Al-Idrīsī’s Description of the Saqīr River (On the Issue of Volga-Don Waterway Connecting)
Journal: The World of the Orient
Year: 2024

The functioning of the waterway connecting the Don and Volga Rivers remains one of the most controversial issues in historical geography. According to the prevailing opinion, this route traversed the Kerch Strait, the Sea of Azov, the lower reaches of the Don River, and an overland portage to the lower Volga. Medieval Muslim geographers referred to the existence of an overland portage between the Don and Volga Rivers during the early Middle Ages, often describing it as a strait. Ideas about a wa