READING 7.3.8 IBN BATTUTA (1304-1368 CE) EXPLORER PROFILE Macquarie University Big History School: Core

Lexile® measure: 790L MACQUARIE UNIVERSITY BIG HISTORY SCHOOL: CORE - READING 7.3.8. EXPLORER PROFILE: IBN BATTUTA - 790L 2

In 632 CE, the Islamic Conquest spread out of Arabia and into much of the Old World. By 750 CE, Islamic armies controlled a lot of land. They controlled the whole Middle East and Persia. They spread all the way across to Afghanistan and Pakistan. To the West, they conquered all of North Africa and Spain. In the 1100s and 1200s, Turko-Islamic conquests moved further east. This spread the Islamic religion far into India and Indonesia. This was the world that Ibn Battuta explored all his life. IBN BATTUTA (1304-1368 CE) EXPLORER PROFILE By David Baker

Ibn Battuta was born in 1304 in Tangier, Morocco. His family were upper class Berbers, and Sunni scholars. When Ibn Battuta was 20, he wanted to go to Mecca. This pilgrimage is known as Hajj. Battuta would eventually travel much further than Mecca. Islamic law divides the world into three houses. Dar al-Islam is land where Islam is the main religion. Dar al-Islam means the House of Islam. Dar al-Sulh is the House of Truces. These are countries which are not Islamic, but are at peace with the House of Islam. Finally, there is the Dar al-Harb. This is the House of War. The Dar al-Harb is made up of regions which have not been conquered or made peace with the House of Islam. Ibn Battuta travelled mainly in the House of Islam. He was able to travel easily across the House of Islam. This is because he was a practitioner of Islamic Law. However, he also travelled into the other two houses, mainly MACQUARIE UNIVERSITY BIG HISTORY SCHOOL: CORE - READING 7.3.8. EXPLORER PROFILE: IBN BATTUTA - 790L 3 in the House of Islam. He was able to travel easily across the House of took the opportunity to go to China as an ambassador. Several disasters at Islam. This is because he was a practitioner of Islamic Law. However, he sea prevented Ibn Battuta from reaching his final destination. Fearing the also travelled into the other two houses, mainly in Asia and China. Sultan of Delhi would have him executed, Battuta instead stayed in Kerala, in southwest India. He eventually moved on to the Maldives where he In 1325, Battuta left his mother and father in Tangiers. Alone, he began worked for many months. From there, Battuta went on to Sri Lanka and his hajj. He travelled for many years, joining diplomatic missions and Bangladesh. caravans. Along the way, he made many friends, and supporters. He gathered many servants. He also had many wives and concubines. Over In 1345, Battuta finally made it to Southeast Asia. He spent time on the his life, Ibn Battuta had 10 wives. However, the law only allowed him to Indonesian Island of Sumatra. At the time, this was the furthest extent have four at a time. He had many children with his wives. Ibn Battuta also of the House of Islam. From there, he stayed in the Malay Peninsula for a had many children with his concubines across Asia and Africa. few days. Battuta then travelled to China, but it is unclear where exactly in China he visited. Some of his descriptions of China don’t seem to fit. From 1325 to 1332, Ibn Battuta explored the House of Islam in Africa and Other accounts seem to be plagiarized by other sources. However, he did the Middle East. He made his way to Mecca on his Hajj. Along the way, he take note of China’s porcelain, silk, and paper currency. It is possible that studied at many religious schools. He also met many famous leaders and Battuta travelled as far north as Beijing. His notes make clear that he did scholars. In Tunisia, he married his first wife. In Alexandria, holy men not like China. This is because they followed a “pagan” religion. From predicted that he would travel the world. He visited the massive library of there, he returned to Southeast Asia, then back to India. However, he Cairo. He went down the Nile, and crossed the Red Sea many times. Then stayed away from Delhi, because he feared the Sultan. he spent time in Damascus. At the time, Damascus was the best place in the Islamic world for legal education. From there, he headed to Medina Battuta travelled back to Persia. There, he witnessed the fall of the and Mecca. He made at least three trips to Mecca, and spent a lot of time Khanate. He reached Mecca in 1348. At this time, Black Death was in there. Battuta also went to Baghdad. He also explored a lot of the Islamic full swing. He arrived back in Tangiers in 1349. Battuta learned that his Hugalu Khanate. This Khanate ruled Persia, Mesopotamia, and Anatolia. mother had died of the plague. His father died 15 years earlier. After Battuta also sailed the Red Sea to Yemen. From there, he went to Somalia spending a short amount of time at home, Battuta set off on his travels and the Swahili Coast. At the time, these places were under Islamic Rule. again. He visited the kingdom of Al-Andalus in Spain. From there, he crossed the Sahara to visit the Mali Empire, Mali, and Gao. In 1332, Ibn Battuta was in Mecca again. He decided to travel to Delhi, and seek a job from the ruling sultan. His travels took him again through Battuta eventually returned to Morocco. In 1354, he wrote A Gift to Those Egypt, Palestine, and Turkey. Battuta also claims to have visited the Who Contemplate the Wonders of Cities and the Marvels of Travelling. Mongols of the Golden Horde in Crimea. From there, he went to Bolghar This was the story of his adventures. He settled down in Fez, where he and Astrakhan in Central Asia. He joined a caravan, which took him married, and died in 1368 or 1369. out of the House of Islam for the first time. This caravan took him to Battuta’s travels lay out an amazing snapshot of the world in the 14th Constantinople, which was in the House of War. Battuta visited the Hagia century, just before the unification of the world zones. He makes clear Sophia, which was a Christian Orthodox church at the time. He then how strong trade and information networks were becoming, and how travelled east through Bukhara, and south through Afghanistan into India. they were extending out into the rest of the world. Even in China, Battuta Ibn Battuta met the Sultan of Delhi, Muhammad bin Tughluq. He was stayed with other Muslim emissaries and merchant traders. Afro-Eurasia apparently offered the job of judge after bravely slaying a dozen bandits was being untied into a network of collective learning. Now all that he met on the road. Battuta spent several years in the Sultan’s service. remained was to travel out into the rest of the world zones. At the time, India’s population was majority Hindu. However, a Muslim minority ruled over the Hindu majority. The Muslims came to power after two centuries of conflict, which cost millions of lives. They had to keep firm control over the country. Muhammad bin Tughluq was known for being a particularly dangerous ruler. He was so unpredictable that Battuta was constantly being threatened with jail or execution. So, Battuta gladly MACQUARIE UNIVERSITY BIG HISTORY SCHOOL: CORE - READING 7.3.8. EXPLORER PROFILE: IBN BATTUTA - 790L 4

REFERENCES Christian, David and Cynthia Stokes Brown and Craig Benjamin. Big History: Between Nothing and Everything. New York: McGraw Hill, 2014. Dunn, Ross. The Adventures of Ibn Battuta: A Muslim Traveler of the Fourteenth Century. Berkeley: University of California Press, 1986. McNeill, J.R. and William H. McNeill. The Human Web: A Bird’s-Eye View of World History. New York: W.W. Norton, 2003.

IMAGE CREDITS ‘Caravan of Pilgrims in Ramleh’ Credit: Bibliothèque nationale de France, https:// commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Yahy%C3%A2_ibn_Mahm%C3%BBd_al- W%C3%A2sit%C3%AE_005.jpg P ‘Les Grands Voyages et les Grands Voyageurs. Découverte de la Terre par Jules Verne’ Credit: Bibliothèque nationale de France, https://gallica.bnf.fr/ark:/12148/bpt6k65422974/ f95.image

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