Ibn Fadlan. Mez︠h︡du Spit︠s︡inym i Avdusinym
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A new book has been published, the result of research into the ancient history of the Eastern Slavs. Our regular subscribers know the author well, both from his participation in discussions and from his comments: the late Nikolai Chubrik, a respected figure. He studied this topic extensively, drawing on new, previously unused sources—the manuscripts of Arab merchants and travelers.
The work examines controversial issues surrounding the Arab embassy's journey to Eastern Europe in the early 10th century. The primary source for the research is the travel diary of its participant—the diplomat, writer, geographer, and historian Ibn Fadlan, who worked at the court of the Baghdad Caliph.
The document was created during the Arabs' journey to the ruler of Bulgar in 921–922 and has entered historical tradition as Ibn Fadlan's "Note." It is a unique document, distinguished by its extensiveness and relatively complete preservation, providing modern scholarship with invaluable information on the geography of Eastern Europe and the daily life and culture of the peoples who inhabited it in the early Middle Ages (Turks, Ghuzz, Bashkirs, Pechenegs, and others). The increased attention paid to the "Note" by Russian researchers is due to the fact that the events described by Ibn Fadlan took place primarily in the territory of modern-day Russia and its immediate neighbors. A significant portion of the historical facts conveyed by the Arab traveler's work are related to the Slavs and Rus'.
N.A. Chubrik searched for the final destination of the Arab ambassadors' route to the ruler of the Slavs—the enigmatic Bulgar—locating it in the vicinity of modern-day Smolensk, on the site of the Gnezdovo archaeological complex, famous for its antiquities. This is in contrast to researchers who traditionally place Bulgar on the Volga, on the site of the medieval city of the same name. He demonstrates the unconvincing nature of the reading and localization of numerous hydronyms mentioned by Ibn Fadlan along the route of the ambassadors, the plac
