Ibn Fadlans Journey To Russia – Richard Frye

And so he continues to approach each image, one after the other, and to beg them and implore them to intercede, and prays before them in abasement. His dealings often go on more easily, and he sells everything he has brought with them. Then he says: “My lord has fulfilled my desire. I must repay Him.” He gathers a number of sheep and oxen, slaughters them, gives away a part of the meat as alms, and brings the remainder and casts it before that great wooden image and before the little wooden images which stand around it.

He hangs the heads of the cattle, or those of the sheep, on the poles, which are erected in the earth. In the night the dogs come and devour all, and he who has made this sacrifice says: “Verily my lord is content with me, and he has eaten up my gift.” If one of them falls ill, they erect a tent for him at a distance from themselves, and leave him there.

They put beside him a lit- tle bread and water, do not approach him, and do not speak to him. Indeed what is still more, they do not visit him at all dur- ing all the days of his illness, especially if he is weak or if he is a slave. When he has recovered and gets up, he comes back to them. If, however, he dies, they cremate him. If he is a slave they let him be, and then the dogs and carrion fowl devour him.

If they catch a thief or a robber, they lead him to a thick tree, throw a trusty rope around his neck and hang him to the tree, and he remains hanging until with the wind and the rain he falls to pieces.

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical—including photocopying or recording—or through any information storage or retrieval system, without permission of the copyright owners. For information, write to: Markus Wiener Publishers 231 Nassau Street, Princeton, NJ 08542 www.markuswiener.com Cover illustration by Maria Madonna Davidoff, adapted from a painting of a qadi in his tent in the Magamat of al-Hariri.

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Ibn Fadlan, Ahmad, fl. 922. [Kitab ila malik al-Saqalibah. English] Ibn Fadlan’s journey to Russia : a tenth-century traveler from Baghdad to the Volga River / translated with commentary by Richard N. Frye. Includes bibliographical references. ISBN-13: 978-1-55876-366-1 (pbk. : alk. paper) ISBN-10: 1-55876-366-X (pbk. : alk. paper) ISBN-13: 978-1-55876-365-4 (hardcover : alk.

paper) ISBN-10: 1-55876-365-1 (hardcover : alk. paper) 1. Tatarstan (Russia)—Description and travel. 2. Asia, Central— Description and travel. 3. Bulgars (Turkic people}—Russia (Federation) —Volga River Region—History. 4. Ibn Fadlan, Ahmad, fl. 922—Travel— Asia, Central. 5. Volga River Region (Russia)—History. I. Frye, Richard Nelson, 1920-—_. II. Title. DKS511.T1712313 2005 914.7’45042—de22 2005013216 Markus Wiener Publishers books are printed in the United States of America on acid-free paper, and meet the guidelines for permanence and durability of the Committee on Production Guidelines for Book Longevity of the Council on Library Resources.

This is a short excerpt from the opening of “” by Unknown, quoted for review and introduction purposes. All rights belong to the copyright holders.

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