Ibn Fadlan's journey to Russia : a tenth-century traveler from Baghad to the Volga River /
translated with commentary by Richard N. Frye.
- 2nd printing 2006
- Princeton : Markus Wiener Publishers, 2005.
- xii, 160 p. : ill., maps ; 23 cm.
Includes bibliographical references (p. 157-158).
The time and the man -- His book and geography -- Translation of his travels : The Rus ; The Khazars -- Commentary on the translation : The itinerary through the realm of the Caliphate ; Remarks on Khwarazm ; The Turkic tribes ; Further itinerary of the trip ; The Bulghars or Saqaliba ; The Rus ; The Khazars ; Aftermath of the embassy -- Appendix A. Other Muslim accounts of the North. The strange things of creation by Qazwini the Tufhat al-Bab of Abu Hamid al-Mazini al-Garanati ; Commentary -- Appendix B. General remarks on nomads and conversion -- Appendix C. Byzantine and Iranian commercial rivalry -- Appendix D. Merchants in Inner Asia in Pre-Islamic times -- Appendix E. Byzantine and Sasanian trade with northeastern Russia.
"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 to Ibn Battuta. Ibn Fadlan was an Arab missionary sent by the Caliph in Baghdad [in 921 C.E.] to the king of the Bulghars. He journeyed from Baghdad to Bukhara in Central Asia and then continued across the desert to the town of Bulghar, near present Kazan. He describes the tribes he meets on his way and gives an account of their customs. His is the earliest account of a meeting with the Vikings, called Rus, who had reached the Volga River from Sweden. His description of the Rus, or Rusiya as he calls them, has produced much discussion about their origins, shockingly free sexual moral standards, customs, treatment of slaves and women, burial traditions, and trading habits, all explained in detail by Ibn Fadlan"--