The first major stop that Ibn Fadlan describes is his caravan’s stay in Bukhara. This is a settlement some miles away from the Jayhun river (Amu Darya). Ibn Fadlan must cross the Amul desert via camel and rent a boat to cross the river. He then stays in Baykand before finally ending up in Bukhara (4).

                  The nature of their stay is different from their other stops (which are primarily utilized to rest and recharge). Ibn Fadlan and his caravan are expecting to meet Ahmad Ibn Musa during the first few days of their stay in Bukhara. The Amir, Nasr ibn Ahmad, is supposed to give the money (taken from a Fadl Ibn Musa’s estate due to a form of legal action) to Ahmad Ibn Musa so the caravan can bring it to the King of the Bulghars (5). However, Ibn Fadlan waits for twenty-eight days, and Ahmad Ibn Musa never shows up, so the caravan must carry on because of the weather.

                  While in Bukhara, Ibn Fadlan does not mention much about the place or the people. He does, however, write about the money in Bukhara: “I saw different kinds of dirhams in Bukhara, some called ghitrifidirhams, made of copper, brass and bronze” (6). He says this form of money is used to pay marriage dowries and the selling of slaves and property. He iterates this in a neutral way; however, he does mention that the coins are “counted out, without being weighed” (6). This remark makes Ibn Fadlan come off as skeptical like he does not trust this method of payment. Considering he is encountering this different form of payment for the first time, he could have added this passage to inform others (the Caliph and anyone else who may read his writing) and exercise caution around new coinage as it may not be exact in worth. Additionally, Ibn Fadlan’s interest in the coinage of Bukhara is likely because the caravan stopped there to collect a sum of money and failed. Therefore, he writes about the money and its possible fraudulence as a mode of defense.

                  In this passage as a whole, Ibn Fadlan is very detailed when talking about meeting with the Amir and what happened to Ahmad Ibn Musa (he gets captured by people working for Fadl Ibn Musa). He is also very certain of himself when reiterating what happened to Ahmad Ibn Musa (despite the likelihood that he did not find out Ibn Musa’s fate for some time) using phrases like “in fact” and “he wrote as follows” (5). Ibn Fadlan’s purpose for this could be to defend himself and his caravan from retaliation from the Caliph or the King of the Bulghars due to their failure to obtain the money. Ibn Fadlan writes that he was told, “If we stay any longer, winter will come and we will not be able to travel” (6). For the sake of the mission as a whole, the caravan had to leave. Ibn Fadlan is making sure to write this down; they had no other choice, and they did all they could.

Ibn Fadlān. Ibn Fadlān and the Land of Darkness: Arab Travelers in the Far North.Translated by Paul Lunde, Penguin Classic, 2012.