What did Ibn Fadlan think of the Vikings?
The aforementioned writer Ahmad ibn Fadlan was not fully repulsed by the Scandinavians he met: I have never seen more perfect physiques than theirs – they are like palm trees, are fair and reddish, and do not wear the tunic or the caftan.
Who was the audience of Ibn Fadlan’s account of the Viking Rus?
During the course of his journey, Ibn Fadlan met a people called the Rus, a group of Swedish origin, acting as traders in the Bulgar capital. The first allusion to the Rus comes toward the close of the description of the Bulgars.
What was fadlan doing at the court of the Bulgar Khan?
A theologian in the court of the Abbasid Caliph al-Muqtadir (fl. Ibn Fadlan served as the group’s religious advisor, a crucial role: among the purposes of their mission was to explain Islamic law to the recently converted Bulgar peoples, a Turkish tribe living on the eastern bank of the Volga River. …
Who was sacrificed in Ibn Fadlan’s description?
In 922, Ibn Fadlan recorded sacrifices and mortuary customs among the Rus. A leader has died; one of this man’s slave women volunteers to be killed and burned together with her master in the practice of ship burial.
What did Ahmad Ibn Fadlan discover?
His account is most notable for providing a detailed description of the Volga Vikings, including eyewitness accounts of life as part of a trade caravan and witnessing a ship burial. Ibn Fadlan’s detailed writings have been cited by numerous historians.
Where was Ibn Fadlan going when he encountered the Rus ‘?
In 921 or 922 AD the Arab diplomat Ahmad ibn Fadlan went on a journey to visit the Volga Bulgars who were in the process of converting to Islam. On the way he encountered a group of ‘Rus’ or Vikings. They allowed ibn Fadlan to witness a funeral as one of the leaders had recently died.
What elements of the Viking funeral would have disturbed Ibn Fadlan the most?
10. What elements of the Viking funeral would have disturbed Ibn Fadlan most? The execution of a slave girl, giving an “intoxicating beverage.”
Where is Ahmad ibn Fadlan from?
Baghdad, Iraq
Ahmad ibn Fadlan/Place of birth