What reached Scandinavia/Northern Germany first: Muslims, or Islamic texts?

The Muslim Texts Arrived in Germany Before any Significant Muslim Population

In the medieval times, the Muslim conquest of western Europe was halted midway through France, never reaching Germany. Simultaneously, the Muslim foray into eastern Europe was directed into central Russia, and seems to never have been aimed toward the Germanic countries (although there was occasional diplomatic outreach). By comparison, the major academic institutions of Europe owned - and prized - copies of the great Arabic literary library. Let us review some dates and data below.

The landmark milestones of Islam's migration into medieval Europe are:

THE FOUNDING:

• 609 - Muhammad begins to receive the revelation of the Quran

• 632 - the Quran is completed on the year of Muhammed's death

• 7th Century - Muslim forces invade western Europe at the Iberian peninsula; and eastern Europe in the Baltic region, past the Black Sea, into what is modern central Russia

EXPANSION INTO RUSSIA AND NORTHEASTERN EUROPE:

• cir. 930 - Ahmad ibn Rustah (of Isfahan, Persia) records his travels with the Rus to Novgorod (located between Moscow and St. Petersburg). He also compiles reports from other explorers in his "Book of Precious Records," demonstrating the range of Arab geographic knowledge about Anglo-Saxons, Bulgars, Croats, Khazars, Magyars, Slavs, and other peoples.

• 921 - Almış iltäbär (also: the first Emir of Volga Bulgaria, Jaʿfar ibn ʿAbdullah, the king of Saqaliba) sends a formal request to the Abbasid Caliph (Baghdad) for religious instruction for himself and for the significant Muslim population already in the country.

• 921-922 - Susan al-Rassi leads the Caliph's diplomatic party to Volga Bulgaria (approx modern Tatarstan, Russia) for the purpose of explaining Islamic law to the Islamic Bulgars living on the eastern bank of the Volga River. ¶ The secretary of the expedition - and lead counsel for religious doctrine and law - is Ahmad ibn Fadlan, who records an account of the journey in his "Risala." ¶ After the expedition's arrival, Ahmad ibn Fadlan is disappointed at the natives' practice of Islam, describing it as "imperfect" and "doctrinally unsound." ¶ He also documents his encounters with the Volga Vikings who travel the Volga River trade route. Depending on the historian, the Volga Vikings are identified as "North Germanic," "East Slavic," or "Scandanavian." (Incidentally, this real record inspired the fictional adventure novel "Eaters of the Dead" by Michael Crichton, and its subsequent film "The 13th Warrior".)

• 922 - Volga Bulgaria officially adopts Islam, by order of the Emir Almış iltäbär. Additionally, Almış requests that the Caliph help fortify the Volga Bulgars against their enemies, the Khazars.

• 986-987 Vladimir the Great (of Kiev) seriously investigates the great religions of the neighboring countries, but ultimately rejects Islam because of its stringent lifestyle restrictions, especially noting the prohibition on wine. He later declares Christianity the official religion of Russia.

• cir. 1077-1116 - Kings of Hungary St. Ladislaus I and Coloman the Learned both pass laws (via the Synod of Szabolcs) that essentially require Muslims and Jews to integrate into the mainstream. Specific requirements include the violation of tenets key to both Islam and Judaism (consuming pork, forbidding circumcision, formal worship on Sunday only, etc.).

• cir. 1200 - Islamic author Yaqut al-Hamawi relays statements from a Hungarian student residing in Aleppo, Syria, who reported the existence of 30 Muslim villages in Hungary.

• cir. 1257 - The Golden Horde conquers the western part of Russia (including modern Ukraine) and adopts Islam as its primary religion, under the direction of Berke Khan.

• 1258 - Hulagu Khan (of the Ilkhanate) destroys Baghdad in his conquest of Persia; Berke Khan vows a war of vengeance.

• 1259 - Berke Khan orders his nephew Nogai Khan to raid Poland in order to collect booty to finance the coming war with Hulagu Khan. Several Polish cities are plundered, including Kraków and Sandomierz.

• 1453 - The Ottoman Empire captures Constantinople, declaring Islam the state religion.

TERRITORIAL CONQUESTS IN SOUTHWESTERN EUROPE:

• 711 - the Umayyad conquest of Hispania (Modern day Spain and Portugal with the exception of Northern regions)

• 712 - the establishment of Arab governance in Seville, and later Cordoba (year 716)

• cir. 719 - the Muslim armies march over the Pyrennes mountains and into France

• 721 - the Arab forces are defeated in the battle of Toulouse (near the modern Spanish-French border) but persist in their conquests

• 732 - the Muslim armies in France successfully advance northward, penetrating more than halfway across modern France before being defeated by the Franks at the Battle of Tours, which effectively repels them from further incursions into France

• 756 - Exiled prince Abd al-Rahman I establishes the Emirate of Cordoba across the southern two-thirds of what is now modern Spain

• 929 - the emir Abd al-Rahman III changes the name and structure of the state to The Caliphate of Cordoba

• 1085 - the city of Toledo is recaptured by Christian forces

PROPAGATION OF ISLAMIC MANUSCRIPTS IN EUROPE

• cir. 1126 - Archbishop Raymond of Toledo began the Toledo School of Translators at the Library of the Cathedral of Toledo

• 1143 - While living in Spain, English scholar Robert of Ketton translates the Quran into Latin (the first translation into a western language) for the French Abbot Peter the Venerable

• 1167 - Gerard of Cremona joins the Toledo translators and begins his work of translating into Castillian and Latin a total of 87 Arabic books and lost Greek manuscripts

• cir. 1200 - the translations from Arabic proved to be in demand for their educational value, and were soon found in all major universities across Europe

• 1216 - due to high demand for the Quran in European academia, Mark of Toledo completes an improved translation into Latin

• 1492 - after being gradually driven southward across Spain, the last Moorish Emirate of Granada finally surrendered to Ferdinand V and Isabella

• 1614 - Muslim civilians were completely expelled from Spain