Arthania ( ''’Arṯāniya'', , , ) was one of the three states of the Rus' people, Rus or Saqaliba (early East Slavs) with the center in Artha described in a lost book by Abu Zayd al-Balkhi (dating from ca. 920) and mentioned in works by some of his followers (Ibn Hawqal, Estakhri, Al-Istakhri, Hudud ul-'alam).Oriental Sources on Old East Slavs, by An. Novoseltsev
/ref> The two other centers were Slawiya ( ''Ṣ(a)lāwiya''; tentatively identified with the land of Ilmen Slavs, see Rus Khaganate) and Kuyaba ( ''Kūyāba''; usually identified with Kyiv). Ibn Hawqal claims that nobody has ever visited Artha because the locals kill every foreigner attempting to penetrate their land. They are involved in trade with Kuyaba, selling sable furs, lead, and a modicum of slaves. Modern historians have been unable to pinpoint the location of Arthania. A linguistic line of argument leads some historians to such far-away places as Cape Arkona on the Baltic Sea, the land of the Mordvins, Erzya (an ethnic group of the Mordva nation; see ''Gelons and Mordvins'') and the Plisnesk archaeological complex, Plisnesk hillfort in the Upper Western Bug.Древнерусское государство и его международное значение. М., 1965. Стр. 417-418. George Vernadsky located Arsa on the Taman Peninsula (see Tmutarakan), while Vladimir Minorsky connected "Arsa" with Ryazan. No archaeological confirmation of these linguistic speculations has ever been produced. Modern Russian historiography tends to identify Arthania with the land of the Merya people, Merya serving the Volga trade route.Отечественная история: история России с древнейших времен до 1917 года. Том 1. Стр. 157. Большая Российская энциклопедия, 1994.
Anatoli Novoseltsev. Образование Древнерусского государства и первый его правитель. // Вопросы истории. 1991. № 2-3. С. 9.
Мачинский А.А. О времени и обстоятельствах первого появления славян на северо-западе Восточной Европы по данным письменных источников. // Северная Русь и ее соседи в эпоху раннего средневековья. Л., 1982. С. 22. Archaeological evidence points to Sarskoe Gorodishche and Timerevo as its main centers. The native name of either town remains unknown.

References

{{reflist, 30em History of the Rus' people Former countries in Europe Medieval history of Russia