Vikings

The Vikings were seafaring Scandinavians who raided, traded and settled across Europe from the late eighth to the eleventh centuries. Their raids devastated the coasts and river valleys of the divided Carolingian kingdoms, and accounts of the Carolingian Empire note Charles the Fat's payment of tribute to the Vikings besieging Paris. Accounts of the Khazar Khaganate note that Khazar trade helped spread silver dirhams into Northern Europe, a cornerstone of Viking commerce.