The Varangians - Epic Music

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  • Опубликовано: 23 дек 2024

Комментарии • 1,3 тыс.

  • @faryafaraji
    @faryafaraji  Год назад +821

    An original composition by Farya Faraji. Please note that this isn’t reconstructed music from the Medieval Norse or Eastern Roman cultures; it’s modern music with a historical theme. Please note this isn't reconstructed historical music, it's modern folk music. The Epic Byzantine Music series is a musical project where I explore various sounds from the ethnomusicological ecosystem of modern traditional music, using sounds from modern folk traditions as they are today as a framing device for themes pertaining to the history of the Eastern Roman Empire. The artwork featuring the human figure is by J.F Oliveras, check out his wonderful historical recreations: www.artstation.com/jfoliveras
    The Varangians were the Vikings (Scandinavian traders and raiders) who specifically operated in Eastern Europe, and would become a foundational turning point in the history of nations such as Russia and Ukraine in their early days. They would make their way to Constantinople where they would become the Varangian Guard, which was an an elite section of the Eastern Roman Emperor’s forces, serving as its bodyguards. They were originally Rus, then mostly Scandinavian Norsemen who effectively fought as mercenaries and later as the Emperor’s personal bodyguards-trusted both for their lack of local political ambitions due to their remote origins, and their strong sense of oath-based loyalty typical of Norse and Anglo-Saxon cultures. The Varangians would later also be comprised of other ethnicities like the Anglo-Saxons, but for a good part of its history, the institution was almost exclusively Norse.
    The music utilises elements of both Scandinavian and Greek music; both Medieval and modern. The Scandinavian part uses a modern fiddle, a nyckelharpa which appeared in the 14th century, and a jaw-harp, which was utilised by the Viking-age Norse. The Greek part uses a lauto, byzantine lyra and an oud; the latter two did exist during the Byzantine era, at least from the 800’s onwards.
    The lyrics are in Old Norse and in Greek. The Old Norse lyrics are extracted from the second stanza of the Voluspa, an Old Norse era poem written down soon after the Christianisation of Scandinavia. I used reconstructed Old Norse pronunciation instead of the more typically used Icelandic one, which is similar but not the same; see Jackson Crawford’s excellent channel for more info on Norse language, culture and myths: m.ruclips.net/user/JacksonCrawford
    Lyrics in Old Norse and Greek:
    Ek man jötna ár um borna,
    þá er forðum mik fœdda höfðu;
    níu man ek heima, níu íviði,
    mjötvið mœran fyr mold neðan.
    Χαίρε, αδελφέ,
    Βορέα, Χειμόνα,
    Έρχεται χειμώνας στην Ρωμανία,
    Χαίρε, Βάραγγε!
    English translation:
    I remember yet the giants of yore,
    Who gave me bread in the days gone by;
    Nine worlds I knew, the nine in the tree
    With mighty roots beneath the mold.
    Hail, Brother,
    Ye Boreas, ye Winter,
    Winter has come upon the land of Rome,
    Hail, Varangian!

    • @CrazyChickenFarmer
      @CrazyChickenFarmer Год назад +30

      I hope to see your name in the credits of a movie, series or video game one day as the composer of such great and atmospheric music

    • @guydelusignan9561
      @guydelusignan9561 Год назад +9

      @@GrasmesterTvoegoOhka Rus are that, what we call today norse men/Vikings. The Rus tribes, where from Sweden, they set down around Kiev, they were the founders of a viking kíngdom. Called "the Rus kingdom", in German, we say "Kiewer Rus". Thats the theorie with the highest chance to be true(there r 3 more). the territoy of the rus, includes the actual states Ukraine, Belarus and eastern Russia Russia = land of the Rus. But their capital town, was Kiev. For more information:
      english
      en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kievan_Rus%27
      german
      de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kiewer_Rus

    • @guydelusignan9561
      @guydelusignan9561 Год назад +5

      great song, i like it, gimmie more

    • @angryas_fok6264
      @angryas_fok6264 Год назад +2

      Amazing simply amazing, will you apload it on Spotify?

    • @greatsarmatae
      @greatsarmatae Год назад

      @@guydelusignan9561 there is no investigation to mention "chances of truth", all is known, it is "terra incognita" only for the westerners =)
      Let me provide a brief guide.
      Rus is not Northmen, it was Slavic place in Kyiv region, but Scandinavian dynasty (with it's army) and Northern traders both became part of Rus. It became a symbiosis. And, ultimately, foreigners like early Byzantines or Arabs perceived Rus as Scandinavians, because these gentlemen executed naval voyages, while majority of Slavic people stayed home.
      In Slavic world general Northmen were known as Varyags (source for later Greek "Varangians").
      Also, modern titles "Russia" and "Belarus" have nothing to do with medieval Rus, these names are of much later political and ideological origin.
      Medieval "Rus" consisted only of lands of Kyiv, Chernihov and Pereyaslav, it established empire by conquering other Slavic and Finnic lands. Via Church and law all them could be known as "Rus" for foreigner (as all HRE citizens were known as "Germans" once), yet just Kyiv/Chernihov/Pereyaslav region were actually "Rus" in interior perspective.

  • @jsmoothd654
    @jsmoothd654 Год назад +2243

    “ Halfdan was here.”

    • @nobodycares6881
      @nobodycares6881 Год назад +191

      Carved in stone you can see the message still in Istanbul

    • @aarengraves9962
      @aarengraves9962 Год назад +292

      @@nobodycares6881 At Hagia Sophia, in Constantinople*

    • @Vladobas
      @Vladobas Год назад +51

      @@aarengraves9962 Constantinople no more.

    • @marcardevol3561
      @marcardevol3561 Год назад +7

      Has been halfdan redreced yet ??.

    • @Storm-cw6qp
      @Storm-cw6qp Год назад +101

      ​@@Vladobas but it will be constantinopel in the future

  • @justinian536
    @justinian536 Год назад +2069

    Fun fact: A Varangian vandalised the Hagia Sophia saying "Halfdan was here"

    • @ub3rfr3nzy94
      @ub3rfr3nzy94 Год назад +406

      Those darn vandals, always messing with Rome!

    • @noqueq9003
      @noqueq9003 Год назад

      He was a pagan and did not know the importance of what he did. Other so called 'christians' of the west did faaaarrr worse

    • @Svevladovich
      @Svevladovich Год назад +217

      Hálfdán var hérna.

    • @luisoryan3504
      @luisoryan3504 Год назад +151

      When I saw it with my own eyes, I necessarily had to put a Varangian named Halfdan in the novel I wrote about the fall of Constantinople:D

    • @Svevladovich
      @Svevladovich Год назад +54

      @@luisoryan3504 Na zemlji Slava, a na nebu Valhalla!

  • @NDeGeorge1
    @NDeGeorge1 Год назад +1027

    I’m Greco Norwegian and this is just amazing. Well done as always

  • @aarengraves9962
    @aarengraves9962 Год назад +1370

    Fun Fact: The last name *Varangopoulos* exists today in Greece.
    It literally translates to: Son of the Varangian (Varangian's Son)

    • @CatholicSoldierX
      @CatholicSoldierX Год назад +121

      Blond Greeks with that name 🤩

    • @galenbjorn443
      @galenbjorn443 Год назад +106

      Well, the Norse/other germanic men that were in the Varangian guard apparently loved the greek woman. So probably many of the had children with greek women and that blood and name still are in greek people these days. Kind of cool to think that

    • @Mumrik93
      @Mumrik93 Год назад +89

      If WW3 ever breaks out we should found a joint military division called "Legio Varangopoulos".

    • @Pavlos_Charalambous
      @Pavlos_Charalambous Год назад +59

      @@galenbjorn443 many was converting to Greek orthodox and was joining the ranks of the regular army, basically it wasn't uncommon for people of diverse ethnic background to merge into the eastern roman society
      I mean even Turkish nomads was joining the gang - either under their own leaders or as part of the army 😉
      Not to mention that their most legendary giant warrior was " digenis akritas" that can be translated as the mixblooded Border guard since he was half Greek and half Persian

    • @carabcy6526
      @carabcy6526 Год назад +1

      @@CatholicSoldierX go and visit the Mani peninsula and you will see blond Greeks. Go to Sfakia in Crete and you ll see others.

  • @Lopate123
    @Lopate123 Год назад +722

    I've never imagined a norse-byzantine/mediteran mix...
    Excellent work as always! Another addition to my "Eastern Roman games playlist"

    • @radziwill7193
      @radziwill7193 Год назад +15

      Duh... Russia.

    • @Svevladovich
      @Svevladovich Год назад +2

      @@radziwill7193 ?

    • @ap0calypseduck329
      @ap0calypseduck329 Год назад +27

      @@Svevladovich "Varangians" is the Slavonic for "Vikings", who descended the Volga River through primordial pagan Russia (then known as the Rus) and settled there. Constantinople, capital of the Byzantine Roman Empire, was besieged by these Varangians for a time, until eventually they were hired as mercenaries and called the Varangian Guard- literal Viking mercenaries of the Eastern Roman Empire. The people of the Rus were very similar to their Scandinavian counterparts in all aspects, but eventually Christianized as Orthodox due to Olga of Kiev. Still, that Scandinavian influence did not go away, but instead adapted and changed around its Roman/Orthodox influence. So, the Rus, which would eventually become Russia, is a Norse-Byzantine/mediterranean cultural amalgamation.
      I highly recommend learning about primordial Russia and the Varangians, it's fascinating history!

    • @Svevladovich
      @Svevladovich Год назад +11

      @@ap0calypseduck329 I know it already but thanks for clarifying! Even Harald Hardrada was considered Orthodox but at that time, great schism and division of Christianity didn't occurred yet. Harald, himself, was warmly surprised seeing there's way different Romans with darker skin and culture. Also when they reached Constantinople, they though it was gates of Asgard, that's how it was rich.

    • @Svevladovich
      @Svevladovich Год назад +6

      @@ap0calypseduck329 BTW, huge regards from Serbia! 🇷🇸🇷🇺

  • @Marcus001
    @Marcus001 Год назад +467

    I find the fact that literal vikings defended the Roman Empire, and also served as a backbone of their military for a time, to be fascinating.

    • @particanmapper8924
      @particanmapper8924 Год назад +73

      It is, and thinking that actually all of the current cultures come from roman empire is stunning, think about the russians, byzantine-slavs, so roman slavs, all the gallics and celtics wich fused with romans, the italians being just roman sons, the spanish people that fused in america tpo being also from roman culture... Everthing is so connected

    • @DukeoftheAges
      @DukeoftheAges 6 месяцев назад +4

      the ones that destroyed the western roman empire were not vikings but they were related

    • @galenbjorn443
      @galenbjorn443 4 месяца назад +5

      @@DukeoftheAges The ancestors of the vikings

    • @luduvugla
      @luduvugla 2 месяца назад +5

      it's like a fan fiction fan service crossover done right and actually happened irl

    • @Rua-Bnuuy_the_Possessed
      @Rua-Bnuuy_the_Possessed Месяц назад +5

      Them Nords lived and breathed war, just as much if not more than the Romans did, so it's not surprising that they performed well when the Basileus invited them with coin to fight alongside them.
      Though it is indeed truly fascinating to see how intertwined ancient peoples and societies were with each other.

  • @sebastianfries274
    @sebastianfries274 3 месяца назад +39

    0:35 how bro looks at me after I find the time traveler’s pogo stick (we’re supposed to be guarding the emperor)

  • @thulios2018
    @thulios2018 Год назад +139

    Never did I expect to hear Greek and Norse in the same song, Truly remarkable!

  • @FoakHome
    @FoakHome Год назад +1894

    As a Norwegian lover of Roman history, I'll always be proud that my people were in the ranks of the Emperor's best protectors. (:
    Going to learn Greek and Latin, and then make the journey they did to Italy and Greece.
    🇳🇴 ❤🇬🇷

  • @user-evil_historian
    @user-evil_historian Год назад +364

    Now I want 1. HBO series about Eastern Roman Empire 2. All Farya Byzantine tracks in them.

    • @directororsoncallankrennic3531
      @directororsoncallankrennic3531 Год назад

      @@Cormano980 cuckservitive detected on American soil

    • @TempleofBrendaSong
      @TempleofBrendaSong Год назад +11

      @@Cormano980 Yep I still havent forgot Game of Thrones season 8

    • @K0EN
      @K0EN Год назад +17

      @@Cormano980 It has to be historically accurate and not woke for sure. I'm not watching it if it's woke

    • @mattaffenit9898
      @mattaffenit9898 Год назад +15

      I trust HBO to stick to history about as much as I trust Amazon to stick to Tolkien's works, or Disney to adapt Star Wars.
      I still haven't watched Rings of Power or any of the sequel trilogy out of an overwhelming sense of vengeful spite. Also looming dread. From what I've picked up on second hand, that was the correct decision for both.

    • @mattaffenit9898
      @mattaffenit9898 Год назад +5

      @cossackbrotherhood5772
      History channel's been in the shitter for over a decade, I don't even like calling them History channel anymore. It's mostly just "reality" shows now.

  • @09stoneheart
    @09stoneheart Год назад +106

    Imagine being a young adventurous norseman, having just traversed the rivers and roads of eastern Europe, and beholding the splendor of Constantinople for the first time.

  • @kalleswediboyy6940
    @kalleswediboyy6940 Год назад +184

    Im swedish and i haved always loved history especially the roman empire and knowning my ancestors protected the emperor is almost like a dream for me!

    • @Svevladovich
      @Svevladovich Год назад +8

      Til Valholl!

    • @GiGi-fu2oy
      @GiGi-fu2oy Год назад +14

      @@Svevladovich these were orthodox vikings

    • @Igor-my6ml
      @Igor-my6ml Год назад +3

      @@GiGi-fu2oy Really, they were Orthodox?

    • @GiGi-fu2oy
      @GiGi-fu2oy Год назад +14

      @@Igor-my6ml Attracted by the riches of Constantinople, the Varangian Rus' began the Rus'-Byzantine Wars, some of which resulted in advantageous trade treaties. At least from the early 10th century, many Varangians served as mercenaries in the Byzantine Army, constituting the elite Varangian Guard (the bodyguards of Byzantine emperors). Eventually most of them, in Byzantium and in Eastern Europe, were converted from Norse paganism to Orthodox Christianity, culminating in the Christianization of Kievan Rus' in 988. Coinciding with the general decline of the Viking Age, the influx of Scandinavians to Rus' stopped and Varangians were gradually assimilated by East Slavs by the late 11th century.
      -wikipedia

    • @solinvictus5349
      @solinvictus5349 Год назад +1

      @@GiGi-fu2oy Still Nordic

  • @alessandrolivi2287
    @alessandrolivi2287 Год назад +478

    A Masterpiece. Norse Warriors who meet the Greco-Roman and Christian Orthodox Civilization for the first time, and are shocked by the greatness of Constantinople (Miklagard)

    • @Mumrik93
      @Mumrik93 Год назад +26

      A common conflict that arouse for norsemen who visited for the first time was the Constatines use of money, many fight where started because the norsemen thought they where being cheated when the traders didn't measure the coins weight.

    • @Yusef2066
      @Yusef2066 Год назад +17

      Most Vangarians would've already been Christian at this point, especially the Saxons, - so they already would've heard of the Great Constantinople.

    • @Boss70305
      @Boss70305 Год назад +8

      ⁠@@Yusef2066What? Saxon Varangians? Are you sure about that . The Varangians were mostly Swedes, or ‘Rus’ as they were called by the Slavs.

    • @ruviklychee4308
      @ruviklychee4308 Год назад +19

      ​@@Boss70305 Most varangians were norse at first, then when the profession became very popular over time many other europeans joined. For example, the last varangians to serve consisted of a good amount of british mercenaries. After all, varangians are still mercenaries.

    • @Boss70305
      @Boss70305 Год назад +2

      @@ruviklychee4308 Didn’t know that actually, interesting!

  • @goshlike76
    @goshlike76 Год назад +175

    Another masterpiece. Mind-blowing use of instruments to mix mediterranean and nordic music.

  • @underlander
    @underlander Год назад +13

    I am from Greece and I have always felt an attraction to the north. I have been listening to traditional Scandinavian music and studying Norse mythology for years now. I can't help but get chills every time I listen to this song. I have been a long time viewer of your channel and really appreciate the attention to detail of your videos and music. And a word in Greek "Να είσαι καλά και να μας φτιάχνεις πάντα τέτοιο ποιοτικό περιεχόμενο" !

  • @yllejord
    @yllejord Год назад +441

    As a Pontian Greek who adopted Sweden as her second homeland, this makes me extremely happy.

    • @dirtyharry0191
      @dirtyharry0191 Год назад +29

      Välkommen!

    • @yllejord
      @yllejord 8 месяцев назад

      @@Tarfiyat I have a home to go to, at least, now that you've collectively decided you hate Sweden as it is and wish with a burning passion to live in a shitty country instead.
      What will you do, now that your wish is becoming true i rasande fart? Vart fan ska ni ta vägen, era stackare?
      I'm fine. Worry about your own sorry asses.

    • @ფარნავაზი
      @ფარნავაზი 6 месяцев назад

      You Laz?

    • @AlentoursCalistere
      @AlentoursCalistere 5 месяцев назад

      @@ფარნავაზიwhy?pontian Greeks are Greeks

    • @HansChucrute88
      @HansChucrute88 4 месяца назад +2

      Now you can be part of Swedish King bodyguards.

  • @ianellenson805
    @ianellenson805 Год назад +73

    One of the kings of Scandinavia was himself a captain of the Varangian guard. His saga traveled from the sands of the Middle East to the shores of England, as he was the great warrior king of Norway. His name was Harold Sigurdson, but many remember him as Harold Hardrada, “Harold the hard ruler.”

    • @NorwegianSedevacantist
      @NorwegianSedevacantist 5 месяцев назад +7

      Hehe, yep. Harald Hardråde was one of our best kings, second to St. Olaf.

  • @dannymarashi
    @dannymarashi Год назад +142

    Now this, this hit the spot, man. This blending of genres and cultural motifs is what I'm all about and I'm glad you gave the Varangians the love they deserved. I also really like that it harkens back to the Akritic music you have done but just, more grand in feeling and scope and Dance of the Akritai and Digenis Akritas remain as standouts in your Byzantine catalogue. Keep it up, man. Idk how you do it so consistently, but you do.

  • @alexanderboukas5388
    @alexanderboukas5388 Год назад +147

    I am half Greek and half Swedish, this felt very topical for me
    Great job as always!

    • @revert6417
      @revert6417 8 месяцев назад +1

      Serb and Danish heritage here,
      I feel the same way.

  • @CaptainHarlock-kv4zt
    @CaptainHarlock-kv4zt Год назад +379

    A fine Greco-Scandinavian blend!
    🇬🇷🇩🇰🇸🇪🇸🇯🇫🇮

    • @Svevladovich
      @Svevladovich Год назад +40

      Kievan Rus 🇧🇾☀️🇺🇦☀️🇷🇺

    • @CaptainHarlock-kv4zt
      @CaptainHarlock-kv4zt Год назад +4

      @@Svevladovich Of course you're right.

    • @jericquitoriano2107
      @jericquitoriano2107 Год назад

      you forgot rome

    • @aidarnabiev9226
      @aidarnabiev9226 Год назад +9

      ​@@Svevladovich Nowgorod Rus was closer had diplomatic relations and an alliance with the Vikings

    • @Svevladovich
      @Svevladovich Год назад +13

      @@aidarnabiev9226 Yes, Novgorod was called ''Holmgardr'' and the whole area was called ''Gardarika''. There's even a song ''Gardariki'', you can look it up, it's kind of catchy. :-)

  • @hellenictech
    @hellenictech Год назад +123

    Very good work! Το καλύτερο βαρύ πεζικό του Βυζαντίου! Excellent combination of byzantine and norse music!

  • @HighLordoftheBathroom
    @HighLordoftheBathroom Год назад +29

    Farya, I'd just like to thank you. Your songs (especially those in Latin) always seem to put me in a good mood whenever I'm down.

  • @telreyne
    @telreyne Год назад +35

    I have been looking for more Varangian content and as a fan of both Norse and Byzantine culture, thank you so much!

  • @Tobbs96
    @Tobbs96 Год назад +49

    I'm Swedish and I just can't stop coming back to this song. I really feel it does justice to our proud history, good job :)

  • @bigsillyman423
    @bigsillyman423 Год назад +31

    Another great piece Farya! Really love to hear your stuff at the gym and I'm looking forward to getting this one going too!

  • @ΧαρίλαοςΤρικούπης-σ1ρ

    We haven't forgotten Thank you to all Norsemen and Anglo-Saxons whose ancestors defended the empire
    🇬🇷❤️🇧🇻🇸🇪🇩🇰🇮🇸🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿

  • @lucareviews9760
    @lucareviews9760 Год назад +11

    Youn know its a good day when farya posts

  • @miastupid7911
    @miastupid7911 Год назад +50

    Kudos!
    On a side note: to this day, there is a very upscale historic furniture store in Greece, by a family named Varangis.

  • @mohammadmahdijalaeipour2387
    @mohammadmahdijalaeipour2387 Год назад +1824

    They were what the Praetorians wished they could be.

    • @keeshans5768
      @keeshans5768 Год назад +97

      Mercenaries? Praetorians were emperor-makers.

    • @jakefitzsimmons1213
      @jakefitzsimmons1213 Год назад +425

      @@keeshans5768 and killers

    • @gigiluigi6359
      @gigiluigi6359 Год назад +363

      @@jakefitzsimmons1213 praetorians are the first emperor death cause 😂

    • @ommsterlitz1805
      @ommsterlitz1805 Год назад +33

      Pretorians existed for 1600 years you have to be precise my dude

    • @joaopedroghigiareli3161
      @joaopedroghigiareli3161 Год назад +153

      Traitors don't deserve musics in their names

  • @ap0calypseduck329
    @ap0calypseduck329 Год назад +57

    I made an entire civilization in my friend's D&D campaign who are heavily inspired by the Byzantines and Varangians. I've been listening to your stuff for a while and was thinking how amazing it'd be to have something from you that captures that essence in musical form. This is it.
    Thank you so much!

    • @yes-par2983
      @yes-par2983 Год назад +2

      My i ask some of the fluff you made for your friend's campaign

    • @ap0calypseduck329
      @ap0calypseduck329 Год назад +3

      @@yes-par2983 "In the Second Age, when the Father became as one, and Night first touched the plane, the wayward son of Kierkegaard held fist in Aerlion. With it, he built up a great city and gave the Jallstan Kobolds a future as members of the great Clan Stonefist. There they made way as their own culture, serving the peoples of Erdemel by providing educated skills. In the proceeding decades, after its founder had passed the threshold, the Dragonborn would be discovered and with the Kobolds make the first Stoneborn, cementing the three draconic races of the people now known as the Kierks. Their clans would become Tarva, and each would focus on the betterment of their host countries towards a balanced ideal in Jallvera. By the temple of body and mind, they will be Unbound"
      The Kierks started out as an ancient clan of Dwarves from the Jallstan mountains, and became obscure over time. However one of its last members (my character), a Dwarf-sized Kobold who left Jallsta after a civil war, restarted the clan to protect the Kobold population of the human city he settled in. After a demonic invasion, the city was in ruins, and he spent a decade rebuilding it while also building up his family clan. He structured the clan like a crafts guild, believing that society would find it hard to oppress the Kobolds again if they were educated and useful. So with his intellect and resources he did just that. The Stonefists would eventually form other clans, also predicated on staking their claim in a country by providing it with statesmen, artisans, blacksmiths, writers, etc.
      The Dwarves in the world are Scandinavian inspired, which, due to the Kierks' dealings and mingling with the Northern Elves, formed an architectural and cultural aesthetic I extrapolated into a Rus appearance (Hyperboria is a major fantasy inspiration for their look). So the Kierks doubled down on that and formed an entirely unique culture inspired by the likes of the Byzantines and Varangians, primarily, with a little Persian, Mongolian, and Chinese. While there is much more I can say, that's a pretty good gist and I hope you found it interesting.

    • @ap0calypseduck329
      @ap0calypseduck329 Год назад +3

      @@yes-par2983 When I set out to make my own culture in the campaign world, I decided on Rus because there are not many fantasy cultures who are inspired by those ancient peoples. You have Anglo-Saxons, Germans, French, Scandinavians, Egyptians, and sometimes Japanese- where are all the Eastern Steppe peoples? It's either far-Western Europeans, Japanese Samurai, or some really hokey Egyptian knock-offs it seems. Barring historical inspiration, most fantasy writers just rip off Tolkien and call it a day. So I wanted to go somewhere few had, and make something much more memorable.
      Closest thing in fantasy media that comes close to the Kierks is Kislev from Warhammer Fantasy, except the Kierks are more Mediterranean and are obsessed with Draconic aesthetics, whereas Kislev is more Russian and obsessed with polar bear aesthetics.

    • @yes-par2983
      @yes-par2983 Год назад +3

      @@ap0calypseduck329your right about eastern europen in fantasy would be nice if we had more stuff there.
      I love kislev in w kislev arhammer, tho CA/ Total war, made to magical and bear like in my onpion.
      (Manly looking at the Gryphon Legion and all the sledges)

    • @eindalton2638
      @eindalton2638 Год назад +2

      Also used Byzantium as an inspiration for a culture in my setting, but I kind of melded it with medieval Bulgaria and kind of wanted to represent the whole medieval Balkan/Eastern Europe feel, which is seldom seen in fantasy.

  • @024Nimma
    @024Nimma Год назад +28

    The history of the Byzantine Empire and The Varangians are so impressive; I can't get enough of it. Neither of these beautiful songs with amazing backgrounds. Well done Farya, again! Love from The Netherlands. ✝☦

  • @a.v.j5664
    @a.v.j5664 Год назад +64

    Finnish translation:
    Muistan vielä menneisyyden jätit,
    Jotka leipää minulle muinoin antoi;
    Yhdeksän maailmaa tiesin/tunsin, (ne) yhdeksän puussa jolla mahtavat juuret oli mullan alla.
    Terve, veli,
    Sinä Boreas, sinä talvi,
    Talvi on tullut Rooman maahan,
    Tervehdys, varjaagi!

    • @tomskowski6239
      @tomskowski6239 Год назад +3

      Only that Finns aren't Scandinavian.

    • @nihl1005
      @nihl1005 Год назад +2

      У меня *варяги* перевелось как *лузер*

    • @a.v.j5664
      @a.v.j5664 Год назад +1

      @@nihl1005 sorry i don’t speak russian

    • @a.v.j5664
      @a.v.j5664 Год назад +3

      @@tomskowski6239 never claimed so lmao. Also i know that because i am finnish

  • @hypersp3ce596
    @hypersp3ce596 Год назад +22

    I've recently fell in love with this type of music, really amazing stuff. Greetings and love from Turkey!

  • @pseudomonas03
    @pseudomonas03 Год назад +26

    Immagine a Basileus of Rhomaion named Basil, of Spartan descendence (from his mother's Theofano part), leading 6.000 Vikings in a battle against the usurpers of the throne, while having this epic music on your head! Excellent work again!

  • @deathisdeadd
    @deathisdeadd Год назад +23

    its not even fair how blessed we are to get these tracks. farya legit the greatest of all time

  • @KyrosAkolouthos
    @KyrosAkolouthos Год назад +41

    Anyone listening to this if you don’t know who the Varangians are, you have to look them up. They are badass! The history of them is just amazing.

  • @АндраникЧилингарян-г9п

    Wonderful! Greetings from your Armenian brother! Thank you for your brilliant work, brother. After listening to this song, I felt like Emperor Vasily the Bulgar-Slayer, who led the Varangians and led them into battle.

  • @justinianthegreat1444
    @justinianthegreat1444 Год назад +40

    I wish I had them as my bodyguards 🥲
    Beautiful work Farya Faraji!

    • @saikrishnak8631
      @saikrishnak8631 Год назад +8

      why ? your reign was 38 years which was highly uncommon at that circumstances.

    • @СвпетарГајтан
      @СвпетарГајтан Год назад +1

      Belisarius } varangians !

    • @Bruh-cg2fk
      @Bruh-cg2fk 4 месяца назад +3

      ​​@@saikrishnak8631but Basil II reigned for way more years than Justinian and he made the deal with Vladimir from the Rus to create the varangian guard and also marrying Basil's sister and christianize the rus

  • @ahmetfarukkoc8125
    @ahmetfarukkoc8125 Год назад +69

    I wish all your music was available on spotify :( Great music as always tho! Love your work

  • @AI_Futurism
    @AI_Futurism Год назад +9

    Great music! Really capturing the best of norse and byzantine tunes and blending it into someting new and unique. Well done!

  • @Boss70305
    @Boss70305 Год назад +14

    Sweden, the country with the most runestones in the whole world, have many stones with inscriptions of men who died in the east, in ‘Miklagård’. The are also inscriptions telling of men who died as Vikings in Estonia and other Baltic nations.
    One famous example is Ingvar the Far-Travelled, a Swedish Viking who led an expedition to the east during the 11th century. There were many ships and they came all the way to ’Särkland’, which was the Norse name for the lands around the Caspian Sea, so they came all the way to the Middle East. There are at least 26 runestones in Sweden telling of men who joined Ingvar on his expedition, and how they died.

  • @mattaffenit9898
    @mattaffenit9898 Год назад +10

    _OOHOOHOOOH YEAH I LIKEY_
    The Varangian Guard are one of my favorite military units. It tickles me deeply to get hybridized music about them.

  • @stegotyranno4206
    @stegotyranno4206 Год назад +106

    It will be interesting to see more crossovers, like arab/persian, persian/turkic, chinese/mongol. Reminds me of the "Roma Invicta" guy in Hikantoi

    • @solinvictus5349
      @solinvictus5349 Год назад +7

      Mongol with Wild West crossover could be sensational

    • @stegotyranno4206
      @stegotyranno4206 Год назад +12

      @@solinvictus5349 i was in the territory of actual possibilities, but who cares Mongol Bluegrass, Vedic Techno, Celtic carynx vs Australian Digeridoo lets do it

    • @SetuwoKecik
      @SetuwoKecik Год назад +2

      @@stegotyranno4206 craving for a crossover music that nobody had expected? Makassar Bugis sailors (in Sulawesi, Indonesia) once formed trade relationship with North Australian aborigins in 16-17th century.
      There's this orchestra music named "The Voyage to Marege" which describing the event.

    • @stegotyranno4206
      @stegotyranno4206 Год назад +3

      @@SetuwoKecik i knew about that before, nlt the ochestra tho. They are the reason why Australian Aboriginal word for soap(jabu) can trace all the way back to Frankish Germanic, long beifre English or even Dutch colonization. Also these traders traded some crops and sea cucumbers with them?

    • @SetuwoKecik
      @SetuwoKecik Год назад +3

      @@stegotyranno4206 indeed. Sea cucumbers or what they called as tripang was the main commodity to be traded.

  • @CONSTANTINEXI63
    @CONSTANTINEXI63 Год назад +34

    In Scandinavia, the norse have heard tales of explorers heading down south to the capital of a great empire, and come back with more gold and wealth than imaginable. They called it the city of gold. Which later more would head there in search of employment, which they most certainly found. Which created the Varangian Guard

  • @justinianthegreat1444
    @justinianthegreat1444 Год назад +25

    This is like the epic sequel to your Old Norse Song that sounds jolly

  • @finnilebo5067
    @finnilebo5067 Год назад +34

    Farya, İ don't know If you remember but a lot of months ago, İ wrote a comment asking if you could compose a track for the Varangians because you could fuse nordic with east-mediterranean Influences. You answered such a Track is definitley on your list.
    Now you delivered and it's a true masterpiece 🙏🏼

  • @balkanmountains2103
    @balkanmountains2103 Год назад +96

    Okay, this is my new favourite song of yours! This music blending came out really good. I love the winter theme too. Plus, who doesn't love the Varangian guard? One of my best friends actually has the last name 'Βαραγκός' which means 'Varangian' in Greek. I've heard that some of the Varangians carried shields and banners with Odin's raven. It must have been pretty cool seeing these along with the hundreds of orthodox banners.

  • @Uriahdoeskendama
    @Uriahdoeskendama 8 месяцев назад +41

    0:35 “boing”

  • @nikolaoskouvatsos9222
    @nikolaoskouvatsos9222 Год назад +24

    I can’t get enough of your Eastern Roman songs, keep up the great work my friend!

  • @_TheUnknown_
    @_TheUnknown_ Год назад +65

    Excellent! 🇬🇷☦

  • @ΚωνσταντίαΠανάγου
    @ΚωνσταντίαΠανάγου Год назад +163

    My mom' s surname is Varangoulis. She was born in Corfu island, Greece. After Constantinopolis was conquered by Frankish demons in 1204, some members of Varangian Guard didn' t return to their homeland but they moved into several regions of Greece!
    Beautiful music Farya 🙂

    • @elliottbaker201
      @elliottbaker201 Год назад +2

      So basically, you're saying it was written that Frankland came and took what was rightfully theirs

    • @ΚωνσταντίαΠανάγου
      @ΚωνσταντίαΠανάγου Год назад +25

      @@elliottbaker201 So basically, you are off topic! Varangians hadn't nothing to do with Frankish. What was rightfully 🤪🤣 theirs???? (Eastern) Roman Empire???? From what point of view?? I think you 're trolling me

    • @elliottbaker201
      @elliottbaker201 Год назад +2

      @@ΚωνσταντίαΠανάγου Constantinople couldn't defend itself properly. So they promised gold to real warriors to defend the realm. You brought up the Frankland, not I. I was just finishing your statement for you

    • @arcotroll8530
      @arcotroll8530 Год назад

      Φίλε είναι η μάνα σου από Άγιο Ματθαίο μήπως;

    • @niklask8753
      @niklask8753 Год назад +2

      All members of the varangian guard didn't return to their homelands

  • @TheOlgaSasha
    @TheOlgaSasha Год назад +18

    Varangians called Constantinople as Miklagard ("great city"). They sailed to Byzantia (East Roman Empire) through the Dnieper river root known as "Way from Varangians to Greeks". Most famous Varangians were Varangian Guard of Byzantine Emperor. Greets from Kyiv🇺🇦, main city on that way (known as Konugard for Varangians)

    • @mabeSc
      @mabeSc 10 месяцев назад

      We all know that Ukraine is rightful Swedish clay

  • @ghalilaelsimanjuntak6886
    @ghalilaelsimanjuntak6886 Год назад +13

    Excellent! Loved the transition from Norse to Eastern Roman theme

  • @tatarcavalry2342
    @tatarcavalry2342 Год назад +88

    Varangians were in Manzikert 1071 too sources say they fought till death by the Emperor even that others fled and they surrounded by Seljuks and killed one by one honorable men indeed greetings from Turkey

    • @Pavlos_Charalambous
      @Pavlos_Charalambous Год назад +26

      The varangians always kept their word to the bitter end
      Something similar happen at the battle of dirachio - modern day Albania, they fought against the Normands almost to the last men

  • @somerandomrpgenthusiast8451
    @somerandomrpgenthusiast8451 Год назад +15

    Definitely one of the most chilled out songs about the Norse I've heard.

    • @faryafaraji
      @faryafaraji  Год назад +27

      I agree, though the funny thing is that it’s not even that chilled out by most cultures’ standarts, but I think we’re so used to the usual “Norse” sound with the hyper-dark Mongolian throat singing aesthetic (which is a modern pop culture invention) that something based in actual Scandinavian tradition comes across as comparatively tame, which is pretty ironic. I think actual Norse music wouldn’t have come across as Norse enough to us.

  • @simone_casti86
    @simone_casti86 5 месяцев назад +5

    i sleep with ur music in my headphones at night this make me so confortable and relax me.

  • @jackwhitehead5233
    @jackwhitehead5233 Год назад +101

    Amazing tune. Love from an Anglo-Saxon, proud of the English Varangians' contribution to the Empire, and honoured to be remembered by the descendants of the Eastern Romans 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿❤🇬🇷🇳🇴🇸🇪🇩🇰

    • @warthunderenjoyer8542
      @warthunderenjoyer8542 Год назад +7

      Saxons were at the Heteraia guards i believe.

    • @americancaesar4715
      @americancaesar4715 Год назад +11

      @@warthunderenjoyer8542 Imagine being a battle scarred Anglo Saxon seeing Constantinople for the first time!? On your way you are tired, angry, saddened, drained, etc. cursing the Normans for taking your homeland, your lands, and your fellow warriors after Hastings. You make your way to the Hagia Sophia and all of a sudden you see Danes in the halls with the markings on their shields, the same Danes your ancestors fought over a hundred years ago. You want to spite them, lash out at them, but then the Danes embrace you as brothers understanding how it feels to lose something you cherished.

    • @jackwhitehead5233
      @jackwhitehead5233 Год назад +2

      ​@@warthunderenjoyer8542they were the majority of the Varangians for a while, recorded conquering Crimea and defending the walls of Constantinople during the Fourth Crusade.

  • @williamg231
    @williamg231 Год назад +15

    As someone with both Norse and ancient Greeks/Romans in my family tree 🌳 I feel at home with this one. North meets South. Byzantine style. This is a beautiful piece by the way!

  • @nopenada7015
    @nopenada7015 Год назад +46

    Imagine finishing off the last of what you think is the last of the byzantine soldiers but then, you notice that the air becomes colder, you look to the west to see soldiers that you have never seen before accompanied by this song in the distance
    To all my Norse brethren, Skål!
    and to my greek allies, στην υγεία μας

  • @Aimothewizard
    @Aimothewizard Год назад +12

    Its very cool seeing this as a swede. And for those who dont know, the Varangians from the norse side were mostly and mainly present day Sweden.

  • @HerculesMays
    @HerculesMays Год назад +20

    Ahhh, me and Harold Hardrada partied to this music on our longships while sailing to Miklagard in 1033, good times when men were men.

    • @ghouldr1964
      @ghouldr1964 Год назад +1

      Listen to Hulkoff's song "Hardrádi" and you'll remember it all once again.

  • @Agro-yt8yg
    @Agro-yt8yg Год назад +124

    As a Greek, i thank all the Varangians who fought with us, we are brothers from the Ancient times, thank you all, Spartans of the North.

    • @oktayaydin7143
      @oktayaydin7143 Год назад +3

      I hope you know the rumors that Germanic paganism is similar to old Turkish belief and that Odin is Turkish. İnformation source:Prof. Sven Lagerbring

    • @SwedishNationalist
      @SwedishNationalist Год назад +2

      @dieuleroi3759love the comment and the profile pic. We are brothers

    • @g1u2y345
      @g1u2y345 Год назад +2

      @@oktayaydin7143 Germanic paganism isn't turkic, Odin isn't turkic, you aren't even Turkic.. (Try a dna test?)

    • @fantom_rr595
      @fantom_rr595 Год назад

      @@g1u2y345lol, a pretty popular myth among us turks, the word “odin” just sounds like the turkic word “od” which means fire. tho the stupid “TuRkS aRE rMenian kRudish GeEeRsks” is bs, assimilation touched almost everyone.

    • @BroadwayRonMexico
      @BroadwayRonMexico 11 месяцев назад +1

      @@ioannisamartias3060 But *many* ended up going back to the north as Christians (even among those who werent already Christianized before going to Constantinople)

  • @50shekels
    @50shekels Год назад +21

    The good old days. Greetings from Denmark

  • @klakwey9852
    @klakwey9852 Год назад +12

    Another Byzantic masterpiece! Thank you.

  • @giannisch95
    @giannisch95 Год назад +144

    Χαίρε αδελφέ, βορέα χειμώνα !
    Greetings brother, northen winter !
    Έρχεται χειμώνας στην Ρωμανία !
    Winter is coming to Romania (Eastern Rome) !
    Χαίρε Βαραγγε !
    Greetings Varangian !
    From 🇬🇷 with ❤️ to all 🇮🇸🇸🇯🇸🇪🇫🇮🇩🇰

    • @arsenicos576
      @arsenicos576 Год назад +6

      And what is the Finnish flag doing here? They lived in the forests, not swam on drakkars

    • @flori5296
      @flori5296 Год назад +6

      Finland isn't nordic it's uralic

  • @BiyikliAri
    @BiyikliAri Год назад +55

    When the Greek guy said "Eeeeeeeeeiiiiieee. Eeeeeeeieeeeeeeeee" I felt that

  • @emilyrobinson6080
    @emilyrobinson6080 Год назад +4

    Idk why but I keep coming back to listen to this several times a day since finding it.

  • @javikus
    @javikus Год назад +14

    "The Varangians were the Vikings (Scandinavian traders and raiders) who specifically operated in Eastern Europe, and would become a foundational turning point in the history of nations such as Russia and Ukraine in their early days. "
    And Belarus (White Rus, greek tradition geography)

  • @pedroalzidy5038
    @pedroalzidy5038 Год назад +10

    هذه ليست المرة الأولى التي اسمع فيها هذا النوع من الأغاني القديمة ونادرآ ما تعجبني أغنية من هذا النوع
    وبصراحة هذه الأغنية اعجبتني كثيراً جداً
    اتمنى لك التوفيق في مسيرتك ♥️

  • @uberfeel
    @uberfeel Год назад +77

    Everytime I read about the varangians and their history, they always fascinates me because a whole new culture was created between them Kievan Rus Vikings and Greek Romans.

    • @Pavlos_Charalambous
      @Pavlos_Charalambous Год назад +7

      And Saxons..! 😉

    • @turkcukayi
      @turkcukayi Год назад +5

      Greek Romans? Congratulations my friend, you have brought a new definition to history. 🤣🤣

    • @the_kimchi_kommandant2603
      @the_kimchi_kommandant2603 Год назад +23

      @@turkcukayi Least historically illiterate turk:

    • @ΚΑΣΕΛΟΥΡΗΣΔΗΜΗΤΡΗΣ
      @ΚΑΣΕΛΟΥΡΗΣΔΗΜΗΤΡΗΣ Год назад +1

      @turkcukay9277 idiot turkmongol en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Byzantine_Empire

    • @turkcukayi
      @turkcukayi Год назад +1

      @@ΚΑΣΕΛΟΥΡΗΣΔΗΜΗΤΡΗΣ There is no such empire as the Byzantine Empire. The Roman Empire we are talking about.

  • @zoroaster5353
    @zoroaster5353 Год назад +2

    Seeing an upload from you INSTANTLY makes my entire WEEK

  • @iberius9937
    @iberius9937 Год назад +19

    In a perfect world, this would be a top ten on the radio, getting repeated airplay and blasting out of people's cars.

  • @rusinvelikiy
    @rusinvelikiy Год назад +19

    Просто шикарно! Благодарю за работу. Best cool, Farya!

  • @EpicMusic1994
    @EpicMusic1994 Год назад +4

    Fantastic music and amazing vocals !

  • @franciscolivino7843
    @franciscolivino7843 Год назад +11

    This is just so beautiful... My favorite one was always Hikanatoi, which was also the first one I listened to, but this one is making me question that. At this point I think I've heard pretty much all of them lol. But this one is just different, man... It has to be my favorite vocals from you.

  • @theshadowsagas3617
    @theshadowsagas3617 Год назад +38

    "Epic Byzantine Norse Music"
    Never have I clicked faster

  • @epicmusicmix7696
    @epicmusicmix7696 Год назад +2

    The world needs more music like this! Thank you so much for sharing your gifts with us!

  • @breburdax4132
    @breburdax4132 Год назад +33

    Great as always! Btw Farya, have you ever considered doing some Georgian music? The ancient and medieval themes from Civilization VI's Georgia (Shen Khar Venakhi) in particular are true masterpieces, you might want to check them out if you haven't.

  • @legocitykilldozer
    @legocitykilldozer Год назад +3

    I was waiting for this specifically, so glad it's here

  • @diezelfunk
    @diezelfunk Год назад +10

    That intro really reminds me of the theme of the Vikings from Age of Empires 2. Wonderful work here!

  • @Elreysilente
    @Elreysilente Год назад +15

    Es un placer para los sentidos escuchar estas canciones

  • @katerinavikings
    @katerinavikings 10 месяцев назад +3

    Amazing job Farya!!! Thank you.. Ευχαριστώ 👏🏼

  • @hyoga4345
    @hyoga4345 Год назад +27

    Icelandic and self diagnosed Philhellene,
    This is the greatest thing I've seen all day!
    skál! χαίρε! 🇮🇸❤️🇬🇷

  • @Benderbey666
    @Benderbey666 9 месяцев назад +3

    Farya, you have a deep and comprehensive knowledge of Rus, I love that. Interesting fact: the term Rus signified exclusevly Varangians both in Greek and Slavic sources up until 945 as when thus term was applied to all the people of Gardariki. The term Rus is connected to the region of Ruslagen in Sweden, where most sailor and tradors were coming from at that time. The name Ruslagen itself is tied with old scandinavian root rōþr -- an oarsman. Most of Ruthenian princes in IX - XII c. were scandinavians. The Princess Olga was known to greeks as Helga; Yaroslav The Wise was married to sweedish princess Ingegerda, daughter of king Olaf, and Yaroslav himself had numerous varangians serving to him, so most likely he was fluent in scandinavian.

  • @hora213
    @hora213 Год назад +7

    As always masterpiece!!! Keep on the good work!!!

  • @jordirey4002
    @jordirey4002 Год назад +31

    A new idea for the Byzantine series could be a song of the Catalan mercenaries who fought against Turks in Anatolia and after turned against Byzantines.

  • @SidheKnight
    @SidheKnight Год назад +7

    You have incredible talent, Farya.

  • @Shahanshah.Shahin
    @Shahanshah.Shahin Год назад +35

    When "Vladimir I" of Kievan Rus sends you 6,000 men.

  • @hrafnayuzen9437
    @hrafnayuzen9437 Год назад +5

    This is epic! Absolutely love your works.

    • @hrafnayuzen9437
      @hrafnayuzen9437 Год назад

      @Evelina1995 mother is Greek and Father is Norwegian/ Icelandic

  • @ghjo_10
    @ghjo_10 5 месяцев назад +7

    Я как русский я рад что мой народ русов был первым народом в варяжской гвардии и как Византия подарила нам богатую культуру вместе с христианством! Я рад что нас русов и викингов и англов объединала честь служить в такой гвардии. Я фанат Римской империи и я мечтаю съездить в Италию Грецию и Константинополь!

  • @grandadmiralsteel1989
    @grandadmiralsteel1989 Год назад +28

    I’m American but I have strong Swedish descent and I’m proud knowing that there’s a chance that my ancestors were part of the Varangian guard.

  • @Nordsan
    @Nordsan Год назад +12

    Fantastic song, really catches the vibe of the Varangians. Greetings from Danmark/Danmǫrk!

  • @anta2030
    @anta2030 Год назад +8

    YES, finally song about the varangians

  • @nubnub3119
    @nubnub3119 Год назад +2

    This is an absolute banger. Keep these coming man.

  • @loslingos1232
    @loslingos1232 Год назад +4

    Amazing. I LOVE the Jaw Harp in it! Keep doing what you are doing! This is amazing!

  • @jorgefiguerola1239
    @jorgefiguerola1239 Год назад +3

    Beautiful! Thank you so much for the history lesson. Awakening! Inspirational!
    Skàl!

  • @keithroberts5869
    @keithroberts5869 Год назад +2

    Just found your channel, and I am really in awe of your versatility as well your music knowledge. I love your compositions and themes. These really have made my day today. Thank you for sharing your talent and knowledge, it is a gift in my eyes.

  • @konstantinoskalavrezos5273
    @konstantinoskalavrezos5273 Год назад +7

    A very interesting mix of Norse and byzantine aesthetics, befitting of the legendary varangian guard, amazing work! The varangians were great adventurers, fighting and creating kingdoms and legends of their own far away from their homeland.A peoples truly worthy of guarding the emperor's life and exercising his will. The most well known varangian in the roman empire would be Harald the bluetooth, who after being exiled from norway fought all over russia, became a member of the varangian guard,defended the east from the Seljuks and even reclaimed sicily from the arabs.He would later go on to become king of norway and even lay claim to the kingdom of england, eventually being defeated by harold godwinson at the battle of stamford bridge.Truly the stuff of legend!

  • @ratslapperyemo
    @ratslapperyemo Год назад +2

    thanks for linking the artist, I was thinking it was Christian Hall but I wasn't sure, great music as always!