| Description |
1 online resource |
| Series |
Library of Arabic Literature |
|
Library of Arabic literature.
|
| Contents |
Cover; Title Page; Copyright; Dedication; Contents; Letter from the General Editor; Foreword; Acknowledgments; Introduction; Notes to the Introduction; Map: Ibn Faḍlānʼs Route to the Volga; Mission to the Volga; Baghdad; Bukhara; Khwārazm; Al-Jurjāniyyah; The Ghuzziyyah; The Bajanāk; The Bāshghird; The Bulghārs; The Rūsiyyah; The Khazars; Yāqūt's Quotations from the Book of Ibn Faḍlān; Ibn Faḍlān's Logbook: An Imagined Reconstruction; Notes; Glossary of Names and Terms; Bibliography; Further Reading; Index; About the NYU Abu Dhabi Institute; About the Translator |
| Summary |
The earliest surviving instance of sustained first-person travel narrative in ArabicMission to the Volga is a pioneering text of peerless historical and literary value. In its pages, we move north on a diplomatic mission from Baghdad to the upper reaches of the Volga River in what is now central Russia. In this colorful documentary from the tenth century, the enigmatic Ibn Fadlan relates his experiences as part of an embassy sent by Caliph al-Muqtadir to deliver political and religious instruction to the recently-converted King of the Bulghars. During eleven months of grueling travel, Ibn Fadlan records the marvels he witnesses on his journey, including an aurora borealis and the white nights of the North. Crucially, he offers a description of the Viking Rus, including their customs, clothing, body painting, and a striking account of a ship funeral. Together, these anecdotes illuminate a vibrant world of diversity during the heyday of the Abbasid Empire, narrated with as much curiosity and zeal as they were perceived by its observant beholder |
| Bibliography |
Includes bibliographical references and index |
| Notes |
Translated from the Arabic |
|
Print version record |
| Subject |
Bulgars (Turkic people) -- Russia (Federation) -- Volga River Region -- History
|
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Ibn Faḍlān, Aḥmad, active 922 -- Travel -- Asia, Central
|
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TRAVEL -- Europe -- General.
|
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Bulgars (Turkic people)
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Travel
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| SUBJECT |
Tatarstan (Russia) -- Description and travel
|
|
Volga River Region (Russia) -- History. http://id.loc.gov/authorities/subjects/sh85144288
|
| Subject |
Central Asia
|
|
Russia (Federation) -- Tatarstan
|
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Russia (Federation) -- Volga River Region
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| Genre/Form |
Travel writing
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|
History
|
|
Travel writing.
|
|
Récits de voyages.
|
| Form |
Electronic book
|
| Author |
Montgomery, James E. (James Edward), 1962- translator.
|
|
Kennedy, Philip F., editor
|
|
Tooraw, Shawkat M., editor
|
|
Severin, Timothy, writer of foreword
|
| ISBN |
9781479826698 |
|
1479826693 |
|
9781479829750 |
|
1479829757 |
|
