Editing Ahmad ibn Fadlan (section)

===Account of the Rus'===
{{Further|Rus' people}}
A substantial portion of Ibn Fadlan's account is dedicated to the description of a people he called the ''[[Rus' (people)|Rūs]]'' ({{lang|ar|روس}}) or ''Rūsiyyah''. Though the identification of the people Ibn Fadlan describes is uncertain,{{sfn|Montgomery|2000}} they are generally assumed to be [[Volga Vikings]]; the traders were likely of Scandinavian origin while their crews also included [[Baltic Finnic peoples|Finns]], [[Slavs]], and others.<ref>{{Cite web|last=Wilson|first=Joseph Daniel|date=Spring 2014|title=Black banner and white nights: The world of Ibn Fadlan|url=https://commons.lib.jmu.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?referer=https://www.google.com/&httpsredir=1&article=1526&context=honors201019|archive-url=|archive-date=|access-date=|website=JMU Scholarly Commons}}</ref> The Rūs appear as traders who set up shop on the river banks nearby the Bolğar camp. They are described as having bodies tall as (date) palm trees, with blond hair and ruddy skin. Each is [[tattoo]]ed from "the tips of his toes to his neck" with dark blue or dark green "designs" and all men are armed with an axe, sword, and long knife.{{sfn|Lunde|Stone|2011|p=45-46}}

Ibn Fadlan describes the Rus as perfect physical specimens and the hygiene of the ''Rūsiyyah'' as disgusting and shameless, especially regarding to sex (which they perform openly even in groups), and considers them vulgar and unsophisticated. In that, his account contrasts with that of the traveler [[Ibn Rustah]], whose impressions of the Rus were more favorable, although it has been attributed to a possibly intentional mistranslation with the original texts being more in line with Ibn Fadlan's narrative.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.vostlit.info/Texts/Dokumenty/Russ/X/Garkavi_mus_pis/23.htm|title=See footnote 35|website=www.vostlit.info|access-date=2020-04-13}}</ref> He also describes in great detail [[Viking funeral#Ibn Fadlan's account|the funeral of one of their chieftains]] (a [[ship burial]] involving [[human sacrifice]]).{{sfn|Lunde|Stone|2011|p=45-54}} Some scholars believe that it took place in the modern [[Balymer complex]].<ref>{{in lang|ru}} [http://sm-k.narod.ru/archives/2002/jan/3/13.htm Сибирский курьер. Тайны древнего кургана]</ref>

{{Quote|text=They are the filthiest of all God's creatures: they do not purify themselves after excreting or urinating or wash themselves when in a state of [[ritual impurity]] after coitus and do not even wash their hands after food.|source=<ref>{{Cite web |last=Jakobsen |first=Hanne |date=2013-07-17 |title=Old Arabic texts describe dirty Vikings |url=https://www.sciencenorway.no/archaeology-history-art-and-literature-forskningno/old-arabic-texts-describe-dirty-vikings/1388613 |access-date=2023-11-29 |website=www.sciencenorway.no |language=en-GB}}</ref>|author=Ibn Fadlan}}