al-Masudi (c. 896–956), was a historian, geographer, and traveler. He is sometimes referred to as the ‘Herodotus of the Arabs’. A polymath and prolific author of over twenty works on theology, history (Islamic and universal), geography, natural science, and philosophy, his celebrated magnum opus The Meadows of Gold (Murūj al-Dhahab) combines universal history with scientific geography, social commentary, and biography. Al-Mas’udi’s travels actually occupied most of his life from at least 903/915 A.D. to very near the end of his life. It was during one of those trips that he recorded the following: “I sailed from Aboskun which is a seaport on the coast of Jorjan, to Taberistan, and other countries, and asked every merchant and sailor possessed of any knowledge, whom I met, respecting this point, and every one of them informed me that one could not come by water into the Black Sea, except by the way which had been taken by the Rus. The inhabitants of er-Rum, Aderbaijan, el-Bailkan, [in the country near Berda’ah and other provinces, of ed-Dailem, el-Jil, Jorjan, and Taberistan, were alarmed and made a general rise against them, for they had never before seen an enemy coming against them from those quarters, nor was such an invasion recorded since the most remote time. The fact to which we have just alluded is well known in the above-mentioned cities, nations, and countries, and they cannot deny it on account of its publicity. It happened in the reign of Ibn Abi-s-Saj…
The Rus… go on their mercantile business as far as Spain, Rome, Constantinople, and the Khazar. After the year 300 (912 AD), they had five hundred ships, every one of which had one hundred men on board: they passed up the estuary (of the Don) which opens into the Pontus [Black Sea], and is in communication with the river of the Khazar (Wolga). The king of the Khazar keeps a garrison on this side the estuary, with efficient warlike equipments to exclude any other power from this passage, and to prevent them from occupying, by land, that branch of the river of the Khazar which stands in connection with the Pontus…
When the Rus’ vessels came to the garrison, on the entrance of the estuary, they sent to the king of the Khazar to ask his permission to pass through his dominions, to go down his river, and enter into the sea of the Khazar, which is the sea of Jorjan, Taberistan, and of other places of the Barbarians as we have stated, promising him half the plunder which they should make from the nations who live on the coast of this sea. He gave them leave. They entered the estuary, and, continuing their voyage up the river (Don) , as far as the river of the Khazar (Wolga), they went down this river, passed the town of Itil, and entered through its mouth into the sea of the Khazar [Caspian Sea]. This is a very large and deep river. By these means the Rus came into this sea, and spread their predatory excursions over el-Jil, edDailem, Taberistan, Aboskun, which is the name for the coast of Jorjan, the Naphtha Country
The Rus landed on the coast of the Naphtha Country, which is called Babikah (Baku), and belongs to the kingdom of SharwanShah. On their return from the coast, the Rus landed in the islands which are near the Naphtha Country, being only a few miles distant from it. The king of Sharwan was then ‘Ali Ben el-Haithem. As the merchants sailed in boats and vessels in pursuit of their commercial business to those islands, the Russ attacked them; thousands of Moslims perished, and were partly put to the sword, partly drowned. The Rus remained several months in this sea, as we have before said.”
The Rus are Great Nation living on the coast of the Black Sea in 920 AD >
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