The "Risala" is an Arabian account that tells us much about the culture of the Vikings in Russia, it was written by the Arabian writer and explorer Ibn Fahdlan.
Ibn Fahdlan was sent on a diplomatic mission to the Bulgarians in the Wolga region, he made several journeys in the area and was confronted with Viking settlers who were called "Ruotski" by the Slavs, which means "rowers".
He described them and coincidentally witnessed a great event; a king's funeral, which he wrote down for future generations.
Just like Tacitus the work of Ibn Fahdlan is also tainted with personal views, the Vikings loved pork which Ibn Fahdlan considered disgusting because he was a Muslim (in the Islamic religion pigs are considered to be unclean animals) and he did not understand their free morale either.
This "cultureshock" caused many misunderstandings that are sometimes clearly visible in the text, nevertheless the "Risala" is a very valuable and historically important source that allows us to take an interesting but limited look into times that have long since passed.
A very cool but historically incorrect movie has been made about the adventures of Ibn Fahdlan, which is called "the 13th warrior", this movie is based on the book "Eaters of the dead" that has been written by Michael Crichton, although this movie is very good I advice you not to take it too serious because there are many inconsistencies in it, nevertheless it is still a great movie.
Unfortunately I have not been able to find a complete version of the "Risala" but I did find a text that contains most of the work, it has been translated by Carl Fritsch and also contains some explaining sidenotes:
