Vikings And Mongols Similarities

Sent on a mission by their respective kings, both Ibn Fadlan and John of Plano Carpini gave us a look inside the culture, religion, and military prowess of the Viking Rus and the Mongols. Ibn Fadlans journey to the Bulgar king was not an easy one as he met with the Rus people near the Volga River. The same holds true for John, as he travels to the Mongols to learn much about them and their intentions behind their unprecedented military skills. The Viking Rus and the Mongols have similarities and difference in their culture, military conquest, and religion.

The Rus tribes are believed to be the descendant of the Vikings and slave (Fadlan, 387). They are gigantic in their physical appearances and are well known for their raid and trade throughout

their expansion. The Rus people are Scandinavians who later give their name to modern day Russia and is composed of todays, Denmark, Sweden and Norway. The Rus people not only have a gigantic appearance, but the way they wear their closes emulates a true warrior figure. “Every one carries an axe, a dagger, and a sword, and without these weapons they are never seen (Fadlan, 387).” The Viking Rus were also flamboyant. The women wear irons, copper, and gold chains on their necks based on the wealth of their husbands. According to Ibn Fadlan, the Rus people are also the “Filthiest race that God ever created.” He noticed that they do not wash their hands and clean up after themselves. As the Islamic religion value great hygiene control, Ibn Fadlan was highly disgust with the way they keep their hygiene because it contradicts with his religious value. The Viking Rus were great navigators and traders. The main reason that helped them to be a great navigator were there ability to make ships. There navigation skill also helped them in conquering many cities. As Fadlan puts it, there main reason for conquering is to find ground resources from the wealthiest cities. In addition, as the population increase the people needed an extra land to settle.

When Ibn Fadlan get acquainted with the Rus people that first thing that draw his attention was the culture, appearance, and religious difference between the Rus people and his own. His description of the Rus people as gigantic tells us that he has never seen such people and he was amazed by them. Next, Fadlan harsh description on their hygiene is completely seen through his Islamic background. Another subject that drew attention to Fadlan was their rituals after they conquered a new land: As soon as their ships have reached the anchorage, everyone goes ashore, having at hand bread, meat, onions, milk, and strong drink, and betakes himself to a high, upright piece of wood, bearing the likeness of a human face…… he advances to the large wooden figure, prostrate himself before it, and thus address: ‘O my lord, I am come from far country, bringing with me so many girls……….’ This ritual highly contradicts with Fadlan, as he is monotheistic who believe in only one non-material God---Allah.
The other major cultural difference that was seen by Fadlan was the burial ceremony of the Vikings.

In this case, Fadlan is seen narrating each and every step of the ceremony. In the Vikings culture, the burial ceremonies differ from social class to social class. If a slave has died, they leave him as he is until he becomes the food of dogs and birds of prey (Fadlan, 389). On the other hand if a chief has dies the ceremony is quite different. One of the different things that happen after the death of a rich man is, one of the chiefs girls will have to resigns herself to death. Although they are not forced, the girls can not change their mind after they have offered themselves to be cremated with their master. For Fadlan, the crimination and the self-sacrificing act gave Fadlan a strange viewpoint on the Vikings burial system that is different from his culture. ‘One of the Rus was at my side and I heard him speak to the interpreter, who was present. I asked the interpreter what he said. He answered, ‘He said, You Arabs are fools.’ ‘Why?’ I asked him. He said, ‘You take the people who are most dear to you and whom you honour most and put them into the ground where insects and worms devour them. We burn him in a moment, so that he enters paradise at once.’... These discrepancies between Fadlan’s culture to the Vikings shows how different and difficult it is to outsiders to understand the viewpoint of the people living in

it.
Unlike the Vikings, the Mongols were land conquers who uses horses for their conquest.

After their great leader—Genghis Khan, the Mongols were unstoppable in their military conquest. Starting there conquest in northern china and then to west conquering Turkestan, which was the great Muslim power, then to Russia, Mongols succeeded in all direction. As Christopher Dawson—a historian, put it, ‘Genghis Khan succeeded in destroying a larger portion of the human race than any modern expert in total warfare.’ It was after this conquest that John of Plano Carpini was sent on a mission to identify there intentions. After his arrival, he was able to observe Mongols living style. As an envoys John said that the Mongols had treated them better than other envoys (John, 416). When he arrived, John was able to see their custom of hospitality. The Mongols gave them a tent and a provision. In the next few days, John noticed the preparation for the enthronement of the Cuyuc. One remarkable things that John noticed was the way they change their cloth. “On the first day they were all clothed in white velvet, on the second in red, on the third they were all in blue velvet, and on the fourth a finest brocade (John, 417). In addition, he noticed their affection towards mare’s milk and drinks. In john’s cultural viewpoint this was something that he was not accustomed to. “…. They kept plying us with drinks to such extent that we could not possibly stand it, not being used to it…. (John,

417).
Both the Vikings and the Mongols were viewed through the outsiders cultural and religious view point. In both cases, the Vikings and the Mongols conquers land for the same reason—to get ground resource. Both of their culture also influenced the culture of the original settlers. In places where there was less inhabitants—Greenland and Iceland the culture was directly transplanted while in places where local system was established—Eastern England the Scandinavian culture fused with the indigenous (Cunliffe, 397).