Age of the Vikings (silver coin Album)

Raiders, pagans, barbarians, explorers–the Vikings have worn many hats throughout history (unfortunately, none actually had horns). Ever since their attack on a peaceful monastery at Lindisfarne in 793, they have been associated violence and savagery. However, they were really a complex society with well-developed art, a rich mythos, and trade networks that stretched to Constantinople and beyond. A good thing, too–the Vikings did not mint coins for several centuries, instead using Arabic dirhams that they either traded for or stole. The Abbasid dirham below, which escaped being taken north by the Vikings, is the same type as those found buried in Viking hoards.