Ibn Fadlan

Ibn Fadlan was a 10th-century Muslim traveler and scholar from the Abbasid Caliphate. He is best known for his detailed written accounts of his journey to Central Asia and the Volga River region, where he observed the customs, rituals, and daily lives of the peoples he encountered, including the Bulgars. His writings provide valuable historical insights into the cultures and societies of that era, especially those in Eastern Europe and among the early Scandinavian Vikings. Ibn Fadlan’s observations are considered a rare, firsthand European record of early medieval Eurasian peoples.