Ahmad ibn Fadlan
879 CE – 922 CE · aged 43
10th-century Arab traveller and ethnographer
- Born
- 879 CE · Baghdad
- Died
- 922 CE
Life timeline
Their life from birth to death. On the timeline, world events of the time are shown faintly.
- 879 CEBornBorn in Baghdad
- 922 CEDiedDied
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Biography
Ahmad ibn Fadlan ibn al-Abbas al-Baghdadi (Arabic: أحمد بن فضلان بن العباس بن راشد بن حماد, romanized: Aḥmad ibn Faḍlān ibn al-ʿAbbās al-Baghdādī) or simply known as Ibn Fadlan, was a 10th-century Arab traveler from Baghdad, Abbasid Caliphate, famous for his account of his travels as a member of an embassy of the Abbasid caliph al-Muqtadir to the king of the Volga Bulgars, known as his risāla ("account" or "journal").
His 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. He also notably described the lifestyle of the Oghuz Turks while the Khazars, Cumans, and Pechenegs were still around.
Ibn Fadlan's detailed writings have been cited by numerous historians. They have also inspired works of fiction, including Michael Crichton's novel Eaters of the Dead and the novel's subsequent film adaptation The 13th Warrior.
Text from the Wikipedia article Ahmad ibn Fadlan, CC BY-SA 4.0
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