{"product_id":"vikings-in-the-east-9781785909054","title":"Vikings in the East","description":"\u003cp\u003eWe commonly consider the Viking Age to be a western\u003cbr\u003eEuropean phenomenon. This is not surprising, given the Viking impact on\u003cbr\u003ecommunities either side of the North Sea and the English Channel and across the\u003cbr\u003eBritish Isles. However, it also had a crucial eastern aspect that was a key\u003cbr\u003ecause of the Viking raids in the first place.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eChanges taking\u003cbr\u003eplace in the distant Islamic Caliphate disrupted the flow of silver to\u003cbr\u003eScandinavia. For years, Islamic merchants and their middlemen had carried\u003cbr\u003esilver to northern Europe. There, they traded it for slaves, furs and amber.\u003cbr\u003eFacing this change, raiding in the West offered the Vikings an alternative way\u003cbr\u003eto get their hands on precious metals and slaves.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eAt the same\u003cbr\u003etime, the forest products of the eastern Baltic and the supply of slaves from\u003cbr\u003ethere drew Swedish adventurers eastward. For several reasons, the Viking\u003cbr\u003ephenomenon increasingly had an eastern front. Utilizing the river systems, \u003cbr\u003ethese Vikings soon became active on the Black Sea, the Caspian Sea and in the\u003cbr\u003eByzantine Empire.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eIn this brilliantly timely book, historian\u003cbr\u003eMartyn Whittock explains how it was a Viking-Slav dynasty that created the\u003cbr\u003efirst Russian state and how a rivalry between Viking leaders set up the states\u003cbr\u003ethat would later become Russia and Ukraine, with consequences we are still\u003cbr\u003eliving with today.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eSince the sixteenth century, rulers in\u003cbr\u003eRussia have referenced these origins to enhance their power and secure control\u003cbr\u003eover the Ukrainian lands, most recently demonstrated by Vladimir Putin as his\u003cbr\u003ejustification for the seizure of Crimea and then the Russian invasion of\u003cbr\u003eUkraine.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eAbout the Author\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eWhittock, Martyn:\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e - \u003cstrong\u003eMartyn Whittock\u003c\/strong\u003e has been a consultant for the BBC, English Heritage and the National Trust in the UK, and he has written for several historical journals. In addition, as a commentator and columnist, he writes for several print and online news platforms, and has been interviewed on TV and radio news programmes exploring the impact of history on current events in Russia, Ukraine, the UK, the USA and globally. His previous books include \u003cem\u003eThe Vikings: From Odin to Christ\u003c\/em\u003e\u003cem\u003e \u003c\/em\u003e(2018), \u003cem\u003eThe Secret History of Soviet Russia's Police State: Cruelty, Co-operation and Compromise, 1917-91\u003c\/em\u003e (2020), \u003cem\u003eA Brief History of The Third Reich: The Rise and Fall of the Nazis\u003c\/em\u003e (2011) and \u003cem\u003eTales of Valhalla: Norse Myths \u0026amp; Legends\u003c\/em\u003e (2018).","brand":"Biteback Publishing","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":51603185991954,"sku":"9781785909054","price":18.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0831\/4771\/8930\/files\/img_f1bf3021-2570-4d5c-aef1-35cde4f1da87.jpg?v=1757428279","url":"https:\/\/surprise-castle.myshopify.com\/products\/vikings-in-the-east-9781785909054","provider":"Surprise Castle","version":"1.0","type":"link"}