He is known for his traveling and going on excursions called the rihla. The travels of ibn battutah by ibn battuta goodreads. He gave abundant and interesting information about the social and cultural life of 14thcentury indian subcontinent in his travelogue. He was much more willing than was polo to describe his own. The travels of ibn battutah tim mackintoshsmith macmillan.
From there, he made his way to delhi and became acquainted with the sultan, muhammad bin tughluq. Book illustration by leon benett published in 1878 showing ibn battuta right and his guide in egypt. He was a native of tangier, which he left, initially and ostensibly to perform the pilgrimage to mecca, in 25. Ibn battuta was a 14th century muslim scholar who became one of the greatest travelers of all time when he embarked on a journey across the islamic world, guided by a desire for knowledge and an. Major arabic authors albaruni and ibn battuta india old days. By way of introduction, some general remarks about ibn battuta and his travels may be appropriate at this point. Ibn batuta states that he visited the tomb, and saw upon it an inscription tracing his pedigree up to hosain the son of ali. Sep 30, 2020 ibn battuta on ibn taymiyah asim ul haq september 30, 2020 general we know that ibn battuta lied or someone add the lies on ibn taymiyah in his book of journey that people started beating him when he said indeed allah descends to the lowest heaven of the world just as i am descending now. Ibn battuta was an important traveler and in 52 to 53 he wrote about the status of islam and the civilization of the mali constitution rights foundation, ibn battuata.
All we know about ibn battuta s life after the writing of his book is that he worked as a judge. On the strength of his years of study in mecca, ibn battuta was appointed a qadi, or judge, by the sultan. Abu abdullah muhammad ibn battuta, was a moroccan muslim scholar and traveler. His first landfall in africa was the city of zaila, four days journey from aden the modern city of zeila is 40km southeast of djibouti along the coast. Ibn battutah ethnographer, bigrapher, anecdotal historian and occasional botanist was just twentyone when he set out in 25 from his native tangier on a pilgramage to mecca. After completing the book, ibn battuta continued his role as judge in a small moroccan town. He wrote of his travels, and comes across as a superb ethnographer, biographer, anecdotal historian and occasional botanist and gastronome.
He wanted to have these stories written down for the amusement of his family. In the spring of 31, ibn battuta traveled south along the east african coast from aden to mogadishu, mombasa and kilwa. Ian richard netton in his a popular dictionary of islam, curzon press, london, 1992, where further references may be found brill, leiden, 2004 iran and the caucasus, 8. As he watched, the third ship, with all his belongings and slaves.
His contemporaries traveled for practical reasons such as trade, pilgrimage, and education, but ibn battuta. It is thought that he married again and had more children. After ibn battuta wrote his book he worked as a judge. He described al iskandariya alexandria in egypt as one of the most beautiful places he has ever seen. He further wrote that the authority of the sultan extended from malindi in the north to inhambane in the south and was.
Ibn battuta was born in tangier, in what is now morocco. Look at the map of his travels and try to guess the answers to these questions. Ibn battuta and his party reached the indus river on 12 september 33. The scholar wrote the accounts down and they became a famous travel book known as the rihla, which means journey. Prince of the travelers ibn battuta, the discoverer of the. The travels of ibn battuta ibn battuta started on his travels when he was 20 years old in 25. Born in tangier, morocco, ibn battuta came of age in a family of islamic judges. Ibn battut the man who walked across the world 1037. Ibn battuta s travels gained historical and geographical value, as he met and met with no less than 60 rulers, many ministers, and important personalities, and the book he wrote, known as ibn battuta s journey, is considered an important document, in which he recorded all his travels. A muslim traveler of the 14th century is historian ross dunns account of the world of islam in the 1400s as based on the contemporaneous book written about the journeys of ibn battuta, an educated legal scholar from tangier in morocco whose travels extend from subsaharan africa across northern africa to the middle east, persia, palestine, india and china. The atlas is attributed to abraham cresques, a jewish book illuminator and mapmaker. The legacy of ibn battuta s travels how does ibn battuta s account compare with that of marco polos. He also visited the court of mansa musa and neighboring states during its period of prosperity from. His great work describes the people, places, and cultures he encountered in his journeys along some 75,000 miles 120,000 km across and beyond the islamic world.
Living and traveling about one generating behind the italian marco polocirca 0, the muslim ibn battutah published around 50 traveled more miles and. His main reason to travel was to go on a hajj, or a pilgrimage to mecca, to fulfill the fifth pillar of isla but his traveling went on for around 29 years and he covered about 75,000 miles. Ibn battuta, a welleducated islamic scholar born and raised by a wealthy family in tangier, morocco, he had begun his journey at the age of 21. But he compared and contrasted it with the situation in europe in general and france in particular. And the idea of going to these countries having been cast into my mind, my wanderings never ceased until i had met these three that he named and conveyed his greeting to them. Ibn battuta s journey to mecca to fulfill a religious.
The country is an archipelagic nation consist of 26 islets and rise just a few feet above the seas. Rihla is the arabic word for a journey or the travelogue that documents it. He described the king as being the most beautiful of gods creatures. However, he found it difficult to enforce islamic law beyond the sultans court in delhi, due to lack of. Ibn battuta is considered one of the worlds greatest travellers. Ibn battutas journey to india 2042 words internet public.
According to waines 2010, ibn battutas book was orally passed on to muhammad ibn juzayy around the year 56. The only medieval traveler known to have visited the lands of every muslim ruler of his time, ibn battuta was born into a family of highly respected religious judges and educated as a theologian. And no wonder ibn battuta, still restless after his trip to alandalus, set his mind on visiting the subsaharan kingdom. He reported about the wealthy, multicultural trading centers at the african east coast, such as mombasa and kilwa, and the warm hospitality he experienced in mogadishu. This is a small section of a famous map known as the catalan atlas, produced in 75.
Ibn battuta visited a saint who lived a quiet life of prayer. This leg of the journey nearly killed him, as he became terribly sick with diarrhea, but he managed to make it back to mecca alive to. He describes the novel innovation of paved streets and sidewalks and the. He then remained in morocco and worked as a judge until he died around the year 69. His contemporaries traveled for practical reasons such as trade, pilgrimage, and education, but ibn battuta did it for its own sake, for. Ibn battuta was a muslim berbermoroccan scholar, jurist and explorer who widely travelled the.
And everywhere he went he was treated like a king, and then he went home, and he wrote a really famous book called, the rihla that people still read today. The travels of ibn battuta by ibn batuta abridged and. Prince of the travelers ibn battuta, the discoverer of. During the 14 th century, he travelled about 75, 000 miles in search of knowledge and for the love of travel. Among his many books on navigation, kitab alfawaid fi usul ilm albahr wa lqawaid the book. Compare and contrast ibn battuta and marco polo 793 words 4 pages. He wrote his travelogue in rihla in the arabic language. Battuta kept no journal on his travels and his rihla was composed. Travel insights from ibn battuta, the prolific medieval.
This was how ibn battuta started his journey to mecca to perform hajj pilgrimage. Nov 19, 2012 ibn battuta was a traveler and a writer back in the middle ages. Since ibn battuta wrote his rihla towards the end of his itinerant career, some details are incorrect and fuzzy. He was born on february 25, 4 in medieval era in islamic family. Everywhere he went, he wrote about his activities, peoples customs, ibn battuta in black africa and his thoughts about what he saw. Dec 01, 1994 abu abdalla ibn battuta 454 was one of the greatest travelers of premodern times. Hisjourneys and his accomplishments were similar to another person thatyou have probably heard of marco polo. What book did ibn battuta write 4 days ago ibn battuta, medieval muslim traveler and author of one of the most muslim explorer and writer the author of one of the most famous travel books, the ri. A sudden storm grounded and broke up two ships, scattering treasure and drowning many people and horses.
Details the travels of ibn battuta, a twentyone yearold who penned a diary. While there, ibn battuta spent three days as a guest of a devout mystic by the name of burhan aldin. Books by ibn battuta author of the travels of ibn battutah. Yap, it looks like he had the most awesome life ever.
Between 24 and 54 he journeyed through north africa and asia minor and as far as china. By that time ibn battuta was already a man of some importance and fame, with a large train of attendants and followers and also with his own harem of legal wives and concubines. They taught by reading and commenting on a classical book, then testing. The rihla, formal title a masterpiece to those who contemplate the wonders of cities and the marvels of travelling, is the travelogue written by ibn battuta, documenting his lifetime of travel and exploration, which according to his description covered about 70,000 miles.
Thus begins the book, ibn battuta, travels in asia and africa 2554 published by routledge and kegan paul. He told the story of his adventures to a scholar who wrote it all down in a book called the rihla. Ibn battuta resigned from his job as qadi, although he really would have eventually been dismissed. Read download the travels of ibn battuta pdf pdf book library. The small islands of maldives are situated in the indian ocean, southwestern portion of sri lanka and india. Toward the end of 53 ibn battuta returned to morocco and, at the sultans request, dictated his reminiscences to a writer, ibn juzayy died 55, who embellished the simple prose of ibn battuta with an ornate style and fragments of poetry. Ibn battuta books list of books by author ibn battuta thriftbooks.
Ibn battuta on muslims and christians in the crimean. He wrote disapprovingly of sexual integration in families and of a hostility toward the white man. Sep 14, 2015 ibn battutas memoir on tughlaq dynasty the full name of ibn battuta was muhammad ibn battuta a moroccan muslim voyage. Ibn battuta was born into a family of muslim legal scholars in tangier, morocco, in 4 during the era of the marinid dynasty. Ibn battuta in 34 visited the shrine of baba farid in pakpattan.
This is a new printondemand hardback edition of the volume first publi. Of the encounter with buurhan aldin, ibn battuta wrote in his travels, i was amazed. By contrast, ibn battuta focused on the purity of islamic ritual and belief in the lands he vis ited. Ibn battuta, more formally abu abd allah muhammad ibn abd allah allawati. He wrote in the book that a jurist helped him by providing him traveling provisions and hiring camels. Compare and contrast the perspectives from which ibn. Ibn battuta and bernier have written the accounts of their travels from different perspectives. He stayed on a different island, and there he wed 2 more women, but broken up with them, too. Abu abdalla ibn battuta 454 was one of the greatest travelers of premodern times.
Bound in real cloth, printed on high quality paper, and featuring ribbon markers and gilt edges, macmillan collectors library are books to love and treasure. When ibn battuta went to delhi in 33 ad, sultan muhammad bin tughlaq impressed by his scholarship and appointed him a judge. He reported about the wealthy, multicultural trading centers of the african east coast, such as mombasa and kilwa, and the warm hospitality he experienced in mogadishu. Ibn battuta didnt keep notes during his travels, but told his friend, ibn juzayy, all about his adventures. Jun 17, 20 the arab equivalent of marco polo, sheikh ibn battuta 477 set out as a young man on a pilgrimage to mecca that ended 27 years and 75,000 miles later. Jun 05, 2018 thus begins the book, ibn battuta, travels in asia and africa 2554 published by routledge and kegan paul. In 25, at age 21, he left his homeland for the middle east. To share the learning and research so highly valued by islamic culture, the ruler of morocco, abu inan faris, wanted ibn battuta s worldwide travels recorded and published when he returned home to. Every now and then he would tell us about an interesting observation ibn battutah wrote about. He was to put the stories into the proper form of a travel book, called a rihla. His main reason to travel was to go on a hajj, or a pilgrimage to mecca, as all good muslims want to do.
Ibn battuta admired him as a true muslim who wrote both arabic and persian, played the lute, composed songs and poems, and. Ibn battuta s most popular book is the travels of ibn battutah. Ibn battuta in black africa ibn battutah, said hamdun. From the introduction, it sounds like he wrote about all of his travels, but this book.
Ibn battuta s description is a unique document of the high culture, pride, and independence of black african states in the fourteenth century. Ibn battuta has 56 books on goodreads with 14828 ratings. He suggested that ibn battuta visit three other fellow sufis, two in india and one in china. Sep 02, 2016 on his return he wrote his epic travelogue wherein he mentioned more than 1500 persons by name. He wrote about the people, places, animals, and treasures he saw or was given. His family consisted of scholars and judges who studied sharia. With this edition by mackintoshsmith, battutahs travels takes its place alongside other indestructible masterpieces of the travelwriting genre. For example, ibn battutah talked about the fish market in somalia and sudan during his time of travels. He brought his three wives with him, and after a brief period, he divorced them all where one of them became pregnant.
He mentioned the nusairis known as alawis now in syria. Ibn battuta, medieval muslim traveler and author of one of the most famous travel books, the rihlah. Ibn battuta, more formally abu abd allah muhammad ibn abd allah allawati altangi ibn batutah, was a 14th century legal scholar from tangier, morocco, and the foremost traveler of his day. He described al iskandariya alexandria in egypt as one of the most beautiful places he. From asia, north africa, middle east, persia, india and the west indies. Ibn battuta was commanded to dictate an account of the cities which he had seen. Ibn juzayy wrote them all down in a book called the rihla which means the travels. And when he finally decided to rest, after adventuring from beijing to timbuktu, he wrote a book detailing his remarkable years on the road. Ibn battuta was in a weak financial position as he was too young and unemployed, so maliki jurist helped him. Ibn battuta time in india and later journeys britannica. He wrote the book of roads and provinces, which gave a description of the main trade routes of the muslim world, referring to china, korea, and japan, and describing the southern asian coast as far as the brahmaputra river, the andaman islands, malaya, and java.
Ibn battuta in black africa by ibn battuta goodreads. The book has helped people understand how islam spread throughout the world. My 15yearold son is enjoying reading the book very much. On a separate voyage he crossed the sahara to the muslim lands of west africa. When he had got to homaitara the sheikh bathed himself, and had performed two of the prostrations of his prayers, when he died. He called it a gift to those who contemplate the wonders of cities and the marvels of traveling. See all books authored by ibn battuta, including voyages dibn batoutah. He was a great explorer, and traveled to many places around the world during the 14th century. In 56, the ruler of morocco asked a young scholar named ibn juzayy to write down ibn battutas explorations.
Ibn battut the man who walked across the world 1037 words. Ibn battuta thats his family name was a sunni muslim and a scholar of islamic jurisprudence. Which person traveled further, ibn battuta or marco polo. Marco polos name appearedin history books everywhere, and he became famous. He wrote the book of roads and provinces, which gave a description of the main trade routes of the muslim world, referring to china, korea, and japan, and describing the southern asian coast as far as the brahmaputra river, the andaman islands, malaya. Ibn battuta on ibn taymiyah asim ul haq september 30, 2020 general we know that ibn battuta lied or someone add the lies on ibn taymiyah in his book of journey that people started beating him when he said indeed allah descends to the lowest heaven of the world just as i am descending now. Burhan aldin who noticed ibn battuta s passion for travel, suggested that he visit three of his fellow mystics whom he called his brothers in modern day pakistan, india, and china, noting that he. But his traveling went on for about 29 years and he covered about 75,000 miles visiting the equivalent of 44 modern countries which wer. Ibn battuta visited another saint who lived a quiet life of devotion in. From each place he visited, ibn battuta tells of his experiences.
After his first hajj he would end up taking several more, battuta first traveled to persia, in the ancient lands of mesopotamia, eventually visiting baghdad and mosul. Near the end of ibn battutas life, the sultan of morocco insisted that ibn battuta dictate the story of his travels to a scholar and today we can read translations of that account, which was originally titled tuhfat alanzar fi gharaaib alamsar wa ajaaib alasfar, or a gift to those who contemplate the wonders of cities and the marvels of traveling. Travellers and explorers from a golden age 1001 inventions. Of the encounter with buurhan aldin, ibn battuta wrote in his travels, i was amazed at his burhan aldins prediction, and the idea of going to these countries having. Follow the author similar authors to follow the travels of ibn battuta. Major arabic authors albaruni and ibn battuta india. Ibn battuta to the crimea appears to be remarkably accurate in its details.
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