The ways of the Balts to the Black Sea have been known since time immemorial

To trace the ways of the Balts to the Black Sea, it is necessary to understand where these roads could lead, who are the Balts, although from the very name of these peoples it is clear that they had a direct relationship to the Baltic Sea. Obviously, this collective name in ancient times belonged to the ethnoses inhabiting the shores of this water space. "The Balts. People of the Amber Sea "- this is the name of the book dedicated to the history of these peoples. Under this "cabinet" term dozens of nationalities - prussians, estia, goliad, kurshi, zemayty and others - fall.

The ways that existed before Rurik

The Black Sea, which belongs to the basin of the Atlantic Ocean, through the Bosporus and the Dardanelles, is connected with the Mediterranean, which in turn is connected with the Atlantic and Indian oceans. It can be concluded that the routes laid along this sea are connected by a number of countries, and for the penetration of the peoples of the North into India are a shorter road than enveloping Europe from the west. Since ancient times this sea is called inhospitable, Pontus Aksinsky. This name was obtained because of the difficulties of navigation and the sharp hostility of the tribes that inhabited the shores of this reservoir. Nevertheless, the astronauts achieved their goals, and Hercules safely accomplished his exploits.

The ways of the Balts to the Black Sea were laid very long ago, because trade was the main component in the development of ancient states. Of course, the Balts could fall into the Black Sea from the Mediterranean. But it was easier, faster and cheaper to the shores of Pontus to be reached by rivers and land, and then by sea to make your way to Byzantium and beyond.

One of such roads was "from the Varangians to the Greeks". There were other ways, partly passing along the rivers of Europe, partly by land. Then they bound the north and south along the Black or Mediterranean seas. The merchants found the best ways for the goods in demand. From the north they carried furs, amber, ship ropes of walrus bone, raw iron and much more. From Byzantium, which had the highest level of development, carried books and icons, silk, wine and spices. The Golden Age of the Balts falls on the II-V centuries of our era. At the very beginning of their heyday, the Balts resold their goods to the neighboring Germanic tribes, who sent them (mostly amber) farther to the south. The way it was called - amber.

From the Baltic to the Mediterranean

The ways of the Balts to the Black Sea led primarily to Byzantium or a colony on the northern shore of the Black Sea, and then through the straits to Rome and Greece. Or by water and land routes to the shores of the Mediterranean, and then through the Bosporus to the Black Sea.

The most famous amber roads leading to the Mediterranean were such as the water-land route from the mouth of the Elbe along the German Weser with a turn to the west, which is near modern Paderborn, to the Rhine, along which they reached Basel. Here again began the land plot to the banks of the Rhone, along which the goods fell into the Mediterranean Sea.

The second popular road was the Gdańsk bay. Further along the rivers Vistula, Warte, Morava to the Danube to Vienna, then overland to the banks of the Adriatic. These ancient amber traffic contributed to the delivery of solar stone to many countries of the world from prehistoric times. Amber was found in the pyramids of Egypt and ancient Greek burials.

Amber tracks

Later, when the ways of the Balts to the Black Sea were established (militant tribes were tamed, agreements were reached on the safety of cargo), the goods began to be delivered faster. It should be noted that the Balts themselves (Prussians in the first place, since this tribe inhabited the most amber-rich shores of the Baltic Sea), the sun stone was not processed and not mined - they collected the waves ejected by the waves. Moreover, they were surprised by the high cost of amber, which, as far as the distance from the Baltic Sea was appreciated, was higher and higher. In ancient times, the center of processing of solar stone was the city of Aquileia in ancient Rome. Using amber routes leading to the shores of the Mediterranean, merchants were forced to enter Constantinople through the straits. In general, there were a lot of roads connecting the Baltic and the Black Sea later on.

Where on the water, where by drag

The ways of the Balts to the Black Sea were so well established that one of the ancient historians mistakenly claimed that these seas were connected by a strait. Of all roads, three most popular can be distinguished.

The first went along the Vistula, Sanu, the Dnieper. The second - along the Nemunas and the tributaries of the Dnieper, it was called "from the Varangians to the Greeks". The third road was laid and mastered in the III-V centuries along the Neva and the Dnieper. It should be noted that all of them were water-land, that is, some sections of the road were overcome either by drag (on the laid logs they dragged the vessel) or the goods were transferred to land delivery vehicles.

Later channels were dug at the site of the isthmus. All the roads leading from the Baltic Sea to the Black Sea first led to the Dnieper, then, bypassing the dangerous Dnieper rapids, into Pontus Aksinsky. Later, many products of the north were delivered by these roads, but initially most of the cargo was amber, so they were called amber.

Further, using the sea routes of the Black Sea, the goods were delivered to Byzantium, whose capital was located on the shores of this sea, or to colonies founded by ancient Greeks, located mainly on the northern shore of the Black Sea. The fact that, despite the dangers, the roads connecting the Black Sea with the Mediterranean, have been mastered from time immemorial, including legends and myths of Ancient Greece.