The Sakalibas of Islamic literature are former soldiers of the Slavic contingents of the Byzantine armies, who went over to the Muslim side during the battles in Asia Minor, as well as slaves of Slavic origin, brought to the East from the Slavic-Germanic region, the Czech Republic, Russian lands, and the Balkans. Each of these groups has its own history. The comprehensive study of medieval Eastern and Western materials undertaken in the work made it possible to establish general patterns of the history of the Sakaliba, as well as make a number of observations regarding the history of the Islamic world, Europe, and Rus'. The book is addressed to those who are interested in the history of Muslim and European (including Old Russian) societies of the early Middle Ages. CONTENTS: Introduction 7Part I. The name of sakaliba in medieval Islamic literature 27Chapter one. Authors who personally visited Eastern and Central Europe 28Chapter two. Authors who did not visit Eastern and Central Europe, but relied on original sources 49Chapter three. Later compilers 94Part II. Slavic settlers in the Middle East 101Chist III. Sakaliba Servants 137Chapter One. Delivery of baby-sakaliba to Islamic countries 137Chapter two. In Muslim Spain 189Chapter Three. In North Africa 235Chapter Four. In Mashrfs 288Chapter five. Culture and spiritual world of Sput-Sakaliba 300Conclusion 308Accepted abbreviations 311Bibliography 313Index of names 340Index of geographical names 353Abrege 362Contenu 365