Close encounters with the byzantine border zones: on the eastern connections of the Birka warrior

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CLOSE ENCOUNTERS WITH THE BYZANTINE BORDER ZONES: On the Eastern Connections of the Birka Warrior Charlotte Hedenstierna-Jonson National Historical Museum, Stockholm The town-like settlement of Birka was a major center of trade and crafts in the Eastern region of Viking-Age Scandinavia. The inhabitants constituted a cultural and social mix including people of various origins and with influences from a vast region of different cultures. This diverse mix of material culture and social practices is particularly noticeable in the context of the warriors. Perhaps more than others, these men were accustomed to the practices and traits of other groups of people and were impressed by foreign weaponry and warfare techniques. They combined high mobility with a tight-knit social structure and openness to new techniques and ideas. Their objective to serve the functions and people of the town, rather than a regional chieftain or petty king, made them stand out as a group, even compared to contemporary groups of warriors from nearby places. The strong presence of influences from the regions east and southeast of Scandinavia is predominantly evident. So what can be said about the evident Eastern connections of the Birka warriors?

East in focus It is a well-known fact that the Viking Age was a period of intensified contacts with other cultures in an ever-expanding geographical area. These contacts were varied in character and took place on a number of levels. A foreign object could be an item of display, signaling far-reaching networks of contact, wealth, situation, etc., but without actually being used in the way it was originally intended. For that to occur, a more advanced form of interaction must take place.1 Trade forged cultural contacts, as it required a certain level of trust, possibly acquired by a common terminology or even language or some other form of mutual agreement on terms.2 But even military activities could form in-depth cultural contacts through alliances, joint preparations, training and campaigning. The high level of mobility resulted in material wealth as well as in contacts, adaptation, learning and development.

1 2

Hedenstierna-Jonson, 2013. See Gustin, 2004.

140 Scandinavia and the Balkans In the early twentieth century, Swedish archeologist T. Arne noted the connections between Viking-Age Sweden—Birka in particular—and the “Orient” or Eastern Realm.3 The material found in Birka, which Arne considered as material evidence of these contacts, included dress-related objects, personal equipment and weaponry, coins and luxury items such as glass vessels. Arne’s work still forms the basis for most studies dealing with the connections between Scandinavia and the East, but it should be stressed that Eastern influences also included advanced knowledge and technology. Areas of contact encompassed nomadic cultures of the Eurasian Steppes, Volga Bulghars, Khazars, Magyars and the great Empires of Byzantium and the Caliphate with their far-stretching border-zones. Together with cultural influences from the Western trade routes, the material culture and social practices of Birka constituted a heterogeneous blend formed into a cultural expression of its own.4 The pre-requisites for the regional establishment of Birka as a proto-town5 changed at the turn of the tenth century when trade business increased and Birka evolved into an emporium involved in long-distance trade in silver, slaves and valuables—goods that could be characterized as complicated, as they demanded a high level of organization and implied a great economic risk. Local or even regional figures of power, such as chieftains or kings, would have had limited control over the extensive geographical areas and huge quantities of moveable wealth administered by trading families and workshops. Only those who traveled the route would have been in actual power. Among those were the warriors, following the trading companies, safeguarding their journeys and taking service in foreign courts under new masters. These warriors sought glory and fortune in faraway places and eventually reached the Byzantine realm with all its alluring splendor.

The Birka warriors and the mounted archer Most of the research conducted on the Birka warriors has related to the rich archeological material from the area of the Garrison. With the present on-going incorporation of archeological material from the settlement area into the collections of the National Historical Museum in Stockholm, new opportunities to discern and discuss the presence of the Eastern connections of the Birka warrior in new contexts are opening up. As the archeological material and the questions are rich and varied, I have focused on a particular trait of the Birka warriors that singles them out from armed men in the surrounding region—that of the advanced 3

Arne, 1911; Arne, 1914. Hedenstierna-Jonson, 2006; 2009a. 5 Holmquist Olausson, 2002: 153–75. 4

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knowledge and use of the composite bow and closed quiver. Originally used by the mounted people of the Eurasian Steppes, the quiver perhaps in particular required a high degree of skill in order to be used effectively in combat. Both bow and quiver were designed to function from horseback, but there were a number of advantages to this type of equipment even for foot soldiers. The quiver was in the form of a box and the arrowheads, instead of pointing into the bottom, were exposed upwards. The design of the quiver enabled the archer to grab a handful of arrows and thus shoot them at high speed. Particular iron fittings constitute characteristic remains of these quivers, which were otherwise made of organic materials. The bow, composed of several parts in various materials, was highly flexible and gave, if the archer was skilled, a higher accuracy than Western bows of the same period. The bow was kept in a bow case, adorned with mounts. The mount fastening the case by the belt had a particular design imitating spread wings. Another important feature was the ring, not often found in archeological contexts, which increased the archer’s speed and strength.6 All of the specified objects of the Eastern archer are represented in Birka. There are examples of fittings from closed quivers and the wing-shaped mount from a bow case, as well as an ear from a composite bow and a very rare example of an archer’s thumb-ring. These objects were retrieved from various archeological contexts, opening the way for a more balanced interpretation. The three main contexts of the Birka construct containing archery equipment of Eastern origin were the fortifications, settlement and burial grounds. The objects correlate in varying degrees to a range of activities within these contexts.

Weaponry and acquired skills in the Garrison The traces of Eastern contacts are most overt in the contexts related to Birka’s martial activities. The martial side was, to a great extent, formed by the warriors, who enjoyed a special status in society. They were a dynamic part of a vast network of contacts, interacting over long periods of time with people from other areas and cultures. Thus, it is not surprising that the martial material culture includes a large proportion of foreign objects. The most comprehensive material has been found in the context of the garrison. A place for work and social gathering, the Garrison was neither a settlement, nor a burial context. The enclosed area holds several houses placed on terraces, the largest of which has been interpreted as the warrior’s hall. Ultimately, the garrison was a battle-scene, providing a lingering image of a battle fought in the late tenth century. The remains of Eastern equipment are not a matter of one or two unique finds, but rather a number of complete sets including weaponry, armor, clothing, etc. The number and types of iron fittings specific to the closed quiver allows for at least four separate 6

Lundström et al., 2009: 109ff.

142 Scandinavia and the Balkans quivers. They were not likely to have been the property of the attackers, as they were found inside the hall building along the walls, much like the other (Scandinavian) weaponry. Fittings have also been found in the context of the battle, scattered in places where a concentration of arrowheads were also found.7 The traces of Eastern contacts are not all directly connected to archery. The archeological material renders a complete picture of a warrior strongly influenced by the style and techniques found in the border zones of the Great Byzantine realm. The composite bow and quiver were, in Birka, used in combination with lamellar armor, Magyar style accessories and Persian or Steppe nomadic dress elements. The many finds of lamellae most likely derive from several different harnesses, and their distribution over the area is wide. Larger concentrations of lamellae (partly corroded together into chunks) have been found within the hall building. Fragments and single lamellae lay scattered over the rest of the area in connection to the battle contexts. There is also the presence of “Eastern” dress elements, including caftans and oriental belts.8 The spectacular find of two fragments of gilded mounts thought to have adorned a helmet have been the focus of a study by L. Holmquist and S. Petrovski.9 The design with parading birds flanking a tree of life is a Christian motif, although it is known from both Islamic and pagan contexts as well. Considering the technique and style of the mounts, they were most likely manufactured “around or beyond the border of the Empire … in a region familiar with Imperial iconography.”10 Other artefacts that constitute a possible direct link to Byzantium are three Theophilus copper coins dating to the time of the first documented visit by Scandinavians to the Byzantine court in AD 839.11 Coins of this type are exceedingly rare outside Byzantium and they were more likely used as exotic gifts than a means of payment.

Traces of repairs and production The settlement area of Birka comprised approximately seven hectares, of which less than 10% have been excavated. There are a number of Eastern-linked objects in the settlement context. For the main part, these consist of dress-related items and mounts; it is not possible to determine if they were used in connection to the warriors or not. A few artefacts are, however, eastern-type weaponry and can thus be linked to martial contexts: in this case, the equipment of an Eastern archer. It is, 7

Holmquist Olausson and Kitzler Åhfeldt, 2002; Hedenstierna-Jonson, Stjerna and Kitzler Åhfeldt, 1998. 8 Hedenstierna-Jonson and Holmquist Olausson, 2006. 9 Holmquist Olausson and Petrovski, 2007. 10 Holmquist Olausson and Petrovski, 2007: 236. 11 Annales of St Bertin; Arne, 1946; Hedenstierna-Jonson, 2006: 84.

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however, not possible to determine whether they are remnants of complete sets or simply single objects of exotic value. Of special interest are the artefacts that can be considered as indigenous interpretations or developments of foreign objects. These include a suspensionmount and several bone/antler fittings for the lid of a closed quiver. To further develop objects and knowledge of something originally transferred from others represents the final stage of including something new into local practices. Development is a way of making something your own. In this case, there seems to have been some local production of certain fittings for the bow and quiver. The uses of these artefacts are mere suggestions. For a more definite identification, more research is needed. Further research should also include additional interpretations of the contexts in which the objects were found. Many of the artefacts deriving from the settlement are without their proper context, as they were excavated in the nineteenth century and there is a lack of documentation. New investigations were undertaken in the 1990s, the material from which has just recently been incorporated into the collections of the National Historical Museum. The majority of artefacts from the settlement that can be properly put into context derive from workshops. The presence of locally-produced parts for the composite bow and fittings strongly indicates that there were active Eastern-type archers in Birka during the tenth century.

The burials of Eastern-type archers There is more evidence to be found in the burial sites. The Birka complex contains over 3000 burials. More than 1100 were excavated in the late nineteenth century and these form an extensive archive covering the burial-practice and material culture of the settlement’s inhabitants. Of the several burials containing objects of Eastern origin, two are of particular interest for this paper. Although different in burial practice, they both contain the particular fittings of the closed quiver, indicating that archery equipment was a component of the grave goods. Grave Bj 99612 is a cremation buried underneath a mound, the traditional burial practice of the Mälar region. Since the grave gifts are cremated, the remains are few and fragmentary. Apart from the few objects that can be linked to the closed quiver, the burial included gaming pieces, bread and a possible writing tablet, all of which indicate the high social standing of the buried individual. As with the burial practice, the gifts follow regional traditional customs. The fittings for the closed quiver make this particular burial stand out. Other pieces of archery equipment have not been found. The bow would not have survived the funeral-pyre, but there is also a lack of arrow-heads. The grave goods and the burial practice indicate that

12

Arbman, 1943: 419.

144 Scandinavia and the Balkans the interred was a male of Scandinavian origin, or possibly someone who had assimilated fully into Viking-Age society. The other burial in question is a so-called chamber grave (Bj 1125b).13 This particular burial practice is a somewhat rare bird in most places where it occurs. Having no geographical place of origin, the custom tends to be connected to the cosmopolitan centers of trade, mainly along the Eastern trade route. Traditionally, Scandinavian burial practice included cremation and a mound super-structure. Chamber-graves are instead inhumations, where the deceased is placed into an underground chamber without a defining superstructure. In some cases, the chamber graves are man-and-horse burials where the horse is placed at the man’s feet on a special ledge. The chamber-grave Bj 1125b was located in close proximity to the town rampart, a place of special importance that also emphasized the relation between the deceased and the town. The grave could, to my mind, be interpreted as a burial of a mounted Eastern-type archer, complete with quiver, bow case and horse. The collection of arrows included was a mixture of different types, not necessarily typical for an Eastern archer. Interesting parallels to chamber-grave Bj 1125b can be seen in burials interpreted as Magyar warrior graves. One example is a burial from Przemyśl, Poland.14 The buried horse is in this case placed alongside the interred. The closed quiver was placed hanging from the right hip and following down the full length of the upper part of the leg, possibly even longer. Other parallels have been presented by Hungarian researcher L. Kovacs, who acknowledged the parallels between man-and-horse burials in Magyar Hungary and a couple of the chamber graves in Birka. 15

Close encounters So what do advanced fighting techniques developed in the border zones of the ever-battling Byzantine Empire have to do with Viking warfare in Central Scandinavia? The image of the barbarous men from the North with foul tactics based on ambushes and skirmishes is far from the truth. As with their contemporaries on the European continent, the Viking warriors were highly skilled professionals, trained for set-piece battles, with ranking officers and battle order based on thorough training. They were renowned for their skills in building and using fortifications as an active part of their fighting technique. Their ships, as well as their horses, indicate the high level of mobility that was a special mark of the Viking warriors. They moved in small units over large areas and they were

13

Arbman, 1943: 463ff. Fodor, 1996: 439ff, fig. 443. 15 Kovács, 2003. 14

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particularly adaptive to new techniques and weaponry, which they incorporated into their own diverse battle techniques.16 The Viking warriors fought by slightly different rules than the Byzantines, as they were not Christians, and they placed the group first and foremost. They had a long tradition of archery and were, in all essentials, horsemen. This was true for the Scandinavian warriors—nevertheless, the Eastern connection was particularly strong in Birka. Nowhere else in the region is the evidence of advanced contact and transferred knowledge so overtly demonstrated as in the context of the Birka Garrison. This is not a question of mere luxury items: Eastern weaponry was clearly used in battle situations. For advanced warfare techniques, such as using a composite bow in battle, the warrior would need to have mastered the skills of Eastern archery. Mastering skills would have required extended, deeper contacts that included learning processes, transference of advanced knowledge and practice over a longer period of time. The established contacts between Birka and the Eastern trade route, ending in the Byzantine border zones or even Constantinople itself, provided opportunities to see, learn, master and develop these techniques. The demands of the landscape and social organization of the Viking Age Lake Mälar region, with its difficult terrain and dispersed settlement pattern, probably made the benefits of proficient Eastern-type archers evident. Warfare was based on mobility using horses and ships. There was even a strong element of fortification, using strongholds and ramparts as means both for defense and attack.17 Ships and fortifications represented confined spaces in which a composite bow must have been invaluable. It would have been quite beneficial for a military following to include skilled Eastern-style archers in their midst. Should the archeological material in Birka be understood as traces of visiting archers? Or had local warriors acquired the advanced techniques, dress and customs of the culturally mixed Byzantine border zones? To my mind, it is clear that there were warriors in Birka fully accomplished in the fighting techniques and weaponry of the Steppe nomads. That the Magyars constituted a major contributing factor is indicated by the specific elements of equipment and dress found. The composite bow ear and fittings for closed quivers found in the settlement area indicate local production and even development. I have claimed in my research that the inhabitants of tenth century Birka considered themselves part of an urban culture set apart from the surrounding regional culture of the Lake Mälar region. This urban culture was polyethnic, formed by the assimilation of different people joined together by common enterprise in trade, craft and warfare. Stylistic traits from various cultural expressions were combined in new ways and crafted using techniques borrowed 16 17

Hedenstierna-Jonson 2006, 2009b. Hedenstierna-Jonson, Holmquist and Olausson, 2007.

146 Scandinavia and the Balkans from the expert craftsmen of other cultures. An example of this can be seen in the context of burial Bj 550 in Birka. This was the grave of a distinguished female and the grave gifts include an elaborate belt buckle in gilded silver. The buckle is adorned with an animal in a style reminiscent of Scandinavian Viking-Age art. The overall fashion of the buckle and the technique with which it was produced is, however, not Scandinavian. An equivalent to the buckle has been found in a Magyar burial in Ladánybene-Benepuszta in present day Hungary. 18 The origins of the two buckles should probably be sought in the Byzantine border zones. The eclectic style of the warriors, combining weaponry and dress elements from various regions and cultures are perhaps the strongest indication that their origins should be sought in the Byzantine border zones. The regions surrounding the Byzantine Empire constituted a melting pot for cultural influences from the Eurasian Steppes as well as the Caliphate and Eastern Europe. The warriors serving in these areas were partly trained in the art of Byzantine warfare, in combination with fighting techniques and weaponry from the Caliphate and Eurasian Steppes. The use of the composite bow and lamellar armor reflects contacts with both Steppe nomadic mounted archers and Persian mounted soldiers.19

Conclusion Numerous finds in the settlement, burial and martial contexts reflect the extensive network of which the inhabitants of Birka were an active part. Among these objects are remains that bear witness to the warriors’ close engagement with the Byzantine border zones. The warriors gained knowledge and experience through long-term periods of service in these regions. They must have appreciated the many benefits of the composite bow and closed quiver and learnt to master the skills required. The Birka warriors used weaponry usually linked to the mounted warriors of the Eurasian Steppes in combination with lamellar armor and so-called Eastern dress, such as caftans and belts. This cultural mix of styles and objects can most likely be seen as a product of the vivid border regions of Byzantium, where people from a vast geographical area met and joined forces. The warriors who went to fight in this cultural melting pot acted as ministers of culture, bringing influences and knowledge home with them on their return journey. The warfare techniques and skills acquired during these periods of service were applicable to the situation in the Lake Mälar region. They fulfilled both practical and tactical functions and were administered by the returning warriors to such an extent that local production of fittings and mounts was initiated.

18 19

Fodor, 1996: 338; Hedenstierna-Jonson, 2013. Lundström et al., 2009: 114; Hedenstierna-Jonson, 2009a.

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Acknowledgements This study is part of the research project Birka, Rus’ and Nordic Gentes, funded by Riksbankensjubileumsfond, Sweden. The participation in the conference “Scandinavia and the Balkans” in Sofia on 24–28 September 2012 was made possible by a generous travel grant from Kungliga Vitterhetsakademien.

WORKS CITED Arbman, Holger. Birka I. Die Gräber. Text. Stockholm: Kungl. Vitterhets historie och antikvitets akademien, 1943. Arne, Ture J. “Birkagraven nr 632 och kejsar Theophilus’ mynt.” Fornvännen (1946): 216–232. Arne, Ture J. La Suède et l’Orient. Uppsala: Appelberg, 1914. Arne,Ture J. “Sverigesförbindelser med östern under vikingatiden,” Fornvännen (1911): 1–66. Fodor, Istvan (Ed.), The Ancient Hungarians. Exhibition catalogue. Budapest: Hungarian National Historical Museum, 1996. Gustin, Ingrid. Mellan gåva och marknad. Handel, tillit och materiell kultur under vikingatid. Diss. Lund, 2004. Hedenstierna-Jonson, Charlotte. “Traces of contacts. Magyar material culture in the Swedish Viking Age context of Birka.” In B. Tobias (Hrsg.), Die Archäologie der frühen Ungarn. Chronologie, Technologie und Methodik. Internationaler Workshop des Archäologischen Instituts der Ungarischen Akademie der Wissenschaften und des Römisch-Germanischen Zentralmuseums Mainz am 4. und 5. Dezember 2009. RGZM-Tagungen 17, Mainz, 2013. Hedenstierna-Jonson, Charlotte. “Birkafolket.” In Charlotte Hedenstierna-Jonson (Ed.), Birka nu. Pågående forskning om världsarvet Birka och Hovgården. Historiska museet Studies, Vol. 11. Stockholm, 2012: 213–226. Hedenstierna-Jonson, Charlotte and Lena Holmquist Olausson. The Oriental mounts from Birka’s garrison. An expression of warrior rank and status. Stockholm: Kungl. Vitterhetsakademien, Antikvariskt arkiv 81, 2006. Hedenstierna-Jonson, Charlotte. “A brotherhood of feasting and campaigning. The success of the Northern warrior.” In E. Regner, C. v. Heijne, L. Kitzler and A, Kjellström. (Eds.), From Ephesos to Dalecarlia. Historiska museet Studies, 11, Stockholm, 2009: 43–56. Hedenstierna-Jonson, Charlotte, Lena Holmquist, and M. Olausson. “The Viking Age paradox: continuity and discontinuity of fortifications and defence works in Eastern Scandinavia.” In John Baker, Brookes Stuart and Andrew Reynolds (Eds.), Landscapes of defence in the Viking Age. Studies in the Early Middle Ages 28. Turnhout: Brepols, 2013.

148 Scandinavia and the Balkans Hedenstierna-Jonson, Charlotte, N. Stjerna, and Laila Kitzler. Garnisonen II. Arkeologisk undersökning 1998. Rapport (Publ. excavation report). Stockholm, 1998. Hedenstierna-Jonson, Charlotte. “Magyar—Rus’—Scandinavia. Cultural exchange in the early medieval period.” In Proceedings of Border Breakers: Movements of Scandinavians and Slavs across the Baltic Sea in the Early Medieval Period. Situne Dei 2008, Sigtuna, 2009: 47–56. Hedenstierna-Jonson, Charlotte. The Birka Warrior – the material culture of a martial society. Stockholm, 2006. Holmquist Olausson, Lena. “Patterns of settlement and defence at the Proto-Town of Birka, Lake Malar, Eastern Sweden.” In Judith Jesch (Ed.), The Scandinavians from the Vendel period to the tenth century: An ethnographic perspective. Woodbridge & San Marino: Boydell Press, 2002: 153–175. Holmquist Olausson, Lena and Leila Kitzler Åhfeldt. Arkeologisk undersökning av ett hallhus i Birkas Garnison. Borgar och Befästningsverk i Mellansverige 400–1100 e. Kr. Rapport 4 (Publ. excavation report). Stockholm, 2002. Holmquist Olausson, Lena and Slavica Petrovski. “Curious birds—two helmet (?) mounts with a Christian motif from Birka’s garrison.” In U. Fransson (Ed.), Cultural interaction between east and west: archaeology, artefacts and human contacts in northern Europe. Stockholm, 2007: 231–237. Kovács, L. “Beregszás – Birka: Beiträgezu den Mützen mit Blechspitze den 10. Jahrhunderts,” Acta Academiae Scientiarum Hungarica 54 (2003): 205–241. Lundström, F., Charlotte Hedenstierna-Jonson and Lena Holmquist Olausson. “Eastern archery in Birka’s garrison.” In L. Holmquist Olausson and M. Olausson (Eds.), The martial society. Aspects of warriors, fortifications and social change. Stockholm, 2009: 105 –116. The Annals of St Bertin. Engl. trans. by J. L. Nelson, Manchester, 1991.

LIST OF FIGURES Fig. 1 A reconstruction showing a warrior from Birka’s garrison (drawing by Ahlin-Sundman) based on fittings from closed quivers and other items related to the Eastern-type archer found in the garrison Figs 2, 3, 4. Fittings for the lid of the closed quiver and a suspension-mount, locally produced in Birka (photo: Hedenstierna-Jonson) Fig. 5 A drawing by the nineteenth-century excavator Hjalmar Stolpe of burial Bj 1125b and the fittings for a closed quiver (Arbman, 1943: 465, Abb. 434–435) Fig. 6 Burial 6 in the burial-field of Przemyśl, Poland (Fodor, 1996: 443) Fig. 7 The Lake Mälar region constitutes a difficult terrain with restricted mobility (map by L. Bergström) Figs 8, 9. Buckles from Birka burial Bj 550 and Ladánybene-Benepuszta (Photos Hedenstierna-Jonson)

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Fig. 1 A reconstruction showing a warrior from Birka’s garrison (drawing by Ahlin-Sundman) based on fittings from closed quivers and other items related to the astern-type archer found in the garrison

Fig. 2

Fig. 3

Fig. 4

Figs. 2, 3, 4. Fittings for the lid of the closed quiver and a suspension-mount, locally produced in Birka (photo: Hedenstierna-Jonson)

150 Scandinavia and the Balkans

Fig. 5

Fig. 6

Fig. 5 A drawing by the nineteenth-century excavator Hjalmar Stolpe of burial Bj 1125b and the fittings for a closed quiver (Arbman, 1943: 465, Abb. 434–435) Fig. 6 Burial 6 in the burial-field of Przemyśl, Poland (after Fodor, 1996: 443).

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Fig. 7 The Lake Mälar region constitutes a difficult terrain with restricted mobility (map by L. Bergström)

152 Scandinavia and the Balkans

Fig. 8 Buckles from Birka burial Bj 550 (Photo Hedenstierna-Jonson)

Fig. 9 Buckle from Ladánybene-Benepuszta (Photo Hedenstierna-Jonson)