Contents
Ibn Battuta
Leaving an extensive account of travels across Africa and Asia in the Rihla.
Rihla · Delhi descriptions
- Born
- 24 February 1304
- Birthplace
- Tangier, Morocco
- Died
- c. 1368
More people
Ibn Battuta
A fourteenth-century Muslim traveller and scholar who described societies across a vast area. His dictated account mixes personal observation with material whose reliability historians continue to assess.
Early life
Legal education
Came from a family associated with Islamic law in Tangier.
First journey
Left home in 1325 intending to make the pilgrimage to Mecca.
Career
- 1325
Departure
Began travelling across North Africa towards Mecca.
- 1330s
Delhi
Served as a judge at the court of Muhammad bin Tughluq.
- 1340s
Indian Ocean journeys
Travelled through regions including the Maldives and Sri Lanka.
- 1350s
West Africa and writing
Visited Mali and later dictated his travel account.
Journeys & writings
Rihla
A wide-ranging account dictated to Ibn Juzayy.
Delhi descriptions
Accounts of court life and political danger.
Mali journey
Descriptions of West African society and rule.
Reading the Rihla
Religious perspective
Travelled within networks of Muslim scholarship, hospitality and pilgrimage.
Reading critically
Some journeys and details are debated; the account is not a modern verified travel log.
Sources & photo credit
Life, career and references ↗Image is a historical or commemorative representation ↗Photo: Léon Benett. Public domain · Original image. Cropped and displayed in monochrome.
