7.When Arabs met Vikings

Tonicha Upham (Institute of Historical Research) joins us to discuss her research into medieval Islamic encounters with the vikings. This was a time where intellectuals in Baghdad or Isfahan thought of themselves as being at the centre of the world. How did these men of letters perceive the vikings, who passed through the sphere of the Caliphate’s influence as they followed the Volga river eastwards? How far were their notes on the strange customs of these foreigners based on real experiences, and how much was repetition of bookish learning without basis in reality?
Tonicha also reminds us that while we might have a preoccupation with vikings today, Arabic sources generally included early medieval Scandinavians as one of many distant peoples in Northern and Eastern Europe, as well as subsaharan Africa and the Indian subcontinent.

The Chronicles is produced by Kirsi Tilk of Tilk Sonics - kirsitilk.com

Music by Kirsi Tilk

Funded by Aarhus Universitets Forskningsfond