Ibn Batuta &

His Travels
By - Michelle
D ’ Souza & Priyanka Keswani
 Content

 Introduction
 The Travel Begins
 Iraq & Persia
 Arabian Peninsula, Somalia & Swahili Cost
 Central Asia and India
 Southeast Asia and China
 Black Death
 The Rihla
 Conclusion
 References

Ibn Batuta
 The travel begings
 "My departure from Tangier , my birthplace , took place ... with the object of making the
Pilgrimage to the Holy House [at Makkah] and of visiting the tomb of the Prophet [in
Medina], God's richest blessing and peace be on him. I set out alone having neither
fellow-traveler in whose companionship I might find cheer, nor caravan whose party I
might join, but swayed by an overmastering impulse within me and a desire long-
cherished in my bosom to visit these illustrious sanctuaries. So I braced my resolution
to quit all my dear ones, female and male, and forsook my home as birds forsake their
nests. My parents being yet in the bonds of life, it weighed sorely upon me to part
from them, and both they and I were afflicted with sorrow at this separation." [Gibb, p.
8]
His journey to Mecca was by land, and followed the North African coast crossing the
sultanates of Abd Al Wadid and Hafsid. He usually chose to join a caravan to
reduce the risk of being attacked by wandering Arab bedouin.
After spending the Muslim month of Ramadan in Damascus, he joined up with a caravan

travelling the 1,500 km (930 mi) from Damascus to Medina, burial place of
the Islamic prophet Muhammad. After 4 days in the town, he journeyed on to Mecca.
There he completed the usual rituals of a Muslim pilgrim, and having graduated to
the status of al-Hajji, faced his return home but instead decided to continue
journeying. His next destination in modern-day Iraq and Iran.
Iraq & Persia
Arabian Peninsula, Somalia & Swahili Coast
 Black Death

 1 3 4 6 , Ib n B a ttu ta b e g a n h is
jo u rn e y h o m e to M o ro cco
 R e tu rn e d to D a m a scu s in
1 3 4 8 w ith a n in te n tio n to
re tra ce h is ro u te o f h is
first H a jj
 H e h a d le a rn e d th a t h is
fa th e r h a d d ie d 1 5 ye a rs
e a rlie r
 In 1 3 4 9 h e w e n t to Ta n g ie r
o n ly to d isco ve r h is
m o th e r h a d d ie d a fe w
m o n th s b e fo re

 The Rihla
 Medival book which recounts the journey
of Ibn Battuta and his travels
 In 1354, Battuta returned home and gave
a detailed account of his journeys to Ibn
Juzayy who was a scholar he had
previously met
 It was the only source of his adventures
 No indication that Ibn Battuta made any
notes during his travelling years
 Relied purely on memory and manuscripts
from previous travellers
 Westerners do not believe he travelled to
all the places he described as he relied
heavily on evidence from previous
travellers
 Often experienced culture shock wherever
he went as some places did not fit his
orthodox Muslim background
 Was appointed judge in Morocco and died
 Conclusion
Ibn Battuta - The Forgotten
Traveller
 refrences
 Chapurukha, M.K. (1999). The Rise and Fall of
Swahili States, Lanham: Alta Mira Press
 Dunn, R.E. (2005). The Adventures of Ibn Battuta,
California: University of California Press
 Nehru, J. (1989). Glimpses of World History,
India: Oxford University Press
 Smith, T. (Host). (2007) Travels with a Tangerine.
(Documentary). London: BBC television
