Ibn Battuta
ابن بطوطة
The Greatest Traveler of the Pre-Modern World
Born: 1304
Died: ~1369
Also known as: Abu Abdullah Muhammad ibn Battuta, Shams al-Din
Ibn Battuta was a Moroccan scholar who traveled approximately 73,000 miles across the Islamic world and beyond over nearly 30 years. His Rihla (travelogue), dictated upon his return, is the most comprehensive firsthand account of the 14th-century world and an invaluable historical source.
Key Accomplishments
- Traveled approximately 73,000 miles across Africa, Asia, and Europe over nearly 30 years
- Produced the Rihla, the most comprehensive firsthand account of the 14th-century world
- Visited and described dozens of kingdoms, from the Mali Empire to Yuan China
- Served as a qadi in the Maldives and a diplomat for the Delhi Sultanate
The Full Story
Born in Tangier, Morocco, to a family of Maliki legal scholars, Ibn Battuta set out on the hajj to Mecca in 1325 at the age of 21. What began as a pilgrimage became a nearly three-decade journey covering most of the known Islamic world and beyond. He traversed North Africa, the Horn of Africa, West Africa, the Middle East, Central Asia, South Asia, Southeast Asia, and China, covering an estimated 73,000 miles.
Ibn Battuta's travels provide an unparalleled window into the 14th-century world. He described the Black Death ravaging Damascus and Egypt, visited the golden court of Mansa Musa's successors in Mali, served as a qadi in the Maldives, narrowly escaped pirates in the Indian Ocean, and witnessed the vast extent of the Mongol domains. He visited the Delhi Sultanate, where Sultan Muhammad ibn Tughluq appointed him a judge, and traveled to China during the Yuan dynasty.
Upon his return to Morocco around 1354, Sultan Abu Inan Faris commissioned the scholar Ibn Juzayy to record Ibn Battuta's account. The resulting Rihla (full title: A Gift to Those Who Contemplate the Wonders of Cities and the Marvels of Travelling) blends personal narrative with detailed observations of geography, customs, architecture, and politics. While some scholars have questioned whether he visited every place he claims, the Rihla remains the single most important travelogue of the medieval Islamic world.
Notable Words
“Travelling leaves you speechless, then turns you into a storyteller.”
- Attributed, Rihla tradition
Places
Connected Figures
Notes
Sources
- [1]Dunn, Ross E. The Adventures of Ibn Battuta: A Muslim Traveler of the Fourteenth Century. University of California Press, 2005.
- [2]Gibb, H.A.R., trans. The Travels of Ibn Battuta. Hakluyt Society, 1958-2000.
- [3]Mackintosh-Smith, Tim. Travels with a Tangerine: A Journey in the Footnotes of Ibn Battutah. John Murray, 2001.