Ahmad ibn Fadlan | |
|---|---|
| Born | |
| Theological work | |
| Era | Islamic golden age |
| Main interests | Islamic jurisprudence |
Ahmad ibn Fadlan ibn al-Abbas al-Baghdadi (Arabic:أحمد بن فضلان بن العباس بن راشد بن حماد,romanized: Aḥmad ibn Faḍlān ibn al-ʿAbbās al-Baghdādī) or simply known asIbn Fadlan, was a 10th-century Arab traveler fromBaghdad,Abbasid Caliphate,[a] famous for his account of his travels as a member of an embassy of the Abbasid caliphal-Muqtadir to the king of theVolga Bulgars, known as hisrisāla ("account" or "journal").[b]
His account is most notable for providing a detailed description of theVolga Vikings, including eyewitness accounts of life as part of a trade caravan and witnessing aship burial.[4] He also notably described the lifestyle of theOghuz Turks while theKhazars,Cumans, andPechenegs were still around.[5]
Ibn Fadlan's detailed writings have been cited by numerous historians. They have also inspired works of fiction, includingMichael Crichton's novelEaters of the Dead and the novel's subsequent film adaptationThe 13th Warrior.[6]
Ahmad ibn Fadlan was described as anArab in contemporaneous sources.[2][3] However, theEncyclopedia of Islam andRichard N. Frye add that nothing can be said with certainty about his origin, his ethnicity, his education, or even the dates of his birth and death.[8][2]
Primary source documents and historical texts show that Ahmad Ibn Fadlan was afaqih, an expert inIslamic jurisprudence and faith, in the court of theAbbasidCaliphal-Muqtadir.[9] It appears certain from his writing that prior to his departure on his historic mission, he had already been serving for some time in the court of al-Muqtadir. Other than the fact that he was both a traveler and atheologian in service of the Abbasid Caliphate, little is known about Ahmad Ibn Fadlan prior to 921 and his self-reported travels.
Ibn Fadlan was sent fromBaghdad in 921 to serve as the secretary to an ambassador from theAbbasidCaliphal-Muqtadir to theiltäbär (vassal-king under theKhazars) ofVolga Bulgaria,Almış.
On 21 June 921 (11safar AH 309), a diplomatic party led by Susan al-Rassi, aeunuch in the caliph's court, left Baghdad.[10] Primarily, the purpose of their mission was to explainIslamic law to the recently converted Bulgar peoples living on the eastern bank of the Volga River in what is nowRussia. Additionally, the embassy was sent in response to a request by the king of the Volga Bulgars to help them against their enemies, theKhazars.[11] Ibn Fadlan served as the group's religious advisor and lead counselor for Islamic religious doctrine and law.[12]
Ahmad Ibn Fadlan and the diplomatic party utilized established caravan routes towardBukhara, now part ofUzbekistan, but instead of following that route all the way to the east, they turned northward in what is now northeastern Iran. Leaving the city ofGurgan near theCaspian Sea, they crossed lands belonging to a variety of Turkic peoples, notably theKhazar Khaganate,Oghuz Turks on the east coast of the Caspian, thePechenegs on theUral River and theBashkirs in what is now central Russia, but the largest portion of his account is dedicated to theRus, i.e. theVarangians (Vikings)[citation needed] on theVolga trade route. All told, the delegation covered some 4000 kilometers (2500 mi).[10]
Ibn Fadlan's envoy reached the Volga Bulgar capital on 12 May 922 (12muharram AH 310). When they arrived, Ibn Fadlan read aloud a letter from the caliph to the BulgarKhan and presented him with gifts from the caliphate. At the meeting with the Bulgar ruler, Ibn Fadlan delivered the caliph's letter, but was criticized for not bringing with him the promised money from the caliph to build a fortress as defense against the enemies of the Bulgars.[13]
For a long time, only an incomplete version of the account was known, transmitted as quotations in the geographical dictionary ofYaqut (under the headingsAtil,Bashgird,Bulghār,Khazar,Khwārizm,Rūs),[14] published in 1823 byChristian Martin Frähn.[15]
Only in 1923 was a manuscript discovered byZeki Velidi Togan in theAstane Quds Museum,Mashhad,Iran.[11] The manuscript,Razawi Library MS 5229, dates from the 13th century (7th centuryHijra) and consists of 420 pages (210 folia). Besides other geographical treatises, it contains a fuller version of Ibn Fadlan's text (pp. 390–420). Additional passages not preserved in MS 5229 are quoted in the work of the 16th centurygeographerAmin Razi calledHaft Iqlīm ("SevenClimes").
Neither source seems to record Ibn Fadlān's complete report. Yāqūt offers excerpts and several times claims that Ibn Fadlān also recounted his return to Bagdad, but does not quote such material. Meanwhile, the text in Razawi Library MS 5229 breaks off part way through describing the Khazars.[16]
One noteworthy aspect of the Volga Bulgars that Ibn Fadlan focused on was their religion and the institution ofIslam in these territories. The Bulgar king had invited religious instruction as a gesture of homage to the Abbasids in exchange for financial and military support, and Ibn Fadlan's mission as afaqih was one of proselytization as well as diplomacy.[17]
For example, Ibn Fadlan details in his encounter that the Volga Bulgar Khan commits an error in his prayer exhortations by repeating the prayer twice. One scholar calls it an "illuminating episode" in the text where Ibn Fadlan expresses his great anger and disgust over the fact that the Khan and the Volga Bulgars in general are practicing some form of imperfect and doctrinally unsound Islam. In general, Ibn Fadlan recognized and judged the peoples of centralEurasia he encountered by the possession and practice of Islam, along with their efforts put forth to utilize, implement, and foster Islamic faith and social practice in their respective society. Consequently, many of the peoples and societies to Ibn Fadlan were "like asses gone astray. They have no religious bonds with God, nor do they have recourse to reason".[18]
I have seen the Rus as they came on their merchant journeys and encamped by theItil. I have never seen more perfect physical specimens, tall as date palms, blond and ruddy; they wear neithertunics norkaftans, but the men wear a garment which covers one side of the body and leaves a hand free. Each man has an axe, a sword, and a knife, and keeps each by him at all times. Each woman wears on either breast a box of iron, silver, copper, or gold; the value of the box indicates the wealth of the husband. Each box has a ring from which depends a knife. The women wear neck-rings of gold and silver. Their most prized ornaments are green glass beads. They string them as necklaces for their women.
A substantial portion of Ibn Fadlan's account is dedicated to the description of a people he called theRūs (روس) orRūsiyyah. Though the identification of the people Ibn Fadlan describes is uncertain,[19] they are generally assumed to beVolga Vikings; the traders were likely of Scandinavian origin while their crews also includedFinns,Slavs, and others.[20] The Rūs appear as traders who set up shop on the river banks near the Bolğar camp. They are described as having bodies tall as (date) palm trees, with blond hair and ruddy skin. Each istattooed from "the tips of his toes to his neck" with dark blue or dark green "designs" and all men are armed with an axe, sword, and long knife.[21]
Ibn Fadlan describes the Rus as perfect physical specimens and the hygiene of theRūsiyyah as disgusting and shameless, especially regarding sex (which they perform openly even in groups), and considers them vulgar and unsophisticated. In that, his account contrasts with that of the travelerIbn Rustah, whose impressions of the Rus were more favorable, although it has been attributed to a possibly intentional mistranslation with the original texts being more in line with Ibn Fadlan's narrative.[22] He also describes in great detailthe funeral of one of their chieftains (aship burial involvinghuman sacrifice).[23] Some scholars believe that it took place in the modernBalymer complex.[24]
They are the filthiest of all God's creatures: they do not purify themselves after excreting or urinating or wash themselves when in a state ofritual impurity after coitus and do not even wash their hands after food.
— Ibn Fadlan,[25]
(In chronological order)
{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)Ahmad Ibn Fadlān is a major character inMichael Crichton's 1976 novelEaters of the Dead, which draws heavily on Ibn Fadlān's writings in its opening passages. In the 1999 film adaptation of the novel,The 13th Warrior, Ibn Fadlān is played byAntonio Banderas.[26]
Ibn Fadlān's journey is also the subject of the 2007 Syrian TV seriesSaqf al-Alam.
Samirah "Sam" al-Abbas, a main character fromMagnus Chase and the Gods of Asgard, as well as her betrothed,Amir Fadlan, are said to be descendants of Ahmad ibn Fadlan.
In the 2003 animePlanetes, the body of an astronaut named Ibn Fadlan was buried in a metal coffin by being sent to the depths of space. However, although he says that he belongs to space, he somehow returned to his world environment and was perceived asspace debris. Like Ibn Fadlan as a real-lifevoyager, the retired astronaut says something important.[vague]
He appears as a possible Great Person for the Abbasid civilization in 2025'sCivilization VII. If used on a river, the player will gain 50 influence for every tile the river takes up.[27][non-primary source needed]
