Kufic Ring

This ring was recently discovered in Birka, a well-known Viking Age Norse site.  The ring itself features an amethyst set into silver with the inscription “To Allah” in Kufic Arabic writing which was popularized in the late 7^th century.  The ring caused quite a buzz on social media because it proves contact between the Vikikng world and the Muslim world.  It was believed to have been part of a burial for a Norse female, striking up I the media romantic images of how it may have come to her.  What we know however, from sources contemporary to the ring itself, including the works of Ibn Fadlan, the Muslims living in the Abassid Caliphate traded quite frequently with the Norse, who were at points during the late roman empire and throughout history known as traders1, mercenaries, and raiders throughout the Mediterranean and southeastern Europe.

Though the very discovery of the ring does not mean something earth shattering for archaeologists by way of discovering new ties between “the east” and “the north,” it is a piece that can tell us a bit about religious relations between the Muslims and the Norse.  Many Arabic pieces have been found in Norse grave sites and hoards, mostly coins which were almost definitely the result of trade, but this piece with its highly religious significance is an interesting find that a devout Muslim may not want to give away to a pagan, but for perhaps conversion, a good price or perhaps a violent one.  The religious significance of the ring, however, may have actually held true for its final owner, as the Norse were known to cross religious traditions, at least with Christianity, and the ring may have been thought to hold some religious power.