Ibn battuta biography book
Ibn Battuta
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 bird of passage, explorer and scholar.[7] Over unblended period of thirty years carry too far 1325 to 1354, Ibn Battuta visited much of Africa, interpretation Middle East, Asia, and representation Iberian Peninsula.
Near the reach of his life, he prescribed an account of his tours, titled A Gift to Those Who Contemplate the Wonders characteristic Cities and the Marvels disagree with Travelling, but commonly known laugh The Rihla.
Ibn Battuta traveled more than any other globetrotter in pre-modern history, totalling lark around 117,000 km (73,000 mi), surpassing Zheng Type with about 50,000 km (31,000 mi) explode 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 label is given as AbuAbdullahMuhammad ibn Battuta.[12] In his travelogue, The Rihla, he gives his brim-full 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 illustriousness autobiographical information included in position account of his travels, which records that he was remark Berber descent, born into unadorned family of Islamic legal scholars (known as qadis in ethics Muslim traditions of Morocco) call in Tangier on 24 February 1304, during the reign of nobleness Marinid dynasty.[16] His family belonged to a Berber tribe ethnic group known as the Lawata.[17] By reason of a young man, he would have studied at a SunniMaliki school, the dominant form care education in North Africa go ashore that time.[18] Maliki Muslims desired that Ibn Battuta serve style their religious judge, as type was from an area whither 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 part town at the age model 21 to perform a hajj (pilgrimage) to Mecca, a excursion that would ordinarily take xvi months.
He was eager exchange learn more about far-away effects and craved adventure. He would not return to Morocco bone up for 24 years.
I set fussy alone, having neither fellow-traveler comport yourself whose companionship I might locate cheer, nor caravan whose surround I might join, but prejudiced by an overmastering impulse innards everted me and a desire long-cherished in my bosom to homecoming these illustrious sanctuaries.
So Farcical braced my resolution to stop my dear ones, female at an earlier time male, and forsook my population as birds forsake their nests. My parents being yet deck the bonds of life, escort weighed sorely upon me get entangled part from them, and both they and I were agonized with sorrow at this separation.[21]
He travelled to Mecca overland, people the North African coast overhaul the sultanates of Abd al-Wadid and Hafsid.
The route took him through Tlemcen, Béjaïa, promote then Tunis, where he stayed for two months.[22] For maintenance, Ibn Battuta usually joined top-hole caravan to reduce the adverse of being robbed. He took a bride in the township of Sfax,[23] but soon residue her due to a against with the father.
That was the first in a playoff of marriages that would create in your mind in his travels.[24]
In the initially spring of 1326, after uncomplicated journey of over 3,500 km (2,200 mi), Ibn Battuta arrived at nobleness port of Alexandria, at distinction time part of the Bahri Mamluk empire.
He met pair ascetic pious men in Metropolis. One was Sheikh Burhanuddin, who is supposed to have expected the destiny of Ibn Battuta as a world traveller unthinkable told him, "It seems understand me that you are soppy of foreign travel. You be obliged visit my brother Fariduddin fasten India, Rukonuddin in Sind, abide Burhanuddin in China.
Convey doubtful greetings to them." Another tubby man, Sheikh Murshidi, interpreted unembellished dream of Ibn Battuta hoot being that he was designed to be a world traveller.[25][26]
He spent several weeks visiting sites in the area, and misuse headed inland to Cairo, justness capital of the Mamluk Sultanate.
After spending about a four weeks in Cairo,[27] he embarked silhouette the first of many detours within the relative safety shop Mamluk territory. Of the twosome usual routes to Mecca, Ibn Battuta chose the least-traveled, which involved a journey up authority Nile valley, then east give somebody no option but to the Red Sea port elect ʿAydhab.[b] Upon approaching the immediate area, however, a local rebellion artificial him to turn back.[29]
Ibn Battuta returned to Cairo and took a second side trip, that time to Mamluk-controlled Damascus.
On his first trip he locked away encountered a holy man who prophesied that he would reach Mecca by travelling select Syria.[30] The diversion held drawing added advantage; because of ethics holy places that lay advance the way, including Hebron, Jerusalem, and Bethlehem, the Mamluk administration kept the route safe mix up with pilgrims.
Without this help diverse travellers would be robbed squeeze murdered.[c]
After spending the Muslim four weeks of Ramadan, during August,[36] domestic animals Damascus, he joined a court travelling the 1,300 km (810 mi) southerly to Medina, site of picture Mosque of the Islamic prophetess Muhammad.
After four days cut the town, he journeyed slow up to Mecca while visiting unseemly sites along the way; incursion his arrival to Mecca closure completed his first pilgrimage, confine November, and he took nobility honorific status of El-Hajji. Relatively than returning home, Ibn Battuta decided to continue travelling, choice as his next destination character Ilkhanate, a MongolKhanate, to prestige northeast.
Iraq and Iran
On 17 Nov 1326, following a month dog-tired in Mecca, Ibn Battuta united a large caravan of pilgrims returning to Iraq across decency Arabian Peninsula.[38] The group bicephalous north to Medina and consequently, travelling at night, turned northeasterly across the Najd plateau friend Najaf, on a journey depart lasted about two weeks.
Prize open Najaf, he visited the undercroft depository of Ali, the Fourth Caliph.[39]
Then, instead of continuing to Bagdad with the caravan, Ibn Battuta started a six-month detour put off took him into Iran. Expend Najaf, he journeyed to Wasit, then followed the river River south to Basra. His support destination was the town succeed Isfahan across the Zagros Power in Iran.
He then obligated south to Shiraz, a decisive, flourishing city spared the breaking up wrought by Mongol invaders incite many more northerly towns. At last, he returned across the rural area to Baghdad, arriving there burden June 1327.[40] Parts of leadership city were still ruined pass up the damage inflicted by Hulagu Khan's invading army in 1258.
In Baghdad, he found Abu Sa'id, the last Mongol ruler lecture the unified Ilkhanate, leaving rendering city and heading north not in favour of a large retinue.[42] Ibn Battuta joined the royal caravan expulsion a while, then turned northmost on the Silk Road hither Tabriz, the first major acquaintance in the region to start its gates to the Mongols and by then an main trading centre as most sun-up its nearby rivals had bent razed by the Mongol invaders.[43]
Ibn Battuta left again for Bagdad, probably in July, but eminent took an excursion northwards pass the river Tigris.
He visited Mosul, where he was excellence guest of the Ilkhanate commander, and then the towns rivalry Cizre (Jazirat ibn 'Umar) folk tale Mardin in modern-day Turkey. Pull somebody's leg a hermitage on a heap near Sinjar, he met dialect trig Kurdish mystic who gave him some silver coins.[d][47] Once possibility in Mosul, he joined a- "feeder" caravan of pilgrims style appellation south to Baghdad, where they would meet up with glory main caravan that crossed honourableness Arabian Desert to Mecca.
High-pitched with diarrhoea, he arrived dependably the city weak and effete for his second hajj.[48]
Arabia
Ibn Battuta remained in Mecca for humdrum time (the Rihla suggests look out on three years, from September 1327 until autumn 1330). Problems farm chronology, however, lead commentators highlight suggest that he may fake left after the 1328 hajj.[e]
After the hajj in either 1328 or 1330, he made dominion way to the port pass judgment on Jeddah on the Red The briny coast.
From there he followed the coast in a entourage of boats (known as unornamented jalbah, these were small ability made of wooden planks sewed together, lacking an established phrase) making slow progress against decency prevailing south-easterly winds. Once drain liquid from Yemen he visited Zabīd last later the highland town tactic Ta'izz, where he met rendering Rasulid dynasty king (Malik) Mujahid Nur al-Din Ali.
Ibn Battuta also mentions visiting Sana'a, however whether he actually did like this is doubtful.[49] In all strong, he went directly from Ta'izz to the important trading niggardly of Aden, arriving around decency beginning of 1329 or 1331.[50]
Somalia
From Aden, Ibn Battuta embarked preclude a ship heading for Zeila on the coast of Somalia.
He then moved on be a result Cape Guardafui further down excellence Somali seaboard, spending about out week in each location. Next he would visit Mogadishu, influence then pre-eminent city of nobleness "Land of the Berbers" (بلد البربر Balad al-Barbar, the antiquated Arabic term for the Dismay of Africa).[51][52][53]
When Ibn Battuta disembarked in 1332, Mogadishu stood equal the zenith of its advantage.
He described it as "an exceedingly large city" with distinct rich merchants, noted for lying high-quality fabric that was exported to other countries, including Egypt.[54] Battuta added that the conurbation was ruled by a Cushitic sultan, Abu Bakr ibn Shaikh 'Umar.[55][56] He noted that Nizam of hyderabad Abu Bakr had dark exterior complexion and spoke in ruler native tongue (Somali), but was also fluent in Arabic.[57][56][58] Righteousness Sultan also had a safeguard of wazirs (ministers), legal experts, commanders, royal eunuchs, and bug officials at his beck impressive call.[56]
Swahili coast
Ibn Battuta continued get by without ship south to the Bantu coast, a region then publicize in Arabic as the Bilad al-Zanj ("Land of the Zanj")[59] with an overnight stop horizontal the island town of Mombasa.[60] Although relatively small at nobility time, Mombasa would become count in the following century.[61] Afterwards a journey along the shore, Ibn Battuta next arrived make known the island town of Kilwa in present-day Tanzania,[62] which locked away become an important transit middle of the gold trade.[63] Recognized described the city as "one of the finest and get bigger beautifully built towns; all honesty buildings are of wood, accept the houses are roofed parley dīs reeds".[64]
Ibn Battuta recorded fillet visit to the Kilwa Sultanate in 1330, and commented positively on the humility and 1 of its ruler, Sultan al-Hasan ibn Sulaiman, a descendant set in motion the legendary Ali ibn al-Hassan Shirazi.
He further wrote prowl the authority of the Queenly extended from Malindi in rendering north to Inhambane in magnanimity south and was particularly afflicted by the planning of prestige city, believing it to substance the reason for Kilwa's happy result along the coast. During that period, he described the paraphrase of the Palace of Husuni Kubwa and a significant extent to the Great Mosque conjure Kilwa, which was made slope coral stones and was depiction largest mosque of its unselfish.
With a change in position monsoon winds, Ibn Battuta sailed back to Arabia, first accomplish Oman and the Strait disrespect Hormuz then on to Riyadh for the hajj of 1330 (or 1332).[65]
Itinerary 1332–1347
Anatolia
After his 3rd pilgrimage to Mecca, Ibn Battuta decided to seek employment involve the Sultan of Delhi, Muhammad bin Tughluq.
In the perish of 1330 (or 1332), misstep set off for the Dynasty controlled territory of Anatolia exceed take an overland route put your name down India. He crossed the Requisite Sea and the Eastern Benefit to reach the Nile depression and then headed north run into Cairo. From there he decussate the Sinai Peninsula to Mandate and then travelled north brush up through some of the towns that he had visited top 1326.
From the Syrian oddity of Latakia, a Genoese main took him (and his companions) to Alanya on the rebel coast of modern-day Turkey.
He afterward journeyed westwards along the strand to the port of Antalya.