{"product_id":"the-varangian-guard-glenn-s-martinez-9798250194600","title":"The Varangian Guard: The Geopolitical Reality of the Viking East: Byzantine Mercenaries, Islamic Silver, the Slave Trade, and the Economics of the Eas","description":"\u003cb\u003eThe Geopolitical Reality of the Viking East\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eThe overlooked story of Norse warriors who stopped raiding coasts and started serving empires.\u003c\/b\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eMost Viking history stops at burning monasteries and longships on open seas. That focus misses the more consequential transformation-the moment Scandinavian warbands entered river systems, imperial courts, and global trade networks where violence was priced, regulated, and deployed with purpose. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eWhen Vikings moved east, they did not find wilderness. They found states, markets, contracts, and silver. The result was not chaos, but integration. Mercenary service replaced raiding. Trade replaced plunder. And the Viking world was reshaped from the inside out. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003ci\u003eThe Varangian Guard\u003c\/i\u003e presents a clear, evidence-based account of how Norse warriors became paid enforcers for foreign emperors-and how Islamic silver, river trade, and the slave economy powered this shift. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cb\u003eInside, you will discover: \u003c\/b\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e- \u003cb\u003eWhy Vikings Became Mercenaries: \u003c\/b\u003e How Scandinavian warbands entered foreign service and why empires preferred outsiders they could pay and control. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e- \u003cb\u003eHow the Varangian Guard Functioned: \u003c\/b\u003e What elite palace service actually looked like in Constantinople, from daily routines to moments of imperial crisis. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e- \u003cb\u003eThe Role of Islamic Silver: \u003c\/b\u003e How Arabic dirhams fueled a cash economy that transformed Scandinavia's politics, wealth, and warfare. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e- \u003cb\u003eTrade Routes Over Raids: \u003c\/b\u003e Why rivers, markets, and logistics replaced hit-and-run violence as the most reliable path to power. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e- \u003cb\u003eThe Slave Trade Economy: \u003c\/b\u003e How human trafficking-not gold-sustained long-term expansion and integration into Eastern systems. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e- \u003cb\u003eWhat the Viking East Created: \u003c\/b\u003e How foreign service and eastern wealth forced the creation of kingship, taxation, and the end of the Viking Age. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cb\u003eThe Material Archive: Includes a carefully documented reference framework drawing on archaeology, imperial Byzantine records, and numismatic coin hoard studies that reveal how these systems actually worked.\u003c\/b\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eIf you want to understand Vikings not as legends, but as rational actors operating inside early global economies, this book offers a grounded, credible perspective. Follow the rivers, the silver, and the contracts-and see how empire reshapes everyone it touches.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eAuthor:\u003c\/b\u003e Glenn S. Martinez\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eISBN-13:\u003c\/b\u003e 9798250194600\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublisher:\u003c\/b\u003e Independently Published\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eLanguage:\u003c\/b\u003e English\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublished:\u003c\/b\u003e 02\/28\/2026\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePages:\u003c\/b\u003e 158\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eFormat:\u003c\/b\u003e Paperback\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eWeight:\u003c\/b\u003e 0.44lbs\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eSize:\u003c\/b\u003e 9.00h x 6.00w x 0.40d","brand":"Glenn S. Martinez","offers":[{"title":"Paperback","offer_id":48997514936575,"sku":"9798250194600","price":15.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"url":"https:\/\/www.whiterainbookhouse.com\/products\/the-varangian-guard-glenn-s-martinez-9798250194600","provider":"WR Book House","version":"1.0","type":"link"}