Page 230 - Western Civilization A Brief History, Volume I To 1715 9th - Jackson J. Spielvogel

A Muslim’s Description of the Rus
Despite the difficulties that travel presented, some contact among the various cultures did occur through trade, diplomacy, and the conquest and migration of peoples. This description of the Swedish Rus was written by Ibn Fadlan, a Muslim diplomat sent from Baghdad in 921 to a settlement on the Volga River. His comments on the filthiness of the Rus reflect the Muslim preoccupation with cleanliness.
Ibn Fadlan, Description of the Rus
I saw the Rus folk when they arrived on their trading- mission and settled at the river Atul (Volga). Never had I seen people of more perfect physique. They are tall as date-palms, and reddish in color. They wear neither coat nor kaftan, but each man carried a cape which covers one half of his body, leaving one hand free. No one is ever parted from his axe, sword, and knife. . . . Each man has a number of trees, figures, and the like from the fingernails to the neck. Each woman carried on her bosom a container made of iron, silver, copper or gold—its size and substance depending on her man’s wealth. . . .
They [the Rus] are the filthiest of God’s creatures. They do not wash after discharging their natural functions, neither do they wash their hands after meals. They are as lousy as donkeys. They arrive from their distant river, and there they build big houses on
its shores. Ten or twenty of them may live together in one house, and each of them has a couch of his own where he sits and diverts himself with the pretty slave girls whom he had brought along for sale. He will make love with one of them while a comrade looks on; sometimes they indulge in a communal orgy, and, if a customer should turn up to buy a girl, the Rus man will not let her go till he has finished with her.
They wash their hands and faces every day in incredibly filthy water. Every morning the girl brings her master a large bowl of water in which he washes his hands and face and hair, then blows his nose into it and spits into it. When he has finished the girl takes the bowl to his neighbor—who repeats the performance. Thus, the bowl goes the rounds of the entire household. . . .
If one of the Rus folk falls sick they put him in a tent by himself and leave bread and water for him. They do not visit him, however, or speak to him, especially if he is a serf. Should he recover he rejoins the others; if he dies they burn him. But if he happens to be a serf they leave him for the dogs and vultures to devour. If they catch a robber they hang him to a tree until he is torn to threads by wind and weather.
Q What was Ibn Fadlan’s impression of the Rus? Why do you think he was so critical of their behavior?
Source: From The Vikings by Johannes Brïndsted, translated by Kalle Skov (Penguin Books, 1965), copyright a Johannes Brïndsted, 1960, 1965. Reproduced by permission of Penguin Books Ltd.
The World of Islam
Q FOCUS QUESTION: What were the chief developments in the Islamic world between 750 and 1000?
The Umayyad Dynasty of caliphs had established Damascus as the center of an Islamic empire created by Arab expansion in the seventh and eighth centu- ries. But Umayyad rule created resentment, and the Umayyads’ corrupt behavior also helped bring about their own end. One caliph, for example, supposedly swam in a pool of wine and drank enough of it to lower the wine level considerably. Finally, in 750, Abu al-Abbas (uh-BOOL-uh-BUSS), a descendant of the uncle of Muhammad, brought an end to the
Umayyad Dynasty and established the Abbasid (uh- BAH-sid or AB-uh-sid) Dynasty, which lasted until 1258.
The Abbasid rulers brought much change to the world of Islam. They tried to break down the distinc- tions between Arab and non-Arab Muslims. All Mus- lims, regardless of ethnic background, could now hold both civil and military offices. This helped open Islamic life to the influences of the civilizations they had con- quered. Many Arabs now began to intermarry with the peoples they had conquered.
In 762, the Abbasids built a new capital city, Bagh- dad, on the Tigris River far to the east of Damascus. The new capital was well placed. It took advantage of river traffic to the Persian Gulf and was located on the
192 Chapter 8 European Civilization in the Early Middle Ages, 750–1000
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