INTRODUCTION
IBN BATTUTA (his real name is Abu Abdullah Muhammad ibn Battuta ).
Ibn battuta was an barber Maghrebi scholar & explorar .Now barber known as Morocco.He was born in 1304.He was set out on his first journey was at the age of 21.
History is filled with many explorer who left there home and start traveling to discover & explore the world .He was not a first explorer there was many other explorer who traveled to explore the world for example scylax from ancient Greek and Faxian from China .And he was not the first explorer from islamic world there was many others like Ahmed ibn fadlan and his journey into Eastern Europe.so what is the main point that make him different from other explorer of all time .
Ibn battuta was an man who traveled throug most of the great empires and kingdoms.He resided in some of the greatest cities of his time ,meet face to face with royla families . A man who traveled through North Africa, Arabia, Persia, Anatolia, Central Asia, South Asia, South-East Asia, East Asia, West Africa, East Africa and even parts of Europe. It is hard to find many other men in history who have even seen a fraction of what he saw. Ibn Battuta saw more in one lifetime than most of us would in a hundred. When we talk about Ibn Battuta, we are talking about the greatest traveler of the ancient world.I would say Ibn Battuta. The reason I choose him is because this man did more is one life than we would do in a hundred. He lived the life of a scholar, an explorer, a judge and much more. To top it all off, he noted the events of his life in an autobiography so that we can all experience his life.
FIRST JOURNEY
Pilgrimage to Mecca
In 1325, Ibn Battuta decides as a young man that he wants to journey to Mecca to perform Hajj. This was a journey that would take over a year to complete. Ibn Battuta said his goodbyes to both family and friends and set out on his journey. Little did he know that he would not see his home again for over two decades.
Ibn Battuta decided to travel along the North African route towards the Mamluk Sultanate. He passed through the city of Tlemcen in the Zayyanid Sultanate and the cities of Bejaia and Tunis in the Hafsid Sultanate. He would temporarily stay in this region for a few months and even get married. He would join a caravan on route to Alexandria for safety. Almost a year after his journey began, Ibn Battuta arrived in the city of Alexandria of the Mamluk Sultanate.In the city of Alexandria, he met a holy man who prophesied that Ibn Battuta would be a great traveler and travel to India and China. From Alexandria he headed to Cairo, the capital of the empire. From here he passed through Jerusalem and Bethlehem to the great city of Damascus. He would wait out the month of Ramadan in this city. Afterwards he would head to Medina and then finally reach his destination of Mecca.
After completing the pilgrimage, Ibn Battuta had a choice to make. Return home or continue his journey. After some thought he decided on the latter.
FIRST JOURNEY
Journey to the Ilkhanate
An important thing to note is that Ibn Battuta journeyed the world following the Mongol invasions and at the time when the disintegration of the Mongol Khanates was at hand. At this time Persian and Iraq were a part of the Ilkhanate.After spending a month in the holy city of Mecca, Ibn Battuta set out on a new journey to Iraq and Persia. He decided to travel alongside a caravan of pilgrims returning back to their home in Iraq. The group passed through the desert like landscape of the Najd plateau in Arabia to the city of Najaf in Iraq.In Najaf, he visited the tomb of Ali, the fourth Caliph and the Prophet's son-in-law. Ibn Battuta parted ways with the caravan which went onwards to Baghdad. Ibn Battuta however planned on heading to Persia.
He followed the Tigris river to the city of Basra. From here he headed to the city of Isfahan and then Shiraz in Persia. He then crossed back across the Zagros mountains to head back to Baghdad. From Baghdad he would join the royal caravan of the Sultan of the Ilkhanate to Tabriz before heading back to Baghdad. After a few more detours, he headed back to Mecca for a second pilgrimage in the September of 1327.
Journey to East Africa
Ibn Battuta remained in the city of Mecca for some time. In 1328, he finally decided to set out on a new journey. This time he would head to explore the East African Coastal region. From Mecca, he headed to the coastal city of Jeddah. Then he followed the coast along the Red Sea to what is now Yemen.
Yemen at this time was part of the Rasulid Kingdom. Ibn Battuta traveled to the city of Zabid, Taiz and then Sana'a. He met with the Rasulid King Mujahid Nur al-Din Ali. From here he traveled to the port city of Aden.From the ports of Aden, Ibn Battuta took a ship to the city of Zeila in Somalia. He then sailed along the cost stopping at cities along the way. Eventually reaching the city of Mogadishu, the greatest city in East Africa at the time. It was at the peak of it's golden age when Ibn Battuta visited the city.Ibn Battuta continued his journey southwards, sailing along the coast. He stopped and visited the island city of Kilwa, the capital of the Kilwa Sultanate. This kingdom ruled over much of the Swahili coast. He was impressed with the glory and beauty of this island city. From here Ibn Battuta decided to head back once again to Mecca. He would perform a third Hajj in 1330.
Journey to Anatolia
At this point in time, the Delhi Sultanate was known to be the wealthiest empire in the Muslim world. Ibn Battuta wanted to work for the Sultan of the Delhi Sultanate. He had heard that the Sultan welcomed scholars and travelers from afar and gave them high paying jobs. However he decided to take the long route.One thing to note is that Anatolia at this time was a region divided between the Turkic Beyliks following the decline of the Sultanate of Rum.
Ibn Battuta crossed the Red Sea to reach Cairo. From there he crossed the Sinai and headed to Syria. From the Syrian port city of Latakia, he took a Genoese ship to the city of Alanya. From here he traveled westwards to the port city of Antalya. From here he headed to Egirdir, the capital of Hamidids. From here he continued to visit many different cities in Anatolia including Konya and Bursa. In the city of Bursa he met Orhan Gazi, son of Osman Gazi. He had nothing but praises for the Ottoman ruler.
The Turkmen of Anatolia seemed to have really impressed Ibn Battuta. He notes them as a very generous people. He also saw them as handsome people that were extremely well dressed. He noted that the women were treated extremely well. He also makes note of the poor treatment of the slaves from Europe who are used as prostitutes. This is something he saw as extremely immoral.
"We set out for the country of the Turks. ... It was conquered by the Muslims, but there are still large numbers of Christians there under the protection of the Turkmen Muslims. We traveled on the sea for ten nights, and the Christians treated us honorably and took no passage money from us. On the tenth day we arrived at Alanya [where the province begins]. This country ... is one of the finest in the world; in it God has brought together the good things dispersed throughout other lands. Its people are the most comely (handsome) of men, the cleanest in their dress, the most delicious in their food, and the kindliest folk in creation. Wherever we stopped in this land, whether at a hospice or a private house, our neighbors both men and women (these do not veil themselves) came to ask after our needs. When we left them they bade us farewell as though they were our relatives and our own folk, and you would see "
- Ibn Battuta [Gibb, p. 415 - 416]
TO BE CONTINUED ....