Pernille hermann, jens peter schjodt, and rasmus tranum kristensen, ed. An arab among the vikings of russiaoverviewin 921, the arab traveler ahmad ibn fadlan fl. Jan 31, 2012 ibn fadlan was a tenthcentury diplomat who, in 922 ad, was sent on a mission from baghdad to the far north by the caliph muqtadir. In this land of the midnight sun, ibn fadlan was struck by the short arctic nights and the impact this had on the muslim need to pray five times a day. At one time, i was a poet in the greatest city in the world. But perhaps the most memorable passages in the risala, his account of his journeys, concern the varangians, in, the arab traveler ahmad ibn fadlan fl. The record of his journeys, called a risala letter, gives us firsthand observations of the various people he encountered with the embassy, including the group he called the rus or rusiyyah. Arab travellers in the far north penguin classics 9780140455076 by ibn fadlan and a great selection of similar new, used and collectible books available now at great prices. This is a book of ahmad ibn fadlan ibn al abbas ibn rashid ibn hammad, a servant 1 of muhammad ibn sulaiman, the.
Ibn was sent on a journey by the celiph in order to help the king of balgars. During his trip fadlan recorded experiences he had while traveling along what we now know as ukraine and russia. A tenthcentury traveler from baghdad to the volga river frye, richard n. Jul 29, 2017 ahmad ibn fadlan ahmad ibn fadlan ibn alabbas ibn rashid ibn hammad was a 10th century muslim arab writer and traveller who led an embassy to the king of the volga bulgars. Anyway to get back on track, this of course lead me to read ibn fadlan and the land of darkness, and it was a case of leaving the very best till last. This risala is of great value as a history, although it is clear in some places that inaccuracies and ibn fadlans. Sep 27, 2010 ahmad ibn fadlan ibn alabbas ibn rashid ibn hammad was a 10 th century muslim arab writer and traveller who led an embassy to the king of the volga bulgars. Ibn fadlan is the most popular eyewitness account of the learned traveler on an official mission from bagdad to bulgar in 922 ad. I assume youre interested in ibn fadlan s risala, which chronicles his full journey and deals with the vikings as well as their home society rus was the term they used to describe people whose identity is not yet 100% agreed uponmight have been scandinavians, might not have been. Ibn fadlan and the rusiyyah the university of new mexico. There is an unavoidable degree of overlap between these two articles. Ibn fadlan and the land of darkness, arab travellers in. During this posting he encountered the tribes of the rus, who roamed far and wide as traders the chronicle that he wrote, the risala contains much information on the physical and cultural makeup of 10th century rus. First were embassies, then the teaching of islam, trade, and finally curiosity, or seeking adventure.
A viking burial described by arab writer ahmad ibn fadlan. That crichtons first book was so successful owes much to ibn fadlan. Ahmad ibn fadlan and the nordic tribes 590 words bartleby. In 922, ibn fadlan recorded sacrifices and mortuary customs among the rus. Montgomery ibn fadlan and the rusiyyah, journal of arabic and islamic studies, vol. May 16, 2010 ibn hibbans collection contains 2647 hadiths, which do not appear in the collections of bukhari or muslim, published in legal order in the book mawarid alzaman ila zawaid ibn hibban by nur aldin ali b. It was such trading raiders from the rus that ibn fadlan met along the ahmad ibn fadlan chronicled the voyage of an embassy sent from.
The rus appear as traders who set up shop on the river banks nearby the. In his risala, ibn fadlan describes the social customs, rituals and burial rites of the rus. The embassy brought profound changes in the situation of the eastern europe, and was one of the major steps in the chain of events that resurrected bulgar from a vassalage to a dominant position in the premongol eastern europe. This is the first english translation of the famous risala, letters by the tenthcentury traveler ibn fadlan, one of the great medieval travelers in world history, akin to ibn battuta. He is the ancestor of samirah alabbas and amir fadlan. Then if we leave the ibn fadlan account for a moment and look at different norse burial sites around scandinavia. There he encountered numerous turkic peoples, among them the khazars, one of the few groups in history outside of israel to adopt judaism. Ibn fadlan was employed by the abbasid caliph in baghdad when he was accused of an illicit love affair that would ruin his reputation and his career. The risala by ibn fadlan written in ad 921922 excerpts june 3, 2019 june 3, 2019 approvedscholars approvedscholars translation by james e.
The travels of ibn fadlan muslim heritagemuslim heritage. Jul 26, 2012 in 922 ad, an arab envoy from baghdad named ibn fadlan encountered a party of viking traders on the upper reaches of the volga river. There is an uptodate english translation of ibn fadlan, advertised here. This risala is of great value as a history, although it is clear in some places that inaccuracies and ibn fadlan s own. Over the course of his journey, he encountered a number of turkic peoples, as well another group that left a strong impression on him. He never arrives but is instead conscripted by a group of vikings to take part in a heros quest to the north. Frye early travelers from the lands of islam may be divided into four categories, some overlapping. Ahmad ibn fadlan is taken along as the thirteenth member of their group to comply with a soothsayers requirement for success. Ahmed ibn fadlan was in fact a real historical figure, he lived in the early 10th century and was sent in 922 as an ambassador to the king of the bulgars by the caliph of baghdad. The risalah portrays ibn fadlan as a man educated in the islamic sciences, a physician and man of law, and a sometime missionary. Pdf ibn fadlan ein gesandter des kalifen im hohen norden.
In his rihla risala travel narrative, account or journal, ibn fadlan, who in the tenth century, accompanied a mission from the caliph almuktadir to the volga bulgars, describes his experiences and the people and places he visited. Over the course of his journey, he encountered a number of turkic peoples, as well another group that left a strong. The leader of a malevolent cult of necromancers, he is the selfproclaimed undead king, seeking to topple the empire through intrigue. While this may well be true for europe, it was not the case for the islamic world. This risala is of great value as a history, although it is clear in some places that inaccuracies and ibn fadlans own. In the risala, which laid down the basis for such a synthesis, alshafii established the overriding authority, next only to the quran, of the sunna or example of the prophet muhammad as transmitted in the traditions. Ibn fadlan and other visitors to the west from islamic lands. This little book interweaves some of fadlan s observations with the beowulf legend, and is a most entertaining read. The basis for this exhibition is the book by ahmad ibn fadlan, an arabic diplomat and the secondranking official in the embassy of abbasid caliph almuqtadir to almysh, the emir of volga bulgaria, in 921922. But perhaps the most memorable passages in the risala. Both traditional historians and conventional knowledge have assumed ahmad ibn fadlan to be arab.
His account is most known for providing a description of the volga vikings, including an eyewitness account of a ship burial. Ahmad ibn fadlan ibn alabbas ibn rashid ibn hammad was a 10 th century muslim arab writer and traveller who led an embassy to the king of the volga bulgars. Jun 26, 2001 from the historians point of view, the risala is valuable not only for its description of the bulgars, but also for the fact that ibn fadlan encountered alrusiya rus, protorussian nordic settlers in slavic russia while he was at the bulgar capital. Ahmed ibn fadlan and his meeting with the rus people. Between the ninth and fourteenth centuries, arab explorers journeyed widely and frequently into the far north, crossing territories that now include russia, uzbekistan, and kazakhstan. Ibn fadlans arabic text apparently to heighten the readers sense of the rus. The ethics of suicide digital archive margaret pabst battin, editor. The only thing i can find is the small excerpts about the vikings and rus but did he write more about his travels. This risala is of great value as a history, although it is clear in some places that inaccuracies and ibn fadlan s.
The caliph of baghdad almuqtadir sends his ambassador, ahmad ibn fadlan, to the king of the volga bulgars. Where can i read the full translated writings of ahmad ibn. The risala by ibn fadlan written in ad 921922 excerpts. Ibn fadlan wrote an account of his journeys with the embassy, called a risala. Among the norse tribes the remarkable account of ibn fadlan written by judith gabriel photographed by eirik irgens johnsen more than a millennium ago, as fleets of viking raiders were striking fear into the hearts of. Ahmad ibn fadlan ibnalabbas was a 10th century muslim writer and traveler who was an ambassador from the abbasid caliph of baghdad for the volga bulgars rus by the black sea and the caspian. One subject in question is his racial and ethnic identity.
His subsequent account of his travels and the peoples he encountered is one of the most important documents from the period. Ahmad ibn fadlan chronicled the voyage of an embassy sent from baghdad by the caliph almuqtadir to the capital of a finnougric khanate located on the upper reaches of the volga, a locale that had recently converted to islam. Among the norse tribes the remarkable account of ibn. Can i get my hands on a translation of ahmad ibn fadlans. Ahmad ibn fadlan quotes showing 11 of 1 ibn fadlan ibn fadlan and the land of darkness arab travellers in the far north translated with an introduction by paul lunde and caroline stone. It was such trading raiders from the rus that ibn fadlan met along the volga in 922. One day i went to my tent in order to talk with the kings tailor, who was originally from baghdad. Origins of the west ibn fadlans account of the rus ibn fadlan was an arab chronicler. He wrote ar risala and annawadir and several other books.
Volga route from baghdad to bulghar opened in the hermitagekazan centre. Ibn fadlan and the rusiyyah university of new mexico. This is the first english translation of the famous risala, letters by the tenth century traveler ibn fadlan, one of the great medieval travelers in world history, akin. The risala ibn abi zayd al qaywaranis manual of islamic law translated by aisha bewley. Ibn fadlan was a 10thcentury arab muslim traveler, famous for his account of his travels as a member of an embassy of the abbasid caliph of baghdad to the king of the volga bulgars, known as his risala account or journal. A treatise on maliki fiqh abdullah ibn abi zayd alqayrawani 310922 386996 translated by alhaj bello mohammad daura, ma london including commentary from aththamr addani by alazhari abu muhammad abdullah, a maliki faqih known as shaykh alfaqih and little malik. The oseberg ship, a wellpreserved viking ship discovered in a large burial mound at the oseberg farm near tonsberg in vestfold county, photo. May 12, 2012 home culture a viking burial described by arab writer ahmad ibn fadlan. Ahmad ibn fadlan, a muslim diplomat and secretary to an ambassador for the caliph of baghdad, was sent in 921 to the khaganate of bulgars along the middle volga. No one knows much about ibn fadlan before that trip, was a writer arab muslim and traveler in the tenth century ad has lost a lot of his record, and what was known is that he lived between 921 309 hijri, and was allied with the abbasid leader muhammad ibn salman, who led several military campaigns from egypt to china, but his journey to the country of the russians or vikings was enough. Ibn fadlan was an expert in the philosophy of islamic law. Ahmad bin fadlan bin alabbas bin rasyid bin hamad, dalam bahasa arab. He agreed to leave town on a mission to open diplomacy with the bulgars, as a way of getting out of the public eye, and out of possible scandal. A tenthcentury traveler from baghad to the volga river.
In his rihlarisala travel narrative, account or journal, ibn fadlan, who in the tenth century, accompanied a mission from the caliph almuktadir to the volga bulgars, describes his experiences and the people and places he visited. Ahmad ibn fadlan ibn alabbas ibn raschid ibn hammad arabisch. But perhaps the most memorable passages in the risala, his account of his journeys, concern the. Ibn fadlans risala origins of the west ibn fadlans. Throughout the journey, ibn fadlan recorded his observations on the bulgars and their interactions with local finnic tribes. So by knowing this then we can also assume that the burial ceremony is something that originated from the areas where the rus had either settled or came from. Can i get my hands on a translation of ahmad ibn fadlans manuscript. We know the vikings as barbarous, angry and dangerous men with beards, who had raid several areas in the medieval times.
Ibn fadlan is the main antagonist of the price of loyalty story arc in heroes of might and magic ii. This is the first english translation of the famous risala, letters by the tenthcentury traveler ibn fadlan, one of the great medieval travelers in world history, akin. View test prep ibn fadlans risala from vtcv 102 at mount st. Ahmad ibn fadlan ahmad ibn fadlan ibn alabbas ibn rashid ibn hammad was a 10th century muslim arab writer and traveller who led an embassy to the king of the volga bulgars. A theologian in the court of the abbasid caliph almuqtadir fl. Other than the fact that he was both a traveler and a theologian in service of the abbasid caliphate, little is known about ahmad ibn fadlan prior to 921 and his selfreported travels. Most scholars identify them with the rus or varangians, which would make ibn fadlans account one of the earliest portrayals of vikings. His chronicle called risala includes detailed information and observations about them. Ibnfadlan is the most popular eyewitness account of the learned traveler on an official mission from bagdad to bulgar in 922 ad. Ahmad ibn fadlan met with the vikings in volga bulgaria. Ahmad ibn fadlan wikipedia bahasa melayu, ensiklopedia bebas.
A tenthcentury traveler from baghad to the volga river ibn fadlan, ahmad on. In his subsequent report on his mission he gave a meticulous and astonishingly objective description of viking customs, dress, table manners, religion and sexual practices, as well as the only eyewitness account ever written of a viking ship cremation. A tenthcentury traveler from baghdad to the volga river. A substantial portion of ibn fadlans account is dedicated to the description of a people he called the rus or rusiyyah. May 21, 2015 each man has an axe, a sword, and a knife and keeps each by him at all times. Ibn fadlan was a 10thcentury arab traveler, famous for his account of his travels as a member of an embassy of the abbasid. Ahmad ibn fadlan chronicled the voyage of an embassy sent from baghdad by the caliph almuqtadir to the capital of a finnougric khanate located on the upper reaches of the volga, a. Ibn fadlan and other visitors to the west from islamic lands richard n. On 19 february 2016, the exhibition ibn fadlans journey. Ahmed ibn fadlan and his meeting with the rus people a study of the islamic perspective in the risala, written by ahmed ibn fadlan in 921922. Each man has an axe, a sword, and a knife and keeps each by him at all times. Ibn fadlan has been described as a keen observer and good narrator, and the risala contains valuable ethnographic accounts of early europe. A viking burial described by arab writer ahmad ibn fadlan by thornews on may 12, 2012 7. Ibn fadlan, whose ninthcentury risala letter is the richest account of all, kept a.
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