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Ibn Fadlan and the Land of Darkness: Arab Travellers in the Far North (Penguin Classics) Paperback – January 31, 2012

by Ibn Fadlan (Author), Paul Lunde (Translator, Introduction), Caroline Stone (Translator, Introduction)
4.6 4.6 out of 5 stars 610 ratings
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A fascinating collection of medieval Arabic travel writing in an important new translation

Between the ninth and fourteenth centuries, Arab explorers journeyed widely and frequently into the far north, crossing territories that now include Russia, Uzbekistan, and Kazakhstan. Ibn Fadla-n's chronicles of his travels are one of the most important documents from the period, and this illuminating new translation offers insight into the world of the Arab geographers and the medieval lands of the far north. Based on an expedition to the upper Volga River in 922 AD, Ibn Fadla-n and the Land of Darkness provides a rare and valuable glimpse of Viking customs, dress, table manners, religion, and sexual practices, including the only eyewitness account ever written of a Viking ship cremation.

For more than seventy years, Penguin has been the leading publisher of classic literature in the English-speaking world. With more than 1,700 titles, Penguin Classics represents a global bookshelf of the best works throughout history and across genres and disciplines. Readers trust the series to provide authoritative texts enhanced by introductions and notes by distinguished scholars and contemporary authors, as well as up-to-date translations by award-winning translators.
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  1. Print length
    256 pages
  2. Language
    English
  3. Publisher
    Penguin Classics
  4. Publication date
    January 31, 2012
  5. Grade level
    12 and up
  6. Reading age
    18 years and up
  7. Dimensions
    7.7 x 5 x 0.8 inches
  8. ISBN-10
    0140455078
  9. ISBN-13
    978-0140455076
  10. See all details
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Editorial Reviews

Review

"[An] exceptional little anthology. . . . It is a fascinating book, with a nugget of curious information on each page, adding up to a picture that turns preconceptions on their head. . . . These are not just interesting books: they go a long way towards undermining the stereotypes about Islam that have become such a toxic part of our current discourse."  —The Scotsman

About the Author

Ibn Fadlan was a tenth-century diplomat who, in 922 AD, was sent on a mission from Baghdad to the far north by the caliph Muqtadir. His subsequent account of his travels and the peoples he encountered is one of the most important documents from the period.

Paul Lunde studied at London University's School of Oriental and African Studies and specializes in Islamic history and literature. He is the author of Islam: Culture, Faith, and History and is working on an Internet project to map pre-modern Eurasian cultural and intellectual exchanges.

Caroline Stone has edited and written numerous books and articles, principally on textile history, medieval history and literature, Islamic culture and literature, and the cultural and economic relations between Europe and the Orient in the pre-modern era. With Paul Stone, she is translating a collection of the writings by the Arab geographer Mas'udi for Penguin Classics.

Product details

  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ Penguin Classics; 1st edition (January 31, 2012)
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • Paperback ‏ : ‎ 256 pages
  • ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 0140455078
  • ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0140455076
  • Reading age ‏ : ‎ 18 years and up
  • Grade level ‏ : ‎ 12 and up
  • Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 2.31 pounds
  • Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 7.7 x 5 x 0.8 inches
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.6 4.6 out of 5 stars 610 ratings

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  1. Paul Lunde

    Paul Lunde

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  2. Caroline E.M.Stone

    Caroline E.M.Stone

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    Caroline Stone was educated at Cambridge and the University of Kyoto, Japan. She has lived and worked largely in Rome and Seville, with periods in Tunisia and Saudi Arabia and now, again, Cambridge. Interests include textiles - with a book and several catalogues on Chinese export embroideries published in Spanish - and travel accounts, particularly those written by people who don't normally write books - the poor, women, slaves...Several in the series listed here were produced with the support of the Civilizations in Contact Project at Cambridge University.

    Most recent publications are an edition of letters written by a family connection: the composer, and suffragette Ethel Smyth, whose lesbian amours included Virginia Woolf, and the edition of a translation from the Arabic by her late husband, Paul Lunde, of the autobiography of a young man from Aleppo, Hanna Diyab: The Man Who Wrote Aladdin.

    Work in progress includes a cookery book and family history written for Syrian Christian friends in Kerala and a blog,to be turned into an ebook: https://plagueanthology.com - first person reactions to plagues and epidemics - letters, poems, prayers, chronicles - across time and space.

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  3. Ibn Fadlan

    Ibn Fadlan

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  4. Aḥmad Ibn Faḍlān

    Aḥmad Ibn Faḍlān

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M. Dalton
5.0 out of 5 stars Adventure in the far north
Reviewed in the United States on May 25, 2012
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Most people with any interest in the Vikings have heard of Ibn Fadlan, the Arab traveler who famously witnessed the funeral of a Rus chieftain during a Diplomatic visit to the Bulgars. This short but evocative (and provocative) account was repeated in Michael Crichtons rather silly novel "Eaters of the Dead", and then again (in more fanciful form) in the even sillier film 13th Warrior.

Some are also familiar with some other fragments, such as a more sympathetic account of some Vikings in the trading town of Hedeby. Well, it turns out there are quite a few of these little fragments, almost all of which are collected in this book "Ibn Fadlan and the Land of Darkness", along with other equally interesting accounts of travels by Muslim merchants and diplomats in Northern Europe and Western Central-Asia, among such interesting characters as the Slavs, the mysterious and evocative Khazars (the Worlds only ever Empire of Jewish Turks), the Bulgars, the Magyars, Norsemen and Saxons.

Among other things I found interesting it includes the first ever (early 10th Century) account of Prague at a time when I thnk it was still pagan, (described as a prosperous stone city with very cheap provisions and good quality trade goods) a 10th Century description of Mainz (in which they mention the markets included cloves and ginger from the East Indies) and a first hand account of the then Danish town of Schleswig in which the locals are described as wearing eye-makeup, as well as trips into the far north (the land of darkness) and descriptions of ice skating and dog sleds and other exotica.

Maybe the most gripping part was a short but by far the most epic account of a (Rus) Viking raid that I've ever read. A very vivid and evocative description of a large 'Rus' invasion and their capture and subsequent abandonment of a large Muslim town in the coast of the Caspian Sea, which virtually demands to be made into a movie.

Most of the accounts are from the 9th-10th Centuries, and almost all from Arab, Moorish (in one case Moorish-Jewish), Turkish or Persian authors, with a couple of short excerpts from the Russian Primary Chronicle and Marco Polo thrown in for variety.

If you have any interest in the Vikings or in this early period of Medieval history, this is a must-read in my opinion.
51 people found this helpful
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David
5.0 out of 5 stars Great book about cultures north of the Caucasus mountains in the middle ages
Reviewed in the United States on August 15, 2017
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As someone who has always had an interest in the middle ages but never read any books on the subject, or done any research on it, this was very enjoyable and readable. I had previously assumed that Vikings and Arabs never ranged anywhere near each other, but in truth both of their trading routes extended throughout Europe at this time. The book even details a few Viking raids on settlements within the Muslim empire. Of especial interest to me was the Arab accounts of the mythical "Alexander's Wall", according to Muslim myth built somewhere in the far north in ancient times to keep Gog and Magog at bay--these being tribes of giants and savages that would one day break through the wall and destroy all civilization, bringing about the apocalypse. I can't help but notice that this myth seems to have inspired George R.R. Martin's Song of Fire and Ice series.

Some of the descriptions of northern cultures in this book are so gruesome, however, that they make Martin's Game of Thrones look like a fairytale for children-- I'm referring of course to the eyewitness account of a Viking ship cremation funeral which seems to be one of the main advertising points for this book. The Viking ship cremation is portrayed so often in modern media as a glorification of the Viking culture, but what they conveniently leave out in these depictions is the sexual orgies and subsequent sacrifice of slave girls, and the butchering of horses, chickens, etc., the meat of which is all piled high on top of the deceased noble so that they can serve him in the afterlife. The author goes into great detail about this whole process, objectively reporting it without any emotional input.

If you're like me you'll struggle with the Muslim names and terms, but keeping track of all the individuals in the book is not needed in order to enjoy it. Another con is that later in the book some of the accounts become repetitive, talking excessively about some of the more uninteresting aspects of furs and trading, etc., but after wading through a few pages of that you'll surely find something new of interest.
20 people found this helpful
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fitzalling
4.0 out of 5 stars Islamic accounts of travels in areas of modern day Russia, the Mid-East and surrounding areas
Reviewed in the United States on January 13, 2020
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I got the book in paperback with 199 pages not including 3 appendices. Much of the book recounts Ibn Fadlan's journeys, but after the first 91 pages the book adds passages on traveling in this area from other, largely Muslim, writers. The time period is largely 10th-11th century with some passages from other writers as late as the 14th century. The writers use religion as a defining marker for the peoples among whom they travel - Muslim, Jew, Christian or pagan. Some religious conflict is recounted, but less than I expected. Ibn Fadlan and other Muslim writers describe when and how the areas through which they traveled became Muslim or, or on one instance, Jewish, and in others, Christian. The authors describe customs, business practices, political systems, wealth or lack of wealth, of the areas through which they traveled. The book is a quick read and I found these details interesting.

One disturbing passage described the "Angel of Death" who would put a young slave girl to death upon the death of her master. The books also contains descriptions of giants and fearsome tribes to the north that I suspect may reflect folk tales designed to attract readership during the Middle Ages. One other aspect that I found unexpected was the role played by Alexander the Great, which seemed to be of a somewhat mythical nature.

I have previously read a travel book by Ibn Battuta and a scholarly text entitled "Mugaddimah" by Ibn Khaldun and I wanted to add Ibn Faldan to this reading list. I didn't find Ibn Faldan and the associated writers in the book quite as informative as Ibn Battuta and Ibn Khaldun so I gave 4 stars. Nonetheless, the book is a quick read and, if the topics interest you, as they do me, I recommend the book.
17 people found this helpful
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Timothy Ward
5.0 out of 5 stars Written in bullets like a diary.
Reviewed in the United States on August 15, 2023
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Came quick, well packed. Interesting read.
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Guillermo Garcia
5.0 out of 5 stars Sumamente interesante
Reviewed in Mexico on June 23, 2023
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Relato de primera mano acerca de las personas y sociedades al noroeste del mar caspio en el siglo X y XI, muy interesante y objetivo.
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Yahya
5.0 out of 5 stars Fascinating Insight Leaps Off The Page
Reviewed in Canada on January 29, 2022
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This is an amazing first-hand insight into the medieval cultures of the regions of modern-day Turkey, Central Asia and Russia. Trained as a highly-educated Islamic scholar in the court of the Abbasid Caliph Al-Muqtadir, Ibn Fadlan was commissioned as a secretary within a diplomatic envoy sent by Al-Muqtadir in 922 to the Bulgar King, who had requested religious instruction as a gesture of homage to the Abbasid's in exchange for military and financial support. As such, Ibn Fadlan recorded his interactions with various Turkic peoples he met along their journey, as well as with the Bulgars themselves and, perhaps most interestingly, a party of Scandinavian Vikings who had set-up as traders next to the Bulgar community, along the Volga River.

Writing in short, journal-like entries, Ibn Fadlan records the social customs, dress and religious rights of the people they encounter, and it makes for some fascinating (and at times hilarious) commentary. Ibn Fadlan's writings are regarded as amongst the most important of the period, and his non-judgemental, objective attitude towards social customs which must have been shocking to a cosmopolitan Islamic intellectual from the hight of the Islamic Golden Age in Baghdad, is one of the many interesting take-aways for this reader. His eye-witness account of a Viking ship cremation is as shocking to read as it must have been to witness, yet he offers no moral condemnation, and instead documents a matter-of-fact account of what happened.

The entries are short, and move the reader along quickly, and I found the descriptions and stories to be so intriguing and entertaining that I simply couldn't put the book down. I would highly recommended this for anyone seeking a better understanding of medieval life, as well as anyone interested in learning about peaceful, diplomatic interactions between Islamic civilization and pagan Europe.
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Fat John
5.0 out of 5 stars Interessante getuigenissen uit een ander tijdsgewricht
Reviewed in the Netherlands on January 1, 2021
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Dit boek bundelt een aantal "as such" getuigenissen van Arabische bezoekers van het huidige Rusland, bij de toenmalige Bulgaren en Khazaren en Vikings ofte "Rus", wat erg leerzaam is voor de feiten én de tijdgeest.
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Francesco
5.0 out of 5 stars Great edition
Reviewed in Italy on December 22, 2018
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Great edition for a book that every man in love with history and culture should read and know. Well done and printed, the paperback is strong and the book structure is very reader-friendly.

I think the english translation is good (unfortunately the italian version of the manuscript is not complete).

Delivered quickly (I'm from Italy).
4 people found this helpful
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Jeton Aliji
5.0 out of 5 stars You're into a ride on a totally strange world.
Reviewed in Germany on August 17, 2018
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The descriptions of the adventures in this book are truly amazing.
I was really surprised that Schleswig Holstein was visited by an Israeli in the 12th century!
One person found this helpful
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