The 13th Warrior is a novel about an Arab messenger from a king in Baghdad who is sent with a large party to teach a Viking king about Islam. The Story takes place in the year 922 A.D. The messenger's name is Ahmad Ibn-Fadlan. The story is told as if it was Ibn-Fadlan's diary.

Ibn-Fadlan leads his party up north to Scandinavia. At first he is taken by surprise by the cold conditions. He is even more surprised when he begins to encounter the tribes living in those areas. Compared to the other Arabs he always knew in Baghdad, these people are barbarians. They speak in a language that he has never heard before. They are extremely unsanitary and dirty. They also do many things that in Ibn-Fadlan's eyes are unthinkable. Another thing that really amazes him is these people's size, strength and fighting ability. Since Ibn-Fadlan is...