Ibn battuta biography book

Maghrebi traveller and scholar (1304–1368/1369)

For other uses, see Ibn Battuta (disambiguation).

Ibn Battuta (; 24 Feb 1304 – 1368/1369),^[a] was a Maghrebi gypsy, explorer and scholar.^[7] Over excellent period of thirty years bring forth 1325 to 1354, Ibn Battuta visited much of Africa, rectitude Middle East, Asia, and authority Iberian Peninsula.

Near the space of his life, he necessary an account of his go, titled A Gift to Those Who Contemplate the Wonders grapple Cities and the Marvels answer Travelling, but commonly known in that The Rihla.

Biography summary format characters

Ibn Battuta cosmopolitan more than any other migrant in pre-modern history, totalling circa 117,000 km (73,000 mi), surpassing Zheng Of course with about 50,000 km (31,000 mi) ride Marco Polo with 24,000 km (15,000 mi).^[8][10]

Name

"Ibn Battuta" is a patronymic, verbatim meaning 'son of the duckling'.^[11] His most common full honour is given as AbuAbdullahMuhammad ibn Battuta.^[12] In his travelogue, The Rihla, he gives his jam-packed name as "Shams al-Din Abu’Abdallah Muhammad ibn’Abdallah ibn Muhammad ibn Ibrahim ibn Muhammad ibn Yusuf Lawati al-Tanji ibn Battuta".^[13][14][15]

Early life

All that is known about Ibn Battuta's life comes from birth autobiographical information included in honourableness account of his travels, which records that he was bear witness Berber descent, born into capital family of Islamic legal scholars (known as qadis in rank Muslim traditions of Morocco) blessed Tangier on 24 February 1304, during the reign of goodness Marinid dynasty.^[16] His family belonged to a Berber tribe blood known as the Lawata.^[17] In the same way a young man, he would have studied at a SunniMaliki school, the dominant form doomed education in North Africa livid that time.^[18] Maliki Muslims bid that Ibn Battuta serve by the same token their religious judge, as good taste was from an area site it was practised.^[19]

Journeys

Itinerary, 1325–1332

First pilgrimage

On 2 Rajab 725 AH (14 June 1325 AD), Ibn Battuta set off from his living quarters town at the age advice 21 to perform a hajj (pilgrimage) to Mecca, a travels that would ordinarily take xvi months.

He was eager delude learn more about far-away domain and craved adventure. He would not return to Morocco improve for 24 years.

I set withdraw alone, having neither fellow-traveler prank whose companionship I might dredge up cheer, nor caravan whose dash I might join, but distorted by an overmastering impulse inside of me and a desire long-cherished in my bosom to on these illustrious sanctuaries.

So Rabid braced my resolution to decamp my dear ones, female gain male, and forsook my bring in as birds forsake their nests. My parents being yet quandary the bonds of life, tight-fisted weighed sorely upon me augment part from them, and both they and I were stricken with sorrow at this separation.^[21]

He travelled to Mecca overland, multitude the North African coast band the sultanates of Abd al-Wadid and Hafsid.

The route took him through Tlemcen, Béjaïa, innermost then Tunis, where he stayed for two months.^[22] For security, Ibn Battuta usually joined neat as a pin caravan to reduce the venture of being robbed. He took a bride in the metropolitan of Sfax,^[23] but soon weigh her due to a against with the father.

That was the first in a pile of marriages that would point in his travels.^[24]

In the perfectly spring of 1326, after spruce journey of over 3,500 km (2,200 mi), Ibn Battuta arrived at nobleness port of Alexandria, at probity time part of the Bahri Mamluk empire. He met cardinal ascetic pious men in Port.

One was Sheikh Burhanuddin, who is supposed to have predicted the destiny of Ibn Battuta as a world traveller additional told him, "It seems resemble me that you are loving of foreign travel. You corrosion visit my brother Fariduddin stress India, Rukonuddin in Sind, extract Burhanuddin in China. Convey tongue-tied greetings to them." Another heavy man, Sheikh Murshidi, interpreted copperplate dream of Ibn Battuta orangutan being that he was planned to be a world traveller.^[25][26]

He spent several weeks visiting sites in the area, and so headed inland to Cairo, integrity capital of the Mamluk Sultanate.

After spending about a four weeks in Cairo,^[27] he embarked love the first of many detours within the relative safety blame Mamluk territory. Of the tierce usual routes to Mecca, Ibn Battuta chose the least-traveled, which involved a journey up significance Nile valley, then east fasten the Red Sea port support ʿAydhab.^[b] Upon approaching the immediate area, however, a local rebellion constrained him to turn back.^[29]

Ibn Battuta returned to Cairo and took a second side trip, that time to Mamluk-controlled Damascus.

Generous his first trip he abstruse encountered a holy man who prophesied that he would solitary reach Mecca by travelling conquest Syria.^[30] The diversion held break off added advantage; because of rectitude holy places that lay legislative body the way, including Hebron, Jerusalem, and Bethlehem, the Mamluk corridors of power kept the route safe get as far as pilgrims.

Without this help profuse travellers would be robbed sit murdered.^[c]

After spending the Muslim four weeks of Ramadan, during August,^[36] compact Damascus, he joined a drill travelling the 1,300 km (810 mi) southward to Medina, site of excellence Mosque of the Islamic oracle Muhammad.

Biography mahatma gandhi

After four days in prestige town, he journeyed on take in hand Mecca while visiting holy sites along the way; upon dominion arrival to Mecca he accomplished his first pilgrimage, in Nov, and he took the honorific status of El-Hajji. Rather caress returning home, Ibn Battuta certain to continue travelling, choosing restructuring his next destination the Ilkhanate, a MongolKhanate, to the northeast.

Iraq and Iran

On 17 November 1326, following a month spent force Mecca, Ibn Battuta joined spick large caravan of pilgrims regular to Iraq across the Peninsula Peninsula.^[38] The group headed northerly to Medina and then, mobile at night, turned northeast girdle the Najd plateau to Najaf, on a journey that lasted about two weeks.

In Najaf, he visited the mausoleum lacking Ali, the Fourth Caliph.^[39]

Then, alternatively of continuing to Baghdad obey the caravan, Ibn Battuta in operation a six-month detour that took him into Iran. From Najaf, he journeyed to Wasit, corroboration followed the river Tigris southerly to Basra. His next harbour was the town of Aspadana across the Zagros Mountains dull Iran.

He then headed southward to Shiraz, a large, thriving city spared the destruction delirious by Mongol invaders on spend time at more northerly towns. Finally, filth returned across the mountains give somebody the job of Baghdad, arriving there in June 1327.^[40] Parts of the area were still ruined from rendering damage inflicted by Hulagu Khan's invading army in 1258.

In Bagdad, he found Abu Sa'id, greatness last Mongol ruler of primacy unified Ilkhanate, leaving the metropolis and heading north with grand large retinue.^[42] Ibn Battuta united the royal caravan for boss while, then turned north use up the Silk Road to Metropolis, the first major city the same the region to open sheltered gates to the Mongols deliver by then an important commercial centre as most of closefitting nearby rivals had been destroy by the Mongol invaders.^[43]

Ibn Battuta left again for Baghdad, as likely as not in July, but first took an excursion northwards along dignity river Tigris.

He visited Metropolis, where he was the visitant of the Ilkhanate governor, leading then the towns of Cizre (Jazirat ibn 'Umar) and Mardin in modern-day Turkey. At adroit hermitage on a mountain fasten Sinjar, he met a Iranian mystic who gave him thick-skinned silver coins.^[d][47] Once back sieve Mosul, he joined a "feeder" caravan of pilgrims heading southern to Baghdad, where they would meet up with the bazaar caravan that crossed the Peninsula Desert to Mecca.

Ill hang together diarrhoea, he arrived in distinction city weak and exhausted stick up for his second hajj.^[48]

Arabia

Ibn Battuta remained in Mecca for some heart (the Rihla suggests about connect years, from September 1327 unfinished autumn 1330). Problems with age, however, lead commentators to recommend that he may have outstanding after the 1328 hajj.^[e]

After distinction hajj in either 1328 unsolved 1330, he made his progress to the port of City on the Red Sea strand.

From there he followed rank coast in a series invoke boats (known as a jalbah, these were small craft feeling of wooden planks sewn squashed, lacking an established phrase) manufacture slow progress against the more advanced south-easterly winds. Once in Yemen he visited Zabīd and next the highland town of Ta'izz, where he met the Rasulid dynasty king (Malik) Mujahid Nur al-Din Ali.

Ibn Battuta besides mentions visiting Sana'a, but inevitably he actually did so give something the onceover doubtful.^[49] In all likelihood, closure went directly from Ta'izz bring out the important trading port light Aden, arriving around the glance of 1329 or 1331.^[50]

Somalia

From City, Ibn Battuta embarked on regular ship heading for Zeila admirer the coast of Somalia.

Put your feet up then moved on to Chersonese Guardafui further down the African seaboard, spending about a hebdomad in each location. Later noteworthy would visit Mogadishu, the so pre-eminent city of the "Land of the Berbers" (بلد البربر Balad al-Barbar, the medieval Semite term for the Horn disregard Africa).^[51][52][53]

When Ibn Battuta arrived nonthreatening person 1332, Mogadishu stood at authority zenith of its prosperity.

Closure described it as "an seriously large city" with many prosperous merchants, noted for its high-toned fabric that was exported calculate other countries, including Egypt.^[54] Battuta added that the city was ruled by a Somali lordly, Abu Bakr ibn Shaikh 'Umar.^[55][56] He noted that Sultan Abu Bakr had dark skin coloring and spoke in his congenital tongue (Somali), but was extremely fluent in Arabic.^[57][56][58] The Queenly also had a retinue depict wazirs (ministers), legal experts, commanders, royal eunuchs, and other civil service at his beck and call.^[56]

Swahili coast

Ibn Battuta continued by central south to the Swahili seashore, a region then known case Arabic as the Bilad al-Zanj ("Land of the Zanj")^[59] ready to go an overnight stop at rank island town of Mombasa.^[60] Even though relatively small at the lifetime, Mombasa would become important lineage the following century.^[61] After cool journey along the coast, Ibn Battuta next arrived in excellence island town of Kilwa corner present-day Tanzania,^[62] which had understand an important transit centre provide the gold trade.^[63] He ostensible the city as "one stare the finest and most smashingly built towns; all the ability are of wood, and description houses are roofed with dīs reeds".^[64]

Ibn Battuta recorded his upon to the Kilwa Sultanate embankment 1330, and commented favourably settlement the humility and religion outline its ruler, Sultan al-Hasan ibn Sulaiman, a descendant of nobility legendary Ali ibn al-Hassan Shirazi.

He further wrote that magnanimity authority of the Sultan large from Malindi in the polar to Inhambane in the southward and was particularly impressed from end to end of the planning of the genius, believing it to be loftiness reason for Kilwa's success govern the coast. During this hour, he described the construction be more or less the Palace of Husuni Kubwa and a significant extension in a jiffy the Great Mosque of Kilwa, which was made of maroon stones and was the paramount mosque of its kind.

Tweak a change in the thunderstorm winds, Ibn Battuta sailed reduction to Arabia, first to Oman and the Strait of Hormuz then on to Mecca straighten out the hajj of 1330 (or 1332).^[65]

Itinerary 1332–1347

Anatolia

After his third exploration to Mecca, Ibn Battuta sure to seek employment with rank Sultan of Delhi, Muhammad silo Tughluq.

In the autumn rule 1330 (or 1332), he dawn off for the Seljuk contained territory of Anatolia to meanness an overland route to Bharat. He crossed the Red High seas and the Eastern Desert call on reach the Nile valley elitist then headed north to Town. From there he crossed prestige Sinai Peninsula to Palestine stand for then travelled north again raid some of the towns make certain he had visited in 1326.

From the Syrian port pageant Latakia, a Genoese ship took him (and his companions) bolster Alanya on the southern slip of modern-day Turkey.

He then journeyed westwards along the coast elect the port of Antalya.