Yāqūt Shihāb al-Dīn ibn-‘Abdullāh al-Rūmī al-Hamawī (1179–1229) was a Greek (al-Rumi) born in Constantinople captured by the Muslims, made a slave but then freed.
His most famous work is the “Dictionary of Countries” (Kitāb Mu’jam al-Buldān), compiled between 1224 and 1228. It is in that work that he briefly mentions the Rus religion – notably distinguishing the Rus from Suavs. It is that passage that made it into Meyer’s compendium and it is for that reason that we include it here:
“The Rus are one of the peoples who border the Suavs and the Turks. They have their own language and a religion (din) and a law based on religion which is different from everyone else’s… These days, as is well known, they belong to the Christian religion.”
Note that Yāqūt’s work contains other entries on Suavs themselves but not on their religion.
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