Ibn Fadlan 3: Bulgar Discomforts & Jinn Warfare

Gog and Magog (Bibliothèque nationale de France, Français 24364, fol. 60v)

Our 10th century traveller, Ahmad ibn Fadlan, settles in among the Bulgars, develops a distaste for their fish-oil based food, and is terrified by events in the sky.

If you like what you hear and want to chip in to support the podcast, my Patreon is here, my Ko-fi is here, and Paypal is here.

Sources:

• Ahmad ibn Fadlan. Mission to the Volga, translated by James E. Montgomery. New York University Press, 2017.

• Ibn Fadlan and the Land of Darkness: Arab Travellers in the Far North, translated and with an introduction by Paul Lunde and Caroline Stone. Penguin, 2012.

• Medieval Islamic Civilization: An Encyclopedia, edited by Josef W. Meri. Routledge, 2005.

• Bukharaev, Ravil. Islam in Russia: The Four Seasons. Routledge, 2014.

• Hansen, Valerie. The Year 1000: When Explorers Connected the World and Globalization Began. Simon and Schuster, 2020.

• Korpela, Jukka Jari. Slaves from the North: Finns and Karelians in the East European Slave Trade, 900 - 1600. BRILL, 2018.

• Mako, Gerald. The Islamization of the Volga Bulghars: A Question Reconsidered. Harrassowitz Verlag, 2011.

• Romano, John F. Medieval Travel and Travelers: A Reader. University of Toronto Press, 2020.

• Vernadsky, George. Kievan Russia. Yale University Press, 1973.

• Wilson, Joe. Black Banner and White Nights: The 10th-Century Travel Account of Ibn Fadlan. James Madison University, 2014.

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Ibn Fadlan 2: A Letter from the Caliph

The envoys of Byzantine Emperor Michael II are received by Omurtag the Bulgar ruler - Wikicommons

Ahmad ibn Fadlan carries on to his cash-poor appointment with the Volga Bulgars. There's talk of funerals, cultural differences, and threats of death. 10th century diplomacy could be hard.

If you like what you hear and want to chip in to support the podcast, my Patreon is here, my Ko-fi is here, and Paypal is here.

Sources:

• Ahmad ibn Fadlan. Mission to the Volga, translated by James E. Montgomery. New York University Press, 2017.

• Ibn Fadlan and the Land of Darkness: Arab Travellers in the Far North, translated and with an introduction by Paul Lunde and Caroline Stone. Penguin, 2012.

• Medieval Islamic Civilization: An Encyclopedia, edited by Josef W. Meri. Routledge, 2005.

• Bukharaev, Ravil. Islam in Russia: The Four Seasons. Routledge, 2014.

• Curta, Florin. Southeastern Europe in the Middle Ages, 500-1250. Cambridge University Press, 2006.

• Hansen, Valerie. The Year 1000: When Explorers Connected the World and Globalization Began. Simon and Schuster, 2020.

• Le Strange, Guy. The Lands of the Eastern Caliphate: Mesopotamia, Persia, and Central Asia from the Moslem Conquest to the Time of Timur. Cosimo Classics, 2010.

• Romano, John F. Medieval Travel and Travelers: A Reader. University of Toronto Press, 2020.

• Vernadsky, George. Kievan Russia. Yale University Press, 1973.

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Ibn Fadlan 1: From Baghdad with Very Cold Beards

Baghdad between 150 and 300 AH (767 and 912 AD) Wikimedia

Ahmad ibn Fadlan travels from early 10th century Baghdad on a diplomatic mission to the Volga Bulgars. There is a Viking funeral in his future, along with unfamiliar cultures and extremely cold weather. It's not The 13th Warrior, which it loosely inspired, but it is a good story.

If you like what you hear and want to chip in to support the podcast, my Patreon is here, my Ko-fi is here, and Paypal is here.

Sources:

• Ahmad ibn Fadlan. Mission to the Volga, translated by James E. Montgomery. New York University Press, 2017.

• Ibn Fadlan and the Land of Darkness: Arab Travellers in the Far North, translated and with an introduction by Paul Lunde and Caroline Stone. Penguin, 2012.

• Medieval Islamic Civilization: An Encyclopedia, edited by Josef W. Meri. Routledge, 2005.

• Bukharaev, Ravil. Islam in Russia: The Four Seasons. Routledge, 2014.

• Le Strange, Guy. The Lands of the Eastern Caliphate: Mesopotamia, Persia, and Central Asia from the Moslem Conquest to the Time of Timur. Cosimo Classics, 2010.

• Romano, John F. Medieval Travel and Travelers: A Reader. University of Toronto Press, 2020.

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