The Vikings were among the fiercest warriors of all time. Yet only a selected few carried the feared Ulfberht sword between 700 - 1000 AD. Ulfberht blades are rare Viking swords that bore the Latin characters and crosses: +Ulfbreht+. Recently, it has been discovered by archaeologists that those blades were not pattern-welded as once believed, but made of crucible steel, utilizing metallurgical techniques that was unknown in Europe until the 18th century. The swords contained no slag pockets like other contemporary weapons, and possessed three times the carbon content. But how did Viking sword makers design and build the Ulfberht? Apparently, the steel of higher purity and carbon content that they used came from else where: the southern coast of Caspian Sea.
این متن در مورد تجارت فولاد بین ایرانیان , آسیای میانه و وایکینگها از طریق دریای خزر و رودخانه ولگا در دوران خلافت عباسی است
Since the archaeologists have found Islamic coins in some Viking burial sites, it is possible that the Vikings imported these steels in ingot from Persia or Central Asia. In the Middle Ages, the Volga trade route [
1] connected Scandinavia, Northern Europe and Northwestern Russia with the Caspian Sea, via the Volga River. The Rus' used this route to trade with Muslim Arabs and Persians on the southern shores of the Caspian Sea and Central Asia, sometimes penetrating as far as Baghdad. During this period in 922 AD, Abbasid Caliph al-Muqtadir dispatched an embassy to the king of the Volga Bulgars [
2] who became Muslim afterwards. Ahmad ibn Fadlān (Arabic: أحمد بن فضلان) [
3] was an Arab traveler and a member of this embassy. His account is most known for providing a description of the Volga Vikings, including an eyewitness account of a ship burial.
Commanding the Volga River in its middle course, the Volga Bulgars controlled much of trade between Europe and Asia prior to the Crusades. The capital, Bolghar, was a thriving city, rivaling in size and wealth with the greatest centers of the Islamic world. Trade partners of Bolghar included Vikings, Bjarmland, Yugra and Nenets in the north to Baghdad, Persia, Central Asia, and Constantinople in the south, from Western Europe to China in the East.
It is noteworthy that the Vikings also planned to invade Særkland or Serkland (Abbasid Caliphate and Muslim Dynasties in Caucasus and Persia) in 1036–1042. Ingvar the Far-Traveled [
4] (Old Norse: Yngvarr víðförli, Swedish: Ingvar Vittfarne) was the leader of this unsuccessful attack. For more information about the Viking sword, watch this interesting video below.
Sources: [
5] , [
6]
