What makes his feat truly remarkable is this was done in an age when tranportation was very primitive and travel in itself was a potentially perilous undertaking, far more so than it is today, involving life-threatening fatigue and privation.
Battutta's Early Life
Battutta was born in Tangiers in 1304, the son of wealthy parents. It is highly likely that he would not have travelled greatly, if much at all, if it were not for the advantages that being born into wealth conferred. The overriding purpose behind all of Battutta's wanderings was his deep and abiding faith - he was a reverent Muslim.
The Journey's of Ibn Battutta
His first journey, in 1325 - a pilgrimage, or hajj - took him from Tangiers, through Arab-ruled North Africa, and so on to the holy city of Mecca in Arabia. He journeyed thence into Persia before returning to Mecca and remaining there for up to three years.
He then travelled southward, by ship, to Tanzania, visiting all the principal Arab trading cities on the northeastern African littoral. On his return voyage, he 'circled' Arabia before returning to Mecca on another hajj.
He then decided to seek employment in the Muslim Sultanate of Dehli, and accordingly headed north from Arabia, visiting Constantinople before crossing the Black Sea and travelling through the lands north of the Caspian Sea, through Central Asia and the desolate mountains of Afghanistan and on into northern India.
There, he lingered for almost a decade, serving Sultan Mohammad Tuqhluq of Dehli as a judge. He was dispatched as an ambassador to China, and the subsequent voyage saw him visiting the Maldives,, Ceylon (Sri Lanka), Eastern India, Sumatra, and Malaya. When he finally arrived in China, it is possible he travelled as far north as Beijing.
After several decades abroad, Battutta finally decided to undertake the incredibly long and dangerous journey back to Morocco. He did so in roundabout fashion, travelling back to India before journeying through Central Asia to the Middle East. He undertook a final hajj to Mecca before eventually returning to Tangier by way of Sardinia, returning home in 1349.
After the briefest of sojourns, he took ship to the Muslim-held port of Valencia, in Spain. From there, he journeyed to Granada before returning to Tangier. In 1351, he was off again, this time to cross the billowing golden wastes of the Sahara, to visit Timbuktu. He was recalled back to Morocco by the Sultan of Fez in 1353.
Upon his final return, Battutta narrated the tales of his travels to Ibn Juzayy al-Kalbi. The subsequent volume was usually known as the 'Rihla' (Journey). Battutta continued his work as a judge in Morocco until his death in 1369.
Battutta met many distinguished people on his travels, including the Emperor of Byzantium and the Mongol Khan of the Golden Horde. He left enduring descriptions of the people and places he visited, as well as the hardships he suffered. He was shipwrecked, robbed, stricken with illness, and witnessed firsthand the ravages of the Black Death. But perhaps the ultimate reason for his astounding urge to travel should be summed up in his own words:
'Of the wondrous doings of God, most high is this, that He has created the hearts of men with an instinctive desire to seek these sublime sanctuaries.'
Sources:
To the ends of The Earth Journeys of the Great Explorers, Jon Balchin, Arcturus Publishing, 2005
A History of the Arab Peoples, Albert Hourani, Faber and Faber, 1996
