Death Rituals

In the study of the early medieval Rus and the Viking diaspora, Arabic geographical writings on the practice of funerary sacrifice loom large. Against growing uses of this body of source material as evidence on ritual, the treatment of women, and the global connections of the Rus, critical issues in the use of and access to this source material necessitate a fresh analysis. This Element reevaluates geographical writings on Rus death and sacrificial rituals, redirecting focus towards the textual transmission of ideas in both Arabic and Persian to offer a critical guide to geographical knowledge dissemination on Rus funerary practices.