Vikings didn't merely make their reputation as cunning traders or ferocious self-serving pirates, but were also willing to fight for others if it served their interests to do so. As such, they and their children eventually settled down and served as mercenaries for a variety of leaders in different capacities in a wide number of European areas for an equally variegated roster of masters. In Southern Europe and the Near East, they were called "Varangopouloi" — meaning "Viking children" or "Varangian children", because these men were either emigrés from Scandinavia and Russia, or were themselves descended from the same. In any case, blood remains true with these men, for they continue using the old Viking weapons of roundshield and greataxe, although their armour and accoutrements are based