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Dr. Suk Kyoon Kim
The History of Piracy and Navigation
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Chapter 2 The Roman Empire and Piracy Origin of the Roman Empire Before exploring piracy problems in the Roman Empire, we will briefly take a look at the early history of the empire itself, as well as its sea-going history. The origin of the Roman Empire began with the myth of the legendary twins ‘Romulus’ and ‘Remus.’ The twins, who had been abandoned in the Tiber River when they were babies, were cared for by a she-wolf. One day, a shepherd came across the twin boys who were suckled by the she-wolf, and the man took them home and raised them. As the twins grew up, they became the leaders of shepherds in the region. As their power expanded, they conquered a kingdom that had ruled the region. The twins decided to divide their territory and rule separately, but soon were in dispute. Romulus eventually killed Remus and founded the city of Rome in 753 B.C., making himself a king and naming it Rome in his own honor.Rome, which was only a small tribal state when it was founded, engaged in conquering tribal states around it and ultimately was able to create a unified state on the Italian Peninsula in 270 B.C. Ancient states were eager to take to the sea to build trade networks. By the 8th century B.C., various trade networks centered in the Greek Peninsula, the Peloponnese Peninsula and along the coast of Asia Minor were built in the Aegean and the Mediterranean. They were engaged in fierce competition to take control of the seas, and this eventually led to wars. Meanwhile, Rome gained a foothold to rise as a great empire across the Mediterranean by winning the Punic Wars against the Carthaginian Empire (located on the coast of modern day Tunis). The Carthaginian Empire, which had been a Phoenician colony, dominated the western Mediterranean during the first millennium B.C. As the emerging Roman Republic eagerly sought to take to the Mediterranean, the emerging and hegemonic powers inevitably went to war over control of the Mediterranean. They fought against each other in three wars, called the Punic Wars, over 120 years. During the first Punic War, which ran between 264 and 241 B.C., Romans invaded Sicily, which had been under control of Carthaginians, and annexed the island into its territory. During the second war (218–201 B.C.), Rome faced a true crisis, as the Carthaginian troops led by Hannibal marched into the Italian Peninsula from across the Alps and stayed there for 16 years. Eventually Romans maneuvered a landing on the coast of Carthage across the Mediterranean to cut off supplies and attack the mainland of Carthage. Hannibal withdrew his troops back to Carthage to defend his homeland. At the battle of Zama in 201 B.C., the Roman troops led by Scipio Africanus won a decisive victory. The Roman Republic was able to establish full control over the western Mediterranean, in addition to a massive amount of reparations from Carthage. A half century later, as Carthage challenged Roman rule, a young Scipio organized the Roman troops and besieged Carthage. The Carthaginians surrendered after three years (149–146 B.C.) of resistance, and the Romans totally destroyed the city and slaughtered all living things there. Then they spread salt on the ground so as to prevent any living thing from growing there again. The Carthaginian Empire ultimately disappeared. On the day of the fall of Carthage, a young Scipio went up to a mountain and shed tears while looking down the 700-year-old city, now in flames. Historian Polybius, next to him, asked him why. With a deep sigh, he replied that he had a sense that Rome would someday share that fate. Scipio was applying the iron principle of history – any thriving state is doomed to decline. The Early Roman Empire and
the Piracy Problem The conquest of the Carthaginian Empire allowed Rome, which had been a merely city-state, to expand to a gigantic empire that stretched across the Mediterranean, turning it into a ‘Roman Lake.’ Before the Punic Wars, Rome had remained a land power; with a limited number of warships and sailors, it was not a proper naval power at all. However, the Romans created fleets of warships with the Greeks’ assistance, and built up their naval power through the Punic Wars. Meanwhile, the thriving Roman Republic had a major thorn in its side: pirates. During the Punic Wars in the western Mediterranean, and the decline of Mycenaean city-states after Alexander the Great’s death in the eastern Mediterranean, there was a power vacuum throughout the sea. Pirates, taking advantage of this circumstance, were rampant. Pirates throughout Roman provinces were so powerful that they could not be curbed by regional resistance. Since piratical damages across the Roman Republic were tremendous, the eradication of pirates became a national priority. Following the establishment of full control over the Mediterranean, Romans looked for legal justification for how to use the sea and establish the oceanic order. In the 2nd century B.C., Roman jurist Marcianus claimed that the sea, as part of natural law, should be shared by everyone. By the 6th century, the Romans’ idea of the sea as common property was codified in Roman laws. Such views served as the foundation of marine policy in terms of the use of the sea. This open-mindedness toward the use of the sea was likely to be seen as natural, given the Romans’ openness towards the many different ethnicities, cultures, languages and religions that dotted its huge, cross-continental territory. Whatever position they took, however, there would be no difference at all in terms of the Romans’ control of the Mediterranean. Pirates and Rivalry Between
Pompey and Caesar Interestingly, fateful events in the lives of Pompey Magnus (106–48 B.C.) and Julius Caesar (100–44 B.C.) were related to the Roman Republic’s piracy problem. The episode was derived from Pompey’s anti-pirate campaigns. Of the brilliant military successes that Pompey had achieved as a general, the eradication of pirates across the Mediterranean might be his foremost accomplishment. First we need to get to know about his career, as well as his political rivalry with Caesar, to better understand his anti-pirate campaigns. Pompey, who formed a political alliance with Julius Caesar and Marcus Crassus, known as the First Triumvirate in the late Roman Republic, was one of the most powerful leaders. Pompey came from a noble and wealthy family, and he had engaged in many wars since he was very young. He achieved prominent success at the age of 18 during the Social War (91–88 B.C.) that the Roman Republic and several other cities in Italy had fought over Roman citizenship. His successes as a military commander helped him gain the nickname Magnus, (‘the Great’), leading him to attain consulship three times. As a sign of political alliance with Caesar, Pompey married his daughter Julia. After she had died in childbirth, however, there was nothing to halt the two rivals’ contentious battle to become the first man in the Roman Republic. There is a maxim that even father and son may not share political power together. The two rivals, who had once been allies as well as family members, eventually engaged in fierce military campaigns against each other to see who would become the supreme leader of the Roman Republic. Apart from their political ambitions, both were supported by opposing groups of people in the Roman society. Pompey, hailing from a noble family, sided with other nobles and formed a political alliance with the conservative Senate. On the other hand, Caesar was supported by the common people. When Caesar successfully concluded the Gallic Wars, the Senate – driven to an alliance with Pompey because it feared Caesar’s military power – ordered Caesar to step down from his military command and return to Rome. Finding himself with no other option but to cross the Rubicon River, Caesar marched on Rome, saying “the die is cast.” A civil war broke out between the two rivals. Faced with the swift maneuvering of Caesar’s troops, Pompey and many of the Senate fled to the south of Italy. Pompey’s troops retreated to Greece and were defeated at the Battle of Pharsalus in 48 B.C. Pompey sought refuge in Egypt but was eventually assassinated there. Caesar’s victory in the civil war meant the transition from the Roman Republic to the Principate, making Caesar de facto emperor – essentially ‘dictator in perpetuity.’ This transition happened four years before Caesar was assassinated in 44 B.C. by a group of senators who opposed his populist reforms. Most importantly, they wanted to safeguard the Roman Republic, which had been the political system of Rome over several hundred years. After Caesar’s death, a series of civil wars broke out. Caesar’s adopted heir, Octavian, finally rose to become Augustus after he had defeated his political rivals in the civil wars, opening the era of the Roman Empire. Pompey’s Anti-Pirate Campaigns Pirates across the Mediterranean had been very problematic for the Roman Republic even before it rose to become the superpower of the region. However, the problem became more serious as the Cilician pirates engaged in the plundering of ships between Rome and Egypt, disrupting the transport of goods and communications, particularly grains from Egypt. At the time, the pirates were powerful enough to defeat the Roman naval force off Brundisium in southeast Italy in 86 B.C. Furthermore, the Cilician pirates were involved in the revolt of Spartacus (73–71 B.C.), a major slave and gladiator uprising against the Roman Republic, by supporting the rebels. As the survival of the Roman Republic itself was threatened, Romans were determined to launch a massive military campaign to root out the pirates completely. In 67 B.C., the Senate decided to grant Pompey three years of imperium under the Anti-Piracy Law, which had been enacted in 101 B.C. He was given sweeping power to fight the pirates, which included the use of 6,000 talents, a fleet of 500 warships, 120,000 infantries and 5,000 cavalries. He was also given the power to tax and raise militias anywhere across the Roman territory within 50 miles landward from the sea. This might show how seriously Romans took the problem of pirates. Even in peacetime, Pompey was given much greater power than wartime commanders. At first, the conservative Senate strongly opposed giving imperium to the young and ambitious general. However, the Senate had no choice but to approve the bill of imperium because pirates were an urgent national issue.
Gnaeus Pompey Magnus As the pirates disrupted shipping, low-class merchants and workers engaged in trade lost their jobs, and the common people greatly suffered from the soaring prices of their necessities. For this reason, the mere news of the Senate’s counter-piracy bill was enough to send prices down. The common people greatly supported the bill, and the Senate promptly passed the revised bill the following day. The swift enactment was made possible, in part, due to the support of Julius Caesar. An episode behind it will be described shortly. Under the powerful imperium, Pompey completely eradicated the pirates off the Italian Peninsula in less than 40 days. Within three months, the pirates across the Mediterranean were broken and scattered, too. What made him so swiftly and effectively complete his mission? Apart from imperium, his strategy employed coordinated strikes between maritime and land forces, and that proved key to his amazing successes. Pompey divided the Mediterranean into 13 districts and placed each of them under the command of deputy commanders, called legates. While commanding a back-up squadron consisting of 60 warships, Pompey instructed the deputy commanders to blockade the pirates from going to the sea and to drive them to land. Then Pompey launched attacks from the coast of Spain eastwards. The pirates were forced to flee to the southern coast of Cilicia (the coast of modern Turkey), once known as the safe haven of pirates. The Roman troops attacked these Cilician pirate strongholds and bases with overwhelming force. The simultaneous attacks on land and at sea were extremely successful. The Roman troops destroyed no fewer than 500 pirate ships and 120 pirate bases, killing more than 10,000 pirates. Only a small number of pirates were able to flee from the attacks. Pompey treated surrendered pirates leniently, not crucifying them. In the aftermath, the Mediterranean was cleared of pirates for the first time throughout history, and shipping was prosperous again. The Roman marketplaces were full of foods and grains from various regions across the Mediterranean, and the price of goods stabilized. The Mediterranean enjoyed peace and security free from the pirate threat for another four centuries until the collapse of the West Roman Empire. When Pompey returned to Rome in triumph, Romans cheered tremendously for his brilliant campaigns. Pompey became a national hero and this led him to his second consulship. Julius Caesar and Pirates Young Caesar worked as a lawyer as well as a prosecutor. Caesar was engaged in the impeachment of a key aide to Sulla (138–78 B.C.), a general as well as politician who had risen to consulship twice and ruled Rome under a dictatorship. Caesar failed to impeach him and consequently he became a target of the Sulla faction. The young Caesar, at the age of 24, opted to go abroad to save himself from the threat. His choice was Rhodes, a Greek island off the Anatolian coast of Asia Minor (modern Turkey), which was an intellectual capital alongside Athens. Rhodes at the time was the hub of trade as well. Its wealth and power might be well demonstrated by the Colossus of Rhodes, a gigantic statue erected in commemoration of victory over a battle with Macedonia in 290 B.C. The statue, whose height was up to 34 meters (equivalent of the Statue of Liberty from the feet to the crown), collapsed during the earthquake of 226 B.C. and was taken apart by Saracens who invaded the island in 653. Rhodes also held a significant position in terms of the evolution of the law of the sea. Rhodes was the center in the evolution of the law of the sea, particularly in terms of settling maritime and trade disputes. The early customary law of the sea is called the ‘Rhodesian Sea Law.’ The principle of freedom of navigation today was established through the Rhodesian Sea Law. Young Caesar sought a refuge in Rhodes, in the name of studying abroad. On the way to Rhodes, the ship that he was aboard was seized by Cilician pirates in 75 B.C. Pompey’s massive counter-pirate campaign was still 10 years away, so piracy was still rampant in the area. When the pirates demanded a ransom of 20 talents, the equivalent of annual salaries for 4,300 soldiers at the time, Caesar began to laugh loudly. If he could not afford to pay the ransom, he would have been sold into slavery or been killed. In this midst of this crisis, Caesar came up with a clever ruse. Hoping to buy time, he offered to pay 50 talents, implying that he was worth a much higher ransom if only the pirates could be patient. The pirates were fascinated by his offer. They thought that there would be nothing to lose for them, except a delay in ransom payment, and besides, they could always execute him if it turned out he wasn’t worth keeping alive. Caesar sent his followers to raise money while he was held hostage with his two servants. The pirates, who believed that they held a son of a wealthy Roman nobleman, were excited about the enormous ransom. During his captivity, Caesar laughingly told them he would have them all crucified once he was released – thinking this a good joke, the pirates laughed along with him. For 40 days, until his followers came back with the ransom that he had offered, he stalled for time and lived among the pirates. As soon as he paid it and was set free, he rushed to nearby Miletus to prepare attacks on the pirates. Sailing from Miletus, he raided the pirates’ base and captured nearly all of them. Entrusted by the governor of Asia Minor to deal with the pirates, he crucified all of them, as he had promised. After two years in Rhodes, Caesar came back to Roman politics. Caesar’s support for granting imperium to his rival Pompey might have been derived from his bitter firsthand experience with the pirates.
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Chapter 3 Mediterranean Pirates After
the Collapse of the Roman Empire Introduction This chapter deals with Saracen pirates who dominated the Mediterranean after the collapse of the West Roman Empire, commonly referred to as the Roman Empire. But before discussing the Saracen pirates who looted the Mediterranean Sea off the Italian Peninsula while Muslims ruled the Middle and Near East and North Africa, we first need to know about the late Roman Empire and its decline. Moving straight into the era of Muslims and Saracen pirates without understating the late Roman Empire would only provide a partial understanding of what led to their rise. Any particular historical event is a result of the interaction of numerous complicated factors throughout a long history. The appearance of Saracen pirates is also a historical event brought by a power vacuum after the collapse of the Roman Empire. The Roman Empire is often considered to be synonymous with ancient European history itself. Saracen pirates were totally different in nature from previous Mediterranean pirates. Piracy before the collapse of the Roman Empire was an internal problem of the Roman Empire, and in many cases, these were Christian pirates attacking other Christians. However, in the Mediterranean which came under Muslim control, Muslims from North Africa attacked the Italian Peninsula and the Christians under the rule of the Byzantine Empire. The Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire The brilliant history of the Roman Empire over a millennium ended with the fall of the Western Roman Empire in 476. The Eastern Roman Empire, based in the capital of Constantinople, would continue to exist until the city was captured by Osman Turks in 1453. The Byzantine Empire, built on the Greek Orthodox religion and Byzantine culture, was a totally different empire from the Western Roman Empire. In this sense, the Roman Empire is widely considered to have ended with the fall of the Western Roman Empire. The territory of the Roman Empire at its height extended to Spain in the west, Asia Minor and the Near East in the east, and North Africa in the south. Extending north into modern-day Europe, the Rhine River to the west and the Danube River to the east had served as the frontlines of the empire over several hundred years. Romans built military posts along the frontlines and stationed troops to defend them. The frontlines were not only defense lines, but also boundary lines which divided the land between what Romans considered ‘civilization’ and the lands inhabited by tribal peoples. The Roman Empire was a civilized society where people enjoyed economic prosperity, academics, and arts flourished, and the value of individuals under the rule of law was highly regarded. By a stark contrast, beyond the frontlines, there was a barbaric world which had remained tribal states and eked out a living from aggressive actions and sackings. For Romans, it was vital to formulate laws and institutions which could be universally applied to various nations with different cultures, ethnicity and religions under their rule. Besides, it was also essential to build traffic networks to connect Rome with its provinces across several continents. The Roman roads, built initially for military purposes, enabled the rule of the emperor to reach every corner of its territory, and at the same time, any event that happened across the provinces could be reported swiftly to the emperor in Rome. As the saying goes: “all roads lead to Rome.” The Roman roads operated like a body’s nervous system, allowing troops to move swiftly in the event of rebellions in the provinces or the aggressive actions of barbarians across the frontlines. In the period of the “five good emperors” (96–180), the Roman Empire enjoyed its most majestic days. The political situation remained stable, the economy prospered, and the empire’s territorial reach was at its height. The empire’s defenses were so secure that barbarians could not attempt to cross the frontlines. The values of Rome were regarded as universal. The era of Pax Romana, which meant peace or order established by Romans, was at hand. Following a period of peace and expansion during the rule of the five good emperors, the Roman Empire entered its so-called ‘Crisis of the Third Century.’ After the death of Emperor Marcus Aurelius (120–180), a number of unqualified rulers ascended to the throne. Throughout this period, several proclaimed themselves emperor simultaneously, setting off a series of assassinations. Concurrently, rebellions in Palmyra (an ancient city in what is now Syria) and Gaul (mainly modern-day France and Belgium) broke out. The Roman Empire was challenged by the largest crisis it had faced since its foundation. Meanwhile, the spirit of noblesse oblige of the ruling class, along with their open-mindedness, gradually faded away, and the economy was on the wane. As the wealth inequality grew, social conflicts intensified. Romans were no longer able to maintain adequate military forces to defend the frontlines, while barbarian aggression was growing. At the same time, a new civilization was born at the frontier of the empire. The barbarians who had looted and pillaged the territories of the Roman Empire grew more civilized as they integrated advanced Roman culture and technologies through wars with Romans. The barbarians increased the intensity and frequency of anti-Roman aggression, while evolving into tribal states with systemic ruling organizations and military forces. It is not easy to pinpoint exactly when the decline of the Roman Empire started. However, what is apparent is that the Roman Empire, after the Crisis of the Third Century, started to decline rapidly in the late fourth century. The Roman Empire in decay was incapable of financing military forces to defend its huge frontlines. The massive provinces across several continents had been a symbol of expansion of the Roman Empire, but their defense became an extremely heavy burden for the Roman Empire as it fell into decline. As a consequence, the barbaric mercenaries who had lived in the Roman territories took the place of Romans. This meant that the national defense of Rome itself was actually handed over to the tribes that had been its enemies. The Roman Empire, which had become impossible for a single emperor to rule, was eventually divided into the Western and the Eastern empires in 395. The Western Roman Empire was totally vulnerable to the barbarians who invaded deep inside the territories. In the end, the brilliant millennium of the Roman Empire came to an end in 476 with attacks led by tribal chief Odoacer. Advent of Muslims Following the fall of the Western Roman Empire, German barbarians occupied the Italian Peninsula and North Africa. Justinian the Great of the Byzantine Empire, who sought to revive the empire’s greatness and reconquer the lost western half of the historical Roman Empire, recovered the Italian Peninsula from the barbarians over 20 years. After he died, however, the southern territories of the historical Western Roman Empire were occupied by the Longobards. As such, the Italian Peninsula was divided into two parts – one part ruled by the Eastern Roman Empire and the other, by the Longobards. Meanwhile in the Arabic Peninsula, which had been under the rule of the Eastern Roman Empire, one of the most seismic events in world history took place. That is, Islam was founded. The Prophet Muhammad, the founder of Islam, received the revelations of God delivered by Gabriel at the age of 40 while he prayed in a mountain cave, named Hira. After he started preaching in 613, Islam spread rapidly throughout neighboring regions, the religion spreading like wildfire through a dry field. Muhammad, who proclaimed “God is One” was persecuted by Meccan polytheists, and he escaped to Medina in 622 in the Hegira which marks the beginning of the Islamic calendar. Mohammad conquered Mecca with his followers in 629. Islam expanded into a dominating force that ruled nearly all the Arabian Peninsula in less than 20 years since its foundation. Following Mohammad’s death in 632, the Islam community led by the Caliph, a supreme religious, political and military leader, evolved towards an enormous empire as it continued to conquer the neighboring regions. At last, the Caliph completed the conquest of the entire Arabian Peninsula in 634, and in the following year, Damascus in Syria. The Byzantine Empire sent troops to recover its province but was defeated, and as a result, Damascus came under the full control of Islam. The Islamic forces advanced to Mesopotamia in the east, West Asia to the west and Egypt to the south and conquered Alexandria in 642, making Egypt an Islamic state. The Islamic forces continued to conquer North Africa, bringing most of the region under its control by 689. The conquest of the entirety of North Africa in a short period was made possible in large part because of its flat geography, allowing Islamic forces to move swiftly on their Arabian horses. The grain belt, which had supplied one-third of the Romans’ food, came under the rule of Islam. Islamic Conquest of the Iberian Peninsula Following the conquest of North Africa, the Islamic force crossed the Strait of Gibraltar to advance upon the Iberian Peninsula in 711. The Islamic force, which attempted to go into France through the Iberian Peninsula, was blocked by the Frankish Kingdom after the Franks won the Battle of Poitiers in the Pyrenees Mountains in 732. As a consequence, the ambitious Islamic goal of expansion into Western Europe failed. Afterwards, the Muslims stayed in the Iberian Peninsula for about 780 years, until they were forced to leave Granada, the last bastion of Muslims, in 1492 during the Reconquista – otherwise known as the Christians’ recovery of those conquered territories from Muslim rule. Assumption is not allowed in history. However, supposing that the Franks had been defeated in the battle, Western Europe would have been under the rule of Islam, and the history of modern Europe – and by extension, the history of the world – would be greatly changed. The tremendous wave of the Islamic forces, represented by the phrase “A sword on the right hand, Quran on the left hand,” swept through Central Asia, conquering the Sassanid Persian Empire (226–651). Most of the former territories of the Roman Empire came under control of Islam, except for Western and Eastern Europe. As a consequence, Christians and Muslims confronted each other across the Mediterranean Sea. A totally different circumstance from the era of the Roman Empire, in which Christianity was the state religion, appeared. The conditions for Saracen pirates, who left a big scar in the history of Europe and the Mediterranean over several centuries, emerged. Saracen Pirates The term ‘Saracen’ is derived from ‘Saraceni’ that ancient Greeks and Romans had used in reference to Arabs. Initially, Europeans had called Arab Muslims ‘Saracens.’ Later on, they referred to all Muslims living in North Africa, including Berbers and Moors, as Saracens. Despite the fact that North Africa was a fertile region, the Arabs, Berbers and Moors who occupied North Africa had no interest in or aptitude for farming in settlements. Instead, the nomads in desserts were attracted to the plundering of Christians across the Mediterranean. At this juncture, one might be curious of how a desert people, not familiar with sea-faring, could become engaged in looting by sailing across the harsh Mediterranean Sea. The answer to the question might be found in the facts that Arabs developed the highest level of science and math as well as technology at the time, even to the extent that they used compasses. They employed Greeks who had the highest level of navigation skills, as crews. Additionally, they felt they had found a righteous cause in looting Christians, making piracy a front in a holy war against non-Muslims. It was known that Islamic pirates first attacked a Christian community in 652. The Muslim ships that had departed from Alexandria raided and looted Siracusa, Sicily, capturing 800 locals as prizes. The pirates sold the captives at slave markets. This event was recorded as the beginning of the Saracens’ lootings across the Mediterranean, which would persist for the next millennium. The Saracen pirates, based in cities on the coast of North Africa, such as Cairuan, Carthage and Tunis, continued to attack the Sicily Island. While the Islamic forces advanced to the Iberian Peninsula, their plundering ceased for a while until they resumed in 725. During the period between the 7th and 8th centuries, the Mediterranean Sea was ‘the Sea of Islam.’ The Mediterranean Sea off the Italian Peninsula under the attacks of Saracen pirates turned into the ‘Sea of Lawlessness’ itself. Despite the constant aggression of Saracen pirates, the Byzantine Empire did not have naval power to protect its shipping from pirate attacks, and it also lacked the capability to combat the pirates. As for the Byzantine Empire, which had lost the Near East, North Africa and Asia Minor to Islamic force, even the security of Constantinople was at risk. The Byzantine Empire was also under attack from northern Slavs. Such instability was also the case for the Longobards who had controlled the southern part of the Italian Peninsula. They still remained divided and thus had no ability to deal with the pirates. Under these circumstances, the seas off the Italian Peninsula were exposed to the uncurbed lootings of Saracen pirates. The vulnerability of navigation off coastal areas to pirate attacks resulted in the shrinking of sea-borne trade. Merchant ships that had been actively engaged in shipping valuable goods across the Mediterranean gradually disappeared. Fishing vessels operated only inshore, instead of going to distant waters. As such, the pirates were no longer able to rely on their typical method of plundering the ships traveling offshore. Thus, they opted to raid settlements or towns in coastal areas. This was quite a different method from piracy attacks in the Age of Discovery, in which pirates engaged in marauding merchant ships passing through major sea routes. The ships that Saracen pirates used for looting were small galleys, known as the ‘fusta,’ which were mainly propelled by rowing. Their speed, mobility, capability to move without wind and their ability to operate in shallow water made them ideal for piracy. They took Arabian horses aboard the fustas and rode them inland, looting coastal areas and returning with plunder. The fusta was a small size ship, but it required at least 16 to 20 rowers. The rowers were mostly Christians captured during raids. Other Christians were sold at slave markets to serve as rowers for other Muslim ships, or they were sent to the military after they were forced to convert to Islam. Otherwise, they were sent to concentration camps, called ‘bathhouses.’ Romans had a strong tradition of communal bathing, and had built a large number of bathhouses across their territories. The bathhouses built in North Africa changed to concentration camps after the fall of the Roman Empire. The Saracen pirates, with a small fleet of less than 10 ships that had been concentrated in Sicily and its coastal area gradually expanded their activities towards the southern coastal areas of France and Italy. The pirates, based on islands like Sardinia and Corsica, used the seasonal summer winds to propel their ships on raiding missions to the coastal areas of Italy. They expanded their activity even further, getting closer to the pope’s stronghold in Rome. Residents in these areas of the Italian Peninsula could no longer expect that the emperor in Constantinople would protect them. Thus, they sought to protect the security of themselves, their families and their towns without outside help. Torre Saracena Residents in coastal areas built watchtowers as a way of protecting themselves, to spot pirate ships’ approach early and give themselves time to escape. Many old pirate watchtowers still exist to this day. They are called Torre Saracena in Italian, which means the ‘Tower of Saracens,’ and they dot the coastal cities in Italy and along the coasts of Sardinia and Sicily. Today they are tourist attractions that provide a scenic view of the blue Mediterranean, but their history tells of the pain that came with living in fear of Saracen pirates. It was difficult to tell whether approaching ships were friendly or not, as the invention of the telescope was still many years off; in many cases, pirate ships were only identified when they came near to the shore. The pirates did not fly the now-famous ‘Jolly Roger,’ skull and swords flag – that symbol came into being several hundred years later during the Age of Discovery. Neither did they fly any flag of piracy, or even the Islamic symbol of the crescent and star. Speaking of the symbolic flag of Islam, it was derived from historic events of Islam. On the night when the Prophet Muhammad had received revelations at the mountain cave Hira, a crescent and stars were twinkling in the dark sky. On the night when Muhammad escaped to Medina from Mecca to avoid persecution, there were also a crescent and stars in the dark sky. For this reason, the crescent was regarded by Islam as a symbol of truth, ushering light through darkness. Osman Turks were the first to use the flag of a crescent and stars. Following the collapse of the Byzantine Empire, the Osman Turks had built a great empire that stretched over much of Asia, Africa and Europe. Thus, for the Europeans who came under attack by Islamic pirates, the flag of a crescent and stars symbolized only terror.
Torre Saracena Saracen pirates also sailed in disguise by flying the flag of a Christian state or the ally of the target area. Thus, it was hard to tell by only the flag of a ship if it was a pirate ship or a merchant ship traveling for trade. This historical legacy might have led to the provisions of the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea today: It affirms that ships should sail under the flag of one state, and that changing the flag during a voyage is not allowed; a ship which sails under the flags of two or more states, using them according to convenience, may be regarded as a ship with no nationality. The coastal residents of southern Italy frequently weren’t aware of an approaching raid until the pirates came inshore, setting off a panic in which residents fled – often, too late to save themselves. Since shores were left defenseless, pirates were able to go on shore with ease. The Byzantine Empire, beleaguered from external aggression, was incapable of defending the southern coast from the sacking of Saracen pirates. Thus, the coastal residents had no choice but to flee as quickly as possible when pirate ships came inshore. Watchtowers helped the locals buy themselves at least a little more time to escape. The best option for the locals was either to flee, carrying valuables, deep inland or hide away somewhere out of reach of pirates. Otherwise, they would lose their property and even their lives at the hands of horseback-riding pirates who destroyed and set fire to villages and committed various atrocities. Those who were captured would live a hellish life either as rowers aboard ships or in labor camps for life. The coastal residents had built multiple watchtowers along the coast. If the first watchtower onshore emitted signal fumes, the next watchtower would relay the message to those inland. At that time, the residents hid out deep inland, where the fourth or the fifth watchtower was located. When the pirates left, this method was provided the signal to confirm that it was safe to return to the sea. The main targets of Saracen pirates were monasteries and churches. Monasteries, which owned abundant properties and lands, were located in remote areas, making them a good target for pirates. The pirates also preyed on churches that served as hideouts for locals. Pirates were able to capture a large number of residents at once and to loot their properties with ease. The houses of wealthy landlords and rich people were definitely a good target. Borgo and Casbah Saracen pirates gradually expanded their activities deeper inland, looting settlements and towns and capturing residents as plunder. To flee or hide away from the pirates was merely a temporary solution. Thus, the residents decided to move their settlements to remote areas, out of reach of pirates. It was a desperate effort for residents as they fought for their survival. The residents who hid away in a remote area in the mountain might build a town on the rugged and steep cliff, for example. The medieval towns built for the purpose of avoiding pirate aggression were called borgo in Italian. This led to a new lifestyle: Coastal residents would stay in the borgo in the summer, during peak raiding season, and return home in the fall. In a sense, it was natural for coastal residents to return to the sea, which was the base for their livelihood, when the risk of pirate attacks diminished. However, on the part of city residents, it was an entirely different situation since a city of thousands could not be moved out every season. Thus, citizens had to rely on existing structures, build new defenses, or rely on geography to defend or escape from pirate attacks. One of the main defense structures was a labyrinth of a city, known as a casbah. These days, the legacy of the casbah is found in the northern cities of Italy, like Amalfi. When building a city, the focus of design was on defense for survival, rather than functional considerations, such as convenience and comfortableness. In this design, complicated and twisted alleys made it hard for pirates to find targets and easy for them to get lost. The divergent roads distracted the pirates, and thus allowed people time to escape or provided spaces to hide out.
Casbah The Holy Raman Empire’s
Campaigns Against Pirates The region of Gaul (Gallia in Latin, modern-day Western Europe), which had remained divided and ruled by several Germans, became united under Charles the Great (Charlemagne, 742–814) of the Frankish Kingdom. Western Europe had gone through the period of division over the 400 years following the fall of the Western Roman Empire. During that period, it had been ruled by numerous kingdoms. Most of Europe, except Britain, the Iberian Peninsula and the southern Italian Peninsula, became united under the rule of the Franks. Against this historical backdrop, the origin of the European Union (EU) today can trace its roots back to the unification of Western Europe by Charles the Great. Following the unification of Europe through a series of wars, he undertook a military expedition to Rome across the Alps in 800. Pope Leo III greeted and crowned him Holy Roman Emperor and ‘Augustus of the Romans’ in Saint Peter’s Cathedral in the Vatican. The creation of the Holy Roman Empire might be attributed to following historical conditions: conflicts between popes and the Byzantine Empire, and corresponding interests between Charles the Great and Pope Leo III. Even though Saracen pirates came to the front door of Rome – the symbol of Christianity as well as the residence of popes – the Byzantine emperors in Constantinople were helpless. Meanwhile, in 726, the Byzantine emperor instructed the pope to dismantle icons because they were believed to promote idolatry. The pope rejected the instruction and excommunicated the emperor. On this occasion, the emperor and the pope were engaged in serious conflict. In response to excommunication, the emperor encouraged the Longobards to attack the pope. The pope, with no military force to defend himself, had no choice but to rely on the Franks for survival. This was a strategic consideration that prompted the pope to crown Charles the Great Holy Roman Emperor. For his part, Charles the Great, a leader from a barbarian tribe, desired to become the successor of the Roman Empire. In this context, he used ‘Roman’ and ‘Holy’ to express his identity as a Christian and his will as its protector as well. Charles the Great, as the emperor of the Holy Roman Empire, was responsible for safeguarding Christianity from the aggression of Muslims. The Franks, who had lived in a state of barbarism north of the Rhine River, were not familiar with sea-faring at all. But Charles the Great created two naval fleets to carry out his responsibility. One was responsible for the coast of southern France, and the other one for the Italian Peninsula and Sicily. These two fleets were quite successful in combating Saracen pirates – so much so that Pope Leo III sent a thank you letter to Charles the Great for protecting Christians. However, the situation totally changed after Charles the Great died in 814. The Holy Roman Empire was taken apart in less than 30 years after his death and divided by his descendants into present day Italy, France and Germany. The two fleets had disappeared, although it is unknown exactly when this happened. Western Europe went back to a time of war. People were engaged only in ongoing wars, and thus had no time to be concerned with the safety of the sea at all. The Battle of Ostia Taking advantage of the chaos in Europe, Saracen pirates took to the sea for piracy again. The pope, without help from guardians of Christians like Charles the Great, had to fight the pirates alone to safeguard Christianity and Rome. At that time, on the Italian Peninsula, a number of coastal city-republics, known as ‘Maritime Republics,’ were thriving. They included Genoa, Amalfi and Naples on the west coast and Venice on the east coast. These coastal city-states were ruled by a small number of merchants who had accumulated wealth by sea-borne trade. They were engaged in direct trade with Muslims in North Africa across the Mediterranean or transit trade with Western Europeans, trading valuable goods that they had brought from China and India through the Middle East. Although they were small city-states, they had naval fleets. For the city-states that lived on sea-borne trade, the security of navigation was vital for their survival itself. Since they had to protect themselves while being engaged in trade with Muslims in North Africa, building strong naval power was an essential issue. Saracen pirates built a large fleet and attempted a massive invasion that went beyond small-scale looting. With the aggression of Saracen pirates on the horizon, Pope Leo IV was determined to fight the pirates firsthand, so he reinforced the fortresses around Rome. He also strung across the Tiber River to deter pirate ships from sailing inland. The pope called in the leaders of Naples and Amalfi to discuss the strategy to combat pirates and formed a league with them. He recruited volunteers and ships across Italy in the name of holy war against Muslims. The league decided to wage a battle off the port of Ostia. In 849, the fleet of the league commanded by the Neapolitan commander confronted Saracen pirate ships face to face. Pope Leo IV addressed the fleet to boost their spirits and prayed for victory. When the battle was about to take place – whether or not thanks to the pope’s prayer – stormy southwest winds struck the Saracen fleet from the back. The fleet of the league swiftly moved back towards the safety of the port, but the Saracen fleet was directly hit by the stormy winds. As a result, the Saracen ships collided with each other and were destroyed and went adrift inshore. Many of them struck on rocks and ultimately sank. When the sea calmed down, the fleet of the league was able to seize the pirate ships and capture the pirates with ease. The battle ended with an enormous victory for the Christians. The Muslim captives were taken to Rome and the pope put them to work building the walls around the Vatican. In preparation for possible Muslim invasions, the pope built the walls to protect Saint Peter’s Cathedral. Ironically, the walls to protect one of the holiest buildings for Christians were built by Saracen pirates. The walls were named after Leo IV. The Battle of Ostia was portrayed by Raphael in the era of the Renaissance. Following the defeat of its large-scale fleet, Saracen pirates went back to their old method of small-fleet looting. They could not afford to give up the enormous income generated from piracy. Conquest of Sicily Saracen pirates, who had remained inactive for quite some time in the aftermath of their defeat in the Battle of Ostia, were reengaged in piracy. The target was the island of Sicily. The pirates launched a full-scale attack on Sicily. Siracusa (the province of modern Syracuse), Sicily was a beautiful and flourishing city, called the ‘Pearl of the Mediterranean.’ Siracusa, which had been under the control of the Byzantine Empire since the fall of the Western Roman Empire, served as an outpost of Christianity in the midst of Muslim aggression. Siracusa had remained unoccupied even in the midst of Islam’s persistent attempts to conquer Sicily, but eventually fell into the hands of Islam in 878. With the collapse of Siracusa, Sicily came under a full control of Saracen pirates. The pirates totally devastated Siracusa in retaliation for the massive damage they sustained during the attacks. In addition to the nobles and soldiers who had resisted them to the last moment, they indiscriminately slaughtered residents, young and old, and captured them for slaves. Churches and icons were ravaged, and the destroyed buildings were rebuilt as mosques. The Muslims’ rule in Sicily lasted for 200 years, until Normans occupied the island in 1072. Following the conquest of Sicily, Saracen pirates’ movements were unconstrained. Their aggression extended to the central and northern as well as southern Italian Peninsula. Through the coast of northern Italy off the Ligurian Sea, Saracen pirates advanced to the coast of southern France. Marseille was attacked twice. The coast of southern France was fully exposed to attack, and the pirates even built a base on the shore. Popes in the Vanguard of Combating
Saracen Pirates Medieval popes in the Dark Ages, regarded as an agent of God on earth, were considered the sole and perfect guardian for Christians. Because the security of Rome was threatened, popes like Leo IV, were directly engaged in military campaigns to combat pirates in the name of safeguarding Christianity. Pope John X, for instance, commanded troops to fight Saracen pirates in southern Italy. He had first formed an alliance with Emperor Constantinus IV of the Byzantine Empire and King Berengar of Italy. Then he recruited volunteers in the name of a holy war against Islam. A large number of people volunteered at the news that the pope was directly recruiting soldiers and would command them to fight pirates. The pope believed that naval forces were likely to be a key to recovering the Garigliano River in central Italy, which was used as a base for Saracen pirate ships. As such, he called for maritime republics such as Naples, Amalfi and Gaeta to join in the holy war. In 916, Pope John X undertook an expedition to recover the Garigliano from the rule of pirates. The pope commanded the troops during a three-month-long series of battles with the marauders. Literally, he was ‘a pope with a sword in his hand.’ The battles ended with the victory of the Christian forces. In a sense, this was the ‘Maritime Crusades’ to combat Saracen pirates. The first of the actual crusades took place in 1096, about 200 years later, under the slogan of ‘God Wills It.’ “It” meant the recovery of the Holy Land from Muslim rule. The campaign for the recovery of the Garigliano might be viewed as the beginning of the crusades, given that the Christians gathered in the name of a holy war to recover territory from the Muslim occupation. Pope John X made a great contribution to combating pirates, but his career was unfortunate. He was ousted by Roman nobles and sent to prison, where he was smothered. Afterwards, Saracen pirates disappeared everywhere from the Garigliano to the Tyrrhenian Sea, ranging from central to southern Italy. However, it did not necessarily mean that the Saracen pirates completely ceased piracy. For internal reasons, they suspended it for a while. Peace was short-lived, however. Christians were under the illusion that the problem had been settled by the victory in the battle. Thus, they were not concerned with preparations for renewed attacks from pirates. They had even made an agreement that they would pay 22,000 pieces of gold annually to the pirates on the condition that they would not attack their merchant ships. Being overconfident in their victory, they relaxed their vigilance. Maritime Republics’ Efforts
to Combat Pirates Saracen pirates sailed across the Mediterranean using seasonal winds in the summer. In this way, they could easily reach Provence in southern France, the coast of Liguria in northern Italy, the coast of Tosca in central Italy and the southern coast of Italy, depending on their departure points on the coast of North Africa. Summer was a fearful season for Italians. The coastal residents had undergone enormous loss of life and damage to properties from Saracen pirate attacks between the 8th and 10th centuries. Maritime republics such as Genoa, Pisa, Naples, Amalfi and Venice prospered after the fall of the Western Roman Empire. They were small coastal city-states, typically with populations of less than 100,000 – Genoa and Pisa had less than 50,000. They had no choice but to engage in sea-faring for livelihood because of the shortage of farmland in their territories. These republics, which lived on sea-borne trade, had naval fleets to protect their merchant fleets and homeland from attack by sea. During the period of the crusades, Genoa, Pisa and Venice had built up relatively large fleets composed of 100 to 200 warships. In fact, they were a significant driving force that had sustained the crusades. Interestingly, the more closely a republic was located to North Africa, the earlier it developed into a powerful maritime republic. This is likely because they had to build up their ocean-going capabilities to help fend off pirate attacks. Since Venice was located far up the coast of the Adriatic Sea, it was harder for Saracen pirates to access than other republics. For that reason, the development of Venice into a maritime state came later than others. Venice was founded by Romans who had escaped from the aggression of Huns that had invaded in 452. Seeing that they had nowhere else to flee when they arrived on the northeast coast, the escapees desperately built a city in a swamp. It was Venice, nicknamed the ‘City of Water.’
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Chapter 4 The Vikings The Emergence of Vikings While Saracen pirates were rampant across the Mediterranean, Vikings were terrorizing England and the northern coasts of Europe. In terms of the etymology of ‘Viking,’ various theories have been put forward. A leading theory is that the word means ‘a person from a valley river.’ Presumably, this word was derived from the unique Scandinavian geography, specifically the formations known as ‘fjords’ – long, narrow inlets with steep sides or cliffs, created by glacial erosion. Over 800 years, the word Viking has been used to indicate the Scandinavians both at home and abroad who had lived in Sweden, Norway and Denmark throughout the era of aggression, trade and colonial activity. Originally, the Vikings had been ordinary people actively engaged in trade. By the first century, they had traded with Romans, and by the fifth century, they invited foreign merchants to thriving Scandinavian commerce cities and were actively engaged in trade with them. While trading with foreign countries, the Vikings observed the wealth of their trading partners and dreamed of taking it by force. The Vikings first ruthlessly looted monasteries in England and on other European coasts, and they killed or enslaved monks. Afterward, the Vikings developed a reputation as brutal, bloodthirsty predators. One might be curious about what made the Vikings turn to piracy instead of continuing normal trade. Amongst various factors, the infertile natural environment of Scandinavia is usually considered the most salient. Other than fishing and hunting, the cold weather and barren soil of Northern Europe made the Vikings struggle for their livelihood. The population had constantly increased, and farmlands were insufficient to support it. Under these circumstances, they took to the sea. Because of the Viking tradition that the first son was to inherit the entirety of the family’s wealth, younger siblings had no choice but to engage in trade or plunder at sea. Additionally, political instability served as a driving force. In the late ninth century, King Harald of Norway, who had unified small kingdoms throughout Scandinavia, intended to get rid of the rulers of provinces. These provincial lords escaped to foreign countries with their people. But above all, it is believed that the Vikings had a natural drive to explore, along with fearlessness in sea-faring, and a toughness of spirit derived from their harsh natural environment.
Vikings Outstanding Navigational Skills Outstanding navigational skills of the Vikings made them the masters of the sea. The Vikings sailed inshore, using geography and natural features as landmarks to guide their navigation. They relied on primitive positioning equipment, but principally located their position at sea using the position of the sun and stars, the direction of winds, the shape of waves, the color and temperature of water, and the existence of sea birds and sea mammals. The Vikings were able to sail long distances at extraordinary speeds, with the maximum speed of 28 km per hour on open oceans. The Vikings could operate on the rivers as well. Since the Vikings believed that their outstanding navigational skills would allow them to go back home safely, they were not afraid of ocean-going beyond offshore seas. The Vikings’ prominent contribution to navigation would be the development of tacking skill. Tacking is a maneuver wherein a sailing ship proceeds windward. Tacking indicates that a sailing ship has turned its bow toward the wind so that the direction from which the wind blows changes from one side to the other, allowing for a ship’s progress in the desired direction. The Vikings set the sail at an angle of 45° to the wind and maneuvered their ships to proceed windward. The Vikings’ tacking was possible with a set of outfitting and steering, although they were primitive. The Vikings originated the tacking techniques commonly seen on modern-day yachts. The Vikings was the masters of latitude sailing. When they made a long and distant sea voyage, they relied on latitude sailing to find their way around. Latitude sailing involved maintaining a certain latitude that followed, as closely as possible, the latitude of their destination. If the Vikings were sailing for a known island or point on a faraway continent, they would know the latitude of the destination. Once the Vikings got to the proper latitude, it was simply a matter of keeping the ship on that latitude and traveling in the direction of their destination until they reached it. At night, they steered their ship according to the position of Polaris, or the North Star, if they intended to go northwest. They continually observed the position of Polaris and changed the course of their ship according to the relative position between themselves and the star. The Vikings’ latitude sailing was possible with two navigational aids – the sun compass and sunstone. The sun compass was a primitive inclinometer that the Vikings used to determine their latitude. The sun compass was made on the circular plate, with a peg inserted through the hole in the center of the plate. The peg was known as the gnomon. The Vikings marked the edge of the shadow cast by the gnomon and then inscribed a line connecting the points. This line is known as the gnomon line. When a Viking navigator wanted to find the same latitude later, he kept the tip of the shadow on the gnomon line. If the shadow of the gnomon extended past the gnomon line, he knew that he was too far north of his desired latitude. If the shadow fell short of the gnomon line, the navigator knew that he was too far south. A principal navigational instrument that the Vikings used to locate their position in a cloudy sky was a sunstone, a translucent rock. The sky of Europe off the Arctic was frequently shrouded in heavy fog, rain and clouds. On such occasions, the Vikings used the sunstone. The stone turns a blue and purple color when it is turned at right angles to the sun, even on cloudy days, so Vikings could detect the direction from which polarized light was striking the sunstone and set their course accordingly. The Vikings were not simply predators, but adventurous explorers. With outstanding navigational skills, they sailed across the oceans beyond their world. Across the North Atlantic, they sailed further to Canada, Iceland and Greenland. Since Viking ships were an open deck structure, the Vikings were fully exposed to strong waves and rain as they sailed. The Vikings wore fur and oiled leather clothes, but they usually remained wet and cold. At night when they sailed inshore, they went on shore and camped on the ground. During a long-distance voyage, they slept in leather sleeping bags on the deck. Their food on the voyage was dried and salted fish and jerked meats. Even though the Vikings were the masters of the sea, they were simply weak human beings before Mother Nature. Numerous Vikings lost their lives on harsh voyages in in the midst of strong waves or cold and wet weather. However, the harsh condition of the sea could not discourage their will for exploration. The Vikings went anywhere there was prey to loot and did not avoid bloody battles. The phrase “the Vikings had lived on the sea,” found in runic inscriptions that recorded the Vikings’ lifestyles, demonstrates their inherent talent for survival at sea as well as their predatory natures. Viking Ships The Vikings were required to be strong master shipbuilders and to have the navigational skills to sail long distances. The Vikings had held a long tradition of sailing across the fjords on ships with no sails, traveling further to the distant sea in good weather. Over 2,000 years, the Vikings had held a tradition for building light and speedy ships. They reinforced their traditional ships with a sail to increase speed, along with a robust mast and a keel to stabilize at sea. There were many types of Viking ship, built for various uses. The best-known type is probably the longship. A longship, designed for speed and agility, was suitable for sailing in the distant sea. The longship had a long, narrow hull and shallow draught to facilitate landings and troop deployments in shallow water. Of the various types of longship, the largest was Drekar, a dragon-headed longship, named after its dragon shaped hull. Drekar was designed for attack and for the transport of troops. The ships were the Vikings’ most important instrument, allowing them to explore the unknown world and to loot by sailing across seas or rivers. When the Vikings built a ship, a man in charge supervised the craftsmen specialized in each part of ship. They used a long and straight oak tree for the keel and other trees for the curved parts of the hull. When they completed building the hull, they installed round shields on the sides of the hull and a dragon head-shaped decoration on the bow. The sail of the Viking ships was made of squared woolen fabric, which provided extremely powerful mobility. However, the problem was that it was hard to steer the ship in strong winds or when the sail was wet with rain. The Vikings, who had great pride in these sails, used to paint slashes or diamonds on them. The Pillage of England In the period between 800 and 1100, the Vikings’ voyages to new lands – as well as their attacks on these lands – were at their peak. The first attack on Christian sanctuaries was a monastery on Lindisfarne Island, off the northeast coast of England on 1 January 793. The Vikings had raided the monastery, destroyed and pillaged it, setting it on fire. They slaughtered the monks and held survivors as captives for selling in the slave market. The monks who resisted were thrown into the sea. Afterwards, the Vikings kept raiding the British islands and the coastal areas of Europe. Christians viewed the Vikings as the incarnation of evil. The Vikings’ pillage of Christian sanctuaries was not an act of hostility toward Christianity specifically. They were simply preying on places that were the richest targets with the fewest defenses. Monasteries and churches had a wealth of valuables, such as golden crosses and people who could be sold as slaves. In 877, the Danish Vikings raided England and occupied the western and eastern regions, which were half of England. The occupied regions were called the ‘Danelaw,’ which means the regions under the law and customs of the Danish Vikings. Even though England, prosperous and fertile, was a main target for the Vikings’ pillaging, it was not the only target. Ireland – the hub of Christian arts and studies – was an attractive target for the Vikings. The monasteries and churches in Ireland were like a storehouse of riches, and Ireland itself had abundant green lands that the Vikings could lay claim to. By the middle of the 9th century, the Vikings settled on the coasts of Limerick, Waterford, Wexford and Cork. At first, the Vikings used these settlements as winter bases to expand inland and quickly sack villages and run away. However, as time passed, these settlements turned into permanent settlements as well as a base for expanding further inland. By 950, the Vikings had opted for living in settlements, instead of pillaging, and thus the aggression of the Vikings virtually ended. With the defeat in the Battle of Clontarf in 1014, the Vikings’ rule in Ireland came to an end. The legacy of the Vikings is found in the cities that they built, as well as trade and place names. Expansion to Russia As years passed, the Vikings’ raids became more daring, and they ventured deeper inland. By the early 800s, they traveled up along the rivers by ships that were navigable in shallow waters. Some traveled to the Russian continent across the Baltic Sea. The Vikings had built trade bases inland near the Baltic Sea and ventured to the Black Sea through the Dnepr River and to the Caspian Sea through the Volga River. They had to travel a long distance inland to reach the two rivers in central Russia. The ships that the Vikings used for venturing inland were much smaller in size than typical Viking ships. Known as dugouts, the ships were built by hollowing out a log. The Vikings used a small sail to increase mobility in fair winds. The most prominent feature of dugouts was their lightness. The Vikings carried them on land when they could not sail in rough in shallow waters. The Vikings pillaged throughout Russia and captured locals for slave-taking. The Russian slaves, known as ‘Slavs,’ were traded in Sweden. The words ‘Slave’ and ‘Slavery’ were derived from Slav slaves. One can guess how large the number of Russian captives was from the origin of the words. The Swedish Vikings, called ‘Rus’ (by Slavs) who took to the Black Sea attempted to occupy Constantinople by force several times. According to the historical records of the Byzantine Empire, tens of thousands of Rus attacked Constantinople by sailing across the Black Sea. As part of peace deals, the Byzantine emperor offered the right to pay tributes and trade with them. Despite such deals, the Rus resumed the sacking of monasteries and towns again years later, including the attack on Constantinople. Allegedly, the Rus named the occupied lands ‘Russia’ and built a trade network with the Byzantine Empire as well as the Arab world. The Byzantine Emperors could do nothing about the Vikings’ predations. Ironically, some of the Swedish Vikings were enlisted in the guard of Byzantine emperors or served as mercenaries in the service of the empire.
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