In this section of the book, Ibn Fadlan mostly focuses on the extremely cold climate of Jurjaniya. The way to travel through Jurjaniya was to travel across the Jayhun River; however, due to the frigid weather, the river froze for three months, and they could not cross it. Ibn Fadlan stayed in a house during the duration of his stay, but even in the house, he was freezing. He and his group stayed in Jurjaniya for over three months due to this cold: “The cold and the hardships it causes were the reasons for the length of the stay” (Fadlan 8). He gives an anecdote about how two men took their camels into the woods without the ability to make a fire, and their camels froze to death by the next morning. He also mentions how beggars are even allowed to come inside other people’s homes and sit by the fire while they beg for bread. This place was unbelievably cold, even for those who live there. It was impossible for Ibn Fadlan and his traveling companions to do anything, let alone carry on with their journey, due to these conditions. He describes how his beard froze into “a block of ice,” and how the markets and streets were all bare because no one could withstand the freezing temperatures (Fadlan 9). After three months, the Jayhun River melted, and the group purchased camels and made foldable boats made out of camel skin to continue on their journey. 

I think Ibn Fadlan was particularly scarred by his visit to Jurjaniya due to the coldness. He goes on for multiple pages, intently describing how Jurjaniya was “the cold of hell,” but interestingly enough, he does not speak ill of the people in this city (Fadlan 7). In many different instances of this book, Ibn Fadlan does not hesitate to pass judgment on the people he encounters on his travels, but here, he describes, “The local people, with whom we were on friendly terms, urged us to be prudent as regards to clothing and to take large quantities” (Fadlan 9). I assumed that Ibn Fadlan would not be very friendly or warm to the people of this place because of his horrible experiences, but instead, he does not pass judgment and accepts their help. I also thought Ibn Fadlan might attribute the bitter cold to the people of Jurjaniya, pertaining to the seven climes ideology that was popular during this time, which stated that if the climate of a place was bitterly cold, they were closer to hell. Regardless, he spends a lot of time in Jurjaniya but did not say much about the culture or the people because the cold weather was so insufferable that he could not think about anything else. He may also have included such intense detail about the cold to excuse the delay of his journey. His caliph, back in Baghdad, sent him on this mission to spread his religion to the land of the Turks, and he was the original audience of this book. If Ibn Fadlan returned and the caliph was upset about how long his journey took, Ibn Fadlan would want to have these details that explain, or even exaggerate, the circumstances that led to his delay. 

Ibn Fadlan’s last stopping place, described before he arrived in Bulghar, was Jurjanya. He and his caravan stayed here for quite some time due to the weather. They were trapped in this “country,” as he describes it. Jurjanya is near the Jayhun River, which he needed to pass in order to reach Bulghar. Upon his arrival in Jurjanya, the Jayhun river froze, which wasn’t necessarily what precluded them from continuing as “ horses, mules, donkeys, and carts slid over the ice” (8). It was the sheer cold that prevented them from continuing. They initially intended to stay here for a few days, but ended up staying for a little over three months. They had to have arrived in late November, as he states they leave in the middle of February, (this also lines up with the months the river would have been frozen). He also details the practicalities of his departure from Jurjanya: “ We bought Turkish camels and had boats made out of camel skin… We laid in three months’ supply of bread, millet, and dried and salted meat”(9). Fadlan describes the people as hospitable; a man invites him into his home to warm up by the fire, and he describes this custom as “it is a rule among them that beggars do not wait at the door but come into the house and sit for an hour by the fire to warm up”(8). Fadlan gives details about where he slept (more details than usual). He was provided a house to stay in. This house was “inside, which was another, inside which was a Turkish felt tent” (9). He also gives great detail of his clothing that he wore while attempting to stay warm. He said he was “wrapped in clothes and fur” while inside his house to keep warm (9). He also has an entire section describing the clothes they wore in Jurjanya.

            Fadlan heavily focuses on the weather and how these people survive the cold. He touches a bit on the customs of these people, yet those customs are still related to the weather. He describes the clothes that the “local people with whom we were on friendly terms” wore; they warned Fadlan about the importance of keeping warm (9). They wore “a tunic and over that a caftan, on top a cloak of sheepskin, and over that a felt outer garment, with a head covering…plain trousers, and another padded pair, socks. Horse hide boots… other boots” (9-10). This is the most description we get of anything from this culture… their clothes. In this section, Fadlan uses very specific and vibrant language to describe the weather. He is sure to get his point across about how cold it is.

            In other locations, Fadlan typically passes judgment on the people he is interacting with. These judgments typically reflect the culture that he comes from. In Jurijanya, his observations reflect a different aspect of his Islamic culture. He is very focused on the cold and describes the cold as “ a gate to the cold of hell” (8). Hell in Islam is imagined as cold and icy rather than hot and burning. They also believe the farther towards the poles they go, the stranger the people who inhabit these places are. Using this view of the world, it is clear why he was so focused on the cold: he may have believed he was on the cusp of hell. His reactions and focus on the weather also show the climate he is used to. He has never before experienced such weather in Baghdad. Instead of telling stories that show cultural practices, he tells stories of people who have died of the cold. He also recounts personal experiences with the cold, such as “returning to the house, I looked at my beard. It was a block of ice,” and “I saw the earth split and great crevasses form from the intense cold” (9). Remembering that he is writing his stories for the Calif can help discern why he focuses so much on the cold. He is trying to convey to people who have never experienced this cold before what it is like. This description of the cold sheds light on the climate and geographical “culture” he comes from.

From pages 23 to 25 Ibn Fadlan passes through a Turkish territory, and the people he meets he calls the Bāshghirds. The caravan had to cross many rivers before entering the land of the Bāshghirds. Interestingly none of the names of the rivers appear on the map, “The Journey of Ibn Fadlān, 921-922” (suggesting the names may have changed). Ibn Fadlan and his fellow travelers had to journey on these rivers on “folding boats made of camel skin” (22). He was impressed by the Jāyikh river which he says is “the most impressive and the swiftest” river he has seen (23). Additionally, the river they crossed to get to the land of the Bāshghirds was the Kunjulū. To leave the land of the Bāshghirds they also had to cross a river called the Jirimshān (and then many others). This is an interesting aspect, because there were very few concrete political borders at this time. The rivers, somewhat, outline the lands of different groups. This suggest that there was a reliance on natural borders at the time to define where people lived. When Ibn Fadlan is among the Bāshghirds he focuses on their religious and spiritual practices/customs. He observes that they keep wooden phalluses with them and some of them believe in twelve lords who oversee different aspects of the earth. Ibn Fadlan also observes religious differences amongst the Bāshghirds. He states, “We saw a clan that worships snakes and another that worships fish and another that worships cranes” (24). Beyond religion, Ibn Fadlan describes these people as “dirty” (23). He claims they eat lice and fleas after he witnesses one man do so.

                  In this section there is an emphasis on cultural divisions. Ibn Fadlan’s tone does not come off as judgmental or dismissive when he discusses their religious practices. It is indifferent and just sounds like he is recording what he sees. The part where his tone changes is in relation to their cleanliness and eating bugs. He calls them the “dirtiest” along with the “worst” which emphasizes his relationship to cleanliness. Ibn Fadlan’s deep connection to his faith and his job (Islamic Jurist) likely influence his perceptions. He is indifferent to their religious practices because the Bāshghirds are not Islamic, however, Ibn would take cleaning rituals very seriously. Therefore, he may associate moral value with dirtiness or cleanliness.

                  Additionally, Ibn Fadlan’s connection to his job and faith further influences his perceptions based on geography. Ibn Fadlan does not stay in the Bāsghird’s territory for very long based on his writings. A majority of what he witnesses (despite the instance with the man supposedly eating a flea) is their religion to which he is indifferent. Yet, he immediately makes assumptions about their qualities. He calls the Bāshghirds “the worst of the Turks” (23). This group of people also happen to be in the most northern part of Turkish territory (right before entering another territory-Bulghar). His perceptions of people are progressively becoming more negative as he advances north; which he would like associate with Hell and the tribes of Gog and Magog. Therefore, despite his short stay with these people, he considers them poorly and dislikes them immediately.

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