Miklagard (The Great City)
Byzantium-Constantinople-Istanbul
Huge
city walls facing the land and sea met the Vikings when they sailed in to Constantinople
mooring at the harbour in the Golden Horn. The city was the largest the Vikings
knew of and it is not so strange that the Vikings referred
to the city as Miklagard (The Great City).
The great wealth of the city soon made it a tempting
prey for the Northerners, though because of the size of the city the Vikings
quickly decided to go into the service of the emperor.
He established his own Viking-guard known as the
Varangians. The best known commander of this guard was Harald
Hardrada .
