World culture: The exhibition “Journey of Ibn Fadlan: Volga route from Baghdad to Bolghar” was opened in Kazan

February 19, 2016 at the Center "Hermitage-Kazan" was opened the exhibition "Journey of Ibn Fadlan: Volga route from Baghdad to Bolghar". Their collection were presented by the State Hermitage Museum (Saint-Petersburg), the State Historical Museum (Moscow), the State Museum of Oriental Art (Moscow), the Sh. Marjani Foundation for support and development of scientific and cultural programs (Moscow), the Volgograd Regional Museum, the P. V. Alabin Samara Regional historical Local History Museum, the Astrakhan United Historical and Architectural Museum-Reserve. This is the biggest part of the participants for 10 years of the Kazan branch of the Hermitage. 

The exhibition includes more than two thousand pieces as individual objects, and entire systems. Among them are the monuments of arts and crafts and jewelry peoples of Eastern Europe, the works of potters and glass blowers and the Middle East, most of which are on display for the first time.

According to the director of the State Hermitage Museum Mikhail Piotrovsky, each museum has a wonderful treasure, all together connected they make lyrics that were written by Ibn Fadlan clearer. "In fact before us in these halls there is the book that we read carefully, in order to better understand what Ibn Fadlan wrote, by which Bolghar received the status of UNESCO World Heritage site".

Ahmad ibn Fadlan - the second person of the Embassy, ​​directed Abbasid Caliph in 921-922 years to the court of the king of Volga Bolghar. His report - "Note" - has become an invaluable source of information on the ethnography and history of contemporary peoples from Central Asia to the Middle Volga, on the grounds that the mission took place.

There are many masterpieces among the exhibited monuments. One of the main exhibits - Bulgarian dirhams with the mention of the formula glorification of the Bolghar ruler who leads Ibn Fadlan, - a rare example of a tangible confirmation of the ancient text. Along with samples of arts and crafts, jewelry, accessories horse gear and weapons on display characteristic of people details of costume complexes and household utensils, allowing visually comparing the degree of technological development and economic structure in different territories.

At the end of the XIX century on the territory of Tatarstan, several treasures were found, which are then entered in the Imperial Archaeological Commission. Now, decades later, they returned to Kazan in the new exhibition. Among them was first shown to the public the Spassky treasure, which started the whole Bolghar archeology. It presents things that characterize the Bulgarian jewelry art of the XII - beginning of the XIII centuries.

The exhibition will run until September 18, 2016.