One of the only places Ibn Battuta did not visit during his travels was Germany. Ibn Battuta’s full name was Abu Abdullah Muhammad Ibn Battuta. Ibn means son of in Arabic, so his name literally translates to Abu Abdullah Muhammad who is the son of Battuta. He had an assistant who wrote a narrative of Ibn Battuta’s travels, his name was Ibn Juzayy. He had been married to multiple women during his expeditions. Ibn Battuta traveled at an average speed of seven miles per day for 11,000 days. Trivia/Fun Facts Source #1 Summary Page # 1

Ibn Battuta was born into a Morrocan family of Muslim scholars and judges on Febuary 24 th, 1304 A.D in Tangier, Morroco. He died in Fez, Morroco in 1369 at the age of 65. He was killed by the Black Death or Black Plague, which also took the life of his mom and dad. He studied law before beginning his voyages. He left on his voyages on Thursday June 14 th, 1325, A.D. His first voyage was on his hajj to Mecca. His travels lasted for around 29 years, spanning over 75,000 miles and through 44 countries. He travelled all the way from Africa to China. It is believed that Ibn Battuta visited the lands of every single Muslim leader he lived under. Background/General Information Multiple Sources SummaryMultiple Page #1’s

Ibn Battuta’s birthplace of Tangier was a port town right on the Gibraltar Strait. Tangier was a popular destination for sailors and travelers going through this area. Above Tangier was the Gibraltar Strait, and above that was Muslim Spain. Little is known about Battuta’s childhood and family, but it is assumed that his daily life was fairly similar to most. Ibn Battuta most likely would have started school at age 6, and his first encounter with writing would have been with the Qu’ran. He most likely would have learned at either a mosque or a teacher’s house. (His parents would pay the teacher) Background/General Information Source #2 ParaphrasePart #1

During Ibn Battuta’s elementary studies, he most likely would have mainly learned arithmetic and studied the Qu’ran. As he grew older, he would begin to learn more complex arithmetic and start to learn Arabic. Ibn Battuta’s most important academic goal was most likely to memorize the Qu’ran by heart. This was common among boys. Some other subjects he could have learned were history, ethics, law, or military strategy. Ibn Battuta ended up learning law, but his knowledge of Arabic helped him most in his travels. Arabic was the universal language in his time and it showed that he was an educated man. Background/General Information Source #2 ParaphrasePart #1

In Ibn Battuta’s first journey he travelled through Algiers, Tunis, Egypt, Palestine, and finally from Syria to Mecca. He was said to have left by himself. To make sure that he would be safe, Ibn Battuta often traveled in caravans. He stayed at Tunis for around 2 months. After his stay he left to Port Alexandria and visited local sites. After a while, he traveled to the City of Cairo and spent about a month there. He then tried setting off for Mecca in an untraditional route, but he was forced back after a local rebellion. He returned to Cairo and then went off to the city of Damascus. Travels Source 3 Summary Pg # 2

After reaching Damascus, he met a holy man named Shayk Abul Hasan al Shadii. He told Battuta that the only way he’d reach Mecca was through Syria. Before he left, Ibn Battuta spent the month of Ramadan in Damascus. He then left Damascus with a caravan that went to the Prophet Muhammad’s burial ground in Medina. From there, he reached Mecca and instead of returning back to Morocco, he continued on his journey. He then went on to visit Iraq, Shiraz and Mesopotamia, before returning to Mecca. TravelsMultiple Sources Paraphrase Multiple Pgs.

After a month spent in Mecca, Ibn Battuta joined a caravan that journeyed across the Middle East. Instead of joining them to Baghdad, Ibn Battuta traveled to the large city of Shariz. After a short tenure there, he returned to the original destination of Baghdad. There, he met and began to travel with the caravan of the Mongol Ruler Abu Sa’id. With the royal caravan, they moved through parts of the Silk Road, before he returned to Baghdad by Caravan. From Baghdad, Battuta returned to Mecca for his 2 nd Hajj. He was said to have stayed in Mecca for another three years. TravelsMultiple Sources ParaphraseMultiple Pgs.

After his tenure in Mecca, he traveled to Jeddah and sailed to Yemen, visited Aden. He then sailed to Mombasa, East Africa. He traveled through the Somalian Peninsula and described the area as an area with a high amount of merchants. From Somalia, he continued down the coast of East Africa before he reached Mombasa. From Mombasa, he traveled to the “beautiful” town of Kulwa. Kulwa was a town noted for its gold trade at the time. Because of monsoon type winds, Battuta decided to leave Kulwa to return to Mecca for his 3 rd Hajj. He sailed back to Oman, impressed by the planning and Décor of Kulwa. Travels ummah.net ParaphrasePg # 3

After his 3 rd Hajj, Ibn Battuta he planned on voyaging to India to receive work from the sultan of Delhi. Once he reached Jeddah, he changed his mind. Historians believe he did not go to India because of the unavailability of a ship there. Instead of a voyage to India, he revisited Cairo, Palestine, Syria. After visiting these three places, he traveled to the Asia Minor by sea. From there, he travelled across Anatolia and Sinope. There, he met Uzbeg Khan, the leader of the Golden Horde. Shortly after Uzbeg Khan let one of his wives return to her homeland of Constantinople, Battuta joined her in this expedition and reached Constantinople through Ukraine. Travels ummah.net Paraphrase Pg #2

After visiting Constantinople for about a month, Ibn Battuta began his voyage to India. During his voyage to India, he passed through and visited the cities of Bukhara, Balkh, Heart, Tus, Mashhad and Nishapur. To reach India, he went through the 13,000 ft Khawak Pass in the Hindukush Mountains. After getting through this pass, he passed through the Afghani cities of Ghani and Kabul as he entered India. He finally reached Delhi after visiting modern day Karachi, Sukkur, Multan, Sirsa and Hansi. Ibn Battuta stayed in India for several years as was appointed as one of the chief judges in India by his wealthy friend and sultan Muhammad bin Tughluq. Travels ummah.net ParaphrasePg #2-3

TravelsMultiple Sources ParaphraseMultiple Pages Although Ibn Battuta enjoyed his time as judge in India, he did not have much power because Islam was not a widely known religion there. Ibn Battuta was said to have lived in wealth and luxury during his time in India. After Ibn Battuta told Muhammad Tughluq of his plans to return to Mecca for another Hajj, Tughluq asked Ibn to become the ambassador to the Yuan Dynasty of China. He accepted as he wanted to get away from the sultan because people were becoming suspicious of Battuta. At the beginning of his trip to China, Battuta was attacked by a group of Bandits and almost killed. Despite this, he carried on and kept up with his party.

He then reached Calicut after a few more days, and planned to reach China by sea. Unfortunately, a storm hit, and one of the boats was destroyed, leaving Battuta stranded in India. Instead of returning to Delhi as a failure, he stayed in Southern India under Jamal-ud-Din, the ruler of the area. Determined to get to China, Battuta took a detour and went through the Maldive Islands He spent 9 months there at the recently Islam converted nation. At the Maldives, he became the chief judge, and was married into the Royal Family. TravelsMultiple Sources ParaphraseMultiple Pages

From the Maldives, Battuta traveled to Sri Lanka, where his ship almost sank. A different ship came to his rescue, but he was stranded on the shores of Kohzikode. There he boarded a Chinese ship, determined to receive his ambassador post in China. He finally arrived at a port city in modern day Bangladesh. He was able to continue on with his original plans, and after sailing to Malacca, Vietnam, and the Phillippines, he reached China. He arrived at the Fujian Province of China. During his stay in China he travelled all across the country from Beijing to Hangzhou. After a power struggle occurred, he returned to Quanzhou. TravelsMultiple Sources ParaphraseMultiple Pages

After returning to Quanzhou, Battuta began his return voyage to Morocco in On his return journey, he retraced his steps and returned to Calicut. From there he took a ship to Dhafari and passed throuph Iran, Iraq, Syria, Palestine and Egypt. He then made his final Hajj to Mecca in During this period of time, the Black Plague had hit the world and tons of people died. Finally, Ibn Battuta reached home in Tangier in Although he was old, his travels did not end there. Ibn Battuta then proceeded to explore Muslim Spain and the Sahara. TravelsMultiple Sources ParaphraseMultiple Pages

Ibn Battuta then spent exploring the Sahara, along the Niger River. He traveled all along the Niger until the Sultan of Morocco demanded he come home. He reached home in 1354 and wrote documents on his travels. He wrote The Rihla, which documented his travels and the world during his time. In the end, Ibn Battuta traveled to 44 different modern day countries. He also spanned across all of the Muslim Kingdom during this time. TravelsMultiple Sources ParaphraseMultiple Pages