. When a man possesses several daughters or a couple of sons, the former become a source of wealth, the latter a source of great prestige.
In general, the Slavs are violent, and inclined to aggression. If not for the disharmony amongst them, caused by the multiplication of factions and by their fragmentation into clans, no people could mach their strength. They inhabit the richest limits of the lands suitable for settlement, and most plentiful in means of support. They are specially energetic in agriculture... Their trade on land and sea reaches to the Ruthenians and to Constantinople...
Their women, when married, do not commit adultery. But a girl, when she falls in love with some man or other, will go to him and quench her lust.
Lincoln Wilson
Scandinavians didn't call Kievan Rus "Gardariki" - "land of cities" for nothing. Kiev and Novgorod were far more advanced cities than anything that existed in Scandinavia at the time. If anything, they were the ones who were being civilized by having relations with Kievan Rus.
Oliver Scott
>viking >Rus choose one Varangians were Varni, not Scandinavians. Vicingi/Wiciędzy were slavic wariors from Polabie
Blake Lewis
> powerful minority of Scandis ruling over a majority Slavic populace.
Nonsense, this is simply German propaganda and whatever authority of the Norse had in Eastern Europe, extended only as far as a bow shot from the walls of their trading forts.
The population and culture was overwhelmingly Slavic and quickly assimilated the handful of Norse who traded up the and down the rivers and who left no legacy in Eastern Europe.
Xavier Lee
itt slavs fuming
Jordan Bailey
Pretty much everyone was more advanced than Scandinavians.
Isaac Hernandez
Why are vikings even romanticized? They were weak shits without any real culture. The only thing they were good at was raping women and killing children.
Kayden Lee
XIX century pan-germanistic propaganda.
Matthew Gonzalez
>Russian vikings captured muslim civilians, put their cuckold men in mosque to pray while they rape all the enslaved veiled wifes. Noise.
I wouldn't count the Primary Chronicle, the signatures of the Rus'-Byzantine Treaties, or the presence of Borre-styled artifacts in Russian graves as German propaganda, but whatever.
