16 Facts About Ibn Fadlan

Ahmad ibn Fadlan ibn al-?Abbas ibn Rasid ibn Hammad, commonly known as Ahmad ibn Fadlan, was a 10th-century Arab Muslim traveler, famous for his account of his travels as a member of an embassy of the Abbasid caliph, al-Muqtadir of Baghdad, to the king of the Volga Bulgars, known as his.

Ibn Fadlan's 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 notably described the lifestyle of the Oghuz turks while the Khazaria, Cumans, and Pechnegs were still around.

Ahmad ibn Fadlan was described as an Arab in contemporaneous sources.

Primary source documents and historical texts show that Ahmad Ibn Fadlan was a faqih, an expert in Islamic jurisprudence and faith, in the court of the Abbasid Caliph al-Muqtadir.

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Ibn Fadlan was sent from Baghdad in 921 to serve as the secretary to an ambassador from the Abbasid Caliph al-Muqtadir to the iltabar of the Volga Bulgaria, Almis.

Ibn Fadlan served as the group's religious advisor and lead counselor for Islamic religious doctrine and law.

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 enemies of the Bulgars.

Yaqut offers excerpts, and several times claims that Ibn Fadlan recounted his return to Bagdad, but does not quote such material.

One noteworthy aspect of the Volga Bulgars that Ibn Fadlan focused on was their religion and the institution of Islam in these territories.

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 central Eurasia 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.

Substantial portion of Ibn Fadlan's account is dedicated to the description of a people he called the Rus or Rusiyyah.

Ibn Fadlan describes in great detail the funeral of one of their chieftains.

Ibn Fadlan is a major character in Michael Crichton's 1976 novel Eaters of the Dead, which draws heavily on Ibn Fadlan's writings in its opening passages.

Ibn Fadlan's journey is the subject of the 2007 Syrian TV series Saqf al-Alam.