What reached Scandinavia/Northern Germany first: Muslims, or Islamic texts?
score:3
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
Upvote:2
I don't know any stories about Muslims reaching Scandinavia, but it is well known that Vikings reached the Islamic world. Probably brought home from those travels was a ring inscribed with Islamic text that was buried in a 9th century Viking grave. This could be the first instance of a Muslim text arriving in Scandinavia.
More post
- 📝 Who were the candidates in the consular elections for 80 BC in Rome?
- 📝 Are former British colonies better off now compared to other colonies and why
- 📝 How was Chinese Communism connected to the New Culture Movement?
- 📝 Why was there a perceived high rate of AIDS infection among Haitians?
- 📝 What impact did the Seven Years War have on the American Revolution?
- 📝 Has there ever been a great power that offered a major concession to a non-great power from a position of strength?
- 📝 What did ancient countries call themselves?
- 📝 Who was the real beginner of Lord Ganesha festival?
- 📝 Where is this map of Scandinavia (Nicolaus Germanus, 1467)
- 📝 How do we know this bust is Aristotle?
- 📝 Was pie crust originally meant for throwing away in England?
- 📝 Why and when were ancient Egyptian hieroglyph phonograms used?
- 📝 How long did it take for a letter to arrive in England in the 1830s?
- 📝 How accurate/realistic is the conception of 'the kindly slave owner'?
- 📝 Who kept noble prisoners captured in battle?
- 📝 Why did Emperor Constantine believe he was a instrument of God?
- 📝 Is there a proper title for a woman betrothed to a king?
- 📝 After the fall of Constantinople was there a re-evaluation of the basis of Russia's religion?
- 📝 What does "Central Europe AG 2006" mean in discharge papers?
- 📝 Did the Vikings practice voluntary human sacrifice?
- 📝 Did the Nazis ever cite Martin Luther's "The Jews and their lies" to justify the holocaust?
- 📝 What did an ancient Roman certificate of land ownership look like; or, what did it consist of?
- 📝 Does the Proto Canaanite ‘mother serpent’the Pyramid text of Unas/Wenis have another known name or epithet?
- 📝 Completeness of Old Parish Registers in the 1700s
- 📝 Did the Arab League create a Joint Defense Council and a Permanent Military Commission?
- 📝 What military uniform is this?
- 📝 Are species introduced to England and Wales by the Romans still found near Roman settlements?
- 📝 Did Lord Acton ever say "freedom faces four major challenges"?
- 📝 Were mounted soldiers really an advancement during the Middle Ages?
- 📝 How much of Nazi iconography came from Hitler?
Source: stackoverflow.com
Search Posts
Related post
- 📝 What reached Scandinavia/Northern Germany first: Muslims, or Islamic texts?
- 📝 What is the first recorded dog name?
- 📝 What is the first horse name recorded in history?
- 📝 What did Germany do in World War II about the different rail gauge in the Soviet Union?
- 📝 What led to the first fight in the American Civil War?
- 📝 What was the first solar eclipse that was demonstrably predicted in advance?
- 📝 Were there any Germans in Japan after the surrender of Germany in May, 1945 and if so, what happened to them?
- 📝 What was the first battle in history fought by vast-majority-% "distance-shooting" non-mechanized force?
- 📝 What did Germany do after World War II to recover so successfully that it became more prosperous than its WW2 victors?
- 📝 What / When was the first use of concentration camps in history?
- 📝 What was the first known war in history?
- 📝 What was the first successful mass tank battle of WW1?
- 📝 What goods did Germany trade during World War II, and with whom?
- 📝 What were the first local currency systems in history?
- 📝 What was the legal status of an East German once he had reached West Germany?
- 📝 What was the first successful non violent independence movement?
- 📝 What did Germany gain from the Armistice of 11 November 1918?
- 📝 In what language was the first Zionist congress in Basel in 1897 held?
- 📝 From 1936-45 what was the prescribed punishment in Nazi Germany for failing to join or participate in the Hitler Youth?
- 📝 What is the first recorded instance of jet lag?
- 📝 What is the first recorded contact with Taiwan by Europeans?
- 📝 What goods did Germany trade during the Weimar Republic, and with whom?
- 📝 What was the largest land area that Germany has ever controlled?
- 📝 What was the status of Shia Muslims in the Ottoman empire?
- 📝 What was the original cause of the Camel War in Islamic history?
- 📝 What percentage of men, ages 18 to 35, from the northern states served in the Union Army?
- 📝 What is the story behind the tall Northern offshoot on the West Virginia map?
- 📝 From what part(s) of Germany were the majority of Texas immigrants in the mid-19th century?
- 📝 What oath did medical students take in Nazi Germany between 1933 and 1945?
- 📝 What do these symbols & annotations in medieval and related texts mean?