Arthania
Arthania was one of the three states of the Rus or Saqaliba with its capital in Artha. The Persian geographer Abu Zayd al-Balkhi described Arthania in his book dating from CE and mentioned in works by some of his followers:. The two other Rus centers identified in the Arabic-language sources were Slawiya and Kuyaba.
Ibn Hawqal claims that nobody had ever visited Artha because the locals killed every foreigner attempting to penetrate their land. They are involved in trade with Kuyaba, selling sable furs, lead, and a modicum of slaves.
Modern scholars 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 Erzya and the Plisnesk hillfort in the Upper Western Bug. George Vernadsky located Arsa on the Taman Peninsula, 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 serving the Volga trade route. Archaeological evidence points to Sarskoe Gorodishche and Timerevo as this area's main centers. The native name of either town remains unknown.