My archeology professor often expressed the following thought.  He stated that if a Gothic cathedral were discovered in the heart of the Australian desert, there would be no denying the fact that Europeans had been there.  Such a structure is so distinctive, and composed of so many different elements, that it would be impossible to consider its hypothetical Australian counterpart as a duplication, independently developed, of the European form. 

The same rationale applies here in the case of the various meanings in the term of Saga, which are shared exactly in their meanings, forms, pronunciation and etymologies in both the Classical Arabic and the Germanic exclusively of any other languages.

It is obviously safe to ascertain that these similarities could not have been developed independently from each other, just as in the case of the Gothic cathedral in the Australian wilderness described above. 

I rest my case momentarily at this point.  However, I will offer later, a rational explanation for these unusual similarities, which have all the signs pointing to a contact between the Arabic and the Germanic cultures.
 

Dear Members, 

In a previous episode I explained the result of an investigation into the origin of the term "saga" which indicated that correspondences do exist (exclusively) between the Classical Arabic term saga` and Germanic/ Nordic Saga  (both which mean to utter and a narrative rhymed prose) and these could not have been fortuitous, nor attributed to independent development. 

Why? 

We know that "Language" is a system of arbitrary vocal symbols by which members of a social group cooperate and interact. In this respect language is regular and not haphazard. Hence, words of any language are in fact considered as cultural Artifacts and their attributes do not move of their own volition, nor are they capable of biological breeding of their own. 

For example in Modern Standard Arabic (MSA) we are accustomed to coming across such terms as kumidiyah and tragiydiyah both meaning respectively comedy and tragedy. 

These are obviously borrowed terms from the Greek via French and Italian and which have become integrated in the MSA vocabulary. Their presence and usage in MSA is indicative of an extensive culture contact with the Western world especially in the world of theater and related literature. 

Similarly when striking similarities in this instance are detected between Classical Arabic al-Saga` and the Saga in Germanic dialects, along with the acquired intricate series of signification previously recorded in Classical Arabic before Islam, suggesting that the term spread from one point to another. 

Although fragments of the Risalah were included in the Mugam` al-Bildan, the geographical dictionary completed by Yaquwtiy in Baghdad in 1228, it was not until the 19th century that Europeans got their first glimpse of Ibn Fadlan's accounts of his journey in their own languages. Scandinavian scholars knew of the letter by 1814; and in 1823, a German translation of excerpts from Yaquwtiy's dictionary appeared under the heading "Ruws." This was then translated into Norwegian in 1896, and into English in 1923.  However, the first known complete version of the Risalah was a manuscript, probably from the 11 th century in Mashhad, Persia, translated by Ahmad Zakiy Waliydiy Tuwgan (1890-1970).  A Bashkir Turkish scholar, proficient in several languages, he had studied medieval history in Vienna, and his dissertation covered Ibn Fadlan's Journey to the Northmen.  His German translation of the manuscript, entitled Ibn Fadlan's Reisebericht, was published in Leipzig in 1939.  Other authors followed, such as Robert P. Bake, Marcel Canard, Richard N. Frye and H. M. Smyser.  To my knowledge, none of these scholars ever discussed the "Saga`/Saga" connection.  Therefore, I feel that an explanation is required.
 

The following is a summary of the Travels of Ibn Fadlan:

His particular role on that journey was as the spokesman of the mission and to read the letter from the Khaliyfah to the various Chieftains and kings.  He was also to present them with gifts and, above all, to supervise the teaching of Islamic law and Arabic language to the Ruws and Bulgars. The Embassy left Baghdad in June 921 and lasted  several years. 

Ibn Fadlan in his Risalah vividly described the journey and the description of the various tribes encountered by the embassy. This was not just the earliest account in Arabic of the Volga region, but it also gave the topography of the surrounding region, approximately up to 60-degree north latitude.  It was also an important source of anthropology on the various populations of the region. 

Ibn Fadlan described very extensively the populations that lived in the region, their trades, manners, clothing, diets, living conditions, and also their customs.  One interesting custom was that of leaving a sick man alone inside a tent with bread and water only, approached by none, waiting for him to die or recover on his own. He also described religious and other practices, such as the burning of a dead lord on a boat, and alongside him his female slaves 

One thing that seems to have startled Ibn Fadlan, was the extreme shortness of the night in those regions. He was waiting for the call of late night prayers, talking to a tailor from Baghdad for just half an hour, when he heard the call for prayers, and came out to find that it was morning.  And the night, he discovered, was so lit that another at a distance of an arrow throw could recognize a man. 

Perhaps, from an exclusively Arabic perspective, the most remarkable feature of this account of the Ruws (Vikings) is the irrefutable evidence that Ibn Fadlan’s expedition to the Norse country was instrumental in spreading the teachings of Arabic language, including cultural elements like the Saga` literary genre..  Since it was clearly and unambiguously stated that Ibn Fadlan’s mission was to supervise the teaching of Islamic law & Jurisprudence (al-Fiqh al-Islamiy) and the Arabic language  (Fiqh al-Llughah) to the Northmen Vikings.

Thus the Arabs, under Islam, were not only conservators of civilization, but also became shapers of the medieval mind, putting their unique stamp on Western culture as far as Norway. 
 

Akhuwkum Ishinan