Editing Birka (section)

=== "Allah" ring controversy ===
[[File:Ring of Allah, from a grave in Birka Sweden.jpg|thumb|Ring theorized to read "Allah" found at Birka]]
A ring was found during the archeological excavations at Birka between 1872 and 1895, when archeologist [[Hjalmar Stolpe]] discovered it in a 9th-century Viking woman's burial. It is made of high-quality [[silver]] alloy and is set with a pink-violet oval glass.<ref name="onlinelibrary.wiley.com">{{Cite journal|title=Analysis and interpretation of a unique Arabic finger ring from the Viking Age town of Birka, Sweden|year=2015|url=https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1002/sca.21189|doi=10.1002/sca.21189|last1=Wärmländer|first1=Sebastian K.T.S.|last2=Wåhlander|first2=Linda|last3=Saage|first3=Ragnar|last4=Rezakhani|first4=Khodadad|last5=Hamid Hassan|first5=Saied A.|last6=Neiß|first6=Michael|journal=Scanning|volume=37|issue=2|pages=131–137|pmid=25707897|access-date=6 December 2021|archive-date=17 July 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210717235945/https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1002/sca.21189|url-status=live}}</ref> The ring, preserved at the [[Swedish History Museum|Swedish history museum]], became known as the "Allah ring" because of the [[pseudo-Kufic]] inscription found on the ring's glass that resembles the word Allah (Arabic: [[Allah|الله]]). While other rings were found at the Birka excavations, the "Allah ring" was the only one that had this type of inscription. The Arabic historical linguist Marijn van Putten argued that the inscription on the ring was an example of pseudo-Kufic and that it has no meaning in Arabic.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://twitter.com/phdnix/status/920584737168723968|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211229170936/https://twitter.com/phdnix/status/920584737168723968|title=The Viking ring from Birka got a lot of attention 3 years ago.|access-date=13 June 2023|archive-date=29 December 2021|website=Twitter|language=en}}</ref> Nevertheless, other analysts extrapolated that the pseudo-Kufic engraving was indeed Arabic and that this was sufficient evidence to directly link Vikings to Islamic civilization.<ref name="onlinelibrary.wiley.com"/> In her Twitter thread on the "Allah” textile, Stephennie Mulder drew on the work of van Putten to argue that like the textile, the ring had been similarly misunderstood.<ref name=":2" /> However, she acknowledged that the Arabic language—found on the ring and other objects from Birka—was appreciated by the Vikings as a sign of social status.<ref name=":2" /> The inscription could suggest that the ring's owner might have been one of the Viking elites who were in contact with the Islamic world via trade or travel.<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Fernstål|first=Lotta|title=A Bit Arabic. Pseudo-Arabic Inscriptions on Viking Age Weights in Sweden and Expressions of Self-image|url=https://www.academia.edu/37785974|journal=Current Swedish Archaeology|year=2021|volume=16|issue=1|page=61|doi=10.37718/CSA.2008.04|s2cid=13709473|doi-access=free}}</ref>