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Yes, the Arabs knew about the Vikings. Similarly old Sanskrit grammar texts in India refer to the Greeks. St. Thomas Aquinas extensively refers to Arab scholars

by sn41 4y ago

Yes, the Arabs knew about the Vikings. Similarly old Sanskrit grammar texts in India refer to the Greeks. St. Thomas Aquinas extensively refers to Arab scholars like Avicenna and Averroes. The ancient world was more connected than we realise.

e-_pusher 4y ago
Ibn Fadlan’s writings about his encounters with Vikings are a fun read : https://human.libretexts.org/Courses/Saint_Mary's_College_(Notre_Dame_IN)/Humanistic_Studies/Ahmad_ibn_Fadlan_and_the_Rus_(Vikings) https://human.libretexts.org/Courses/Saint_Mary's_College_(N...
ROTMetro 4y ago
Greek art heavily influenced Buddhist art https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Greco-Buddhist_art https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Greco-Buddhist_art https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Greco-Buddhism https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Greco-Buddhism And there were Buddhists in the Roman empire https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zarmanochegas https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zarmanochegas
- CitizenKane 4y ago
  This is actually one of my favorite historical facts. Buddha images are everywhere in modern Thailand and it’s fascinating to me that this likely would not be the case if it weren’t for Greeks in Central Asia
  - sct202 4y ago
    Thailand (and most of SE Asia) is Theravada and received Buddhism directly from India while the Greek Buddhists were Mahayana and spread that thru the Silk Road into East Asia.
galaxyLogic 4y ago
I recently saw a documentary about how Anglo-Saxons invaded the west of England but Cornwal remained celtic and because of its tin-mining kept a strong connection to the Mediterranean. I don't have a link to the documentary but I think this is about the same thing: https://www.timesofisrael.com/groundbreaking-study-ancient-tin-ingots-found-in-israel-were-mined-in-england/ https://www.timesofisrael.com/groundbreaking-study-ancient-t...
- pjmlp 4y ago
  That is also a reason why northen Portugal and Spain also kept their celtic culture due to those connections.
  - actionfromafar 4y ago
    I wonder how much cod food culture has to do with this?!
    - pjmlp 4y ago
      Might be, until recently I was unware that the Greeks and Turks also have the same salted cod culture as we have in Portugal, even if they lack 365 + 1 recipes for it. :)
  - arethuza 4y ago
    Speaking of Celtic connections - the origin legends of the Scots claim that they came here via Spain and Ireland: "They journeyed from Greater Scythia by way of the Tyrrhenian Sea and the Pillars of Hercules, and dwelt for a long course of time in Spain among the most savage tribes, but nowhere could they be subdued by any race, however barbarous." https://www.historyfiles.co.uk/FeaturesBritain/Medieval_TextArbroath01.htm https://www.historyfiles.co.uk/FeaturesBritain/Medieval_Text... Of course, this is a bit bizarre - but a good story!
deleted 4y ago
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PestoDiRucola 4y ago
Thomas Aquinas lived in the middle ages, he was closer to our day than the "ancient world".

by sn41 4y ago

e-_pusher 4y ago

Ibn Fadlan’s writings about his encounters with Vikings are a fun read : https://human.libretexts.org/Courses/Saint_Mary's_College_(Notre_Dame_IN)/Humanistic_Studies/Ahmad_ibn_Fadlan_and_the_Rus_(Vikings) https://human.libretexts.org/Courses/Saint_Mary's_College_(N...

ROTMetro 4y ago

Greek art heavily influenced Buddhist art https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Greco-Buddhist_art https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Greco-Buddhist_art https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Greco-Buddhism https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Greco-Buddhism And there were Buddhists in the Roman empire https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zarmanochegas https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zarmanochegas

CitizenKane 4y ago
This is actually one of my favorite historical facts. Buddha images are everywhere in modern Thailand and it’s fascinating to me that this likely would not be the case if it weren’t for Greeks in Central Asia
- sct202 4y ago
  Thailand (and most of SE Asia) is Theravada and received Buddhism directly from India while the Greek Buddhists were Mahayana and spread that thru the Silk Road into East Asia.

galaxyLogic 4y ago

I recently saw a documentary about how Anglo-Saxons invaded the west of England but Cornwal remained celtic and because of its tin-mining kept a strong connection to the Mediterranean. I don't have a link to the documentary but I think this is about the same thing: https://www.timesofisrael.com/groundbreaking-study-ancient-tin-ingots-found-in-israel-were-mined-in-england/ https://www.timesofisrael.com/groundbreaking-study-ancient-t...

pjmlp 4y ago
That is also a reason why northen Portugal and Spain also kept their celtic culture due to those connections.
- actionfromafar 4y ago
  I wonder how much cod food culture has to do with this?!
  - pjmlp 4y ago
    Might be, until recently I was unware that the Greeks and Turks also have the same salted cod culture as we have in Portugal, even if they lack 365 + 1 recipes for it. :)
- arethuza 4y ago
  Speaking of Celtic connections - the origin legends of the Scots claim that they came here via Spain and Ireland: "They journeyed from Greater Scythia by way of the Tyrrhenian Sea and the Pillars of Hercules, and dwelt for a long course of time in Spain among the most savage tribes, but nowhere could they be subdued by any race, however barbarous." https://www.historyfiles.co.uk/FeaturesBritain/Medieval_TextArbroath01.htm https://www.historyfiles.co.uk/FeaturesBritain/Medieval_Text... Of course, this is a bit bizarre - but a good story!

deleted 4y ago

[deleted]

PestoDiRucola 4y ago

Thomas Aquinas lived in the middle ages, he was closer to our day than the "ancient world".