Abu Abdullah Muhammad Ibn Battuta Integration of Civilizations

The Classical Period The civilizations of the Classical Period –China –India –Greece and Rome These regions were fairly independent form one another, especially China. They had some connection, but not one of an integral nature.

International Trade One of the first steps the world took toward sharing new ideas was the growth of an international trade market. Merchants bought and sold goods from many different countries and empires, introducing them to the markets in their home countries. Then religion, philosophies, trade secrets, ideas of all kinds spread even more as time passed and trading increased.

The Post-Classical Period During the Post-Classical period, much of the world was beginning to merge and combine. Cultures, religions, goods, philosophies, and knowledge spread due to the growth of trade. Ideas moved and came to people. There was one man who truly epitomized this world integration and went to the new cultures. He was a traveler, Abu Abdullah Muhammad Ibn Battuta.

Ibn Battuta Ibn Battuta began his traveling when he went to make the Hajj, or pilgrimage to Mecca, as all Muslims were instructed to do. However, he continued to travel for the next thirty years, to all of the Muslim lands and beyond to other civilizations. His records of his journey are unbiased and detailed, describing behavior of the people and rulers, the religious works, market goods, and certain rituals or procedures foreign to him.

Searching the World When Ibn Battuta returned to his home, he wrote his experiences in his book, titled Rihla or My Travels. In the age of new ideas and blossoming links throughout the post-classical world, Ibn Battuta sought everything the world had to offer.

Ibn Battuta’s Travels to Constantinople One of the best examples of Ibn Battuta’s travels is when he goes to Constantinople. –After many travels so far, Ibn Battuta arrived at Constantinople and described his experiences there. He wished to meet with the Byzantine emperor, but he first had to undergo the customs of guards searching him for weapons of any kind. Then, Ibn Battuta was always escorted by at least three men. Though this might have seemed strange, Ibn Battuta expressed no negativity and simply asked a translator on how to salute the king.

Constantinople When he finally met the emperor, Ibn Battuta exchanged information with him, informing the ruler of the knowledge he had gathered on his journey thus far. Not only did he go and learn of other lands, Ibn Battuta spread what he observed, exposing more and more people to the bigger world. From the palace, Ibn Battuta goes out to see the city itself.

Excerpt from Rihla “The city is enormous in size, and in two parts separated by a great river [the Golden Horn], in which there is a rising and ebbing tide…” “Its bazaars and streets are spacious and paved with flagstones; each bazaar has gates which are closed upon it at night, and the majority of the artisans and sellers in them are women. The city lies at the foot of a hill which projects about nine miles into the sea, its breadth being the same or greater. On the top of the hill there is a small citadel and the Emperor's palace.”

Analysis From reading these few lines, it can be seen that Ibn Battuta was very observational and seemed to try and portray what he saw as it truly was. However, later in his writings, his bias on Christianity appears to surface, showing his love of Islam, his religion. Despite this, the majority of his descriptions are purely informational, reflecting his scholarly point of view.

Conclusion Ibn Battuta represented the gradual integration of all the cultures of the world. Not only did he travel all of the Muslim ruled lands, but also other areas, like China, South Russia, and the Byzantine Empire. He recorded his experiences and spread the behavior of cultures to other lands, planting the first seeds of full cultural assimilation on an international scale during the postclassical period.