Arthania (Arabic: ارثانية ’Arṯāniya,[1] Russian: Арcания, Ukrainian: Артанія, Belarusian: Артанія) was one of the three states of the Rus[1][2] or Saqaliba (early East Slavs)[3] with the center in Artha described in a lost book by Abu Zayd al-Balkhi (dating from ca.
[1][2][4] 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.
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 (an ethnic group of the Mordva nation; see Gelons and Mordvins) and the Plisnesk hillfort in the Upper Western Bug.
[9] Modern Russian historiography tends to identify Arthania with the land of the Merya serving the Volga trade route.