sartorialadventure:sartorialadventure: A Viking era ring inscribed with the words ‘for Allah&r
sartorialadventure:sartorialadventure: A Viking era ring inscribed with the words ‘for Allah’, found in the grave of a woman who was buried 1200 years ago in Birka, 25 km west of modern-day Stockholm. The ring constitutes a unique material evidence of direct contact between the Vikings and the Abbasid Caliphate. (one of many sources!) Also in the link above: “Researchers in Sweden have found Arabic characters woven into burial costumes from Viking boat graves. The discovery raises new questions about the influence of Islam in Scandinavia” Patterns woven with silk and silver thread have been found to spell the words “Allah” and “Ali”. …The material had come from central Asia, Persia and China. Larsson says the tiny geometric designs - no more than 1.5cm (0.6in) high - resembled nothing she had come across in Scandinavia before. “I couldn’t quite make sense of them and then I remembered where I had seen similar designs - in Spain, on Moorish textiles.” Larsson then realised she was not looking at Viking patterns at all but ancient Arabic Kufic script. “I suddenly saw that the word ‘Allah’ [God] had been written in mirrored lettering,” she says. Larsson has so far found the names on at least 10 of the nearly 100 pieces she is working through, and they always appear together.The new find now raises fascinating questions about the grave’s occupants.“The possibility that some of those in the graves were Muslim cannot be completely ruled out,” she says.“We know from other Viking tomb excavations that DNA analysis has shown some of the people buried in them originated from places like Persia, where Islam was very dominant.“However, it is more likely these findings show that Viking age burial customs were influenced by Islamic ideas such as eternal life in paradise after death.” Her team is now working with the university’s department for immunology, genetics and pathology to establish the geographic origins of the bodies dressed in the funeral clothes. -- source link