PASTEXPERIENCE HISTORY

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1325–1355

How to read Ibn Battuta’s travels

A pilgrimage became a long journey recorded afterward.

TangierDelhi

Networks supporting pilgrimage

How did Ibn Battuta keep traveling after setting out on pilgrimage in 1325? Faith and legal knowledge helped connect him to support. Changing purposes brought new relationships with courts and merchants.

[1] University of California, Berkeley ORIAS[2] University of California, Berkeley ORIAS[3] University of California, Berkeley ORIAS

A legal scholar serving as envoy

Delhi’s court offered rewards and protection but also ordered an embassy to China. Shipwreck and changing plans led through the Maldives and Sri Lanka. His East African account describes both trading wealth and enslaving expeditions. Welcomed travelers and coerced people moved within the same sea under very different conditions.

[1] University of California, Berkeley ORIAS[2] University of California, Berkeley ORIAS[3] University of California, Berkeley ORIAS

Journeys narrated after return

The account of roughly twenty-nine years of travel was narrated after return, with dictation recorded in 1355. Observation, hearsay and organized memory overlap. Certainty varies by passage, while the author’s work and position shaped what he emphasized.

[1] University of California, Berkeley ORIAS[2] University of California, Berkeley ORIAS[3] University of California, Berkeley ORIAS

Before and after

  1. 1325

    Departure for pilgrimage.

  2. Around 1328–1330

    Travel around the Red Sea, East Africa and Arabian Sea.

  3. Around 1334

    Approximate arrival in Delhi.

  4. 1355

    The travel account was written.

Key terms

Hajj
Islamic pilgrimage to Mecca.
Rihla
A term for a journey or travel account.
Dictation record
Writing down a spoken account.

What supports the account?

Port descriptions combine prosperous exchange with raiding and enslavement. Favorable accounts of rulers still require scrutiny of their actions.

Pilgrimage, routes, scholarly connections and dictation. Sea travel, descriptions of Kilwa, exchange and references to enslavement.

Limits of the evidence

The traveler’s judgment is not every subject’s voice.

[1] University of California, Berkeley ORIAS[2] University of California, Berkeley ORIAS

Check your understanding

Choose an answer to reveal the explanation. Return to the article and sources when you are unsure.

1. How should an account narrated after returning be approached?

Sources

  1. The Travels of Ibn BattutaUniversity of California, Berkeley ORIAS

    Pilgrimage, routes, scholarly connections and dictation.

  2. The Red Sea to East Africa and the Arabian SeaUniversity of California, Berkeley ORIAS

    Sea travel, descriptions of Kilwa, exchange and references to enslavement.

  3. Escape from Delhi to the Maldive Islands and Sri LankaUniversity of California, Berkeley ORIAS

    Ruler’s orders, an envoy’s role and dangers.

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