Author: Payton Hull (Page 2 of 2)

When describing the Bajanāk, Ibn Fadlān mentions what landmarks are near by the encampment and what the people looked like, but he focuses on the way that sheep forage for food in the area. Along with this, he says that the Bajanāk are poor in comparison with the Ghuzz. Rather than directly say whether or not the tribe is Muslim, he mentions in their physical description that their chins are shaved. This does not mean that none of the Bajanāk are Muslim, but the fact that Ibn Fadlān doesn’t even mention it speaks to the value that he places on these people. It might be that he doesn’t think they are consequential enough to call for conversion efforts. His description of the tribe is, no doubt, stunted by the fact that the group only stayed one night with the Bajanāk. Ibn Fadlān says that they are camped by “the edge of a body of water resembling a sea, for it was not flowing” (22). This could be the upper part of the Caspian Sea, but this seems suspect since the sea is far away from the pathway mapped out in the front of the book. Yet, it does not seem like Ibn Fadlān would mistake a smaller body of water for a sea. This might give reason to reconsidering how long one day’s travel is for this caravan. 

What caught my attention about Ibn Fadlān’s description of this group is that he mentioned them at all. He spends one paragraph describing them and immediately moves on. He also basically only references them based on their material difference from the Ghuzz turks. This implies that wealth is of interest to Ibn Fadlān, even though he mentions it in negative ways when it comes to modesty in other passages. He also describes very specifically how hard it is for the sheep of the Bajanāk to get food in the winter yet how thin they get in the summer, saying that “the sheep mostly graze on what lies under the snow, which they scrape aside with their hooves in order to get to the grass. When they cannot find any, they nibble snow and become very fat. When summer comes, they eat grass and grow thin” (22). So, the ability to feed and keep healthy livestock is important, too. This information might come together to describe a poor people who are not well sustained and could be taken over very easily. But it could also speak to the worth of such an action. What would the point be of taking over territory where it is difficult to raise healthy sheep? Extending this idea, could these people sustain themselves under the caliphate or would they, ultimately, need to be supported by it? Even though the group only stayed with the Bajanāk for one night, it seems as though Ibn Fadlān is doing a quick cost benefit analysis in order to be as transparent as possible in his report back to the caliph. How impactful such a short description could be is debatable, but this passage is at least helpful in tracking the group’s route north.  

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After leaving Bukhārā, Ibn Fadlān traveled through the land of the Ghuzz Turks. He describes the cultural practices he witnesses and situations that did not match with the practice of Islam. He begins by discussing the nomadic lifestyle of the Ghuzz Turks. He says that they move around, live in tents, “live in poverty, like wandering asses” (11). Their political regime is mentioned; Ibn Fadlān says that they have lords and a king, but that their strategy is based on “consultation among themselves” (12). This democratic policy is supported in the Quran, however Fadlān makes it clear that this is undercut by the fact that the “most wretched of them can go back and break the agreement” (12). Throughout his discussion of the Turks, Fadlān continuously mentions that that Ghuzz Turks have no religion but will copy the words of Muslim travelers in order to make a good impression (11-19). However, based on the extensive burial practices he describes and how these show that wealth and ownership in life are reflected in the experiences of the deceased in the afterlife, it seems as if he is overlooking it. He also comments on the fact that the Turks do not wash ritualistically, that the women don’t cover their hair and sometimes expose themselves in public, and that the marriage customs there are strange and immodest, apparently, in comparison to his own.   

Fadlān also describes the norms of hospitality, sharing that “no Muslim can cross their country without having made friends with one of them, with whom he stays and to whom he brings gifts from the lands of Islam” (14). Though he doesn’t explicitly state how long he and his party travelled through this land or that he stayed with anyone, this quote implies that he did make friends with at least one person and experience this hospitality himself. Fadlān describes the Ghuzz Turks as being very accommodating to their guests, from helping to make sure their food is prepared in a way that is required for them religiously to giving them possessions and money to borrow. However, they also take breaking the trust between guest and host very seriously (14-16). 

Ibn Fadlān repeats multiple times that it seems like the Turks simply repeat what is said to them rather than take an interest in Islam, or religion in general. This description makes it clear that attempts at converting and taking over this area may not be successful. However, this is packaged with descriptions of hospitality and how much the people value material possessions, especially from “the lands of Islam”. So, the purpose of this section could be to discuss important things to consider if the caliph wants to send a larger amount of people through the area and up to Bulghār, almost as a guide of what to expect. With this in mind, I find is strange that he didn’t include more information about the structure of the society or how cohesive the lords are if he is hoping to provide information to help with future military endeavors.  

I decided to start with the first major location that Ibn Fadlān visits, Bukhārā. In his description he focuses on the people he meets with. He and his party have a meeting with Amir Nasr ibn Ahmad, arranged by his minister Jayhānī. Ibn Fadlān notes that Jayhānī is called “the venerable support” in Khurāsān. He also says that they “spent several days waiting and then Jayhānī requested an audience” with the amir for them. This suggests something about the status and job description of the minister; either he has the power to decide when people are seen by the amir or he is familiar enough with his schedule to know when a good time to request a meeting be set. Fadlān does not say much directly about the amir, except that he is “a beardless youth”. The notes suggest that Nasr ibn Ahmad was only sixteen or seventeen when they met (5). The party stayed in Bukhārā waiting for Ahmad ibn Mūsā, who was meant to be travelling with them, but they were ushered out of the city before winter. Another thing Fadlān was interested in was the different use of coins in the area, specifically that they were counted instead of weighed in some transactions. Of course, this system might be used for other types of purchases that he has not mentioned, but it is definitely used for settling dowries and buying slaves and property.  

When the party arrived in Bukhārā they were immediately given a house to stay in and a servant to provide them with “anything” they might want (5). Considering that we know this travelling party wouldn’t be small, I think it is safe to assume that this was only for the upper members of the group if they all fit into one house. They stayed for twenty eight days in the late fall.  

The first unusual thing I noticed is that we begin to hear about temperature differences at the very beginning of the story. So far, they have only moved about 400 miles north of Baghdad, though about 1,200 miles east, and today Bukhārā has a low of around thirty degrees in February. To me, this does not seem too bad. However, it adds some perspective to the coming description of “the cold of hell” (8). To people who have lived in warm temperatures their entire lives, any colder temperatures would feel even more extreme, and even painful, as they move northward.  

The purpose of Ibn Fadlān writing this account is to share information with the caliph. When he describes Amir Nasr ibn Ahmad he mentions that he is young and, technically, not a man yet. But greater care is taken to describe how the amir reacts to the letters of instruction Fadlān brings him from the caliph. He seems to accept the instructions happily. However, he was meant to transfer the revenue overseen by al-Fadl ibn Mūsā to Ahmad ibn Mūsā, who is trying to catch up to the group. But Ahmad ibn Mūsā never reaches the group because someone tips off al-Fadl ibn Mūsā, who has him caught on the road and dealt with. I suppose this means there was no one to whom the amir could transfer the funds, since al-Fadl ibn Mūsā ushered the group out of the city by convincing some of the party that they needed to leave now, or they would have to stay the whole winter. This is a very helpful comment which keeps the group appraised of the weather conditions in an unfamiliar area and, incidentally, saves the man al-Fadl ibn Mūsā works for a lot of money. The person who tipped him off could have been the amir. Maybe he isn’t as loyal to the caliph as he made it sound.  

Ibn Fadlān also says that they greeted Nasr ibn Ahmad with the title of amir, which to me implies they had a choice. Maybe, since they are from another province, they have the option to recognize the rule of someone else, though this seems unlikely to me.  The detailed description of the use of different coins tells me that there are less types of coins in Baghdad and that counting them instead of weighing them is different, but that it isn’t weird to pay for marriage or have slaves.