A remarkable new study argues that Vikings may have supplied rare Arctic falcons to the rulers of the ʿAbbāsid Caliphate, creating a trade network that stretched from Iceland to Baghdad in the ninth century.
The research, published in the journal Early Medieval Europe, traces how dozens of prized white falcons appeared at the court of the caliphs in Baghdad during the late 800s and early 900s. According to the authors, many of these birds were likely gyrfalcons captured in Scandinavia and Iceland before being transported thousands of kilometres south through Viking and Rus’ trade routes.
The article, by Caitlin Ellis and Sam Ottewill-Soulsby, pieces together evidence pieces together evidence from Arabic writers, archaeological finds, falconry manuals, genetics, and Viking-Age trade history to reconstruct what may have been one of the most extraordinary luxury trades of the early medieval world.
Falcons in Baghdad
A falcon depicted in the Bestiary by Zakariya al-Qazwini (Walters MS 659)
The story begins in the late ninth century, when rulers from across the Islamic world started sending large numbers of falcons to the ʿAbbāsid caliphs in Baghdad. One of the most striking examples came in 893, when Ismāʿīl b. Aḥmad, ruler of the Sāmānid dynasty in Central Asia, sent “thirty-two falcons, eleven of which were white” to Caliph al-Muʿtaḍid.
Other dynasties followed suit. Over just a few decades, at least 172 falcons were presented to the caliphs by rival rulers eager to gain prestige and political favour. “Put simply,” the authors write, “by the end of the ninth century, the skies of Baghdad were filled with falcons.”
Falconry was already an important elite pastime in the Islamic world, but it became especially prestigious during the Abbāsid period. Hunting with falcons was closely tied to royal authority, imperial culture, and aristocratic identity. The caliphs spent enormous sums maintaining hunting animals and falconers. According to one source cited in the study, Caliph al-Mutawakkil (847-861) spent 500,000 dirhams annually on hunting staff.
It is not surprising that during this time the value of falcons increased sharply, especially if they were considered exotic. And those birds described as white or piebald were specially prized. One tenth-century writer explains:
The falcon whose colour is close to white is the swiftest, most beautiful, with the most magnificent build, most enterprising and physically the most resilient. It is also the strongest of all falcons at high altitudes.
A Viking Connection
Medieval falcon – Getty Museum MS. LUDWIG XV 4
The study’s most intriguing argument is that these prized falcons likely travelled south through Viking trade networks. Ellis and Ottewill-Soulsby note that the dynasties gifting falcons to Baghdad were all based in the northern parts of the Islamic world, regions deeply connected to long-distance trade routes running northward through the lands of the Rus’ and into Scandinavia.
Arabic silver coins from the Islamic world have been found across Viking-Age Scandinavia for generations, demonstrating extensive commercial contact between the two regions. Furs, slaves and other goods would be sent to the Middle East. The authors find that we should add that if the falcons coming to Baghdad were white, then they most likely would have been gyrfalcons — the world’s largest falcon species, native to Arctic regions.
The authors argue that Iceland may have played a particularly important role. The Norse settlement of Iceland began around 870 — almost exactly when the first unusual white falcons started appearing in Baghdad. It may have been that the new settlers made substanial efforts to catch the birds for trade, similar to how they exploited the local walrus population for its ivory.
Falconry in the Viking World
An Early Medieval Anglo-Scandinavian “Birka Falcon” type scabbard chape dating from AD 800 – 1100. Photo: West Yorkshire Archaeology Advisory Service / Wikimedia Commons
Although evidence for Viking falconry is limited, archaeology shows that birds of prey were known and valued in Scandinavia during this period. The article points to several discoveries, including gyrfalcon remains found in elite Swedish burials from the Vendel and Viking periods. In Norway, the famous Gokstad ship burial — dating to around 900 — included the remains of two northern goshawks, likely used in falconry.
The researchers also connect the rise of falcon trade with the appearance of falcon-shaped sword fittings in Scandinavia and Eastern Europe during the late ninth century. These artefacts are especially common in the Rus’ world, suggesting links between elite warrior culture and the movement of falcons along eastern trade routes.
According to the study, Viking traders and intermediaries may have transported the birds through river systems leading south toward the Caspian Sea and the Islamicate.
From Iceland to Iraq
This Safavid drawing, Walters manuscript leaf W.682, depicts a kneeling young man with a falcon, a popular motif for paintings and drawings produced on single leaves. It dates to the late 10th century AH/AD 16th or early 11th century AH/AD 17th and was likely produced in Qazvin or Isfahan.
The study ultimately presents a striking picture of early medieval global connections. A falcon captured near the Arctic Circle may have passed through Viking settlements, Rus’ trading centres, and Central Asian markets before arriving at the court of the caliph in Baghdad, where it became part of royal hunting displays and political diplomacy.
This trade, however, only lasted to the first decade to the tenth century. Ellis and Ottewill-Soulsby suggest a couple of reasons why it could have stopped: first, the Abbasid caliphate grew unstable and weaker in the early 900s, so nearby states just sending them gifts. Secondly, Icelanders may have over-harvested the gyrfalcons, leaving too few to be exported. This would be similar to how they all but wiped out trees and walruses.
While this was an “ultimately ephemeral phenomenon,” the authors conclude that the “case study underlines that global connections could” shape “the highest levels of politics and diplomatic exchange.”
The article, “The caliph and the falcons: a ninth-century history from Iceland to Iraq,” by Caitlin Ellis and Sam Ottewill-Soulsby, is published in Early Medieval Europe. Click here to read it.
I‘m very happy to see that the latest issue of Early Medieval Europe is now out, featuring ‘The Caliph and the Falcons’, that I wrote with @medivalist.bsky.social, now with actual page numbers! Check it out for arctic falcons, adventurous Scandinavians, ambitious emirs and more!
A remarkable new study argues that Vikings may have supplied rare Arctic falcons to the rulers of the ʿAbbāsid Caliphate, creating a trade network that stretched from Iceland to Baghdad in the ninth century.
The research, published in the journal Early Medieval Europe, traces how dozens of prized white falcons appeared at the court of the caliphs in Baghdad during the late 800s and early 900s. According to the authors, many of these birds were likely gyrfalcons captured in Scandinavia and Iceland before being transported thousands of kilometres south through Viking and Rus’ trade routes.
The article, by Caitlin Ellis and Sam Ottewill-Soulsby, pieces together evidence pieces together evidence from Arabic writers, archaeological finds, falconry manuals, genetics, and Viking-Age trade history to reconstruct what may have been one of the most extraordinary luxury trades of the early medieval world.
Falcons in Baghdad
The story begins in the late ninth century, when rulers from across the Islamic world started sending large numbers of falcons to the ʿAbbāsid caliphs in Baghdad. One of the most striking examples came in 893, when Ismāʿīl b. Aḥmad, ruler of the Sāmānid dynasty in Central Asia, sent “thirty-two falcons, eleven of which were white” to Caliph al-Muʿtaḍid.
Other dynasties followed suit. Over just a few decades, at least 172 falcons were presented to the caliphs by rival rulers eager to gain prestige and political favour. “Put simply,” the authors write, “by the end of the ninth century, the skies of Baghdad were filled with falcons.”
Falconry was already an important elite pastime in the Islamic world, but it became especially prestigious during the Abbāsid period. Hunting with falcons was closely tied to royal authority, imperial culture, and aristocratic identity. The caliphs spent enormous sums maintaining hunting animals and falconers. According to one source cited in the study, Caliph al-Mutawakkil (847-861) spent 500,000 dirhams annually on hunting staff.
It is not surprising that during this time the value of falcons increased sharply, especially if they were considered exotic. And those birds described as white or piebald were specially prized. One tenth-century writer explains:
The falcon whose colour is close to white is the swiftest, most beautiful, with the most magnificent build, most enterprising and physically the most resilient. It is also the strongest of all falcons at high altitudes.
A Viking Connection
The study’s most intriguing argument is that these prized falcons likely travelled south through Viking trade networks. Ellis and Ottewill-Soulsby note that the dynasties gifting falcons to Baghdad were all based in the northern parts of the Islamic world, regions deeply connected to long-distance trade routes running northward through the lands of the Rus’ and into Scandinavia.
Arabic silver coins from the Islamic world have been found across Viking-Age Scandinavia for generations, demonstrating extensive commercial contact between the two regions. Furs, slaves and other goods would be sent to the Middle East. The authors find that we should add that if the falcons coming to Baghdad were white, then they most likely would have been gyrfalcons — the world’s largest falcon species, native to Arctic regions.
The authors argue that Iceland may have played a particularly important role. The Norse settlement of Iceland began around 870 — almost exactly when the first unusual white falcons started appearing in Baghdad. It may have been that the new settlers made substanial efforts to catch the birds for trade, similar to how they exploited the local walrus population for its ivory.
Falconry in the Viking World
Although evidence for Viking falconry is limited, archaeology shows that birds of prey were known and valued in Scandinavia during this period. The article points to several discoveries, including gyrfalcon remains found in elite Swedish burials from the Vendel and Viking periods. In Norway, the famous Gokstad ship burial — dating to around 900 — included the remains of two northern goshawks, likely used in falconry.
The researchers also connect the rise of falcon trade with the appearance of falcon-shaped sword fittings in Scandinavia and Eastern Europe during the late ninth century. These artefacts are especially common in the Rus’ world, suggesting links between elite warrior culture and the movement of falcons along eastern trade routes.
According to the study, Viking traders and intermediaries may have transported the birds through river systems leading south toward the Caspian Sea and the Islamicate.
From Iceland to Iraq
The study ultimately presents a striking picture of early medieval global connections. A falcon captured near the Arctic Circle may have passed through Viking settlements, Rus’ trading centres, and Central Asian markets before arriving at the court of the caliph in Baghdad, where it became part of royal hunting displays and political diplomacy.
This trade, however, only lasted to the first decade to the tenth century. Ellis and Ottewill-Soulsby suggest a couple of reasons why it could have stopped: first, the Abbasid caliphate grew unstable and weaker in the early 900s, so nearby states just sending them gifts. Secondly, Icelanders may have over-harvested the gyrfalcons, leaving too few to be exported. This would be similar to how they all but wiped out trees and walruses.
While this was an “ultimately ephemeral phenomenon,” the authors conclude that the “case study underlines that global connections could” shape “the highest levels of politics and diplomatic exchange.”
The article, “The caliph and the falcons: a ninth-century history from Iceland to Iraq,” by Caitlin Ellis and Sam Ottewill-Soulsby, is published in Early Medieval Europe. Click here to read it.
Caitlin Ellis is Associate Professor of Nordic Medieval History at the University of Oslo. She is the co-editor of Maritime Exchange and the Making of Norman Worlds.
Sam Ottewill-Soulsby is a reseacher at the University of Tübingen. He is the author of The Emperor and the Elephant: Christians and Muslims in the Age of Charlemagne.
Top Image: Gyrfalcon – photo by NorthernLight / Wikimedia Commons
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