The Viking Age begins
Norse ships reach from America to Baghdad
See it on the timeline →In depth
The decisive factor was ship technology: clinker-built longships with keel and sail drew little water and could cross open ocean or run up rivers. From Norway and Denmark the routes ran west to Iceland, Greenland and Vinland; from Sweden east along Russian rivers to Constantinople and Baghdad, trading for caliphal silver. Vikings founded Dublin and York, shaped the Kyivan Rus, and became the Normans in France — and in 1066 their descendants conquered England.
For children
The raid on the monastery of Lindisfarne in England shocked all of Europe. But the Vikings were not only raiders — they were also farmers, traders and explorers. They founded towns in Ireland and Russia, and reached America 500 years before Columbus.
Connects to
Part of Terra Saga — the story of Earth on a timeline. terrasaga.org