Ibn Fadlan and the Land of Darkness
Arab Travellers in the Far North
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2.0 • 3 Ratings
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- £5.99
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- £5.99
Publisher Description
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. 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.
Between the ninth and fourteenth centuries, Arab travellers such as Ibn Fadlan journeyed widely and frequently into the far north, crossing territories that now include Russia, Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan. Their fascinating accounts describe how the numerous tribes and peoples they encountered traded furs, paid tribute and waged wars. This accessible new translation offers an illuminating insight into the world of the Arab geographers, and the medieval lands of the far north.
Customer Reviews
Misleading title and questionable content
The book covers Islamic history spanning the centuries since its inception. However, the title gave the impression that it would discover some uncovered parts of Islamic history - this was certainly not the case. There isn’t anything in this book that isn’t already out there; in terms of the factual elements of the content, anyway.
Issues arise from this book when the author appears to provide some rather bizarre opinions; one of which, when detailing the shia-sunni split, describing shias as some sort of political movement. This, and some other opinions, are not even rationalised with any thought.
This book generated a lot of hype in the Muslim community before its release. But this turned out to be a major disappointment and perhaps revealed more about the author than Islamic history.