Vikings and Muslims: Possible Trade Between Scandinavia and Islamic Caliphate
First off, let me thank the folks (Folk? It's really just the one guy.) at The History Blog for writing this article, which inspired me to expand upon the topic in this article.
As surprising as it may seem, there is a lot of evidence to suggest that the mead-swilling Norsemen of Scandinavia bumped into the Islamic world. Not only that, but it seems as though it was more than a one-off occurrence.
Articles like the one mentioned above (and this one) prove that Vikings had contact with Islam several times, likely from Vikings migrating down through modern day Eastern Europe and assimilating with the local Khazars, as they did in Russia. (In fact, it's theorized that the ancestor of all the Rurikid Russian monarchs, Rurik, was himself a Viking.) Islamic artifacts have apparently been found as far north as Oslo, otherwise known as the CAPITAL OF NORWAY.
So as you can see, this is pretty huge; the implications of such widespread Eastern Trade is absolutely staggering.
But that isn't all. No, we have evidence of a legitimate trade network linking Arabia and Scandinavia (though indirectly): And it starts with iron.
You see, there's a special kind of sword that we've found with very rich and powerful Vikings: Unlike almost all European swords of that era, it was made from an incredibly strong and flexible steel, and was almost magical in the eyes of it's wielders. They were all signed '+VLFBEHRT+' - Ulfbehrt.
Now, there were very few places they could have gotten such amazing steel: Central Asia or Arabia. Which one they got it from doesn't matter, because they're all linked by the same trade route - the Volga Trade Route.
So there we have it: the Vikings and Muslims were not so alienated as we might think. They certainly had some degree of contact, and probably had indirect trade on a regular basis. The irony is that they didn't meet as we might expect - through the Vikings boldly sailing through the Mediterranean (something they did manage on a few occasions) and winding up pillaging the Muslim world in an epic war between thunder and sand - but through immigration, trade routes, and some well-made steel.
It just goes to show you, the truth is not always what you'd expect.
Best Wishes,
Tom.
Oh, and one more thing: If you'd like to learn more about the Ulfbehrt, check out Secrets of the Viking Sword. It's a documentary about the swords, and you can watch it here, here, or here.
Articles like the one mentioned above (and this one) prove that Vikings had contact with Islam several times, likely from Vikings migrating down through modern day Eastern Europe and assimilating with the local Khazars, as they did in Russia. (In fact, it's theorized that the ancestor of all the Rurikid Russian monarchs, Rurik, was himself a Viking.) Islamic artifacts have apparently been found as far north as Oslo, otherwise known as the CAPITAL OF NORWAY.
So as you can see, this is pretty huge; the implications of such widespread Eastern Trade is absolutely staggering.
But that isn't all. No, we have evidence of a legitimate trade network linking Arabia and Scandinavia (though indirectly): And it starts with iron.
You see, there's a special kind of sword that we've found with very rich and powerful Vikings: Unlike almost all European swords of that era, it was made from an incredibly strong and flexible steel, and was almost magical in the eyes of it's wielders. They were all signed '+VLFBEHRT+' - Ulfbehrt.
Now, there were very few places they could have gotten such amazing steel: Central Asia or Arabia. Which one they got it from doesn't matter, because they're all linked by the same trade route - the Volga Trade Route.
So there we have it: the Vikings and Muslims were not so alienated as we might think. They certainly had some degree of contact, and probably had indirect trade on a regular basis. The irony is that they didn't meet as we might expect - through the Vikings boldly sailing through the Mediterranean (something they did manage on a few occasions) and winding up pillaging the Muslim world in an epic war between thunder and sand - but through immigration, trade routes, and some well-made steel.
It just goes to show you, the truth is not always what you'd expect.
Best Wishes,
Tom.
Oh, and one more thing: If you'd like to learn more about the Ulfbehrt, check out Secrets of the Viking Sword. It's a documentary about the swords, and you can watch it here, here, or here.