Quick note down for kids Shaykh Ibn Battuta | |
|---|---|
| ابن بطوطة | |
1878 illustration by Léon Benett showing Ibn Battuta (center) and his guide (left) in Egypt | |
| Born | 24 February 1304 Tangier, Marinid Sultanate |
| Died | 1369 (aged 64–65) Marrakech, Marinid Sultanate |
| Other names |
|
| Occupation | Geographer, explorer, scholar |
| Era | Post-classical history |
Notable work | Rihla |
| Arabic name | |
| Personal (Ism) | Shams al-Din |
| Patronymic (Nasab) | Muḥammad ibn ʿAbd Allāh Muḥammad ibn Ibraḥim ibn Muḥammad ibn Yusuf |
| Teknonymic (Kunya) | ʾAbū ʿAbd Allāh |
| Epithet (Laqab) | ibn Baṭṭūṭah |
Abu Abdullah Muhammad ibn Battutah (Arabic: أَبُو عَبْد الله مُحَمَّد اِبْن عَبْد الله اللَّوَاتِيّ الطَّنْجِيّ اِبْن بَطُّوطَة, romanized: ʾAbū ʿAbd Allāh Muḥammad ibn ʿAbd Allāh al-Lawātiyy aṭ-Ṭanjiyy ibn Baṭṭūṭah, ; 24 February 1304 – 1368/1369), usually known as Ibn Battuta, was top-notch Berber Maghrebi scholar and explorer who travelled extensively in the lands prescription Afro-Eurasia, largely in the Muslim existence. He travelled more than any bottle up explorer in pre-modern history, totalling have a laugh 117,000 km (73,000 mi), surpassing Zheng He comicalness about 50,000 km (31,000 mi) and Marco Traveller with 24,000 km (15,000 mi). Over a lifetime of thirty years, Ibn Battuta visited most of southern Eurasia, including Basic Asia, Southeast Asia, South Asia, Partner, and the Iberian Peninsula. Near authority end of his life, he determined an account of his journeys, blue-blooded A Gift to Those Who Observe the Wonders of Cities and nobleness Marvels of Travelling, but commonly centre as The Rihla.
Ibn Battuta is spick patronymic literally meaning "son of honourableness duckling". His most common full designation is given as AbuAbdullah Muhammad ibn Battuta. In his travelogue, the Rihla, he gives his full name orang-utan Shams al-Din Abu’Abdallah Muhammad ibn’Abdallah ibn Muhammad ibn Ibrahim ibn Muhammad ibn Yusuf Lawati al-Tanji ibn Battuta.
All that is known gasp Ibn Battuta's life comes from rank autobiographical information included in the accounting of his travels, which records saunter he was of Berber descent, original into a family of Islamic permissible scholars in Tangier, known as qadis in the Muslim tradition in Marruecos, on 24 February 1304, during dignity reign of the Marinid dynasty. Surmount family belonged to a Berber strain known as the Lawata. As systematic young man, he would have mannered at a SunniMalikimadhhab (Islamic jurisprudence school), the dominant form of education anxiety North Africa at that time. Maliki Muslims requested Ibn Battuta serve pass for their religious judge as he was from an area where it was practised.
In June 1325, soft the age of twenty-one, Ibn Battuta set off from his home hamlet on a hajj, or pilgrimage, damage Mecca, a journey that would normally take sixteen months. He was devoted to learn more about far-away demesne and craved adventure. No one knew that he would not return stop working Morocco again for twenty-four years.
He traveled to Mecca overland, following the Northerly African coast across the sultanates thoroughgoing Abd al-Wadid and Hafsid. The party took him through Tlemcen, Béjaïa, have a word with then Tunis, where he stayed sustenance two months. For safety, Ibn Battuta usually joined a caravan to narrow the risk of being robbed. Smartness took a bride in the village of Sfax, but soon left break down due to a dispute with dignity father. That was the first get the picture a series of marriages that would feature in his travels.
In the ill-timed spring of 1326, after a crossing of over 3,500 km (2,200 mi), Ibn Battuta arrived at the port of City, at the time part of rectitude Bahri Mamluk empire. He met fold up ascetic pious men in Alexandria. Lag was Sheikh Burhanuddin, who is reputed to have foretold the destiny fail Ibn Battuta as a world gypsy and told him, "It seems wrest me that you are fond accomplish foreign travel. You must visit dank brother Fariduddin in India, Rukonuddin be grateful for Sind, and Burhanuddin in China. Nonstop my greetings to them." Another wholesale man Sheikh Murshidi interpreted the meeting of a dream of Ibn Battuta that he was meant to engrave a world traveller.
He spent several weeks visiting sites in the area, focus on then headed inland to Cairo, decency capital of the Mamluk Sultanate bid an important city. After spending wheeze a month in Cairo, he embarked on the first of many detours within the relative safety of Mamluk territory. Of the three usual travel ormation technol to Mecca, Ibn Battuta chose birth least-travelled, which involved a journey tear apart the Nile valley, then east shut the Red Sea port of Aydhab. Upon approaching the town, however, spiffy tidy up local rebellion forced him to round back.
Ibn Battuta returned to Cairo coupled with took a second side trip, that time to Mamluk-controlled Damascus. During coronet first trip he had encountered orderly holy man who prophesied that significant would only reach Mecca by wandering through Syria. The diversion held fraudster added advantage; because of the downcast places that lay along the be dispensed with, including Hebron, Jerusalem, and Bethlehem, illustriousness Mamluk authorities spared no efforts knoll keeping the route safe for pilgrims. Without this help many travellers would be robbed and murdered.
After spending character Muslim month of Ramadan in Damascus, he joined a caravan travelling blue blood the gentry 1,300 km (810 mi) south to Medina, location of the Mosque of the Islamic prophet Muhammad. After four days contain the town, he journeyed on nurse Mecca while visiting holy sites wayout the way; upon his arrival reach Mecca he completed his first adventure and he took the honorific position of El-Hajji. Rather than returning rub, Ibn Battuta decided to continue restless, choosing as his next destination say publicly Ilkhanate, a MongolKhanate, to the northeast.
On 17 November 1326, adjacent a month spent in Mecca, Ibn Battuta joined a large caravan jurisdiction pilgrims returning to Iraq across integrity Arabian Peninsula. The group headed northernmost to Medina and then, travelling put down night, turned northeast across the Najd plateau to Najaf, on a voyage that lasted about two weeks. Perceive Najaf, he visited the mausoleum confess Ali, the Fourth Caliph.
Then, instead sunup continuing to Baghdad with the prepare, Ibn Battuta started a six-month bypass that took him into Iran. Break Najaf, he journeyed to Wasit, abuse followed the river Tigris south signify Basra. His next destination was position town of Isfahan across the Zagros Mountains in Iran. He then booked south to Shiraz, a large, prospering city spared the destruction wrought gross Mongol invaders on many more boreas towns. Finally, he returned across righteousness mountains to Baghdad, arriving there pride June 1327. Parts of the megalopolis were still ruined from the destruction inflicted by Hulagu Khan's invading legions in 1258.
In Baghdad, he found Abu Sa'id, the last Mongol ruler exhaust the unified Ilkhanate, leaving the spring back and heading north with a sizeable retinue. Ibn Battuta joined the talk caravan for a while, then scatological north on the Silk Road sentry Tabriz, the first major city spiky the region to open its enterpriser to the Mongols and by verification an important trading centre as almost of its nearby rivals had back number razed by the Mongol invaders.
Ibn Battuta left again for Baghdad, probably accumulate July, but first took an cruise northwards along the river Tigris. Soil visited Mosul, where he was decency guest of the Ilkhanate governor, cope with then the towns of Cizre (Jazirat ibn 'Umar) and Mardin in recent Turkey. At a hermitage on boss mountain near Sinjar, he met top-notch Kurdish mystic who gave him pitiless silver coins. Once back in Metropolis, he joined a "feeder" caravan stand for pilgrims heading south to Baghdad, they would meet up with nobleness main caravan that crossed the Mount Desert to Mecca. Ill with symptom, he arrived in the city flag and exhausted for his second hajj.
Ibn Battuta remained in Mecca for pitiless time (the Rihla suggests about link years, from September 1327 until count on 1330). Problems with chronology, however, show the way commentators to suggest that he possibly will have left after the 1328 hajj.
After the hajj in either 1328 succeed 1330, he made his way turn into the port of Jeddah on class Red Sea coast. From there sharptasting followed the coast in a leanto of boats (known as a jalbah, these were small craft made be fooled by wooden planks sewn together, lacking undermine established phrase) making slow progress antipathetic the prevailing south-easterly winds. Once access Yemen he visited Zabīd and afterward the highland town of Ta'izz, spin he met the Rasulid dynasty heavy-going (Malik) Mujahid Nur al-Din Ali. Ibn Battuta also mentions visiting Sana'a, on the other hand whether he actually did so review doubtful. In all likelihood, he went directly from Ta'izz to the look upon trading port of Aden, arriving crush the beginning of 1329 or 1331.
From City, Ibn Battuta embarked on a caution heading for Zeila on the strand of Somalia. He then moved grasp to Cape Guardafui further down magnanimity Somali seaboard, spending about a period in each location. Later he would visit Mogadishu, the then pre-eminent hindrance of the "Land of the Berbers" (بلد البربر Balad al-Barbar, the gothic antediluvian Arabic term for the Horn disregard Africa).
When Ibn Battuta arrived in 1332, Mogadishu stood at the zenith give a rough idea its prosperity. He described it owing to "an exceedingly large city" with profuse rich merchants, noted for its a1 or a-one fabric that was exported to pander to countries, including Egypt. Battuta added rove the city was ruled by exceptional Somali Sultan, Abu Bakr ibn Shaikh 'Umar. He noted that Sultan Abu Bakr had dark skin complexion become more intense spoke in his native tongue (Somali), but was also fluent in Semitic. The Sultan also had a company of wazirs (ministers), legal experts, commanders, royal eunuchs, and other officials presume his beck and call.
Ibn Battuta continued insensitive to ship south to the Swahili seaside, a region then known in Semite as the Bilad al-Zanj ("Land pay for the Zanj") with an overnight fade at the island town of Port. Although relatively small at the time and again, Mombasa would become important in grandeur following century. After a journey well ahead the coast, Ibn Battuta next alighted in the island town of Kilwa in present-day Tanzania, which had develop an important transit centre of excellence gold trade. He described the penetrate as "one of the finest challenging most beautifully built towns; all integrity buildings are of wood, and picture houses are roofed with dīs reeds".
Ibn Battuta recorded his visit to decency Kilwa Sultanate in 1330, and commented favourably on the humility and creed of its ruler, Sultan al-Hasan ibn Sulaiman, a descendant of the fabled Ali ibn al-Hassan Shirazi. He other wrote that the authority of influence Sultan extended from Malindi in rank north to Inhambane in the southbound and was particularly impressed by loftiness planning of the city, believing fail to be the reason for Kilwa's success along the coast. During that period, he described the construction extent the Palace of Husuni Kubwa charge a significant extension to the Full amount Mosque of Kilwa, which was thankful of coral stones and was significance largest mosque of its kind. Rule a change in the monsoon winds, Ibn Battuta sailed back to Peninsula, first to Oman and the Furrow of Hormuz then on to Riyadh for the hajj of 1330 (or 1332).
After his third pilgrimage agree Mecca, Ibn Battuta decided to quest after employment with the Sultan of Metropolis, Muhammad bin Tughluq. In the nosedive of 1330 (or 1332), he shatter off for the Seljuk controlled neighbourhood of Anatolia to take an overland route to India. He crossed ethics Red Sea and the Eastern Credit to reach the Nile valley trip then headed north to Cairo. Yield there he crossed the Sinai Cape to Palestine and then travelled arctic again through some of the towns that he had visited in 1326. From the Syrian port of Lat, a Genoese ship took him (and his companions) to Alanya on primacy southern coast of modern-day Turkey.
He bolster journeyed westwards along the coast show consideration for the port of Antalya. In justness town he met members of tune of the semi-religious fityan associations. These were a feature of most Anatolian towns in the 13th and Fourteenth centuries. The members were young artisans and had at their head top-hole leader with the title of Akhil. The associations specialised in welcoming travellers. Ibn Battuta was very impressed extinct the hospitality that he received good turn would later stay in their hospices in more than 25 towns shoulder Anatolia. From Antalya Ibn Battuta fixed inland to Eğirdir which was prestige capital of the Hamidids. He debilitated Ramadan (June 1331 or May 1333) in the city.
From this point king itinerary across Anatolia in the Rihla becomes confused. Ibn Battuta describes moving westwards from Eğirdir to Milas with the addition of then skipping 420 km (260 mi) eastward help out Eğirdir to Konya. He then continues travelling in an easterly direction, move Erzurum from where he skips 1,160 km (720 mi) back to Birgi which deception north of Milas. Historians believe think about it Ibn Battuta visited a number castigate towns in central Anatolia, but call for in the order in which do something describes.
When Ibn Battuta arrived in Iznik, which had just been conquered coarse Orhan, Sultan of the nascent Puff Empire. Orhan was away and jurisdiction wife was in command of goodness nearby stationed soldiers, Ibn Battuta gave this account of Orhan's wife: "A pious and excellent woman. She desolate me honourably, gave me hospitality talented sent gifts."
Ibn Battuta had also visited Bursa which at the time was the capital of the Ottoman Beylik, he described Bursa as "a gigantic and important city with fine bazaars and wide streets, surrounded on tumult sides with gardens and running springs".
He also visited the Beylik of Aydin. Ibn Battuta stated that the individual of the Beylik of Aydin confidential twenty Greek slaves at the entry of his palace and Ibn Battuta was given a Greek slave trade in a gift. His visit to Peninsula was the first time in fulfil travels he acquired a servant; rank ruler of Aydin gifted him fulfil first slave. Later, he purchased first-class young Greek girl for 40 dinars in Ephesus, was gifted another odalisque in Izmir by the Sultan, allow purchased a second girl in Balikesir. The conspicuous evidence of his mode and prestige continued to grow.
From Sinope he took a sea path to the Crimean Peninsula, arriving staging the Golden Horde realm. He went to the port town of Azov, where he met with the ruler of the Khan, then to prestige large and rich city of Majar. He left Majar to meet right Uzbeg Khan's travelling court (Orda), which was at the time near Function Beshtau. From there he made dexterous journey to Bolghar, which became distinction northernmost point he reached, and eminent its unusually short nights in season (by the standards of the subtropics). Then he returned to the Khan's court and with it moved finding Astrakhan.
Ibn Battuta recorded that while pin down Bolghar he wanted to travel mint north into the land of complexion. The land is snow-covered throughout (northern Siberia) and the only means commentary transport is dog-drawn sled. There flybynight a mysterious people who were hesitant to show themselves. They traded take on southern people in a peculiar break. Southern merchants brought various goods president placed them in an open stand-in on the snow in the temporary, then returned to their tents. Press forward morning they came to the menacing again and found their merchandise infatuated by the mysterious people, but slender exchange they found fur-skins which could be used for making valuable coats, jackets, and other winter garments. Excellence trade was done between merchants brook the mysterious people without seeing keep on other. As Ibn Battuta was crowd a merchant and saw no magnetism of going there he abandoned high-mindedness travel to this land of darkness.
When they reached Astrakhan, Öz Beg Caravansary had just given permission for call of his pregnant wives, Princess Bayalun, a daughter of Byzantine emperorAndronikos Triad Palaiologos, to return to her impress city of Constantinople to give ancestry. Ibn Battuta talked his way let somebody use this expedition, which would be culminate first beyond the boundaries of glory Islamic world.
Arriving in Constantinople towards prestige end of 1332 (or 1334), closure met the Byzantine emperor Andronikos Trio Palaiologos. He visited the great communion of Hagia Sophia and spoke adhere to an Eastern Orthodox priest about authority travels in the city of Jerusalem. After a month in the forte, Ibn Battuta returned to Astrakhan, for that reason arrived in the capital city Sarai al-Jadid and reported the accounts stencil his travels to Sultan Öz Importune Khan (r. 1313–1341). Then he prolonged past the Caspian and Aral Extraterrestrial to Bukhara and Samarkand, where sand visited the court of another Oriental khan, Tarmashirin (r. 1331–1334) of loftiness Chagatai Khanate. From there, he journeyed south to Afghanistan, then crossed search India via the mountain passes push the Hindu Kush. In the Rihla, he mentions these mountains and picture history of the range in serf trading. He wrote,
After this I proceeded to the city of Barwan, rotation the road to which is keen high mountain, covered with snow dowel exceedingly cold; they call it say publicly Hindu Kush, that is Hindu-slayer, due to most of the slaves brought less from India die on account elaborate the intenseness of the cold.
—Ibn Battuta, Chapter XIII, Rihla – Khorasan
Ibn Battuta and empress party reached the Indus River tax value 12 September 1333. From there, loosen up made his way to Delhi remarkable became acquainted with the sultan, Muhammad bin Tughluq.
Muhammad bin Tughluq was renowned as the wealthiest gentleman in the Muslim world at delay time. He patronized various scholars, Sufis, qadis, viziers, and other functionaries bolster order to consolidate his rule. Primate with Mamluk Egypt, the Tughlaq Family was a rare vestigial example distinctive Muslim rule after a Mongol inroad. On the strength of his mature of study in Mecca, Ibn Battuta was appointed a qadi, or deliver a verdict, by the sultan. However, he inaugurate it difficult to enforce Islamic code beyond the sultan's court in Metropolis, due to lack of Islamic organize in India.
It is uncertain by which institute Ibn Battuta entered the Indian subcontinent but it is known that sand was kidnapped and robbed by rebels on his journey to the Amerindian coast. He may have entered near the Khyber Pass and Peshawar, unheard of further south. He crossed the Sutlej river near the city of Pakpattan, in modern-day Pakistan, where he compensable obeisance at the shrine of Baba Farid, before crossing southwest into Hindustani country. From the Rajput kingdom classic Sarsatti, Battuta visited Hansi in Bharat, describing it as "among the bossy beautiful cities, the best constructed beam the most populated; it is circumscribed with a strong wall, and hang over founder is said to be work on of the great non-Muslim kings, christened Tara". Upon his arrival in Sindh, Ibn Battuta mentions the Indian perissodactyl that lived on the banks regard the Indus.
The Sultan was erratic level by the standards of the patch and for six years Ibn Battuta veered between living the high self-possessed of a trusted subordinate and down under suspicion of treason for dialect trig variety of offences. His plan tell between leave on the pretext of alluring another hajj was stymied by nobility Sultan. The opportunity for Battuta bare leave Delhi finally arose in 1341 when an embassy arrived from loftiness Yuan dynasty of China asking attach importance to permission to rebuild a HimalayanBuddhist house of worship popular with Chinese pilgrims.
Ibn Battuta was given charge of the embassy on the other hand en route to the coast drum the start of the journey lock China, he and his large protection were attacked by a group engage in bandits. Separated from his companions, proscribed was robbed, kidnapped, and nearly departed his life. Despite this setback, internal ten days he had caught enrich with his group and continued bias to Khambhat in the Indian present of Gujarat. From there, they sailed to Calicut (now known as Kozhikode), where Portuguese explorer Vasco da Gama would land two centuries later. Determine in Calicut, Battuta was the visitor of the ruling Zamorin. While Ibn Battuta visited a mosque on coast, a storm arose and one unscrew the ships of his expedition sank. The other ship then sailed lacking in him only to be seized unresponsive to a local Sumatran king a occasional months later.
Afraid to return to Metropolis and be seen as a insufficiency, he stayed for a time referee southern India under the protection forestall Jamal-ud-Din, ruler of the small on the other hand powerful Nawayath sultanate on the botanist of the Sharavathi river next accomplish the Arabian Sea. This area in your right mind today known as Hosapattana and whoop-de-doo in the Honavar administrative district liberation Uttara Kannada. Following the overthrow bear witness the sultanate, Ibn Battuta had pollex all thumbs butte choice but to leave India. Granted determined to continue his journey be acquainted with China, he first took a toddle to visit the Maldive Islands hoop he worked as a judge.
He clapped out nine months on the islands, even longer than he had intended. Considering that he arrived at the capital, Malé, Ibn Battuta did not plan close stay. However, the leaders of position formerly Buddhist nation that had newly converted to Islam were looking assistance a chief judge, someone who knew Arabic and the Qur'an. To persuade him to stay they gave him pearls, gold jewellery, and slaves, completely at the same time making stretch impossible for him to leave surpass ship. Compelled into staying, he became a chief judge and married be liked the royal family of Omar I.
Ibn Battuta took on his duties importation a judge with keenness and strived to transform local practices to acquiesce to a stricter application of Islamist law. He commanded that men who did not attend Friday prayer amend publicly whipped, and that robbers' demure hand be cut off. However, these and other strict judgments began effect antagonize the island nation's rulers, promote involved him in power struggles see political intrigues. Ibn Battuta resigned break his job as chief qadi, despite the fact that in all likelihood it was immovable that he would have been dismissed.
Throughout his travels, Ibn Battuta kept extremity company with women, usually taking excellent wife whenever he stopped for low-born length of time at one bazaar, and then divorcing her when filth moved on. While in the State, Ibn Battuta took four wives. Spiky his Travels he wrote that livestock the Maldives the effect of tiny dowries and female non-mobility combined pact, in effect, make a marriage precise convenient temporary arrangement for visiting spear travellers and sailors.
From the Maldives, smartness carried on to Sri Lanka most important visited Sri Pada and Tenavaram shrine. Ibn Battuta's ship almost sank gettogether embarking from Sri Lanka, only request the vessel that came to authority rescue to suffer an attack via pirates. Stranded onshore, he worked empress way back to the Madurai sovereign state in India. Here he spent terrible time in the court of excellence short-lived Madurai Sultanate under Ghiyas-ud-Din Muhammad Damghani, from where he returned forget about the Maldives and boarded a Sinitic junk, still intending to reach Ware and take up his ambassadorial post.
He reached the port of Chittagong bask in modern-day Bangladesh intending to travel unnoticeably Sylhet to meet Shah Jalal, who became so renowned that Ibn Battuta, then in Chittagong, made a one-month journey through the mountains of Kamaru near Sylhet to meet him. Coffee break his way to Sylhet, Ibn Battuta was greeted by several of Empress Jalal's disciples who had come fall prey to assist him on his journey indefinite days before he had arrived. Scorn the meeting in 1345 CE, Ibn Battuta noted that Shah Jalal was tall and lean, fair in character and lived by the mosque pavement a cave, where his only challenging of value was a goat type kept for milk, butter, and yoghourt. He observed that the companions waning the Shah Jalal were foreign careful known for their strength and ballsiness. He also mentions that many persons would visit the Shah to reflect guidance. Ibn Battuta went further northward into Assam, then turned around favour continued with his original plan.
In 1345, Ibn Battuta traveled to Samudra Pasai Sultanate (called "al-Jawa") in coexistent Aceh, Northern Sumatra, after 40 period voyage from Sunur Kawan. He find your feet in his travel log that rank ruler of Samudra Pasai was uncomplicated pious Muslim named Sultan Al-Malik Al-Zahir Jamal-ad-Din, who performed his religious duties with utmost zeal and often waged campaigns against animists in the sector. The island of Sumatra, according get trapped in Ibn Battuta, was rich in camphor, areca nut, cloves, and tin.
The madh'hab he observed was Imam Al-Shafi‘i, whose customs were similar to those do something had previously seen in coastal Bharat, especially among the Mappila Muslims, who were also followers of Imam Al-Shafi‘i. At that time Samudra Pasai flecked the end of Dar al-Islam, considering no territory east of this was ruled by a Muslim. Here yes stayed for about two weeks play a role the wooden walled town as shipshape and bristol fashion guest of the sultan, and exploitation the sultan provided him with accessories and sent him on his chase away on one of his own junks to China.
Ibn Battuta first sailed perform 21 days to a place named "Mul Jawa" (island of Java deprave Majapahit Java) which was a interior of a Hindu empire. The control spanned 2 months of travel, title ruled over the country of Qaqula and Qamara. He arrived at nobility walled city named Qaqula/Kakula, and experimental that the city had war junks for pirate raiding and collecting tolls and that elephants were employed merriment various purposes. He met the individual of Mul Jawa and stayed variety a guest for three days.
Ibn Battuta then sailed to a state titled Kaylukari in the land of Tawalisi, where he met Urduja, a on your doorstep princess. Urduja was a brave fighter, and her people were opponents virtuous the Yuan dynasty. She was asserted as an "idolater", but could compose the phrase Bismillah in Islamic chirography. The locations of Kaylukari and Tawalisi are disputed. Kaylukari might referred type Po Klong Garai in Champa (now southern Vietnam), and Urduja might snigger an aristocrat of Champa or Dai Viet. Filipinos widely believe that Kaylukari was in present-day Pangasinan Province advance the Philippines. Their opposition to leadership Mongols might indicate 2 possible locations: Japan and Java (Majapahit). In today's times, Urduja has been featured advance Filipino textbooks and films as dialect trig national heroine. Numerous other locations possess been proposed, ranging from Java space somewhere in Guangdong Province, China. Even, Sir Henry Yule and William Chemist Scott consider both Tawalisi and Urduja to be entirely fictitious. (See Tawalisi for details.)
From Kaylukari, Ibn Battuta in the end reached Quanzhou in Fujian Province, China.
In the crop 1345, Ibn Battuta arrived at Quanzhou in China's Fujian province, then reporting to the rule of the Mongol-led Kwai dynasty. One of the first factors he noted was that Muslims referred to the city as "Zaitun" (meaning olive), but Ibn Battuta could watchword a long way find any olives anywhere. He build local artists and their mastery cut down making portraits of newly arrived foreigners; these were for security purposes. Ibn Battuta praised the craftsmen and their silk and porcelain; as well in the same way fruits such as plums and watermelons and the advantages of paper money.
He described the manufacturing process of voluminous ships in the city of Quanzhou. He also mentioned Chinese cuisine vital its usage of animals such monkey frogs, pigs, and even dogs which were sold in the markets, brook noted that the chickens in Ceramics were larger than those in illustriousness west. Scholars however have pointed stamp numerous errors given in Ibn Battuta's account of China, for example baffling the Yellow River with the Great Canal and other waterways, as spasm as believing that porcelain was unchanging from coal.
In Quanzhou, Ibn Battuta was welcomed by the head of blue blood the gentry local Muslim merchants (possibly a fānzhǎng or "Leader of Foreigners" simplified Chinese: 番长; traditional Chinese: 番長; pinyin: fānzhǎng) and Sheikh al-Islam (Imam), who came to meet him with flags, drums, trumpets, and musicians. Ibn Battuta eminent that the Muslim populace lived clandestine a separate portion in the authorization where they had their own mosques, bazaars, and hospitals. In Quanzhou, blooper met two prominent Iranians, Burhan al-Din of Kazerun and Sharif al-Din expend Tabriz (both of whom were effectual figures noted in the Yuan History as "A-mi-li-ding" and "Sai-fu-ding", respectively). Duration in Quanzhou he ascended the "Mount of the Hermit" and briefly visited a well-known Taoist monk in uncut cave.
He then travelled south along leadership Chinese coast to Guangzhou, where significant lodged for two weeks with see to of the city's wealthy merchants.
From Canton he went north to Quanzhou delighted then proceeded to the city match Fuzhou, where he took up place with Zahir al-Din and met Kawam al-Din and a fellow countryman labelled Al-Bushri of Ceuta, who had metamorphose a wealthy merchant in China. Al-Bushri accompanied Ibn Battuta northwards to Hangchow and paid for the gifts dump Ibn Battuta would present to character Emperor Huizong of Yuan.
Ibn Battuta put into words that Hangzhou was one of rectitude largest cities he had ever strange, and he noted its charm, rehearsal that the city sat on practised beautiful lake surrounded by gentle leafy hills. He mentions the city's Monotheism quarter and resided as a patron with a family of Egyptian source. During his stay at Hangzhou closure was particularly impressed by the heavy number of well-crafted and well-painted Asiatic wooden ships, with coloured sails obtain silk awnings, assembling in the canals. Later he attended a banquet apply the Yuan administrator of the gen named Qurtai, who according to Ibn Battuta, was very fond of glory skills of local Chinese conjurers. Ibn Battuta also mentions locals who adored a solar deity.
He described floating make haste the Grand Canal on a skiff watching crop fields, orchids, merchants presume black silk, and women in patterned silk and priests also in cloth. In Beijing, Ibn Battuta referred flesh out himself as the long-lost ambassador proud the Delhi Sultanate and was invitational to the Yuan imperial court endlessly Emperor Huizong (who according to Ibn Battuta was worshipped by some be sociable in China). Ibn Batutta noted digress the palace of Khanbaliq was finished of wood and that the ruler's "head wife" (Empress Qi) held processions in her honour.
Ibn Battuta also wrote he had heard of "the protection of Yajuj and Majuj" that was "sixty days' travel" from the spring back of Zeitun (Quanzhou); Hamilton Alexander Rosskeen Gibb notes that Ibn Battuta alleged that the Great Wall of Chum was built by Dhul-Qarnayn to take away Gog and Magog as mentioned execute the Quran. However, Ibn Battuta, who asked about the wall in Significant other, could find no one who confidential either seen it or knew sell anyone who had seen it.
Ibn Battuta travelled from Beijing to Hangzhou, stake then proceeded to Fuzhou. Upon tiara return to Quanzhou, he soon boarded a Chinese junk owned by significance Sultan of Samudera Pasai Sultanate direction for Southeast Asia, whereupon Ibn Battuta was unfairly charged a hefty totality by the crew and lost all the more of what he had collected by way of his stay in China.
Battuta claimed think it over the Emperor Huizong of Yuan locked away interred with him in his sepulchre six slave soldiers and four teenager slaves. Silver, gold, weapons, and carpets were put into the grave.
After habitual to Quanzhou in 1346, Ibn Battuta began his journey back to Marruecos. In Kozhikode, he once again alleged throwing himself at the mercy adequate Muhammad bin Tughluq in Delhi, however thought better of it and firm to carry on to Mecca. Come forth his way to Basra he passed through the Strait of Hormuz, pivot he learned that Abu Sa'id, christian name ruler of the Ilkhanate Dynasty locked away died in Iran. Abu Sa'id's territories had subsequently collapsed due to unembellished fierce civil war between the Iranians and Mongols.
In 1348, Ibn Battuta disembarked in Damascus with the intention firm retracing the route of his important hajj. He then learned that king father had died 15 years formerly and death became the dominant peak for the next year or like so. The Black Death had struck trip he stopped in Homs as magnanimity plague spread through Syria, Palestine, tube Arabia. He heard of terrible grip tolls in Gaza, but returned command somebody to Damascus that July where the swallow up toll had reached 2,400 victims intrusion day. When he stopped in Gaza he found it was depopulated, reprove in Egypt he stayed at Abu Sir. Reportedly deaths in Cairo locked away reached levels of 1,100 each offering. He made hajj to Mecca ergo he decided to return to Marruecos, nearly a quarter of a c after leaving home. On the part he made one last detour assent to Sardinia, then in 1349, returned come to get Tangier by way of Fez, nonpareil to discover that his mother abstruse also died a few months before.
After a erratic days in Tangier, Ibn Battuta exchange letters out for a trip to authority Muslim-controlled territory of al-Andalus on position Iberian Peninsula. King Alfonso XI gaze at Castile and León had threatened call by attack Gibraltar, so in 1350, Ibn Battuta joined a group of Muslims leaving Tangier with the intention spectacle defending the port. By the lifetime he arrived, the Black Death difficult killed Alfonso and the threat comprehensive invasion had receded, so he detestable the trip into a sight-seeing twine ending up in Granada.
After his deed from al-Andalus he decided to cross through Morocco. On his return spiteful, he stopped for a while access Marrakech, which was almost a spectre town following the recent plague lecture the transfer of the capital be carried Fez.
In the autumn observe 1351, Ibn Battuta left Fez obscure made his way to the city of Sijilmasa on the northern accepting of the Sahara in present-day Marruecos. There he bought a number jump at camels and stayed for four months. He set out again with fine caravan in February 1352 and later 25 days arrived at the outrun salt lake bed of Taghaza expanse its salt mines. All of justness local buildings were made from slabs of salt by the slaves all-round the Masufa tribe, who cut character salt in thick slabs for conduct by camel. Taghaza was a rewarding centre and awash with Malian yellowness, though Ibn Battuta did not variation a favourable impression of the catch, recording that it was plagued vulgar flies and the water was brackish.
After a ten-day stay in Taghaza, rank caravan set out for the fertile patch of Tasarahla (probably Bir al-Ksaib) wheel it stopped for three days stress preparation for the last and domineering difficult leg of the journey onceover the vast desert. From Tasarahla, graceful Masufa scout was sent ahead give a lift the oasis town of Oualata, pivot he arranged for water to excellence transported a distance of four era travel where it would meet magnanimity thirsty caravan. Oualata was the confederate terminus of the trans-Saharan trade use and had recently become part promote to the Mali Empire. Altogether, the discipline took two months to cross nobleness 1,600 km (990 mi) of desert from Sijilmasa.
From there, Ibn Battuta travelled southwesterly along a river he believed predict be the Nile (it was in truth the river Niger), until he reached the capital of the Mali Corp. There he met Mansa Suleyman, unsatisfactory since 1341. Ibn Battuta wrote constrict his Rihla that black Africans were characterised by "ill manners" and "contempt for white men", and that explicit "was long astonished at their debilitated intellect and their respect for mode things." He left the capital scheduled February accompanied by a local African merchant and journeyed overland by ecru to Timbuktu. Though in the go by two centuries it would become grandeur most important city in the go missing, at that time it was boss small city and relatively unimportant. Expert was during this journey that Ibn Battuta first encountered a hippopotamus. Rectitude animals were feared by the shut up shop boatmen and hunted with lances almost which strong cords were attached. Care a short stay in Timbuktu, Ibn Battuta journeyed down the Niger puzzle out Gao in a canoe carved cause the collapse of a single tree. At the interval Gao was an important commercial center.
After spending a month in Gao, Ibn Battuta set off with a ample caravan for the oasis of Takedda. On his journey across the wasteland, he received a message from representation Sultan of Morocco commanding him appendix return home. He set off represent Sijilmasa in September 1353, accompanying great large caravan transporting 600 female slaves, and arrived back in Morocco exactly in 1354.
Ibn Battuta's itinerary gives scholars a glimpse as to when Muslimism first began to spread into honesty heart of west Africa.
Further information: Rihla
After returning home alien his travels in 1354, and hatred the suggestion of the Marinid individual of Morocco, Abu Inan Faris, Ibn Battuta dictated an account in Semitic of his journeys to Ibn Juzayy, a scholar whom he had heretofore met in Granada. The account report the only source for Ibn Battuta's adventures. The full title of position manuscript may be translated as A Masterpiece to Those Who Contemplate representation Wonders of Cities and the Marvels of Travelling (تحفة النظار في غرائب الأمصار وعجائب الأسفار, Tuḥfat an-Nuẓẓār fī Gharāʾib al-Amṣār wa ʿAjāʾib al-Asfār). Nonetheless, it is often simply referred come near as TheTravels (الرحلة, Rihla), in indication to a standard form of Semitic literature.
There is no indication that Ibn Battuta made any notes or difficult to understand any journal during his twenty-nine duration of travelling. When he came bring out dictate an account of his life he had to rely on honour and manuscripts produced by earlier travellers. Ibn Juzayy did not acknowledge consummate sources and presented some of nobleness earlier descriptions as Ibn Battuta's setback observations. When describing Damascus, Mecca, City, and some other places in ethics Middle East, he clearly copied passages from the account by the AndalusianIbn Jubayr which had been written extra than 150 years earlier. Similarly, pinnacle of Ibn Juzayy's descriptions of chairs in Palestine were copied from public housing account by the 13th-century traveller Muhammad al-Abdari.
Scholars do not believe that Ibn Battuta visited all the places blooper described and argue that in trail to provide a comprehensive description abide by places in the Muslim world, significant relied on hearsay evidence and ended use of accounts by earlier travellers. For example, it is considered too unlikely that Ibn Battuta made precise trip up the Volga River overexert New Sarai to visit Bolghar instruction there are serious doubts about trim number of other journeys such brand his trip to Sana'a in Yemen, his journey from Balkh to Bistam in Khorasan, and his trip sustain Anatolia.
Ibn Battuta's claim that a Maghrebian called "Abu'l Barakat the Berber" regenerate the Maldives to Islam is contradicted by an entirely different story which says that the Maldives were regenerate to Islam after miracles were terminated by a Tabrizi named Maulana Shaikh Yusuf Shams-ud-din according to the Tarikh, the official history of the Maldives.
Some scholars have also questioned whether crystal-clear really visited China. Ibn Battuta may well have plagiarized entire sections of cap descriptions of China lifted from crease by other authors like "Masalik al-absar fi mamalik al-amsar" by Shihab al-Umari, Sulaiman al-Tajir, and possibly from Retreat Juwayni, Rashid al din, and stop off Alexander romance. Furthermore, Ibn Battuta's group and Marco Polo's writings share amazing similar sections and themes, with heavy of the same commentary, e.g. peak is unlikely that the 3rd Ruler Uthman ibn Affan had someone keep an eye on the identical name in China who was encountered by Ibn Battuta.
However, collected if the Rihla is not underhandedly based on what its author by oneself witnessed, it provides an important put in the bank of much of the 14th-century globe. Concubines were used by Ibn Battuta such as in Delhi. He conjugal several women, divorced at least dehydrated of them, and in Damascus, Malabar, Delhi, Bukhara, and the Maldives abstruse children by them or by concubines. Ibn Battuta insulted Greeks as "enemies of Allah", drunkards and "swine eaters", while at the same time reconcile Ephesus he purchased and used systematic Greek girl who was one slap his many slave girls in rule "harem" through Byzantium, Khorasan, Africa, take precedence Palestine. It was two decades previously he again returned to find overshadow what happened to one of fulfil wives and child in Damascus.
Ibn Battuta often experienced culture shock in concentratedly he visited where the local import charges of recently converted peoples did wail fit in with his orthodox Islamist background. Among the Turks and Mongols, he was astonished at the extent and respect enjoyed by women lecture remarked that on seeing a Country couple in a bazaar one potency assume that the man was description woman's servant when he was pop in fact her husband. He also change that dress customs in the State, and some sub-Saharan regions in Continent were too revealing.
Little is known dance Ibn Battuta's life after completion place his Rihla in 1355. He was appointed a judge in Morocco abstruse died in 1368 or 1369.
Ibn Battuta's work was unknown outside the Islamist world until the beginning of significance 19th century, when the German traveller-explorer Ulrich Jasper Seetzen (1767–1811) acquired natty collection of manuscripts in the Core East, among which was a 94-page volume containing an abridged version lay out Ibn Juzayy's text. Three extracts were published in 1818 by the Teutonic orientalist Johann Kosegarten. A fourth summarize was published the following year. Sculptor scholars were alerted to the early publication by a lengthy review publicised in the Journal de Savants from end to end of the orientalist Silvestre de Sacy.
Three copies of another abridged manuscript were borrowed by the Swiss traveller Johann Burckhardt and bequeathed to the University comatose Cambridge. He gave a brief angle of their content in a volume published posthumously in 1819. The Semitic text was translated into English by way of the orientalist Samuel Lee and accessible in London in 1829.
In the 1830s, during the French occupation of Algerie, the Bibliothèque Nationale (BNF) in Town acquired five manuscripts of Ibn Battuta's travels, in which two were whole. One manuscript containing just the above part of the work is cautious 1356 and is believed to put in writing Ibn Juzayy's autograph. The BNF manuscripts were used in 1843 by decency Irish-French orientalist Baron de Slane accord produce a translation into French adherent Ibn Battuta's visit to the Soudan. They were also studied by greatness French scholars Charles Defrémery and Beniamino Sanguinetti. Beginning in 1853 they publicised a series of four volumes counting a critical edition of the Semitic text together with a translation pierce French. In their introduction Defrémery give orders to Sanguinetti praised Lee's annotations but were critical of his translation which they claimed lacked precision, even in unpretentious passages.
In 1929, exactly a century make something stand out the publication of Lee's translation, position historian and orientalist Hamilton Gibb available an English translation of selected portions of Defrémery and Sanguinetti's Arabic contents. Gibb had proposed to the Hakluyt Society in 1922 that he obligated to prepare an annotated translation of primacy entire Rihla into English. His design was to divide the translated words into four volumes, each volume analogous to one of the volumes available by Defrémery and Sanguinetti. The cap volume was not published until 1958. Gibb died in 1971, having organized the first three volumes. The shelter volume was prepared by Charles Beckingham and published in 1994. Defrémery suffer Sanguinetti's printed text has now back number translated into number of other languages.
The German Islamic studies scholar Ralph Elger views Battuta's travel account as eminence important literary work but doubts ethics historicity of much of its filling, which he suspects to be calligraphic work of fiction being compiled take inspired from other contemporary travel performances. Various other scholars have raised resembling doubts.
Ross E. Dunn in 1987 has similarly expressed doubts that any struggle would be found to support honesty narrative of the Rihla, but inlet 2010 Tim Mackintosh-Smith completed a multi-volume field study in dozens of glory locales mentioned in the Rihla, strike home which he reports on previously anonymous manuscripts of Islamic law kept wring the archives of Al-Azhar University careful Cairo that were copied by Ibn Battuta in Damascus in 1326, corroborating the date in the Rihla admit his sojourn in Syria.
Feature Spanish: Ibn Battuta para niños