After Ibn Fadlan and his companions leave Bukh\u0101r\u0101, they make their way to Kw\u0101razm. To arrive here, they \u201chired\u201d a boat and traveled by river (6). This means they did not need to bring their own boats like they do once they are past the Land of the Turks. They began their travel due to the approach of winter, and the distance between Bukh\u0101r\u0101 and Kw\u0101razm is \u201c200 farsakhs\u201d (6).\u00a0 Ibn Fadlan writes that the weather was extremely cold making it difficult to travel. They would have to stop on the shore, only traveling for a certain amount of time each day, due to the freezing temperatures. Once they arrive in Kw\u0101razm, Ibn Fadlan stays in the house of the leader. After a few days, Ibn Fadlan and others are given an audience with the leader who does not believe their journey is genuine (believing the Caliph is being misled). \u00a0After some time, Ibn Fadlan and his fellow travelers are able to convince the leader of Kw\u0101razm to let them leave. To get to their next stop, Jurj\u0101niya, they must also travel by river for \u201c50 farsakhs\u201d (7).<\/p>\n
One of the things Ibn Fadlan takes note of in this area is the money. He records how much the coins weigh and the names for them. He claims their dirhams are faulty, and he states the dirhams are \u201cadulterated with lead or bronze\u201d (7). Additionally, Ibn Fadlan observes the language of the people of Kw\u0101razm and neighboring villages. He claims their language sounds like \u201cthe cries of starlings\u201d or \u201cthe croaking of frogs,\u201d while simultaneously calling the people \u201cbarbarous\u201d (7-8). At the end of the section, Ibn Fadlan mentions that the people in a village nearby \u201cdeny the legitimacy of the Commander of the Faithful (\u2026) at the end of every prayer\u201d (8).<\/p>\n
While Ibn Fadlan does not focus on the culture or customs of the people in Kw\u0101razm, what he does focus on, coinage and language, reveals a possible purpose for recording this area. A lot of what Ibn Fadlan discusses in this section is likely a report for the Caliph. A change in coinage can affect people traveling through the caliphate. If they are using faulty, not to standard money (or what Ibn Fadlan views as faulty), that can be a potential political issue that the Caliph needs to know about if more travelers are sent to the area (especially if they need to make purchases). Or if they are worried about potential scams regarding travelers or tax collection and tribute. Also, the people around Kw\u0101razm supposedly denying the power of the commander of the faithful can be concerning for the Caliph\u2019s power. Lastly, Ibn Fadlan\u2019s focus on language likely stems from cultural differences. Hearing a new language is likely jarring. It also means he cannot communicate as effectively in this region (needing a translator). Most people are going to be biased toward their own language. However, the adjectives he uses to describe their language is likely rooted in bigotry. These cultural differences likely cast a shadow on his perceptions of the people in Kw\u0101razm.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Ibn Fadl\u0101n. <\/span>Ibn Fadl\u0101n and the Land of Darkness: Arab Travelers in the Far North. <\/span><\/i>Translated by Paul Lunde, Penguin Classic, 2012.<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" After Ibn Fadlan and his companions leave Bukh\u0101r\u0101, they make their way to Kw\u0101razm. To arrive here, they \u201chired\u201d a boat and traveled by river (6). This means they did not need to bring their own boats like they do once they are past the Land of the Turks. They began their travel due to […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5606,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[7],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-389","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-ibn-fadlan","post-preview"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.dickinson.edu\/mapping-middle-ages-2025\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/389","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.dickinson.edu\/mapping-middle-ages-2025\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.dickinson.edu\/mapping-middle-ages-2025\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.dickinson.edu\/mapping-middle-ages-2025\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/5606"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.dickinson.edu\/mapping-middle-ages-2025\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=389"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.dickinson.edu\/mapping-middle-ages-2025\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/389\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":390,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.dickinson.edu\/mapping-middle-ages-2025\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/389\/revisions\/390"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.dickinson.edu\/mapping-middle-ages-2025\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=389"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.dickinson.edu\/mapping-middle-ages-2025\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=389"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.dickinson.edu\/mapping-middle-ages-2025\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=389"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}