Editing Birka (section)

==History==
[[File:Björkö in Sweden.png|left|200px|thumb|Location in Sweden]]
[[File:Birka hus 2008a.JPG|thumb|200px|Reconstruction of housing]]
[[File:Birka Boot 2008.JPG|thumb|200px|Reconstruction of boats]]
[[File:Birka Karte 2008.jpg|thumb|200px|Map of Björkö and Birka today]]
[[File:Suecia 1-069 ; Björkö.jpg|200px|thumb|Map of Björkö, late 17th century, from [[Suecia antiqua et hodierna]]. Engraving by Willem Swidde.]]

Birka was founded around 750 AD as a trading port by a king or merchants trying to control trade.<ref name=":0" /> It is one of the earliest urban settlements in Scandinavia. Birka was the [[Baltic Sea|Baltic]] link in the [[Dnieper trade route|Dnieper Trade Route]] through [[Staraya Ladoga|Ladoga]] (''Aldeigja'') and [[Novgorod Land|Novgorod]] (''Holmsgard'') to the [[Byzantine Empire]] and the [[Abbasid Caliphate]].<ref>2006 [[Encyclopædia Britannica]]. Article "Birca".</ref> Birka is the site of the first known [[Christianity|Christian]] [[Wiktionary:congregation|congregation]] in Sweden, founded in 831 by [[Ansgar|Saint Ansgar]].

As a trading center, Birka most likely offered [[fur]]s, iron goods, and craft products, in exchange for various materials from much of Europe and Western Asia. Furs were obtained from the [[Sami people|Sami]] people, the [[Finns]], and people in Northwestern Russia, as well as from local trappers. Furs included [[bear]], [[fox]], [[marten]], [[otter]], [[beaver]], and other species. Reindeer antlers and objects carved from reindeer antlers like [[comb]]s were important items of trade. The trade of [[walrus]] tusks, [[amber]], and [[honey]] is also documented.

Foreign goods found from the graves of Birka include glass and metalware, pottery from the [[Rhineland]], clothing and [[The Birka textiles|textiles]] including [[Chinese silk]], Byzantine [[embroidery]] with extremely fine gold thread, [[brocade]]s with gold [[passementerie]], and plaited cords of high quality. From the ninth century onwards coins minted at [[Haithabu]] in Northern Germany and elsewhere in Scandinavia start to appear. However, the vast majority of the coins found at Birka are silver [[dirham]]s from the Middle East while English and [[Carolingian Empire|Carolingian]] coins are rare.<ref name=":0" />