The Great Islamic Traveler: Ibn Battuta and His Journey
One of the best ways to discover the world is through the writings of those that have traveled. Ibn Battuta, for me, is like the Anthony Bourdain of Dar al-Islam during the 14th century (although, as a Muslim, he probably wasn’t drinking, smoking, and cursing his way around the world!). You are going to follow the travels of Battuta as he set out on the hajj from Tangiers using the following website:
There are 2 parts to this assignment.
1)As you read about Battuta’s travels, answer the following questions on a separate sheet of paper (does not have to be in complete sentences).
2)Trace his travels on the provided map, marking the significant stopping points along Battuta’s adventure.
This is all due on Friday, October 7th.
Part I: From Pilgrim to World Traveler
- What aspects of the Islamic world allowed for Ibn Battuta to make such a journey?
- What was Ibn Battuta’s full name?....(Just Kidding!! But check it out! “ibn” = son of)
- The note to the left talks about the “Pax Mongolica”. What was this and why was it significant to the time frame of Battuta’s travels?
- What impressed him about Cairo?
5. What was the significance of the mosque to both the community and the city?
6. What was so impressive about the waqfs of Damascus?
7. How does he describe Makkah (see the description under the picture)?
8. Why, according to the author of “The Travels of Ibn Battuta”, why did Battuta travel to Baghdad?
From Riches to Rags
9. Ibn Battuta entered Baghdad after the devastation of what group?
10. Despite this, how is the Baghdad of the 14th century described?
11. Throughout the reading, note some of Ibn Battuta’s prejudices, or negative responses, towards the people that he meets. (look for this throughout the reading)
12. What prompted him to decide to go to India after his 3rd hajj?
13. What did Ibn Battuta experience while in the service of the Dehli Sultanate? What was his opinion of Sultan Muhammad ibn Tughluq? What appointment did he receive while there? (see the side note)
14. Where did the Sultan then decide to send Ibn Battuta?
15. Ibn Battuta was barely able to escape death TWO times in a very short period. What happened in both cases? How did the second “event” impact his career with the Sultan?
From Traveler to Memoirist
16. How, while in the Maldives, did Ibn Battuta become “a big fish in a small pond”? 17. Why did this eventually lead to his departure for Sri Lanka?
18. Who was Ghiyath al-Din, what did he want to do with Ibn Battuta, and why did Ibn Battuta NOT want to work with him in the end?
19. Why is it important to note that, despite Ibn Battuta repeatedly losing all of his belongings, coming close to dying, etc., he is repeatedly taken care of by strangers?
20. Even though the Yuan Dynasty (the Mongol Dynasty of China) didn’t embrace Islam the way Mongols in other parts of the empire did, why were Muslims favored within Mongol China?
21. What did Battuta think of China?
22. In the mid-1300s, as he was heading towards home from China, what was wreaking havoc across Dar al-Islam? Why might the relative openness of the Islamic world have fostered the spread of this disease?
23. After briefly returning home to visit his mother’s grave, Ibn Battuta decided to take on a jihad. What does this mean, and where did he go?
24. How did Europe’s demand for gold contribute to Mali’s great wealth?
25. Describe the trade network between Mali and Morocco.
Battuta’s descriptions of Mali and its people are rather negative. Why?
26. What did many of Battuta’s contemporaries think of his stories?