The Connections between Eastern Europe and the World of Islam seen by the Medieval Jewish Travelers
State Academic University of the Humanities
Financing: state assignment of the Ministry of Sciences and Higher Education of the Russian Federation: topic FZNF-2020-0001 “Traditions and values of society: mechanisms of formation and transformation in the context of global history” (at the State Academic University for the Humanities).
For citation: Rashkovskiy, Boris E. The Connections between Eastern Europe and the World of Islam seen by the Medieval Jewish Travelers // Drevneishie gosudarstva Vostochnoi Evropy (The Earliest States of Eastern Europe). 2021: Eastern Europe and the World of Islam. In honor of Tatjana M. Kalinina. Editors of the volume B.E. Rashkovskiy, E.V. Litovskikh, E.A. Melnikova. Moscow: Dmitry Pozharsky University, 2021. S. 493–509.
DOI: 10.32608/1560-1382-2021-42-493-509
Abstract: The author examines the evidences of early medieval Jewish travelers of 9th–12th centuries about the contacts between Eastern Europe and world of Islam. This information confirms the reality of the trade route of the Jewish traders ar-Radhaniya through Central and Eastern Europe to Central Asia described by Ibn Khordadbeh, as well as the evidences of Ibrahim Ibn Yakub about the existence of regular trade relations between the Polish, Russian and Czech lands since the middle of the 10th century. The reality of the existence of the route between Rus’ and Central Europe can be confirmed not only by the data of Ibrahim ibn Yakub’s contemporary, Hasdai ibn Shaprut, but also by the writings of the authors of the late 12th century – Benjamin of Tudela and Petakhiah of Regensburg. The author also examines the evidences about the links between the Jewish communities of Central and Eastern Europe and the Middle East not related to trade. The latter include pilgrimage practices associated with visits to biblical monuments and holy places in Palestine and Babylonia and the appeal of the Jewish communities of Central and Eastern Europe to the Middle Eastern religious authorities. Some testimonies of sources that have not been previously translated into Russian are published in this paper. Among them, there is a complete Russian translation of an 11th century letter from Thessaloniki community about Jewish pilgrims from Rus’ to the Middle East. The article also contains a new translation of fragments of the “Book of Travels” Benjamin of Tudela on about Rus’ and Eastern Europe into Russian, based on E. Adler’s critical editions (London, 1907) and some early manuscripts.
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