"At first light they attacked… [swinging] their swords and battle-axes without mercy until they stood ankle-deep in blood. Few of the victims escaped with their lives."

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 "At first light they attacked… [swinging] their swords and battle-axes without mercy until they stood ankle-deep in blood. Few of the victims escaped with their lives."



For more than 300 years starting in the 10th century, the Eastern Roman Empire's secret weapon was the bloodthirsty Varangian Guard. 


Mercenaries hired to act as the bodyguards, secret police, and personal army of the emperor, the Varangian Guard was made up of the most savage and uncontrollable Viking warriors who were shipped east by their overlords in Scandinavia.


 One Byzantine chronicler characterized them as "frightening both in appearance and in equipment," adding that "they attacked with reckless rage and neither cared about losing blood nor their wounds." 


And throughout their reign, the Varangian Guard insisted on using their own Viking axes in battle, leading to their most common nickname: "axe-bearing barbarians." 





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