Gifts and Court Ceremonies in Ibn Fadlan’s 'Risalah'
Institute of World History of the Russian Academy of Sciences
For citation: Kalinina, Тatjana М. Gifts and Court Ceremonies in Ibn Fadlan’s Risalah // Drevneishie gosudarstva Vostochnoi Evropy (The Earliest States of Eastern Europe). 2024: In memoriam Alexandr V. Nazarenko / Editors of the volume Т.V. Guimon, P.V. Lukin, Е.А. Мelnikova, А.V. Podossinov Мoscow: GAUGN-Press, 2024. S. 1–2.
DOI: 10.32608/1560-1382-2024-45-1-2
Abstract: The article shows the role and importance of gifts by the embassy of Ibn Fadlan, prepared for the nobility of the Oghuz and the ruler of the Volga Bulgars Almysh. The delegation considered necessity, the importance and value of gifts for the Oghuz. Attention was paid to cases of gift exchange. The nature of presents and their mutual exchange, common to all medieval societies, is also revealed.
Тhe schedule of reception of Ibn Fadlan’s embassy corresponded to the ceremonial of meetings and preparation for them for delegations of foreign states by the court of the Samanid states. The rules of etiquette were borrowed by the Samanids from the Abbasids, going back to the traditions of the Sassanids. The similarity of the ritual of the meeting of the delegation by the ruler of the Volga Bulgaria Almysh with the etiquette of the Samanids is noted. The described regulation corresponds to the practice adopted in the Caliphate and among the Samanids, which means a long and deep acquaintance of the king of the Volga Bulgaria with palace traditions accepted in the Islamic world.
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