Ibn Battuta Travels in Asia and Africa

THE BROADWAY TRAVELLERS
EDITED BY SIR E DENISON ROSS

AND EILEEN POWER
~
IBNBATTUTA
TRAVELS IN
ASIA AND AFRICA
1325-1354
Translated and selected by
H. dl R GIBB
Lecturer in Arabu, School of Orrental Studus, Unzvernty of London
T17zth an f ntroductton and :Jl.&tes
Prtb/rshed by
GEORGE ROUTLEDGE & SONS, LTD
BROADWAY HOUSE, CARTER LANE, LONDON
I
IBN BATTUTA
TRAVELS IN ASIA AND AFRICA
1326---64
BROADWAY TRAVELLERS
THE BROADWAY TRAVELLERS
EDITED BY SIR E DENISON ROSS

AND EILEEN POWER
'IRAYELS AND ADl'EN'IURES

OF PERO_ 'IAFUR, 1435-1439
AKllAR .AND THE JESUITS
BT FATHER P DU J.dRRIC
DON JUAN OF PERSM,
A SHl'AH CATHOLIC, 1560-1604
'THE DI.1/.Rr OF HENRr 'IEONGE, 1675-1679
MEMOIRS OF AN Ji.PIil CEN'IURr
FOO'Il,fdN, BT JOHN MdCDONALJJ
NOP-11. FRANCIA
BT Mil.RC LESC/lRllO'I, 1606
TRAVELS IN 'TAR'TART, 'Tl1IBE'I .1ND CHINA,
1844-6, BT M HUC
'THE CONQUEST OF MEXICO
BT BERNAL DIAZ DEL CASTILLO, 1517-21
LETTER OF HER.NANDO CORTES, 1519-26
'IRAffELS IN PERSIA,
BT SIR THOMAS HERBERT, 1627-9
TRUE EIISTORT OF HANS S'IADEN, 1557
THE ENGLISH AMERICAN
BT 'THOMAS GAGE, 1648
'IRE EMBASST OF
CLAVIJO 'IO 'TAMERLANE, 1403-6
'IRAPELS IN ASIA LIND AFRICA, 1325-54
BT IBN BA'I'IU'IA
THE EAS'I IN DUN rorAGES,
BT lf'JLLEM BON'IEKOE, 1618-25
'Jbe abOfle volmntJ are ready or nearing p11blic11t1on

A comp}ete Jut will he found at the end of this 'l!olumt
Publtshed hy
GEORGE ROUTLEDGE & SONS, LTD
Fmt publtsbed m r 929
PRll,TEP IN GRSAT ERITAI._ IJY

BILUNG uro SO'iS LTD' GlJILD.P'ORD /l',D ESHER
CONTENTS
PAGR
INTRODUCTION l
BOOK I
CHAPTER I 43
CHAPTER II 78
CHAPTER III 106
CHAPTER IV 123
CHAPTER V 167
BOOK II
,,,-
CHAPTER VI 183
CHAPTER VII 214
CHAPTER VI 11 241
CHAPTER IX 261
CHAPTER X 272
CHAPTER XI 282
CHAPTER XII 301
CHAPTER XIII 311
CHAPTER XIV 3 17
NoTES 34 1
INDEX OF GEOGRAPHICAL NAMES 385
INDEX OF PERSONAL NAMES, ETC. - 395
V
Selections from the Travels of
lbn Battuta
INTRODUCTION
I. IBN BATTUTA AND HIS WO~
To the world of today the men of medieval Christen-

dom already seem remote and unfamiliar. Their
names and deeds are recorded m our history-books,
their monuments still adorn our cities, but our km-
sp..!_p_ ~iJh them is _a thmg unreal, wh1<;:h co~s an effort
of the imagination. How much more must this
apply to the great Islamic civilization, tnat stood over
agamst medieval Europe, menacing its existence and
yet lmked to 1t by a hundred ties that even war and fear
could not sever. Its monuments too abide, for those
who may have the fortune to visit them, but tts men
and manners are to most of us utterly unknown, or
d!mlY. conceiv~m the romantic image of the Arabian
Nights. Even for the specialist it 1s difficult to re-
-, conshuB: their lives and see them as they were.
'v' Histories and b10graphies there are m quantity, but
the histonans, for all their piB:uresque details, seldol!l
show the ab1hty to seleB: the essential and ~o_ giye
their -figures that touch of the mtimate which makes
them lrve-ag~iii--for the reader.-- It-IS 1ll -tliis faculty
that Ibn Battuta excels. Of the multitudes that crowd
upon the stage m the pageant of medieval Islam there
1s no figure more mstmB: with hfe than his. In his
book he not only lays before-us a~faithful portrait of
himself, with all his virtues and his failings, but evokes
B
SELECTIONS FROM THE
, a whole age as it were from the dead. ,-These travels
'. have been ransacked by histJrians and -geographers
1
but no esbmate of his work 1s even famtly satisfatl:ory
. which does not bear m mmd that 1t is first and fore-
most a human d1ary, ln Whtch the tale oTfatfs' IS "sub-
ordinated to the mteresrs and preoccupat10ns of the
diarist and h1s audience. It 1s 1mposs1ble not to feel
a hkmg for the charatl:er it reveals to us, generous
to excess, humane m an age when life was its at
cheapest, bold (did ever medieval traveller fear the
, sea less ~), f2.t:!4 of pleasure and ~ous to a degree,
I but Controlled Wltha} by a deep Veznof piety and
'. devobon, a man w1th a]] the makin~ of a smner, and

i sgnieJ:hi~_s>f ?- s~l!_l ~- J -- - - --- -
Of the external events of Ibn Battuta's hfe we know
little beyond what he himself teIIs us. .Th~editor
of the travels-? Ibn Juzayy, notes that he was born-
~~fa;gi~;~o~ ~4th~eq,~ary,,:!3?_,4,, __ai~l}i~i~ri.ef
reference Ill a later book of biographies we know
that ~Jet4r:,n-tQ _ M<?,rqs_cp..:.h~,~F~s ,~ppo~~t~ 4 4
qadi or_J_l;!dge,,m pn,t qQhe Mo..rqc~an towns, an4 died

tlierein I 3 6 8 or I 3 69. .fi\s~.PJV!l ;y1m~t v;:~s M ~~=
~~~a;J9~~p'(Alf9ii1.ih),Jbp ,.B~!J.U$a b~tng the fa~1Iy
name,_ sbll to be found 111 Morocco H1s family had
apparently~ b[en ;ettled 111 -Tangier' for some genera-
tions and belonges:Lto the,B~rJJ!!~ _q:1!?J of th!,_!:,!l:W.Ml!,
which first appears m history as a nom'aa1c tnbe m
Cyrenaica and on the borders of Egypt. For the re~
he divulges mcidenta11y m a passage relating to his
as
appointment qadf m Delhi, that he came of a house
which had produced a succession of qadls, and later
on he menrt10ns a cousm who was qadi of Rondah
m Spam. He belonged, m consequence, to tJie re-
--..1hgious upper-class, 1f the term may be used, of the
Muhammadan community, and l_!?.I.!.ffi.,...t~~~~~e~-
the us1:aJ-1ite!&"Z-~lllJ_,~s~~l~~S:-~7~~5~!2~_ of t~e
l
~ We~k_g~_-~pn one occ;s1on he quotes a poem of
TRAVELS OF IBN BATTDTA
hie; 0\\ n compoc;1t1011, hut the other vcrscc; quoted here
and there ol)\'1ouc;h ht:11 a more popul:tr characler
than the elaborate producl1onc; of the bd1 Arabic
poetic schoo]c;:--". j:!!~1.r?fcc;c;1on:1l .1!1!cr_s':l_._11~~ .~n.9 ).
matters rcla!1ouc; m:1y he c;ecn on ncnrly ev~1; pagc_ot
":J1ii;'wufh-.---rri~cvrdcnt-from rh1 J1;l of qadic; and other
theoloc:1111c; \\ ham he ,;1\\ 111 c, en to,, n on l,jc; travels
(somct1mec; to the c,cluc;1on of {11 other dt,tails), but
above :111 from hie; c1{!crncc;c; to v1c;it f1mouc; c;h:n khs :ind
s1ints \\ hcrcvcr he ... \\ cnt, :rnd the cnthuc;1:1~m \\.1th
,,. h1ch he rclatcc; 111.(bnccc; of their miraculouc; gifts.
But to rate him, :1c; somt. J:uropt an c;chobrc; h:we
done, for hie; " rn!m:trolcc; 1bout l'vl uh:1mmad:1n c;amts
and sp1r1tu:1lisl~ ., :1nd- for hie; "~1up1dlt) ,, 111 p:1ymg
more :1ttcnt1011 to thcolo(!1:rnc; th:111 to dct:1dc; of the
places he \ 1s1tl-d, ts c;mguh_irh out of place. ~!lch I
rclt~1ous dct:u}c; \\ ere matters in \\ hich he :ind his/
audience \\ ere most cJoc;cl) interested, :rnd arc by no j'
mc:ins dLvoid of intc..rc~ and \-aluc t.vcn to us. Out

of them, moreover, sprmg some of the mosl lively
passages of hie; n:irrat1ve, such as his csc:1pe at Kocl
(the modern Altg:1rh), :1nd his account of the Sharif
Abu Ghurra. But 1t 1s of far greater importance to
remember that 1t was because he ,, as a theo]og1:1n
and because of his mtere~ m theologians that he
undertook his travels at all and survived to complete
them \\Then as a young man of twenty-one he set/
out frorrili'isna11Vc-town-w1th a -hght heart, and no~!
_muc[_ti_C:_lVJCr purse; it '\'as With no other :ll11Lthan1 -;-
yi~t_of makmg the pilgrimage to Mecca and the holy
place~ of his faith The duty laid upon every Muslim/
ot VISltmg Mecca at ]ca~ once m his hfct1me, so Jong
as 1t hes within his power to do so, has been m all
ages a ~1mu]us to travel, far greater m degree than
the ~1mulus of Chn~rnn pilgrimage m the Middle
Ages. At the same time, 1t created the organization
necessary to enable Muslims of every class from every
3
SELECTIONS FROM THE
country to carry out this obligation. The pilgrim on
his Journey traveJJed m a ~van whose numbers
swelled at every stage. He found all arrangements
made for his marches and his halts, and if the road
lay through dangerous country, his caravan was pro-
tecred by an escort of soldiers In all large centres
as well as many mtermediate srat10ns were rest houses
and ~~~es where he was hospitably welcomedancl
entertain.ea. out of endowments created by generations
of benefactors. When such was the lot of every
pilgnm, the theologian received still greater cons1dera-
t10n. His brethren m every town received him as
one of themselves, furnished his wants, and recom-
mended him to those at the next station Uncler
thes-e -circumstances the brotherhood of Islam, which
knows no difference of~or 'b~showed atits----
best, -~c!_proV1ded_-an !~~y~ to_trave] unknown m
any other age or community.
v ,, Nor was the Ptlgrimage the only insl:1tution which
smo.,Q!Jied the traveller's path. Throughout the Middle
IAges the trade routes of Afnca and Asia and the
sea-borne trade of the Indian Ocean were almost
!
exclusively in - the hands of the Muslim merchants.
1
The travels of Ibn Battuta are but one of many sources
which reveal how widespread were their achVIttes:-1
Though their caravans were exposed to greater dangers
in trmes of lawlessness and d1sorgamzation than were
the p1lgr1m caravans, they offered at least a measure
of security to the casual traveller It 1s evident from
our narratives that m the great maJor1ty of cases they
~e ap1mated bY.: the same ~mt q{_l_{mdlmess and
generosity that has always marked the mutual relations
of-Muslims and readtly shared their resources with
their fello;-travellers m case of need. Later on
Ibn Battuta- had more than once occas10n to appre-
ciate their services but at the outset he had no thought
of what the future' held for p.i!!J. - - - - - - --
--.. --- . - . -- ~ - - -4
TRAVELS OF IBN BATTOTA
On hie; arrival 111 Egypt, with his mind sl.111 wholly
set on Mecca, he I ccc1vcd the fir(l premonitions of
hie; future from t\\ 0 of the tl/um111t1/I_, or satnlS \\ ho had
attamcd a h1g-h rank 111 the h1cra-;chy of the Muslim
orders. Fro~1 th1c; po111t WC -c;cc--l!IS_ ,:~gue desires
graduall) cr,1bll1~t: ~to a definite amb1t1on, tl!ough
he ~ill h_cJ~cc; l__!:_9__11) time to t11ne, ec;pec1ally ,vhen
hie; contacts \\ 1w persons of sarntl) life awaken all l11s
m-;lincl'- of dc\'otton. Foiled 111 his fi1sl: mtcntmn
of taking the direct: route to IVlecca through Upper
Em pt (the usual route of the pilgrim caravans fr~m
the \Ve.;l), he determmed to JOl!l 111.;lead the pilgrim
caravan from Damascus, and on hie; "a) thither tasted
for the fir5l time the JO) s of travel for its own sake
~LJ!.!n_c was not prcc;c;mg, he \\ :rndered at leisure
through the whole of Syria as far as the borders of
Asia Mmor, before rcturnmg to Damascus to jom the
caravan as 1t set out for the Holy C1t1cs
lfordly was this first P1lgnmagc over than he set
out again to v1s1t 'Iraq, but turned ba~k s~~~ply before
reaching Baghdad, and made a long detour through
Khuz1slan By now, he tells us, he had taken the
resolve never to cover the same ground twice, as far
as possible His mind was still set on the Pilgrimage,
however, and he planned l11s journey to cover the
mterval before returning to Mecca at the end of the
year. This time he renounced further travelling for
a space of three years and gave hn_!l~elf l.!P t~ study
and devotion at Mecca For the tneolog1an the P1l-
gnmage meant not only the performance of one of
the principal obligations of the Faith, but an opporJ
tumty of puttmg himself m touch with the achvitier
of the religious centre of Islam - Mecca was the ideal
centre of religious study, m the company of many of
the most eminent doetors of the day. All this, no
doubt, was m Ibn Battuta's mmd. But we may, I
thmk, ~ n a furt~er purpose. He had already
5
SELECTIONS FROM THE
made up his mmd to seek his fortune m India, to
which the boundless mumficence of the re1gmng
Sultan of Delhi was then attracbng large numbers of
scholars and theologians from other countries. The
years spent at Mecca would confer on him a better
status, and render him eligible for a higher post than
he could otherwise hope for.
On completing his years of study he made a tour
with a retrnue of followers to the tradrng sl:abons on
the east coast of Africa, returnrng as before to Mecca,
then turned his back on the Holy City and set out
for India. But the journey was to be longer and more
adventurous than he anticipated. At Jedda there
was no ship to be had bound for r;;J'ia; whereupon
~.]y]<S~~-9'9~~-ifi:~llll~~--he-ttirn'ea nofiliwards
instead anaoegatr1r1S-greaf1:6tir. ~ ''As we follow--liifu
throGg1t1lie'cmes ...of :Asi;("Miii6i-~ . . where he received
an enthusiastic welcome from the local rehg10us
brotherhoods, across the Black Sea to the terntor1es
of the Mongol Khan of the Golden Horde, and after
takmg advantage of an opportunity to v1s1t Con-
stantmople, fui_k_1__ng acr:o_ss the steppe~ to Central Asia
and Khurasan, we find h1m becoming an mcreasmgly
important personage, attended by a swellmg throng
of followers, and becommg possessed of such means
that he "dare not menbon the number of h1s horses
m case some sceyic should af~use him of lymg"
So at last he entered India by the north-western
gateway, being received with honour and escorted to
Delhi, where, though he obtamed a full share of the
Sultan's bounty and ~l!-~PROI!_l_t~d t9_~_:i_ch sm~e
as Mahkite qadi of Delhi, he was but one gure, ana
in no way specially remarkable among many . ../For~t/
seven years or so Ibn Battuta remamed m this posit10n, 11
sometimes accompanymg the Sultan on his exped1t1ons,t
sometimes engaged m- his occupations at Delhi, st:O!:!..!}g1
l!P- ll}. his mefllOI.J all the wh1le those ac~te observa-".:"
6
t1on~ which he afterwards wove mto one of the most:
remarkable dcscnpt1ons WC -poss-css of any medieval 1
Muslim court ) Little did Sultan or courtiers think
that s1x centuries afterwards their reputat10ns would 1
depend on the notes and rcmm1sccnccs of the obscure~
and spendthrift qadf from the \Vest At last the '
inevitable rupture occurred, whose consequences were
usually s,v1ft and fatal to the v1cbm of the royal dis-
pleasure. Ibn Battuta took refuge m his last resort,
the adoption of the ass.<:t1c life, res1gnmg all h1s offices
and g1vmg away all h1s possessions. It was a genuine
act of ~,orld-renunc:11t1on, such as always lay near to
the heart of the medieval theologian, and seems to have
convinced Sultan I\1uhammad of the traveller's real
mtcgrity and devotion. At all events, when he re-
qmred shortly afterwards a trushvorthy person to send
as his envoy to Chma, it was Ibn Battt'1ta whom he
summoned. Ibn Battuta, for h1s part, it would seem,
was rel~(l:ant to doff his hermit's garments and
" become entangled in the world again." But the
br'ioe was too great, and in I 342 he set off m semi-
regal slate at the head of the m1ss1on to the most
powerful ruler m the world of his time, the Mongol
Emperor of Chma -
Scarcely had he left the walls of Delhi when his
adventures began For eight days he was a hl!m_ed
fugitive, and though he escaped to rejom his embassy
m its progress through India, it was only to be left
with nothmg but the clothes he sl:ood up in and his
prayer-mat on the shore at Calicut To go on with
his m1ss1on m the circumstances was impossible,
to return to Dehh was to mcur the wrath of Sultan
Muhammad He chose msl:ead to indulge his love
of adventure with the independent rulers of the Malabar
coast, and eventually found himself at the Maldive
Islands, once agam a qad{ and a personage~
portance. Here too after eighteen months of lotos-
7
SELECTIONS FROM THE
e~ting. hL5 ~f9r~9g,__7:eal ma_de of him an object of
susp1c10n and ctJShke, and he found it expedient to
leave tbe islands. The devotee m h1m agam~sserted
itself, and his first object was to make a pilgrimage to
the ")?'__got of Aqam " on the high~st peak of Ceylon.
This done he returned tothe Coromandel and Malabar
coasts, paid another brief v1s1t to the Maldive Islands
and P!:a~e-~ 1n_ e<!fnesl for his journey to China.
Some months had sltll to elapse before the sailmg
season, however, and he chose to spend them in a
voyage to Bengal, for no other reason, apparently,
than to visit a famous shaykh hvmg m Assam. He
then mter~c~e.pted the "Chmese " vessels-really vessels
owned by Muhammadan merchants, w1th Chmese and
Malay CrFs-at Sumatra and went by a route that
has taxed_ the mg~!:llty of his comm~mators_ to the
"Shanghai" of Chma m the thirteenth and fourteenth
centuries, the port of Ts'wan-chow-fu, or Zaytun, as
1t was known to the foreign merchants. For this
journey Ibn Battuta reassumed his role of ambassador,
though 1t may stnke us as cunous that no one seemed
to entertain any suspicions of an ambassador who
travelled without embassy or cred~trnls. It was,
however, his only device for makmg his way through
Chma, though h~ ~eolog.tc~L':"eputati_?n 5!.o..Q.<i htm 1:1
good stead amongst his fellow-Muslims m the trading
ports.in every city on his progress to and from
Pektng he was received w1th full honours, but at
Pektng itself he was d1sappo111ted of seemg the Em-
peror, owmg to his absence from the capital.
Returnmg to Zaytun, he took ship agam for Sumatra,
and thence for Malabar, but decided not to expose
himself a second tnne to the treacher01.1s- splendours
of Delhi and- made westwards instead. -- He was m
Syria at 'the outbreak of the :first " Black Death " m
r348, and ma~ t ~ senteI!feS_re~aj_~_!tS frightful
rava~s. At this time fie seems to have had no defi-
- 8
mte plans for the future, and was aimmg only at com-
pleting yet another Pilgrimage, his seventh, to Mecca.
\\That eventually led h11n to return to his native land
is not clear. 1-Iis own narrative _2l~~s ~or_e_~vcight
on the rapid access of slrength ana prosperity which
Morocco enjoyed under Sultan Abu'l-Hasan and his
son Abu 'lnan, than on those tics of family and
kindred which appear to us so much more natural
a reason. Possibly allo~nces should be made for
the part of exaggeration and flattery, but the brevity
of his slay m Tangier, and the unemotional, almost
br\}~que, manner 111 which he mentions it, scarcely
witness to an ove.r_f!.1~sl:~rmg homesickness, which, m
any case, was ~ardly to be expected m a society so
cosmopolitan as that of medieval Islam.
The Journey from Alc::-..andna to the Barbary coast
was not without its alarms Twice lbn Battuta
narrowly escaped capture by Christian corsairs, and
1n addition his party was tpreatened by a~per baf!d
almost w1thm sight of Fez Even yet his ambitio_l).
was not app_~sed There were stiff two Muslim
countries which he had not visited-Andalusia and the
Negrolands on the Niger. Once agam he took up
tl!e.sl:aff of travel, not to lay !t down a$am until some
three years later he could claim with Justice the title
of " !he_Tra~ller ~LI_~lam__:._ He was m fact the only
medieval traveller who 1s known to have visited the
lands of every Muhammadan ruler of his time, quite
apart from such infidel countries as Constantinople,
Ceylon, and Chma, which were embrased m his
journeys The mere extent of his wanderings 1s
esbmated by Y u1e at not less than 7 5,ooo miles,
without allowmg for dev!:!!,!ons, a_flgure _VI_.Q.1c_h _1s -~~
11:_kely _to_h_ave _Q~~I]. _s_!l,1:P..af0 before the age of steam.
l Unfortunately no account of lbn Battu.ta has come
down to us (so far as 1s known) from anyone who saw
him on his Journeys. There appear to be only two
9
SELECTIONS FROM THE
known references to him m the wr1tmgs of contempo-
raries, and both are concerned chiefly with the cred1-
bi~.9: of his stories, which was hgtly d.!sJ?_y.ted. What
they thought of him personally we are not told, but
are able to infer occasionally from his own ca.Q.A!,d
1
statements. Twice we find him, after receivmg
a cordial welcome, becoming an object of dislike or
suspicion, at Delhi and agam m the Maldive Islands.
In the first case the cause was his extravagance, m the
second lt 'YaS ft~ _o_f his grg__wing influencemc:Lr~-
~Q!: hts haughty md~_~nq~ce. There can be
no quesfion tliit he expected of prmces and mmisters
a Ja~1sl]. exercise of the ~IJtue of generosity, which was
mdeed m liis eyes-as m those of his age and com-
.mumty generally-their principal claim to respect.
'It may be taken as a general rule that when Ibn Battuta
says of this or the other prince that he is " a good
sultan " or " one of the best of rulers,'1 he means only
that he is scruRulous in the performance 6f his religious
duties and opf~}i3n_ded m his dealings, especially with
theologians\' ,, We can well understand that this
attitude was apt to pall on his patrons and ~ad at
l~ngth to unpleasant m~g_~, or at least vi11tual
dislike Apart from these rare cases, however, he
~ to have been liked and respetl:ed wherever he
went.
In attemptmg to estimate the value of Ibn Battuta's
f work, some descnpt10n must be given of the book
I itself. Ibn Battuta may have taken notes of the
' places that he v1S1ted, but the evidence IS rather agamst
1 It. Only once does he refer to notes, when he says
that at Bukhara he copied a number of epitaphs from
, the tombs of famous scholars, hl!_t afterwards los!:
, them when the I1Jdtan pirates ~p~~- ~1m __Qf. all that
he had. These epitaphs were of special mterest to
' men of letters and theologians because they con-
tained hsts of the wntmgs of the deceased. Ibn
IO
'Batt{1ta was not himself a man of letters who was likely
; to regard his c:-.pcricnccs as material for a book; on
ithc contrary, he seems to have cntertamed no idea of
1writing them down
' On his return to Fez he had related his adventures v
to the sultan and the court, where they were received
with general mcr_!:!duhty, as we know from a pass~gc
rn the works of his great contemporary, the h1sl:orian
Ibn Khaldun. He found, however, a powerful sup-
1
porter m the wazir, at whose msl1gat1on possibly

the sultan gave mshucbons to one of the prmc1pal
secretaries, Muhammad 1bn Juzayy, to commit them
-~ wntJng Ibn J uzayy accordmgly compiled the
work which we possess at the d1ctat1on of Ibn Battuta.
( The result 1s a book of some,, hat composite character.
The writer was not always content to take down Ibn
Battuta's narratives as they were delivered. He shows
commendable care m reg1sl:enng the e-.::ac\: pronuncia-
tion of every foreign name (a matter of some importance
m view of the nature of the Arabic script), but rn some
other respects his ed1t111g is open to crit1c1sm By
his own statement the work 1s an abridgment, which
possibly accounts for the brevity of one or two of the
later sections The bulk of the, narrative has been
left with but little t9uchtng-ut 111 the simple, straight-
forward style of the narrator, ut at points Ibn Juzayy
has embellished 1t m the taste of the age, with passages
of rhetorical prose and extracl:s from poems, which
seldom add much of interest. Hts interpolation of
incidents from his own experience may be excused,
but another of his proceedings 1s more que5!:ionable.
He had before him the narrative of the travels of
Ibn Jubayr, an Andalusian scholar who v1s1ted Egypt,
the HIJaz, and Syria m the twelfth century, and wrote
an account of his experiences which enJoyed a great
reputation m the West Where Ibn Battuta covers
the same ground, Ibn Juzayy has often substituted
II
SELECTIONS FROM THE
(possibly at Ibn Battuta's desire or with his per-
mission) an abridgment of Ibn Jubayr's work, notably
m the account of the ceremonies observed at Mecca
;.during the Pilgrimage and at other seasons of the year.
W c have consequently to bear m mind that the book
1s not entirely Ibn Battuta's work; there are indeed
indications (for example, in the transcnptions and
translations of Persian phrases) that the reputed author
did not himself read the book at all, or if he did, read
it negligently.',
. ' Taking the work, then, as a whole, we musl: regard
it as primarily intended to present a descr1pt1ve account
of Muhammadan society in the second quarter of the
tfourteenth century. Ibn Battuta's interest__m_ places
was, as ~e have seen, -suoordinate to _his- mtei:_esl: In
persons., He Is the supreme example of le g!ographe
1iia7gre l11t, whose geographical knowledge was gamed
entirely from personal expenence and the information
of chance_ ;g:quamtances . ./For h1s details he relied
exclusively on his memory, a memory, 1t is true, which
had been highly cultivated by the ordinary sysl:em of
theological education, mvolvmg the memonzmg of
large numbers of works, but sb11 liable to shps and
confusions, more or Jess great. In his itl!!_eranes he
sometimes misplaces the order of towns, and twice at
least leaves himself m the .;i~r, as It were, with a gap
of hundreds of miles. He gives wrong names at
several points, especially when he IS dealing with
non-Muslim countries, where his knowledge of Arabic
and Persian was of little service to him In his hisl:on-
cal narratives, which are generally trustworthy, s1m1lar
mistakes are found. It is indeed remarkable that the
errors are comparat1ve1y few, cons1dermg the enormous
number of persons and places he mentions. The most
senous difficulty 1s offered by the chronology of the
travels, which 1s utterly 1mposs1b1e as 1t stands. . Many
of the dates give the impression of having_ ~een inserted_
I2 - -- -
more or less at h~p~~z~rd, possibly at the editor's
request, but the examination and correcbon of them
offers a task so ,great_fthat 1t 1has 'not be~n attempted in
1
this selechon../ 'I
d'There is finally the question of his verac1ty. There

can be no doubt that m his narratives of the Muslim
countries, notwithstandmg errors of exaggeration and
misunderstandmg, Il;m Battuta faithfully relates what
he believes to be true;,' Some critics have, however,
regarded his claim to have visited Constantinople and
Chma with considerable dubiety. The principal d1ffi-
cult1es as regards the visit to Constantinople are the
vagueness of his route and his claim to have met the
ex-Emperor, when by his own chronology the ex-
Emperor had ~ee_n _d_ead for over a year. The first
can be expfained by the difficulties of an Arab1c-
speakmg traveller in such unfamiliar surroundmgs,
the second by an error m datmg The account of the
city itself 1s so full and accurate that 1t cannot be other
than the narrative of an eye-witness, who enjoyed
excepnonal facilities such as Ibn Battuta had, and his
mterview with the ex-Emperor !!1 pa_!"tlcJar beafS,
th~ unm1~kable skrn_p~of_tr.uth
The d1fficult1es contained in the narrative of the
journeys to and m Chma are generally of the same order,
and will be more fully considered m their place. It
need only be said here that to deny them raises even
greater difficulties, and that by exacl:ly the same kind
of reasoning it can be "proved" that though Ibn
Battuta undoubtedly was tn India he never went,
there I Jibn Battuta is always unsatisfacl:ory when he:
relies on second-hand information, and it is most
'unlikely that he could have put together so personal\
'a narrative had the statements of others not been
supplemented by his own observations. There are
also s~me material argum_~n~m favour of his clarm to
have v1s1ted Chma. He had, in his capacity as envoy
13
SELECTIONS FROM THE
from the Sultan of Delhi, very good reason for going
there, and facilities for travel m China which were
denied to the ordinary merchant In the second place
one obscure passage m the narrative of his doings
at Khansa (Hang-chow) 1s cleared up by an earlier
passage relating to his VISlt to Shaykn JaJal ad-Dfn m
Assam, with which the journey to Chma 1s closely
connected. Thirdly, 1f his claim were false, he slood
a reasonable chance of bemg exposed. He relates
with some emphasis that m h1s Journey through
Northern China he met a merchant from Ceuta, the
brother of a man living m S1;ilmasa, m Morocco, whom
he subsequently met also. That th1S merchant should
have had some communication with Morocco, even m
those days, 1s not 1mposs1ble, smce Ibn Battuta himself
had once tr~~1ttep. a sum of money from India to
Mequmez. On the whole, therefore, the narrative
dealmg w1th China seems to me to be genuine, though
1t is certainly related with greater brevity than usual,
either because Ibn Battuta could not recall the Chinese
names, if he learned them, with the same ease as the
more fam1har Arab1c and Persian -names~ or
because It
was more dr.gft1ca11y abridged by the editor. 1 ~an m
fact see no alternative, except to suppose that he ~~s
~)Pno_t~:t;~.9 1nt<2.. th~_ belief that he had gone there oy
one-of the miracle-workmg samts whom he met m
Indra. --- ~- - ---~-
Ibn Battuta was first brought mto prominence by
the translatzon of an abr1dged text by Dr Samuel Lee
in r 829. The complete text of the Travels, which
was found rn Algeria a few years later, was published
with a French translation and critical appar~tus by
Defremery and Sangmnetti in the middle of the
century from a number of manuscripts, one of which,
containmg the second half of the work, 1s the autograph
of the original editor, Ibn Juzayy. The French
translation, though on the whole remarkably accurate,
14
suffers from the absence of explanatory notes. Various
secbons of the book (chiefly from the French text)
have been annotated by scholars familiar with the
countries themsclves, but a large amount shll remains
to be worked over. In the present selecbons, which
have been translated afresh from the Arabic text,
I~ttu-~_ is_treated as a traveller, and not as a _'\Y"nter
of geography. Sufficient indications have, it is hoped,
been added m the text and the notes to enable the
course of his Journeys to be followed m detail on any
large-scale atlas, but many problems of geography
have been passed over m silence ( T!ie easy_ cq_l~o:-
qmahsm of Jus style has been retai~ed in translation,
as"far_a_u)o~sible, m preference to a ~illi:d,g_h2:ab~th_~n'
@D,B"l}~~- It has not been easy to make a selecbon
from the wealth of narrative and anecdote contained
m the work, and many interesbng sechons have neces-
sarily been omitted or abridged. But until the appear-
ance of a complete vers10n (such as the writer is now
preparing for the Hakluyt Society) it is hoped that
this extract may be of service m mtroducing to a wider
circle of English readers one of the most remarkable
travellers of his own or any age.
2. THE HISTORICAL BACKGROUND OF IBN BATTUTA'S

TRAVELS
The Islamic world m the fourteenth century differed,

in extent and outward splendour, but httle from the
magnificent empire ruled by the Caliphs of Damascus
and Baghdad m the eighth If m the West it had
been shorn of its outposts m Spam and Sicily, 1t could
Justly claim to have more than balanced the loss by its
extension m India and Malaysia. It had recently
wiped out the last traces of the hum1hat1on mfl1cted
upon it by the crusading Franks, and was on the
point of exacbng a signal vengeance by the sword of
15
SELECTIONS FROM THE
the Ottomans m Europe. Yet 1t was true notwith-
standing all these apparent signs of progres; that the
political fabric of Islam was stricken with. mortal
disease. The centuries had taken a heavy toll of
v1tahty from that huge frame, and had left 1t sbll
formidable, 1t may be, but wounded at the heart.
The last Crusader had mdeed been driven from the
shores of Syria, but at what a coSt I Two centuries
of struggle and mtngue had been necessary to repel
attacks that the warriors of the early generations had
regarded as the minor incidents of outpoSt warfare.
The sceptre had passed from the hands of the supple
Arab and the cultured Persian to those of the v101ent
and illiberal Turk. For more than two centuries
after the year I ooo the ambitions of Turkish generals
and chieftains had torn and retorn the body of Islam,
devaStatmg its lands by their misgovernment and
contmual warfare more effecbvely than any foreign
foe. Convulsion succeeded to convulsion, until at
length the heathen Mongols from Central Asia made
hares of the Turkish hons, and 1n I 2 58 formed the
derelict eastern lands of Islam mto a province of their
immense emprre.
This event, the shock of which seemed to the
Muslim peoples hke the LaSt Judgment of the Wrath
of God, proved m the end a blessmg m disgmse Once
agam the eastern provinces enjoyed a per10d of firm
and relatively undisturbed government, under which
commerce and agriculture took heart and began to
re-create a prospenty that seemed to have vanished
for ever. Simultaneously Egypt and Syria, which
had withstood the Mongol onset, enjoyed under a
succession of capable rulers a rare period of peace and
-prosperity. The Turkish captams who had hitherto
quarrelled over the mangled fragments of the central
provinces, were relegated to the frontiers, where they
mdu1ged their taste for warfare at the expense of the
16
TRAVELS OF IBN BATTUTA
infidel and the heathen, wmnmg for themselves a
goodly portion of the riches of this world, and the
reputation of" \Varnors for the Faith" to ensure their
portion tn the world to come. The Mongol conquests
thus effecl:ually contributed to the successes gamed by
the arms of Islam 111 India, and a few years later also
111 Thrace and the Balkan Penmsula, successes which
were supplemented by the missionary labours of samts
and darwish orders.
Vlhen m I 32 5 I bn Battuta set out on his Journeys,
the political cond1t1ons m the Islamic lands were, m
consequence, relatively stable and unusually favourable
for travel. From Aswan to the frontier of C1J1c1a the
word of the Sultan of Egypt was undisputed; the
Crusaders were but a bitter memory, and relations
with the Mongols, though not cordial, had not led
to warfare smce the last great v1cl:ory of the youthful
Nasir at Damascus m 1303. 1 Iraq and Persia still
acknowledged the rule of the Mongol II-khans, now
good Muslims, but destmcd soon to disappear. To
the north and north-cast the other Mongol khanates
of the Golden Horde and of Jaghatay were on friendJy
terms Fmally m India the ferocious but energetic
Sultan ofDclht, Muhammad ibn Tughlaq, was imposmg
his overlordslup on the greater part of the sub-con-
tment. On the frmgcs of the great kmgdoms, and m
such outlymg parts as Anatolia, Afghamstan, and the
shores of the Indian Ocean, there existed a host of
petty sultans and amirs, who acknowledged no master
and mamtamed a precarious throne on the proceeds
of trade or freebootmg, but these could hardJy mfl.1cl:
serious damage, even had they been so mmded, on the
Islamic commumty m general. Commerce proceeded
freely both w1thm and without the frontiers of Islam,
in spite of heavy dues and occasional vexations, and
if the md1genous mdustnes had declined, m some
cases to the pomt of extmcl:1on, the revival of the
17 C
SELECTIONS FROM THE
European market brought unwonted prosperity to
the carrying trade, which had not yet to face the
formidable compet1t10n of the European merchants in
the Eastern Seas.
The essential weakness of the later Muslim c1V1hza-
t1on stands revealed most clearly m the cultural m-
equality of its several div1s1ons, an mequahty due
mainly to the failure of the old empire to withstand
the forces making for dismtegrat10n and decay While
m the tenth century the Islamic culture, then at its
height, was distributed almosl: uniformly throughout
the whole length and breadth of the settled lands from
the Atlantic to the mountams of Central Asia, we shall
find, as we follow Ibn Battuta's progress easl:wards,
how poor was the s01I, how shallow the roots, which
nourished the social life and supported the magnificent
courts of many of the kmgdoms m the fourteenth.
North-west Africa, called by the Arabs the Maghrtb
or W esl, which, together with Muslim Spam, had been
united under the empires of the Almorav1ds and the
Almohads m the twelfth century, was parbtioned m
the thirteenth between three dynasl:ies. the Marfn1ds
m the Farthesl: Wesl, or Morocco; the Ziyamds m the
Central W esl, with their capital at TJemsen; and the
Hafs1ds of Tunis, whose proVlnce of Ifrlqfya extended
from Algiers to Tripoli. The dangers ar1smg from
this dismemberment were accentuated by the Jealousies
of the reignmg houses, as they dissipated m internal
feuds and barren mutual struggles the resources
urgently reqwred to protect the cultivated lands from
the ceaseless encroachments of the nomadic Arabs and
Berbers, and the growmg threat of the maritime
Chr1shan states. Even the most prosperous of the
three dynasl:ies, the Hafs1ds of Tums, constantly found
their authority :flouted by the governors of the outlying
provinces, and, though they had successfully repulsed
the Crusade of St Loms m r270, lost Jerba to the
r8
T R 1\ \. F l, S OF 1 B >: B :\ 'I T O 'I A
~ic1li:rn.; )re;,; thin t\\rnt\ ,nrc; hter, :rnd onh recovered
It m t JJ.s \\ 1th ~r \J'Ol;t lll lflll (;enor<:c 1,;1r Their
rmrtrc C'\IC'JHird in fafl <1Jlh O\'C'r thr CO;t~l,} ~rtp,
with <:omc fr,\ fortified to\\ nr- tll thr mtcnor. 'l he
proc;pcr1t, of Tun:<; ,,. ;1r due c;oklr to 1tc; :t<h 1nt;i,~cou,;
roc.Jtl(ln 'll thr drbcmchmrllt of thc 1111111 tr;1dc rou(c5
from the interior. ,,. hich nndc- it the" premier commcr-
CTtl cit, of thr ~1 ;1ehrih rnd rcnnd on!) to :\ le, 1ndr11
1.mon1! the :"\htd:m i\kd1tcrr 1nc1n pnn,.., ,,. h1lc tti.
cult\lrC'. hhc tint of thr ~bFh:-ih crncr1lh, \\ ;ic; m,mly
<:u<-'hmcd h: refugee<: fn,m the reconquered pro\'mccs
of ~p1m.
The i\h:-m:d d, n:10:h of ~lnroe<.o, m1--lcrc; of 1
richer tern ton. \\ ere 'm l'i ill \\ nr--C" c:ir;c Th< 1r
h10.on t'- 1 monnt0nnt1<: record of bl0od 1nd ,1 nfr,
few rulrrs \\ere 1hlc to ,,.11h--l1nd the rnoltc; :rnci
intnaucc; of their '1mhitwuc; rchtt, cc;, md thcr::e fc,\
u<:c:l ,,. h:1t rc,:;1,itc thn u;i.mcd m m1ltt1r) c,pcd1t1ons
;1g1ms1.. their nc1ghbm1rr, or, more \\orthth, 1gam~
the Chrt~1..,n<:. m Sp1tn. 'J he d) n1"1) rt 1cl1td its
2cmth under Abu'I-I fai::rn (t 311-48) 'lnd h,s son
Abu 'In.\n (13,48-58), ,,ho,;c 111mes frl'qucnth recur
m tht. bttcr p1rt of lbn lhtt\1ta'<:. n1rr;i,t1\c Abu'l-
Ihsan succeeded m c1.pturmg S111lm.t<:1 :rnd Tlt.msen,
and, m spltc of a <:.;1ngum:1n dcfo1t b) the Spanbrds
at T:mfa m 1340, \\ a<:. able to add Tumc; to h,s dom1-
n1onc; m I 3+ ,, onl) to lose 1t 1mmcd1:1tdy and s1mul-
tancousl) lose hie:; throne to hie; rcbc:l son Abu 'Inan
The httcr m turn, h:1Ymg rcc:-tpturcd Tlemscn and
re-entered Tums m I 357, ,,as dcc;crtc.d by 111s army
and slrangled on his return to Fc1,, lc1.vmg the king-
dom a pre) to indescribable anarchy. Nevertheless
Morocco itself enJO) ed dunng these t\\ o reigns a period
of relative prospc.nty, and 1ts great c1t1cs '\\ ere beautified
by man) public bmldmgs, "hich m their day can have
been little mfcnor to the magnificent monuments of
Egypt and India. There is, m consequence, some
19
SELECTIONS FROM THE
jusbficat1on for the exuberant praise which Ibn
Battuta bestows upon Abu 'Inan's beneficent adn11ms-
trat10n, especially 1f 1t is remembered how chaotic
were the conditions which, as will be seen, he had Jusl:
left behind m the East.
It 1s a pity that Ibn Battuta did not put on record
the first 1mpress1ons left on his mmd when, as a young
man fresh from the narrow provmc1al life of Tangier,
he traversed the highly cultivated Delta of Egypt and
set foot m its opulent and teemmg capital, then the
metropolis of Islam. Alone of all the Islamic lands
outside Arabia, Egypt had preserved the hentage of
Muslim culture, whtle the Mongols m the East and
the nomadic Arabs and Berbers m the West carried
devastat10n up to its very gates Though the dynasty
founded by the great Salachn had given place to the
mtl1tary oligarchy known as the Mamluks, or White
Slaves, a form of government than which m theory
none could be worse, Egypt from r260 to 134r
enjoyed, with short mtervals of turmotl, not only
widespread power and prestige, but also a high degree
of prosperity This was due mamly to three things
The Mamluk Sultans Baybars I (1260-77), Qala'un
(1279-90), and al-Malik an-Nasir (1299-1341), what-
ever their personal faults (and they were many), were
exceedingly capable and far-sighted rulers. In the
second place the bureaucratic adm1mshat1on which
Egypt had mhented from 1ts Byzantme and Fat1m1d
governors was in all probabtl1ty the mosl: effie1ent
msl:rument of government which existed in the Middle
Ages. Thirdly Egypt enjoyed almost a monopoly
of the Indian trade, the most profitable of all medieval
commerce, and drew from 1t the vast revenues which
were needed for the upkeep of its elaborate organiza-
tion, as well as for the constru&on of the unsurpassed
senes of arch1teB:ural monuments which are the
peculiar glory of Carro. Under these circumstances
20
the Mamh'.1k c;u]t:rnc; were able not only to maintain
their authorit, agarn$l the i\1ongo]c; 111 Syria and the
I-f1J:i.z, but al;o to e'\tend it 111to Nubia and Anatolia,
and even ,,csl,,ardc; to Tripoli for :1 t11ne
The mcac;urc of Egypt's fortune may be gauged
from the ~ate of the nv:11 kingdom of 'lr:i.g :111d Persia.
Of Jtc; former 1mpcn:1l c1t1cc; some, like Balkh, were
now mere 111mcc; clm!.!IIH! to moundc; of rubbish, and
thoc;e which had c,ca1)ccl their fate were either, like
Jhghd:i.d and BaH:1, ,, 1thercd and c;hrunkcn, or else
the.__ prey of contendmg focl1onc;, and though new
c1t1cs, such as Tabri1, and Sult.ini) :1, had risen into
prommence, their proc;perit) ,, as cv:111ec;cent Already
":isled b, the successive nom:1d1c 111,ac;1ons and civil
slrugglec; of the t,,o prccedmg centuries, the rum of
'Iraq and Northern Perc;1a seemed to have been con-
summ1ted b, the i\1on{!ol 111, as1ons between I 2 I 8 and
1260 U ndcr the fir.;t he:lthen rulers of the I\1ongol
dynasl:), moreover, the i\1 usltms were persecuted, but
with the official conversion to IsU.m of Ghazan-Khan
m I 295 a brighter era seemed to dawn. Though
disorders contmued to some e'\tent under his succes-
sors DIJ1ytu (1305-16) and Abu Sa'id (1317-35),
'Iraq, at least:, recovered some of its former prosperity.
The rich province of Fars, on the other hand, seems to
have been little affecl:ed by the disasters which befell
the rest: of Persia, though subJecl: to the Mongols, 1t
remained, as 1t had always been, somewhat apart from
its neighbours, with its own peculiar culture and
traditions. To the north-east: of Persia, across the
Oxus, were the terntoncs of another Mongol dynasl:y,
the Jaghatay-Khans. Durmg the early centuries of
Islam Transoxanrn had been one of the most: flounshmg
provmces of the Caltphate. Bukhara and Samarqand
had a reputation mfenor to none of the great c1t1es of
the East:, and even during the troublous times of
Turkish overlordsh1p m the eleventh and twelfth
21
SELECTIONS FROM THE
centuries somethmg of their prosperity sh11 lmgered.
But 1t was on Transoxania that the first fury of the
Mongol onset fell in I 2 I 9 and I 2 20, and under the
Jaghatay-Khans, the mosLturbuJent and barbarian of
all the great Mongol dynashes, the shattered cities
and wasted countryside had l1ttle hope of recovering
more than a shadow of their former prospenty.
The Muslim states m India have a totally different
history Smd had, indeed, formed a province of the
Caliphate, but the begmnmgs of an Indian Muslim
empire go no farther back than the twelfth century.
It was a great misfortune for India that the lateness of
this conquest d~hvered her into the hands of merc11ess
and turbulent Turkish generals, whose aim-was solely
to estab]1sb themselves as independent princes and to
e~as much as possible from 1ts almost mexhaushble
resources for their mtermmable wars ....., The sultans of
Delhi, the line of w.fuch--beg1ns with Qutb ad-Din
Aybak ( I 206- I I), claimed a suzerainty over the other
slates, which ther wereab1eto enforce o~Jr-sp'2~_c!!s:a11r
and at aJ?pallwg cost_ In blood ana -treasure. --Unrc-
slramea by t e cu1fuial traditions and bureaucratic
orgamz.ation of the old Islamic lands, which their
fellow-countrymen, the Sauqs and the Mamluks, had
been compelled to respect, ~y gave fue _JeJ.!2 !f> their
1mpuise~ In consequence "the bJoodst:amed annals
of the Sultanate of Delhi," as Vmcent Smith, the
historian of India, remarks, "are not pleasant reading''
Of all the successors of Qutb ad-Dfo down to the
establishment of the Timimd dynasty (the " Grand
Moguls ") in r 52 6, there is scarcely one ,, ho was not
rntoJerant, 1)rannical, and cruc1, and the same may be
said, w1th few exceptions, of the minor d} n1shcs.
A111ong the earl} sultans the most: notable ncrc Altams!1
or Iltutmish ( r 2 r r -3 6), n ho com pletcd Qutb ad-J?m ,;
bmldmgs at Dclh1, and 'Ala :id-Din of the KhilJf
d} nasty~ (I :.96-13 r 5), who repelled a series of 11ongol
22
invasions and added many monuments to the arch1-
teB:ure of Delhi in addition to bmldmg the new town
of Sid.
In 1321 the throne was occupied by Ghiyath ad-Dfn
Tughlaq, under whom some sort of order was resl:ored 1
and the authority of Delhi extended agam mto Bengal

and the Deccan \. 'His son Juna, the Sultan Muhammad
of lbn Battuta's time, had his father murdered m 13~5,
and ~n~mg the throne without opposition " o-c.91::
pied it for twenty-six years__ of human tyranny as
atfocioi!Sii_ anLon record m the sad annals of human
~vilry and then ched -1n his -bed:" Yet the ambition
o the sultans -of Delhi~ to createa vast Indian empire
was more nearly achieved by him than by any other
sultan pnor to the Moguls. His success might have
been sl:tll greater had it not been for the Strange contra-
d1chons m his character so impartially exposed by
Ibn Battuta (see Chapter VI.) and confirmed by all
other available- evidence. It would take us too far
afield to discuss here m detail the activities of this
extraordinary ruler, and the reader may be referred to
the penetrating analysis contained m Vmfent S~1!h's
0~1ord Htfl__ory_ofJndta, pages 236 to 2.4~.
Such were the conditions which Ibn Battuta found/
on his easl:ward Journey. When we follow him as he
retraced his sl:eps, less than twenty years later, 1t 1s
1mposs1ble not to sl:and_ an:iazed_at the anarchy which
within so short a Eenod had spread over all the central {
lands of Islam. '"" In India itself, Sultan Muhammad's l
granili,g~A~ desig~ had-proved 11:nposs}gl.e _to realize. j
Without an organized admmistration and a sysl:em of!
government both flexible and consistent, neither the \
central nor the outlymg provinces could be ruled from \
Delhi or anywhere else. Even before the sultan's j
death, Bengal, the Deccan, and Malabar~ had begun l
to br~ak. a.:w~y, and m spite of the talents oflhs-cxnism ;
and successor, Finh Shah (1351-88), the preshge of (
23
SELECTIONS FROM THE
Delhi rapidly decayed, and the dismemberment of
India for the profit of petty princes continued nn-
checked. J
The malady from which India was suffering had
broken out again ~1th r~~oubled vi~l~nce ,in 'Iraq
and Persia on the extmcbon of the Mongol Ilkhanate
m r 33 6. The hopes that their conversion had raised,
the promise of a government able and willmg to give
commerce and agriculture a chance of recovery, were
savagely betrayed. It would have mattered httle to
the people who or which of the amfrs seized the sove-
reignty, but the d1v1s1on of the empire between a
dozen quarrelling amfrs spelled rum and d1sasl:er.
Here and there, no doubt, were islands of prosperity;
Ibn Battuta speaks of one such on the Euphrates above
Anbar. But the most ser10us feature was that the
population under these repeated bludgeomngs had
lost heart, and a few years of anarchy now resulted m
more depopulat10n than a century of anarchy had
formerly caused.
Nor was Egypt exempt from the general decline.
The death of Nasir m r 34 r opened the door to a
prolonged series of dynasbc disputes. No fewer than
eight of his sons were thrust upon the throne between
r 34 I and r 3 5I, and though the struggles over the
success10n mvolved only the Mamluk soldiery and
not the people as a whole, yet at a time of repeated
changes of government the wretched subJects naturally
suffered more severely than from the calculated ex-
tortions of a settled regime, and the disordered state
of the ktngdom 1s sufficiently indicated by the dimmu-
t1on of the revenues.
Even yet the cup of misery was not full. In r 348
the Muslim lands were swept by the :first outbreak of
the devourmg,est11ence known as the " Black Death,,
The extent o 1ts ravages there will never be fully
known, but, from the figures given by Ibn Battuta
24
TRAYELS OF lBN BATTOTA
(sec Chapter XI I.) and m other som ccs, the loss of
hfc dunn(! the , 1c;1t:1t1on lt'-clf .rn<l 111 the famine\\ h1ch
:1ccompa1;1cd 1t \\,1c; ccrtaml) .1ppallmg. In a )Oung
and v1gorouc:. soc1ct) the tffccl.s of such a d1sa5\er soon
d1c;appcar, hut,., her<.- the social order 1s alread) reeling,
man) dccadcc; arc rcqmrcd before cqu1hbnum can be
rcgamcd. Thie; rcc.p1te \\',\'- not granted to the Islamic
\\Orld. 1\ gcncrat1on later, 111 I J8 J, the v1s1tat1on
w:1s rcpc:llcd, \\ 1th ac; terrible cffccl, and before the
horror of 1t pac;i;td from mcn'c; mmds the \\ h1rlv. md
from Ccntnl J\c;1a s,\cpt once more over all the i\1uc;lun
lands from Delhi to DamasCU'- and Sm, rna, when
Tinu'ir, \\ ho called h1mc;c}f 1 f dlo,\-i\1 usltm, reduced
to \\ :1slc :md 1,hcs wh.1t t,\ o 11wac;1onc; of the heathen
1\1ongo)c; and t\\O ,1c;tl1ttons of the Plague had sp1red.
There t'- one other aspccl of the h15lor) of this
period ,., h1ch dcscn'<..S a short reference It m:t)
cause surpns<... th:n I bn B:tttt'1ta, though he regularly
calls the Chnsl1:ms mfidc)c; or heathens, rarcl) betrays
any an1mos1tY towards them, and even travels on
Genoesc and Catalan vessels. The mcons1slency 1s
c>..plamcd b, the several relations 111 \\ h1ch the Muslims
slood to the Chnsl1:ms The Sacred Law of Islam
places all Chnsl1anc; m one of two categories. native
Chnsban communities, hvmg peacefully 111 Muslim
lands with their O\\ n social orga111zat1on, but definitely
rnfcnor m status, and unsubdued Chnsl1a11 slates
with which the Muslim slate 1s theoret1cal1y at war.
In general, therefore, its attitude, and that of the
Muslims, to Christians was either hostile or frigidly
aloof But Muslim and Chnsl1an met on a third
footrng, which the Canon Law had not envisaged and
which the religious authorities on either side vainly
tried to oppose. \Vhen the Normans had wrested the
command of the Mediterranean from the Arabs m
the eleventh century, the commercial expansion of the
Italian republics and of Roussillon led to the con-
25
SELECTIONS FROM THE
clusion of trading agreements with the Muslim states
and the foundat10n of trading stations m their ports.
Though for mutual safety and convenience the Chris-
tian traders were subject to certain restncbons such
as the Muslims themselves were subject to in Chma,
all these economic negotiations were transacted on
the basis of complete equality and mutual respect.
This friendlmess, m sp1te of the frequency of piracy
on both sides, was maintained on the whole until the
sixteenth century, and 1s reflecl:ed m Ibn Battuta's
relations with the Christian traders and during his
visit to Constantrnople.
I
3 THE RELIGIOUS BACKGROUND OF IBN BATTUTA S

1
TRAVELS
, .__ To the Muslim world m general, however, political

events, though not devoid of mterest, were matters of
mmor IllJport. The med1ey_aL~M!!hE: soc1efI w~
abov~a!!~ _r_~1g!$?Y~~1~ty.. To reltg10n it owea1ts
existence, for the rehg10n of Islam was its sole bond
of union To religion It owed Its common language
of mtercourse, for Islam mtervened to prevent the
d1ssolut1on of Arabic mto locafchaleB::s, and imposed
a knowledge of Arabic on Persians and Turks To
rel1g10n 1t owed 1ts heritage of literature, for re11g10n
had supplied the mcent1ve to those studies out of which
Arabic literature (pp~(ry ~one e~Cffited) arose To
re11g10n 1t owed 1ts social organization and 1ts laws,
for Islam had bmlt up a new legal system, obJlli:ra~mg,
at least m all the c1v1hzed lands, the old social organi-
zations and social mequaht1es 'I.:q_ rehg10_n 1t ow~d
its corporate _f<;:ehng, for Islam gave to every believer
the sense of common feJ1owsh1p m Its umversal
Brotherhood. - Rel1g1on,-!!Lfin.e, not only creat~d the
, cultural background and psychological orientation of
Muslim society, but supplied for 1ts members a ph1lo-
26
sophy of hvmg and ord~ed even the least achvities
of their daily life.
The whole of Arabic literature refleB:s these social
circumstances by an msistence on religious values and
an mterest m matters of religion, which is 4-J?,.t to make
' heavy demands on the patience and knowledge of
modern readers This naturally applies with special
, force to Ibn Battuta's book, no version of which can
; possibly exclude all allusions to religious subJeB:s.
\ For this reason it may lighten the English reader's
) way to give here some account of the religious msti-
j tut1ons of Islam and the organizations which sprang
t up on Islamic soil.
The general beliefs of Islam require little explana-
tion. The central dogma is that there is but One
God, Creator of heaven and earth, Who alone is to
be worshipped, the absolute Master of all His
creatures, whose hves He has, m His mscrutable
Love and Wisdom, foreotdained, and whom Resh.all
judg~ Ol}_the last aw.f1!l_J)2}7 For their guidance He
has raised up a succession of Prophets, the line of
which, beginning with Adam, and continued through
Noah, Abraham, Moses, David, Solomon, and Jesus,
together with an unnumbered host of mmor Prophets,
culminated m Muhammad. The doB:nne preached
by all these Prophets 1s essentially one and the same,
with shght modifications for time and place, namely
1.!.!A!!1-1 O:_ ~rrender to the.-.W._tlL9L Go~. It 1s
set forth m a series of verbally inspired books given
by Divme Revelation to several of the Prophets,
notably the Torah (Pentateuch) to Moses, the Psalms
to David, the Evangel (which is not exaB:ly the Gospels
of the New Testament) to Jesus, and the Koran-the
final and perfeB: re}?2~!tory of the D1vme Word-to
Muhammad. Such revelations were made not direcl:ly
to the Prophet, but transmitted through the Archangel
Gabnel. In addition to men and angels, there 1s a
27
SELECTIONS FROM THE
third class of created bemgs, namely the Jmn, who
bemg made of fire have bodies more subtle than those
of men, and possess superhuman powers, but, hke
medn, sh~J~fL~!!~~ _to_ -~~':_ou_nt on the Day of
Ju gment. ., .-~ ~
<' But Islam 1s much more than the mere affirmat10n
of certam beliefs. No one has fully earned the name

of Muslim who does not also carry out with regularity
~ he religious jutie~s_ _2mp~sed upon him. The main
1
Pillars of the Faith " are four: (I) The five daily
prayer-rituals, each made up of a fixed number of
repetit10ns of a E._mfo~er1_~s _ oj ~Q.Q.!b7_po5tl}~,<15 and
recitations, with the face towaras the rpbla, t.e Mecca.
The prayers are to be performed either congrega-
tionally or m private at stated hours Just before sun-
rise, Just after noon, m mid-afternoon, just after sunset:
and two or three hours after mghtfaJI. Congrega-
tional pr,J.yers_are performed m a mosque anaa-relea
by one (1t_! !_!!1_!_1:!ate12aJ ~hie~ 9pe) of the worshippers.
In t~e mosque _there are no 1mag~_s, no pamtmgs,
ncithmg to difuatt the mmd of the austere monofneisl
from- concentrahon on the act of devotion --xr mo~
tiie-wall;may oedecorated,_with a tracery 7>r g~o-
metncal designs, whose endless mt~!!}g"S may
perhaps serve to Jr~FY the outward v1s1on and give
fuller play to the mner spiritual perceptions The
prmc1pal congregational service of the week, which 1s
held only m " c_a;hedral " mosques, 1s t4Ne n~on pray~~
on Friday, when; m add1t1on to the ordmary ritual
prayers,- the official Preacher of the mosque c!_ehvers
from the E~lEt~ a form~ lf/!!!fP.,_a or -~!9EE!1gn, con-
tammg mter a1ta prayers for the re1gnmg ruler, fol-
lowed usually by a sermon or exh9!,t~t1on (maw',za)
Similar services are held on the two great fdbval days,
the lesser feshval at the close of the fashng month of
Ramadan, and the greater fesbval on the tenth day
of the month of P1lgr1mage. Before begmnmg to
28
pray the worshipper must m every case be m a state
of ritual purity, ,vh1ch 1s cns_urcd by the f?rmal ablu-
tion of face, arms, .rnd feet at the fountam provided
m every mosque. (2) The payment of a fixed alms-
tax on all property, averagmg two and a half per cent.
annually. (3) The observance of the annual fast
during the month of Ramadan, 1.e. complete abstinence
from all food and drmk (mcludmg nowadays smoking)
between the hours of sunrise and sunset for the period
of one lunar month. (4) For those who arc of age
and have the means to carry 1t out, the obligation to
make the Pilgrimage to Mecca at least once m a
lifetime
- Besides its dogmatics and its religious pracbces,
Islam mcludes a complete legal and social system,
based on the Koran and the Hadltli-the saymgs and
acbons attributed to the Prophet This Islamic Law
was expounded by four schools of Jurists m the second
and third centuries of the Muslim era The schools
differ only m mmor pomts of mterpretation, and all
are regarded as equally orthodox. The Law was
admmistcred by the qddi, and m the capital cities of
the East there was usually a supreme qad{ for each
rite. In pracbce crimmal acbons were often decided
by the Sultan or his officers and sometimes legalized
by the formal assent of a qadf. The pomt at which
the social system of Islam diverges most radically
from European systems 1s found m the sphere of
marriage and divorce. It 1s commonly known that
a M ushm may possess up to four wives at one time m
addition to slave concubmes, and that he 1s at liberty,
subJecl: to certam none too rigorous legal safeguards,
to divorce the former at will, and to dispose of the
latter unless they have borne him male children.
Such prov1s1ons were admirably smted to a rovmg life,
and Ibn Battuta took full advantage of them. Details
that no European-far less any Christian clergyman-
29
SELECTIONS FROM THE
would communicate are set down by hun quite simply
and naturally, since they stand in a measure outside
the moral field, m a category not unlike that of eating
and drink.mg. One should not, however, draw over-
hasty conclusions from the casual manner in which
Ibn Battuta speaks of his wives. It 1s not good
manners for a M ushm to refer to his womenfolk m
ordinary social mtercourse, and when, on rare occa-
sions, Ibn Battuta breaks through the convention, 1t
1s generally no more than a brief explanatory reference
made in connecbon w1th some other circumstance.
In regard to a second feature of the Muslim social
,system, the prachce of slavery, 1t 1s important to bear
, in mmd that the slave was generally the body-servant
1
or retamer of his master, and that slavery was m no
'. sense the economic basis of Muslim society. Master
and slave thus stood m a more humane relationship
'than did the slave cultivator to the Roman landed
proprietor or the American planter. There was
,consequently less stJg,tllll attachmg to slavery, and m
>no other society has there been anything resembling
the system by which, as has been shown rn the pre-
:ceding secbon, the white slaves came to furnish the
i pnYileged ~ whence the high officers of state,
, commanders, governors, and at length even sultans,
I were almost exclusively drawn
The fo11owmg story, to]d by a theologian of the
third century, represents without serious d1sl-ort1on the
relat10ns, wh1ch, as numerous parallels m Arabic
literature rnd1cate, often existed between master, Wlfe,
and slave.
I saw a slave-boy bemg autboned for th1rty dinars,
and as he was worth three hundred I bought him.
I was bu1Jdmg a house at the time, and I gave hun
twenty dinars to Jay out on the workmen. He spent
ten on them and bought a garment for hunself with
the other ten. I said to him " What's this ?" to which
30
he rephed "Don't be hasly; no gentleman scolds h1s
slaves." I said to myself " Herc have I bought the
Caliph's tutor without know111g 1t." Later on I
wanted to marry a woman unknown to my cousm
(1.e. my firsl w1fe), so I swore h1m to secrecy and gave
him a d{nar to buy some tlungs, including some of the
fish called ha21ba. But he bought something else,
and when I was wroth vnth him he said " I find that
H1ppo.rlltes disapp'ro,res of haz1ba." l said to htm
" You worthless fool, I was not aw~re that I had bought
a Galen;'ana gave him -ten blows with the whip But
he seized me and gave me seven back saymg, " Sir,
three blows 1s enough as a pu111shment, and the seven
I gave you are my rightful retaliation." So I made
at him and gave him a cut on the head, whereupon he
went off to my cousm, and said to her " ~1_ncen_ry 1s
a religious duty, and whoever deceives us ts not one of
_iis:--'Mymaster has married-and -he -swore me to
silence, and when I said to him that my lady must be
told of it he br_?ke my head." So my cousm would
neither let me rnto the house nor let me have anything
out of 1t, until at last I had to divorce the other woman
After that she used to call the boy " The honest lad,"
and I could not say a word to him, so I said to myself
" I shall set him free, and then I shall have peace "
The most ongmal features of the Islamic system are
to be found m its religious orgamzations, of which there
were two, to some extent nvals of one another. The
official religious syslem of Islam excludes the concep-
non of a clergy, and consequently of a hierarchy.
-
There are no sacraments All believers shnaon
an equal footing m matters of religion, and none is
entitled to claim any spiritual funcbons which are not
shared by every member of the community In actual
pracbce, however, it was impossible to mamtam the
theory of equality. Where a society is bound up with
a religious system, the cleric, the expounder of dofume,
31 -=--
SELECTIONS FROM THE
the arbiter on pomts of Jaw, mev1tably establishes
a moral predominance over his more ignorant fellows,
that 1s none the less real or even tyranmcal because 1t
' has no outward legal support. The mere maintenance
of the rehg10us system thus called mto bemg a religious
aristocracy, as we have already termed the body of
theologians, d1ffermg, however, from the Chnsban
hierarchy m that the elaborate gradat10ns of the
latter were unknown, that 1t had no spmtual ~
rogatives, and was open to all without seekmg any
man's leave or takmg any vows. For the rest, the
system had much the same merits and defeB:s as a
priesthood, though the theologians of Isl_;up gene_rply_
held more aloof from the civil admm1strat1on than did
the Christian hierarchy,- ;nd adopted an-~tt1tude ;hicli
m the long run produced disastrous effecl:s on both
church and civil government In the political field
their influence was mamly negative. Smee 1t fle~olved
1:P..~~ the commumty as a whole to ensure the obser:-
vance of the Faith, the theologians soon found that
they could use their influence to mould public opm1on
and create of it a weapon with which fu~ int.2ldate
law-breakers and keep m check local autocrats ind
; t}!~~ts:-' -1t was rarely that even the most despotic
ruler ventured to b~~e the public disapproval, as may
be seen- from some of the stories related by Ibn
Battuta. On the other hand the example of Sultan
Muhammad of Delhi 1s sufficient to show that when
the ruler was astute enough to humqur the theologians
with his left hand, there were fewwho dared enqmre
too closely mto what he did with his right
On the commumty as a whole was laid yet another
duty which could not be delegated to the pro-
fess1~nal theologians, the duty of defendrng by the
sword the territorial and rehg10us heritage of Islam
The Jthdd, which was reckoned by some Jurists
as an obhgat10n of the same degree as prayer and
32
fasl:mg, and m the early days had mdeed been the
consl:ant occupation of every Musl.m, m a form more
offensive than defensive, was revived by the Crusades
and the Chnsl:ian reconquesl: in Spam. No longer,
however, was it regarded as the personal duty of every
l\1ushm to take up arms for the defence of Islam, and
for the mosl: part the Syrians and Andalusians were
left to defend their terntones by themselves. Never-
theless, the inducement of Paradise, held out as the
reward of the martyr who dies fighting for the Faith,
was strong enough to mamtam a steady movement of
volunteers to the theatres of war against the Chnsl:ian
or heathen. These volunteers lived on the frontier
m forts or fortified Imes called by the name of rtbdt
(which means literally " pickets "), and were known
as Ghdzls or Murdbtts, the nearesl: English eqmvalent
for which 1s "mounted fr<?ntiersmen " By the four-
teenth century 1t was probably only tn Andalusia
that the mst1tut1on preserved its pnm1t1ve charaB:er.
Elsewhere 1t had developed along two very different
Imes On the one hand the fightmg ltfe attraB:ed all
the most turbulent elements in the Muslim empire,
and the Ghazis rapidly degenerated mto bands of
condottien and bngands, a source of much greater
vexation to Muslim rulers than to the mfidels.
On the other hand it was associated with the nse
of the ascetic and mystical movement withm Islam.
Early M usltm asceticism was dommated by fear of
Hell Smee death on Jihad was the only sure passport
to Paradise, 1t came about that m the early days ascetics
had generally taken a prominent part m the frontier
warfare. Later on J 1had was m terpreted to apply to
the inward and spiritual struggle agamst the tempta-
tions of the world, and the Sujls (as the mystics were
now called) withdrew from secular warfare, but
retained the old terminology. The rtbdt was now the
ascetic's hermitage or the convent or hospice where
33 D
SELECTIONS FROM THE
the devotees congregated to live the re11gious 1tfe. In
course of time the loose primitive associations became
lmked up m an organization which tended to grow
more elaborate and hierarchical, with ascendmg grades
of spiritual perception and power. We may here,
however, omit the details of this mysbcal hierarchy,
and pass at once to examine the workmg of the stiff
or darwlsh orders m the fourteenth century, and their
relations with the theologians.
In general the followers of the mysbc's path were by
this time grouped m congregations, called after some
eminent shaykh, who was regarded as the founder of
the tm f qa or rule, mcludmg the ritual litany, which,
as w1ll be explained shortly, was one of the disbn-
guishmg marks of each congregat1on. Round the
convent of the founder rose a girdle of daughter
houses, as disciples of the order spread throughout the
Muslim world, and m most cases all the members
looked up to the descendants or successors of the
founder (for in Islam ascet1c1sm does not imply celi-
bacy) as their head. The older md1VIdual1st ascet1C1sm
was not yet extmB:, however, and everywhere, but
especially m North-west Africa and m Mt Lebanon,
were to be found recluses who were completely mde-
penden t of the darwish orders, though they also often
cla1med spiritual affiliation with and descent from the
great Sufi leaders of the early centuries. StJ.11 more
freely, outside the walls of convent or cell, roamed
numbers of darwishes or faqlrs, affiliated and non-
affihated, distmgmshed by the patched robe, wallet,
and staff, who scorned to earn so much as a mite by
their own labours, trusting to the Providence of God
and the charity of the Faithful, and who at times
displayed an 1mportumty and effrontery more easily
associated with profess10nal mendicants than pious
" almsmen."
The fundamental a1m of the Sufi l1fe, however or
34
wherever lived, was to pierce the veils of human sense
which shut man off from the D1vme and so attam to
communion with and absorpt10n mto God. Their
days and mghts were spent m prayer and contempla-
tion, in fasbng and ascetic exercises. At frequent
intervals all the mhab1tants of the convent, or the
local members of the tm fqn, met to celebrate the ntua1
htany, the dhrk1, according to their peculiar rites. The
dhtkr was intended to produce a hypnotic effeB: on the
participants and so allow them to taste momentarily
the joys of reunion with the D1vme. With that
extravagance which accompanies all expression of
rising emotion m Eastern hfe and thought, the litany
m most cases passed mto a fantastic exhibition of
marvellous or thaumaturg1cal feats, such as Ibn
Battuta describes on several occasions Some would
whirl and pirouette for hours at a time, others would
chew serpents or glass, walk m fire, or thrust kmves
through their limbs, without any worse effeB:s than at
most a temporary nervous exhaustion.
The faculty of self-torture without mfl1B:mg visible
mjury, which is amply vouched for by modern
travellers who have witnessed the lamentations of the
Shi'ites for the death of Husayn, or, hke the late Lord
Curzon, have attended the seances of the 'Isawfya
darwfshes m North-west Afnca, leads up to a related
and difficult question. All European commentators
of Ibn Battuta have referred to his credulity, his fond-
ness for the miraculous and uncntiesil acceptance of
reported miracles worked by the famous shaykhs and
saints whom he met His powers of belief are not,
however, entirely unlimited, as may be seen from the
doubts which he expresses on more than one occasion
m regard to extravagant claims The stones of
miracles which he relates at secondhand do him no
discredit, the power of saints to perform miracles was
and sbll is believed by the mass of M ushms, and such
35
SELECTIONS FROM THE
tales interested both narrator and audience. It 1s
when he tells of miraculous events directly associated
with 1mself that the problem of their truth must be
definitely faced. In some cases 1t may be possible to
explain them by hypnotism (1f that in fact ' explains "
them), as the Muslim theologian exp lamed the Chinese
mag1cian's tricks at Hang-chow, m others, we may
suspect the arts of the conjurer, but there 1s a residue,
mcludmg, for example, the account of his escape after
his capture at Koel m India, where we must either
accept the miraculous element or give the he d1reB:
to the traveller. To the naturahsbc and mechamsbc
mmd of the nineteenth century the choice was s1n1ple,
as 1t 1s still to those who charge Ibn Battuta with
wholesale invention in regard to his travels. But
the twentieth-century reader has greater faith m the
powers of God and man, and while he may remain
cntical he will not reJeB: a prtort any narrative that
involves the "miraculous." There can be no doubt
that m certain orders, at least, the severe bodily and
mental trammg undergone by a darwfsh as he advances
to the higher grades of m1t1at10n 1s accompamed by an
expans10n of mental powers, begmnmg with simple
telepathy. The doubtmg reader may be referred to
an 11Iummatmg account by Professor D B Macdonald
(.dspefls of Islam, p. r 70) of an ex-darwfsh converted
to Chnsbamty who still retained his telepathic gifts
The only prudent course, 1t would seem, is to suspend
judgment, and m the meantime give Ibn Battuta the
credit for relatmg what he at least believed to be the
truth.
It is a little surprismg, however, to find him so
deeply mterested m and so sympathetic m general
towards the darwfshes and Suffs The average
theologian regarded them with suspicion, if not with
aversion, for var10us reasons, rehg10us and secular,
while the mystic m turn frequently despised the
36
theologian for his formalism and cult of the letter.
The first point of issue between them dealt with the
nature of religious knowledge. To the theologians,
there was but one road to the apprehension of truth,
'tlm or savotr, the science of theology, with all its
scholastic appurtenances involved m the study of
the Koran and the Traditions of the Prophet. The
darwish, on the other hand, sought ma'rtfa or co1111ats-
sa11ce, that direcl: knowledge of God, which in his view
was often aB:ually hindered by the study of theology.
Sufism showed an antmom1an tendency which could
not but excite the disapprobation of the legahst, who
sought and found sat1sfacl:1on for his religious instmcl:s
m the ntual duties prescribed by the Faith. More-
over the reverence accorded by the disciple to his
shaykh when alive, and the elevation of former shaykhs
to the rank of samts, to whom invocations were
addressed, seemed to the theologian to destroy the
non-sacerdotal principle, and even to trespass mto
polytheism, the one mortal sm in Islam. At first the
breach between theologian and Sufi had been much
wider, but in course of time the popular influence
enjoyed by the Sufis forced the theologians, however
unw11lmgly, to terms m the matter of samt-worsh1p.
The success of the Sufis m legit1matmg their pracbces
was possibly not a little due to pressure exerted outside
the purely religious field They formed, as has been
seen, a nval religious orgamzation, and 1t 1s evident
that some of the hostility felt by the theologians was
due to competition for popular favour and support.
As the balance of popularity turned m favour of the
Sufis, especially with the mflux of the Turkish element
into the social and political life of Islam, the theologians
found it necessary to admit much that they had formerly
resisted and perhaps contmued to chafe at By the
fourteenth century their capitulation was complete,
when the last outstanding opponent of the Sufi heresies,
37
SELECTIONS FROM THE
that Ibn Taym{ya whom Ibn Battuta saw in Damascus
and whom he speaks of as " haVIng a bee m h1S bonnet/
was silenced. But the hosbhty remained, now more,
now less openly shown. In North-weft Africa 1t seems
to have been much weaker than elsewhere, posszbly
because of the strong mherited attachment of the
Berbers, whzch they sl:111 show, to the principle of local
sancruarzes and " holy men," 1slam1zed under the name
of murdbtts (" marabouts "). This may serve to ex-
plam why Ibn Batta.ta, tramed theologian as he was,
sbll had all a Berber's interest m the holy men whom
he met on his travels.
The antagonism between leg-isl: -and follower of the
Inner Light was, however, unimportant by com-
parison with the hatred engendered by the Great
Schism of Islam, the div1s1on between Sunni and Sht'tte.
The Shi'ite movement began in the first century of
Islam as political propaganda agamsl: the Umayyad
dynasty of Caliphs m favour of the house of 'Alf, the
son-m-law and cousm of the Prophet. It was then
hand m glove with the orthodox, and succeeded both
m impressing 1ts historical pomt of view on orthodox
sentiment and m overthrowmg the hated dynasty,
only to be cheated of its political hopes by the esl:abhsh-
ment of the rival 'Abbasid lme, and to fall insl:ead under
a more methodical persecution than hitherto. Sh1'1sm
now took to the catacombs, and soon became a separate
heretical seer, disl:mgmshed by the dofume of alle-
giance to a divmely appomted, smless, and mfallzble
spiritual leader,. the Imam, msl:ead of an eJe&ve lay
head or Caliph. The Ima.mate they held to be heredi-
tary m the house of 'AH, but the various sub-groups
differed on the point at which the success10n of Imams
was mterrupted. The belief of the pnnc1pal group,
or "Twelvers," to which the Shi'1tes of Persia and
'Iraq shll belong, was that the twelfth Imam of the
lme disappeared about the year 87 3 mto a cave at
38
Hilla, but that he continues, through the heads of
the religious organization, to provide spiritual and
temporal gmdance for his people, and will reappear
as the promised Mahdi to bring the long reign of
tyranny to an end. This strange dofuine of a
" Hidden Imam " or " Expecl:ed Imam," often re-
ferred to as the " Master of the Age,11 1s recalled by
the ceremony at Hilla, of which lbn Battuta gives a
graphic descnpbon.
Sh1'1sm has always sho~a_:rp.uch stronger s~~}~~
tendency_ than orthodox1slam, and was d1stingmshed
from-its earliest days by the number and vanety of
its offshoots. The general tendency of the secl:s was
to adopt, under the influence of vanous syncretist
ph1losoph1es, still more extreme views on the person
of 'AH and his descendants, even to the extent of
d~ng them. Such Ghulat or " Extremists " seem
to have found special favour m Syria where, mdeed,
two of the largest of these communities are still to
be found, the Druse and the Nusayds (now called
'Alawfs), alongside the maJonty Shi'ites of the Twelvers
sea, locally known as Mutawalfs. From the same
cause anses its intolerance. T~_Shi.ite__hat~,_Fhere
the Sunn{ merely de~r-ises. _ His hatred 1s by no means
reservec1Ior non-Muslims, but lS freely bestowed
upon the other Islamic secl:s, especially upon the Sufls,
whose vie~s admit of n~ reconciliation with the pontl-
fi~ sy~~-Slii'ism. With such--feehngs on tlie
one side reciprocated on the other, 1t 1s not surpnsmg
to find a constant feud raging m Syria, m spite of the
efforts of the Mamluk governors. Over and over m
Ibn Battuta's work the reader will note traces of the
enmity that divided Sunni from Sh1'1te, not least m
tlie writer's personal animosity, which shows m the
substitution of the op:erobnous Rdfidhl or " Refuser,"
for Shi'ite or 'Alawf. -r.&.e explanation of this term
1s to be found m a prachce adopted by the Shi'1tes, as
39
TRAVELS OF IBN BA TT OTA
a logical consequence of their Imamate theory. Hold-
mg that 'AH alone had the right to succeed his cousin
Muhammad, they regard the three Caliphs who
reigned before him as usurpers and traitors, and
subsbtute a curse for the blessing which the pious
Sunni M ushm pronounces after the names of these
the closesl companions of the Prophet-a detber~te
msult which naturally arouses the md1gnation of tbe
Sunnis m a far greater degree than the1r more theoretical
dogl)},q.t_~f- her_<llies.
IN THE NAME OF GOD THE MERCIFUL
THE COMPASSIONATE
Prarse be to God, lFho hath subdued the earth to Hts
se, va11ts tlzat the)' may tread thereon spacrous wa)'s, Who
hath made therefrom and the, ermto the three mome111s of
grorwth, return, and recall, and liat/1 pe1feBed Hts Bott111)'
toward Hrs creatures 111 sub;eBmg Jo tl1em the beafls of
tlze field and vessels towermg !tke morwtams, that the)'
may befl!. rde tl1e ndge of the wt!derness and the deeps of
the ocean. May the blessmg of God refl upon our chief
and mafler J,.{uhammad who made plam a way for
mankwd a11d caused tl1e !tght of Hts gmda11ce to shwe forth
w radrance, and upon all rwho are honoured bJ' relatto11sh1p
with lmn.
Amongst those who presented themselves at the 1llufuious gates
of our lord the Caliph and Commander of the Faithful Abu 'loan
Fans was the learned and most veraoous traveller Abu 'Abdallah
Muhammad of Tangier known as Jim Battuta and m the eastern lands
as Shams ad-Din, who haVlllg Journeyed round the world and visited
Its oties observantly and attentively, havmg mvefugated the diversities
of nations and e:i::penenced the customs of Arabs and non-Arabs, laid
down the ftafF of travel m this noble metropolis A graoous command
prescnbed that he should dIB:ate an account of the oties which he had
seen on his journeys, of the mterefung events which he retained m his
memory and of the rulers of countnes, learned men and pious saints
whom he had met, and that the humble servant Muhammad 1bn
Juzayy should umte the morsels of his dIB:ation mto a book "hich
should IDclude all therr men ts-and preserve them ID a clear and elegant
style I ha.-e therefore rendered the sense of the Shaylh Abu 'Abdal-
la.h's narrative ID language adequate to his purposes, often reproduCing
"-,thout alteration his own words, and I have reported all his stones
and narratives of events without mvesbgatlng their truthfulness sIDce
he himself has auth~t!_cated them with the fuongeft proofs
Here begms the narrative of the Shaykh Abu

'Abdallah [Ibn BattutaJ
41
BOOK I
CHAPTER I
I LEFT Tangier, my birthplace, on Thursday, 2nd
Rajah, 725 [14th June, 1325], bemg at that time
twenty-two [lunarJ years of age, 1 with the mtent10n
of making the Pilgrimage to the Holy House [ at
Mecca] and the Tomb of the Prophet [at Madina].
I set out alone, findmg no compamon to cheer the way
with friendly mtercourse, and no party of travellers
with whom to associate myself. Swayed by an over-
mastermg impulse w1thm me, and a long-cherished
desire to visit those glorious sanctuaries, I resolved
to qmt all my friends and tear myself away from my
home. As my parents were shll alive, 1t weighed
grievously upon me to part from them, and both they
and I were affi1B:ed with sorrow.
On reachmg the city of T1hmsan [Tlemsen], whose
sultan at that time was Abu Tashifln, 2 I found there
two ambassadors of the Sultan of Tums, who left the
city on the same day that I arrived. One of the
brethren having advised me to accompany them, I
consulted the will of God m this matter,3 and after
a stay of three days m the city to procure all that I
needed, I rode after them with all speed I overtook
them at the town of M1hana, where we stayed ten
days, as both ambassadors fell sick on account of the
summer heats. When we set out agam, one of them
grew worse, and died after we had stopped for three
mghts by a stream four miles from M1hana. I left
their party there and pursued my journey, with a
company of merchants from Tums. On reachmg
43
SELECTIONS FROM THE
al-Jaza'ir [Algiers] we halted outside the town for
a few days, until the former party reJomed us, when
we went on together through the MitfJa 4 to the moun-
tain of Oaks [JurJura] and so reached B11aya [Bougie]. 6
The commander of Bl)aya at this time was the chamber-
lam Ibn Sayyid an-Nas Now one of the Tun1s1an
merchants of our party had died leavmg three thousand
dmars of gold, which he had entrusted to a certain
man of Algiers to deliver to his heirs at Tunis. Ibn
Sayyid an-Nas came to hear of this and forcibly seized
the money. Tbrn was the first mstance I witnessed
of the tyranny of the agents of the Tumsian govern-
ment. At BiJaya I fell tll of a fever, and one of my '
friends advised me to slay there till I recovered.
But I refused, saymg, " If God decrees my death, it
shall be on the road with my face set toward Mecca "
" If that 1s your resolve," he replied, " sell your ass
and your heavy baggage, and I shall lend you what
you require. In th1s way you will travel light, for
we must make haste on our Journey, for fear of meeting
roving Arabs on the way" 6 I fo11owed his advice and
he did as he had promised-may God reward him l
On reachmg Qusantfnah [Constantme] we camped
outside the town, but a heavy ram forced us to leave
our tents durmg the night and take refuge m some
houses there. Next day the governor of the city
came to meet us Seemg my clothes all soiled by the
ram he gave orders that they should be washed at h1s
house, and rn place of my old worn beadcloth sent
me a headcloth of fine Synan doth, m one of the ends
of which he had tied two gold dinars This was the
:first alms I received on my journey From Qusan-
tfoah we reached Bona where, after sraymg m the
town for several days, we left the merchants of our
party on account of the dangers of the road, while
we pursued our Journey with the utmost speed I
was agam attacked by fever, so I tied myself m the
44
saddle with a turban-cloth m case I should fall by
reason of my ,vcakncss. So great was my fear that
I could not dismount until we arrived at Tums. The
population of the city came out to meet the members
of our party, and on all sides grectmgs and quesbons
were c::,..changed, but not a soul greeted me as no one
there was known to me I was so affected by my
lonclmess that I could not rcsham my tears and wept
b1tterl)\ until one of the pilgrims realized the cause
of my distress and commg up to me greeted me kmdly
and contmucd to cntertam me with friendly talk until
I entered the city
The Sultan of Tums at that time was Abu Yahya,
the son of Abu Zakariya II , and there were a number
of notable scholars m the town 7 During my slay the
fesbval of the Breaking of the Fasl: fell due, and I
joined the company at the Praying-ground. 8 The
mhab1tants assembled m large numbers to celebrate
the fesbval, making a brave show and wearmg their
nchesl: apparel. The Sultan Abu Yahya arrived on
horseback, accompamcd by all his relatives, courtiers,
and officers of state walkmg on foot 111 a Stately pro-
cession After the recital of the prayer and the
conclusion of the Allocut1on the people returned to
their homes
Some time later the p1lgnm caravan for the HIJaz
was formed, and they nommated me as their qad{
(Judge) Vile left Tunis early m November, followmg
the coast road through Susa, Sfax, and Qab1s, 9 where
we stayed for ten days on account of mcessant rams
Thence we set out for Tripoli, accompamed for several
stages by a hundred or more horsemen as well as a
detachment of archers, out of respect for whom the
Arabs kept their distance I had made a contract of
marriage at Sfax with the daughter of one of the
syndics at Tums, and at Tnpoh she was conduB:ed
to me, but after leavmg Tnpoh I became mvolved
45
SELECTIONS FROM THE
m a dispute with her father, which necessitated my
separatzon from her. I then married the daughter of
a sludent from Fez, and when she was conducted to
me I detained the caravan for a day by entertaining
them all at a weddmg party.
At length on Aprtl 5th (1326) we reached Alex-
andria. It 1s a beautiful city, well-built and fortified
with four gates 10 and a magnificent port. Among all
the ports m the world I have seen none to equal 1t
except Kawlam [QmlonJ and Calicut m India, the
port of the infidels [GenoeseJ at Sudaq m the land of
the Turks, and the port of Zaytun m Chma, all of
which w1ll be described later. I went to see the light-
house on this occasion and found one of its faces m
rums. It 1s a very high square bmldmg, and its door
IS above the level of the earth. Opposite the door,
and of the same height, 1s a bmldmg from which there
1s a plank bridge to the door, 1f this 1s removed there
Is no means of entrance Inside the door 1s a place
for the lighthouse-keeper, and w1thm the lighthouse
there are many chambers. The breadth of the passage
mside 1s nine spans and that of the wall ten spans,
each of the four sides of the lighthouse is I 40 spans
m breadth It IS situated on a high mound and J1c'>
three miles from the city on a Jong tongue of land
which JUts out mto the sea from close by the city wall,
so that the lighthouse cannot be reached by land
except from the city On my return to the '\Vest
m the year 750 [r 349] I v1s1tcd the Jrghthousc again,
and found that It had fallen mto so ruinous a cond1t1on
that 1t was not possible to enter 1t or climb up to tht-
door.11 Al-Mahk an-Nasir had started to build :i
s1m11ar lighthouse alongside 1t but was prevented bj
death from completing the work Another of th(
marvellous things m this city 1s the a\\c-tn<;p1rinf
marble column m 1ts outskirts ,.,h1ch thl} c-1II _the
"Pillar of Columns" It is a single block, sJrrltulh
46
carved, erecl:ed on a plmth of square stones hke enor-
mous platforms, and no one knows how 1t was erecl:ed
there nor for certam who erecl:ed it. 12
One of the learned men of Alexandria was the qadf,
a master of eloquence, who used to wear a turban of
e:,._i:raordinary size. Never either m the eastern or the
western lands have I seen a more voluminous head-
gear. Another of them was the pious ascetic Burhan
ad-Din, whom I met during my stay and whose
hospitality I enjoyed for three days One day as I
entered his room he said to me " I see that you are
fond of travellmg through foreign lands " I replied
"Yes, I am" (though I had as yet no thought of gomg
to such distant lands as India or Chma) Then he
said "You must certamly visit my brother 13 Farid
ad-Din m India, and my brother Rukn ad-Din m
Sind, and my brother Burhan ad-Din m China, and
when you find them give them greetmg from me "
I was amazed at his predicl:ion, and the idea of gomg
to these countries havmg been cast mto my mmd, my
Journeys never ceased until I had met these three that
he named and conveyed his greeting to them.
Durmg my stay at Alexandria I had heard of the
pious Shaykh al-Murshidi,who bestowed gifts miracu-
lously created at his desire He lived m solitary
retreat m a cell m the country where he was visited
by prmces and ministers. Parties of men m all ranks
of hfe used to come to him every day and he would
supply them all with food. Each one of them would
desire to eat some flesh or frmt or sweetmeat at his
cell, and to each he would give what he had suggested,
though 1t was frequently out of season. His fame was
earned from mouth to mouth far and wide, and the
Sultan too had visited him several times m his retreat.
I set out from Alexandria to seek this shaykh and
passing through Damanhur came to Fawwa [Fua],
a beautiful township, close by which, separated from
47
SELECTIONS FROM THE
it by a canal, lies the shaykh's cell. I reached this
eel] about mid-afternoon, and on saluting the shaykh
I found that he had with him one of the sultan's
aides-de-camp, who had encamped with his troops
JUst outside. The shaykh rose and embraced me, and
calling for food invited me to eat. When the hour
of the afternoon prayer arrived he set me m front as
prayer-leader, and did the same on every occas10n
when we were together at the times of prayer during
my stay. When I w1Shed to sleep he said to me
"Go up to the roof of the ce1I and sleep there" (this
was during the summer heats). I said to the officer
" In the name of God," 14 but he rephed [quoting from
the Koran J " There 1s none of us but has an appomted
place." So I mounted to the roof and found there
a straw mattress and a leather mat, a water vessel for
ritual ablutions, a Jar of water and a drinking-cup, and
I Jay down there to sleep.
That night, while I was sleeping on the roof of the
cell, I dreamed that I was on the wing of a great b1rd
which was flying with me towards Mecca, then to
Yemen, then eastwards, and thereafter going towards
the south, then flying far eastwards, and finally Iandmg
m a dark and green country, where 1t left me. I
was astonished at th1s dream and said to myself " If
the shaykh can interpret my dream for me, he 1s all
that they say he is." Next morning, after all the
other v1S1tors had gone, he called me and when I had
related my dream interpreted 1t to me saymg "You
w11I make the pilgrimage [to Mecca] and v1S1t [the
Tomb of] the Prophet, and you will travel through
Yemen, 'Iraq, the country of the Turks, and India.
You will slay there for a long time and meet there
my brother D1lshad the Indian, who will rescue you
from a danger rnto which you will fall" Then he
gave me a travellrng-prov1s10n of small cakes and
money and I bade him farewell and departed Never
' 48
since parting from him have I met on my Journeys
aught but good fortune, and his blessings have stood
me m good stead.
We rode from here to Damietta through a number
of towns, m each of which we visited the principal men
of religion. Damictta lies on the bank of the Nile,
and the people in the houses next to the nver draw
water from 1t in buckets Many of the houses have
steps leading down to the nver. Their sheep and
goats are allowed to pasture at liberty day and night,
for this reason the saying goes of Damietta "Its walls
are sweetmeats and its dogs are sheep." Anyone
who enters the city may not afterwards leave 1t except
by the governor's seal. Persons of repute have a
seal stamped on a piece of paper so that they may
show it to the gatekeepers, other persons have the seal
stamped on their forearms. In this city there are
many seabirds with extremely greasy flesh, and the
milk of its buffaloes is unequalled for sweetness and
pleasant taste. The fish called buri 15 is exported
thence to Syna, Anatolia, and Cairo The present
town is of recent conshucbon, the old city was that
destroyed by the Franks m the time of al-Malik
as-Sa.1th. 16
From Damietta I travelled to Fanskur, which is
a town on the bank of the Nile, and halted outside
it Here I was overtaken by a horseman who had
been sent after me by the governor of Damietta. He
handed me a number of corns, saymg to me "The
Governor asked for you, and on bemg informed about
you, he sent you this gift "-may God reward him I
Thence I travelled to Ashmun, a large and ancient
town on a canal derived from the Nile It possesses
a wooden bridge at which all vessels anchor, and m
the afternoon the baulks are lifted and the vessels
pass up and down. From here I went to Samannud,
whence I Journeyed upstream to Cairo, between a
49 E
SELECTIONS FROM THE
continuous succession of towns and villages. The
traveller on the Nile need take no prov1s1on with him
because whenever he desires to descend on the bank
he may do so, for ablut10ns, prayers, prov1s10nmg, or
any other purpose. There 1s an uninterrupted cham
of bazaars from Alexandria to Cairo, and from Cairo
to Assuan rn Upper Egypt.
I arrived at length at Cairo, mother of cities and
seat of Pharaoh the tyrant, mistress of broad reg10ns
and frmtful lands, boundless in multitude of butldmgs,
peerless m beauty and splendour, the meeting-place
of comer and goer, the halting-place of feeble and
m1ghty, whose throngs surge as the waves of the sea,
and can scarce be contamed m her for all her size
and capacity. 17 It 1s said that m Cairo there are
twelve thousand water-carriers who transport water on
camels, and thirty thousand hirers of mules and
donkeys, and that on the Nile there are thirty-six
thousand boats belongmg to the Sultan and his sub-
jecl:s, which sail upstream to Upper Egypt and down-
stream to Alexandria and Dam1etta, laden with goods
and profitable merchandise of all kmds. On the
bank of the Nile opposite Old Cairo 1s the place known
as The Garden, 18 which 1s a pleasure park and prome-
nade, contammg many beautiful gardens, for the
people of Cairo are given to pleasure and amusements
I witnessed a fete once m Cairo for the sultan's re-
covery from a fractured hand, all the merchants
decorated their bazaars and had nch shrlfs, ornaments
and stlken fabrics hangmg m their shops for several
days. The mosque of 'Amr 1s highly venerated and
widely celebrated. The Friday service 1s held m it,
and the road runs through 1t from east to west. The
madrasas [ college mosques] of Cau-o cannot be counted
for multitude As for the Marishin [hospital], which
hes " between the two castles ,, near the mausoleum
of Sultan Qala'un, no descr1pt1on 1s adequate to its
50
beauties. It contains an innumerable quantity of
appliances and medicaments, and its daily revenue is
put as high as a thousand dmars 10
There are a large number of religious establishments
[" convents "], which they call khdnqahs, and the
nobles vie with one another m bmldmg them Each
of these is set apart for a separate school of darwishes,
mostly Persians, who are men of good education and
adepts m the mystical dofumes. Each has a superior
and a doorkeeper and their affairs are admirably or-
ganized They have many special customs, one of
which has to do with their food. The steward of
the house comes m the morning to the darwishes,
each of whom mdicates what food he desires, and when
they assemble for meals, each person is given his
bread and soup m a separate dish, none sharing with
another They eat twice a day They are each given
wmter clothes and summer clothes, and a monthly
allowance of from twenty to thirty dirhams. Every
Thursday night they receive sugar cakes, soap to
wash their clothes, the price of a bath, and 011 for their
lamps These men are celibate, the married men have
separate convents.
At Cairo too is the great cemetery of al-Qarafa,
which is a place of peculiar sanaity, and contams the
graves of innumerable scholars and pious believers.
In the Qarafa the people build beautiful pavilions
surrounded by walls, so that they look hke houses. 20
They also build chambers and hire Koran-readers,
who recite night and day m agreeable voices. Some
of them build rehg10us houses and madrasas beside
the mausoleums and on Thursday nights they go out
to spend the mght there with their children and women-
folk, and make a circuit of the famous tombs They
go out to spend the night there also on the " Night
of mid-Sha'ban," and the market-people take out all
kinds of eatables.21 Among the many celebrated
SI
SELECTIONS FROM THE
sanctuaries [m the cityJ is the holy shrine where there
reposes the head of al-Husayn.:!2 Beside 1t 1s a va~
monastery of sl:nkmg construchon, on the doors of
which there are stlver rmgs and plates of the same
metal.
The Egyptian N1le23 surpasses all rivers of the earth
m sweetness of taste, length of course, and uttl1ty.
No other river m the world can show such a con-
tmuous series of towns and villages along its banks,
or a basin so intensely cultivated. Its course 1s from
south to north, contrary to all the other [great) nvers
One extraordinary thmg about it is that 1t begms to
rise m the extreme hot weather, at the tune when
rivers generally dummsh and dry up, and begms to
subside just when rivers begm to mcrease and over-
flow. The river Indus resembles 1t m trus feature
The Ntle is one of the five great rivers of the world,
which are the Ntle, Euphrates, T1gr1s, Syr Darya and
Amu Darya, five other nvers resemble these, the Indus,
which 1s called Panj Aq [t e Five Rivers], the river
of India which 1s called Gang [Ganges]-it 1s to 1t
that the Hmdus go on pilgrimage, and when they
burn their dead they throw the ashes mto 1t, and they
say that It comes from Paradise-the river Jun [Jumna,
or perhaps BrahmaputraJ m India, the river Itil
[Volga] m the Q1pchaq steppes, on the banks of which
1s the city of Sara, and the river Sam [Hoang-Ho]
1n the land of Cathay All these will be mentioned
in their proper places, if God will Some d1stan~e4
below Cairo the Nile divides into three fueams,-
none of which can be crossed except by boat, mnter
or summer. The inhabitants of every township have
canals led off the Ntle, these are :filled when the river
IS m flood and carry the water over the fields.
From Cairo I travelled mto Upper Egypt, mth the
intention of crossing to the H1Jaz. On the first night
I stayed at the monastery of Dayr at-Tin, which was
52
built to house cert::un illusl:nous relics-a fragment of
the Prophces wooden bas111 and the pencil with which
he used to apply kohl, the awl he used for sewmg his
sandals, and the Koran belongmg to the Caliph 'All
written m lus o,vn hand These were bought, 1t is
said, for a hundred thousand d1rhams by the builder
of the monastery, who also established funds to supply
food to all comers and to mamtam the guardians of
the sacred relics Thence my way lay through a
number of towns and villages to Munyat lbn Khasib
[Mm1a], a large town ,vh1ch 1s built on the bank of
the Nile, and most emphatically excels all the other
towns of U ppcr Egypt I went on through Man-
falut, Asyut, Ikhmim, where there is a berba 25 with
sculptures and mscnpt1ons which no one can now
read-another of these be, bas there was pul1ed down
and its stones used to build a madrasa-Qma, Qus,
where the governor of Upper Egypt resides, Luxor,
a pretty little town contatnmg the tomb of the pious
ascetic Abu'l-Ha_iJaJ,2 Esna, and thence a day and a
mght's Journey through desert country to Edfu. Here
we crossed the Nile and, hmng camels, Journeyed
with a party of Arabs through a desert, totally dev01d
of settlements but qmte safe for travellmg. One of
our halts was at Humaythira, a place mfested with
hyenas All night long we kept dnvmg them away,
and mdeed one got at my baggage, tore open one of
the sacks, pulled out a bag of dates, and made off
with 1t We found the bag next morning, torn to
pieces and with most of the contents eaten.
After fifteen days' travellmg we reached the town
of Aydhab, 27 a large town, well supplied with milk
and fish, dates and gram are imported from Upper
Egypt Its mhabitants are BeJas These people
are black-skinned, they wrap themselves m yellow
blankets and be headbands about a fingerbreadth
wide round their heads. They do not give their
53
SELECTIONS FROM THE
daughters any share m their inheritance. They Jive
on camels' mtlk and they ride on Meharis [drome-
daries J One-third of the city belongs to the Sultan
of Egypt and two-thirds to the Kmg of the BeJas,
who 1s called al-Hudrubf 28 On reachmg Aydhab
we found that al-Hudrubi was engaged m warfare with
the Turks [t e. the troops of the Sultan of Egypt],
that he had sunk the ships and that the Turks had
fled before him It was impossible for us to attempt
the sea-crossmg, so we sold the provisions that we
had made ready for 1t, and returned to Qus with the
Arabs from whom we had hired the camels "\1-le
satled thence down the Nile (1t was at the flood time)
and after an eight days' Journey reached Cairo, where
I stayed only one mght, and immediately set out for
Syria. This was m the middle of July, 1326
My route lay through Bilbays and as-Salthfya, after
which we entered the sands and halted at a number
of stations. At each of these there was a hostelry,
which they call a khdn, 20 where travellers alight with
their beasts Each khan has a water wheel supplpng
a fountam and a shop at which the traveller buys what
he reqmres for himself and his beast: At the station
of Qatya. 30 customs-dues are collected from the mer-
chants, and their goods and baggage are thoroughly
exammed and searched There are offices here, with
officers, clerks, and notaries, and the datl} revenue 1s
a thousand gold dmars No one 1s allowed to p:iss
mto Syria without a passport from Egypt, nor into
Egypt without a passport from Syria, for the pro-
tetbon of the property of the subJeB:s and as a measure
of precaution against spies from 'Iraq The respons1-
b1hty of guarding this road has been cntrusled to the
Badawin. At mghtfall they smooth do"' n the swd
so that no track 1s left on 1t, then rn the morning the
governor comes and looks at the sand If he finds
anY track on 1t he commands the Arabs to brrng the
. 54
person who made 1t, and they set out m pursmt and
never fail to catch him. He 1s then brought to the
governor, who punishes him as he sees fit. The
governor at the time of my passage treated me as
a guest and showed me great kmdness, and allowed
all those who were with me to pass. From here we
went on to Gaza, which 1s the first city of Syria on the
side next the Egypban fronber. _
From Gaza I travelled to the city of Abraham
[Hebron], the mosque of which 1s of elegant, but
substanoal, confuu&on, 1mposmg and lofty, and
butlt of squared stones At one angle of 1t there 1s
a stone, one of whose faces measures twenty-seven
spans. It 1s said that Solomon commanded the pnn 31
to bmld 1t Inside 1t 1s the sacred cave contammg
the graves of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, opposite
which are three graves, which are those of their wives
I questioned the imam, a man of great piety and learn-
mg, on the authent1c1ty of these graves, and he replied.
" All the scholars whom I have met hold these graves
to be the very graves of Abraham, Isaac, Jacob and
their wives. No one questions this except mtroducers
of false dofumes, 1t 1s a tradition which has passed
from father to son for generations and admits of no
doubt." This mosque contams also the grave of
Joseph, and somewhat to the east of 1t hes the tomb
of Lot, 32 which 1s surmounted by an elegant butldmg
In the neighbourhood 1s Lot's lake [the Dead Sea],
which 1s brackish and 1s said to cover the site of
the settlements of Lot's people On the way from
Hebron to Jerusalem, I V1s1ted Bethlehem, the birth-
place of Jesus. The site 1s covered by a large bmld-
mg, the Christians regard 1t with intense veneration
and hospitably entertam all who alight at it.
We then reached Jerusalem (may God ennoble
her 1), third m excellence after the two holy shrmes
of :t\1ecca and Madina, and the place whence the
55
SELECTIONS FROM THE
Prophet was caught up mto heaven. 33 Its walls were
destroyed by the tllustnous Kmg Saladin and his
successors, 84 for fear lest the Chnstians should seize
1t and fortify themselves m 1t. The sacred mosque
1s a most beautiful bmldmg, and 1s said to be the largest
mosque m the world. I ts length from east to west is
put at 752 "royal " cub1ts35 and its breadth at 435.
On three sides 1t has many entrances, but on the
south side I know of one only, which 1s that by which
the rmam enters. The entire mosque 1s an open
court and unroofed, except the mosque al-Aqsa, which
has a roof of most excellent workmanship, embellished
with gold and brilliant colours. Some other parts
of the mosque are roofed as well. The Dome of the
Rock 1s a butldmg of extraordinary beauty, sohd1ty,
elegance, and smgular1ty of shape It stands on an
elevation m the centre of the mosque and 1s reached
by a flight of marble steps It has four doors The
space round 1t 1s also paved with marble, excellently
done, and the mterior l1kew1se. Both outside and
ms1de the decoration 1s so rnagm:ficent and the work-
manship so surpassmg as to defy description. The
greater part 1s covered with gold so that the eyes of
one who gazes on its beauties are dazzled by its bril-
liance, now glowing hke a mass of light, now flashmg
like hghtning. In the centre of the Dome 1s the
blessed rock from which the Prophet ascended to
heaven, a great rock proJecbng about a man's height,
and underneath 1t there 1s a cave the size of a small
room, also of a man's height, w1th steps leading down
to 1t Enc1rclmg the rock are two ratlmgs of excellent
workmanship, the one nearer the rock being artishcally
consl:rucl:ed m iron, 30 and the other of wood
Among the grace-besl:owmg sanfruaries of Jcni-
salem 1s a bmldmg, situated on the farther side of the
valley called the valley of Jahannam [Gehenna] to
the east of the town, on a high hill. This building 15
56
said to mark the place whence Jesus ascended to
heaven.37 In the bottom of the same valley is a
church venerated by the Chnshans, who say that 1t
contains the grave of Mary. In the same place there
is another church which the Chnshans venerate and
to which they come on pilgrimage. This is the
church of which they are falsely persuaded to believe
that it con tams the grave of Jesus. All who come on
pilgrimage to visit it pay a shpulated tax to the
Muslims, and suffer very unwillingly various humilia-
tions Thereabouts also is the place of the cradle
of Jesus,3 8 which is visited m order to obtam blessing.
I Journeyed thereafter from Jerusalem to the fortress
of Askalon, which is a total rum. Of the great mosque,
known as the mosque of 'Omar, nothing remains but
its walls and some marble columns of matchless
beauty, partly standing and partly fallen. Amongst
them is a wonderful red column, of which the people
tell that the Chrifuans earned it off to their country
but afterwards lost it, when it was found m its place
at Askalon. Thence I went on to the city of ar-Ram-
lah, which is also called F1lastin [Palestine], m the
qrbla of those mosque they say three hundred of the
prophets are buried From ar-Ramlah I went to the
town of Nabulus [Shechem], a city with an abundance
of trees and perennial streams, and one of the richest
m Syna for olives, the 011 of which is exported thence
to Cairo and Damascus. It 1s at Nabulus that the
carob-sweet is manufactured and exported to Damascus
and elsewhere. It 1s made in this way: the carobs
are cooked and then pressed, the Jmce that runs out
is gathered and the sweet is manufacrured from it.
The Jmce itself too is exported to Carro and Damascus.
Nabulus has also a species of melon which 1s called
by its name, a good and dehc10us frmt. Thence I
went to AJalun 39 making m the drrechon of Ladhiqiya,
and passing through the Ghawr, followed the coast to
57
SELECTIONS FROM THE
( J' Akka [Acre], which is m rums. Acre was formerly
the capital and port of the country of the Franks m
Syria, and rivalled Consl:antmople itself.
I went on from here to Sur [Tyre], which 1s a rum,
though there 1s outside 1t an mhab1ted village, most
of whose population belong to the sect called
"Refusers." It 1s this city of Tyre which has become
proverbial for 1mpregnab1hty, because the sea sur-
rounds 1t on three sides and 1t has two gates, one on
the landward side and one to the sea That on the
landward side 1s protected by four outer walls each
with breasl:works, while the sea gate stands between
two great towers. There 1s no more marvellous or
more remarkable piece of masonry m the world than
this, for the sea surrounds 1t on three sides and on
the fourth there is a wall under which the ships pass
and come to anchor. In former times an iron cham
was stretched between the two towers to form a barrier,
so that there was no way m or out unttl 1t was lowered.
It was placed under the charge of guards and trust-
worthy agents, and none might enter or leave without
their knowledge Acre also had a harbour resembling
1t, but 1t admitted only small ships. From Tyre I
went on to Sayda [S1don], a pleasant town on the
coast, and nch m frmt, 1t exports figs, ra1sms, and olive
011 to Cairo. 40
Next I went on to the town of Tabariya [Tibenas]
It was formerly a large and important city, of which
nothmg now remams but vestiges w1tnessmg to its
former greatness It possesses wonderful baths with
separate establishments for men and women, the water
of which 1s very hot. AL T1benas 1s the famous lake
[the Sea of Galilee], about eighteen miles long and
more than mne m breadth The town has a mosque
known as the " Mosque of the Prophets," containing
the graves of Shu'ayb [JethroJ and his daughter, the
wife of Moses, as well as those of Solomon, Judah,
58
and Reuben. From Tibertas we went to visit the,,.-~
well_into~~u.c:l~Joseph ,~~s cast, a large and deep well,
m the courtyard of a small mosque, and drank some
water from 1t It was ram water, but the guardian
told us that there 1s a spring m 1t as well. V-l e went
on from there to Bayrut, a small town with fine markets
and a beautiful mosque. Frmt and iron are exported
from it to Egypt.
'\"'ile set out from here to visit the tomb of Abu
Ya'qub Yusuf, who, they say, was a kmg m North-
west: Africa. The tomb 1s at a place called Karak
Nuh, 11 and beside 1t 1s a religious house at which all
travellers are entertained. Some say that 1t was the
Sultan Saladin who endowed 1t, others that it was the
Sultan Nur ad-Din The story goes that Abu Ya'qub,
after sl:aymg some time at Damascus with the Sultan,
who had been warned in a dream that Abu Ya'qub
would bnng him some advantage, left the town m
solitary flight during a season of great coldness, and
came to a village m its neighbourhood. In this village
there was a man of humble station who mvited him
to stay m his house, and on his consenting, made him
soup and !g_lled a chicken and brought 1t to h1m with
barley bread After h1s meal Abu Ya'qub prayed
for a blessing on his host. Now this man had several
children, one of them being a girl who was shortly
to be conduB:ed to her husband It is a custom m
-~that country that a girl's father gives her an outfit,
the greater part of which consists m copper utensils
These are re&"arded by them with great pride and are
made the subJeB: of special stipulations m the marriage
contraB:. Abu Ya'qub therefore said to the man,
" Have you any copper utensils ?" "Yes " he replied,
1
' I have JUst bought some for my daughter's outfit."
Abu Ya'qub told h1m to brmg them and when he had

brought them said " Now borrow all that you can
from your neighbours" So he d1d so and laid them
59
SELECTIONS FROM THE
all before h1m. He then l1t :fires round them and
'
taking out a purse wh1ch he had contammg an elt:iar,
threw some of 1t over the brass, and the whole array
was changed mto gold. Leaving these rn a locked
chamber, Abu Ya'qub wrote to Nur ad-Din at
Damascus, telling him about them, and exhortmg him
to butld and endow a hospital for s1ck strangers and
to construcl: religious houses on the highways. He
bade him also satisfy the owners of the copper vessels
and provide for the maintenance of the owner of the
house The latter took the letter to the king, who
came to the vtllage and removed the gold, after satls-
fyrng the owners of the vessels and the man himself.
He, searched for Abu Ya'qub, but fatlmg to find any
trace or news of him, returned to Damascus, where he
bmlt the hospital which ts known by his name and 1s
the finest m the world.
I came next to the city of Atrabulus [Tripoli], one
of the principal towns m Syria. It hes two miles
inland, and has only recently been butlt. The old
town was right on the shore, the Christians held 1t for42
a time, and when 1t was recovered by Sultan Baybars
1t was pulled down and this new town built There
are some fine bath-houses m 1t, one of which 1s called
after Smdamur, who was a former governor of the
city Many stones are told of his severity to evil-
doers Here 1s one of them A woman complained
to him that one of the mamluks of his personal staff
had seized some mtlk that she was selling and had
drunk 1t She had no evidence, but Smdamur sent
for the man. He was cut m two, and the mtlk came
out of his entrails. S1m1lar stones are told of al-
Atris at the time when he was governor of Aydha}
under Sultan Qala'un, and of Kebek, the Sultan
43
Turkestan. al Akr'd
From Tnpoh I went by way of H1sn - a
[ Krak des Chevalters, now Qal'at al-HisnJ and Hims
60
to Hamah, another of the metropolitan cities of Syria.
It is surrounded by orchards and gardens, m the
midst of which there are waterwheels like revolving
globes. Thence to Ma'arra, which hes tn a distriB:
inhabited by some sort of Shi 11tes, abominable people
who hate the Ten Compamons and every person
whose name is 'Omar. 44 Vile went on from there to
Sarmin, where bnck soap is manufaB:ured and ex-
ported to Cairo and Damascus Besides this they
manufaB:ure perfumed soap, for washmg hands, and
colour it red and yellow. These people too are re-
vilers, who hate the Ten, and-an extraordmary thmg
-never mention the word ten When their brokers
are sellmg by auB:1on in the markets and come to ten,
they say " nme and one" One day a Turk happened
to be there, and hearing a broker call " nme and one,"
he laid his club about his head saymg " Say ' ten,' "
whereupon quoth he " Ten with the club." We
Journeyed thence to Halab [Aleppo], 45 which is the
seat of the Maltk al-Umard, who is the principal
commander under the sultan of Egypt He 1s a
Jurist and has a reputat10n for fair-dealmg, but he 1s
stmgy
I went on from there to Antakiya [Antioch], by
way of Tizin, a new town founded by the Turkmens 40
Antioch was protected formerly by a wall of unrivalled
solidity among the cities of Syria, but al-Malik az-
Zah1r [Baybars] pulled it down when he captured the
town. 47 It 1s very densely populated and possesses
beautiful bmldmgs, with abundant trees and water.
Thence I visited the fortress of Baghras, 48 at the en-
trance to the land of Sis [Little Armema], that 1s, the
land of the Armenian infidels, and many other castles
and fortresses, several of which belong to a sect called
Isma'1htes or F1dawfs 49 and may be entered by none
but members of the seB:. They are the arrows of the
sultan, by means of them he strikes those of his enemies
61
SELECTIONS FROM THE
who escape into 'Iraq and other lands. They rece1ve
fixed salaries, and when the sultan desires to send one
of them to assassinate one of his enemies, he pays
him his blood-money. If after carrying out bis
allotted task he escapes w1th his hfe, the money is
his, but 1f he 1s killed it goes to his sons. They carry
p01soned daggers, with which they str1ke their V1cbm,
but sometimes their plans miscarry and they themselves
are killed
From the castles of the F1daw1s I went on to the
town of Jabala, which hes on the coast, about a mile
inland. It contains the grave of the famous samt
Ibrahim 1bn Adham, he who renounced a kmgdom
and consecrated himself to God, 50 All visitors to this
grave g1ve a candle to the keeper, w1th the resuU that
many hundredweights of them are collected. The
maJor1ty of the people of this coasl:al disl:ncl: belong
to the sett of the Nusayns, who believe that 'Al1 51 1s
a God. They do not pray, nor do they purify them-
selves, nor fast. Al-Malik az-Zah1r [Baybars] com-
pelled them to bmld mosques in their villages, so m
every village they put up a mosque far away from
their houses, and they neither enter them nor keep
them m repair Often they are used for refuges for
their cattle and asses Often too a stranger comes
to their country and he stops at the mosque and rec1tes
the call to prayer and then they call out " Stop braying;
your fodder 1s coming to you." There are a great
many of these people
They tell a story that an unknown person arrived
m the country of this seB: and gave himself out as the
Mahdf. They .Bocked round him, and he pro~11sed
them the possess10n of the land and d1v1ded Syria up
between them He used to nominate them each to
a town and tell them to go there, g1vmg them ohve-
leaves and saying " Take these as tokens of success,
for thev are as warrants of your appointment" When
- 62
SELECTIONS FROI\1 THE
c;o that no ship can either enter or leave 1t until the
chain 1s lowered for 1t. It 1s one of the best harbours
m Syria. From there I went to the fortress of al-
Marqab [Belvedere], a great fortress resemb1mg
Karak. It 1s built on a high hill and outside it 1s
a suburb where strangers stop. They are not allowed
to enter the castle. It was captured from the Chnsl:ians
by al-Malik al-Mansur Qala'un, and close by 1t was
born his son al-Malik an-Nasir [the reigning sultan
of Egypt] Thence I went to the mountain of
al-Aqra', which 1s the h1ghesl: mountam m Syria, and
the first part of the country vJSible from the sea. The
rnhab1tants of this mountain-range are Turkmens, and
1t contains springs and running streams I went on
from there to the mountains of Lubnan [Lebanon].
These are among the most fertile mountains on earth,
with all sorts of fruits and springs of water and shady
coverts There are always large numbers of devotees
and ascetics to be found in these mountains (the place 1s
noted for this) and I saw a company of anchontes there.
We came next to the town of Ba'albek, an old town
and one of the finest in Syria, nvallmg Damascus m
its innumerable amenities No other d1sh1B: has such
an abundance of cherries, and many kmds of sweet-
meats are manufactured rn it, as well as textiles, and
wooden vessels and spoons that cannot be equalled
elsewhere. They make a series of plates one w1thm
the other to as many as ten m all, yet anyone loo.Jang
at 1t would take them to be one plate They do the
same with spoons, and put them m a leather case
A man can carry this m his belt, and on Jommg m
a meal with his friends take out what looks like one
spoon and d1stnbute mne others from w1thm it
Ba'albek 1s one day's Journey from Damascus by hard
going, caravans on leaving Ba'albek spend a night at a
small VII1age called az-Zabdanf and go on to Damascus
the following morning I reached Ba'albek m the
64
TR A ,. E LS OF I BN BA TT O T J\
c,rnl!H! :rnd left 1t nc,t morn111(! because of nn cagcr-
ncc:s to p;ct to Damac:cus. ... , ....
I rnt;rcd D1mac:cuc: on Thursda, 9th Ramadan 7-:.6
[9th .:\ugusl, 13~6), :rnJ lodged nt the l\1.U1k1tc
college c:1lkd ac:h-S!11r.lh1c;l,i) a Damascus surp1sscs
all other c1t1cc: rn hr:mt,, 1nd no dcscr1pt1on, how-
c, er full, c1n do _1u,11ce to ttc: clnrms. Noth mg,
ho\1.C\cr, c;1n bc.tter the ,,ordc: of Ibn Juba)r m
dcscnbmg 1t ~ The C1thcd1 al !'vloc:guc, kno,, n as the
Um:n, 1d :i\foc;guc, 1, the mo,1 n11g111ficcnt mosque
in tht ,,orld, the tine-Ct m con,l.rutl1on and noblc-Q m
beaut,, gr1cc 1nd pcrfcfl1on, 1t 1c: matchless and un-
equalled The pcrc:on ,, ho undertook 1tc: conslruc-
tton "as the C-tltph \\r11id I f 705-7 t 5] I-Tc applied
to the Roman Lmpcror at Con.:'11nt111oplc ordering
him to send cr1ftsmen to him, rnd the Emperor sent
him t,, ch e thouc:1nd of them The site of the mosque
,, as a church, and ,, hen the 1\1 uc:ltms captured
D1mascuc:, one of their commanders entered from one
side b, the c:,, ord and reached as far :is the middle of
the church, ,, h1lc the other entered pc1ceably from
the eastern side 1nd reached the middle also So the
iV1usltms made the half of the church "hich the) had
entered b) force mto a mosque and the half which
they had entered b, peaceful agreement rem:11ned as
a church. \Vhen \Valid decided to c,tcnd the mosque
over the entire church he asked the Greeks to sell him
their church for whatsoever equivalent they desired,
but they refused, so he seized 1t The Chnsbans used
to say that whoever dcsho) ed the church would be
stricken with madness ~rnd thev told that to \Valid.
But he replied " I sha11 be the first to be stricken
by madness m the service of God," and seizing an
axe, he set to work to knock 1t down with his own
hands The Mushms on seeing that followed his
example, and God proved false the assertion of the
Chnsbans. 53
F
SELECTIONS FROM THE
This mosque has four doors. The southern door
called the " Door of Increase," 1s approached by ;
spac10us passage where the dealers m second-hand
goods and other commodities have their shops
Through 1t hes the way to the [formerJ Cavalry
House, and on the left as one emerges from 1t 1s the
coppersmiths' gallery, a large bazaar, one of the finest
m Damascus, extendmg along the south wall of the
mosque. This bazaar occupies the site of the palace
of the Caliph Mu'awiya I ,64 which was called al-
Khadra [The Green PalaceJ; the 'Abbas1ds pulled 1t
down and a bazaar took its place. The eastern door,
called the Jayrun door, 1s the largest of the doors of
the mosque. It also has a large passage, Jeadmg out
to a large and extensive colonnade which 1s entered
through a qumtuple gateway between six tall columns.
Along both sides of this passage are pillars, supporting
circular galleries, where the cloth merchants amongst
others have their shops, above these agam are long
gallenes in which are the shops of the Jewellers and
booksellers and makers of admirable glass-ware In
the square adJommg the first door are the stalls of
the principal notaries, m each of which there may be
five or six witnesses m attendance and a person
authorized by the qad{ to perform marnage-ceremon1es
The other notaries are scattered throughout the city.
Near these stalls 1s the bazaar of the s1:at10ners, who
sell paper, pens, and mk In the middle of the passage
there 1s a large round marble basin, surrounded by
a pavtl10n supported on marble columns but lackmg
a roof In the centre of the basin 1s a copper pipe
which forces out water under pressure so that it nses
mto the air more than a man's height They call it
"The Waterspout," and 1t is a fine sight To the
right as one comes out of the Jayrun door, which 15
called also the " Door of the Hours," 1s an upper
gallery shaped hke a large arch, w1thrn which there
66
are small open arches furnished with doors, to the
number of the hours of the day. These doors are
painted green on the inside and yellow on the outside,
and as each hour of the day passes the green inner
side of the door 1s turned to the outside, and vice
versa They say that inside the gallery there is a
person in the room who is responsible for turning
them by hand as the hours pass 5 r, The western door
1s called the " Door of the Post ", the passage outside
1t contains the shops of the candlemakers and a gallery
for the sale of fruit The northern door 1s called the
" Door of the Confecboners ", 1t too has a large
passageway, and on the nght as one leaves it 1s a
khdnqdh, which has a large basin of water in the centre
and lavatories supplied with runnmg water At each
of the four doors of the mosque 1s a building for
ritual ablut10ns, contammg about a hundred rooms
abundantly supplied with runnmg water
One of the prmc1pal Hanbaltte docl:ors at Damascus
was Taqi ad-Din Ibn Taymiya, a man of great ability
and wide learnmg, but with some kink m his bram
The people of Damascus idolized him He used to
preach to them from the pulpit, and one day he made
some statement that the other theologians disap-
proved, they carried the case to the sultan and m
consequence lbn Taymiya was imprisoned for some
years Whtle he was m prison he wrote a com-
mentary on the Koran, which he called " The Ocean,"
m about forty volumes Later on his mother pre-
sented herself before the sultan and mterceded for
him, so he was set at liberty, until he did the same
thing agam I was m Damascus at the time and
attended the service which he was conducbng one
Friday, as he was addressmg and admomshmg the
people from the pulpit In the midst of his discourse
he said " Verily God descends to the sky over our
world [from HeavenJ m the same bodily fashion that
67
SELECTIONS FROM THE
I make this descent," and stepped down one step of
the pulpit. A Mahk1te docl:or present contradicl:ed
him and obJecl:ed to his statement,6 but the common
people rose up against this docl:or, and beat him with
their hands and their shoes so severely that his turban
fell off and disclosed a silken skull-cap on his head
Inveighing against him for wearmg this,67 they haled
him before the qad{ of the Hanbahtes, who ordered
him to be imprisoned and afterwards had him beaten.
The other docl:ors objecl:ed to this treatment and earned
the matter before the principal amfr, who wrote to the
sultan about the matter and at the same time drew
up a legal attestation against Ibn Taymiya for various
heretical pronouncements. This deed was sent on
to the sultan, who gave orders that lbn Taymiya
should be imprisoned m the citadel, and there he
remamed until his death 68
One of the celebrated sancl:uanes at Damascus 1s
the Mosque of the Footprints (al-Aqdam), which hes
two miles south of the city, alongside the mam high-
way which leads to the HiJaz, Jerusalem, and Egypt
It 1s a large mosque, very blessed, richly endowed,
and very highly venerated by the Damascenes. The
footprmts from which 1t derives its name are certam
footprmts impressed upon a rock there, which are
said to be the mark of Moses' foot. In this mosque
there 1s a small chamber contammg a slone with the
followmg mscnption " A certam pious man saw m
his sleep the Chosen One [Muhammad], who said to
him 'Here 1s the grave of my brother Moses.'" I
saw a remarkable mslance of the veneration m which
the Damascenes hold this mosque dunng the great
pesl:1lence, on my return Journey through Damascus
m the latter part of July r 348 The viceroy Arghun
Shah ordered a cner to proclaim through Damascus
that all the people should fast for three days and that
no one should cook anythmg eatable m the market
68
during the da) time r,o For mo5l: of the people there
cat no food but\\ hat has been prepared m the market. 00
So the people fasled for three successive days, the la5l:
of wh1ch wa~ a Thursda), then they assembled 111 the
Great l\1osque, amirs, sharifo, q.idfs, thcolog1ans, and
all the other classes of the people, until the place was
filled to ove1 flo,\ 111g, and there they spent the Thursday
mght in pra) ers and lttan1es After the dawn prayer
next morn mg the) all \\ cnt out together on foot, hold111g
Korans 111 their hands, and the amirs barefooted.
The procession \\ as Jo111ed by the entire population
of the to\\ n, men and women, small and large, the
Jews came with their Book of the L'lw and the Chris-
tians \\ 1th their Gospel, all of them with their women
and children. The whole concourse, \\ cepmg and
suppltcatmg and seeking the favour of God through
Hts Books and I-Its Prophets, made their way to the
Mosque of the Footprmtc;, and thct c they rcma111cd
111 suppltcat1on and 111vocat1on until near midday.
They then returned to the city and held the Fnday
sen,ce, and God lightened their affi1cbon, for the
number of deaths 111 a smglc day at Damascus did
not atta111 two thousand, while m Ca1ro and Old Cairo
1t reached the figure of twenty-four thousand a day.
The vanety and e\.pend1turc of the religious endow-
ments at Damascus arc beyond computation. There
are endowments 111 aid of persons who cannot under-
take the pilgnmagc to Mecca, out of which are paid
the expenses of those who go m their 51:ead. There
are other endowments for supplymg wedding outfits
to girls whose fam1ltcs arc unable to provide them,
and others for the freeing of prisoners There
are endowments for travellers, out of the revenues
of which they are given food, clothing, and the ex-
penses of conveyance to their countries. Then there
are endowments for the improvement and paving of
the streets, because all the lanes m Damascus have
69
SELECTIONS FROl\1 THE
pavements on either side, on which the foot passengers
walk, '\\'hile those who ride use the roadway m the
centre. Besides these there are endowments for other
charitable purposes. One day as I '\\'ent along- a lane
m Damascus I saw a small slave who had dropped
2 Chinese porcelain dish, '\\'hich was broken to b1ts
A number of people colleB:ed round him and one of
them said to bun, " Gather up the pieces and take
them to the custodian of the endowments for utensils"
He did so, and the man went with him to the custodian,
where the slave showed the broken pieces and recerved
a sum sufficient to buy a similar d1sh. This 1s an
excellent mstitut1on, for the master of the slave would
undoubtedlr have beaten him, or at least scolded hlill,
for break.mg the dish, and the slave -would haYe been
heartbroken and upset at the acadent This bene-
faaion 1s mdeed a mender of hearts-mar God richly
re-ward hrm -whose zeal for good '\\'arks rose to such
heights !
The people of Damascus vie mth one another m
bmldmg mosques, religious houses, colleges T and
mausoleums. They have a high op1mon of the North
Afncans, and freely entrust them with the care of
their moneys, mves, and children All s1range:s
amongst them are handsomely treated, and car~ 1s
taken that they are not forced to any a&on that nught
mjure therr self-respect \Vhen I came to Damascus
a Erm fnendship sprang up between the l\1a.hklte
professor Nur ad-Din Sakha-wi and me, and he besought
me to breakfast at his house dunng the nights of
Ramadan After I had VIS1ted bun for four mghts
I had a stroke of fever and absented myself. He sent
in search of me, and although I pleaded my 1llness in
excuse he refused to accept 1t. I -went back to h~
house and spent the mght there, and -when I deslfe
to take my leave the n~u mornmg he would not hear
of it, but said to me " Consider my house as your
70
r R .\ ,. l I.:; OF 1B ~ B :\ r T O TA
0,,11 n1 ,.., ,o,1r f.\thcr\ 01 hrnthc1\ '' Jk thtn h:1d
1 dPd\.,r '-cnt for .,nd I! n r nrdn._ th 1t ,II the mnlic111c..c;
rnd d1,hr, tint thr th~c1nr prr'-u11'rcl ,,err to lw nndc
for me m h1 lw,1,r. I . . t,qrd thu, \\tth h1m until
the 1'10...t-brnh:rH!, \\hrn I \\(Ill to thr fr(t1v.tl pr;ntrs
1ml (;ml he tlrd me- of,, h lt hid bc-f tlkn me-. i\'1c:rn-
\\ h1k ,11 thr 111011n I h h1 for m, r,prnc;r,; \\ ;ic; c\.-
}~1\1..,)cd ~\'1r 1d-D111. lnrnrng th1._, hired c,mclc;
for me- rn,i 1:1, c me tr 1, cllrn1! 11hl nthrr prm1<:.1onc;,
111e1 monC\ Ill 1dd1tion, '1, tnl! '' It ,, ill rnmr Ill for
:1n, ,ennu, nnt:cr 1}111 m ,, b,;d , nu rn d1fficult1cc; ' ' -
m:1, G0J rn, 1r,1 lrnn !
The 1) 11111 rcnrc, oi,<..rn c rn ,dmir1hlc order 111
funer1l N0Lcc;,,1on, 'I hn ,, ilk rn front of the lncr,
\\ hill' rc~Ht r.., rntnne thr Knr tn 111 hnut1ful rnd affu:l-
111~ \oKr..,, llh1 j'rt\ over 1t in thr C1thrdr:1l moc;quc.
\\ hen rhc- re hllrH! 1 romplctnl tht !ll\lC'l ;me; n,;c :rnd
<:.1\ " Rt fh lt 011 , mtr pr,, er for <-o- rnd-c;o, the p1ouc;
and lc1rnc-,L" \.k..,cnh11H! h1m ,, 1th ~ood t p1thc..ts, 111d
hning pnHd mLr h:m thn 11kt lllm to hie; gra,c
fhe I nd1111,; In, L , fun er d LCrcmnrn t.\ en more
1dm1r ,hlc th \JI th1.., On thL mornrn~' of the third
ch) 1ftLr thL hun ll tht. \ ,,,;unblc m the bun:11-
pbcL of the. l1let lc;Ld, \\htlh 1,; sprr1d \\1th fine clothe;,
the gr;n c.. bt.rng co\ c..rc..d \\ 1th m1gn1ficc..nt h:1ng111gs
111d c;urroundc..d h: ~,, cc..t-,;ccntc. d flm\ crs, roc;es, cgl:ln-
t1m., .rnd J 1,;mrnc, for thL,;c flo,\ Lr<; 1rc 1)lrcnn1al with
them The) bring lemon rnd citrus trees .1s well,
t\ mg on thur fn11ts 1f the) have none, and put up an
a\\ mng to slndt. the mourn mg party 'I he qadis,
amirs and other persons of rank come .rnd take their
scats, and after rt.c1tat1on of the Koran, the q.1di rises
and delivers a set oration, spc:1k111g of the dccc:1scd,
and mournmg l11s de.1th 111 an dcg1:1c ode, then com-
forting his relatives, and pray111g for the sultan \~lhen
the sultan's name 1s mentioned the audience nsc and
bow their heads towards the quarter m which the
71
SELECTIONS FROM THE
sultan IS. The qadf then resumes his seat, and rose-
water 1s brought m and sprinkled on all the people
beginning with the qadf. After this syrup IS brough~
m and served to everyone, beginning with the qad{.
Finally the betel is brought. Thie, they hold m high
esteem. and give to their guests as a mark of respect,
a gift of betel from the sultan is a greater honour than
a g1ft of money or robes of honour. When a man dies
bis family eat no betel until the day of this ceremony,
when the qadi takes some leaves of it and gives them
to the heir of the deceased, who eats them, after which
the party disperses.
When the new moon of the month Shawwal appeared
m the same year [rst September 1326], the Hi1az
caravan left Damascus and I set off along with it, 61
At Bosra the caravans usually halt for four days so
that any who have been detamed at Damascus by
busrness affairs may make up on them. Thence they
go to the Pool of Zfza, where they stop for a day,
and then through al-LaJJt'm to the Callie of Karak.
Karak, which 1s also called " The Castle of the Raven,"
1s one of the most marvellous, 1mpregnable, and cele-
brated of fortresses. It is surrounded on all sides
by the river-bed, and has but one gate, the entrance
to which 1s hewn m the hvmg rock, as also 1s the
approach to its veshbule. This fortress 1s used by
kmgs as a place of refuge in times of calamity, as the
sultan an-Nasir did when his mamluk Salar seized
the supreme authority. The caravan stopped for
four days at a place called ath-Thanfya outside
Karak where preparatlons were made for entering
the d;sert. Thence we Journeyed to Ma'an, wluch
1s the last town m Syria, and from 'Aqabat as-Sawan
entered the desert, of which the saymg goes "H~
who enters 1t 1s lost, and he who leaves 1t 1s born,
After a march of two days we halted at Dhat Hajj,
where there are subterranean waterbeds but no habrta-
72
ttons, and then went on to Wad{ Baldah (in which
there is no water) 0 :.: and to Tabuk, wl11ch is the place
to which the Prophet led an expedition. The Synan
pilgrims have a cusl:om that, on reachmg the camp at
Tabuk, they take their weapons, unsheathe their
swords, and charge upon the camp, sl:nking the palms
with their swords and saying " Thus did the Prophet
of God enter it." The great caravan halts at Tabuk
for four days to resl: and to water the camels and lay
in water for the terrible desert between Tabuk and
al-'Ula The cusl:om of the water-earners 1s to camp
beside the spring, and they have tanks made of buffalo
hides, like great cisl:erns, from which they water the
camels and fill the waterskms Each amir or person
of rank has a special tank for the needs of his own
camels and personnel, the other people make private
agreements with the watercarners to water their camels
and fill their waterskins for a fixed sum of money.
From Tabuk the caravan travels with great speed
mght and day, for fear of this desert. Halfway
through is the valley of al-Ukhaydir, which might
well be the valley of Hell (may God preserve us from
it). 63 One year the pilgrims suffered terribly here
from the samoom-wind, the water-supplies dried up
and the price of a single drink rose to a thousand
dinars, but both seller and buyer perished. Their
story is written on a rock in the valley. Five days
after leav1ng Tabuk they reach the well of al-HiJr,
which has an abundance of water, but not a soul
draws water there, however v10lent his thirst, following
the example of the Prophet, who passed it on his
expedition to Tabuk and drove on his camel, giving
orders that none should drink of its waters. Her.:!,
m some hills of red rock, are the dwellings of Thamud.
They are cut m the rock and have carved thresholds.
Anyone seeing them would take them to be of recent
construe.hon. Their decayed bones are to be seen
73
SELECTIONS FROM THE
rns1de these houses. 64 Al-'Ula, a large and pleasant
v11lag~ with palm-gardens and water-springs, hes half
a days Journey or 1ess from al-H1Jr. 65 The p11gnms
halt there four days to prov1s10n themselves and wash
their clothes. They leave behind them here any
surplus of prov1s1ons they may have, talang w1th them
nothing but what 1s str1cl1y necessary The people
of the village are very trustworthy The Chr1sban
merchants of Syna may come as far as this and no
further, and they trade m provisions and other goods
with the p1lgnms here On the third day after Jeavmg
al-'Uia the caravan halts m the outsJarts of the holy
city of Madina.
That same evening we entered the holy sanctuary
and reached the 1llustnous mosque, halting in saluta-
tion at the Gate of Peace, then we prayed m the
1llustnous "garden " between the tomb of the Prophet
and the noble pulpit, and reverently touched the
fragment that remains of the palm-trunk agamst which
the Prophet stood when he preached. Havmg paid
our meed of salutation to the lord of men from first
to last, the mtercessor for ::imners, the Prophet of
Mecca, Muhammad, as well as to his two compan10ns
who share his grave, Abu Bakr and 'Omar, we returned
to our camp, reJ01c1ng at this great favour bdtowed
upon us, pra1smg God for our having reached the
former abodes and the magnificent sancruanes of His
holy Prophet, and prayrng Him to grant that this
v1s1t should not be our last, and that we might be of
those whose pilgrimage 1s accepted On this Journey
our stay at Madina lasted four days Vve used to
spend every night m the 1llustnous mosque, where the
people, after forming circles rn the courtyard and
lighting large numbers of candles, would pass the
time either rn reciting the Koran from volumes set
. or
on rests m front of them, or m mtonmg l1tamcs,
m vis1tmg the santl:uanes of the holy tomb.
,.., A
vve then set out from Madfna towards Mecca, and
halted near the mosque of Dhu'l-Hulayfa, five miles
away It was at this pomt that the Prophet assumed
the p1lgnm garb and obligations, and here too I
d1vesl:ed myself of my tailored clothes, bathed, and
puttmg on the p1lgnm's garment I prayed and dedi-
cated myself to the p1lgnmage Our fourth halt from
here was at Badr, where God aided His Prophet and
performed His promise 00 It 1s a village contammg
a senes of palm-gardens and a bubblmg spnng with
a stream flowmg from 1t. Our way lay thence through
a frightful desert called the Vale of Bazwa for three
days to the valley of Rabigh, where the ramwater
forms pools lvh1ch lie stagnant for a long time. From
this pomt (which 1s Just before Juhfa) the p1lgnms
from Egypt and Northwest Afnca put on the p1lgnm
garment Three days after leavmg Rabigh we reached
the pool of Khulays, which hes m a plam and has
many palm-gardens The Badawm of that neigh-
bourhood hold a market there, to which they bnng
sheep, frmts, and condiments Thence we travelled
through 'Usfan to the Bottom of Marr, 07 a fertile
valley with numerous palms and a spnng supplymg
a stream from which the d1stncl: 1s irrigated. From
this valley frmt and vegetables are transported to
Mecca We set out at mght from this blessed
valley, with hearts full of Joy, .at reach mg the goal of
our hopes, and m the mormng arrived at the City of
Surety, Mecca (may God ennoble her I), where we
1mmed1ately entered the holy sancl:uary and began the
rites of pilgrimage 08
The mhab1tants of Mecca are d1stmgmshed by many
excellent and noble acl:1v1t1es and qualities, by their
beneficence to the humble and weak, and by their
kmdness to strangers When any of them makes a
feast, he begms by g1vmg food to the religious devotees
who are poor and without resources, mvitmg them
75
SELECTIONS FROM THE
first with kindness and delicacy. The maJonty oi
these unfortunates are to be found by the public bake-
houses, and when anyone has his bread baked and takes
1t away to his house, they follow him and he gives
each one of them some share of 1t, sending away none
d1sappomted. Even 1f he has but a single loaf, he
gives away a third or a half of 1t, cheerfully and without
any grudgmgness. Another good habit of theirs 1s
this. The orphan children sit m the bazaar, each
with two baskets, one large and one small. When one
of the townspeople comes to the bazaar and buys
cereals, meat and vegetables, he hands them to one
of these boys, who puts the cereals m one basket and
the meat and vegetables m the other and takes them
to the man's house, so that his meal may be prepared.
Meanwhile the man goes about his devot10ns and his
busmess. There 1s no mstance of any of the boys
haVIng ever abused their trust m th1:, matter, and they
are given a fixed fee of a few coppers. The Meccans
are very elegant and clean m their dress, and most
of them wear white garments, which you always see
fresh and snowy They use a great deal of perfume
and kohl and make free use of toothpicks of green
arak-wood. The Meccan women are extraordmar1ly
beautiful and very pious and modest. They too make
great use of perfumes to such a degree that they wtll
spend the mght hungry m order to buy perfumes
with the price of their food. They VIStt the mosque
every Thursday mght, wearmg thetr finest apparel ,
and the whole sanctuary 1s saturated With the smel1
of their perfume. When one of these women goes
away the odour of the perfume clmgs to the place after
she has gone. .
Among the personages who were hvmg m religious
retirement at Mecca was a p10us and ascetic doctor
who had a long-standmg friendship with my father
and used to stay with us when he came to our town
76
Tangier. In the daytime he taught at the Muzaf-
fariya college, but at mght he retired to his dwelling
m the convent of Rabi' This convent 1s one of the
finest m Mecca, it has m its precmcl:s a well of sweet
water which has no equal m Mecca, and its inhabitants
are all men of great piety It is highly venerated by
the people of the HiJ::iz., who bring votive offerings to
it, and the people of Ta'if supply 1t with fruit. Their
custom 1s that all those who possess a palm garden, or
orchard of vines, peaches or figs, give the alms-tithe
from its produce to this convent, and fetch 1t on their
own camels. It 1s two days' Journey from Ta'if to
Mecca. If any person fails to do this, his crop is
d1mm1shed and dearth-stricken m the following year.
One day the retainers of the governor of Mecca came
to this convent, led m the governor's horses, and
watered them at the well mentioned above. After
the horses had been taken back to their stables, they
were seized with colic and threw themselves to the
ground, beating it with their heads and legs On
hearing of this the governor went m person to the
gate of the convent and after apologizing to the poor
recluses there, took one of them back with him. This
man rubbed the beasts' bellies with his hand, when
they expelled all the water that they had drunk, and
were cured After that the retainers never presented
themselves at the convent except for good purposes.
77
the] Prophet. \\..c ~1)Cd Ill i\1ad{na for six days,
and h:wmg prO\ 1Ckd ourc;clvcc; there \\ 1th water for
a thnc-n1!_:!hts' 1ourncy, c:;ct out an<l halted on the third
n11zht at \\.1d1'l-'Arus, ,\hcre,,e drew c:;uppltes of water
fr;m underground ,,. atcr-bcdc;, The) dig down into
the round tor them and procure c;,,. cet nmnmg water
On lc:wmg \\.ad1'l-',\n'1.:; \\centered the land of Na_id,
,,. h1ch 1<; a Ind ._1 n. tch of countf") c,tcndrng as for as
e\ c can c;cc, and ,,. e mhalcd 1ts fine scented air After
four m1rchcc; \\ C h:1.ltcd ;lt a \\ atcrpo1nt called al-
'Usa, Ia, then rcc:;umcd our march and halted at a
\\atc;pomt c11lrd a11-'!\aq1ra, \\here there arc the
remam.:; of \\atcrt1nks like va,;l rc'ilrvoirs Thence
\\ C JOU me\ td to a \\ :ltcrpomt known :1S al-Qarura,
\\ h1ch con.:;1slc; of t.rnkc; filled ,, 1th ral!l\\ atcr These
arc c;omc of the t:mkc; ,,.h1th ,,ere con~rucl.cd by
Zuba,d:i, the daughlLr of Ja'far. Ever) tank, water-
basm, and ,, di on th1c:; road bet\\ ccn Mecca and
Baghdad 1s a noble monument to her memof")-may
God give her nchc~l re\\ ard I Thie; localit) 1s m the
centre of the d1sl.ntt of Na_id, 1t 1-; spac10us, with fine
health) air, c,ccllcnt s01l, and a temperate climate at
all seasons of the ) car \Vc went on from al-Qarura
and halted at al-H.i_pr, ,, here there arc watcrtanks
which often dq up, so that temporary "ells must be
dug m order to procure water. \V c Journeyed on and
halted at Samira, which 1s a patch of low-lymg country
on a plam, where there 1s a kind of fortified encetnte
which 1s mhab1ted It has plenty of ,vatcr 111 wells,
but brackish. The Bad awin of that d1stncl: come there
with sheep, melted butter, and milk, which they ::.ell
to the pilgrims for pieces of coarse cotton cloth. That
1s the only thmg they will take m exchange We set
out agam and halted at the " Hill with the Hole"
This h11l hes in a tratt of desert land, and has at the
tor, of 1t a hole through which the wmd whistles
'\X. e went on from there to Wad1'l-Kurush, wluch has
79
SELECTIONS FROM THE
no water, and after a night march came m the morning
to the casl:.Ie of Fayd. 1
Fayd IS a large walled and forhfied encemte on a
level plain, with a suburb inhabited by Arabs, who
?lake a hvmg by trading with the pilgr1ms. On their
Journey to Mecca the p1lgnms leave a port1on of their
provisions here, and pick them up again on their return
Journey. 2 Fayd hes halfway between Mecca and
Baghdad and 1s twelve days' Journey from Kufa, by
an easy road furnished with supplies of water m tanks.
The ptlgnms are accustomed to enter this place
armed and m warlike array, m order to frighten the
Arabs who colleB: there and to cut short their greedy
designs on the caravan. We met there the two amfrs
of the Arabs, Fayyadh and Hiyar, sons of the amfr
Muhanna b 'fsa, accompanied by an mnumerable
troop of Arab horsemen and foot-soldiers. They
showed great zeal for the safety of the ptlgnms and their
encampments. The Arabs brought camels and sheep,
and the ptlgnms bought from them what they could.
We resumed our Journey through al-AJfur, Zarud,
and other halting-places to the defile known as "DeVIl's
Pass" We encamped below It [for the mght] and
traversed 1t the next day. This 1s the only rough
and difficult stretch on the whole road, and even 1t 1s
neither difficult nor long Our next halt was at a
place called Waq1sa, where there 1s a large castle and
watertanks. It IS inhabited by Arabs, and 1s the last
watering pomt on this road, from there on to Kufa
there 1s no other watering place of any note except
streams der1vmg from the Euphrates Many of the
people of Ku.fa come out to Waq1sa to meet the
p1lgnms, bnngmg flour, bread, dates and frmt, and
everybody exchanges greetmgs with everybody else.
Our next halts were at a place called Lawza, wher~
there 1s a large tank of water, then a place calle
al-Masapd [The Mosques], where there are three
80
TRAVELS OF IBN BJ\TTOTJ\
tanks, and after that at a place called iVfan.1.rat al-
qurun [The I\1inarct of the Horns], which 1,; a tower
sbndmg in a desert localtt), con,;p1cuoui; for its height,
and decorated at the top "1th horns of gazelles, but
there arc no dwcllmgs near 1t. \Vc halted ag:1111 m
a fertile ,alley called al-'Udha) b, .rnd afterward,; at
al-Qad1si) a, where the famou,; battle was fought
ag:unst the Persians, 111 ,, h1ch God ma111fc<;lcd the
t~mmph of the Rcl1g1on of Isl:lm There arc palm-
gardcnc; and a watercourse from the Euphrates there 1
\Ve went on from there and alighted 111 the town of
I\1ash-had 'AH at NaJaf It 1s a~ fine town, c;1tuated
ma wide rocky pl:lm--one of the finc.;l, mo:ft populouc;,
and mo:ft subsbnt1all) bmlt c1t1cc; in 'I dq It has
beautiful dean ba7aars. \Ve entered by the [outer]
Ilab al-H'ldra, and found ourselves first 111 the market
of the greengrocers, cooks, and butchers, then m the
frmt market, then the tailors' bazaar and the Q,1)rm ip1,
then the perfumers' bazaar, after which \\ c came to
the [innerJ Bab al-Hadra, where there 1s the tomb,
which they say 1s the tomb of 'AH I One goes through
the Bab al-Hadra mto a vast hospice, by which one
gains access to the gateway of the shrmc, where there
arc chamberlains, keepers of registers and eunuchs
As a v1s1tor to the tomb approaches, one or all of them
nse to meet him accordmg to his rank, and they halt
with him at the threshold They then :1sk perm1ss1011
for him to enter saymg " By your leave, 0 Commander
of the Faithful, this feeble creature asks perm1ss1on
to enter the sublime rcshng-placc," and command him
to kiss the threshold, which 1s of silver, as also arc the
lintels. After this he enters the shrme, the floor of
which 1s covered with carpets of silk and other materials.
Inside 1t are candelabra of gold and silver, large and
small. In the centre 1s a square platform about a
man's height, covered with wood completely hidden
under arttsbcally carved plaques of gold fastened with
81 G
SELECTIONS FROM THE
silver nails. On this are three tombs, which they
declare are the graves of Adam, Noah, and 'AH.
Between the tombs are dishes of silver and gold, con-
tainmg rose-water, musk, and other perfumes, the
visitor dips his hand m these and anoints his face with
the perfume for a blessing. The shnne has another
doorway, also with a stlver threshold and hangings
of coloured stlk, which opens mto a mosque. The
inhabitants of the town are all Shi'1tes, and at this
mausoleum many miracles are performed, which they
regard as substantiating its claim to be the tomb of
'AH. One of these miracles 1s that on the eve of the
27th RaJab5 cripples from the two 'Iraqs, Khurasan,
Persia and Anatolia, numbermg about thirty or forty
m all, are brought here and placed on the holv tomb
Those present await their ansmg and pass the time m
prayer, or reciting litanies, or readmg the Koran or
contemplating the tomb. When the mght is half or
two-thirds over or so, they all rise completely cured,
saymg "There 1s no God but God, Muhammad 1s
the Prophet of God and 'Alf IS the Friend of God"
This fact is widely known among them, and I heard
of It from trustworthy authorities, but I was not
acl:ually present on any such mght. I saw however
three cripples m the Guests' College and asked them
about themselves, and they told me that they had
missed the mght and were waitmg for It m a future
year. This town pays no truces or dues and has no
governor, but IS under the sole control of the Naqfb
al-Ashraf [Keeper of the Register of the descendants
of the Prophet] Its people are traders of great
enterprise, brave and generous and exceIIent ~ompany
dn a journey, but they are fanatical about AH If
any of them suffers from illness m the head, hand,
foot or other part of the body, he makes a model of
the 'member rn gold or stlver and bnngs 1t to the
sanctuary. The treasury of the santhiary 1s consider-
82
TRAVELS OF 1nN nATTOTA
able and contains innumcrahlr nchc,. Thr 1'aq1h
al-Ashraf holds a h1gh poc:.ition at the court \\ hen
he travels he has the same rctume and <;\1t\lc:. a'"> the
pnnc1p:1l m1ltt:1ry officcrc;, \\ 1th banners :rnd ~.-:tt\c-
drums. M1ht:1ry music 1s p!:l, cd at hie; gate c, cry
evening and morning. Before the prc,cnt holder of
the office it was held Jmntly by a number of pcr.::onc;,
who took turns of duty as governor
One of these personages was the Sharif 1\ht'1 (;hurr:t
In h1s youth he was given over to de\ otion<: :rncl .;lud),
but after h1s appomtmcnt as N:1.9ib al-J\c;hdf he v. :tt:
overcome by the world, g:wc up hi<: :1.,;cct1c h1hitt-,
and admm1sl:ered his finance<. corrupth Thr m:Htcr
was brought before the sultan. and 1\ ln'1 r,Jrnrr1, on
hearing of this, went to Klrnr.k~11 .rnd rhrncc m,ck
for Ind1a After crossing the lndu.::, he h1d lw c!rnm"
beaten and h1s trumpets hlo,\n, :md thrrc-ln tr,nlird
the villagers, who, imagining th:'lf the 'J '1f1r" h.,d .. omc-
to raid their country, fled to the Cit\ o( l-:,., fl ich]
and informed its governor of wh::H thn h1d hn11.
He rode out with hts troops 1nd pprp1.rcl1 for b1:tk,
when the scouts whom he had sent out '1W <mh ,hou~
ten horsemen and a number of mrn on f<,'"r ind
merchants who had :1ccomp:1n1cd rhr !--h1nf, { "T\ HH'
banners and kettledrums Thn 1,;J.ni them \\hit : hn,
were domg and rccc1Vcd the rc11h t} 1 n .t11 "'} 11 1t
th.e N aq11b of 'I raq, had come on 1 m1, 'innc- ro rhc r ,
king of India. The scouts returned \\ irh thr' nc-v. ,,
~o the governor, who thought th1t the ~h trif nrn..,l
e a man of little sense to rai~t h limn ind hc1t
_,,' drums outside h1s own countn Tl ~} 1 f J
for some t t l) ir, ".t n c
ll
he had th;1~ams b~J:l, and even mornmr~ .ind cnrng-c,
that dt eaten at tl,c door of Ju. howt for
fi
use o give him mu h
that when th d c [!rat1 1c.1tIor, It 1<. ',;11 d
as the drum e 1ms were beaten htforc hun sn 'Jdq,
"One merll nishcd bc:iting he " ould 'i:l)' to }11m
-. f
more ro ' drummer," until rhesc words :...'luck
83
SELECTIONS FROM THE
to him as a nickname. The governor of Oja wrote
to the kmg of India about the Sharif and his drum-
beatmg, both on his Journey and before his house
morning and evemng, as well as flying banners. Now
the custom m India 1s that no person is entitled to
use banners and drums except by special pnVIlege from
the kmg, and even then only while travelling At
rest no drums are beaten except before the king's
house a.lone In Egypt, Syna and 'Iraq, on the other
hand, drums are beaten before the houses of the mtl1-
tary governors. The kmg was therefore displeased
and annoyed at the Shadfs acbon. Now 1t happened
that as the Sharif approached the capital, with his
drums beating as usual, suddenly he met the sultan,
w1th h1s cortege on h1s way to meet the amir of Sind.
The Sharif went forward to the sultan to greet him,
and the sultan, after asking how he was and why he
had come and hearing hrs answers, went on to meet
the ami'.r, and returned to the capital, Without paymg
the slightest attent10n to tbe Sharif or g1vmg orders
for his lodging or anything else He was then on
the point of settmg out for Dawlat Abad, and before
gomg he sent the Sharif 500 dmars (which equal
I 2 5 of our Moroccan dmars) and said to the mes-
senger. " Tel1 hnn that if he wants to go back to }11s
country, this 1s h1s trave1Iing proV1s1on, and if ~e wants
to come with us 1t 1s for his expenses on the Journey,
but 1f he prefers to stay m the capital 1t 1s for his
expenses until we return." The Sharif was vexed at
this for he was desirous that the sultan should make
as rich presents to hlm as be usually did to his equals
He chose to travel With the sultan and attached
himself to the wazfr, who came to regard mm With
affe&on, and so used his mfluence with the king that
he formed a high oprmon of hzm, and assigned hun
two vi11ages m the d1slna of Dawlat .Abad, mth ~f
order to reside m them. For eight years the Shar
84
stayed there, collecbng the revenue of these two
villages, and amassed considerable wealth. There-
upon he wanted to leave the country but could not,
since those who are in the king's service are not allowed
to leave without his perm1ss1on, and he 1s much
attached to strangers and rarely gives any of them
leave The Sharif tried to escape by the coast road,
but was turned back, then he went to the capital and
by the wazfr's good offices received the sultan's per-
mission to leave India, together with a gift of ro,ooo
Indian dinars The money was given him m a sack,
and he used to sleep on it, out of his love of money,
and fear lest some of 1t should get to any of his com-
pamons. As a result of sleeping on it he developed
a pain in his side as he was JUst about to start on his
journey, and eventually he died twenty days after
receiving the sack. He bequeathed the money to
the Sharif Hasan al-Jarani, who distributed the whole
amount in alms to the Shi'ites living in Delhi. The
Indians do not sequestrate inheritances for the treasury,
and do not interfere with the property of strangers
nor even make enqmries about 1t, however much 1t
may be In the same way, the negroes never mterfere
with the property of a white man, but 1t is left m
charge of the principal members of his company until
the rightful heir comes to claim it.
After our visit to the tomb of the Caliph 'AH, the
caravan went on to Baghdad, but I set out for Basra,
m the company of a large troop of the Arab mhabitants
of that country. They are exceedingly brave and it
is impossible to travel m those reg10ns except m their
company Our way lay along the Euphrates by the
place called al-'Idhar, which is a waterlogged Jungle
of reeds, mhab1ted by Arabs noted for their predatory
habits. They are brigands and profess adhesion to
the Shi'ite seer They attacked a party of darwfshes
behind us and stripped them of everythmg down to
85
SELECTIONS FROM THE
their shoes and wooden bowls. They have fortified
posit.Ions In this Jungle and defend themselves rn
these against all attacks. Three days' march through
tlus d1stncl: brought us to the town of Wasit. Its
inhabitants are among the best people m 'Iraq-
indeed, the very best of them without qualification.
All the 'Iraqis who wish to learn how to recite the
Koran come here, and our caravan contamed a number
of students who had come for that purpose As the
caravan stayed here three days, I had an opportumty
of vis1tmg the grave of ar-R1fa'i, which 1s at a village
called Umm 'Ubayda, one day's Journey from there.
I reached the establishment at noon the next day and
found 1t to be an enormous monastery, containing
thousands of darwfshes 6 After the mid-afternoon
prayer drums and kettledrums were beaten and the
darwishes began to dance After this they pra} ed
the sunset prayer and brought m the meal, cons1sbng
of nee-bread, fish, milk and dates. After the night
prayer they began to recite their litany. A number
of loads of wood had been brought m and krndled
mto a flame, and they went mto the fire dancing,
some of them rolled m 1t and others ate 1t in their
mouths until they had extmgmshed 1t entirely. This
1s the peculiar custom of the Ahmad danvishes Some
of them take large snakes and b1te their heads -rr1th
their teeth until they bite them clean through.
After v1s1tmg ar-R1fa'i's tomb I returned to vVas1t,
and found that the caravan had already started, but
overtook them on the way, and accompanied them
to Basra. As we approached the city I had remarked
at a d1sl:ance of some two miles from It a lofty building
resemblmg a fortress I asked about 1t and was told
that 1t was the mosque of 'AH. Basra was rn former
times a city so vast that this mosque stood m the
centre of the town, whereas now 1t 1s two miles outSide
1t. Two miles beyond 1t agam IS the old nail that
86
encircled the town, so th:it 1t sbnds midway between
the old wall and the pi esent ell).; Basra 1s one of
the metropolitan c1t1cs of' lr,,q, and no place on earth
excels 1t m quantity of p:ilm-groves. The current
price of d:ites m its market 1s tourteen pounds to an
'Iraq{ dirham, which 1s one-third of a 11119ra fl The
qadi sent me a hamper of dates th:it a man could
scarcely carr) \ I sold them and received nme d1rh:1ms,
and three of those\\ ere taken by the porter for carrymg
the basket from the houc;c to the market. The rn-
hab1tants of Basr:i poc;scsc; m:iny e\ccllent qualities\
they arc affable to strangers and give them their due,
so that no slranger ever focls lonely amongsl them.
They hold the Friday service 1n the mosque of '1\li
mentioned above, but for the resl of the ,., eek 1t 1s
closed. I was present once at the Friday service m
this mosque and when the preacher rose to deliver
his discourse he committed man} gross errors of
grammar O In aslomshment at this I spoke of 1t to
the qadi and this 1s what he said to me. " In this to,\ n
there 1s not a man left who knows anythmg of the
science of grammar" Herc 1s a lesson for those who
will reflccl: on it-Magnified be He who changes all
things I This Basra, m whose people the maslery of
grammar reached its height, from whose s01l sprang
its trunk and its branches, amongsl whose mhab1tants
is numbered the leader whose primacy 1s undisputed-
the preacher m this town cannot deliver a discourse
without breakmg its rules I
At Basra I embarked in a s11mb11q, that 1s a small
boat, for Ubulla, 10 which lies ten miles distant. One
travels between a constant succession of orchards and
palm-groves both to right and left, with merchants
sitting m the shade of the trees sellmg bread, fish,
dates, milk and fruit. Ubulla was formerly a large
town, frequented by merchants from India and Fars,
but rt fell mto decay and 1s now a village. Here we
87
SELECTIONS FROM THE
embarked after sunset on a small ship belonging to
a man from UbulJa and m the mornmg reached
'Abbadan, a large village on a salt plain with no
cult1vat1on. I was told that there was at 'Abbadan
a devotee of great merit, who lived rn complete soli-
tude He used to come down to the shore once a
month and catch enough fish for his month's pro-
v1s10ns and then disappear again. I made 1t my
business to seek h1m out, and found him praying in
a ruined mosque. When he had fimshed praying he
took my hand and said " May God grant you your
desire 1n this world and the next" I have mdeed-
pra1se be to God-attained my desire m this world,
which was to travel through the earth, and I have
attained therein what none other has attained to my
knowledge The world to come remams, but my
hope 1s strong m the mercy and clemency of God.
My companions afterwards went rn search of this
devotee, but they could get no news of him. That
evenmg one of the darwfshes belongmg to the religious
house at which we had put up met him, and he gave
him a fresh fish saymg '' Take this to the guest who
came today" So the darwfsh said to us as he came
m " Which of you saw the Shaykh today ?" I replied
" I saw him," and he said II He says to you ' This 1s
your hospitality gift ' " I thanked God for that, then
the darwish cooked the fish for us and we aJl ate of
1t I have never tasted better :fish For a moment
I entertamed the idea of spending the rest of my life
m the setVIce of this Shaykh, but my spmt, tenacious
of its purpose, dissuaded me. .
We sailed thereafter for MajuJ. 1 made 1t a habit
on my Journey never, so far as possible, to cover a
second time any road that I had once travelled. I
was a1mmg to reach Baghdad, and a man at Basra
advised me to travel to the country of the Lurs, thenc~
to 'Iraq al-'AJam and thence to 'Iraq al-'Arab, and
88
l R .\ ,. r 1."' 0 1 1B~ H .\ I I l1 I A
foll(''' cd h1" co\lW r1 Fnu1 d n ', l.1t< r \\ c re 1rhcd
i\l,11'11,n 1 <-111111 pl.,(c 1111 thr Pr,1111 (,olf, 111d thrr,:n-
1 h1rrd , m0tmt f n,m nmr rn1,111rh h wt .\lier
tr1\ rllrne f0:- three n:r:ht H rn' nl'rn l nun:n :nh 1h1tcd
ln n0m1llK K\m:. \\r :nd1r,i H 11111, flUm-hurmu:J,
'1 fine rit, ,,1111 !:1,.t trrr ,nd r,\cr. ,,he-re I <-:1,rd
(1nh n11t mcht lrf< 1 :r l< 1 1,::,1t,1,1 n11 111tir11n for tl;rrc
n1cht :,10:-~ 11..tl'' I r11:n rninb1:<",' b, K,1,,.i :\!
the' C'!,ll of nd1 ~ llJ thr: r \\ \' l h11 J':l r, d ,\ h1(h
nrn 1:-1,dlcr ,, 1 '\11'j'l1r,: ,,:ih hrnd, mc1t, ,nd
q\cc:mr1t' Thnr titer 1 t 1mr f(I :he nt\ o( I \l'-ilr
[~hwht1r J ,,. h:l h l' :ttl"'inl 1: thr c-Jrr of :hr j'l 11n
:rnd :he hcrmn:w r,f thr mnunt .,:n I . . ~ wr,l there
~1)..tccn dn: ,t thr 1)1\\~1, nf the ~ln, i'h ~h \f ,f
1<.1-Dm >.h'1 1. NH" oi thr h.,:H:' n:nr : "'1,d llW'-~ up:-:i:ht
of men 1Jc- l':-nchr n en l:-H 1 ,, ,(ta thr m:dd1,
<-rn 1cr, 1nd whrn 1 hnrd !11m ,11 :h(' prnchn \\ hom
I h'ld hc1r~! J'rn1ou I\' in the' 1J11L, ~Hl'l 1nd 1 !!'pt
o::ink in m, C'-~1m,t1nr1. n0: h1, C' I n er met h1, cq\11!
One dn 1 \\ ;ic; prcc:cnt \\ 1th hun -it 1 ~1thcrme of
not'lh}cc;, thloloc11w 'lnc! d 1n\ ,.._Ju-.., in :rn orch"lrd on
the rl\ cr-h1nk ~ :\ftcr he h1d tr\'cd them 1ll \\ 1th
fo0d, he dcl1,crcd 1 d1c;cour'-c \\ 1th .::olcmmt, :ind
d1gnit, \Yhtn lw fi111,;hld, h1t.., of p11,er \Hrc thro,\ n
to him from '111 <-1dei;, for 1t h :1 cu-,lom of the Pcr~nn,;
to _1ot do\\ n qul .:\ 1011 ... on '-Cr'lp'- of p1ptr :rnd thrm\
them to the pre:1chtr, \\ ho :inq\ er., thun Thl'
sha, kh collecl.cd thtm '111 :rnd bte:111 to an<,\\ n them
one ,ftcr the other 111 the mo.;l rcn;'lrk:1blc and clcg:1nt
manner
From Tu,;l:1r \\ c tr:wclled three mghts through
lofty mountains, halting at :1 hospice :1t each slation,
and came to the to\\ n of Idh:1_1, :1lso c:11lcd I\1:H al-Amir,
the capital of the sultan A ta beg (,, h1ch 1s :1 title
common to :ill the rulers of th:1t country) l.! I wished
to sec the sultan, but that w:1s not c:1stly come by, as
he goes out only on Frida) c; because of his add1chon
89
SELECTIONS FROM THE
to wme.,, Some days later the sultan sent me an
mv1tat10n to visit him. I went with the messenger
to the gate called the Cypress Gate, and we mounted
a long staircase, :finally reachmg a room, which was
unfurnished because they were m mournmg for the
sultan's son The sultan was s1ttzng on a cush10n,
with two covered goblets m front of h1m, one of gold
and the other of silver. A green rug was spread for
me near him and I sat down on this. No one else
was m the room but his chamberlatn and one of his
boon-compamons. The sultan asked me about myself
and my country, the sultan of Egypt, and the H1Jaz,
and I answered all his quesbons. At this JUnclure
a noted doctor of the law came rn, and as the sultan
started praismg him I began to see that he was
mtoxicated Afterwards he said to me m Arabic,
II
which he spoke well, " Speak " I said to him If
you wtll listen to me, I say to you ' You are a son
of a sultan noted for piety and uprightness, and there
1s nothmg to be brought agamst you as a ruler but
th1s,' " and I pomted to the goblets. He was over-
come with confus1on at what I said, and sat silent.
I wished to go, but he bade me sit down and said to
me, " To meet with men like you is a mercy." Then
I saw h1m reelrng and on the pornt of fallrng asleep,
so I withdrew. I could not find my sandals, but the
docl:or I have mentioned went up and found them rn
the room and brought them to me. Hrs kindness
ashamed me and I made my excuses, but thereupon he
kissed my sandals and put them on his head saying "God
bless you. What you said to the sultan none could sa{,
but you I hope this wdl make an impression on him
A few days later I left Idhaj, and the sultan sent
me a number of dinars [as a farewell gift] with a
sum for my companions For ten days we continue
hkl
to travel m the terntones of this sultan am1dsl: high
mountains, haltmg every night at a madrasa, where
90
each traveller was supplted with food for himself and
forage for his beast. Some of the madrasas are m
desolate localities, but all their reqmremcnts arc trans-
ported to them. One-third of the revenues of the
state 1s devoted to the maintenance of these hospices
and madrasas. We travelled on across a well-watered
plain belonging to the province of the city of Isfahan,
passing through the towns of Ushturkan and Ffruzan.
On reaching the latter place we found its mhabitants
outside the town escorting a funeral. They had
torches ht behind and in front of the bier, and they
followed it up with fifes and singers, singmg all sorts
of merry songs. Vl e were amazed at their conduct.
The next day our way lay through orchards and
streams and fine villages, with very many pigeon
towers, and m the afternoon we reached Isfahan or
Ispahan, In 'Iraq al-'AJam Isfahan is one of the
largest and fairest of cities, but the greater part of it
is now m rums, as a result of the feud between Sunnis
and Shi'ites, which 1s still ragmg there. It is rich
m fruits, among 1ts producl:s bemg apricots of un-
equalled quality with sweet almonds m their kernels,
qumces whose sweetness and size cannot be paralleled,
splendid grapes, and wonderful melons Its people
are goodlookmg, with clear white skms tinged with
red, exceedmgly brave, generous, and always trymg
to outdo one another m procuring luxurious viands.
Many curious stones are told of this last trait m them.
The members of each trade form corporations, as
also do the leadmg men who are not engaged m trade,
and the young unmarried men, these corporations
then engage m mutual rivalry, mvitmg one another
to banquets, m the preparations for which they display
all their resources. I was told that one corporation
mvited another and cooked its viands with lighted
candles, then the guests returned the mvitation and
cooked their viands with silk
91
SELECTIONS FROM THE
We then set. out from Isfahan on purpose to visit
the Shaykh Ma.Jd ad-Din at Shiraz, which 1s ten days'
journey from there. After six days 1 travellmg we
reached Yazd1khwasr, outside of wh1ch there 1s a
convent where travellers slay It has an iron gate
and 1s extremely well fortified, ms1de 1t are shops at
which the travellers can buy all that they need Here
they make the cheese called Y azd1khwasH, which IS
unequalled for goodness; each cheese weighs from
two to four ounces. Thence we travelled across a
stretch of open country mhab1ted by Turks, and
reached Shiraz, a densely populated town, well built
and admirably planned. Each trade has 1ts own
bazaar. Its rnhab1tants are handsome and clean tn
their dress In the whole Easr there 1s no city that
approaches Damascus in beauty of bazaars, orchards
and rivers, and m the handsome figures of its mhab1-
tants, but Shiraz It 1s on a plain surrounded by
orchards on all sides and mtersecl:ed by ,rivers, one of
which 1s the river known as Rukn Abad, 13 whose
water 1s sweet, very cold m summer and warm m
winter The people of Shiraz are pious and upright,
especially the women, who have a strange custom.
Every Monday, Thursday, and Fnday they meet m
the prrnc1pal mosque to hslen to the preacher, one or
two thousand of them, carrymg fans with which they
fan themselves on account of the great heat. I have
never seen in any land so great an assembly of
women
On entenng Shiraz I bad but one des1:e, whi~h
was to seek out the tlluslnous Shaykh MaJd ad-Dm
Isma'il, the marvel of the age. As I reached his
dwellmg he was gomg out to the afternoon prayer,
I saluted him and he embraced me and took my hand
until he came to his prayer mat, when he signed ~e
to pray beside him. After this, the notables of t c
town came forward to salute him, as 1s their custom
92
TR A,. ELS OF I BN B A TT O TA
rn m:1rblc there to \\ :1c;h clothe,; m. The c1t11,cns of
Shiraz rro out to ,1sll his tomh, and thcr c:1t from h1.:;
t:1blc [/r c1t food prcp:1rcd :1t the con\'cnt] :1nd \\ash
their clothcc; 111 the n\'cr. I ciid the c;:1me tlung there
-m:1) God ha\'c mercy upon him I
I left Shid1 to , 1c;Jt the tomb of the p1ou.:; sha) kh
Abt'1 lsh.19 :1l-K.111n'mi :H Kh:u\'m, \\ h1ch lice; l\\ o
dap' JO\lrnC) [,H{l) from ~hirh Thie; sha) kh 1s
held 111 hu:~h honour ln the rnh:1h1t:rn1c; of lnd1:1 :1nd
Cl11n1 fr:\\ cllcr-; on the ~c:1 of Ch111:1, \\ hen the
,, ind turns :1g:1111{\ them :111d thC\ ft 1r p1r:1tcc;, usu:tll}
m:1kc , o,, c; to .Aht'1 }-;h.1q, c:1ch one c:ettrng do\\ n in
\\ ntmg \\ h1t he h:ts \ 0\\ c..d \\ hen thn rt.:tch c;1fctr
the ofoccrs of the corn cnt go on bo:1rd the c;h1p, rccc1vc..
the hit, :1.nd t1l-..c from <. 1ch pcrc:on the :1mount of h1s
,ow There 1c; not :l ship comrng from I nd1:1 or China
but has thou,;andc; of dmar<: in 1t [, 0\\ cd to the s11nt].
Any mendicant ,, ho comcc; to beg almc; of the sh:1, kh
is given an order, sc1led \\ 1th the c;h:1) kh 's c;c:11 sl:unped
in red \\ a,, to this effccl: "Let an) person \\ ho has
made a , ow to the Sha) l-..h Abu I .:;h.19 give thereof
to so-and-so so much," specif) mg a thousand or a
hundred, or more or less. \Vhen the mendicant finds
anyone ,, ho has made a VO\\, he t:1kcs from ]11m the
sum named and ,vntes a receipt for the amount on
the back of the order
From K:han'.m we went by way of Zaydan to
Huwa) z.a, and thence by a five days' march through
waterless desert to Kufa 10 Though 1t was once the
abode of the Compamons of the Prophet and of scholars
and theologians, and the capital of 'Ali, the Commander
of the Faithful, Kufa has now fallen mto nuns, as
a result of the attacks which 1t has suffered from the
nomad Arab brigands m the neighbourhood. The
town 1s unwalled. Its pnnc1pal mosque 1s a magni-
ficent bmlding with seven naves supported by great
pillars of immense height, made of carved stones
97 H
SELECTIONS FROM THE
placed one on top of the other, the intersbces being
filled with molten lead. We resumed our Journey and
halted for the night at B1'r Mallaha [" Salt Well"],
which 1s a pretty town lying amongst palm gardens.
I encamped outside 1t, and would not enter the place,
because the mhabitants are fanatical Shi'1tes.
Next mornmg we went on and alighted at the city
of Hilla, which 1s a large town lying along the western
bank of the Euphrates, with fine markets where both
natural products and manufactured goods may be
had. At this place there 1s a great bndge fastened
upon a continuous row of boats from bank to bank,
the boats bemg held m place both fore and aft by
1ron chains attached on either bank to a huge wooden
beam made fast ashore The inhabitants of Hilla
are all Sh1'1tes of the "Twelvers " seer, but they are
d1v1ded into two fact10ns, known as the "Kurds"
and the " Party of the Two Mosques," between whom
there 1s constant facbonal strife and fighting. Near
the prmc1pal market m this town there 1s a mosque,
the door of which 1s covered with a silk curtam. They 20
call this the Sanctuary of the Master of the Age
Every evening before sunset, a hundred of the towns-
men, followmg their custom, go with arms and drawn
swords to the governor of the city and receive from
him a saddled and bridled horse or mule With this
they go rn process10n, w1th drums beatmg and
trumpets and bugles blowmg, fifty of them m front
of 1t and :fifty behind, while others walk to nght and
left, to the San&ary of the Master of the Age. They
halt at the door and call out " In the Name of God,
0 Master of the Age in the Name of God, come forth I
Corruption 1s abroad and mJusbce 1s r1fe l Tlus 15
the hour for thy advent, that by thee God may discover
the true from the false." They continue to call out
thus sounding their drums and bugles and trumpets,
unttl the hour of sunset prayer, for they hold that
98
i''vluh:tmmad, the c;on of a1-l-fac;an al-'1\ c;kari, entered
this mosque :rnd d1c;:1ppc:tred from c;1ght 111 1t, and that
he will emerge from it, for he, lfl thl 1r vie,\, 1s the
" E, peeled I 111,\111 "
\Ve tr:n cllc<l thence to the to\\ n of K:1rlnla, the
shrme of al-Hus:l\ n, the son of 'Ali =1 The sur-
roundings of the to.mb '1nd the cercmo111cc; of ,1c;1tat1on
rcc;cmblc thoc;c of the tomb of 'J\li at N:11af In this
tO\\ n too the mh:1b1t'1ntc; form t\\ 0 fact tons bet\\ cen
\\ hom there I'- con.(hnt fie:htm[!, althou[!h the, arc all
Sl11'1tes '1nd d~cendcd fr'om the same f am1h; and as
a rcc;ult of their fcudc; the tm, n 1c; m rumc;.
Thence \\ c tr:1, cl led to B1Qhd:1d, the Abode of
Peace '1nd C'1p1t:1l of }c;l.lm ~ ... Herc tht.re art. two
bndgec; like th:1t at H 111:1, on \\ hich the peoplc
r.romen:1de night and d'1\, both men and \\ omen
fhe to,\ n h:1s cle\'en c:tthcdr:11 moc;cp1tc;, eight on the
right b'1nk :rnd three on the le. ft, together \\ 1th very
man) other mo.,ques and m:1drac;:1c;, onl) the btter arc
all m rums The b:1thc; at lbghdad :i.re numerous
and c,ccllentl) conslrucl:cd, mosl of them being
p:1inted with pitch, \\ hich hac; the :1ppe:1rance of black
marble This pitch is brought from a spring bet,\ een
Kufa and Basra, from which 1t flows contmuall). It
g:1thers at the sides of the sprmg like cla) and is
shovelled up and brought to Baghdad Each csbb-
lishmcnt has a brge number ot private bathrooms,
every one of which has also a\\ ash-basm m the corner,
with t,vo taps supplymg hot and cold water Every
bather 1s given three towels, one to wear round h1s
waist when he goes m, another to wear round 111s waist
when he comes out, and the third to dry himself with.
In no town other than Baghdad have I seen all this
elaborate arrangement, though some other towns
approach 1t m this respecl: z:i The western part of
Baghdad was the earliest to be bmlt, but 1t 1s now for the
most part m rums. In spite of that there remam m
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SELECTIONS FROM THE
1t sb11 thirteen quarters, each like a city m itself and
possessing two or three baths The hospital (mansbin)
rs a vast rumed edifice, of which only vesbges remain.
The eastern part has an abundance of bazaars, the
largest of which 1s called the Tuesday bazaar. On
this side there are no fruit trees, but all the fruit 1s
brought from the western side, where there are orchards
and gardens.
My arrival at Baghdad coincided with a v1s1t of the
sultan of the two 'Iraqs and of Khurasan, the 11Ius-
tnous Abu Sa'fd Bahadur Khan,2'~ son of Sultan
Muhammad Khudabanda whose conversion we re-
lated above. He was an excellent and generous
kmg He was sbIJ a boy when he succeeded bis
father, and the power was seized by the pnnapal
amir, Juban, who left him nothmg of sovereignty but
the name. This went on unttl one day his father's
wives complained to him of the mso1ence of Juban's
son Dimashq KhwaJa, and the sultan had him arrested
and put to death. Juban was then m Khurasan With
the army of the Tatars They agreed to fight the
sultan, and marched against rum, but when the two
forces met, the Tatars deserted to their sultan and
Juba.n was left without support. He :fled to the desert
of S1jistan [S1stan ], and afterwards took refuge with
the kmg of Herat, who betrayed him a few days later,
killed him and his youngest son and sent their heads
to the sultan When Abu Sa'id had become sole
master, he desired to marry Juba.n's daughter, who
was called Baghdad Kha.tun, and was one of the most
beautiful of women She was married to Shaykh
Hasan, the same who became master of the kmgdom
after the death of Abu Sa'id, and who was his cousID
by his father's srsler Shaykh Hasan d1vorced her
on Abu Sa'fd's order, and she became his favounte
w1fe Among the Turks and the Tatars their mves
hold a high position, when they issue an order they
100
say 111 it By order of the Sultan and the Khatuns"
II
Each khat\'111 posscs'-es c;cveral towns and districts

and vasl rc,cnucc;, and when the) travel with the sultan
they have a separate camp After this had gone on
for some time the king married a woman called
D1lshad, of,, hom he was vcr} fondP I-Ie neglected
Baghdad :Khatun, who bcc.1mc Jealous and poisoned
h1m \\ 1th a kerchief. On hts death h1s lmc became
e'\tmct, :rnd the amlrs seized the provinces for them-
sehes \Vhen they learned that 1t was Baghdad
Kh:hun who had pmsoned h,m, they decided to put
her to death. A Greek sl:wc, c:1.llcd KhwaJa Lu'lu',
,,,ho was one of the principal amirs, came to her while
she was m her bath and beat her to death with h1s club
Her body l:ly there for some da) s, covered onl) with
a piece of sacking.
I left Baghdad with the mahalla~0 of Sultan Abu
S:i'id, on purpose to sec the way m which the king's
marches arc conducted, and travelled with 1t for ten
days, thereafter accompanying one of the amirs to the
town of Tabriz z; \Vc reached the town after ten
days' travelling, and encamped outside it m a place
called ash-Sham. Herc there 1s a fine hospice, where
travellers arc supplied with food, cons1sbng of bread,
meat, nee cooked m butter, and sweetmeats. The
nc:,..1: morning I entered the town and we came to a
great bazaar, called the Ghaz.an bazaar, one of the
finest bazaars I have seen the world over Every
trade 1s grouped separately m 1t. I passed through
the jewellers' bazaar, and my eyes were dazzled by
the varieties of precious stones that I beheld. They
were displayed by beautiful slaves wearing rich gar-
ments with a waist-sash of silk, who stood m front
of the merchants, exhibitmg the Jewels to the wives
of the Turks, while the women were buying them m
large quant1t1es and trymg to outdo one another. As
a result of all this I witnessed a not-may God preserve
IOI
SELECTIONS FROM THE
us from such 1 We went on mto the ambergris and
musk market, and witnessed another riot like 1t or
worse.
We spent only one night at Tabrfz. Next day the
amfr received an order from the sultan to rejoin him,
so I returned along with him, without havmg seen any
of the learned men there. On reaching the camp the
amfr told the sultan about me and mtroduced me
mto his presence. The sultan asked me about my
country, and gave me a robe and a horse. The amfr
told him that I was intending to go to the Htjaz,
whereupon he gave orders for me to be supplied with
provisions and to travel with the cortege of the com-
mander of the pilgrim caravan, and wrote mshucbons
to that effect to the governor of Baghdad. I returned
therefore to Baghdad and received in full what the
sultan had ordered. As more than two months
remained before the per1od when the p1lgr1m caravan
was to ser out, I thought 1t a good plan to make a
journey to Mosul and Diyar Bakr to see those d1sl:r1cts,
and then return to Baghdad when the H1;az caravan
was due to start.
Leavmg Baghdad we reached a station on the
DuJayl canal, whiah is derived from the Tigns and
waters a large tratl: of vtllages, and two days later
stopped at a large village called Harba. From there
we travelled to a place on the T1gris near a fort called
a1-Ma'shuq, opposite which on the eastern bank, 15
the town of Surra-man-ra' a or Samarra. This town
1s a total rum and only a very small part of 1t remains.
'It has an equable chmate and 1s exceedingly beautiful
m spite of its disasters and the rums of 1ts noble
bmldmgs. 28 One day further on we reached Takdt,
a large city with fine markets and many mosqued
whose mhab1tants are d1sbngmshed by their goo
qualities. Two marches from there brought us to
a village called al-'Aqr, from which there 1s a con-
102
TRAVELS OF IBN BATT-OTA
tmuous ship of villages and cultivation to Mosul.
We came next to some black land m which there are
wells of pitch, hke the one already mentioned between
Kufa and Basra, and two stages on from these wells
we reached al-Mawsil [Mosul].
Mosul is an ancient and prosperous city, whose
fortress, known as al-Hadba' [" The Humpback"], is
famous for its strength Next to 1t are the sultan's
palaces. These are separated from the town by a
long and broad street, running from the top to the
bottom of the town. Round the town run two strong
walls, with close-set towers. So thick 1s the wall that
there are chambers inside it one next the other all the
way round. I have never seen city walls hke it except
at Delhi Outside the town is a large suburb, con-
tammg mosques, baths, hosl:elnes and markets. It
has a cathedral mosque on the bank of the Tigris,
round which there are lattice windows of iron, and
adJoming 1t are platforms overlooking the nver,
exceedingly beautiful and well construB:ed. In front
of the mosque there is a hospital, and there are two
other cathedral mosques inside the town. The
Qaysadya of Mosul is a fine bmldm_g with iron gates.29
From Mosul we journeyed to Jazfrat ibn 'Omar,
a large town surrounded by the nver, which 1s the
reason why it is called Jazirah [island]. The greater
part of it is m rums Its inhabitants are men of
excellent charaB:er and very kmd to sl:rangers. The
day that we stayed there we saw Mount Jud{, which
ls mentioned m the Book of God [the Koran] as that
on which Noah's vessel came to rest Two sl:ages
from Jazfrat 1bn 'Omar we reached the town of
Nasibfn, an ancient town of moderate size, for the most
part m rums, lymg m a wide and fertile plain. In
this town rose-water 1s manufactured which is un-
equalled for perfume and sweetness Round 1t there
runs hke a bracelet a nver which flows from sources
103
SELECTIONS FROM THE
rn a mountain dose by. One branch enters the town,
flows amidst 1ts streets and dwellings, cuts through the
court of the principal mosque, and empties mto two
basins. The town has a hospital and two madrasas.
Thereafter we travelled to the town of SmJar,3
which 1s bmlt at the foot of a mountain. Its m-
hab1tants arc Kurds, and are brave and generous.
,:ve went on next to the town of Dara, a large, ancient
and glisten mg tmvn, ,\ 1th an 1mposmg fortress;'3 1 but
now m rums and totally uninhabited. Outside 1t
there 1s an mhab1tcd village in which we slopped.
'\:Ve Journeyed on from there and reached the town of
Mandin, a great city at the foot of a hill, one of the
most beautiful, strikmg and substantially bmlt cities
m the lands of Islam. Here they manufacture the
woollen fabrics known by 1ts name. At Mandfn
there 1s a fortress of exceptional height, situated on
the hilltop The sultan of Mandfn at the time ?f
my stay was al-Malik as-Sahh 32 There 1s no one m
'Iraq, Syria or Egypt who 1s more openhanded than
he, and poets and darwlshes come to V1s1t bun and
receive munificent gifts
I then started to make my way back to Baghdad.
On reaching Mosul I found 1ts p11gnm caravan out-
side the city settmg out for Baghdad and joined them,
When we arrived at Baghdad I found the pilgrims
prepanng for the Journey, so I went to vISit the governor
and asked him for the thmgs which the sultan had
ordered for me. He assigned me the half of a camel-
litter and proV1s1ons and water for four persons,
writing out an order to that effecr, then sent for the
leader of the caravan and commended me to him, I
had already made the acquaintance of the latter, but
our fr1endsh1p was strengthened and I remamed under
his protecr10n and favoured by his bounty, for he gave
me even more than had been ordered for me. As we
left Kufa I fell 111 of a diarrhrea and had to be dis-
104
mounted from the camel many times a day. The
commander of the caravan used to make enqmries
for my condition and give mstrucbons that I should
be looked after. My illness continued until I reached
Mecca, the Sancl:uary of God (may He exalt her
honour and greatness I). I made the circmt of the
Sacred Edifice [the Ka'aba] on arrival, but I was so
weak that I had to carry out the prescnbed cere-
momes seated, and I made the circmt and the ritual
visitation of Safa and Marwa riding on the amfr's
horse 33 Vlhen we camped at Mina I began to feel
relief and to recover from my malady. At the end
of the Pilgnmage I remained at Mecca all that year,
giving myself up entirely to p10us exercises and leading
a most agreeable existence After the next Pilgrimage
[of 1328] I spent another year there, and yet another
after that.
105
CHAPTER III
AFTER the Pilgrimage at the close of the year I 330
I set out from Mecca, making for Yemen. I amved
at Judda [Jedda], an ancient town on the sea-coast,
which 1s said to have been bmlt by the Persians. A
strange thing happened to me here. A blind man,
whom I did not know and who did not know me,
called me by name, and taking my hand said " Where
1s the rmg ?" Now, as I left Mecca, a religious
mendicant had met me and asked me for alms, and
as I had nothmg with me at the time, I had given
him my rmg. I told the blind man this, and he said
" Go back and look for 1t, for there are names written
on 1t which contam a great secret" I was greatly
astonished at him and at his knowledge of this-God
knows who he was. At the Friday service at Judda,
the muezzin comes and counts the number of the
inhabitants of the town present. If they amount ~o
forty the preacher holds the Friday service, but if
they are fewer he prays the midday prayer four times,
taking no account of the strangers present, however
many they may be.
We embarked here on a boat which they called a
jalba. The Sharif Mansur embarked on another
and desired me to accompany him, but I refused. He
had a number of camels m h1sja/ba and that frightened
me, as I had never travelled on sea before. For twd
days we sailed with a favouring wind, then 1t change
and drove us out of our course. The waves c:1 ~f
overboard mto our midst and the passengers fc
grievously sick These terrors continued until \>C
ro6
emerged at a roadstead called Ra's Dawa'1r 1 between
Aydhab and Sawakm We landed here and found
on the shore a reed hut shaped hke a mosque, mside
which were ostnch egg-shells filled with water. We
drank from these and cooked food. A party of Bejas
came to us, so we hired camels from them and travelled
with them through a country m which there are many
gazelles. The BeJas do not eat them so they are tame
and do not run away from men After two days'
travelling we reached the island of Sawakm [SuakmJ.
It is a large island lymg about six miles off the coast,
and has neither water nor cereal crops nor trees.
Water is brought to 1t m boats, and it has large reser-
voirs for colleB:mg ram water. The flesh of ostriches,
gazelles and wild asses 1s to be had m it, and it has
many goats together with milk and butter, which 1s
exported to Mecca. Their cereal is jur;ur, a kmd of
coarse grained millet, which 1s also exported to Mecca.
The sultan of Sawakm when I was there was the
Sharff Zayd, the son of the amfr of Mecca.
:i:JWe took ship at Sawakm for Yemen. No sailmg
1s done on this sea at night because of the number of
rocks in it. At nightfall they land and embark agam
at sunrise. The captain of the ship stands constantly
at the prow to warn the steersman of rocks. Six days
after leavmg Sawakin we reached the town of Hah,2
a large and populous town inhabited by two Arab
tribes. The sultan 1s a man of excellent charaB:er,
a man of letters and a poet. I had accompanied him
from Mecca to Judda, and when I reached his aty
he treated Ille generously and made me his guest for
several days I embarked m a ship of his and reached
the township of Sarja, which is inhabited by Yemenite
merchants 3 They are generous and open-handed,
sup~ly food to travellers and assist pilgnms, trans-
porting them m their ships and providing for them
from their own funds. We stayed at SarJa only one
107
SELECTIONS FROM THE
night as their guests, then sailed on to the roadst:ead
of al-Ahwab and thence went up to Zab{d. 4
Zab{d 1s a hundred and twenty mtles from San'a
and 1s after San 'a the largest and wealthiest: town 1~
Yemen. It hes amidst luxunant gardens with many
streams and frmts, such as bananas and the like It
1s m the mtenor, not on the coast, and 1s one of the
capital cities of the country. The town 1s large and
populous, with palm-groves, orchards, and running
streams-In fact, the pleasantest and most beautiful
town m Yemen. Its inhabitants are charmmg m
their manners, upnght, and handsome, and the women
especially are exceedmgly beautiful The people of
this town hold the famous [Junketmgs called] mbril
an-nakhl m -this wise. They go out to the palm
groves every Saturday durmg the season of the colour
mg and npenmg of the dates.5 Not a soul remains
in the town, whether of the townsfolk or of the v1s1tors.
The musicians go out [to entertam them], and the
shopkeepers go out sellmg frmts and sweetmeats.
The women go m litters on camels. For all we have
said of their exceedmg beauty they are virtuous and
possessed of excellent qualities They show a pre
d1lecbon for foreigners, and do not refuse to marry
them, as the women m our country do. When a
woman's husband wishes to travel she goes out with
him and bids him farewell, and 1f they have a child,
1t is she who takes care of it and supplies its wants
until the father returns While he ts absent she
demands nothmg from him for mamtenance or cloth~
or anythmg else, and whtle he stays with her she ts
content with very little for upkeep and clothing. Bu} 0
the women never leave their own towns, and none
them would consent to do so, however much she were
offered. T , the
We went on from there to the town of a IZZ, st
capital of the kmg of Yemen, and one of the fine
108
and largest towns m that countr) .0 Its people arc
overbearing, insolent, and rude, as 1s generally the
case 111 towns where kmgs reside. Ta'1zz 1s made up
of three quarters, the firsl: 1c; the residence of the king
and his court, the second, called 'U da) na, 1s the
military Station, and the third, called al-Mahalib, IS
inhabited by the commonalt), and contains the prin-
cipal market. The sultan of Yemen 1s Nur ad-D{ n
'Ali of the house of Rasul. He uses an elaborate
ceremomal in l11s audiences and progresses. The
fourth day :ifter our arrival was a Thursday, on which
day the king holds a public audience. The q:idf
presented me to h11n and I saluted 111m The way ll1
which one salutes is to touch the ground with the
rnde).-finger, then 11ft 1t to the head and say "May
God prolong thy Ma_iesl) 1' I did as the qad{ had
done, and the kmg, havmg ordered me to sit 111 front
of him, quesl:1oned me about m) country and the other
lands and prmces I had seen. The ,, azir was present,
and the kmg ordered him to treat me honourably and
arrange for my lodgrng.7 After sl:aymg there for
some days as l11s guest, I set out for the town of San'a,
which was the former capital, a populous town built
of brick and plaster, with a temperate climate and
good water A strange thmg about the ratn m India,
Yemen, and Abyssmia 1s that it falls only rn the hot
weather, and mostly every afternoon during that
season, so travellers always make haste about noon
to av01d bemg caught by the ram, and the townsfolk
retire mdoors, for their rams arc heavy downpours.
The whole town of San'a 1s paved, so that when the
rain falls 1t washes and cleans all the streets.
I travelled thence to 'Aden, the port of Yemen,
on the coast of the ocean. It 1s surrounded by moun-
tams and can be approached from one side only, 1t has
no crops, trees, or water, but has reservoirs m which
ramwater is collecl:ed. The Arabs often cut off the
109
SELECTIONS FROM THE
inhabitants from their supply of drinking-water until
they buy them off with money and pieces of cloth.
It 1~ an exceedingly hot place. It 1s the port of the
Indians, and to it come large vessels from Kinbayat
[Cam bay], Kawlam [Qmlon ], Calicut, and many other
Malabar ports. There are Indian merchants hvmg
there, as well as Egyptian merchants. Its mhab1tants
are all either merchants, porters, or :fishermen. Some
of the merchants are immensely nch, so rich that
sometimes a smgle merchant is sole owner of a large
ship with all 1t con tams, and thts 1s a subj eel: of ostenta-
tion and rivalry amongsl: them In spite of that they
are pious, humble, upright, and generous m character,
treat sl:rangers well, give liberally to devotees, and pay
m full the tithes due to God.
I took ship at 'Aden, and after four days at sea
reached Zayla' [Zetla], the town of the Berberah, '!ho
are a negro people. Their land is a desert extending
for two months' journey from Zayla' to Maqdashaw.
Zayla' is a large city with a great bazaar, but 1t is the
d1rt1esl:, mosl: abominable, and mosl: shnkmg town rn
the world. The reason for the stench 1s the quantity
of 1ts fish and the blood of the camels that they slaughter
m the streets. When we got there, we chose to spend
the night at sea, m spite of 1ts extreme roughness,
rather than m the town, because of 1ts filth.
On leavmg Zayla' we sailed for fifteen days and came
to Maqdashaw [Mogd1shu], which 1s an enormous
town. Its mhabitants are merchants and have many
camels, of which they slaughter hundreds every day
[for food]. When a vessel reaches the port, it 15 m~
by sumbuqs, which are small boats, m each of whicd
are a number of young men, each carrying a cov;r~
dish contaming food He presents this to one ~, t ~
merchants on the ship saying "This 1s my guesl:,
all the others do the same. Each merchant on
d~s-
embarking goes only to the house of the young man
110
who is his host, e'\.cept those who have made frequent
journeys to the to,, n and know 1ts people ,vcll, these
live where they pleac;e. The hosl then sells h1s goods
for h1m and bu) s for him, :rnd 1f anyone bu) s anything
from htm at too low a price or sells to him m the
absence of his host, the sale 1s regarded by them as
invalid. This pracbce 1s of great advantage to them.
,vhen these ) oung men came on board our vessc1,
one of them approached me My compamons s~ud
" This man 1s not a merchant, but a theologian,"
whereupon the ) oung man called out to his fnends
"Th1s 1s the qadi's guest" Amongst them was one
of the q:idf's men, \\ ho "cnt to tell him of this, so
he came do,, n to the beach with a number of students,
and sent one of them to me \\Then I disembarked
,nth my part), I saluted him :l!ld his part}, and he
said " In the name of God, let us go and salute the
Shaykh II Thereupon I said " And who 1s th1s
Shaykh ~11 He answered "The sultan," for they call
the sultan ' the Sha} kh.' 1 said to h1m u \Vhen I
have settled down I shall go to h1m,' 1 and he replied
" It 1s the custom that whenever a theologian, or sharff,
or man of rehg1on comes here, he must sec the sultan
before taking his lodging'' So I went to h1m as
they asked The sultan, whose name 1s Abu Bakr,
1s of Berberah ongm, and he talks m the Maqd1sh{
language, though he knows Arabic When we
reached the palace and news of my arrival was sent
m, a eunuch came out with a plate contammg betel
leaves and areca nuts He gave me ten leaves and
a few nuts, the same to the qadi, and the rest to my
compamons and the qad{'s students, and then said
" Our master commands that he be lodged m the
students' house." Later on the same eunuch brought
food from the ' Shaykh's' palace. With him came
one of the wazirs, whose duty 1t was to look after the
guests, and who sard " Our master greets you and bids
I I I
SELECTIONS FROM THE
you welcome." We ~ayed there three days, food
bemg brought to us three times a day, and on the
fourth, a Friday, the qadf and one of the wazfrs brought
me a set of garments. We then went to the mosque
and prayed behmd the [sultan'sJ screen. 8 When the
' Shaykh ' came out I greeted him and he bade me
welcome. He put on his sandals, ordering the qadf
and myself to do the same, and set out for his palace
on foot. All the other people walked barefooted,
Over his head were earned four canopies of coloured
silk, each surmounted by a golden bird. After the
palace ceremonies were over, all those present saluted
and retired.
I embarked at Maqdashaw for the Sawahil country,
with the objecl: of v1s1tmg the town of Kulwa [K1lwa,
Qmloa] m the land of the ZanJ,0 We came to Mam-
basa [Mombasa], a large island two days' journey by
sea from the Sawahil country 10 It possesses no
territory on the mainland. They have frmt trees on
the island, but no cereals, which have to be brought
to them from the Sawahil. Their food consufts chiefly
of bananas and fish. The inhabitants are pious,
honourable, and upright, and they have well-built
wooden mosques. We Stayed one night m th1~ island,
and then pursued our Journey to Kulwa, which 1s a
large town on the coaSt. The maJority of its inhabi-
tants are Zanj, Jet-black m colour, and with tattoo-
marks on their faces. I was told by a merchant that
the town of Sufala hes a fortnight's journey [south]
from Kulwa, and that gold duSt 1s brought t? Sufa1a
from Yuff in the country of the Limis, which 15 a
month's journey d1Stant from it.11 Kulwa 1s a very
fine and subStant1ally built town, and all its bmldm~
are of wood. Its inhabitants are consl:antly engage 5
m military exped1t1ons, for their country 1s contigfou,
to the heathen ZanJ, The sultan at the time 0d T}
v1s1t was Abu'1-Muzafrar Hasan, who was note or
II2
his gifts and generosity. He used to devote the fifth
part of the booty made on his expeditions to p10us
and charitable purposes, as is prescribed m the Koran, 12
and I have seen him give the clothes off his back to
a mendicant who asked him for them When this
liberal and virtuous sultan died, he was succeeded by
his brother Dawud, who was at the opposite pole from
him m this respect Whenever a petitioner came to
him, he would say "He who gave is dead, and left
nothing behmd him to be given." Visitors would
stay at his court for months on end, and :finally he
would make them some small gift, so that at last
people gave up going to his gate
From Kulwa we sailed to Dhafari [Dhofar], at the
extremity of Yemen. Thoroughbred horses are ex-
ported from here to India, the passage taking a month
with a favouring wind. Dhafari is a month's Journey
from 'Aden across the desert, and is situated m a
desolate locality without villages or dependencies Its
market is one of the dirtiest m the world and the most
pestered by fhes because of the quantity of frmt and
:fish sold there Most of the :fish are of the kmd
called sardines, which are extremely fat m that country.
A curious fact is that these sardines are the sole food
of their beasts and flocks, a thmg which I have seen
nowhere else. Most of the sellers [m the market]
are female slaves, who wear black garments I The
inhabitants cultivate millet and irrigate it from very
deep wells, the water from which 1s raised m a large
bucket drawn up by a number of ropes attached to
the waists of slaves. Their prmc1pal food 1s nee,
imported from India Its population consists of
merchants who live entirely on trade. When a vessel
arrives they take the master, captain and writer m
procession to the sultan's palace and entertain the
entire ship's company for three days in order to gam
the goodw11l of the sh1pmasters. Another curious
113 I
SELECTIONS FROM THE
tbmg 1s that its people closely resemble the people of
Northwest Africa m their customs. In the neighbour-
hood of the town there are orchards with many banana-
trees. The bananas are of immense size one which
was weighed in my presence scaled twelve' ounces and
was pleasant to the taste and verv sweet. They grow
also betel-trees and coco-palms, which are found only
m India and the town of Dhafiin. 13 Smee we have
mentioned these trees, we shall descnbe them and
their properties here.
Betel-trees are grown like vines on cane trellises or
else trained up coco-palms. They have no fnut and
are grown only for their leaves. The Indians have
a high opimon of betel, and 1f a man visits a friend
and the latter gives him five leaves of it, you would
thmk he had given rum the world, especially if he 1s
a prince or notable A gift of betel 1s a far greater
honour than a gift of gold and stlver. It is used tn
trus way. First one takes areca-nuts, which are like
nutmegs, crushes them mto small bits and chews them
Then the betel leaves are taken, a little chalk 1s put
on them, and they are chewed with the areca-nuts
They sweeten the breath and aid diges1:1on, prevent
the d1sagreeable effe& of drinking water on an empty
stomach, and stimulate the faculties.
The coco-palm is one of the stranges1 of trees, and
looks exaaly like a date-palm. The nut resembles
a man's head, for it has marks like eyes and a mouth,
and the contents, when 1t is green, are hke the bram
It bas :fibre like hair, out of which they make ropes,
which they use instead of nails to bind their slups
together and also as cables Amongst its prope~f5
are that it strengthens the body, fattens, and a
een
redness to the face If 1t 1s cut open when it 15 ~
it gives a l1qmd delioously sweet and fresh er
drinking trus one takes a piece of the rmd as a ~n
and scoops out the pulp inside the nut. T.hls es
rr4
TRAVELS OF IBN IlATT'OTA
like :rn egg th:lt h:1c:; been broiled hut not qmte cooked,
and 1s n~\\ri.:;hmg. l li\'cd on 1t for ,l , e'lr and a half
"hen I ":1s 111 the 1vfold1, e 1sb11dc:; One of 1tc:; pccu-
h:1nt1e-; 1s th1t 011, milk and hone, :1re e,tr:1c\:ed from
it. The hone, 1s made 111 th1c; fai;}11on. The, cut
a stalk on \\ h1ch the fnut gro,, s, lc:n mg t,, o fingers'
length, 1nd on this the, tic a small bo,, l, mto ,, h1ch
the~s:ip dnp'- If th1.:; h'l'- been done m the mornmg,
a serv:int chm be; up :1g:1111 111 the e, enmg "1th t,, o
bo,\ls, one filled ,, 1th ,, :1ter He pours mto the other
the sap that Inc; collccl.cd, then ,, :1she.:; the stalk, cuts
off a sm:1ll piece, and t1ec:; on another bo,, I. The same
thmg 1s repeated nc,t mornmg until a good deal of
the sap has been colleclcd, ,, hen 1t 1s cooked until
1t thickens It then makes an e,ccllent honey, and
the merchantc; of lnd1:1, Yemen, :1nd Chma bu) 1t and
take 1t to their o,, n countries, ,, here they manufacl:ure
sweetmeats from 1t The milk 1s made by sleepmg the
contents of the nut 111 "atcr, ,, h1ch takes on the colour
and taste of milk and 1s used along ,, 1th food To
make the 011, the ripe nuts arc peeled and the contents
dned 111 the sun, then cooked m cauldrons and the 011
e,-tracl:cd. They use 1t for lightmg and dip bread
m 1t, and the women put 1t on their h:ur
V/e left Dhafan for 'Oman ma small ship bclongmg
to a man from Masira On the second day of our
Journey we disembarked at the roadstead of Hasik, 14
wh1ch 1s mhab1ted by Arab fishermen. Here they
have a great quantity of frankmcense trees. They
have thm leaves out of which dnps, when they are
slashed, sap like milk. This turns mto a gum, wh1ch
1s the frankmcense The people hvmg m this port
are dependent on fishmg for their food, and the fish
they catch 1s the luVwm, which 1s like a dogfish
They slice these fish up, dry them 111 the sun and use
them for food, and bmld their houses with the fish
bones, usmg camel skms for roofs
IIS
SELECTIONS FROM THE
S,x da) c; later we reached the Island of Birds, wbich
1s unmhab,tcd. \\Te cast anchor and went on shore,
and found it full of birds like b]ackb1rds, only bigger.
Tl1c sailors brought some of their eggs, cooked and
ate them, then caught a number of the birds which
they cooked without prevmusly slitting their throats. 15
My food durrng the voyage cons1sl:ed of dned dates
and fish, for they used to fish every morning and even-
rng. The fish they caught were cut up mto pieces
and bro1lcd, and every person on board received a
portion, no preference being shown to anyone, not
even to the master. \Ve celebrated the P1lgr1mage
Fcshva.1 at sea, bemg sl:ormtosscd all that day from
sunrise until sunrise the ne}..t day, and m danger of
foundering. A ship in front of us was sunk, and only
one man escaped by swimming after great efforts,
We called next at the island of Masira, a large island
whose rnhab1tants Jive entirely on fish, 10 but we did
not land as the roadsl:ead 1s at some distance from the
shore. Besides I had taken a dislike to these people
after seeing them cat birds without shttmg their
throats.
W c sailed for a day and a mght from Masfra and
reached the roadsl:ead of a large v11lage called S~
from which we could see the town of Qalhat, situate
17
on the slope of a hill apparently close at hand As
we had anchored just after midday, I desired to walk
to Qalhat and spend the night there, for I had taken
a dislike to the company on the ship On enquiry,
I was told that I should get there m the mid-afternoon,
so I hired one of the sailors as a guide. An Indian
named Khldr who had been one of my fellow-pas-
' .n f ty were
sengers, came with me, and the re::.t o my par it
left on board with my goods to rejom me the ne
day. I took with me some of my clothes, g~vtn~
them to the guide to carry to spare myself fa
and myself carried a lance. Now the guide wts e
rd
I 16
to Ae.11 the clothe.,, ">O he led us to an mlct of the sea
:rnd set about cros-,111g 1t ,., 1th the clothes. I said
to hun u You cross over alone and leave the clothes,
1f ,,c can cross ,,e shall, and 1f not ,,e shall look for
.1 ford higher up" He drc,, back then, and after-
wards we saw some men c;w1mr111ng across, so we
were convrnccd that he had wanted to drown us and
get a\\ a) "1th the clothe-,. Though I made a show
of vivacity l ,, as on In) gu:1rd and kept brandishing
the lance, so that the guide became frightened of me.
\\"e then came on a waterlcc;s pl:lm and suffered greatly
from thirst, but God sent us a horseman with a com-
pan) of men \\ ho gave us to drink, and we \\ cnt on,
thmkmg that the to\\ n was close at hand, v,h1lc
acl:uall) ,, c \\ ere. separated from 1t b) nullah"> m which
we\\ alkcd for mile., In the even mg the gmde wished
to lead us to,, 1.rds the shore, where there 1s no road,
for the co:1$l 1s rock), hoping th:1t ,, e should get stuck
among the rocks and he would make :\\\ ay with the
clothes, but l said that \\ e should take no road but
the one that we were on V/hcn night fell, as I was
afraid of bcmg moldled on the road and did not
know exactly how far we still \\ ere from the tO\vn, I
decided that we should go aside from the road and
sleep. Although I was tired out I pretended to be
full of vigour, and put the clothes under my garments
and grasped my lance m my hand. My compamon
was worn out, and both he and the gmde slept, but
I stayed awake and every time the gmde moved I
spoke to him to show him that I was awake. In the
morning I sent the guide to fetch us some water and
my companion took the clothes We had shll some
ravmes and nullahs to cross, but the gmde brought
us water and eventually we reached Qalhat m a state
of extreme fatigue. My feet were so swollen mside
my shoes that the blood was almost startmg from
under the nails Then, as a final touch to our m1s-
117
called J.irawn. It 1s a large and fine city, with busy
markets, as 1t 1s the port from which the w.ires from
India and Smd arc dcsp.itchcd to the 'Ir.iqs, Fars and
Khurisin. Th!! island is salmc, and the mhab1tants
hvt! on fish and dates c,portcd to them from Basra.
They say m their tongue Klwrmd wamtilil /11/t pddt-
shd/if, which means " D.ites and fish arc a royal dish."
\Vater is a v.iluablc commodity 111 this island They
h.we wells and artificial reservoirs to collecl: rainwater
at some disbncc from the town The inhabitants go
there with watcrskms, which they fill ;ind carry on
their backs to the shore, load them on boats and bring
them to the town. A Strange thmg I saw there was
a fish's head at the gate of the cathedr:il mosque as
large as a hillock and with eyes like doors, and you
would see people entering by one eye and com mg out
by the other. The sultan of Hormuz is Qutb ad-Din
Tahamtan, a mosl: generous and humble ruler, who
makes a habit of VISltmg every theologian or pious
man or sharif who comes to his town and of paymg
to each his due \Ve found him engaged m a war
with his nephews, who were m revolt We sl:ayed
there sixteen days, and when we wished to leave I
said to one of my compamons "How can we go away
without seemg this sultan ~,, So we went to the
house of the wazir, who took me by the hand and went
with me to the palace I saw there an old man wearing
skimpy and dirty garments with a turban on his head
and a kerchief as a girdle The wazfr saluted him
and I did the same, not knowing that he was the kmg,
and then I began to converse with a person I knew
who was sl:andmg beside him. When the wazir
enlightened me I was covered with confusion and made
my excuses. The kmg rose and went mto the palace,
followed by the generals and mmisl:ers and when I
entered with the wazir we found him sittmg on his
throne with the same shabby clothes on He asked
119
SELECTIONS FROM THE
me about myself and my Journey and the kmgs I had
seen, then, after food had been served, he rose and I
sa1d farewell to h1m and went away.
We set out from Hormuz to v1s1t a saintly man m
the town of KhunJubal, and after crossing the sha1t,
hired mounts from the Turkmens who live m that
country No travellmg can be done there except m
the1r company, because of their bravery and knowledge
of the roads. In these parts there 1s a desert four
days' Journey m extent, which 1s the haunt of Arab
brigands, and m which the deadly samum blows m
June and July. All who are overtaken by it perish,
and I was told that when a man has fallen a v1cbm
to this wmd and his friends attempt to wash his body
[for burial], all his limbs fall apart. 21 All along the
road there are graves of persons who have succumbed
there to this wmd. We used to travel by mght, and
halt from sunnse until late afternoon m the shade of
the trees. This desert was the scene of the exploits
of the famous brigand Jamal al-Luk, who had under
him a band of Arab and Persian horsemen. He used
to bmld hospices and entertam travellers w1th the
money that he gamed by robbery, and 1t 1s said that
he used to claim that he never employed v10lenct:
except agamst those who did not pay the tithes on
their property. No kmg could do anything again st
him, but afterwards he repented and gave himself u~
to ascetic pracbces, and his grave 1s now a place 0d
pilgrimage After traversmg these deserts we reacht:d
Kawrasl:an, a small town with runnmg streams and
orchards and extremely hot 22 From there we marcht:
through another desert l1ke the former for three da.j;
and reached the town of Lar, 23 a large town \\~~
perenmal streams and orchards and fine bazaars , h t:
lodged m a convent inhabited by a group of dan~;3 ~)
who have the followmg custom. They assem d \~~
the convent every afternoon and then go roun
120
houses m the town; at each house they are given one
or two loaves and from these they supply the needs
of travellers. The householders are used to this
pracbce and make provision for the extra loaves, m
order to assist the darwishes m their d1stnbution of
food. There 1s a Turkmen sultan m the town of Lar,
who sent us a hospitality gift, 24 but we did not v1s1t
or see him.
We went on to the town of KhunJubal, 25 the resi-
dence of the Shaykh Abu Dulaf, whom we had come
to visit. We lodged m his hermitage and he treated
me kindly and sent me food and fruit by one of his
sons. From there we Journeyed to the town of Qays,
which 1s also called Siraf.20 The people of Sir.if are
Persians of noble stock, and amongst them there 1s
a tribe of Arabs, who dive for pearls The pearl
fisheries are situated between Siraf and Bahrayn m
a calm bay like a wide nver During the months of
Apnl and May a large number of boats come to this
place with divers and merchants from Fars, Bahrayn
and Qathff. Before diving the diver puts on his face
a sort of tortoiseshell mask and a tortoiseshell clip on
his nose, then he ties a rope round his waist and dives.
They differ m their endurance under water, some of
them bemg able to stay under for an hour or two
hours or less 27 When he reaches the bottom of the
sea he finds the shells there stuck m the sand between
small stones, and pulls then out by hand or cuts them
loose with a kmfe which he has for the purpose, and
puts them m a leather bag slung round his neck.
When his breath becomes restncl:ed he pulls the rope,
and the man holdmg the rope on the shore feels the
movement and pulls h1m up mto the boat. The bag
is taken from him and the shells are opened. Inside
them are found pieces of flesh which are cut out with
a kmfe, and when they come into contacl: with the air
solidify and turn mto pearls. These are then colleB:ed,
121
large and small together; the sultan takes h1s fifth and
the rcm:under arc bought b} the merchants who are
there 1n the boats. Nlo:,l; of them are the creditors
of the divers, and they take the pearls m quittance of
their debt or so much of 1t as 1s their due.
From Sir.if we travelled to the town of Bahrayn, a
fine large town with orchards, trees and streams
\ Vatcr 1s easy to get at there, all one has to do ts to
scoop the ground with one's hands.::a It 1s very hot
and sandy, and the sand often encroaches on some of
its settlements. From Bahrayn we went to the town
of al-Quthayf [Qathit], a fine large town mhab1ted by
Arab tribes who are out-and-out Sh1'1tes and openly
proclaim 1t, fcarrng nobody Ne::-..t we Journeyed to
the town of Ha_,ar, which 1s now called al-Hasa ..:-J
It has become the subJcB.: of a proverb " Carrymg dates
to Hapr," because there are more palms there than
m any other d1slr1B.:, and they even feed their bea:,%
with the dates \Ve travelled thence to the town of
Yamama, m company with the governor of which I
30
went on to .LV!ecca to perform the pilgrimage This

was tn the 1ear r 332, the same year that al-Malik
an-Nasir, the sultan of Egypt, m1de his lasl: p1I~age.
He made munificent gifts to the mhab1tants of the
twin shrines [Ivlecca and lvfadinaJ and to the devotees
livmg there, and on the same Journey he put to death
by poisoning the amir Ahmad, ~ho, 1t 1s said, was
his own son, and his prmc1pal amtr Bekttmur the cup-
bearer, on bemg warned that they were plottmg to
assassinate him and seize the throne.
I22
CHAPTER IV
AFTER the pilgrimage I went to J udda, intending to
take ship to Yemen and India, but that plan fell
through and I could get no one to JOlll me. I stayed
at Judda about forty days There was a ship there
gomg to Qusayr [Kosa1r], and I went on board to
see what state it was m, but I was not satisfied This
was an act of providence, for the sh1 p sailed and foun-
dered m the open sea, and very few escaped. After-
wards I took ship for Aydhab, but we were driven
to a roadstead called Ra's Dawi'1r [p 107], from
which we made our way with some BeJas through
the desert to Aydhab. Thence we travelled to Edfu
and down the Nile to Carro, where I stayed for a few
days, then set out for Syria and passed for the second
time through Gaza, Hebron, Jerusalem, Ramlah, Acre,
Tripoli, and Jabala to Ladhiqiya
At Ladhiqiya we embarked on a large galley belong-
mg to the Genoese, the master of which was called
Martalmin, and set out for the country of the Turks
known as Btldd ar-Rr,m [Anatolia], because 1t was m
ancient times their land 1 Later on it was conquered
by the Muslims, but there are still large numbers of
Christians there under the government of the Turkmen
Muslims We were ten nights at sea, and the Chris-
tian treated us kindly and took no passage money
from us. On the tenth day we reached 'Alaya, where
the province begins. This country 1s one of the best
m the world, m 1t God has united the good features
dispersed throughout other lands. Its people are the
most comely of men, the cleanest m their dress, the
123
SELECTIONS FROM THE
most exquisite m their food, and the kindliest folk 1n
creation. Wherever we stopped m th1s land, whether
at a hospice or a private house, our neighbours both
men and women (these do not veil themselves) came
to ask after us. When we left them they bade us
farewell as though they were our relatives and our own
folk, and you would see the women weeping. They
bake bread only once a week, and the men used to brmg
us gifts of warm bread on the day 1t was baked, along
with dehc1ous viands, saying " The women have sent
this to you and beg your prayers " All the mhab1tants
are orthodox Sunnis, there are no secl:anans or heretics
amongst them, but they eat hash{sh [Indian hemp],
and think no harm of 1t.
The city of 'Alaya 1s a large town on the seacoast!
It 1s mhab1ted by Turkmens, and 1s v1S1ted by the
merchants of Cairo, Alexandria, and Syria. The
d1stncl: 1s well-wooded, and wood 1s exported from
there to Alexandria and Dam1etta, whence 1t 1s carried
to the other c1t1es of Egypt. There 1s a magn1ficent
and formidable citadel, bmlt by Sultan 'Ala ad-Dfn,
at the upper end of the town. The qadi of the town
rode out w1th me to meet the kmg of 'Alaya, who 15
Yusuf Bek, son of Qaraman, bek meanmg kmg m their
language. He lives at a distance of ten miles from
the city. We found him s1ttmg by himself on the
top of a hillock by the shore, with the amfrs and wazlrs
below him, and the troops on his r1ght and left Hd
has his hair dyed black. I saluted him and answere
lus questions regardmg my v1s1t to his town, and after
my withdrawal he sent me a present of money,. st
From 'Alaya I went to Antahya [Adaha], a mod
beautiful city 3 It covers an immense area, an
though of vast bulk 1s one of the most attrachve towns
to be seen anywhere, besides bemg exceedingly pop~-
lous and well laid out. Each secl:10n of the mhab~an t!
lives rn a separate quarter. The Christian mere an
r24
r RA,. E LS OF I BN BA TT O TA
h\C Ill \ qu,1rtcr of the lO\\ 11 l...llO\\ ll \<, the lVIin,i [the
Port], rnJ 1n -,urroundui h) 1 \\ di, th1., g llL::. of
\\ h1ch ,ire ~hut upon them from \\ 1thuut .1t night aml
durmg the FnJ l\ "l n 1cc 4 The Grub, \\ 110 \\ere
ns former 1nh 1h1t mt", Ii\ c b\ thcmo..ch L" 111 another
qu.1rtcr, the JL\,., 111 111othlr, rnd the king uH.i his
court 11Hi m 11nluh., 111 uwthcr, L llh of thL::iL qu 1rtLr::.
bllnl!' \\ dlu.l otr lil,c,, l'>C ThL rc-.,t of the tVlu-,lims
Inc 1n the m 11n cit\. RounJ the \\ hole tov, n rnd all
the qu 1rtcn, mentioned thlre 1-., rnoth<.r r;rL it \\.lll
The to\\ n cont 1111-., mun orch mJ..., rnJ producL::. tine
fruits, rncluJrnt! rn .1Jm1r 1blr h.1nd oi 1pncot, c 1lkd
bv them Qrn1.1r 1J-D111, \\ lrn.h h b l :,\\ CLt .umond
in 1b kernel 'l hh tnm 1..., dnLJ 1nJ L \ported to
rt, \\
F !,!) here It b ref! 1rJcJ h 1 :,!fl ll h1'Ur\.
\\ e ::it n ui hLrc lt the collce mCM]UC of thL to\\ n,
the pnnCI!' il of which \, h ~h n kh Shih 1b 1<l-Dm
.11-H.un l\\ 1. Now in di the I 1nLh 1nh.1b1tcJ b; the
Turkmens 111 .:\n Holt 1, m L\'t.n Ohtnct:, town: rnd
v1lhgc, thLrt. m: to be found munbcr::i of the org.im-
z 1t1on h.novm 1::, th1.. .!kl i, 1 or Young llrotht.rhood
~owhcr1.. 1n the \', orld \\ 111 ) ou find mLn '>O t.. 1ger to
wclcomc strJngcr~, so prompt to ~cn c food rnd to
satisfy the \\:lnb of othu-.,, mJ -.,o rt. 1dy to :,upprt.:,S
inJu~hct. :ind to kill [tyr 111n1c.li] 1gt.nts of police and
the m1~creants ,,. ho JOlll \\ 1th thcm A Young
Brothcr, or i1kl.i 111 thur l.1n~u 1gt., 1s om. who 1:,
chosen by all the mcmbcrs of h1:, trade [guild], or
by othcr }Oung unm.trnLd mLn, or those who live in
ascetic retnat, to be thc1r lc.1(kr. This orgamzJtlon
1s known also as the Tu1,w,1, or Order of Youth.
The lcadcr builds .1 hospice .rnd furn1sht..s 1t with rugs,
bmps, and other necessary applJJnces The members
of his community work during the day to gam their
livelihood, and brmg him what they have earned m
the late afternoon \V1th this they buy frmt, food,
and the other thmgs which the hospice reqmres for
125
SELECTIOXS FR011 THE
their use. If a tra\"eller co.mes to the town ~:.r c.:.,
they lodge him in their hosnice; these pron,cr:.s 5!..,~
for his enrerL2.lllIIlent as rheir guest, an-d .he s;...,:-rs :~
them until he goes a~r- If there 2.re no n-;vere:-s
rhey themselves assemble ro part2ke of the icc-3, ::::.1
having eaten it they sing and dance. On the r::.c.-:-c~
they rerurn to their occupations and bring- ~2 e-.:..--::-
ings to their leader in - the fare me~oon. T.:::
members are called fit.Jal! (youths), and their 1::-.:.:c:,
as we ha\"e said, is rhe akl:i.5
The day after our arrival at _-\.nt:ilrra one ci ~~!
youths came to Sha-vkh S.hih:fo ad-Din :tl-H.:..r:::'i\"'
and spoke to him in Turkish, -which I did not
stand at that time. He ~_s -wearing old clotl:.es ::::.1
u:-=~~
had a felt bonnet on .his head. The shaykh :;:::~ !~
m~ ~ D o you kn - ow w hat h e 1s s2.yrng
r'"' - -~o
said I "I do nor know."' He answered. - He 1s :.:.-
viting you and your company ro eat a me'l...1 mm n::::..,
I was astonished bur I said .:: V err wdl,., :md r.~~=
the man had gone I said ro the shaykh '"He is 7 pc-::
man, and is nor able to entertain us, and we .::o ::c.
like to be a burden on him." The sha..-kh burJ c::t
laughing and said -' He is one of the sbaykhs ci t.:~
Young Brotherhood. He is a cobbler, 3.Ild 2 ~
of generous disposition. His comp~ons, about r-:0
hundred men beionQUlg- to different rrades, h:n err: .. !

him their leader and h;\"e bmlr a hospice to enrer..;..;-
their guests. All that they earn by -day mey 5F::::.::
ar nig-ht."
After I had prayed the sunset prayer the s_::.rr:e
came back for us and cook us to the hosp.ce.
~t
found [ourselves in] a fine butldmg, c->4et::d :~~
be-3.uciful Turkish rug-s- and lit bv a 1:::rrgl:!
- numb:: c.
er _.,,,.-
chandeliers of 'Iciqi gbss A number or your=_-:,
stood in rows in the hall, v.~n~ long mir.clc:.:, 1 ... :
boors, and each had :1. knife aoo'ur ro-o c~b:~s -~: :-
attached co :1. girdle 2.rouna his 'W"...!St. On tn:!.: .::.:-_;,
I~6
TR A\' EI. S OF I BN B .:\TT OT A
,, ere \\ httl \\ oollcn bonnet'-, .rnd att1chcd to the pc 1k
of these bonnet-. \\,1.., 1 p:cce of ~luff 1 cubit long .rnd
mo finger:, 111 brc.llith. \\ hen the} took their :.,c.1b,
every man rcmo\Cd hh bonnet .rnd ~,ct 1t <lo\\ n in
front of him, .m<l kept on his he 1d mother om 1mcnt.1l
bonnLt of ,tlk or other m 1tcri ti. In the centre of
their h 111 \\ 1:, .1 "ort of pl 1tform pl tcl<l there for
v1s1tor:, \Vhcn \\C took our pl ice-,, the) :..encd up
a ~re tt lnnquct follo,\ lli b, in11h .uHl w . cctmc;H:.,,
.1ft'cr \\ h1ch the) bt.g1n to ,tng .rnJ to d rncc \\" c
\\ ere filled\\ 1th .1dm1r H1on 111d \\ ere (.!re 1th ,..,ton1shcd
at their opcnh.111JcJnc:-,.., 111J gcne;o..,tt\ \\" e took
lea.\c of them 1t the clo:-.e of the n1~ht JnJ lcit them
in their ho:,p1ce. ...
Tht! :,ult rn of .:\nt iln 11 Kh1dr Bek, '>On of Yimu-.
llck, \\ JS 111 \\ hen \\ c re;1..hcd the tO\\ n, but ,,. c v1:,ttcd
him on his :-,1ck-bc<l I le ..,poke to u ... \ er) kind!),
Jnd when \\C took let\<.. oi hun, :,cnt u:, 1 gift of
money
\Ve tra\cllcd on to the town of Bur<lur [Buldur],
a small pbc<.. \\ 1th m;in, orch 1rJ.., rnd :,tr<.. um,, and .1
strong fortress on 1. hilltop \Ve put up 1:, the guLst:,
of the preacher there. The brotherhood held a
meeting :rnd w1:,hc<l us to st 1y ,,. 1th th<..111, but he ,,. ould
not hear of ir, :,o they pr<..p ired .1 b 111qut..t for us rn
a garden bclongmg to on<.. of them 1111.i conducl:cd us
to the place It \\ JS n11.rvdlou:. to :,l,e the JO)' :ind
gladness with which thl-}' r<..ce1ved u:., though they
were ignorant of our hngu:igc .tnd we of th<..1rs, :ind
there was no one to mt<..rpret bct\',cen us \Ve st1.ycd
with them one day and then took our le1.vc.
From Burdur we w<..nt on to S 1bart1. [Isparta], and
then to Akridur [Eg1rd1r], .1 great and populous town
with fine bazaars. There 1s a lake with sweet water
here on which boats go m two days to Aqshahr and
Baqshshr :ind other towns :ind vilhgcs. 0 The sultan
of Akridur 1s one of the principal rulers m this country.
127
SELECTIONS FROM THE
He is a man of upright conduct and attends the after-
noon prayer at the cathedral mosque every day.
Whtle we were there his son died and after his burial
the sultan and the students went out to his grave for
three days. I went out with them the second day
and the sultan, seeing me walking, sent me a horse
with his apologies. On reachmg the madrasa I sent
back the horse, but he returned 1t saying " I gave 1t
as a gift, not as a loan." He sent me also a robe and
some money. '
We left there for the town of Qul H1sar [" Lake
Fortress "], a small town completely surrounded by
reed-grown water.7 The only way to 1t 1s by a sort
of bridge between the rushes and the water, adm1ttmg
only one horseman at a trme. The town, which 1s
on a hill m the midst of the lake, 1s impregnable.
The sultan, who is the brother of the sultan of
Akrfdur, was absent when we arrived, but after we
had stayed there some days he came back and treated
us kindly, supplying us with horses and prov1s10ns,
He sent some horsemen to escort us to the town of
Ladh1q [Demzh], as the country was mfesled by a
troop of brigands called Jarm1yan [Kermian] who
possess a town called Kutah1ya Ladh1q IS a mo st
important town, with seven cathedral mosques. In
are manufaB:ured matchless cotton fabrics with go1
1
embroidered edges, which have a very long life on
account of the excellence of the cotton and of the
spinnmg. Most of the workers are Greek women,
for there are many Greeks here, who are subJe~~o
the Muslims and pay a poll tax to the sultan. kc~
d1stm l..L
.n.1ve mark of the Greeks 1s their tall P~ u
hats, red or white, their women wear capacio h
turbans As we entered the town we passed throul
a bazaar Some men got down from their bo~ d
and took our horses' bndles, then some others obJc:1 c:
to their acbon and the altercation went on so ong
128
that some of them drew knives. We of course did
not know what they were saymg and were afraid of
them, thmkmg they were those brigands and that
this was their town At length God sent us a man
who knew Arabic, and he explained that they were
members of two branches of the " Young Brother-
hood,'1 each of whom wanted us to lodge with them
We were amazed at their generosity. It was decided
finally that they should cast lots, and that we should
lodge first with the wmner This bemg done the
prior of the first hospice, Brother Sman, conducted us
to the bath and himself looked after me, afterwards
they served up a great banquet with sweetmeats and
many frmts. Some verses of the Koran were then read
and after that they began to chant their litany and
to dance The next day we had an audience of the
sultan, who is one of the principal rulers rn Anatolia,
and on our return were met by Brother Tuman, the
prior of the other hospice, who entertamed us even
better than their friends had done, and sprmkled us
with rose water when we came out of the bath.
We stayed at Ladhiq for some time, 1n view of the
dangers of the road, then, as a caravan was ready to
set out, we travelled with them for a day and part
of the next mght and reached the castle of Tawas
[Davas J We spent the mght outside it and next
morning, on commg to the gate, we were rnterrogated
from the top of the wall. The commander then came
out with his troops, and after they had explored the
neighbourhood for fear of the robbers, their ammals
were driven out. This is their constant pracbce
From there we went on to Mughla and thence to
Milas, one of the finest and most important towns m
the country. We lodged m a convent of one of the
Young Brotherhood, who outdid by far all that our
previous hosts had done m the way of generosity,
hospitality, takmg us to the bath, and other praise-
129 K
SELECTIONS FROM THE
worthy aB:s. The sultan of Mflas 1s an excellent
ruler, and keeps company w1th theologians. He gave
us g1fts and supplied us w1th horses and prov1s1ons.
After rece1vmg the sultan's gift we left for the city
of Qumya [Koma]. It 1s a large town with fine
bmldmgs, and has many streams and f11.llt-gardens
The streets are exceedingly broad, and the bazaars
admirably planned, with each craft m a bazaar of its
own It 1s said that this c1ty was bmlt by Alexander.
It is now m the terntones of Sultan Badr ad-Dfn 1bn
Qaraman, whom we shall mention presently, but 1t
has sometimes been captured by the kmg of 'Iraq,
as 1t hes close to his terntones m th1s country We
stayed there at the hospice of the qadi, who 1s called
Ibn Qalam Shah, and IS a member of the Futuwa
His hospice 1s very large indeed, and he has a great
many d1sc1ples. They trace their affihat10,n to the
Futt,wa back to the Caliph 'AH, and the dishn&ve
garment of the order m their case 1s the trousers,8
JUSt as the Sufis wear the patched robe This qadf
showed us even greater cons1derat1on and hospitality
than our former benefaB:ors, and sent his son with us
m his place to the bath.
In this town 1s the mausoleum of the pious shaykh
Jalal ad-Din [ar-Rumi], known as Mawldnd [" Our
Masl:er "]. He was held m high esteem, and there
is a brotherhood m Anatolia who drum spmtual
affihat10n with hun and are called after hun the
Jaldliya 9 The story goes that Jala.l ad-Din was m
early hfe a theologian and a professor One day~
sweetmeat seller came rnto the college-mosque WI
a tray of sweetmeats on his head, and havmg gi~n 15
him a piece went out agam The shaykh left
lesson to follow hrm and disappeared for some year~
Then he came back, but with a disordered min '
speakmg nothmg but Persian verses which no onJ
could understand. His disciples followed him an
130
wrote down his produchons, which they colleB:ed into
a book called The Nlathna'Wi This book is greatly
revered by the people of this country, they meditate
on it, teach it, and read it rn their religious houses
on Thursday mghts From Qumya we travelled to
Laranda [Karaman], the capital of the sultan of
Qaraman. I met this sultan outside the town as he
was commg back from huntmg, and on my dismountmg
to him, he dismounted also. It is the custom of the
kmgs of this country to dismount if a visitor dismounts
to them. This a&on on his part pleases them and
they show him greater honour, if on the other hand he
greets them while on horseback they are displeased
and the visitor forfeits their goodwill rn consequence.
This happened to me once with one of these kings
After I had greeted the sultan we rode back to the
town together, and he showed me the greatest
hospitality
vVc then entered the terntones of the king of 'Iraq,
visitmg Aqsara [ Akserai], where they make sheep's
wool carpets which are exported as far as India, Chma,
and the lands of the Turks, and Journeyed thence
through Nakda [NigdaJ to Qaysariya, which is one of
the largest towns m the country In this town resides
one of the Viceroy's khatuns, who is related to the
kmg of 'Iraq, and like all the sultan's relatives has
the title of ./lgha, which means Great We visited
her and she treated us courteously, ordermg a meal
to be served for us, and when we withdrew sent us
a horse with saddle and bndle and a sum of money.
At all these towns we lodged rn a convent belongmg
to the Young Brotherhood. It 1s the custom rn this
country that Ill towns that are not the residence of
a sultan one of the Young Brothers aB:s as governor,
exercismg the same authority and appearmg m public
with the same retmue as a kmg We travelled on
to Siwas, the largest town 1n the country and residence
131
SELECTIONS FROM THE
of the king of 'Iraq's viceroy, 'Ala ad-Din Artana
We were met near the town by a party belonorncrO 0
to
t he "Young Brot her "Ah mad, and a little later b)
a party of the " Young Brother " Cheleb1, who mv1ted
us to stay with them, but we were already pledged
to the former. Our hosts showed the utmost Joy on
our arrival at their convent, and treated us with the
most perfecl: hospitality. We visited the arnir 'Al.i
ad-D{n Artana who, speakmg m excellent Arabic,
asked me about the countries I had visited and their
sovereigns, and afterwards sent us gifts. When "e
left Sfwas he wrote to his lieutenants m the towns to
give us hospitality and to supply us with prov1s10~s.
We Journeyed thence to Amas1ya, a large and beaut1fol
town with broad streets, Kum1sh [Gumush Khanah],
a populous town which 1s v1s1ted by merchants from
'Iraq and Syna and has silver mines, ArzanJan, when:
Armenians form the greater part of the population,
and Arz ar-Rum. This 1s a vast town but 1s most!}
m rums as the result of a civil war between two Turk
men tribes We lodged there at the convent of the
" Young Brother " Tuman, who was said to be more
than a hundred and thirty years old I saw him
gomg about on foot supported by a sl:aff, with hi:.
faculties unimpaired and assiduous m praying at tht:
stated times All these towns belong to the krng ot
'Iraq
We went on to the town of Birg 10 where we h.1J
been told there was a distmgutshed professor c-ilkj
Muhyi ad-Din On rcachmg the madrasa wt foun
ample garments with gold embroidery, with his

and servants on either side of him and prcct.d1..
st\rJ
him Just arnvmg, mounted on a lively mule and\\ c.irw;;
the students He gave us a kmdly wtlcomt. :in 1

rnv1tcd me to visit him after the sunset prJ}t-rh .
found him m a recept10n hall m his gJrdt.n, w ~1~
had a stream of water flowing through .1 whitt. ni ir -
I 3-:!.
basm with a nm of enamelled tiles. He was occupymg
a r::used seat covered with embroidered cloths, havmg
a number of his students and slaves st:andmg on either
side of him, and when I saw him I took him for a
kmg. He rose to greet me and made me sit next
him on the dais, after which we were served with food
and returned to the madrasa. The sultan of Birg{
was then at his summer quarters on a mountain close
by and on receivmg news of me from the professor
sent for me. When I arrived with the professor he
sent his two sons to ask how we were, and sent me
a tent of the kmd they call Klzargdh. It consists of
wooden laths put together like a dome and covered
with pieces of felt, the upper part is opened to admit
the light and air and can be closed when reqmred
Next day the sultan sent for us and asked me about
the countries I had visited, then after food had been
served we retired. This went on for several days, the
sultan mvitmg us daily to Jorn him at his meal, and
one afternoon visitmg us himself, on account of the
respect which the Turks show for theologians. At
length we both became weary of staymg on this
mountam, so the professor sent a message to the
sultan that I wished to contmue my Journey, and
received a reply that we should accompany the sultan
to his palace m the city on the followrng day Next
day he sent an excellent horse and descended with us
to the city On reachmg the palace we climbed a
long flight of stairs with him and came to a fine audience
hall with a basm of water m the centre and a bronze
hon at each corner of it s:poutmg water from its mouth
Round the hall were daises covered with carpets, on
one of which was the sultan's cushion When we
reached this place, the sultan removed his cushion
and sat down beside us on the carpets The Koran-
readers, who always attend the sultan's audiences,
sat below the daIS. After syrup and biscmts had been
1 33
SELECTIONS FROM THE
served I spoke thankmg the sultan warmly and praismg
the professor, which pleased the sultan a great deal.
As we were s1ttmg there, he said to me "Have you
ever seen a stone that has fallen from the sJ..."Y ?" I
replied "No, nor ever heard of one" "Well," he
said, " a stone fell from the sky outside this town/'
and thereupon called for 1t to be brought A grear
black stone was brough .., very hard and w1th a glitter
m 1t, I reckon its weight was about a hundredweight
The sultan sent for stone breakers, and four of them
came and struck 1t all together four times over with
iron hammers, but made no impress10n on 1t. I was
amazed, and he ordered 1t to be taken back to its place
We stayed altogether fourteen days w1th this sultan
Every mght he sent us food, fnut, sweetmeats and
candles, and gave me m addit10n a hundred pieces of
gold, a thousand dtrhems, a complete set of garments
and a Greek slave called Michael, as well as sendmg
a robe and a gift of money to each of my compamons
All this we owed to the professor Muhyi ad-Dfn-
may God reward him with good I
We went on through the town of Tira, which 1s m
the territories of this sultan, to Ay-:i Suluq [Ephesus],
a large and ancient town venerated by the Greeks. It
possesses a large church bmlt of finely hewn stones
each measurmg ten or more cubits m length The
cathedral mosque, which was formerly a church great!)
venerated by the Greeks, 1s one of the most beautifu
m the world. I bought a Greek slave girl here
forty dmars. Thence we went to Yazmir [SmyrT~'
fy
a large town on the coast, mostly m rums. e
governor 'Omar, a son of the sultan of Aydin, came
to the convent to VISit me and sent me a large hos~~
tal1ty-gift . Afterwards he gave me a youngd Gre 1ous
slave named Nicolas. He was a generous an P h
pnnce and constantly engaged m war with dt e
Christians. He had galleys, with which he use co
r3+
make raids on the environs of Constantinople the
Great, taking prisoners and booty and after spending
it all m largesse he would make another raid. Eventu-
ally the Greeks, under the pressure of his attacks,
appealed to the Pope, who ordered the Christians of
Genoa and France to make an attack on him. They
did so, and the Pope sent an army from Rome, which
captured the port and the city in a night attack. The
amir 'Omar went down from the citadel and fought
them, but he died a martyr's death together with a
number of his troops. The Christians established
themselves in the city, but could not capture the
citadel on account of its strength 11
We travelled thence to Maghn{siya [Magnesia,
now Mamsa] where we prayed the Festival Prayer [ of
the Pilgrimage J m the company of Sultan Sarukhan.
Here my slave, on taking my horses to water along
with a slave belonging to one of my companions,
attempted to escape The sultan sent m pursmt of
them, but as everyone was occupied with the festival,
they were not found They made for a town on the
coast named FuJa belonging to the infidels, I:! who
send a gift to the sultan every year, in return for which
he 1s content to leave them alone because of the
fuength of their city Next day at noon some Turks
brought them back with the horses The fugitives
had passed them the evening before, and becoming
suspicious, they had questioned them until they con-
fessed their design of escaping. We went on next
to Barghama which is in rums but has a strong
fortress on the sumnut of a hill Here we hired a
gmde and travelled among high and rugged moun-
tains to the town of BaHkasri. The sultan, whose
name is Dumur Khan, is a worthless person It
was his father who built this town, and durmg the
son's reign it attracted a vast population of knaves,
for " Like kmg, hke people" I VIsited hun and he
1 35
SELECTIONS FROM THE
sent me a silk robe. In this town I bought a Greek
slave g11l called Marguerite.
We Journeyed next to Bursa [Brusa], a great city
with fine bazaars and broad streets, surrounded by
orchards and running springs. Outside 1t are two
thermal establishments, one for men and the other
for women, to which patients come from the most
distant parts They lodge there for three days at
a hospice which was built by one of the Turkmen
kmgs In this town I met the pious Shaykh 'Abdullah
the Egyptian, a traveller, who went all round the
world, except that he never v1s1ted Chma, Ceylon,
the West, or Spam or the Negrolands, so that m visit-
mg those countnes I have surpassed him. The sultan
of Bursa IS Orkhan Bek, son of 'Othman Chuk He
1s the greatest of the Turkmen kmgs and the richest
m wealth, lands, and military forces, and possesses
nearly a hundred fortresses which he 1s continually
v1s1tmg for mspecbon and putting to nghts He
fights with the mfidels and besieges them. It was
his father who captured Bursa from the Greeks, and
1t 1s said that he besieged Y aznfk [NicreaJ for about
twenty years, but died before 1t was taken His son
Orkhan besieged 1t twelve years before captunng it,
and 1t was there that I saw him. 13 Yaznfk lies m
a lake and can be reached only by one road like a
bndge adm1ttmg only a smgle horseman at a tune
It 1s m rums and unmhab1ted except for a few men
m the Sultan's service It 1s defended by four walls
with a moat between each pa1r, and 1s entered over
wooden drawbndges. Inside there are orchards and
houses and :fields, and drmkmg water 1s obtamed from
wells I stayed m this town forty days owmg to the
illness of one of my horses, but growmg impatient
at the delay I left 1t and went on with three of:;/
compamons and a slave girl and two slave boys. 1~
had no one with us who could speak. Turkish we
136
T R A \. I, I. S O I I 13 N BA T T O T A
enough to 111tcrpret for u . . , for th<- interpreter \\ c had
ldt u ... 1t Y 1: nik Attl r IL lVJn~ th1'> to\\ n we cross<..d
1 re it n\l r c 1llcd S Hjlri [S. .1ng.mt1.i] O} .1 ferry
Thh con . . 1,lc..J of four hc 1111--. bound together with
rope", 011 \\ h1ch the p 1... ,cngcr" uc pl 1ceJ, togLthcr
\\llh th<..ir ... 1ddlei; .rnd b 1gg.1~c, 1t 1~, pullcd 1cro . . --. D)
men 011 the (urthc..r lnnk, rnd the hor!>C'> '>\\1111 bcl1111d.
The . . ,mc 111!.!ltt \\c rl~1c..hcd Kiv.i) 1 [Ghc..1\.1) .rn<l
lod::!cJ \\ 1th one ot the Brothcrhood .:\'> he n<..Jthtr
unJcr,iood Ar line nor \\ c Turh.hh, he "lent for 1
th1.olo:_:1111, \\ ho -,poh.c to u-... 111 Pcr . . 1111 1 .md not
unJer-,t.u:drn~ 11..., \\ hen \\ c ',poke .:\r.d)JC 1 c\CU:;,c.d
h1m.;df to the hrothtr . . 1:, 111g- /r/ i: ',.r,1U k.d,11,1
1 ,,,,...I _,~ .. ,;,. /1 ,., t 1.. , ~.r.. 111,,J 11.. ,n1, \\ l11c.. I1 111t.l 11!:>
1111( I ,
., Thu-e n1l 11 "!''- 1k rnu1.nt .:\nhic rn<l I h.110\\ onh

moL11.rn .:\r.1b1c,. I fr 11d th1" onlv to -...h1clJ lumsclf
from d1!:,gr1n, for th<.\ rnought he kn<..W 1\r161c, \\hen
in re tlt\ he t 11d not h.no\\ It But th1:, turnc.d out
to be of ,crv1ce to lb, for the broth1..r, th111k1ng th 1t
thrng.., \\ere rL illy 1::. he h t<l "ud, ... ho\\e<l U!:> the.
~rL Hv,1 co11...,1JL r 1t1on ~-1' UH! '' Th cs<.. mc.n mu~l be
honour 1bh trt Ht<l, ... 1nce "rh1..y '>pc1k the 1nc1ent
.Ar 1b1c ton gut, which \\ 1" the tongu<.. of the Proph<-t
.ind hi,; Comp rn1011s" I <l1<l not undcr~1.md JUst
thcn wlnt the th1..olog1 rn h.1d ~;11J, but the !:>Ound of
!11s \\or<l~ ~tuck 111 mv m1..mon .rnd when I le:1rncd
the Pcr'>1 lll I lllgu.1ge, I found ~ut their mc:1nmg
\Ve ~putt th.it mght .it th<- ho~p1c1.., 111d the Brother
sent :1 guide with ti'- to Y.rn1J 1 [T:1r:1kh], which 1s
a fin<.. I 1rge town. \Ve sl: 1rted to look for the akhi's
hospice, and found one of those cr.1zy d.1rwfshcs, so
I s11d to him '' b this the 1khi'~ hospice ;l" He
replied na' am [" Y1..s "], .md I felt so plc:1sed at having
found someone who knew Arabic But when I
tested him further the cat was out of the bag, for
11a' t1m wJ.s the only word of Arabic he knew \V c
put up at the hospice, and one of the students brought
1 37
SELECTIONS FROlvI THE
food to us The akhf himself was away, but \\e
became very fnendly with this student Though he
knew no Arabic, he was very krnd to us, and spol..e
to the governor of the town, who gave me one of his
:11ounted men to take us to Kaynuk [Kevmk]. Kaynti~
1s a small town m the ternt1nes of Sultan Orkhan Bek,
mhab1ted by mfidel [Christian J Greeks under l\!Ius!tm
protecbon. There 1s only one household of lVIushm~
m the place, and that belongs to the governors of the
Greeks, so we put up at the house of an old rnfidd
woman. This was m the season of snow and r-un
She treated us well, 14 and we spent that ntght m her
house Now this town has no trees or vineyards, the
only thmg cultivated there 1s saffron, and the old
woman brought us a great quantity of it, thmktng
that we were merchants and would buy it from her.
When we mounted our horses m the morning, the
horseman whom the member of the Brotherhood h1J
sent with us from Kaynuk came to us and provide~
us with another horseman to guide us to the town or
Muturni. The road was obliterated by a ht!avy t.ill
of snow the previous mght, so our guide went on
ahead of us and we followed his tracks About mid
day we came to a village of Turkmens, who brought
us food, of which we ate The horseman spoke to
them and one of them went on with us He led U)
over difficult and mountamous country, and a mer
channel which we crossed more than thirty
When we got clear of this the guide asked U:, or
timt
some money, but we said "\Vhen we reach the cov,n
we shall give you plenty." He was not s:1t1sfid or
else did not understand, for he took a bow bdong,w_; cni:"
to one of our party and went off a lit cl e wa:,, ',C:
h!":
returned and o-ave the bow back I h
t en g:1 ,
1
a little money t:>an d h e too k 1t an d d ec:im pt:d , t:.LVIr~,,
us with no idea which way to go and wic h 11[ ,: ni
v1s1ble to us About sunset we c1mt: co t
r38
T RAVF LS OF I U~ ll A T T O T ,\
\\h1ch \\C coulJ m 1J..c out the tr 1ck by .1 qu.mt1ty of
s1onc::, on 1t I \, JS .1fr 11<l th.it both I .111<l my com-
p:1mon" might pcri~h, b I c.. '\pc..tl:LJ more !>now to
fill 111J the pl.ice \\ 1-. u11111h 1b1tc..d, 1f \\ c.. J1::,mountc<l
\\ c \\ ere Joomcd rnd 1f \\ c \\ cnt on \\ c JJ(l not know
the ro.1d. I h iJ 1 t.:ood hor, c ho\, c..vcr, !>O I !>.u<l co
mpclf ' 1 If l rc1d1 \1fct) puh.1p, I 111,l) contrI\L to
s we m, comp 1111011,," 111J commcnd111 them to God,
I !>Ct off. .At length 111 the l 1tc C\ c.nrng I c.1111c to
some homv, rnd . , 11d '' 0 C,oJ, ~rint they m 1y b1..
rnh 1b1tcJ" I fourhi th it the. y ,, en. rnh tl)ltcd, .rnd
God of hi" goodnc'-'.> kJ me to 1 rc.l1g1ou:. house
bdonu111g to ..,omc d tr\, j.,hc!:> \\'hen the., he 1r<l me
spe 1krng-..__ u the door, one. oft hem c 1111c u'ut, he \\ b
t 111111 whom I knc..\\', 111d I 1dvl',cd h11n to go out
\\ ah the d 1n\ i-.hc., to dc.11\c:r nn c.omp 1111011s Thc..,y
did ::,o 111J ::,c.t out \\ 1th me, .md .,o \\ c di re 1ch1..d th<..
con, cnt rn s t!ct:, pr the be to God :Vlo-,t High for
our sJfc..t) 1 E;ich d tn\ j..,h brought u:. wh.u food h1..
could 1nd our d1::,trc.::,::, \\ h rc.1110\ Ld
\Vc sLt out llL\.t morning rnd re. 1ch1..d .iv!uturni
[Ivlu<lurlu], whc..r<.. \\ c fc.11 in \\ 1th 1 pdgrnn who knew
Anb1c \Vc.., bc.'.>OUght him to tr.wd with us to
1
Q1~l 1mtllll) 1, \t,,hllh ~1::, tc..n <l,l)S Journ1..y from thcn:,
I g.1v1., him 111 Eg) pt1111 robc of m1n1.. rnd some monc 1
for currult c\.p<..mc.,;, which he left with !us fam1ly,
.i.n<l .1ss1gn1..J him 1 mount, prom1::,111g lrnn a good
rt!ward I-I<.. turned out to bc .1 wc.1lthy man, but ot
b:1st! ch.ir 1cl:cr. \V c used to give h11n money for our
C'\pt!ns1..s, and h1.. would takt! the bread tint was lctc
over and buy sp1c1..s, herb!:, .ind salt with 1t, and appro-
pn:1tt! thc money for thcsc I wa!:, told too th.it ht.
used to ska! part of tht! monc1 that wc gave him for
our c:-.penscs. \V c put up with him because of our
d1fficult1cs m not knowing Turkish, but thmgs went
so far that we used to !:>ay to !um m the cvenmg!:,
"\Vcll, H1JJi, how much have you stolen tod,1y ?"
r39
SELECTIONS FROlVI THE
He would reply" So much" and we would laugh and
make the best of 1t We came next to the town ot
B1tli, where we stayed at a convent of the Young
Brotherhood What an excellent body of men the)e
are, how nobleminded, how unselfish and full ot
compass10n for the stranger, how kmdly and affec-
t10nate they are to him, how warm their welcome to
him I A stranger coming to them 1s made to feel
as though he were meettng the dearest of his O\rn
folk Next mornrng we travelled on to Garadi Bulf,
a large and fine town situated on a plam, with spaciou)
streets and bazaars, but one of the coldest towns m
the world. It 1s composed of several different quartm~
each inhabited by different commumties, none ot
which mixes with any of the others. The sultan,
who 1s one of the less important rulers 1n this count!"},
1s a fine-lookmg and upright man, but not hber.il
He came to v1s1t us at the religious house and sb,ed
for an hour, askrng me about my travels, and after-
wards sent me a saddled horse and a robe.
!'-,( 1We
1
went on through a small town named Burlu"'
t~ Qastamumya, a very large and fine town, rn which
goods are plentiful, and prices cheaper than I h.ivc:
ever seen elsewhere. We stayed m the convent ot
a very deaf shaykh and I saw an astomshmg thing in
connechon with h1m One of his students used c1
wnte w1th h1s finger m the air or on the ground Jn
he would understand and reply Sometimes long
stones were told h1m m this way vVe re1;1amed ht.t
about forty days. The sultan of Qastamun1ya 1:, t
illusl:nous Sulayman Padshah, a man over St. \C:flf~
years of age with a fine face and long be:ird, a s1lt~ '
and venerable fiaure I VISlted him m his rect.r!U~
hall and he made me sit beside him :ind :iske rb:
about my travels He then commanded mu to. ~
lodged near him, and gave me on the same.. d tj .1 w-
1 u ur-
1
white horse and a robe, bcs1 d es ass1gnrng n c..

r+o
for my expenses and forage. Later on he gave me
an ass1gnat10n of wheat and barley from a village
half a day's Journey from the town, but I could not
find anyone to buy 1t because of the cheapness of
prov1s1ons, so I gave 1t to the pilgrim who was m our
company. It 1s a custom of this sultan's to take his
seat m the audience chamber every afternoon, food 1s
served and the doors are opened and no one, whether
townsman or nomad, stranger or traveller, 1s prevented
from partakmg.
From Qastamumya we travelled to Sanub [Smope],
a populous town combmmg strength with beauty It
1s surrounded by sea except on the east, where there
1s only one gate which no one 1s allowed to enter
without permission from the governor, Ibrahim Bek,
who IS a son of Sulayman Padshah Outside the town
there are eleven VIllages mhab1ted by Greek infidels.
The cathedral mosque at Sanub 1s a most beautiful
bmldmg, constructed by Sultan Parwanah He was
succeeded by his son Ghaz Chelebi, at whose death
the town was seized by Sultan Sulayman. Ghazi
Cheleb{ was a brave and audacious man, with a
peculiar capacity for swimming under water He used
to sail out with his war vessels to fight the Greeks,
and when the fleets met and everyone was occupied
with the fightmg he would dive under the water
carrymg an iron tool w1th which he pierced the
enemy's ships, and they knew nothmg about 1t until
all at once they sank.
We stayed at Sanub about forty days wa1tmg for
the weather to became favourable for sa1lmg to the
town of Q1ram 10 Then we hired a vessel belongmg
to the Greeks and waited another eleven days for a
favourable wmd At length we set sail, but after
travelling for three nights, we were beset m mid-sea
by a terrible tempest. The storm raged with un-
paralleled fury, then the wmd changed and drove us
141
SELECTIONS FROM THE
back nearly to Sanub. The weather cleared and we
set out again, and after another tempest hke the
former, we at length saw the hills on the land. We
made for a harbour called Karsh [Kerch], mtendmg
to enter it, but some people on the hill made signs
to us not to enter, and fearing that there were enemy
vessels m the port, we turned back along the coast.
As we approached the land I said to the master of the
ship "I want to descend here," so he put me ashore.
The place was m the Q1pchaq desert wh1ch 1s green
and verdant, but flat and treeless. There 1s no fire-
wood so they make fires of dung, and you will see
even the highest of them p1ckmg 1t up and puttmg
It m the sk1rts of the1r garments. The only method
of travellmg m this desert 1s m waggons, 1t extends
for s1x months' Journey, of which three are m the
terntones of Sultan Muhammad Dzbeg 17 The day
after our arrival one of the merchants m our company
hired some waggons from the Q1pchaqs who mhab1t
this desert, and who are Christians, and we came to
Kafa, a large town extendmg along the sea-coast,
inhabited by Chnsbans, mostly Genoese, whose
governor 1s called Damdfr [DemetriaJ18
We stayed at Kafa m the mosque of the M ushms.
An hour after our arrival we heard bells rmgmg on
all sides. As I had never heard bells before,19 I was
alarmed and bade my compamons ascend the minaret
and read the Koran and issue the call to prayer They
drd so, when suddenly a man entered wearing armour
and weapons and greeted us He told us that he was
the qadf of the Muslims there, and said " When I
heard the readmg and the call to prayer, I feared for
your safety and came as you see,, Then he went
away, but no evil befel us The next day the governor
came to us and entertamed us to a meal, then we went
round the city and found 1t provided with fine bazaars
All the inhabitants are mfidels We went down to
r42
the port and saw a magnificent harbour with about
two hundred vessels rn 1t, ships of war and tradmg
vessels> small and large> for it 1s one of the most notable
harbours 111 the world.
\Ve hired a waggon and tr .l.Vclled to the town
of Qiram> which forms part of the terntones of
Sultan Ozbcg Kh.in and has a governor called Tuluk-
tumur. On hearing of our arnv.tl the governor sent
the 1mim to me with a horse, he hunself was 111> but
we v1s1tcd him and he treated us honourably and gave
us gifts He w.1s on the point of settmg out for the
town of Sar.i, the capital of the Kh,in> so I prepared
to travel along with him and hired waggons for that
purpose These waggons have four large wheels and
are drawn by two or more horses, or by oxen or camels,
accordrng to their weight The driver rides on one
of the horses and carries a whip or wooden goad
On the waggon is put a light tent made of wooden
L1ths bound with strips of Jude and covered with felt
or blanket-cloth, and 1t has grilled wmdows so that
the person 1ns1de can see without bemg seen. One
can do anythmg one likes rns1de, sleep, eat, read or
write, during the march. The waggons conveymg
the baggage and provisions are covered with a similar
tent which 1s locked
We set out with the amir Tuluktumur and his
brother and two sons At every halt the Turks loose
their horses, oxen and camels, and drive them out to
pasl:ure at liberty> mght or day> without shepherds or
guardians. This 1s due to the seventy of their laws
against theft Any person found tn possession of a
sl:olen horse 1s obliged to restore 1t with ntne others,
1f he cannot do this, his sons are taken msl:ead> and 1f
he has no sons he is slaughtered like a sheep They
do not eat bread nor any solid food> but prepare a
soup with a kmd of millet, and any meat they may
have 1s cut mto small pieces and cooked 1n this soup
r43
S E L E C T I O N S F R O l\tl TH E
Everyone is given his share in a plate "~Ith curd.led
mtlk, and they drmk it, afterwards drinkmo- 0
curdlied
mare's milk, which they call qttmtzz. They h:l\-e also
a fermented drmk prepared from the same gram,
which they call b:faa [beerJ and regard as bwtul to
drink. It is white m colour, I tasted 1t once .md found
it bitter, so I left 1t alone They regard the eatmg
of sweetmeats as a disgrace One day dunno-
Ramadan I presented Sultan Ozbeg with a pbce ot
sweetmeats which one of my compamons had made,
but he did no more than touch them with his finger
and then place 1t m his mouth
Eighteen s1:at10ns after leavmg Qiram we came ro
a great expanse of water which took us a whole d.1;
to ford.!!O The crossmg becomes very muddy and
difficult when many beasts and waggons have crossed,
so the amfr, thmkmg of my comfort, sent me on ahead
with one of his smte and wrote a letter for me to the
governor of Azaq urging him to treat me honourabl}
"\Ve crossed a second sheet of water, which requm.:d
half a day to ford, and on the third da1 from there,
reached Azaq [Azov], which 1s on the se.i coaft le
1s a wellbmlt town, v1s1ted by the Genoese and ocher
merchants. The governor, on recc1vmg the anm
Tuluktumur's letter, came out to meet me, along with
the qadi and the students, and sent out food J\fo:r
greetmg him, we dismounted and ate, then \H:nc on
to the town, outside which \\'C campep. , T\W dap
later the amir arnved, and was met with grc1c cer<..-
mony. A banquet was prepared for him in .1 sp(..CtJll)
prepared tent of coloured silk, and_whcn he d1smo~nt(..J
pieces of silk were l::11d dov, n tor him to ,,, .d~ on
Out of his generosity he mJde me: prc..ccdc.. him, 111
order that the governor should su: th(... high c..:,tc..un
rn which he held me, and made.. me s1t on _a gn. .1c
chair which had been placed for him, h1msc..lt :,lttl!lJ
be::,1de me, \', hilt: his rno sons and h1s broch1..r :in,!
r++
S E L E C T I O N S F R O ivl THE
racehorses are brought from Yemen, 'Om.in and FJrs,
and they cost from a thousand to four thous:ind drn u::,
each
From Azaq I went on to lvfapr, cravcllmg bt>hmd
the amir Tuluktumtir It 1s one of the find1 of the
Turkish c1t1e~, and 1s situated on J. great rn er - In
the bazaar of this city I met a Je\\, who greeted me
rn Arabic and told me that he had come from Sp11n
He said that he had come overland, through Con-
sb.ntinop1e the Great, Anatolia and the bnd of the.,
C1rcassians [Tr:mscaucas1a], and that the Journe; h 1J
taken four months The travelling merchant::,, \\ ho
know about these matters, assured me of the truth of
his statement.
A remarkable thing which I saw in thrs countr1
was the respect shown to women by the Tur!..::,, tor
they hold a more dignified pos1t10n than the mc..n.
The first time that I saw a prmces::, w.1s ,1,hrn, on
leaving Qiram, I saw the wife of the amir tn ht'r
waggon. The entire waggon was covered ,,,1th _rtLh
blue '\\ oollen cloth, and the wmdo\\ s and doors ot tht
tent were open. \V1th the princess ,1,erc four m uJc..n:,,
exqms1tely beautiful and richly dressed, rnd bt-hrnJ
her \\ere a number of ,1,,aggons \Hth m:11dens bdongrn~
to her smte \Vhen she came ne1r the amir's c unp
she al10-hted
::, with about th1rtv . of tht.. m.uJc..n:, \\ },o
earned her tram. On her g.1rmc..nts tht:rL \\ t.n., loop:,,
of which each maiden took one, and ltfccJ hc.r er un
clear of the ground on all s1dt.s, 1nJ t>hL \\ .tH.u.i 111
this stately manner \Vhen she rt. 1cht.J thL .1m1r he..
rose before her --ind gru:ttd ha and .., lt htr bt~-k
him, with the m.11dens ~ rndmg rounJ ht.r ~J..l!!J vr
fj'IJJ'JZZ \1,t'fC brought :ind ::,hL, pourlll~ ::,(.)Ult: tn[O I l
cup, knelt be.fore h11:1 rnJ g \Vt! 1t to f,u.m, ttt,<.rn 1,r:.:
pouring out 1 cup tor hi:, brothc.r 1 hrn mi:. .1 r
poured-out :1 cup for hi:r rnd fooJ \\ J:, brou~hc :n J': !
she ate \\ 1ch him. Ht. rhc:n g,t"'- hc..r .1 robe. .rnd .,;i::
q6
withdrew. I saw also the wives of the merchants and
commonalty. One of them will ~1t m a waggon which
1s bemg drawn by horses, attended by three or four
maidens to carry her tram, and on her head she wears
a conical headdress mcrusl:ed with pearls and sur-
mounted by peacock feathers. The wmdows of the
tent are open and her face 1s v1s1ble, for the Turkish
women do not veil themselves Sometimes a woman
will be accompamed by her husband and anyone
seemg him would take him for one of her servants,
he has no garment other than a sheep's wool cloak
and a high cap to match
vV e then prepared for the Journey to the sultan's
camp, which was four days' march from Mapr rn a
place called Bishdagh, which means " Five moun-
tams " 23 In these mountams there 1s a hot spring
1n which the Turks bathe, cla1mmg that 1t prevents
illness vVe arrived at the camp on the firsl: day of
Ramadan and found that 1t was movmg to the neigh-
bourhood from which we had JUSt come, so we returned
thither. I set up my tent on a hill there, fixmg a
standard 111 the ground 111 from of 1t, and drew up the
horses and waggons behrnd Thereupon the mahalla
approached (the name they give to 1t 1s the ordu)
and we saw a vasl: town on the move with all its
mhabitants, contammg mosques and bazaars, the
smoke from the kitchens rismg 111 the air (for they
cook while on the march), and horse-drawn waggons
transportmg them. On reachmg the encampment
they took the tents off the waggons and set them upon
the ground, for they were very light, and they did
the same with the mosques and shops The sultan's
khatuns passed by us, each separately with her own
retinue The fourth of them, as she passed, saw the
tent on top of the hill with the standard 111 front of
it, which 1s the mark of a new arrival, and sent pages
and maidens to greet me and convey her salutations,
1 47
mounts to the throne. All tlus t.1kes place m view
of the whole people, without any screening
On the morrow of my interview with the sultan I
visited the principal kh.'itun TaytughH, who is the
queen and the mother of the sultan's two sons. She
was sitting m the midsl of ten aged women, who
appeared to be servants of hers, and had m front of
her about fifty young maidens with gold and silver
salvers filled with cherries which they were cleanmg.
The khitun also had a golden tray filled with cherries
in front of her and was cleaning them. She ordered
q11mtzz to be brought and with her own hand poured
out a cupful and gave it to me, which is the highesl
of honours m their eshmation. I had never drunk
qttmtzz before, but there was nothing for me but to
accept it. I tasled 1t, but found it disagreeable and
passed it on to one of my companions The following
day we visited the second khitun Kebek and found
her sittmg on a divan readmg the holy Koran She
also served me with q11mtzz. The third khatun
Bayalun is the daughter of the Emperor of Con-
slantmople the Great.24 On visitmg her we found
her sittmg on a throne set with Jewels, with about
a hundred maidens, Greek, Turkish and Nubian,
sl:andmg or sitting m front of her. Behmd her were
eunuchs and m front of her Greek chamberlains
She asked how we were and about our journey and
the distance of our native lands, and wept, m pity and
compassion, Wlpmg her face w1th a handkerchief that
lay before her. She ordered food to be served and we
ate m her presence, and when we desired to ]eave she
said " Do not sever relations with us, but come often
to us and mform us of your needs." She showed
great kmdness to us and after we had gone sent us
food, a great quantity of bread, butter, sheep, money,
a magnificent robe and thirteen horses, three good
ones and ten of the ordmary sort. It was w1th this
r49
SELECTIONS FROM THE
khatun that I made my Journey to Cornftantrnople
the Great, as we shall relate hereafter. The fourth
khatun 1s one of the best, most amiable and sympa-
thetic of princesses. We visited her and she showed
us a kindness and generosity that cannot be surpassed.
By the sultan's daughter however we were treated
with a generosity and kmdness that no other khatun
showed us, she loaded us with surpassing favours,
may God reward her !
I had heard of the city of Bulghar25 and desired to
visit 1t, m order to see for myself what they tell of the
extreme shortness of the mght there and also the
shortness of the day m the opposite season. It was
ten nights' Journey from the sultan's camp, so I
requested that he would give me a gmde to take me
to 1t, and he cird so We reached 1t m the month
of Ramadan, and when we had breakfasted after the
sunset prayer we had Just sufficient tune for the night
prayers before dawn. I stayed there three days I
had mtended to visit the Land of Darkness,26 which
1s reached from Bulghar after a Journey of forty days,
but I renounced the proJeB: m view of the difficulty
of the journey and the small profit to be got out of it
The only way of reaching 1t 1s to travel on sledges
drawn by dogs, for the desert bemg covered w1th 1ce,
neither man nor beasl: can walk on 1t without shppmg,
whereas the dogs have claws that gnp the 1ce. The
Journey 1s made only by nch merchants who have
a hundred sledges or thereabouts, loaded with food,
drmk and firewood, for there are neither trees, stones
nor h~b1tat:Ion m 1t The gwde 1n this country 1s the
dog which has made the Journey many times, and the
value of one of these reaches a thousand dmars The
sledge is tied to its neck and three other dogs are
yoked with 1t 1t 1s the leader, the other dogs following
1t with the ~ledges, and where it stops they stop
Its owner never beats or chides it, and when food 15
150
TR A\" 1: LS O l I Bl\ Bi\ TT OT A
nuJc the \log:, .m.: ::,t n cJ fir~t bLfore the men; other-
w1::,c the [k 1d1n::!] Jog 1::, .tngLrcd .rnd c,c 1pe..,, k.1vmg
1b O\\ ncr to pcm,h \\'hLn the tr n dkr::. h.1ve com-
l'lctc\i fort, ..,t 1bc, the\ 1light .lt thL D 1rkne~::, E 1ch
one of thun k 1\L.., the good.., ht. h.1::. brought there
mJ the) r<.turn to thur u::.u 11 c.11np111g-grou11d Ne'\t
J n thL \' go b.h.k to '-,LLk their gooJ..,, .md tind oppo,1te
them ::ih.111s of :, 1blc, llllll<...\cr, rnd crmrnc If the
m<.rch int 1, ::i1t1..,1iul \\ 1th th<... c,clungc hL t,1ke::, them,
but 1f not he l<. \\,.., them The rnh d)lt.mt::. thLn add
more :,k111..,, but ::.omLt1mc.., tht-\ t 1h.c l\\ 1\ thur good::.
1nJ le n <.. the mcrch 111t\. Thi::, 1::. th<..tr mLtholi of
Lomm<.rCL Thu:,1.. \\ ho go th<.r<.. do not knO\\ whom
the, .1r<.. tr tlhng \\ 1th or \~ hcth<.r th<..\ bL Jllln or men,
for th<..) nLVLr ',LC ,111\ 0nL.
l returned from Buh.d1 lr with the .1m1r whom the
:,ult tn h h.i ::,Lnt to 1c~omp.111y me, mJ foun<l the
11.i/.,;//,1 1t B1sh<l 1gh on the :tith of H. un.1d in \Vhcn
the ccremomc:. ofth<.. 1't.:.11v 11 [.n the do::ic of the month
of f.i::i1111g] W<..rL over \\ L ::iLt out \\ 1th the :,ult.in md
th<.. m,z/1,1/1,1 .md c une to the town of I-H.1J T.u kh.in
[Astr.1khan] It 1::, on<.. of the fincst of c1t1cs, with
grc1t b.1l.1.1rs, and 1::, built on th<.. nv<..r lt1l (Volg.1.J,
which 1s one of the gr<..,lt nvcrs of thc world In the
wmtcr 1t frccles over .ind the pcoplc tr 1vcl on 1t m
slcdgcs, .3omct1mcs c.1ravJns eras::, 1t tow1rds thc cnd
of winter .md arc drowncd On rc 1ch111g this town
the kh.itun B.1y.1lun rcqucsled thc :.ult.111 to permit
her to v1s1t her father, thc k111g of the Greeks, that she
might give birth to hcr child .1.t her home and return
agam to hun He gave hcr pcrm1ss1on and then I too
asked lum to .11low me to go 111 her company to see
Constantmople the Gr<.at. He demurred, fcarmg for
my safety, but I said, "I sh.tll go under your patronage
and protccbon and I shall have nothmg to fear from
anyone." Thereupon he gave me pcrm1ss1on and we
bade him farewcll. He pre::iented me with r ,500 dinars,
151
~ELECTIONS FROM THE
a rolh. , ,tnd .L l.1rgc number of horses, and each khatun
ga\c me 11tgotti of t.1lvcr. The sult,rn's daughter gave
mt. more tl1.1n they did, along with a robe and a horse,
t.o I found my::,clf 1n pos:,css1on of a considerable
qu.lnt1ty of hor::.cs, g.1rmcnts, and furs of sable and
mtncvc.r.
\Vt set o_ut on th~ tenth of Shawwal 111 the company
of th<- kh.1tun Dayalun and under her protccbon. The
::,ult Ul e-,corte<l her one t.1agt., then returned, he and
the qw. . <-11 ,tnd tht. heir to the throne, the other khatuns
.1<..comp.lrnt.d ht.r for :1 second :,1arTc and then returned
The .unir B,\) J.u ,\ \\ 1th fivt. thou~and troops travelled
\\-tth her, .rnd her O\\ll troop::. numbered about five
hundnd hor:,emcn, two hundn.d of whom were her
attt..ncl.rnt ::,l.1v<-s .rnd Greeks, and the remainder Turks
Sht. had \\ 1th ht.1 ilso about two hundred maidens,
mo:,1 of whom were Greeks, and about four hundred
carb .m<l .1bout two thousand draught and ndmg
hor::,c:,, .1s wdl .1::. three hundred oxen and two hundred
cameb Shi.: h.1d also t(..n Greek youths and the same
number of Ind1.rns, ,i,hose leadcr-m-ch1ef was ca11ed
Sunbul tht! Ind1.m; the lc:u.icr of the Greeks was a
man of conspicuous braver} called Michael, but the
Turks g.1vc }11m the name of Lu'lu' [Pearl]. She left
moJl ot her m udens and her baggage at the sultan's
camp, smcc she h.1d set out only to pay a visit vVe
mad1.. for Ukak, -7 .1 medrnm-s1zed town, with fine
bu1ldrng:,, plent1fully supplied with natural produ&,
.rnd c..:-..trcmdy cold. A day's march from this town
arc.. the mountams of the Russians. These are Chris-
tians, red-haired and blue-eyed, with ugly faces and
treacherous. In their country are silver mmes and
thence arc brought the ingots of silver with which
sellrng and buying 1s done m this land The weight
of each of these ingots 1s five ounces.
After ten nights' travellmg from this town we
arrived at the town of Surdaq, which 1s on the sea
152
T R A V E L S O l l ll N ll 1\. T T U T A
coa~t: of the Q1pch.1q de::.ert, .md po!)::,e::,ses one of the
b1ggdl rnd fim. st of harbour~.:.! _Outside 1t th~r; .1re
orcll.lrd!:> .rnJ :,enng:,, rn<l 1t 1~ rnlub1ted by lurks
.rnd a number ot Greek:, under thur dom1111011. These
Grc...c:ks 1rc 1rt1~1n:, .rn<l most of their houses arc made
of ,, ooJ Th1!) to,, n \\ .1~ formerly .1 btg one, but
mo:,1 of it w 1s I.11d 111 nun~ .1s the n. sult of a quarrd
which broke out bet\\ cc...11 the; Greeks rnd the Turks
At fir:,t the Grc...d.. s h 1d the upper h.md, but the Turks
on rccuvmg .1:,s1s1.rncc from thc...1r fdlo,,-countrymcn
killc...d the Grc...d":, 1crnor:,dc...:,::,ly and c,pdlcd most of
them Somt. of them ~111 rem un there .is subJLCl:s
of the Turk:,, At e\'lry h 1.ltmg pl.Kc m this land
the kh.itun received ho~p1t 1ht)-g1fts of horse:,, shu.p,
cattle, m1lkt, q:mwzz, .mJ the milk of co,,:, .ind !:>ht:cp
In thc...se countries travdhng 1s done 111 the forenoon
and 111 the evc...mng Evc...11 governor escorted the
khatun ,,. 1th h1s troop:, right to the frontier of his
terntonc...s, to show her honour, not through fc:ir for
her safety, for these land!:> an, quite s.1fc \Ve came
nc:-..t to the town known by the name of B.ib.t Saltuq,-D
,vho, they say, was an edbttc m} :foe, though sloncs
arc told of achons by hun which arc condemned by
the law. This 1s the last town 1n Turkish territory
From here to the beginning of Greek territory 1t
lS a JOUrney of eighteen days throush Ulllllhab1ted
desert> for eight d.1ys of which there 1s no w iter, so
a stock of water 1s laid 111 and earned m hrgt. and small
skins on the waggons. As 1t was m the cold weather
that we passed through we did not need much water,
and everythrng went wdl with us, praise be to God !
At the end of this march "c reached the fortress of
Mahtuli, at the frontier of the tern tones of the Greeks.30
The Greeks had heard that tlus kh.itun was returning
to her country, and there came to this fortress to meet
her the Greek K1fali 31 Nicolas, with .1 l.1.rge army and
a large hosp1tahty-g1ft, accompanied by the prmcesses
1 53
SELECTIONS FROM THE
and nurses from the palace of her father, the king
of Constantinople. From Mahtull to Conshntmople
is a Journey of twenty-two days, sixteen to the canal,
and six thence to Constantinople. From this fortress
one travels on horses and mules only, and the waggons
arc left behind there on account of the rough ground
and the mountains Kifali had brought many mules,
six of which the kh:itun sent to me. She also com-
mended to the care of the governor of the fortress
those of my companions and of my slaves whom I
had left behind with the waggons and baggage, and
he assigned them a house. The commander Baydara
returned with his troops, and none travelled on w1th
the khatun but her own people. She left her mosque
behind at the fort and the prachce of calling to prayer
was abolished. As part of her hosp1tality-g1fts she
was given mtox1catmg liquors, which she drank, and
swine, and I was told by one of her smte that she ate
them. No one remained with her who prayed except
one Turk, who used to pray with us. Sentiments
formerly hidden were revealed because of our entry
into the land of the mfidels, but the khatun charged
the amir K1faH to treat us honourably, and on one
occasion he beat one of h1s guards because he had
laughed at our prayer
Thereafter we reached the fortress of Maslama 1bn
'Abd al-Malik, which 1s at the foot of a mountam
beside a swift-runnmg nver called Istafill Noth111g
1s left of th1s fortress except 1ts rums, but outside It
1s a large village. Thence we Journeyed for two days
and reached the canal, on the bank of which there 15
a large village. We found a nsmg tide on the canal
and waited till the ebb set m before fordmg it, its
breadth bemg about two miles We then went four
miles through sand and reached the second canal, and
forded 1t, its breadth bemg about three miles Thed
we went about two miles through stones and san
r54
and reached the third canal when the tide had begun
to nse, so we had some trouble to ford 1t, 1ts breadth
bemg one mile. The breadth of the entire canal
therefore, counting both water channels and dry
stretches, is twelve miles. In the ramy season it 1s
filled entirely with water and cannot be forded except
m boats On the bank of this third canal 1s the town
of Fanika, small but beautiful and strongly fortified
Its churches and houses are beautiful, it is traversed
by streams and surrounded by orchards, and m 1t
grapes, pears, apples and qmnces are preserved from
one year to the next We stayed m this town three
mghts, the khatun bemg lodged m one of her father's
castles there.
Then her brother, whose name was K1fali Qaras,
arrived with five thousand horsemen, fully accoutred
m armour. When they prepared to meet the prmcess,
her brother, dressed in white, rode a grey horse,
having over his head a parasol ornamented with Jewels.
On his nght hand he had five prmces and the same
number on his left hand, all dressed m white also, and
with parasols embroidered m gold over their heads.
In front of him were a hundred foot soldiers and a
hundred horsemen, who wore long coats of mail over
themselves and their horses, each one of them leadmg
a saddled and armoured horse carrymg the arms of
a horseman, consistmg of a Jewelled helmet, a breast-
plate, a bow, and a sword, and each man had m his
hand a lance with a pennant at its head Most of
these lances were covered with plaques of gold and
silver These led horses are the ndmg horses of
the sultan's son His horsemen were divided mto
squadrons, two hundred horsemen m each squadron.
Over them was a commander, who had m front of
him ten of the horsemen, fully accoutred m armour,
each leadmg a horse, and behmd him ten coloured
standards, earned by ten of the horsemen, and ten
1 55
SELECTIONS FROM THE
kettledrums slung over the shoulders of ten of the
horsemen, with whom were six others sound.mg
trumpets and bugles and fifes. The khatun rode
out with her guards, maidens, slave boys and servants,
these numbering about five hundred, all wearmg
silken garments, embroidered with gold and encrusted
with precious stones. She herself was wearmg a
garment of gold brocade, encrusted with Jewels, with
a crown set with precious stones on her head, and her
horse was covered with a saddle-cloth of silk em-
broidered m gold. On its legs were bracelets of gold
and round its neck necklaces set with prec10us stones,
and her saddle frame was covered with gold orna-
mented with Jewels. Their meeting took place m a
flat piece of ground about a mile distant from the
town. Her brother dismounted to her, because he
was younger than her, and kissed her shrrup and she
kissed his head. The commander'> and _prmces also
dismounted and they all kissed her stirrup, after
which she set out with her brother.
On the next day we reached a large city on the sea
coast, whose name I have forgotten, we11 furnished
with streams and trees, and encamped m its outskirts.
The heir to the throne, the brother of the khatun,
arrived with a great array and a strong army of ten
thousand mailed horsemen. He wore a crown on his
head, and had at his nght hand about twenty prmces
and a similar number on his left His horsemen
were arranged exacUy as his brother's, but with greater
pomp and larger numbers Hts sister met him m
a dress s1m1lar to the one she wore on the former
occasion, and both dismounted together A silken
tent was brought and they both went mto it, so I do
not know how they greeted each other We encamped
at a distance of ten miles from Constantmople, and on
the followmg day the population, men, women a~
chtldren, came out ndmg or on foot, m their rich
156
T R A V I. L S O I I BN B 1\ T T O T A
.ipp m:l At d.rn n the d1 um-,, trumpt..ts and fifes
\\ere sounded, the troop!> mountcd, and the Emperor
,,. 1th hi::, wife, the mothcr of th1::. kh.itun, came out,
.1ccomp.1111ed by the high ofl1c1.1b of slate .rnd the
courtiers O, er the k111g's hL1d there\\ a::. a canopy,
C1rncd by .1 numbl'r of hors1..mcn .md men on foot,
who h 1d rn their h.1nd!> long ~LlVl-!>, c:1.ch surmounted
by son11..thrng r1..slmbling .1 b 111 of k.1th1..r, with which
they ho1sl1..d the c.mop) In the centre of th1!> c.rnopv
\\ as .1 ::iort of pw1lion which \\ t!> ::iupportcd by horse-
men on sl,lVlS \Vhu1 the Empuor .1ppro:1ch1..J, the
troops bec1me ent.1ngkd \\ 1th one .mother .rnd there
was much dust. I \\ .1s un.1bk to make my wa1
amongst them, so I kept with th<.. kh.1tun 's b.1gg:1ge
and part), f1..ar111g for my life. I \\ .1s told th.1t whu1
the princess .1pproach1..d h1..r p.m:nts she d1::imountt:d
and kissed the ground bl.fore th1..m, :md then k1sscd
the two hoofs ot thur hors1..s, the pnnc1p.1l members
of her party doing thc s.une
Our entry mto Consbntmoplc the G1cat was made
about noon or a ltttlc later, .rnd thcy r.ing their bells
until the very skies shook with the m111ghng of their
sounds \Vhcn we reached the first gate of the krng's
palace we found thcrc about a hundred men, with an
officer on a platform, and I heard them saymg Sarakmu,
Sarakmu, which means l'vlmlims. Tht.y would not
let us enter, and when those who were with the khit{m
said that we belonged to their party, they answered
" They cannot enter except by permission," so we
stayed at the gate One of the khitun's party sent
a messenger to tell her of this while she was still with
her father She told him about us and he gave orders
that we should enter, and assigned us a house near
the khitun's house He wrote also on our behalf
an order that we should not be ob4trucl:ed wheresoever
we went m the city, and this order was proclaimed
m the bazaars We stayed indoors three days, re-
r57
SELECTIONS FROM THE
ce1vmg from the khatun gifts of flour, bread, sheep,
chickens, butter, frmt, fish, money and beds, and on
the fourth day we had audience of the sultan
The Emperor of Constantmople 1s called Takfur
son of the Emperor Jirjis [GeorgeJ.32 His father:
the Emperor George, was sbll alive, but had become
an ascetic and monk, devotmg himself to rel1g10us
exercises m the churches, and had resigned the sove-
reignty to his son. We shall speak of him later On
the fourth day after our arnval m Constantmople, the
khatun sent the slave Sunbul the Indian to me, and
f
he took my hand and led me mto the alace vVe
passed through four gateways, each o which had
archways m which were footsoldiers with their
weapons, their officer being on a carpeted platform.
When we reached the fifth gateway the slave Sunbul
left me, and gomg ms1de returned with four Greek
youths, who searched me to see that I had no knife
on my person The officer said to me "This 1s a
custom of theirs, every person who enters the krng's
presence, be he noble or private citizen, foreigner
or native, must be searched" The same prathce 1s
observed also m India After they had searched me
the man m charge of the gate rose and took me by
the hand and opened the gate. Four of the men sur-
rounded me, two of them holding my sleeves and two
behind me, and brought me mto a large hall, the walls
of which were of mosaic work, m which there were
pictures of creatures, both an1mate and inanimate
In the centre there was a stream of water, with trees
on either side of 1t, and men were standing to right
and left, silent, not one of them speaking In the
midst of the hall three men were sl:andmg, to whom
those four men delivered me These took hold of
my garments as the others had done, and on a s1gn 1 I
from another man led me forward 33 One of thc.m
was a Jew, and he said to me m Arabic " Do not be
158
'l R . \ \' E L S O l l 13 N B A T T O T 1\
.ifr.ud, tlw, 1s their cu:Uom tlut thLy u:,e with one who
enter:, I '1111 the mterpretcr, and I come from Syria"
So I .bkul him ho\\ I should :,,1lute the Emperor and he
told me to :,.1y //5-r,ddm 11'.1Jk,11n. After tl11s I re.1ched
.1 grc:it pw1hon, \\ here the Emperor \\ .1s s<..at<..d on
his throne, with h1:-, wife, the mothLr of the klutun,
before him At the foot of the throne\\ Lre the kh.itun
.md hu brothLrs, to the n~ht of 1t ::ii\. men and to the
left of 1t four, 'lnd bch111S 1t four, cvc..ry one of them
.irmcd 'l he Empc..ror signed to me, bcforc I had
saluted and rL -icllL<l hun, to sit down for 1. moment,
111 order th 1t m) .1pprehcns1011 might bc calmcd
After do111g :,o I appro.1ched him and s.1lutc..d h1111, and
he :,1gncd to mc to sit do\\ n, but I did not do so He
qudboned me .1bout Jerus.tlem, thc.. S.1cred Rock, the
Church of the Hol) Sc..pulchre, the cndle of Jesus,
and Bcthkhem, .1nd .1bout the ctty of .Abr.1ham
[Hebron], then 1bout D 1111.1:,cus, C.uro, 'Ir.iq, and
.Anatoln, 'lnd I .inS\\ c..n:d -ill his quc:,11ons about thc..se,
tht! Jcw mtcrprt.tmg bt:t\\ een us He was pleased
with my replies and s-ud to his sons " Treat this m.rn
with honour and ensure lw, s.1fct) ." Thc..n he beslowed
upon me a robc of honour and 1ss1gncd me a horse
with saddle and bridle, and an umbrella of thc kmd
which the king has carm:d above his head> that being
a sign of protccbon I rcqudl:ed him to designate
someone to ndc m the city with me cvery day, that I
might see Its marvellous and rare sights and tell of
them 111 my own country, and he appointed a man as I
had asked They have a custom that anyone who wears
the kmg's robe of honour and ndes his horse 1s paraded
round with trumpets, fifes and drums, so that the
people may see him They do this mostly with the
Turks who come from the terntones of Sultan Ozbeg,
so that the people may not molest them, and I was
paraded m this fashion through the bazaars
The city 1s enormous m size, and m two parts
1 59
SELECTIONS FROM THE
separated by a great river [the Golden Horn] m
which there 1s a rising and ebbing tide. In for~er
times there was a stone bridge over 1t, but 1t fell mto
rums and the crossmg is now made m boats. The
part of the city on the eastern bank of the river 1s
called lstambul, and contains the residence of the
Emperor, the nobles and the rest of the population.
Its bazaars and streets are spacious and paved with
flagstones, each bazaar has gates which are closed
upon 1t at mght, and the maJonty of the artisans and
sellers m them are women. The city hes at the foot
of a hill which proJeets about nme miles mto the sea,
its breadth bemg the same or greater. On the top
of the hill there 1s a small citadel and the Emperor's
palace Round this hill runs the city-wall, which 1s
very strong and cannot be taken by assault from the
sea front W1thm its circmt there are about thirteen
inhabited villages. The prmcipal church is m the
midst of this part of the city. The second part, on
the western bank of the river, is called Galata, and 1s
reserved to the Frankish Christians who dwell there
They are of different kmds, mcludmg Genoese,
Venetians, Romans and people of France, they are
subJeet to the authority of the kmg of Constantmople,
who sets over them one of their own number of whom
they approve, and him they call the Comes. They
are bound to pay a tax every year to the kmg of Con-
stantinople, but often they revolt against him and he
makes war on them until the Pope makes peace
between them They are all men of commerce and
their harbour 1s one of the largest m the world, I saw
there about a hundred galleys and other large ship~,
and the small shtps were too many to be counte
The bazaars m this part of the town are good bu~
filthy, and a small and very dirty river runs throug
them Their churches too are :filthy and mean
Of the great church I can only describe the exterior,
r6o
T R 1\ \1 E L S OF I Il N B 1\ T T U T A
for I <l1J not sec 1t::-. 111tl-nor It 1s c.11lcd by them
.t\y.1 Si1fiy.1 [St Soph1.1], .rnd tht. :;lory goes that It
w1s bmlt b) .As;i.ph, the ~on of lkrc..cluah, who was
Solomon'::. cou::.m le 1s one of the gre.tte:;l churches
of the Greek-,, .rnJ b cnc1rck<l by .1 \\ .111 ::.o that It
looks a::. 1f 1t \\ere .1 town. It ha::, th:rtccn gates and
.1 sacred enclosure, \\ lrn:h 1s about a mile.. long and
closed by .1 gn..1t g.1tc. No one b prevented from
entering this cnclo::.urc, -in<l IIH.kcd I wc..nt into 1t
with the k111g':, f nhu, 1t rc..,<..mbks .rn audience-hall
paved with m 1rblc, .rnd 1::, tr.1ver::,l-J by .1 :;lrLam which
issues from th<.. church Oub1de tht. gate of this
hall arc platform::. and ~hops, mosUv of wood, whcrc
their Judge::. :rnd thc rLcorder::. of their bureaux sit
At the gate of the c..hurch th<..rc .1r<.. porticoes where
the keepers sit \\ ho ::.W<-<-p its paths, light its lamps
and close 1ts g;i.tcs Thc..y dlow none to cntcr 1t until
he pro~r-itt.:s h1rn::.df to tht.: huge cross thcre, which
they claim to be a rt.:hc of the wood upon which the
pseudo-Jc..sus \\:1::, crucified 11 This 1s over the gate
of the church, set 111 a goldt.:n case whose height 1s
about ten cubits, across which .1 surnl.1r golden case
1s placed to form .1 cross. This g.tte 1s covered with
plaques of silver and gold and its two rings arc of
pure gold. I was told that the number of monks and
pncsl:s m this church runs into thousands, and that
some of them arc descendants of the apostles, and
that ms1dc 1t 1s another church c'\clus1vcly for women,
contammg more than a thousand v1rg111s and a sbll
greater number of aged women who devote them-
selves to rcl1g1ous pracbces It 1s the custom of the
king, the nobles and the resl: of the people to come
every mornmg to v1s1t this church. The Pope comes
to v1s1t 1t once a year When he 1s four days' Journey
from the town the kmg goes out to meet him, and
dismounts before h;m and when he enters the city
walks on foot 111 front of him. Durmg his slay 1n
!6l M
SELECTI<;)NS FROM '._THE
Constantinople the kmg comes to salute him every
mornmg and evenmg.
A monastery 1s the Christian eqmvalent of a religious
house or convent among the Muslims, and there are
a great many such monaster1es at Constantinople.
Among them 1s the monastery which Kmg George
bmlt outside Istambul and opposite Galata, and two
monasteries outside the principal church, to the right
as one enters 1t. These two monasteries are 1ns1de
a garden traversed by a stream of water, one of them
1s for men and the other for women In each there
1s a church and they are surrounded by the cells of
men and women who have devoted themselves to
reltg10us exercises Each monastery possesses p1ous
endowments for the clothrng and maintenance of the
devotees. Inside every monastery there 1s a small
convent designed for the ascetic retreat of the kmg
who bmlt 1t, for most of these kmgs, on reaching the
age of sixty or seventy, bmld a monastery .and put
on garments of hair, mvesl:mg their sons with the
sovereignty and occupymg themselves with religious
exercises for the rest of their hves They display
great magmficence rn bmldrng these monasteries, and
construct them of marble and mosaic-work. I entered
a monastery with the Greek whom the kmg had given
me as a gmde. Inside 1t was a church containing
about :five hundred virgms wearmg hair-garments,
their heads were shaved and covered with felt bonnets.
They were exceedmgly beautiful and showed the traces
of their austerities. A youth sittmg on a pulpit was
readmg the gospel to them m the mosl: beautiful
voice I have ever heard, round him were eight other
youths on pulpits with their priest, and when the first
youth had fimshed readmg another began. The
Greek said to me '' These girls are kings' daughters
who have given themselves to the service of this church:
and likewise the boys who are readmg [are kings
162
sons]." I entered w1th h1m also mto churches m
wh1ch there were the daughters of mm1sl:ers, governors,
and the principal men of the city, and others where there
were aged women and widows, and others where there
were monks, each church containing a hundred men
or so. Most of the population of the c1ty are monks,
ascetics, and priests, and its churches are not to be
counted for multitude 35 The mhab1tants of the city,
soldiers and civilians, small and great, carry over their
heads huge parasols, both m winter and summer, and
the women wear large turbans.
I was out one day with my Greek gmde, when we
met the former kmg George who had become a monk.
He was walking on foot, wearmg haircloth garments
and a bonnet of felt, and he had a long white beard
and a fine face, which bore traces of his austerities.
Behmd and before him was a body of monks, and he
had a staff m his hand and a rosary on his neck When
the Greek saw him he dismounted and said to me
"Dismount, for this is the kmg's father." When my
gmde saluted him the kmg asked him about me, then
stopped and sent for me He took my hand and said
to the Greek (who knew the Arabic tongue) "Say
to this Saracen (meamng M ushm) ' I clasp the hand
which has entered Jerusalem and the foot which has
walked within the Dome of the Rock and the great
church of the Holy Sepulchre and Bethlehem,' ,, and
he laid his hand upon my feet and passed 1t over his
face I was astomshed at their good opm10n of one
who, though not of their religion, had entered these
places Then he took my hand and as I walked
with him asked me about Jerusalem and the Christians
who were there, and questioned me at length. I
entered with him the sacred enclosure of the church
which we have described above. When he approached
the prmcipal gate, a party of priests and monks came
out to salute him, for he 1s one of their chief men m
163
SELECTIONS FROM THE
monasticism, and on seeing them he let go my hand.
I said to him "I should like to enter the church with
you." Then he said to the interpreter " Say to him
'He who enters 1t must needs proshate'himself before
the great cross, for this 1s a rule which the ancients
laid down and which cannot be contravened ' " So I
left him and he entered alone and I did not see him
again After leaving the king I entered the bazaar
of the scribes, where I was noticed by the judge, who
sent one of his assistants to ask the Greek about me.
On learning that I was a Muslim scholar he sent for
me and I went up to him He was an old man with
a fine face and hair, wearing the black garments of
a monk, and had about ten scribes in front of him
writing. He rose to meet me, his companions nsmg
also, and said "You are the kmg's guest and we are
bound to honour you." He then asked me about
Jerusalem, Syria, and Egypt, and spoke with me for
a long time. A great crowd gathered round him,
and he said " You must come to my house that I may
entertain you" After that I went away, but I did not
see him agam.
When it became clear to the Turks who were m
the khatun's company that she professed her father's
religion and wished to slay with him, they asked her
for leave to return to their country. She made them
rich presents and sent them an amfr called Sarup
with five hundred horsemen to escort them to their
country. She sent for me, and gave me three hundred
of their gold dmars, called barbara, which are not
good money, 36 and a thousand Venetian silver pieces,
together with some robes and pieces of cloth and two
horses which were a gift from her father, and com-
mend;d me to SaruJa, I bade her farewell and Iefr,
havmg spent a month and six days m their town. On
reaching the frontier, where we had left our party
and waggons we picked them up and returned through
164
the dc:,ut. S.m.'.IJ-1 c.une with us to B.16.i Saltuq,
where he {t,1yed .1~ .1 gudl: for three days, .1.nd then
\\ent b.1ck to Im, I.ind. This w.1:, 111 the depths of
wmtcr .rnd I \1::icJ to \\ L,H three fur co1.b and two
p;urs of trouser:., one lmed, .md on my feet I had
\\oollcn boob, with .1 pair of lmen-l111ed boots on top
of these .tnd .1 p.ur of hor:,e skin boob lined with
be 1r:,ktn on top of thLse ;1g1111 I performed my
ablutions with hot w:1ter clo:,c to the fin:, but every
drop of w,Ht.r frol.c on the 111hnt. \Vhcn I w:1:,hcd
111} f ice the w 1tcr r.111 down my b<.ard and frol.c, :1nd
when I :,hook it off 1t w.1s .1 :,ort of :,now th.1t fell from
it. \V.1tcr dnppmg from the nose frol.c on the
moushchc I w;is unable to mount my horse for the
quantity of clothes I \\ 1.s wt.. mng .md my compa111ons
had to help me mto the s1.ddle
On rc.ichmg H:1u T1.rkh.i.n (A;\:rakhan], where we
had parted from Sult.m Ozbeg, \\c found that he had
mov<!d and was livmg m the c 1pit.1l of his kmgdom.
\Ve trwellcd on the nver ltil [Volga] and the nc1gh-
bourmg waters, which were frozen over, and used to
break J. piece of the 1cc whenever we needed water,
and put 1t m a cauldron till 1t melted, when we used
1t for drmkmg and cookmg. On the fourth day we
reached the city of Sar.i, which 1s the capital of the
sultan.37 W c v1s1tcd him, and after we had answered
his qucsbons about our Journey and the kmg of the
Greeks and his city h~ gave orders for our mamtenance
and lodging. Sara is one of the finest of towns, of
immense extent and crammed with rnhabitants, with
fine bazaars and wide streets. vV e rode out one day
with one of the prmcipal men of the town, mtendmg
to make a circuit of the place and find out its size.
We were hvmg at one end of it and we set out m the
mormng, and it was after midday when we reached
the other One day we walked across the breadth of
the town, and the double Journey, gomg and returmng,
165
took half a day, this too through a continuous lme of
houses, with no rums and no orchards It has thirteen
cathedral and a large number of other mosques. The
inhabitants belong to divers nations; among them are
Mongols, who are the inhabitants and rulers of the
country and are m part Muslims, As [Ossetes], who
are Muslims, and Q1pchaqs, C1rcassians, Russians,
and Greeks, who are all Chnshans. Each group
hves m a separate quarter with its own bazaars.
Merchants and strangers from 'Iraq, Egypt, Syria,
and elsewhere, live m a quarter surrounded by a wall,
in order to protea their property.
166
CHAPTER V
FRo,1 S1d. I !>Ct out for Khw 1rizm, which is separated
from the cap1t.1l by a dc!>crt c'\tt..nd111g for forty days'
march. It 1s 1mp.1!>~ablc for hor~es on account of
the scarcit) of foddu and the ,..,,aggons arc drawn
only by c.unds. Ten day!> aftt..r lcavmg Sar,1 we
reached Sar.ichuk, which means "Little Sad," a town
on the bank of a grc.1t and :,w1ft-flowmg river called
Ulusu [Ural],1 which 1s crosst..d by a bridge of boats
like the bridge at B1ghd.id I-fore ,.., c lured camels
to take the pbcc of the horses th it had drawn our
waggon h1thcrto, and sold the horses at the rate of
four silver dmars pcr he.id or kss, on account of their
c\.hausbon and the chcapnt.ss of horscs rn this town.
From this pomt we made a rapid march for thirty
days, haltmg only for two hours each day, one m the
forenoon and one at sunset, to cook and drink millet
broth. They have with them dned preserved meat
which they put on top of this, and pour sour milk
over the whole. Each person cats and sleeps m his
waggon while 1t 1s on the move. Travellers make
this Journey with the utmost speed, because of the
scarcity of herbage. The greater number of camels
which cross the desert pensh and the remamder are
of no use until the followmg year, when they are
fattened up agam. Water 1s obtained from ram-pools
or shallow wells at known pomts separated by two or
three days' march.
After crossing this desert we reached Khwanzm,
which is the largest, greatest, most beautiful and most
important city of the Turks ..? It shakes under the
weight of its population, whose movements lend 1t
167
SELECTIONS FROM THE
the semblance of a billowy sea. One day as I was
riding m the bazaar I became stuck m the crowd
unable to go either forward or backward. I d1d nof
know what to do and only with great difficulty made
my way back. The city 1s m the domm10ns of Sultan
Dzbeg, who 1s represented by a powerful amir called
Qutludumur. I have never seen anywhere m the
world more excellent people than the Khwarizm1ans,
or more generous or more friendly to strangers. They
have a praiseworthy custom m regard to the prayer-
services which I have not seen elsewhere. Each
muezzrn goes round the houses adJommg his mosque
warning them to attend the service, and any person
who absents himself from the communal prayers 1s
beaten by the qadf m the presence of the people.
In each mosque there 1s a whip hung up for tlus
purpose. The culprit is fined m add1t1on five dmars,
which are spent on the purposes of the mosque or rn
charity. They say that this custom is one which they
have had from ancient nmes. Outside the city flows
the river J ayhun [Oxus], one of the four nvers of
Paradise, which freezes over for five months m the
cold season like the Ittl [Volga]. In the summer 1t
1s navigable for ships as far as Tirm1dh [Termez],
the journey down stream takmg ten days On reach-
mg Khwanzm I encamped m the outskirts, and the
qadf, bemg mformed of my arrival, came out to greet
me with a company of his foliowers When we met
he said to me " This town 1s densely populated, and
you will have difficulty m entering 1t m th_e dayt1IDe,
so my assistant will come to conduB: you m towards
the end of the mght.'' We followed trus suggesbon
and were lodged m a new academy, m which no one
was hvmg as yet After the Friday service I went
with the qad! to his house, which was near the mosque,
and was taken rnto a magmficent apartment It was
furnished w1th rich carpets and the walls were hung
168
with cloth, and 111 it there were a number of niches
each contammg vessels of silver-gilt and 'Iraqi glass.
This is a custom followed by the people of this country.
I went with the qadi abo to visit the am{r Qut-
ludumur and found him reclmmg on a silk carpet
with his feet covered, as he was suffermg from gout,
a malady very common among the Turks. He
questioned me about his sovereign, and the khatun
Bayalun and her father and the city of Constantmople.
Then tables were brought m with roasted fowls,
cranes, young pigeons, bread baked with butter,
biscmts, and sweetmeats, which were followed by
other tables with frmt, pomegranates prepared for the
table, some of them served m vessels of gold and silver
with golden spoons, and others m vessels of glass with
wooden spoons,3 and wonderful melons On our
return to the academy, the amfr sent us nee, fl.our,
sheep, butter, spices and loads of wood. The use of
charcoal is unknown m all these countries, as also m
India and Persia In Chma they make fires with
stones which burn like charcoal, and when they are
burned to ashes they knead these with water, dry them
m the sun, and use them for cookmg agam until they
are entirely consumed One of the habits of the amir
1s this Every day the qadi goes to his audience-hall
with his junsconsults and scribes and sits on a chair
placed for him, opposite one of the prmc1pal amirs,
who 1s attended by eight other great amirs and shayk.hs
of the Turks The mhabitants brmg up their cases
for trial, and those which come under the sacred Law
are decided by the qadi, and the others by these amirs
Their Judgments are sound and eqmtable, because
they are free from suspicion of partiality and do not
accept bribes. One Friday, after the service, the
qadi said to me " The amir gave mslrucbons that you
should be given five hundred dirhams and that for
another five hundred dirhams a banquet should be
169
S E L E C T I O N S F R O lvI T H E
prepared m your honour, to ,vh1ch the sh1;.khs,
doctors and pnncipal men were to be invited. I s.11d
to hun 'You are preparing a banquet at ,,.Juch the
guests will only eat one or two mouthfuls. If ) ou
were to give him all the money 1t would be more
useful to him.' He said that he would do so Jnd h:is
ordered the full thousand to be given to } ou " I
received the sum (which is eqmvalent to three hundr1.d
Moroccan dmars) rn a purse borne by a page. The
same day I had bought a black horse for th1rt}-fi'>e
silver dinars and rrdden 1t to the mosque, and 1t \Ll::,
out of that thousand and no other that I p:11d its price
Thereafter I became possessed of so many hor:.e:.
that I dare not mention their number Iese some sceptic
may accuse me of lymg, and thmgs continued to go
better with me all the time until I reached Indu. I
had many horses, but I preferred this bbck hor::,e .rnJ
picketed 1t m front of all the others. It ren111m:d
with me for three years, and when 1t died ill) aff.m:.
took a turn for the worse.
On my Journey to Khwanzm I had bc..en acwm-
pamed by a merchant from Karbal:i, a sh.irif cJl!cd
Ali I comm1ss10ned him to buy me somt.. g irmt.nb
and other thmgs, and he bought me a robt: for tc:n
dinars, but charged up only eight d1n1rs 1g un~1 we
and paid the other two out of his own pockt.t. I \~ tJ
m total ignorance of what he had dont.. until 1c u.rtc:
to mv ears m a roundabout way. Not onl) th,t, but
he h;d lent me some money and when I n . cu1,c:J tht..
amir's gift and repaid him what I owe.cl, I \ 1,~LJ to
make him a present over and abovl, rn rt.turn ror ll''
kindnesses 1 but he refm,t..d 1t and rL-fw,c:d d ,rJ rm
suggeshon to present It to a sl.wc: boy of h1:, He ,'r.1,
the moft open-h:rndcd 'Idq1 whom I h L'.t: <-:_1..r rn-:,r
He decided to travel \ 1th me: to Ind11, but tm:r,u ,>
a party from his nat1Yt: town irri..,eJ Lt Kh\ ml:n u~
their way to Chm:i, -iml fo~nng lc.:il: the..; JhoulJ --l~._uJ~
170
him to lw, follow-townsmen of gomg to lndi.1 to beg,
he set out with thun. I hc.1rd later on, when I was
111 l11J1.1, tlut \\ hen he n ..1ched 1\lnuhq, which 1s on
the frontier!:> cf Turki-;l: 111 and Chma, 4 he sbyed there
and !:,ent a !:,l,wc boy on \\ 1th all h1!:, goods. The slave
bo) w:ts .1 long tune m rdurnmg and meanwhile a
merch:tnt from }us n:ltlvc town arrived and put up
with hun 111 the s.1mc c 1r.w:1m,eny The !:>l1.1rff asked
him to lend lrnn some mom. y until his boy should
arrive, but the mLrclnnt \\ ould not <lo so, .rnd, not
content with his vile conducl: m f.ilng to succour
the sh.1rif, h<... tried to put up the pnc<... of his lodgmg
111 the canv.111seray .1g.1111st hun. Tht. sh.1rif heard of
this, and was so upset that he went mto his room and
cut lus throat l-Ic was found with a spark of life
sbll 111 him; they !:,USpctkd a slave whom he had of
murdcrrng lum, but he !>:11d to them "Do not wrong
him, 1t was I who did this to myself," and expired the
same day-may God forgive him I
\Vhcn I made ready to leave Khw.inzm I hired
camels and bought a camel-litter. The servants rode
some of the horses and we put rugs on the rest because
of the cold. \V c entered the desert which 1s between
Khwinzm and Bukhar.i, an eighteen days' journey
through sands, with no settlements on the way except
the small town of Kat, 6 which we reached after four
days' march. \Ve encamped outside 1t, by a lake
which was frozen over and on which the boys were
playing and sl1d1ng The q:idi came out to greet us,
followed an hour later by the governor and his smte,
who pressed us to slay and gave a banquer m our
honour. In this desert there 1s a Journey of six nights
without water, after which we reached the town of
Wabkana [\Vafkend] Thence we travelled for a
whole day through a contrnuous series of orchards,
streams, trees and bmldmgs, and reached the city of
Bukhara. This city was formerly the capital of the
I7I
SELECTIONS FROM THE
lands beyond the Oxus. It was destroyed by the
accursed Tmkfz [Chmg1z] the Tatar the ancestor of
the kmgs of 'Iraq, and all but a fo; of its mosques,
academies, and bazaars are now lymg m rwns. Its
mhab1tants are looked down upon and their evidence
[m legal cases] 1s not accepted m Khwar1zm and else-
where, because of their reputation for fanat1c1sm,
falsehood and demal of the truth. There 1s not one
of its mhabitants today who possesses any theological
learmng or makes any attempt to acqwre 1t 6 We
lodged at a hospice m a suburb of Bukhara called
Fath Abad The shaykh entertamed me at his house
and mv1ted the prmcipal men of the town We
spent a most delightful night there, the Koran-readers
recited m pleasmg voices, and the preacher delivered
an address, and then they sang melod10usly m Turkish
and Persian
From Bukhara we set out for the camp of the pious
Sultan Tarmashfdn, and passed by Nakhshab [Qarshi],
a small city surrounded by gardens and water channels.
On the followmg afternoon we reached the sultan's
camp A merchant lent us a tent m which we spent
the night, and next day, as the sultan was away hunt-
mg, I visited his representative, the amfr Taqbugha,
who lodged me near his mosque and gave me a Turkish
tent of the kmd we have already described That
mght one of my slave girls gave birth to a child I
was told at :first that 1t was a boy but afterwards I
found out that 1t was a girl. She was born under a
lucky star, and from that ttme on I expenenced
everythmg to give me Joy and satisfacbon. She died
two months after my arrival m India, as will be related
m the sequel. fu1
The Sultan of TurkisHn, Tarmashfrfo, 1s a power
sovereign, possessmg a large army and a vast kmgdofi:
and upnght m his government. H1s terr1tor1es
between four of the great kmgs of the world, the kmgs
172
SELECTIONS FROM THE
return to your country tell how a Persian mendicant
aeted thus with the sultan of the Turks." Th1s shaykh
used to preach every Fnday, exhort1ng the sultan to
aa righteously and forb1ddmg him In the harshest
terms to acl: corruptly and tyrannically, and the sultan
would sit stlent before him and weep. He would
never accept gifts from the sultan nor eat at his table,
nor wear the robes presented to him; he was a virtuous
servant of God.
vVhen I decided to continue my Journey after a
stay of fifty-four days with the sultan, he gave me
seven hundred silver dmars and a sable coat worth a
hundred dmars, which I had asked of him on account
of the cold, as well as two horses and two camels.
After takmg leave of him I journeyed to Samarqand,
which 1s one of the largest and most perfectly beautiful
c1t1es m the world It 1s bmlt on the bank of a nver
where the mhabitants promenade after the afternoon
prayer. There were formerly great palaces along the
bank, but most of them are m rums, as also 1s much
of the city itself, and 1t has no walls or gates Outside
the city 1s the grave of Qutham 1bn al-'Abbas, who
8
met a martyes death at the conquest of Samarqand
The mhab1tants go out to v1s1t 1t every Sunday and
Thursday mght and the Tatars also visit 1t, brmgmg
large votive offerings of cattle, sheep and money,
which are used for the mamtenance of travellers and
of the guardians of the hospice
We set out from Samarqand and reached Tmmdh
[Termez], a large town with fine bu1ldmgs and bazaars
and traversed by canals. It abounds m grapes and
qumces of an exqms1te flavour, as well as m flesh-
meats and milk. The mhab1tants wash their heads
m the bath with milk mstead of fuller's earth, thd
proprietor of every bath-house has large Jars fil%
with milk and each man as he enters takes a cup 1
to wash his head. It makes the hair fresh and glossy
1 74
TR.\\.l LS OF IB~ B.\'I TOTA
rhc lz,l:I in, J'Ut n} ~f C ln1C' Oil thrir hc,td, ,111d .tftcr-
\\ lfll \\ 1 h :heir h.m \,Ith (ullcr', euth lh1s
:-cfrc 11c, tl.r 1 ( ,l, 11Hi n. 1i-.c. the h 11r do"" .rnd
l111:. 11,d tl1 it tl1c rci 011 ,,Ii, the l11d1.rn~, Jnti those
,,!.~~ li,c 1,1 UH.1r 1._(1\,11tn 11 i.r !11111! lc.ird, 'l he old
to,,n 0( T,nrndh v, i , l,u,lt (1!l thc-l'.lnk nl the O,u,,
1nd \, hen it ,, 1 L.. d in rnrn, In 'I rn~.11.. (Ch,ng11,]
thi. 11c,,._ !(1.:1 ,., 1 lmlt t\,o mile, trmn the rl\ er.
Before rc1chrn:. the 1..1t, l frll 111 ,,Hh It, t!<J\Crnor ~
'.-\l.1 d-:.Jul;.. Klrnd'1,~ rnd Z1d1h, ,\ho cnt on ,lll

orJcr for our c1,tcn ,rnmcnt ,, ;!UC t', 11Hi pro,1:,1011:,
\\ Cr e In <JU t! ht t ll U , C Cl ) d l .' d \lT Jn f:'. 0 Ur a 1. )'
there.
\\ c ~i<' cJ t11c I l\ er O-..u, mto the l 11,d oi Khur.'i 1n
1.nd liter 1 d t , ind I h dr' mire h th111\lt!ll l ~ rnJ)
unmlnhitcd \\ 1,tc re 11..J1c-d H1H.h lt 1. rn utter rum
and unrnh1h1tcd, hut .11nnnc- ,ccll;i-! 1t v,oull! thrnk
lt rnh 1b1tc-d on l~(tHJlil qf the ol.d1t, or l(, con~truc-
tion 'l he 11.1..\lt cd I m).11.. de ,tro\cd th:, Cll\ md
dcmoli,hcd 1bout ,\ thm.i o( It , n~o <!UC on H.Count of
:1 trc1.smc \\ hJCh he v. 1. told l n under one of H ..
column., 1k pullni Jo\, n 1 third oi tht m rn<l found
nothrng .rn<l left the rc.,t 1, It \, 1., .:\(tcr le wmg
BJ]h.h \\ c tr 1vcllLJ for -..e\ en d l) , through rhc moun-
t.1111:, of Uulw,t 111, Ill \\ h11.h thtrt. lfC 11\llllC..ro\la 111-
h 1b1ttd villJgc., \\ 1th run11111g -,trc 1m:, .111<l IL tfy tn.:t:.,
mostly fig-trtc:,, m<l Ill lll) hoc.,p1cc'J 1nh 1b1ttd b)
dt.votct!>. '1 hcrt 1fttr \\ c re ichtd the Lit) of Hc..dt,
which 1:, the l 1rgc.st inh 1l>1tt<l l1tv 111 Khud-, in There
ar<.. four l 1rgc c1tlt!:> 111 th1:. prov1nLc, t\\O of them,
l-kr.1t .md N,1) a,ibur [Nbh ipur] 111h.1b1tcd, .md two,
lhlkh and lv1trv, Ill rum:,.
The :,ultan of I-kr.it I!:> the 11luslnou!:> Hus.1yn, !:>On
of the sult.111 Gh1) .'1th .1<l-D{ n .il-Ghurf, ,l n1.111 of
notorious br.1vlr\-' .rn<l v1cl.onou:. by the D1vrne Favour
on t\vo fields of b ittle u i\ p1ou:. .1scct1c of great
mcnt, called N1dm 1d-Din l'-11.lwl.ina, spent his youth
1 75
SELECTIONS FROM THE
at Her.it. He was beloved by the people, who would
come to hear his sermons and exhortat10ns, and who
made a compact w1th him to repress evildoing. The
preacher
1
Malik Warna, who was a cousm of the
kmg s, was also a party to this compact. Whenever
they learned of any evil action, even on the ~art of
the kmg, they took means to repress 1t. It 1s said
that they found out one day that an unlawful acl: was
being committed m Kmg Husayn's palace, and they
assembled to put a stop to 1t. The kmg fortified
himself against them w1thm the palace, but they
assembled to the number of six thousand men at the
gate. In fear of them he sent for N1zam ad-Din
and the chief men of the town. He had been drmkmg
wme and there and then ms1de his castle they applied
to him the punishment prescribed by law and left
him 10 Later on N1zam ad-Dln was killed by a
Turkish amfr whom he had offended. After this had
happened Kmg Husayn sent his cousm Malik Warna,
who had been associated with Nizam ad-Dln m his
reformmg acbvit1es, as ambassador to the kmg of
S1J1stan, and when he arrived there, ordered him to
slay there m S1Jistan and not to return to him. Malik
Warna went on to India, where I met him as I was
leavmg Smd He was an excellent man with a hkrng
for authority, huntmg, falcons, horses, slaves, servants,
and rich and kmgly robes Now India IS no place
for a man of this characrer In hrs case the king of
India appomted him governor of a small town, and he
was assassmated there by a man from Herat who was
hvmg m India It 1s said that the krng of India was
the mstigator of hrs assassrn at the mstance of Kmg
Husayn, and it was for this reason that Kmg Husayn
acknowledged the kmg of India as his suzeram after
the death of Malik W arna.
From Herat we journeyed to the town 11of
which is of m1ddlmg size m a fertile d1stricl:.
JiMo
176
of the trees are mulberries, and there is a great deal
of silk there. This town derives its name from the
saint and ascetic Ahmad al-Jam, to whose descendants
it now belongs (for it 1s mdependent of the sultan)
and who possess great wealth vVe went next to
Tus, which is one of the largest cities lll Khurasan,
and thence to 1\tlashhad ar-R1da [Meshhed], which is
also a large town with abundant frmt-trees, streams,
and mills 12 The noble mausoleum is surmounted
by a great dome of elegant construcbon, the walls
being decorated with coloured tiles Opposite the
tomb [of the Imam] is the tomb of Caliph Harun
ar-Rashid, which is surmounted by a platform bearing
chandeliers. When a Shi'ite enters to visit it he kicks
the tomb of ar-Rashid with his foot, and pronounces
a blessing on ar-Rida
Thence we Journeyed through Sarakhs to Zawa,
the town of the pious shaykh Qutb ad-Din Haydar, 13
who has given his name to the Haydari congregation
of darwishes These are the darwfshes who place
iron rmgs m their hands and ears and other parts of
their bodies We travelled from there to Naysabur,
one of the four capitals of Khurasan It is given the
name of " Little Damascus " because of its beauty and
the quantl.ty of its frmt-trees, orchards and streams.
They manufacture here garments of silk and velvet,
which are exported to India. I stayed at the convent
of the learned shaykh Qutb ad-Din an-Naysaburi, who
showed me great hospitality, and I was witness to
some astomshing miracles performed by him. I had
bought m this town a young Turkish slave, and the
shaykh, seeing him with me, said " This boy is no
good to you Sell him " I did as he said and sold
him next day to a merchant, then bade the shaykh
farewell and left When I stopped at B1stam, one of
my friends wrote to me from Naysabur and told me
that the slave had killed a Turkish boy and had been
177 N
SELECTIONS FROM THE
put to death for 1t This 1s an evident miracle to the
credit of the shaykh
From Naysabur I travelled to the town of B1shim 14
and thence to Qundus and Baghlan, 15 which are villages
mhab1ted by shaykhs and pious persons. At Qundus
we encamped by a stream, where there was a hospice
belongmg to an Egyptian shaykh called Shfr-1 S1yah,
which means " The Black Lion." We were hospitably
received by the governor of that country, a man from
Mosul, who lives m a large garden there. We stayed
outside this village about forty days to pasture our
camels and horses, for there 1s excellent pas1:urage
there and perfect secunty, owmg to the sl:ncl: measures
of the amir, who enforces the Turkish laws regardrng
horse-sl:ealmg which we have already ment10ned
[p. 143]. After we had been sl:aymg there ten days
we missed three of our horses, but they were restored
to us by the Tatars a fortnight later, through fear of
the application of these laws to themselves
Another reason for our halt was fear of the snow,
for on the road there 1s a mountam called Hmdukush,
which means " Slayer of Indians,'1 because the slave
boys and girls who are brought from India die there
m large numbers as a result of the extreme cold and
the quantity of snow. The passage extends for a
whole day's march 16 We sl:ayed until the warm
weather had definitely set m, and crossed this moun-
tam by a contmuous march from before dawn to
sunset We kept spreadmg felt cloths m front of
the camels for them to tread on so that they should
not smk in the snow On settmg out from Baghlan
we journeyed to a place called Andar [Andarab] In
former times there was a town here whose traces have
disappeared, and we halted at a large vi11age where
there 1s a hospice belongmg to an excellent man
named Muhammad al-Mahrawi We stayed with
him and he treated us with cons1derat1on. When we
178
T R :\ \" E L S O F I BN ll A T T O T A
,u .. hcd our h rnd::, .,ftcr c.1t111~ he ,, ould drmk the
\\ ,tcr 111 ,, h1ch \\ c h 1d \\ 1..,h(d lKc rn:.,c of the high
l..,tnm 111 \\l11ch he htld U'-, Ifc tr.welled \\1th us
until \H' cl1mbu.i the mount.rn1 of I-I1ndukt'1::,h trn.n-
t1oncJ 1b0\ c On thi.., mount;un \\ c found ,\ \\ .1rm
~lrc1m "rnnl!, rnd ,, 1. . hul our f1cc; 111 1t, ,,.1th the
rc . . ult th 1t tht. ..,J...111 plckJ off our face~ ;ind \\C -,uffuc<l
.. om c p 1111.
\\.Ch 1ltld Ill '\t ,It \ rl.tcc Clllcli BlllJ l lir [P \llj::-hir ],
\\hd1 mnn..," ll\c I\Iount 1111-.," ,,here there\\ 1~ onct.
:i tint. inll J'opulou::. cit, built on I grc1t rinr ,, 1th
blue \\ ;Her lih.c the 'il 1 'l h1 ... countn ,,. b dv. 1...1.itcd
In Tinh.1l, thl l.1n~ of the T.1t1r--,, 111J In, not bct.n
rn h 1bitu.l ,incl \ \. L c 1111c to 1 mount 1111 <.. 1llul
P 1::-h n, \\ here there ,.., tht. con, cnt of the ... h wJ...h .:\t.1
A,, ln 1, ,, h1Ch nw 111 ... "F.tthcr of the ~1111t'-" I It. 1...
1bo cJ!kd Si, 1d ~.d 1h, ,, h1ch I'> the I\ r,1 lll for "thru:
hundred \ctr,," bu. w,c the, "1\ th It he j5 thru.
hundrt.d ind tift\ , c 1r-, 0ld Tht. r h;i, c 1 very l11gh
opinion of l11m 111d come to v1~1t hrm from the towns
'lnd , 1111gl ::., 1ml ... ult rns 111J pnnCl '-!:>l 5 v1::,1t !um too.
I-fr rt.ct:1\ ld u:, ,,. 1th honour .111J m td!.! u~ h1,; gue::,1s
\\' e lllC 1mpt.J by 1 rl\ c:r ne1r hh con, t.nt .rnd went
to sec hrm, 'ln<l \\ hen I ~ dute<l hrm he t.mbr teed me.
His sk111 1s frv,h rnd smootht.r th 111 un I !nvc seen;
'1n 1onc ::,tung }um \\Ou!J t1ke hrm to be fifty yc1rs
old I-I<.. told me: th 1t h!.! ~r!.!W nt. w h.ur ind tt:eth
every hundred ) eJr:, I h1d some doubts .1bout him,
how<..ver, 1nd God knO\\ s how much truth tht.r<! 1s
m what he: sa, s
\Ve tnvdkd thence to P.1ndn, where I met the
amir Bu runt 1yh He tre:1ted me well and wrote to
his rc:prt.sult1t1ves .lt Ghazna enJommg them to
show me honour \Ve \\ ent on to the village of
Charkh [Ch mkar ], 1c being now summer, and from
there to the town of Ghazn.1. This 1s the town of
the famous WJrnor-sultan lvfahmi1d 1bn Sabuktagfn,
7
S E L E C T I O N S F R O 1'1 T H E
~:me of the greatest of rulers, who made frequent r.uds
mto India and captured c1t1es and fortresses there. 17
His grave 1s m this city and 1s surmounted by a hospice.
The greater part of the town 1s m rums and nothrna
but a fracbon of It remams, thouo-h0
1t was once a Iara~::,
city It has an exceedmgly cold climate, and the
mhab1tants move from 1t m the cold season to Qandahar,
a large and prosperous town three mghts' JOurne}
from Ghazna, but I did not v1s1t 1t vVe travelled on
to Kabul, formerly a vast town, the site of which 1s
now occupied by a village mhab1ted by a tribe of
Persians called Afghans. They hold mount:uns ::ind
defiles and possess considerable strength, and are
mostly highwaymen. Their prmcipal mountain 1s
called Kuh Sulayman It IS told that the prophet
Sulayman [Solomon] ascended this mountam and
having looked out over India, which was then covered
with darkness, returned without entermg 1t
From Kabul we rode to Karma.sh, wh 1 ch 1s a fortress
belongmg to the Afghans, 1yrng between two hills
where they mtercept traffic on the road Durrng our
passage we had an engagement with them. The} \\en:
posted on the lower slope of the hill, but ,.,e shoe
arrows at them and they fled Our party was tr.ivd-
lmg light and had about four thousand horses I had
camels, as a result of which I became separated fron~
the caravan along with a party rncludrng a number ot
Afo-hans vVe Jettisoned some of our prov1s1ons anJ
ab~ndoned the loads of the camels that ,.,ere p<led,
on the route, but next day our horses return<.:d .1nJ
picked them up vVe reJorned the caravan m tht.
late evenrng and passed the night at the :,1:mon of
Shashnaghar, which IS the lase rnhab1ted place on the
confines of the Turkish lands. From here ,.,c:
t.:ntt.n-1
the great desert which extends for lifct.en J } ~1
?'
can be traversed only rn one season of the } tar, .1 t.r..~
the rams have fallen m Sind and India, that b JC tn-
180
TRAVELS OF lllN llATTOTA
ucg11111rng of Jul). i-. In tl11::i Jc!>ut blow!> the c.k.1dly
:,,unum wind. A grt..1t 1. 1r 1v.rn wh1d1 prLct.dcd us
lo:,t 111.111) c lllH.-b .mJ hor!lc::., but our comp.rny .1rnvul
!, 1fd)-pr.11::.t. be to l,od !-.lt P,111J 1\b [l11Jus) which
1:, the rl\ er of S111d .rnd mc.rn.., "The hvt RI\ <..r:,"
Thc:,t. llo\\ tnto the grut nva :rnd irrig.1tc those
J1..,tncl..,, \V c re 1chcd thb nHr on the mght tlut
the I\L\\' moon of ~luh.1rr.un of thL )Clr 7.1+ [12th
September 1 JJJ] 10:,c upon u-, From tlw, pornt the
rntdligtncc 0Hic1 i).., ,uotc to l 11J1.1 1nform1ng the king
of our ;irnv.tl .rnJ givrn~ him .ill tht. d<..t ub conct.rn-
~ ~
Ill~ U:,,
~Hen: ends the 111rr 1t1\ c of th1., JOUrllC) Pr.use
be to God, Lord of tht. \\ orld.,,
181
BOOK II
CHAPTER VI
WHEN we reached this river called PanJ Ab, which
is the frontier of the terntones of the sultan of India
and Smd, the officials of the mtelhgence service came
to us and sent a report about us to the governor of
the city of lVlultan. From Smd to the city of Dihli
[Delhi], the sultan's capital, it is fifty days' march,
but when the mtelhgence officers wnte to the sultan
from Smd the letter reaches him m five days by the
,postal service . ..)~ India te,e 1,:0,stal ~rvice_;~ of_},F,2,,.
kmds. 1 The mounted couriers traveFo~ horses
~ n g to theswtaii-w1tfi;;Gysevery four ~;les.""
The serviceot_' Couri'er's~ on 2~~Cis .,,~rg~~~~J'n,}J
~n~~ ~a-~9~r~-,-~LlY~ry J~,JI5I2,(~.....1P...4~--~re__ i,s .
an mnafoted village, outside which there are three
_pav;hons:~ Tn i~
t_Ife~ej_i_(me;g;r~<J.e,4 ~ready~fo~~cfv~
-9ffJ: each. of ~p.om hJ!.S _a ro~ a _yar~ .an4 _,a hay- long
with brass bells at the top. When a courier leaves
-the town he takes the letter in the fingers of one hand
and the rod with the bells m the other, and runs with
al! his might. The men m the pavilions, on hearing
the sound of the bells, prepare to meet him, and when
he reaches them one of them takes the letter m his '
hand and passes on, runnmg with all hrs might and
shakmg his rod until he reaches the next station,
and --SO the letter is passed On till it reaches 1ts
desbnation. ~his post is qmcker than the mounted '
po_~ It is sometimes used to transport frmts from ,
Khurasa.n which are highly valued m India, they are
183
SELECTIONS FROM THE
put on plates and carried w1th great speed to the
sultan. In the same way they transport the prmc1paJ
criminals; they are each placed on a stretcher and the
couriers run carrying the stretcher--on- the1r heads.
The sultan's drmkmg water is brought to him by the
same means, when he resides at Dawlat .Abad, from
the river Kank (Ganges), to which the Htndus go on
pilgrimage and which is at a distance of forty days'
Journey from there. .
.,,, When the mttlhg.ence officials write to the sultan
informing him of those who arnve m his country,
he srud1es the report very minutely. he take the
utmost care m th1s matter, tellmg him t at a certain
~an-nas ar.frved- of s~lf..~ni-~t.:cJi_ an-~p2._~rance and-
dress, and noting the number of his party, slaves and
servants and beasts, h1s behavzour both m acbon and
at rest, and all his domgs, omitting no details. When
the new arnval reaches the town of Multan, wh1ch 1s
the capital of Smd, he stays there until an order 1s
received from the sultan regarding his entry and the
degree of hospitality to be extended to him. A man
1s honoured m that country according to what may be
seen of h1s achons, conduct, and zeal, smce no on(!
knows anything of h1s family or lmeage. (The kmg
of India, Sultan Muhammad Shah, makes a,.prachce
of honourmg shang_ers and dishn~hJng them. by
governorslups or high chgmt.zes of State. The maJonty
of his courtiers, palace officials, mimsters of state,
judges, and relatives by marriage are fore1gners, and
he has issued a decree that foreigners are to be g1ven
in his country the title of 'A~ [Honourable], so that
this has become a proper name for them. )
' Every person proceeding to the court of th1s king
must needs have a g1ft ready_to_present to bim, m
order to gam his -favour.-The sultan ~~qIE.t~i, hilll
for it by a gift many times 1ts value. When lus
subjecl:s grew accustomed to this pracbce, the merchants
184
in Sind and India began to furnish each newcomer
with thousands of dinars as a loan, and to supply him
with whatever he might desire to offer as a gift or to
use on his own behalf, such as ndmg animals, camels,
and gooaS:--They place both their money and their
persons at his service, and stand before him like
attendants. When he reaches the sultan, he receives
a magnificent gift from him and pays off his debt to
them This trade of theirs is a flounshing one and:.
brmgs in vast profits. On reaching Sind I followed
this prachce and bought horses, camels, white slaves
and other goods from the merchants. I had already
bought from an 'Iraqi merchant in Ghazna about
thirty horses and a camel with a load of arrows, for
this is one of the things presented to the sultan. This
merchant went off to Khurasan and on remrning to
India received his money from me. He made an
enormous profit through me and became one of the
principal merchants I met him many years later,
at Aleppo, when the infidels had robbed me f2L every-
thing I possessed, bu_!:jie g~vemenoassisfance ......
- After crossing the nver of Sind called PanJ Ab,
our way led through a forest of ~s, in which I saw
a rhinoceros for the first time After two days,
march we reached Janani, a large and fine town on
the bank of the nver of Sind I ts people are a people
called the Samira, whose ancestors established them-
selves there on the conquest of Smd in the time of
al-HaJJaJ [712 A o ]. T~p_vol:l~--n-~y~r e~t-with
any~ne, Eor may any_one ob~~~e them while tliey are
eating, and they_ never marry outside their clan. 2
From Janan{ we travelled to Sf was1tan [Sehwan ], a
large town, outside which 1s a sandy desert, treeless
except for ~a:ias. Nothing 1s grown on the nver ,
here except pumfukin~ and the food of the inhabitants
consists of so~g um and peas, of which they make
bread There 1s a plent1fuf supply of fish and b.Bffulg
185 ~
SELECTIONS FROM THE '
.ttUlk, and t-liey _eat also_a kmd of small lizard stuffed

with ~~U!E~ When I saw this - smalf'"'i~7zn~
the~ ea~mg ~t, I~k a loathmg at 1t and would not
ea! ~!t We enterea"Siwasitan'chmng the liottesl
penocf of the summer The ~e-~t was intense, and my
C0_:Ilp~_:110ll~ U~5!d tq S!! ?ili1 except for as:loth.!?llild
the _W~J~_and another soaked Wlth water on tliefr
shoulders' this dried m a "ve'rysnort ti~e""ind they had
tg_ keep c9~~a!?-tly ~etting 1t agam -a ~-
In this town I me't'tne disbngU1shed docl:or 'Ala
al-Mulk of Khurasan';""formerly-qaclrof Herat;-whcr-:: I
,~ naci 'come to "join'\, tli-e- kmg of India and had been
appomted governor of the town and provmce of
Lahari m Smd. I decided to travel tluther with him.
He had fifteen ships w1th which he sailed down the
nver, cari-ymg his baggage. One of these was a ship
called the ahawrah, resemblmg the tartan of our
country, but broader and shorter. In tlie-centre of
1t there was a wooden cabm reached by a staircase,
and on top of this there was a place prepared for the
governor to sit m His sJE.t_e sar m front of hun and
slaves stood !o. . .r:1ght and left, while the crew of about
forty men rowed. Accompanying the ahawrah were
four ships to nght and left, two of which earned
the governor's standards, Jcettledrums, trumpets and !
smgers. First the dru~~, and tr~pets were so,:1~~ed
and then the musicians sang, and this continued
alternately from early mornmg to the lunch hour
When this moment arrived, the ships closed up and
gangways were placed from one to the other. T~e
musicians then came from on board the governor s
ahawrah and sang until he fi.nIBhed -eatmg, when they
had their meal and returned to their vessel ~-
jo~rney contm~d thereafte.r_ a:._ b:~6~ unttl _n1ghtfalb
Tliecamp was then set up on tlie oank of tlie river,
the governor disembarked, tables were set and most
of the troops Jomed in tlie meal. After the last evenmg
186
pr.1.ycr sentries WL.rc posted for the mght 111 rd1L.fs
.As c.1ch rdief firushed its tour of duty one of them
cncd in .1. loud voice " 0 lord Krng, 4 so many hours
of the night arc p,1sl:." At d:rn,n the trumpets and
drums sounded .rnd thL. d.nvn pr.1yer w:is said, then
food w 1:, brought .rnd when the mc.11 was fimshcd they
resumed their J0urnq.
After five d.1y:,' tnvellrng \\ c n:.1ched '1\.l.i al-:tvlulk's
provmcc, L.1h.ui., 1. fine town on the co:isl: where the
nvcr of Smd d1sch:1rgc.s it:,clf mto the occan.6 It
possc:,:,e:, 1. l.irge h 1rbour, v1s1tcd by mcn from Yemen,
F.irs, and cbewherc. For tlus rc.1son its contnbu-
t10ns to the Trc:isur) .rnd lb rcvt.:nucs .ire cons1der-
.1blc, the governor told me th.it the rcvcnue from
., this town .unountL.d to Sl'\t)' I 1khs per annum .. The
governor n.:ceivc.s 1 twc.,,ntleth p,irt of this, th1.t bcmg
the footing on wluch the :,ult.in commib the pro-
vmces to his govcrnor:,. I rode.! out one day with
'Al.i al-I\tl ulk, and \\ c c.ime to a pbm callcd T .irna,c-
sc.,, vl!n nuks from L 1h1.ri, where I saw an 111numl!rablc
quantity of :;lones m the.! shape.! of men and amm:tls.
l'vlany of them \\ ere disfigured and their forms effaced,
but there remained .1 head or a foot or something of
the sort. Som<.! of the stones 1.lso had the shape of
grams of wheat, chickpeas, beans and lentils, and there
wcre remams of a city w.ul and house.! walls \Ve saw
too the rums of a house with a chamber of hewn
stones, m the m1dsl: of which there was a platform of
hewn stones rcsemblmg a smgle block, surmounted
by a human figure, except that lts he.id \Vas elongated
and its mouth on the side of Its face and its hands
behmd its back like a pm~ed cap_tive. The place
h~d p~ols of ~mki~a~and an rnscnpt1on on one
of its ,vallsiii 1na1an ch.-iracrers 'Ala al-Mulk told
me that the h1slonans refate that m this place there
was a great city whose mhabitants were so depraved
that they were turned to stone, and that 1t 1s.,. c1ie1r
187
SELECTIONS FROM THE
kmg who 1s on the terrace m the house which is shll
called "the king's palace,, They add that the 1n-
scnpt1on gives the date of the des1:ruchon of the people
of that city, which occurred about a thousand years
ago. 6
When I had spent five days 1n this city with 'Ala
al-Mulk, he gave me a generous travellmg prov1S1on
and I left for the town of~~ a :fine city mtersecl:ed "'
by a channel from the nver or Smd 7 In themiadle
of this canal there IS a, ~ne ho~f>I~e at which tr_aye1Jers
are entertamed Thereafter I travelled from Bakar to
the larg~ town of Qia....C.Q~h] which hes on the bank
of the nver and has fine bazaars and bmldmgs The
governor there at the time was the excellent .kmg, the
Sharif Jalal ad-Din al-KiJf, a gallant and generg~s
man We formed a strong affecbon for one anothe~
and met~Iater. on af lliecapIT:aI; nellii." vV'b.en,.,..the
sultan left for Dawlat Abad and bade me remam m
the capital, Jalal ad-Din said to me " You wtll reqmre
a large sum for your expenses and the sultan W111
be away for a long time, so take my village and use its
revenues until I return." I did so and gamed about
five thousand dmars-may _9od give hnp neg~
rec~!npnse ! From Oja I travelled to Multan, the
capita -of Smd and residence of the prmcipal amfr
On the road to Multan and ten miles distant from
1t 1s the nver called Khusraw Abad, a large nver that
cannot be crossed except by boat 3 At this pomt the
goods and baggage of all who pass ~e ~ubJe~o
a rigorous examination. Their cusl:o,!!!y.t _the t~~
of our arnval wasio take a quarter of everything
brought m by the merchants, and exatl: a duty of
seven dmars for_e~ery ).1orse. 11:_e idea of having ID[_.
ba~~arched ~s__yqy d1s~greeable ro me, f;J~
there was nothing_ valu~~}~_J-~ though It ~
a ~eafTritlie eyes _of th~_peop!~ By tfie gra~
of God there-arnved on the scene one of the Rrmcip
188
TRAVELS OF IBN llATTOTA
:>fficcrs from the govLrnor of lviult.in, who gave orders
th \t I ::.,hould not be ~ubjdl:cd to c\.am111at1011 or sc,\rch.
\Ve spent tlut 111ght on the b rnk of the river and ne::-.t
morn11w were v1::.,1trd by the postmaster, who 1s the
per::.,on ~vho keeps the sult.rn 1ntormed of affairs m
th"lt to,, n .rnd d1sl:ntl: .rnd of .111 tlut h.1ppens 111 1t
.rnd 1H who come to 1t. I \\ .1s mtroduc<.d to h1111 and
went 111 his company to v1s1t the governor of iviult.'in,
Qutb 11-l'viulk. -
, - "\VIfr-111cntercd his presence, he rose to greLt me,
shook my hand, and b1dc me ~sit beside him I
, presented hun with .1 whitt.. ::.,I.we, .1 horse, .rnd some
\ ~.!:~ and 1Ln]o_nd::,. These ire .1mong the greatest
g1tts th"lt can be nudt! to them, since tht!y do not
grow m their hnd .rnd .1re 11nported from Khur.is.in
The governor S"lt on a l.1rge c 1rpt..tcd d:1_;s, with the
army commanders on l11s right .111d left .rnd armed
men standrng "lt l11s b.1ck. The troops ~-p~sse~--2!.1-
r~~ before him and a number of bows arc Kept
there \Vhen ,111) one comes desmng to be enrolled
in the army .1s .m archer, he 1s given one of the bows
to draw They differ m shffnt..ss, and l11s pay 1s
graduated according to the strength he shows m
drawing them. Anyone desmng to be enrolled as a
trooper sets off his horse at .1 canter or gallop and
tr:~s _to htt a target set 1:!E._~here w1tnnis l.mcc. There
1s a rmg there too, suspended to a low wall, the candi-
date sets off his horse at a canter until he comes level
with the ring, and 1f he lifts 1t off with his lance he
1s accounted by them a good horseman. For those
wishmg to be enrolled as mounted archers there is a
ball placed on the ground, and their pay is propor-
tioned to their accuracy 111 hitting 1t with an arrow
while g~i~g_ at ~ca~t~r ~r galjop
Two months after we -reached Multan one of the
sultan's household officers and the chief of police
arrived to arrange for the Journey of the new arrivals
189
SELECTIONS FROM THE
[to Delhi]. They came to me together and asked me
why I had come to India I replied that I had come
to enter the service of the Kh1fod Alam [" l\lfaster of
the vVorld "], as the sultan 1s called m his domu11ons.
_,_.Ii~- _hacLR!!:?. _or1~s __tpflt. no ,.one ~ommg from
Khu~~an s~houia be allowed to enter Indrn 'unless~ ne
,_c;_~ip~ ,~1th_ the jotention oCsl:aying 'th-er'e. vVhen I
had given my answer they called the qadi and not:mes
and drew up a document witnessing to my under-
taking and those of my company who wished to
remain m India, but some of them refused to engage
themselves. \Ve then prepared for the Journey to
the capital, which 1s forty days' march from Ivlult.in
through a continuous stretch of mhabited country.
The principal member of our party was Khudhiwand
Zadah, qadi of Tirm1dh, who had come with his wife
and children The chamberlam made special arrange-
ments for his Journey and took twenty cooks with
him from Multan, himself going ahead with them
every night to prepare his meals, etc.
The first town we reached after leavmg l\tiult:in
was 464_1).ar [ Abohar], which 1s the firsl: town rn Ind11
proper, and thence we entered a plain extending for
a day's Journey. On the borders of this pbm an:
maccess1ble mountams, mhabited by Hmdu rnfideb,
some of them are subJecb [ ryots] under lYiusltm rult:,
and live m villages governed by a lYiusltm ht. 1dm:1n
appomted by the governor m whose fief th1., v1l!Jgc
Ires. Others of them are rebels and warrtor::., who
maintain themselves m the fastnesses of th<., moun-
tains and make plundering raids On this ro:iJ Wt..
f~ll in w1th a ra1d1rig party, this being. the fir~ cn.ig~-
ment I witnessed m India The main dart} h 1J krc
Abu.bar in the early morning, but I ha ft,l}t:d tht.ri:
with a small party of my comp.1.n10ns until midd tj
and when we left numbering rn .ill tw<..nt}~t\\O 7hor ,,;;-
men, partly Arab; and p'lrtly Pt:r::,1.m::. and Tur .-., ,,:
190
TR.:\VLLS OI I B~ B J\ T T O T ,\
\\ere 1tt.1cl-..cd 011 thi._, J'l 1rn b, eighty 111fidcl'l on foot
with t\\O hor~unrn. i\l y comp 111wn, \\ere men of
COUrl[-!l' .ind d1:l1t) llld v, c (nu[!ht Joutly ,v1th them,
hill111 one- of the hor ,men rnd .tl,out t ,, clve nf the
(Pot oldicr, I \\ .1, hit h, 111 ir;-o\\ 111d m. lwr,c
h) .11~11thcr, l)llt C,,d !'re en cd me fl om them, for
there 1, no lur1.c 111 their .in<,\!, 011c ,,( our p 1rty
hJJ h. ' ]:or C' ',\ O\l lHkd I but ',\ C r! \\ C Jrnn Ill C ,c h,lll{.!C
the hor r ,,r hid c 1ptmcd from the rn1:drl, rnd k1ll~d
the ,\ oundcJ hor r, \\ h1ch -., 1, c 1tcn li:, the I urk">
of our J'Ut\ \\'c c1rricd the hcHl, ot the 11111 to
the c1 1 dc 0i .:\ln'i B1k'h1r 1 ,\l1H.h ,,c: ;-e1cheJ 1lout
m1d1ll'~ht, rnd \)' rrndcd t 11cm from the \', .ill
T,,o d1,, l 1tcr ,\C rc-.11..hni :\j\'1,hh lll (1'1~.p1t~.rnJ,-
a mill tO\\ n liclonflrn'! to the." 1,iq11 ~11 iykh I md
1d-D111 ' .-\, frcll'i'1 n;,! to the limp 1itrr \ i :ting
-th1,; rcr on 1uc, l ' l',' the- rcorlc h\lrn 111:; out, .1nd ',l)f11C
of our putv ilow! ,,. ith them I 1,hcd them \\ h 1t
\\ l, lnpJ'Cllrng ind the) told me th 1t one of the I Irn<lu
\nfidcL Jn,i ~hrd, th 1t 1 lire h Hl t,ccn ~rndlcJ to hum
him, 1nd ht._, v.sfc \\ould hum hc."r ,di dun[.! with hun
After th-c lrnrnint; my comp 1mon., , unc b tlk rnd told
me that '>he lnJ cmhr 1ccd the de ul m \11 until '-hl..
hLr::iclf W1'> burncJ with him. I. llLr on I \bt.d often
to ::iLc 1 I IinJu \\Om 111, nchlv drc.,.,c:d, riding on hor . . e-
b.1ck, follo,Hd b) both I\lu:.,J1111'> ind rnlidd ....111J pre-
ceded by drum::, rnd trnmJKh, "hL \\,h 1c<..omp rn1ed
by llrJhm:1n!>, who .1rl.. the ch1d'> of th<. I I1ndu::i In ~
the suit 111'... domm1on!> thq 1--.k hi'> pt.rm1::is1on to
burn her, which he 1<..1.ord.:; thun The burning of,
the wif<. :iftcr ht.r hu::ib ind's dt..1th j., rc:g.1r<lcJ by them
as 1. commenJ.1blc .1cr, but 1::i not compubory I only
when .1 widow burn::, ht.r::idf her f.11111ly 1.cqturc .1'
cutam prcsl1gt.: by It and g.un .t rt.:put.1t1on for fiddtty /
A widow who docs not burn herself dre!>scs 111 co.1rsc'
garment::, and lives with her own people 111 1111::icry,
despised for her lack of fidelity, but she 1s not forced
191
SELECTIONS FROM THE
'to burn herself. Once m the town of AmJari [ Am-
Jhera, near DharJ I saw three women whose husbands
had been killed m battle and who had aoreed to burn
themselves. Each one had a horse b~ught to her
and mounted 1t, richly dressed and perfumed. In her
right hand she held a coconut, with which she plaved,
and m her left a mirror, m which she looked at her
face. They were surrounded by Brahmans and their
own relatives, and were preceded by drums, trumpets
and bugles Everyone of the m:fidels said to them
" Take 'greetings from me to my father, or brother
or mother, or fnend " and they would say "Yes "
and smile at them I rode out with my compamons
to see the way m which the burnmg was earned out.
After three miles we came to a dark place with much
water and shady trees, amongst which there were four
pavilions, each contammg a stone idol. Between the
pavilions there was a basm of water over which a
dense shade was cast by trees so t~ckl__y set ~a! .!_he
sun could not penetrate them -Theplacelooked like
a spot in hell-God preserve us from 1t I On reach-
ing these pavilions they descended to the pool, plunged
mto 1t and divested themselves of their clothes and
ornaments, wfu~h-fheydifuibuted as alms "-Each one
was then given an unsewn garment of coarse cotton
and tied part of It r0illld her waist and part over her
head and shoulders. The fires had been lit near this
basin m a low 1ymg spot, and 1!...,~f ,:esame poured
over them, so that the flames were mcreased There
were about fifteen men there with f~g~ts of th_m
wood and about ten others with heavy piecesof wood,
and the drummers and trumpeters were s!andrng by
waitmo- for the woman's commg. The :6.re ~
scr~n~d-=-oJI. by_~blanket _.g__f:ld _by_so~e ;nen-;-so-that
slie should not be frightened by the sight of 1t I saw
one of them on comma- to the blanket, E._ull 1t v10len!:!f
out of the ~en's hand~, saymg to them with a smile
- - - -- - r92
r R .\ ,. C LS O F I B~ B AT T O TA
'' Do \ou fr1uhtcn me \\Ith the fire) I knov, th 1t 1t
1, 1 1~rc00 -let inc 1lonc-." Thereupon :,he JOlnul
her h rnd'- th)\ c her he.Hi 111 , ilut ltwn to the lire .ind
( 1:,l her elf rnto it .:\t the .1me moment the Jrum..,,
trumpet:, rnJ bu;;lc., \\ere ounded, the men thrcv,r
their 1ire\H l d nn hn rnd the other, put me he l\)
\\ ooJ 011 top oi her to pre\ ent her PHJ\ 111[!, cnL '-> v, ae
ru,rJ 111d there ,\ 1, 1 ll)ud cl m~our. \\ },en I rn
th:, ] }J H] 1)) llllf f 1}Jrn off lH\ hnr l\ II Ill', ((Jffi!) i-1,ion,
h_.1J 1;ot ciui1.~l, hr11ught ._,, 1tcr to me lllli I ~~i _ m:
f1cc, liter ,,h.d11 ,\1:111 1rn\
'lhc lnJ:m, hnc 1 i:rnl1r rr,cbcc of drov,mng
them cl. c, ,nd min\ oi them do o 1n the fl\ er
G.111uc , thr fl\ er to \\ n,1.)1 thq go on p:l!_!rim.1gc,
mJ into \, h1ch the 1 nc, ot lll<J ,c ., ho 1rc burnc~i .trc
c 1,t 'I he\ n tlnt H 1, 1 ri, rr of P 1n~11 c \\.hen
one of them come, to d,o ,,. n h,m elf he 1\ to thmc-
PfC"-,cnt \\ irh lnm, "Do 1.ot th11k tn 1t I Jr~., n nn ,cl{
for 111\ ,\ orldh re\ Oil or thTO\l~h J'C'll\lry Ill) pHrj'Q:->C
I
i'.l 'iolrh to ,ed,. 1ppro H.h to Ku L),' l\ u"1; bcmg the

n unc of (10d 111 thc.1r l rn;;u ll,!C O I Ic thc.n dro\,n:,
h1m"df, llHi \', hen he 1, de 1J the) t 1kc him out JJH.i
burn !um rnd c 1-,t h1., 1.,hc, into tlw, river
Let U!> re.turn to our origin d topic \\"c -.ct out
from the lO\\ll of .\p.'ld 1h 111 1 llld 1ttc.r four d n..,'
m 1rch rcach1..d S lrl" lt; [:, 1r:,{1t1 or Sir.., 1], a hrf!c. to~\ n
with qu llltlt1<.:. of nee of .111 t. \cdlc.nt '->Ort \\ h1ch 1::,
c\.portui to the c1p1t 11, Ddh1 Th<.. tO\\ n produce.:,
, l 1rg<.. r<.. vcnu<.., l \',1!> told how much 1t 1:, 1 but h ivc
forgott<..n the figure Thence \\ c tr;n dkd to sLln~i,
an C\Cc.c..d1ngly fin<.:, wdl built rnd populou:, city,
surroumh:d by 1. wJll T\\O d 1ys htc..r we.. c 1mc to
M.1:,'ud .Abld) which I!, ten nulc..:, from Ddh1, 11 .md
there WC spent thrLt. days The !>Ult 111 w.1s away at
the time 111 the d1~m:l: of the town of Q1.nawJ, wluch
is ten days' m'lrch from Ddh1, but the qUt..en-mothcr
was tn the capital, and also the sultan's wazir. He
193 0
S E LE C T I O N S F R O i\I T H E
sent rus officers to receive us, designating for e.1ch
one of us a person of his own rank. iVIeam1ih1lt. he
wrote to inform the sultan of our arrival, sen~rng the
le~ter by couner post, and received the sulnn'::. rt!ph
durmg the-th-ree-da1s-that we spent at ivfas'ud :\b 1J
Thereafter the qadis, docrors and sha} khs, Jnd somt.!
of the amirs came out to meet us The Indnns c 11!
the amirs "kmgs," usmg the term '' krng " \',here chc
people of D1yar-Bakr, Egypt, and else\',hert! s.n
"amir" \Ve then sec out from lvlas'ud Ab 1d rnJ
halted near a village called !'fthm On the ne\.t J l} ;
we arrived at the city of D1hli [Delhi], the mctropolr::i
of India, a vast and magmficent city, uniting bcrnt,
with s1rength It 1s surrounded by a ,,.,all th 1t h.1-:./
no equal m the world, and 1s the largesl city in Inch 1,'
nay rather the largest city m the entire r,,Iuslim !
Orient.
The city of Delhi 1s made up now of four m:1gh-
bourmg and contiguous tovms One of thLm h
1!elh1 proper, the-old city built by the 1nfidds ~rnJ
captured in the year I I 8 8 The second 15 l 11lul
SJ_rb,_ known also as the Abode of the C-iltplnt(., th1,
was the town given by the sult1n to Gh1pth :id-Din,
the o-randson of the 'Abbas1d Caliph lvlw,hns1r, \\ hen
he ~me to hts court. The third 1:, cJ11tJ Tughl 11 1
.-1.bad, after 1ts founder, the.. Sultan Tughbq, th.:
hither of the sult-in of India to whose court \\ c: c Wll
The reason ,vhy he butlc 1c was that out. d-i} he "u-1
to a former sultan "0 ma:,1er of tht. \rnrlJ, it .... c
fittmg that a Cit} should be built hue" Tht.. Jult '.n
replied to him m Jc..:;1 '' \Vht.n } ou art.. ::iult rn, bui1 !
1t." It c1mc -ib-out by tht! dt.crt..t. of GoJ rh 1r ~
bc:camt! sultan, so ht.. built tt and nl!c:J zr l, 1 hi' 0 .. i
n1.mc. The: fourth 1s c.1llc..d J:ih.m P in.1h, lr J 1'
Sl.t .1p:1rt for the rt.:iidc..ncc: of tht.. rt.1gn1~q ,utc ,
iv!uh-imm1d Sh Lh Ht.. v.1c; the fuunJ-..r or 1r, .t' ! ,
\r.:-t::. h1:. 1ntc.:nt10n to unit-.. thc.:,t.. fuu,. tJ.','1 ,.,,,t"
1 94
a single wall, but after bmldmg part of it he gave
up the rest because of the expense reqmred for its
confuucbon. 12
The cathedral mosque occupies a large area, its
walls, roof, and pavmg are all construB:ed of white
st_9nes, admirably squared and firmly cemented with
lead. There is~ no wood 1ll it at all It has thirteen
domes of stone, its pulpit also 1s made of stone, and
1t has four courts In the centre of the mosque 1s an
a~-i~~P-inng column, and nobody knows of what
metal 1t 1s construB:ed One of their learned men told
me that it is called Haft Jush, _which means " seven
metals," and that 1t is construB:ed from these seven. -
-A-part-of this column, of a finger's breadth, has been
polished, and gives out a brilliant gleam. Iron makes
no impression on it. It 1s thirty cubits high, 13 and
we rolled a turban round it, and the portion which
encircled it measured eight cubits At the eastern
gate there are two enormous idols of brass p~_oshate
~n the ground and held by stones, and everyone
entermg or leavmg the mosque treads on them The
SI~ wa~f~rmerly occupied by an idol temple, and Was
C<:_~ve~t~_d Xnt~a-mosque ()ll - !li~ .~ti.quest of the city.~ ,2
fn the ~thern court is the ~~..t, which has no::_
p~ral~l_i~ tlie lanas of Islam Ifls ~l!ilt_ of red stone,
unlike the-rest-of the edifice, ornamented with sculp-
tures, and of great height The ball on the top is of
ghstemng white marble and its " apples " [ small balls
surmountmg a mmaret] are of pure gold The
passage is so wide that elephants could go up by it
A person m whom I have confidence told me that when
1t was bmlt he saw an elephant chmbmg with stones
to the top The Sultan Qutb ad-Din wished to build
one m the western court even larger, but was cut off
by death when only a third of it had been completed.
This mmaret 1s one of the wonders of the world for
srze, -an.a. -the width of ItS passage IS such that three
1 95
SELECTIONS FROM THE
elephants could mount 1t abreast The third of it
of
built equals m-heiglit-the wnole' the other minaret
we have mentioned m the northern court, though to
one lookmg at 1t from below 1t does not seem so high
because of 1ts bulk.
Outside Delhi 1s a large reservoir named after the
Sultan Lalm1sh, from which the inhabitants draw
th~1:_i:~mlang~ater It lS supplied by ram wat~
and 1s aboITttwo miles in length by half that breadth.
In the centre there 1s a great pavilion bmlt of squared
scones, two stories high. When the reservoir 1s filled
with water 1t can be reached only m boats~ but when
the water 1s low the people go mto 1t Inside 1t 1s
a mosque, and at most times 1t 1s occupied by mendi-
cants devoted to the service of God When the water
dries up at the sides of this reserv01r, they sow sugar
canes, cuc~bers, green m~ons and pupSkms there.
The melons and pumpkms are very sweet ut of small
size. Between Delhi and the Abode of the Caliphate
1s the private reservoir, which is larger than the other.
Along its sides there are about forty pavilions, and
round about 1t live the musicians.
Among the learned and p10us mhab1tants of Delhi
1s the devout and humble imam Kamal ad-.Dfn, called
" The Cave Man n from ~caveinwfiicn hf lives -
oufsTcle-flie'~ciij:-+ I had a slave-boy who ran away
from me, and whom I found rn the possession of :1
certain Turk. I proposed to take him back from him,
but th.e shaykh said to me " This boy is no good to
you. Don't take him." The Turk wished to come
to an arrangement, so he paid me a hundred dinars
and kept the boy. Six months later the boy killed
his master and was taken before the sultan, who
ordered htm to he handed over to his master's sons,
and they put him to death \,Vhen I saw this m1r:1cle
on the part of the shaykh I attached myself to htmj
w1thdrawmg from the world and giving all that
196
0
,>
. .)

possessed to the poor and needy. I stayed with him
for some tune, and I used to sec him fast for ten and
twenty d.1ys on end .rnd remain standing most of the
mght. I continued with h11n until the sultan sent
(o~_ 111~ and I became entangled m the world once
ag;un-mt!y__9_~d giv_c__1_11~ _a good e11d2ng I
4
't9is _ki!.1g is _of all men the fonddl: of making gift'>

and of shedding blood His gate is never without
, some poor m.rn ennched...,orsome7iving man executed,
.,._ .ind stones arc current amongst the people of his
generosity and courage and of his cruelty and violence
towards crunm.1ls For all that, he is of all men the
_n:.o~_hun1ble and the rea92_esl: to sho,;-~~ty ;nd'
~u~i~c __ The -ceremonies of rcl1g19J1--.irt _,.sfricl:ly
Complied ~\:_1th _at" bis_ COU_rt, -~f2d he _i? Se\'.:er~-~-t-~~
. -.i'nat'ter of attend.rncc at Rrayer an~d in pumshmg tho~~
who negleB: it ~ He is one of tho?e kings whose
felicity is unimp1ired and surpassing all ~rdmary
experience, but his dof!lI!1a_nt quality is generosity .
..\Ve shall relate some stones of this thaf arc marvellous
beyond anything ever heard before, and I call God and
, his Angels and His Prophets to witness that all that I tell
of his extraordinary generosity 1s absolute truth. I know
'that some of the instances I shall relate will be unaccept- .
able to the minds of many, and that they will regard
them as quite 1mposs1ble, but m a matter which I
have seen with my own eyes and of which I know ,
the accuracy and have had a large share, I cannot do
otherwise than speak the truth H
The sultan's palace at Delhi 1s called Dar Sara,
and contams many doors At the first door":-tnereare
a number of guardians, and beside 1t trumpeters and
flute-players When any amir or person of note arrives,
tliey sourfd their msl:ruments and say " So-and-so has
come; so-::and:so has come n- The same takes place also at
the second and third doors Outside the first door are
platforms on which the executioners sit, for the custom
1 97
SELECTIONS FR01'1 THE
amongsi: them 1s that when the sultan orders :i m:in
to be executed, the sentence Is carried out :it the door
of the audience hall, and the body hes there oYer
th.!~':__!11gJ:its. Between the first and second doors
iliere is a large veshbule with platforms :iloncr both
sides, Oll which sit those whose turn of duty_ 1~ IS to
guard the doors. Between the second and third
doofsth-ere is a large platform on wluch the principal
p.aqi_~ [keeper of the registerJ sJts_; m front of him
tliere IS a gold mace, which he holds in his h111d,
and on his_ head he '\\ears a jewelled ti1r..1 of eold,
surmoiinted by peacock fe:ithers:- The second ...door
leads to an extensive audience hall m "h1ch the people
sit. .At the third door there are platforms occupied
by the scnbes of the door One of their customs 1s
that no;;rnay pass through this door except those
whom the sultan has prescnbed, and for each person
he prescnbes a number of rus s1:.uf to enter along mch
him. "\Vhenever any person comes to this door the
scribes write down "So-and-so came at the first hour '
or the second, and so on, :ind the sultan recen es ~
report of this after the evenmg prayer. Another o~
their customs is that anyone who absents h1msdt
from the palace for three days or more, wit? or with-
out excuse, may not enter this door thereafter e~cep~
by the sultan's pernussion. If he h:is an excuse ot
1!lness or othennse he presents the sultan w11: a gift
suitable to his rank The third door opens into 1n
immense audience h:ill called Hdzdr i-J1:b, ~ hich
means " A thousand pillars.'' The pillars are of n ood
and support a wooden roof, a~irably c'lr\ed. Tnc
people sit under this, and 1t 1s m this hall that t.rt!
sultan holds public audiences
.As a rule hrs audiences are held zn the :ifo:rnoon.
thoucrh he often holds them early m the d.y H~
sit!_ c~oss-legged _on a throne _pbced ?n a ~:l_l.?.. c:u-pe:~~
in wiirte, with :1 brge cushion behmd him and t.
19S
others as arm-rests on his right and left. When he
takes his seat, the waz{r stands m front of him, the
secretaries behmd the wazfr, then the chamberlams
and so on m order of precedence. As the sultan sits
down the chamberlams and naqibs say lil their loudest
voice Bwm/lah. At the sultan's head stands the
" great kmg " Qabula with a fly-whisk m his hand
to dnve off the flies. A hunclred "'armour-bearers
staiicron- t1ie- i-1glit and a like number on the left,
carrymg shields, swords, and bows The other
funcbonanes and notables stand along the hall to right
and ,.left. Then they brmg m sixty horses with the
royal harn~ss, half of which are ranged on the right
and half on the left, where the sultan can see them
Ne:-..t fifty elephants are brought m, which are adorned
with silken cloths, and have their tusks shod with iron
-o-n
fo!:_greater efficacy lil killing cnmirutls. the neck
of each elephant is its mahout, who carries a sort of
iron axe with which he pumshes 1t and direB:s it to
do-what is required of It Each elephant has on its
back a sort of large chesl: capable of holdmg twenty
warriors or more or less, accordmg to the s12e of the
beast. These elephants are tramed to make obeisance
to the sultan and mclme their heads: and whert'they
do so the chamberlams cry m a loud voice Btsmtllal,.
They also are arranged half on the right and half on
the left behmd the persons sl:andmg As each person
enters who has an appomted place of standmg on the
nght or left, he makes obeisance on reachmg the
station of the chamberlams, and the chamberlams say
Bwmllah, regulatmg the loudness of their utterance
by the rank of the person concerned, who then retires
'l to his appomted place, beyond which he never passes.
, <1-,' If 1t 1s one of the mfidel Hmdus who makes obeisance,
Jthe chamberlams say to him " ,9od gmde thee"

If there should be anyone at the door who has
come to offer the sultan a gift, the chamberlams enter
r99
SELECTIONS FROM THE
the sultan's presence m order of precedence, make
obeisance m three places, and inform the sultan of
the person at the door. If he commands them to
bring him m, they place the gift m the hands of men
who stand with 1t in front of the sultan where he can
see 1t. He then calls m the donor, who makes
obeisance three times before reachmg the sultan and
makes another obeisance at the station of the chamber-
lains. The sultan then addresses h1m m person with
the greatest: courtesy and b1ds hun welcome. If he
1s a person who is worthy of honour, the sultan takes
him by the hand or embraces him, and asks for some
part of his present. It 1s then placed before him,
and 1f 1t consists In weapons or fabrics he turns it this
way and that with h1s hand and expresses ms approval,
to set the donor at ease and encourage him. He gives
him a robe of honour and ,lss1gns h1m a sum of money
to wash h1s_ b~g.d, according to their custom m this
case, proportioned to his ments.
When the sultan returns from a Journey, the
elephants are decorated, and on sixteen of them are
placed sixteen parasols, some brocaded and som~ -~et
with Jewels Wooden pavtl1on"s-~"are bwlt 'several
sl:or1es high and covered w1th silk cloths, and m each
story there are smgmg g1rls weanng magnificent
dresses and ornaments, with dancmg girls amongst
them. In the centre of each pavtl10n 1s a large tank
made of skms and filled with ~lf~E-)V.?:_te_r?.. from wh1ch
all the people, natives or strangers, may drmk, re-
ceiving at the same t1me betel leaves and areca nuts
The space between the pavilions-iscarpeteawillisiI~
cloths, on which the sultan's horse treads The walls
of the street along which he passes from the gate o1
the city to the gate of the palace are~ gupg, JVith- silk
cloths. In front of h1m march footmen from h~
own slaves, several thousands m number, and behrn
come the mob and the soldiers. On one of hrs entries
200
rnto the c1p1t 11 I s l\'r three or four :.null c.1t.~_E!!.1!!>
pl iced on cleph rnb thro\\ mg gold .wd silver COin!>
among:,1 the people from the moment when he cntc..rLd
tlH. cit\ until he rc.1chcJ the p.1bce.
l .,Juli no\\ 111cnt1on 1 few of his 111.1gn1ficent g1fo,
rnJ l irl.!e:,._t ..,. 'l he merch.111t Shih ib .1<l - Din of
K.il 1n111: \\ 110 \\ 1'. l friend of 1I-K.L~1run1, the .. bng II
of the mcrch rnh m lnd11, W7'> 1m1tc<l b) the l.1ttLr
to JOJn him 11Hi 1rrn cd ,,. 1th 1 v ilu1ble prL:,<..nt for
the s\llt 111 On their \, 1) they ,r.crc .ltt 1ckcd b) :1
1..on-.1JLr 1hk force of 1nhJd:,, ,vho killed the '' king ,.
of thl merch.rnt, 111J l 1rr1cd off I!> boot) hi:, monL)
.rnd trc;h11rc, 111J Shih ih lli-D1n', pn:...cnt Shih ib
id-Din him ,elf c"c 1ped \\ 1th hi.., life, rnJ the :,ult 111,
on he mn~ of tht ,, :..! 1, e order, th it he :..hould be g1\ 1..n
th1rt) thom 111J din 1r, rnd return to hb O\\ n country.
llc rcfu.,1..J to 11..ccpt It, ho\,1..\cr, :, 1yrng th lt he h 1<l
come for the c-..prc'>'> purro ,e of :,ce1ng the :,tilt.in
.inJ ki-,..,111g the grounJ bcforc" }11111 'l he) \\ rote to
the :,ult 111 to th,.., cffLd: 111d he, grudi1..d with wh.\t
Shih \.b 1<l-Dm h lJ:, 1id, comm ind<..d h1111 to be brought
to Ddh1 \',,Jth <..\ Lr) m.1rk of honour \Vhen Sh1h.ib
1d-Din wa::. mtroducLd 111to the sult.rn\ pre:.1.:nc1.., the
sult:m m:1de hun 1 nch present, md ::,omc d.1) s l 1t<..r
;i::,kLd wht:re he w 1:, On he mng th it h1.. w1s ill,
he comm ind<.:d one of h1:. court1<..rs to go 1nhntly
to the trc.isury .ind t1ke 1 hundn. d thous ind t mg.1hs
of gold (the t:mgah b1..mg worth t,vo :1nd a half
lvforocc1n d111:us) and c.irry them to l11m to set h11n
at c:1~e He or<ler1..d hun to buy with this money
what Indian good:, he plc1s1..d, 111d g.wc 111slrucbons
that no one ebe should buy rnyth111g at .111 until
Sh1h.1b :1d-Di11 had m.1de :111 h1!> purch.iscs. In add1-
t1on he ordered three ships to be made ready for his
Journey with complete eqmpment and full pay and
prov!stons for the crc,y So Sh1h.ib ad-D{n departed
and disembarked in tne island of Hormuz, where he
'201
SELECTIONS FROM THE
bullt a great ~ouse. I saw this house later on, and I
sa,y also Sh1h.1b ad-Din, having lost all that he had,
soltc1t1ng a gift at Shiraz from 1ts sultan, Abu Ishaq.
Th'atisflie ,vay with riches amassed m these Indian
lands; it rs only rarely that anyone gets out of the
country with them, and when he does leave 1t and
reaches some other country, God sends upon him
some calamity which ann!hilates all that he possesses
So 1t happened to Sh1hab aa:Dfo, for everythmg that
he had was taken from him rn the civil war between
the kmg of Hormuz and his nephews, and he left the
country stn_p~d of all his wealth. - -~-- "- ~
, The docl:or Shams -ad-Din, who was a philosopher
1
and a born poet, wrote a laudatory ode to the sultan
m Persian. The ode containe-d' twenty-seven verses,
and the sultan gave him a thousand silver dmars for
each verse Tlus 1s more than has ever been related
of former kmgs, for they used to g1ve a thousand
dirhams for each verse, wh1ch 1s only a tenth of the
sultan's gift. Then too when the sultan heard the
story of the learned and pious qad{ MaJd ad-Din of
Shiraz, whose history we have written m the first
volume, he sent ten thousand silver dinars to him at
Shfraz. Again, Burhan ad-Din of Sagharj [near
Samarqand] was a preacher and imam so liberal rn
spending what he possessed that he used often t_o
contracl debts rn order to give to others The sultan
heard of him and sent him forty thousand dmars,
w1th a request that he would come to Dellu He
accepted the g1ft and paid his debts with 1t, but went
off to Cathay and refused to come to the sultan, saymg
" I shall not go to a sultan m whose presence scholar~
have-to-sl:and:"- ~ - - - - - - ~- ~
1
'One of the Indian nobles claimed that the sultan
had put his brother to death "?7lj]lol!t~~, and cited
him before the qadi The sultan walked on foot and
unarmed to the qadi's tribunal, saluted h1m and made
202
obeisance, havmg previously commanded the qad{ not
to nse before him or move when he entered his court,
and remamed standmg before him The qadi gave
Judgment agamst the sultan, to the effecl: that he must
give sat1sfacl:1on to his adversary for the blood of his
brother, and he did so At another time a certam
Muslim claimed that the sultan owed him a sum of
money They earned the matter before the qadi,
who gave Judgment agamst the sultan for the payment
of the debt, and he paid 1t
When a famme broke out m India and Smd, and
pnces'oecaine- so high that a maund of wheat rose ,
1:osix" dinars; the- sultan orderecrthat every person Ill
Delhi' should be given six months' prov1s1ons from
the granary, at the rate of a pound and a half per
person per day, small or great, freeman or slave. The
docl:ors and qad{s set about comp1lmg registers of the,
population of each quarter and brought the people,'
each of whom received six months' prov1s10ns.
IE_ ~Fite of all w.e ...ha.Y.e..!~aJ.d_of..h.is..hnro1hty,..Jllsl!.~e,
cq_~~s~~1.!. f9r the needy, a_!ld ~xtrao_rdmary generosity,
the sultan w~s far too ready to shec:C.blood. He
.pumshed small faults and great, without respect of
persons, whether men of learnmg, piety, or high
station Every day hundreds of people, chamed,
pm12_g~d, and fettered, are brought to his hall, and
those who are for execution are executed, those for
torture tortured, and those' for b~atmg beaten __ _!!_!_S _
l1:i? c_u5!:om tha~ every day all persons who are m his
prison are brought to the hall, except only on Fridays,
' this is a day of respite for them, on which they clean
themselves and remain at ease-may God deliver us
from misfortune I The sultan had a half-brother .
named Mas'ud Kh_an, whose mother was the dauglitet
of Sultan 'Ala ad-Din, and who was one of the most
beautiful men I have ever seen on earth He suspected
him of w1shmg to revolt, and questioned hrm on the
203
SELECTIONS FROM THE
matter. Mas'ud confessed through fear of torture,
for anyone who denies an accusation of this sort which
the sultan formulates agamst hun is put to the torture,
and the people consider death a lighter a.flh&on than
torture The sultan gave orders that he should be
beheaded in the market place, and his body lay there
for three days according to their custom.
, :one of the, _gr_~y~~~c;h<!rg~s~g!!_tp~_ the sultan 1s
th_~f,op.pellmg_the_ mh~bi~ants of Delhttoleaye
}~~!?~~- The fea~o1"'1" for ~flus was that they usea to
,,.write m1ss1ves revtlmg and msultmg him, seal-them
and mscr1b-etnem7" By the hand of the Master of
the World, ~o!:~ but he may read th.ts." They then
thr__,ew them mt'? the audience-hall at mght, and when
tiie sultan broke the seal he found them full of msults
and abuse He decided to lay Delhi m rwns, and
havmg bought from all the mhab1tants their houses. :
and dwellings and paid them the pnce of them, hq j
commanded them to move to Dawlat A.bad. 15 They
refused, and his herald was sent__tq_ p[ocl~ that no
person should remain m i:.ne city after three mghts.
The majority complied with the order, but some of
them hid m thenouses. ':Q!.e sultan ordered a search
to be made for an ersons remaimn m the mvn,
and 1s s aves ound two men in e eets o a
c an e ot er md ey were brought
efore him and he gave orders that the cripple should
be flung from a ~angopel and the blmd man dragged ;
from 'Delhi fo-Tiawlat Abad, a distance of forty days' .1
journey. He fell to pieces on the road and all of hun /
that reached Dawlit Abaci was his leg When the
sultan did this, every person left the town, abandonmg
furmture and possessions, and the c1ty remamea_
utterly deserted A.... person m_ whom _I~ h~v~ _con-
fidence told me that the- sultan mounted one mght 1
fu the roof of his palace and looked out over Delhi, I

where there was neither fire norsmolie- nor lamp,
204
land said "Now my mmd is tranqml and my wr~
appeased." --~_Ltfterwaraslie wrote to the mhabitants of
the other cities commandmg them to move to Delhi
to repopulate it The result was only to rum their
cities and leave Delhi sbll unpopulated, because of
its immensity, for it 1s one of the greatest cities m
the world It was m tlus..-,shite th:at we fcuud l.t_.Q!l ~
.9ur arrival, empty and unpopulated, save for a few~.~
mhabitants. "
Let us return now to that which concerns us, and
relate how we arrived first at the capital and our for-
tunes until we left his service We reached Delhi
during the sultan's absence, and proceeded to the
palace, where, after passmg the first, second, and third
doors, the prmc1pal naqib mtroduced us mto a spacious
audience-hall Here we foundtlie-wazir awaiarig us.
On passmg through the third door the great hall
called Hazdr Uf/1111, where the sultan holds his public
aud1ences,__n)&t_01Jr_~~s. Thereupon the wazir made
obeisance until his head nearly touched the ground,
and we too made obeisance by mclmmg the body and
touchmg the ground with our fingers, m the direchon
of the sultan's throne When we had performed this
ceremony the naqibs cned m a loud v01ce Bmmllah,
and we all retired
After V1siting the palace of the sultan's mother and
presentmg her with a gift, we returned to the house
which had been prepared for our occupat10n, and
h9spitahty-gifts were sent to us In the house I
found everythmg that was reqmred m the way of
furniture, carpets, mats, vessels, and bed. The beds
m India are light, and can be carried by a single man,
every person when travelling has to transport his own
bed, which his slave boy carries on his head. It
consists of four c.2llK~gs with four CJOS..?pie..es of
wood on which ~braids of stlk or cotton are woven
vVhen one hes down on 1t, there IS no need for any-
205
SELECTIONS FROIYI THE
thing to make It pliable, for It 1s pliable of itself.
Along with the bed fliey brought two mattresses and
p~ws and a coverl~_t, all made of stlk. =-Tlierrc;sl:om
1s to ~Lnenor cte1:~hsh~ on the mattresses and
coverlets, SO,.!_~at W ey- eco_me du:ty_ they }Vash
th~E..~-- while _!!i~eddrng ms1cieis kept clean
Next day we roa.e to t1:i.e palace to salute the wazir,
who gave me two purses, each contamrng a thousand
stlver dinars, saying " This is for washmg your head,"
and m addition gave me a robe of fine goa~r A
list was made of all my compariions: servants, and
slave boys, and they were divided mto four categones,
those m the first category each received two hundred
dinars, in the second a hundred and fifty, the third
a hundred, and the fourth s1xty-ve There were
about forty of them, and the total sum given to them
was four thousand odd dmars. After that the sultan's
hospitality-gift: was ~fixed. This was composed of a
thousand pounds of Indian flour, a thousand pounds
of flesh-meat, and I cannot say how many pounds of
sugar, ghee, and are~pJ;l~ with a thousand betel
leaves. The Indian - pound equals twenty of our
Moroccan pounds and twenty-five Egypban pounds.
Later on the sultan commanded some villages to be
assigned to me to the yearly revenue of five thousand
dmars.
On the 4th of Shawwal [8th June 1334-J the sultan
returned to "-'"the caille of Tilbat, seven mtles from
the capital,= and the wazir ordered us to go out
to him. vVe set out, each man with his present of
horses, camels, frmts, swords, etc , and assembled at
the gate of the castle. The newcomers were mtro-
duced m order of precedence and were given robes
of lmen, embr01dered in gold. \Vhen my turn came
I entered and found the sultan seated on a chair
At :first I took rum to be one of the chamberlams
vVhen I had twice made obeisance the " kmg " of the
206
Sultan,s mtimate courtiers said "Btsmillah, Mawlana
Badr ad-Din( .!E..1.!1.H1.J~Jh.~Y. ed t9...ptl\ ~e_ BP7df
~~d-:J2fE~-_g~-> _1Y[.qwl1J!d, ['\ Our Master "l,_is ~,tit\~,
- given to all sc1iolars, r-approached the s~n, wlio
"'took-my~bancf aiia shook 1t, and conhnumg to hold
1taddressed- me -most affably_ m Persian, saymg
" Y ourarrival -is-blessed, 'be"it ease, I shall be com-
pass10nate to you and give you such favours that your
fellow-countrymen will hear of 1t and come to jom
you." Then he asked me where I came from and I
answered him, and every time he said any encouragmg
word to me I kissed his hand, until I had kissed 1t
seven times All the new arrivals then assembled and
a meal was served to them.
~erwarastne-sultan used to summon us to eat
m his presence and woul-9- enquire ~~~ V:~- f.!:.~:9- and
address us most aff,!_bly. He assigned -us pens10ns,
grvmg-iiie twelve thousand dmars a year, and added
two villages to the three he had already commanded
for me One day he sent the wazir and the governor
of Smd to us to say, " The Master of the World says
' Whoever amongst you is capable of undertakmg the
funcbon of wazir or secretary or commander or Judge
or professor or shaykh, I shall appomt to that office.',,
Everyone was silent at first, for what they were
wanting was to gam nches and return to their coun-
tries After some of the others had spoken the wazfr
said to me m Arabic " What do you say ~" I replied
," Waz!rships and secretarysliips are not~my busmess,
but as to qadis and shaykhs, that 1s my occupation,
and the occupation of my fathers before me '' The
sultan was pleased with what I had said, and I was
summoned to the palace to do homage on appomt-
ment as qadi of the Mahlote 11.t..~ at Delhi.
It happens often that there IS a long delay m the
payment of the money gifts of the sultan (though they
are always paid m the end) and I waited SIX months
207
SELECTIONS FROM THE
, before receiving the twelve thousand dinars promised
. to me. They have a custom also of deducl:mg a
tenth from all sums given by the sultan. Now, as
I have related, I had borrowed from the merchants
for the expenses of my Journey and my present to the
sultan, as well as for my residence at Delhi. When
they prepared to return to their country, they Im.EQ..P..
t~.El~ to pay my debts, so I wrote a long poem
m praise of the sultan and presented 1t to him. He
received 1t with pleasure, and I was congratulated by
everyone. After wa1tmg for some time I wrote a
pet1t1on and transmitted 1t to the sultan, who ordered
the wazlr to pay my debts. The waz{r delayed for
some days, and meanwhile received orders to proceed
to Dawlat Abad. During th1s t1me the sultan had
gone out hupt1~g, the wazfr set off, and I recerved
nothing at all until some time-later. When my
creditors were ready to travel I sa1d to them "When
I go to the palace, claim your debt from me accordmg
to the custom m th1s country," for I knew that when
the sultan learned of that he would pay them Their
custom 1s th1s, the creditor awaits the debtor at the
door of the palace, and when the debtor 1s on the
pomt of entering he says to him " 0 enemy of the
sultan, by the head of the sultan you shall not enter
until you have pa1d me." The debtor may not leave
the place after that unt1l he pays him or obtams a
delay from him. They did this, and the sultan sent
a chamberlain to ask the merchants the amount of
the debt. They replied " Fifty-five thousand drnars."
The sultan then sent the chamberlam to say to them
" The Master of the World says to you ' The money
1s m my possession, and I shall give you Jushce, do
not demand it of him ' " He then commanded two
officers to sit-1n-tne-Hall of the Thousand Columns
to exanune and venfy the creditors' documents They
found them m order and mformed the sultan, who
208
TRAVELS OF IBN BA TTOT A
laughed and said " I know he 1s a qadi and has seen
to his busmess with them." He then commanded
the treasurer to pay the sum, but the treasurer greedily
demanded a bnbe for doing so and would not wnte
the order. I sent him two hundred tangahs, but he
returned them. One of his servants told me from
hrm that he wanted five hundred tangahs and I refused
to pay it. The matter came to the ears of the sultan,
who m great displeasure ordered payment to be sus-
pended unttl the treasurer's ~onduB: was tnvesbgated
Later on, when the sultan went out to hunt, I went
out along with him at once, as I had already prepared
all that 1s reqmred according to the habits of the
Indians, and had ~ bf:_ar_ers, gr~s, yale~~, and
runners. One day when the sultan was mrus tent
he enqmred who were outside Nasir ad-Din, one
of his courtlers, said " So-and-so, the Moroccan, who
is very_JJpset" "vVhy so ?" asked the sultan, 'and
he replied ,t Because of his debt, since his creditors
ar__e _pressmg for payment. The Miller of the "\,Vorld
had commanded the wazir to pay 1t, but he left before
domg so. Would not the Master of the vVorld order
the creditors to wait unttl the wazir returns or else
give orders for their clarms to be met ?" The "kmg "
Dawlat-Shah, who was present, said "0 l\llas-1:er of
the vVorld, every day this man talks to us m Arabic,
and I do not know what he is saying Do )'Oil know,
Nasir ad-Din ?" He said this so that Nasir ad-Din
might repeat what he had said. Nasir ad-Din answered
" He talks about the debt which he has contracted."
The sultan said "vVhen we return to the capital, go
yourself to the treasury and give hrm this money"
The treasurer was present and said "0 Mas-1:er of
the World, he 1s very extravagant I have seen hnn
before in our own land0t the court of Sultan
Tarmashirin." After this the sultan mvited me to
his meal, I being m !<?~ajjgp.9pmce of what had taken
~---- 209 - ---- -- , p - -
added "You muSt have an anticipatory crop" This
means " Give him a hundred thousand maunds of
wheat and nee to be expended during this year, until
the crops produced by the endowments come m "
I asked also that my house might be repaired. When
I had been granted my requesls, he said "There 1s
another recommendat10n, and that 1s that you rncur
no debts and so av01d bemg pressed for payment, for
you will not find anyone to bnng me news of them
Regulate your expenses accordrng to what I have
given you, as God has said [m the Koran J Jf.eep JJ!l_t
thy j~m1d bound to tliy nee!.., JJ.etther ope'! t~ to l!~lj~frexte11t
and aga1~ - Eat and d1 JJJ/.:, -(ljJd be 110/ p, odtgal II l
desired to kiss his foot, but he prevented me and
held back my head with his hand, so I kissed that
and retired.
I returned to the capital and busied myself with
repamng my house, on this I spent four thousand
dmars, of which I received from the treasury six
hundred and paid the resl myself I also bmlt a
mosque opposite my house, and occupied myself
with the dispositions for the mauso~eum of Sultan
Qutb ad-Din The sultan had fixecl the daily issue
of food there at twelve maunds of flour and a like
quantity of meat I saw that this amount was too
small, and that the produce which the sultan had
put at my disposal was plentiful, and consequently
I dispensed every day thirty-five maunds of flour and
thirty-five of meat, together with proport10nate quan-
tities of sugar, candy, ghee and betel, not only to the
sal~e~i_ e!11ployees-l:rnt also to visitors and travellers
Tlie famme -at that time was severe, but the popula-
tion were relieved by this food, and the news of 1t
spread far and wide The " Kmg " Sabih, havmg
gone to Jorn the sultan at Dawlat Abad, was asked by
him for news of the domgs of the people [m Delhi]
and answered " If there were m Delhi two such men
2 I I
S E L E C T I O N S F R O Nl THE
as so-and-so there would be no compl:11nts of famine."
The sultan was pleased at th1s and sent me a robe
of honour from his own ,\ ardrobe.
1
_On sctt10g OU~ for 1Vfa b~ [Coromandel] an epi-
demic broke o~t 1n the sultan s army, so he returned
aoa ouilt a camp near the river Ganges. I left Delhi
and joined him there, and remained with h1m through
the campaign against the rebel governor of Oudh. He
gave me some thoroughbred horses when d1slnbut1na
them to his courtiers andin-cluded me In the numbe~
of the latter. I was present with him at the battle
and capture of the rebel, and returned with him to
Ddhi Afterwards I fell into disfavour with him
because Cnac:1visiced-the shaykli-Slith-:ibad-Din ti'i
his cave outside Delhi. rn He had thoughts of punish-
ing me and gave orders that four of his slaves should
remam constantly beside me m the auchence-hall.
\Vhen this acrion is taken with anyone, it rarely happens
that he escapes. I fasted five days on en~, readmg
the Koran from -<:_OVe~ to cover- each -day, and tasting
nothing but water. After five days I broke my fas1:
and then continued to fast for another four days on
end, and was set free after the shaykh's death, praise
be to God.
Some time later I mthdrew from the sultans service
~nd attachea-myselfto the -learned- and pious imam
Kamaf ad-Diri "1he _Cave_ 1'fan,~1 _as I have -~eady
ieI:ited. The sultan was in Smd at the time, and-at
heanng of my retreat from the world summoned me.
I entered his presence dressed as a mendicant, and
he spoke to me very kmdly, desiring me to return to
his service. I refused and asked himro.rperm1ssion
to travel to Mecca, -whicn he granted. This was at
'""tlie end of second Juinada 7+2 [early December 13+1].
Forty days later the sultan sent me saddled horses,
slave !!irls and boys, robes and a sum of money, so
1 put ~n the robes and went to him. I had a ~
'212
of blue cotton which I wore durmg my retreat, and
a~p._utifoff and dr~s~ed m the sultan's robes I
upbraided myself. Ever after when I looked at that
tunicTfelt a light withm me, and it remamed m my
possession untilche -infidels despoiled me ~f_it_on the
sea. vVhen I presented myself' oefore the sultan,
he showed me greater favour than before, and said to
me "I have sent for you to go as my ambassador
to the king of China, for I know your love of travel "
He then provided me with everything I required and
appomted certain other persons to accompany me, as
I shall relate presently.
213
CHAPTER VII
Tu 1:. kmg of China had sent valuable gifts to the
~ultan, including a hundred slaves of both sexes five
hundred pieces of v ~ and stlk cloth, musls,Je;elled
garments and weapons, with a request that the sultan
would pernut him to rebuild the idol-temple which'
1s near the mountains called Qarajll [Himalaya]. It
1s in a place known as Samhal, to which the Chinese
go on p1lgr1mage; the Muslim army m India had
captured 1t, laid 1t m rums and sacked 1t. 1 The
sultan, on receiving-tliis gift, ,vrote to the kmg saymg
that thJL(equesl: could not be granted by_Islam1c lgw,
as pcrm1ss1on to build a temple in the ternton~ of
t~ 1Vli1shms was- granted orifyto those who paid a
P,?!!.-tax; to wh~ch_ he added "If tho1;1 wilt pay the
;zzya we shill empower thee to bmld 1t. And peace
be on those who follow the True Gmdance.,, He
rc~ited his present with an even richer one-a
hunared thoroughbred horses, a hundred white slaves,
a hundred Hmdu. dancing- and smgmg-g1rls, twelve
hundred pieces""'of'var1ous kmds of cloth, gold and
silver candelabra and basms, brocade robes, caps,
quivers, swo;ds, gloves embroiderea with pearls, and
fifteen eunuchs. As my fellow-ambassadors the
sultan appointed the amir Zahfr ad-Din of ZanJan,
one of the most eminent men of learning, and the
eunuch Kafilr, the cup-bearer, mto whose keep1pg
thepresenf was entrusted He sent the amfr
Muhammaa of Herat with a thousand horsemen to
escort us to the port of embarkation, and we were
accompanied by the Chmese ambassadors, fifteen m
214
/ number, along with their servants, about a hundred
men mall.
vVe set out therefore m imposmg force and formed
a large camp. The sultan gave mshucbons that we
were to be supplied with provisions while we were
travellmg through his dommions. Our Journey began
on the 17th of Safar 7+3 [22nd July 1342] That
was the day selected because they choose either the
2nd, 7th, 12th, 17th, 22nd, or 27th of the month
as the day for settmg out On the first day's Journey
we halted at the post-station of Tilbat, seven miles
from Delhi, and travelled thence through Bayana, a
large and well-bmlt town with a magmficent mosque,
to Ku! [Koel, Ahgarh], where we encamped m a wide
plam outside the town
On reachmg Koel we heard that certam Hmdu
mfidels had mvested and surrounded the town of
al-Jalili. 2 Now this town hes at a distance of seven
mifesf'rom Koel, so we made m that direction Mean-
while the mfidels were engaged m battle with its
mhabitants and the latter were on the verge of destruc-
tion The mfidels knew nothmg of our approach
until we charged down upon them, though they
numbered about a thousand cavalry and three thousand
foot, and we killed them to the last man and took
possess10n of their horses and their weapons Of our
party twenty-three horsemen and fifty-five foot-soldiers
suffered martyrdom, amongst them the eunuch Ka.fur,
the cup-bearer, mto whose hands the present had been
entrusted We mformed the sultan by letter of his
death and halted to await his reply Durmg that
time the mfidels used to swoop down from an macces-
sible hill which is m those parts and raid the environs
of al-JalaH, and our party used to nde out every day
with the commander of that district to assist him m
dnvmg them off
On one of these occasions I rode out with several
215
SELECTIONS FROM THE
of my friends and we went into a garden to take our
stcsh, for this was in the hot season Then we heard
some shouting, so we mounted our horses and over-
took some infidels who had attacked one of the villages
of al-Jal.iii. \Vhcn we pursued them they broke up
into small parties, our troop in following them did
the same, and I was isolated wrth five others. At
th1!:i point we were attacked by a body of cavalry and
foot-soldiers from a thicket thereabouts, and we fled
from them because of their numbers. About ten of
them pursued me, but afterwards all but three of them
gave up the chase. There was no road at all before
me and the ground there was very stony. My horse's
forefeet got caught between the stones, so I dis-
mounted, freed its foot and mounted again. It 1s
customary for a man m India to carry two swords,
one, called the stirrup-sword, attached to the saddle,
and the other In his qmver. My stirrup-sword fell
out of its scabbard, and as its ornaments were of gold
I dismounted, picked 1t up, slung 1t on me and mounted,
my pursuers chasmg me all the whtle After this I
came to a deep nullah, so I dismounted and climbed
down to the bottom of 1t, and that was the lasl I saw
of them.
I came out of this mto a valley am1dsl a patch of
tangled wood, traversed by a road, so I walked along
1t, not knowing where 1t led to At this Juncl:ure
about forty of the mfidels, carrymg bows m their
hands, came out upon me and surrounded me I was
afraid that they would all shoot at me at once if I
fled from them, and I was wearmg no armour, so I
threw myself to the ground and surrendered, as they
do not kill those who do that They seized me and
slnpped me of everything that I was carrymg except
a tunic, shirt and trousers, then they took me mto
that patch of Jungle, and finally brought me to the part
of 1t where they slayed, near a tank of water situated
216
.1.mong:ft those trees They gave me bread made of
peas, and I ate some of it .rnd drank some water. In
their company there were two rviushms who spoke
to me 111 Persi.rn, .1.nd asked me all about myself. I
told them p.1.rt of my Story, but concealed the face
that I had come from the Sultan. Then they said to
me: " You .1.re sure to be put to death either by these
men or by others, but tlus man here (pointing to one
of them) is their lc.1dcr." So I spoke to him, using
the t\\o l'viushms as mterpreters, and tned to con-
ciliate him He g.we me m charge of three of the
band, one of them an old man, with whom was his
son, and the third an evil b!J.ck fellow These three
spoke to me and I undcr:ftood from them that they
had received orders to kill me. In the evemng of
the same day they earned me off to a cave, but God
sent an ague upon the b!J.ck, so he put his feet upon
me, and the old man and his son went to sleep. In
the mormng they talked among themselves and made
signs to me to accompany them down to the tank
I realized that they were gomg to kill me, so I spoke
to the old man and tned to gam his favour, and he
took pity on me I cut off the sleeves of my shirt
and gave them to him so that the other members of
the band should not blame him on my account if I
escaped.
About noon we heard voices near the tank and they
thought that it was their comrades, so they made
signs to me to go down with them, but when we went
down we found some other people. The newcomers
advised my guards to accompany them but they refused,
and the three of them sat down m front of me, keepmg
me facmg them, and laid on the ground a hempen
rope which they had with them I was watchmg them
all the time and saying to myself " It is with this
rope that they will bmd me when they kill me." I
remamed thus for a time, then three of their party,
'2 I 7
SELECTIONS FROM THE
the party th.1t had captured me, came up and spoke
to them and I understood th.1t they said to them
" vVhy have you not killed h1m ?" The old man
pointed to the black, as though he were excusing
lmnsclf on the ground of his illness. One of these
three was a pleasant-looking youth, and he said to
me. " Do you wish me to set you at hberty ~11 I said
" Y cs, ,ind he answered '' Go." So I took the tunic
which I was wearing and gave 1t to him and he gave
me a worn double-woven cloak which he had, and
showed me the way. I went off but I was afraid left
they should change their minds and overtake me, so
I went rnto a reed thicket and hid there till sunset
Then I made my way out and followed the road
which the youth had shewn me. This led to a fueam
from which I drank. I went on t1ll near m1dnight
and came to a htll under wh1ch I slept. In the
morning I continued along the road, and sometime
before noon reached a high rocky hill on wh1ch there
were sweet lote-trees and 21zy phus bushes I started
to pull and eat the lotus bernes so eagerly that the
thorns left scars on my arms that remain there to this
day. Coming down from that h1ll I entered a plam
sown with cotton and contammg castor-oil trees.
Here there was a ba' m, which m the1r language means
a very broad well with a scone casing and steps by
which you go down to reach the water. Some of
them have stone pavilions, arcades, and seats m the
centre and on the sides, and the kings and nobles of
the country vie with one another in construcbng them
along the highroads where there is no water. When
I reached the ba'm I drank some water from 1t and I
found on 1t some mustard shoots which had been
dropped by their owner when he washed them Some
of these I ate and saved up the rest, then I lay down
under a castor-011 tree. While I was there about
forty mailed horsemen came to the bd'tn to get water
2!8
and some of them entered the sown fields, then they
went away, and God sealed their eyes that they did
not see me. After them came about fifty others
carrymg arms and they too went down mto the bd'm.
One of them came up to a tree opposite the one I
was under, yet he did not discover me. At this pomt
I made my way mto the field of cotton and stayed
there the rest of the day, while they stayed at the
bd'm washmg their clothes and wh1lmg away the
time At mght time their v01ces died away, so I
knew that they had either passed on or fallen asleep
Thereupon I emerged and followed the track of the
horses, for 1t was a moonlit mght, contmumg till I
came to another bd'm with a dome over 1t I went
down to 1t, drank some water, ate some of the mustard
shoots which I had, and went mto the dome I
found 1t full of grasses collecl:ed by birds, so I went
to sleep m 1t. Now and agam I felt the movement
of an ammal amongst the grass, I suppose 1t was
a snake, but I was too worn out to pay any attention
to It.
The next mornmg I went along a broad road,
which led to a rumed village Then I took another
road, but with the same result as before Several
days passed m this manner. One day I came to
some tangled trees with a tank of water between them
The space under these trees was like a room, and at
the sides of the tank were plants like d1ttany and
others. I mtended to stop there until God should
send someone to bnng me to mhab1ted country, but
I recovered a little strength, so I arose and walked
along a road on which I found the tracks of cattle.
I found a bull carrying a packsaddle and a sickle,
but after all this road led to the villages of the mfidels
Then I followed up another road, and this brought
me to a rumed village There I saw two naked
blacks, and m fear of them I remamed under some
2r9
SELECTIONS FROM THE
trees there. At nightfall I entered the village and
found a house m one of whose rooms there was some-
thing like a large Jar of the sort they make to srore
gram m. At the bottom of it there was a hole large
enough to admit a man, so I crept mto it and found
inside it a layer of chopped srraw, and amongsr this
a stone on which I laid my head and went to sleep.
On the top of the jar there was a bird which kept
fl.uttermg its wmgs most of the mght-I suppose it
was frightened, so we made a pair of frightened
creatures. This went on for seven days from the
day on which I was taken prisoner, which was a
Saturday. On the seventh day I came to a village
of the unbelievers which was mhabited and possessed
a tank of water and plots of vegetables I asked them
for some food but they refused to give me any How-
ever, in the neighbourhood of a well I found some
radish leaves and ate them. I went mto the village,
and found a troop of mfidels w1th sentries posred
The sentries challenged me but I did not answer them
and sat down on the ground. One of them came over
with a drawn sword and raised it to srrike me, but
I paid no attent10n to him, so utterly weary did I feel.
Then he searched me but found nothmg on me, so
he took the shirt whose sleeves I had given to the
old man who had had charge of me.
On the eighth day I was consumed with thmft and
I had no water at all I came to a ruined village but
found no tank m it. They have a custom m those
villages of makmg tanks m which the ram-water
collects, and this supplies them with drmkmg water
all the year round Then I went along a road and
this brought me to an uncased well over which was
a rope of vegetable fibre, but there was no vessel on
it to draw water with. I took a piece of cloth which
I had on my head and tied 1t to the rope and sucked
the water that soaked into 1t, but that did not slake
'2'20
my thirst. I t1ed on my shoe next and drew up water
m it, but that did not satisfy me either, so I drew
water with it a second time, but the rope broke and
the shoe fell back mto the well. I then tied on the
other shoe and drank unttl my thmft was assuaged
After that I cut the shoe and tied its uppers on my
foot with the rope off the well and bits of cloth which
I found there. While I was tymg this on and wonder-
mg what to do, a person appeared before me I
looked at him, and lo I 1t was a black-skmned man,
carrymg a jug and a staff m his hand, and a wallet on
his shoulder He gave me the M ushm greetmg
" Peace be upon you " and I replied " Upon you be
peace and the mercy and blessmgs of God " Then
he asked me m Persian who I was, and I answered
" A man astray," and he said " So am I " Thereupon
he tied his jug to a rope which he had with him and
drew up some water I wished to drink but he
saymg " Have patience," opened his wallet and brought
out a handful of black 91tck::peas fried w1th__g,J1ttle
r i ~ After I had eaten some of this ana arunk, he
made his ablutions and prayed two prostrations and I
did the same Thereupon he asked me my name.
I answered " Muhammad " and asked him his, to
which he replied "Joyous Heart." I took this as
a good omen and rej01ced at 1t. After this he said
to me "In the name of God accompany me" I said
"Yes," and walked on with him for a little, then I
found my limbs givmg way, and as I was unable to
stand up I sat down. He said " What 1s the matter
with you ~" I answered " I was able to walk before
meetmg you, but now that I have met you I cannot"
Whereupon he said "Glory be to God I Mount on
my shoulders " I said to him " You are weak, and
have not strength for that," but he replied " God will
give me strength You must do so" So I got up
on his shoulders and he said to me " Say God ts sufficient
22!
SELECTIONS FROM THE
Jor us and an excellent guardtan." I repeated this over
and over agam, but I could not keep my eyes open,
and regamed consc10usness only on feeling myself
fallmg to the ground. Then I woke up, but found
no trace of the man, and lo I I was in an inhabited
village. I entered 1t and found 1t was a village of
Hmdu peasants with a Muslim governor They
mformed him about me and he came to meet me.
I asked him the name of this village and he replied
"TaJ Eura" The distance from there to Koel,
where our party was, 1s two farsakhs. The governor
provided a horse to take me to his house and gave
me hot food, and I washed Then he said to me:
"I have here a garment and a turban which were
left m my charge by a certam Arab from Egypt, one
of the soldiers belonging to the corps at Kocl." I
said to him " Bring them, I shall wear them until I
reach camp " When he brought them I found that
they were two of my own garments which I had given
to that very Arab when we came to Koe! I was
extremely asl:onished at this, then I thought of the
man who had earned me on his shoulders and I
remembered what the samt Abu 'Abdallah al-Murshidi
had told me, as I have related m the first journey,
when he said to me " You will enter the land of India
and meet there my brother Dilshad, who will deliver
you from a misfortune which will befall you there"
I remembered too how he had said, when I asked
him his name, " Joyous Heart " which, translated
into Persian, 1s Dt!slidd So I knew that 1t w.1s ht..
whom the saint had foretold that I should mu. t, and
that he too was one of the samts, but I enjoyed no
more of his company than the short sp'lCL. which I
have related
The same night I wrote to my frn.,nds at Kod to
mform them of my safety, and th{.y came, bringing
me a horse and clothes and rt.Jo1ccd at mj (..~(. ipt.
2'22
I found that the sultan's reply had reached them and
that he had sent a eunuch named Sunbul, the keeper
of the wardrobe, 111 place of the martyred Ka.fur, with
orde1 s to pursue our Journey I found, too, that they
lud written to the suit.in about me, and that they
regarded the Journey as ill-omened on account of
what had happened to me and to K:tfur, and were
wanttng to go back But when I saw that the sultan
111sisted upon the journey, I urged them on with great
dctcrm1nation They answered: " Do you not see
what has befallen us at the very outset of this mission ?
The sultan will e,cuse you, so let us return to him,
or stay here until his reply reaches us II But I said
"\Ve cannot stay, and wherever we are his reply will
overtake us "
We left Koci, therefore, and encamped at BurJ
Bura [BurJpur], where there is a fine hermitage 111
which lives a beautiful and virtuous shaykh called
Muhammad the Naked, because he wears noth1ng
but a cloth from his navel to the ground Thence
we travelled to the river known as Ab-1 Siyalz ["Black
Water," Kal1ndi] and from there reached the city of
Qmawj [KanauJ] It is a large, well-built and strongly
fortified city, prices there are cheap and sugar plentiful,
and 1t is surrounded by a great wall. We spent three
days here and during this time received the sultan's
reply to the letter about me It ran thus " If no
trace is found of so-and-so [1 e Ibn Battuta], let
WaJfh al-Mulk, the qad{ of Dawlat Abad, go m his
II
place We came next to the small town of Mawd, and
thence reached Marh, a large town, inhabited chiefly
by infidels under Muslim control 3 It takes its name
from the Malawa, a tribe of Hindus, of very powerful
bmld and good-look1ng, their women especially are
exceedmgly beautiful and famous for the charms of
their company From Marh we travelled to 'Ala.bur
[ Alapur], a small town inhabited like the former by
223
SELECTIONS FROM THE
infidels under Muslim control. A day's journey from
there hved an infidel sultan, named Qatam who was
sultan of Janbll 4 and was killed after besieging Guya-
lyur [Gwalior]. The governor of 'Alabur was the
Abyssinian Badr, a slave of the sultan's, a man whose
bravery passed into a proverb. He was contmually
1
makmg ra1ds on the mfidels alone and smgle handed,
k11lmg and taking captive, so that h1s fame spread
far and wide and the infidels went m fear of him. He
was tall and corpulent, and used to eat a whole sheep
at a meal, and I was told that after eatmg he would
drink about a pound and a half of ghee, followmg
the cuftom of the Abyssmians m their own country.
He had a son nearly as brave as hunself. Durmg
a raid on a v1l1a~e belonging to some Hmdus Badr's
horse fell w1th him into a matamore and the villagers
surrounded him and killed h1m.
We journeyed thereafter to Galyur or Guyalyur
[Gwalior], a large town with an impregnable fortress
isolated on the summit of a lofty htll Over its gate
1s an elephant with its mahout carved m stone. The
governor of this town was a man of upright character,
and he treated me very honourably when I ftayed
with him on a previous occasion One day I came
before h1m as he was about to have an mfidel cut m
two I said to him " By God I beseech you, do not
do this, for I have never seen anyone put to death
m my presence " He ordered the man to be put m
prison so my mterventlon was the means of his escape
From Galyur we went to Parwan, a small town belong-
mg to the Muslims, but situated m the land of the
mfidels There are many tigers there, and one of the
inhabitants told me that a certam tiger used to enter
the town by night, although the gates were shut, and
used to seize people. It ktlled qmte a number of
the townsfolk m th1s way They used to wonder how
it made its way m Here 1s an amazmg thmg, a
224
man told me that 1t was not a tiger who did this but
a human being, one of the mag1c1.1ns known as J11gls
[ ogis], appearmg in the shape of a tiger. vVhen I
heard this I refused to believe 1t, but a number of
people said the same, so kt us give at this pomt some
account of these mag1c1ans.
The men of tlus class do some marvellous thmgs.
One of them will spend months without eatmg or
drinkmg, and many of them have holes dug for them
m the c.1rth which arc then built m on top of them,
leavmg only a space for air to enter They shy m
these for months, and I heard tell of one of them who
remarncd thus for a year. The people say that they
make up rills, one of which they take for a given
number o days or months, and during that time
they reqmre no food or drmk They can tell what 1s
happenmg at a d1sbnce. The sultan holds them m
dlccm and admits them to }us company. Some eat
nothmg but vegetables, and others, the ma_rority, eat
no meat, it 1s obvious that they have so d1sc1plmed
themselves m ascetic pracbccs that they have no need
of any of the goods or van1t1es of this world There
are amongst them some who merely look at a man
and he falls dead on the spot. The common people
say that 1f the breast of a man killed m this way 1s
cut open, 1t 1s found to contain no heart, and they
assert that his heart has been eaten. This is com-
monest m the case of women, and a woman who acl:s
thus 1s called a kaftdr During the famme m Delhi
they brought one of these women to me, saymg that
she had eaten the heart of a boy. I ordered them to
take her to the sultan's lieutenant, who commanded
that she should be put to the test. They filled four
jars with water, tied them to her hands and feet and
threw her mto the river Jumna. As she did not
smk she was known to be a kaftdr; had she not floated
she would not have been one He ordered her then
225 Q
SELECTIONS FROM THE
to be burned in the fire Her ashes were collecred
by the men and women of the town, for they believe
that anyone who fumigates himself with them 1s safe
agamst a kaftdr's enchantments durmg that year.
The sultan sent for me once when I was at Delhi
and on entering I found him 1n a private apartmenf
with some of his mhmates and two of these p,g!s.
One of them squatted on the ground, then rose mto
the air above our heads, shll s1ttmg I was so
astonished and frightened that I fell to the floor m
a faint A potion was admin1sl:ered to me, and I
revived and sat up. Meantlme this man remamed
in his s1ttmg posture. His compamon then took a
sandal from a bag he had with him, and beat 1t on the
ground like one mfuriated. The sandal rose m the
air until 1t came above the neck of the s1ttrng man and
then began h1rtmg him on the neck whtle he descended
little by little unttl he sat down alongside us. Then
the sultan said '' If I did not fear for your reason I
would have ordered them to do still stranger thmgs
than this you have seen.,, I took my leave, but was
affeB:ed with palpitation and fell ill, until he ordered
me to be given a draught which removed 1t all )
To return to our subJea We went from Parwan
to KaJarra, 6 where there is a large tank about a mtle
long haVIng on 1ts banks temples with idols, which
have been made examples of [t e. mutilated] by the
Muslims. Thence we Journeyed through Chandfri
to the town of Dh1har [Dhar],6 which 1s the chief
city of Malwa, the largest provmce m that d1stncl:
It 1s twenty-four days' Journey from Delhi, and all
4 along the road between them there are pillars, on
which 1s eno-raved
b
the number of mtles from each
pillar to the next When the traveller desires to
know now many mtles he has gone that day and ~ow
far 1t 1s to h1s haltmg place or to the town he 1s making
for, he reads the mscnption on the pillars and so
226
finds out. From Dhihar we travelled to UJayn
[UJjain], a fine and populous town, and thence to
.Dawlat A.bad, the enormous city which nvals Delhi,
the capital, m importance and m the spaciousness of
its plannmg. It is divided mto three secbons, one
1s Dawlat Abad proper, and 1s reserved for the sultan
and his troops, the second is called Kataka, and the
third is the citadel, which 1s unequalled for its strength
and 1s called Duwayg1r [Deogin] 7
At Dawlat A.bad resides the great khan Qutlu
Khan, the sultan's tutor, who is governor of the town,
and the sultan's representative there and m the lands
of Saghar, Tiling [Telmgana], and their dependent
terntones. This province extends for three months'
march, 1s well-populated, and wholly under his autho-
rity and that of his lieutenants The fortress of
Duwaygir ment10ned above is a rock situated m a
plam, the rock has been excavated and a casl:le built
on its summit It is reached by a ladder made of
leather, which 1s taken up at mght In its dungeons
are imprisoned those convicl:ed of serious crime, and
m these dungeons there are huge rats, bigger than
cats-m facl:, cats run away from them and cannot
defend themselves agamsl: them, so they can be cap-
tured only by employmg ruses I saw them there
and marvelled at them The mhab1tants of Dawlat
- Abad belong to the tnbe of Marhata [Marathas ],
whose women God has endowed with special beauty,
particularly m their noses and eyebrows. The mfidels
of this town are merchants, dealmg prmcipally m
Jewels, and their wealth is enormous In Dawlat
Abad there 1s an exceedmgly fine and spacious bazaar
for smgers and smgmg-girls, contammg numerous
shops, each of which has a door leadmg to the house
of its proprietor The shop is beautified with
carpets, and m the centre of 1t there is a sort of large
cradle on which the smgmg-girl sits or reclmes. She
227
SELECTIONS FROM THE
is adorned with all kinds of ornaments and her atten-
dants swing her cradle. In the centre of the bazaar
there 1s a large carpeted and decorated pavtl10n m
wh1ch the chief mus1c1an sits every Thursday after
the afternoon prayer, with his servants and slaves m
front of him. The singing-girls come in relays and
sing and dance before him till the sunset prayer, when
they withdraw. In the same bazaar there are mosques
for the prayer-services One of the rnfidel rulers rn
India used, on passmg through this bazaar, to alight
at the pavil10n and the smging-g1rls used to smg
before him. One of the Muhammadan sultans used
to do the same. ~
We continued on our way to Nadhurbar [Nandur-
bar], a small town inhabited by the Marhatas, who
possess great skill m the arts and are phys1c1ans and
astrologers. The nobles of the Marhatas are Brahmans
and Katrfs [Kshatnyas ]. Their food consists of nee,
vegetables, and 011 of sesame, and they do not hold
with g1vmg pam to or slaughtermg animals. They
wash themselves thoroughly before eatmg and do not
marry among their relatives, unless those who are
cousms six times removed. Neither do they drink
wme, for this in their eyes 1s the greatest of vices.
The Musluns m India take the same VIew, and any
Muslun who drmks 1t 1s punished with eighty stripes,
and shut up m a matamore fo~ three months, which
is opened only at the hours of meals
From this town we Journeyed to Saghar [S~ngarh ],
which is a large town on a great nver of the same
name [Taptt] Its mhab1tants are upright, religious,
and trustworthy, and people go there to part1c1pate
m the blessing they bestow, and because the town 1s
exempt from taxes and dues. Thereafter we travelled
to the town of Kmbaya [f.~mbayJ, 8 which 1s situated
on an arm of the sea resemblmg a river, 1t 1s navigable
for ships and its waters ebb and flow. I myself saw
228
the ships thetc lymg on the mud at ebb-tide and float.mg
on the water at l11gh tide This city is one of the
finest there 1s m regard to the excellence of its con-
strucbon and the arcl11tecl:ure of its mosques The
reason 1s that the maJonty of its rnhab1tants are foreign
'merchants, who arc always bmldmg fine mansions and
magnificent mosques and vie with one another m
domg so vVe Journeyed from this town to Kawa, 0
which is on a tidal bay also, and is m the terntones
of the mfidel rap J:ilans{, of whom we shall speak
later. Thence we went to Qandahar, a large town
bclongmg to the mfidels and situated on a bay.
The sultan of Qandah.ir 1s an mfidel called Jilansi,
who 1s under Muslun suzeramty and sends a gift
to the kmg of India every year 10 vVhen we reached
Qandahir he came out to welcome us and showed us
the greatest honour, himself leavmg his palace and
msbllmg us m 1t The pnnc1pal Muslims at his
court came to v1s1t us, such as the children of the
KhwiJa Bohra One of these is the shipowner Ibrahim,
who possesses six vessels of his own.
At Qandahir we embarked on a ship belongmg
to this Ibrahim, called al- 'Jdgtr On this ship we put
seventy of the horses of the sultan's present, and the
rest we put with the horses of our compamons on a
ship belongmg to Ibrahim's brother, called Mandrt.
Jilansi gave us a vessel on which we put the horses
of Zahir ad-Din and Sunbul and their party, and he
eqmpped 1t for us with water, provts10ns and forage
He sent his son with us on a ship called al-Uqayrl,
which resembles a galley, but is rather broader, it
has sixty oars and is covered with a roof durmg battle
m order to protecl: the rowers from arrows and stones.
I myself went on board al-'Jagtr, which had a com-
plement of fifty rowers and fifty Abyssm1an men-at-
arms. These latter are the guarantors of safety on
the Indian Ocean, let there be but one of them on
229
SELECTIONS FROM THE
a ship and 1t will be avoided by the Indian pirates and
idolaters. 1 Two days later we called at the island of
Bayram, 11 and on the following day reached the town
of Quqa [Gogo, in Kathiawar], a large town with
important bazaars. We anchored four mtles from
shore on account of the low tide, but I went on shore
in a small boat with some of my companions. The
sultan of Quqa 1s a heathen called Dunqul, who used
to profess subm1ss10n to the kmg of India but was tn
reality a rebel On setting sail from this town we
arrived after three days at the 1Sland of Sandabur
[Goa],12 on which there are th1rty-s1x v11lages. It is
surrounded by a gulf, the waters of which are sweet and
agreeable at low tide but salt and bitter at high tide.
In the centre of the island are two cities, an ancient
one built by the infidels, and one bmlt by the Muslims
when they first captured the island. We passed by
this island and anchored at a smaller one near the main-
land. , Next day we reached the town of Hmawr
[Honavar, Onore], which 1s on a large mlet navigable
for large ships During the pushkdl, which is the ramy
season, this bay 1s so stormy that for four months 1t
1s 1mposs1ble to sail on 1t except for :fishmg. The
women of this town and all the coastal d1stncrs wear
nothing but loose unsewn garments, one end of which
they gird round their waists, and drape the rest over
their head and shoulders. They are beautiful and
virtuous, and each wears a gold rmg m her nose.
One peculiarity amongst them 1s that they all know
the Koran by heart. I saw m the town thirteen
schools for grrls and twenty-three for boys, a thing
which I have never seen elsewhere. Its mhab1tants
hve by maritime commerce, and have no cultivated
land. The ruler of Hmawr 1s Sultan Jalal ad-Dfn,
who 1s one of the best and most powerful sultans.
He is under the suzeramty of an mfidel sultan named
Haryab, of whom we shall speak later. The people
230
TRAVELS OF IBN IlATTUTA
of lv1ul.1yb.ir [lvfalabar] p.1y a fixed sum annually to
Sult.m J.11.U ad-Din, through fear of !us sea-power.
H1~ .1rmy 1~ composed of .1bout six thousand men,
horse and foot. On another occasion I stayed for
eleven months .\t his court without ever eatmg bread,
for their sole food b nee. I hvcd .1lso m the lvfald1ve
Islands, Cl.ylon, .md on the Coronundcl and l'vfalabar
co1sl:s for three } cars eatrng nothrng but nee, until I
could not swallow 1t except by taking water with 1t.
On this occ1s1on we :;rayed with the sultan of Hmawr
for three d l} s, he supplKd us with provisions, and we
kft h1m to contrnue our Journey.
Thrl-e d 1ys later we reached the land of l'v!ulaybar
[l'vfal.1bar], which IS the pepper country. It extends
for two months' Journey along the coast from Sandabur
[Goa] to Kawhm [Qu1lon, 111 Travancorc] The road
over the whole d1sbnce runs beneath the shade of
trees, 'lnd at every half-m1k there 1s a wooden shed
with benches on which .111 travellers, whether l'v!ushms
or infidels, may sit At e.1ch shed there is a well for
dnnkmg and an mfidcl who 1s m charge of It If
the traveller 1s an mfidcl he gives him water m vessels,
If he IS a Muslim he pours the w.1ter mto his hands,
contmumg to do so until he signs to him to stop It
is the custom of the infidels m the Mulaybar lands
that no Muslim may enter their houses or eat from
their vessels, if he does so they break the vessels or
give them to the JVI uslims In places where there are
no Muslim mhabitants they give him food on banana
leaves At all the haltmg-places on this road there
are houses belonging to JVIushms, at which Muslim
travellers alight, and where they buy all that they
need Were 1t not for them no Muslim could travel
by it.
On this road, which, as we have said, extends for
a two months' march, there 1s not a foot of ground
but is cultivated. Every man has his own orchard,
23r
~ 1'.. I. I, C I' I ON S I RO lvI THE
\r, 1th hh hou'ic rn the m1<ldle .rnd a woodt..n palisade
.ill round It. '1 ht, ro.1cl run,; through the orchards,
.111d \', hL n It c....omv, to ,l p.d1s;id1,.. tht..rc arc \\-Oodcn
,tt.p, to go up b} .rnd .mother flight of t,teps do\'r n 1nto
the Ill ~t ordurd. No Ollt, tr.ivl-b on .1 .101mal in that
cou1ltr}, .md on!) th<- sultan pos:,t.!J!>l.S horses The
prmup.d \dude of the 1nh.1b1t.rnts 1s .1 palanquin
c.,rricd on tht.. !>houlckrs of !>l.1H.s or hm. d porters,
tho..,c \\ hu do not tr.1vd on pabnqurn'> go on foot, be
t hL) \\ ho the...} may. B.1gg.1gc and mcrch;.1nd1sc 1s
tr.111 ,port<.J U} hired c.1rrtc. r!:i, and .1 t.ingle merchant
111.1 1 h.wc .1 hundred !JUCh or tht..n...1boub carrying his
good">. I Juve... nc\ er !>1..cn .L s.1f1,..r ro.1d than this, for
the...) put to dc..1th an)Onc \r,}10 :,tt...tls a !>tnglc nut, and
1f rn; fruit f.db no one picks 1t up but the ownc..r.
Inckul \\ e !>Olll<.tim<..!J m<..t infi<lcls durrng the night
ou tht!> ro.1d, .rn<l \\ hen the} !J:lW us thc...y stood aside
to kt ll!J p.t'b. tvl u:ilun:i .ire mo:it highly honoured
among~l them, c.. ,ccpt that, .1:; \\e have... said, they do
not <..,tt ,., 1th them nor allo\\ them into their houses. In
the lvlul.t} b.fr l.md!> there... .ire twclvt.: infidel sultans,
soml- of th<..m {hong w1th arm1c::, numbering fifty
thoman<l men, an<l othcr!J \\ cak with armies ot three
thou!J.tnd. Y ct there 1:, no discord whatevc.:r between
them, and the strong doc!> not desire to seize the
po::.!>t..!JSJons of the weak. At the boundary of the
tcrntort<..!:> of c...,tch ruler there 1s a wooden gateway,
on wluch 1s engr.wcd the name of the ruler whose
tc..:rntoncs begin .1t that point. This 1s called the
" Gate of Security " of such-and-such a prince. If
any l'vlu!Jl11n or rnfidd criminal flees from the tern:
torH!S of one and reaches the Gate of Security ot
another, his life 1s safe, and the prince from whom he
has fled cannot :ic1zc him, even though he be a powerful
prince with a great army. The rulers m these lands
transnut their sovereignty to their s1sl:ers' sons, to
the exclusion of their own children I have seen this
232
pr.1cbce nowhere else except .unong the veiled Massufa,
who will be mentioned later.
The firft town 111 thL l.rnd of lvlul~b,ir that we
entered was the town of Abu-Sarur LBarcdme], a
~mall place on .1 l.1rge rnlct .rnd abound111g 1n coco-
p.ilms Two days' Journey brought us to Fakanur
LBacanor, now Barkur], 13 a large... town on an mlet,
here there i~ a l.1rge quantity of sugar-canes, which
arc une\.cdlcd 111 the reft of that country. The chief
of the lvlusl11n community at F:ikant'ir 1s called
B.isadaw. He possesses about tlurty warships, com-
manded by .1 l'vlushm c.1lled Lt'd.i, who 1s an evildoer
.rnd -i pirate and a robber of merchants. \.Vhen we
anchored, the sultan sent his son to us to ftay on board
the ship as a hoftagc vV c went on shore to v1s1t
him and he treated us with the utmoft hospitality for
three nights, as a mark of respect for the sultan of
India and also from a desire to make some profit by
tradmg with the personnel of our vessels It 1s a
custom of theirs that every ship that passes by a town
must needs anchor at 1t and give a present to the ruler.
This they call the " right of bandar,, If anyone
onuts to do this, they sail out m pursmt of him, brmg
him mto the port by force, double the tax on him,
and prevent him from proceeding on his Journey for
as long as they wish. Three days after leavmg
Fakanur we reached Manprur [Mangalore], a large
town on the mlet called ad-Dumb, which 1s the largest
rnlet m the land of Mulaybar. This 1s the town at
which most of the merchants from Fars and Yemen
disembark, and pepper and gmger are exceedmgly
abundant there. The sultan of ManJarur 1s one of
the prmc1pal rulers 1n that land, and his name 1s Rama
Daw There 1s a colony of about four thousand
Muslims there, livmg 1n a suburb alongside the town.
Conflicts frequently break out between them and the
townspeople, but the sultan makes peace between them
2 33
SELECTIONS FROM THE
on account of his need of the merchants. We refused
to land until the sultan sent his son, as the previous
sultan had done. When he had done so, we went
on shore and were treated with great consideration.
After slaying at Manjarur for three days, we set
sail for the town of Hi.Ii, 14 which we reached two days
later. It is large and well-butlt, situated on a big
inlet w.ruch IS navigable for large vessels. This is the
farthest town reached by ships from China; they enter
only this port, the port of Kawlam, and Calicut. The
town of Hili IS venerated by both M usluns and m-
fidels on account of its cathedral mosque, and sea-
farers make many votive offermgs to it This mosque
contains a number of students, who receive shpends
from 1ts revenues, and it has a kitchen from which
travellers and the Muslim poor are supplied w1th
food. Thence we sailed to Jurfattan [Cannanore],
Dahfattan, and Budfattan, the sultan of these towns
1s called Kuwayl, and 1s one of the most powerful
sultans of Mulaybar. At Dahfattan there 1s a great
ba'm and a cathedral mosque, which were butlt by
Kuwayl's grandfather, who was converted to Islam
Most of the inhabitants of Budfattan are Brahmans,
who are venerated by the infidels and who hate the
Muslims, for this reason there are no Muslims hvmg
amongst them. From Budfattan we sailed to Fanda-
rayna [Panderan1], a large and fine town mth orchar1s
and bazaars The M uslrms occupy three quarters m
it, each of which has a mosque. It 1s at th1s town that
the Chmese vessels pass the Winter Thence we
travelled to the crty of Qahqut [Calicut], which IS
one of the chief ports in M ulaybar and one of the
Jaraest harbours m the world It 1s visited by men
fro~ China, Sumatra, Ceylon, the Maldives, Yemen
15
'and Fars, and m 1t gather merchants from all quarters
The sultan of Calicut lS an infidel, known as " the
Samari." He 1s an aged man and shaves his beard,
234
as some of the Greeks do. In this town too lives
the famous shipowner Mithqal, who possesses vast
wealth and many ships for his trade with India, Chma,
Yemen, and Fars. When we reached the city, the
prmcipal mhabitants and merchants and the sultan's
representative came out to welcome us, with drums,
trumpets, bugles and standards on their ships. We
entered the harbour m great pomp, the hke of which
I have never seen m those lands, but it was a Joy to
be followed by distress We slopped m the port of
Calicut, m which there were at the time thirteen
Chmese vessels, and disembarked Every one of us
was lodged m a house and we stayed there three months
as the guests of the mfi.del, awaitmg the season of the
voyage to Chma On the Sea of China travellmg is
done m Chinese ships only, so we shall describe their
arrangements.
t_..., The Chinese vessels are of three kmds, lar_ge ships
called chunks, middle-sized ones called zaws Ldhows],
and small ones called kakams The large ships have
anythmg from twelve down to three sails, which are
made of bamboo rods plaited like mats. They are
never lowered, but turned accordmg to the direcbon
of the wmd, at anchor they are left floatmg m the
wmd. A ship carnes a complement of a thousand
men, six hundred of whom are sailors and four hundred
men-at-arms, mcludmg archers, men with shields and
arbahsts, who throw naphtha. Each large vessel 1s
accompanied by three smaller ones, the "half," the
" third," and the " quarter " 16 These vessels are
built only m the towns of Zaytun and Sin-Kalan
[Canton]. The vessel has four decks and contams
rooms, cabins, and saloons for merchants, a cabin
has chambers and a lavatory, and can be locked by
its occupant, who takes along with him slave girls
and wives. Often a man will hve in lus cabin unknown
to any of the others on board until they meet on
2 35
SELECTIONS FROM THE
reaching some town. The sailors have their children
hvmg on board ship, and they cultivate green stuffs,
vegetables and gmger m wooden tanks. The owner's
facl:or on board ship 1s like a great amfr. When he
goes on shore he 1s preceded by archers and Abys-
smians with Javelins, swords, drums, trumpets and
bugles. On reachmg the house where he stays they
stand their lances on both sides of the door, and
contmue thus durmg his stay. Some of the Chmese
own large numbers of ships on which their factors
1 are sent to foreign countries. There rs no people m
/the world wealthier than the Chmese.
When the time came for the voyage to Chma, the
sultan Samad eqmpped for us one of the thirteen
Junks m the port of Calicut. The factor on the Junk
was called Sulayman of Safad, m Syria [PaldhneJ
I had prevwusly made h1s acquamtance, and I sa1d to
him "I want a cabm to myself because of the slave-
girls, for 1t is my habit never to travel without them "
He replied "The merchants from Chma have taken
the cabms for the forward and return Journey. My
son-m-law has a cabm which I can give you, but 1t
has no lavatory, perhaps you may be able to exchange
rt for another" So I told my compan10ns to take on
board all my effecrs, and the male and female slaves
embarked on the Junk This was on a Thursday,
and I stayed on shore rn order to attend the Friday
prayers and jom them afterwards. The ktng Sunbul
and Zahfr ad-Din also went on board with the present.
On the Friday mornmg a slave boy of mme named
Hila.I came to me and said that the cabm we had taken
on the Junk was small and unsmtable When I
spoke of this to the captam he said "It cannot be
helped, but 1f you like to transfer to the kakam there
are cabms on 1t at your choice" I agreed to this
and gave orders accordmgly to my compamons, who
transferred the slave_, g1rls and effecrs to the kakam
236
and \HTC dl.1bli~hc:d Ill 1t before the hour of the
Fnd.1) pra) c1 No\\ 1t 1.., m,ual for this sea to become
storm) t.-VCr\ Jay tn the l.1te .1ftcrnoon, and no one
cJn embark the. n 'I he Junk.., had alre.1dy set sail,
and none of thun \\ ere kft but the one., which con-
t.uncd the prc.::.Lnt, rnothcr Junk whose owner had
dcc1dul to p bS the \\ 111tu Jt F.mdara) n.i, and the
kJk un rLfcrrcJ to \Ve ~pent the Friday rnght on
shorc:, \\ c un 1bk to unb.u k on 1t, .rnd those on board
U111blc... to J1~unbu k .rnd JOlll us I }11d nothmg left
\\ 1th me but 'l c 1rpLt to .;;Jeep on On the Saturday
morn111g the Junk and k 1k 1111 \\ cre both Jt a d1st.mct.-
from the port, 111J the Junk which WJS to hJve made
for F.rnJ 1r l) n.i \\ 1s dnvLn .1~hore and broken rn
p1eccs Some of tho~c., who \1,,cre on bo'lrd were
drowned 111d some csc.1pLJ Th lt mght tht. same
fate met the Junk \\ h1ch c.1rnLCi the., sultan's present,
.rnd .dl on bo 1rd \\ Lre Jro\\ ncd Nc\.t morn mg we
found the boJ1LS of Sunbul 'lnJ Z.1hir ad-Din, and
h'lvrng pr.1\ cd ovc.,r them buried them I saw the
mfidd, the sult.rn of C.d1cut, WLa1 mg .1 large white
cloth round his w u:a .md 1 small turban, b1re-footcd,
with the pJrasol C'lrned by a sl.1vc over his head and
a fire lit 111 front of him on the beach, his police officers
were be'ltmg the people to prevent them from plunder-
mg wh-it the sea c.1sl: up. In all the lands of l\ilulaybar,
c\.cept m this one land alone, 1t 1s the custom that when-
ever a ship 1s wrecked all that 1s t.1ken from 1t belongs
to the treasury At CJlicut however 1t 1s retained
by its owners and for that reason CJltcut has become
a flounshrng city and attracts brge numbers of mer-
chants \Vhen those on the kakam saw what had
happened to the Junk they spread their sails and went
off, with all my goods and slavt:-bO) s and slave-girls
on board, leavrng me alone on the beach with but
one slave whom 1 had enfranchised "\,Vhen he saw
what had befallen me he deserted me, and I had
2 37
SELECTIONS FROM THE
nothing left with me at all except ten dinars and the
carpet I had slept on
As I was told that the kakam would have to put
in at Kawlarn, I decided to travel thither, it being a
ten days' journey either by land or by the river,17 1f
anyone prefers that route. I set out therefore by the
nver, and hired one of the Musluns to carry the carpet
for me. Their custom rs to disembark m the evening
and pass the mght m the village on 1ts banks, returnmg
to the boat in the mornmg. vVe did this too. There
was no M ushm on the boat except the man I had
hired, and he used to drink wme with the mfidels
when we went ashore and annoy me with his brawlmg,
which made thmgs all the worse for me. On the fifth
day of our journey we came to Kunja-Karl which 1s
on the top of a htll there, 1t 1s mhabited by Jews, who
have one of their own number as their governor, and
pay a polltax to the sultan of Kawlam All the trees
along this nver are cmnamon and braz1l trees. They
use them for firewood m those parts and we used to
light fires with them to cook our food on this journey.
On the tenth day we reached the city of Kawlam
[Qmlon], one of the finest towns m the Mulaybir
lands 18 It has fine bazaars, and its merchants are
called Sulis They are immensely wealthy, a single
merchant will buy a vessel with all that 1s m 1t and
load 1t with goods from his own house There 1s a
colony of Muslim merchants, the cathedral mosque is
a magmficent bmldmg, constructed by the merchant
Khwaja Muhazzab This city 1s the nearest of the
Mulaybar towns to Chma and 1t 1s to 1t that most
of the merchants [from Chma] come. Muslims are
honoured and respected m 1t. The sultan of Kaw!Jm
1s an infidel called the Tfrawad, he respects th'-
M ushms and has severe bws ag:unsl: thtt!VCS and
profligates. I stayed some time at Kawlam m 1.
hospice, but heard no news of the kakam. During my
238
shy the ambassadors from the kmg of Chtna who had
been with us arrived there also. They had embarked on
one of the Junks which was wrecked like the others.
The Chtncsc merchants provided them with clothes and
they returned to Chrn:i, where I met them aga111 later.
I rntended at first to return from Kawlam to the
sult.m to tell h11n wh:tt had happened to the present,
but .1fterwuds I was afr.ud th.it he would find fault
\\ 1th what I had done and ask me why I had not stayed
with the present I determined therefore to return
to Sultan Jam.it ad-Din of Hrnawr and stay with him
until I should obt 1111 news of the kakam. So I went
b:1ck to C.ihcut and found there .1 Vlsscl bclongmg
to the suit m [ of lnd11.], on which I embarked It
w;;is then the end of the season for voyagmg, and we
used to sail only during the.. first half of the d.1y, then
anchor until the ne\.t day \Ve met four fightmg
vessels on our way and were afraid of them, but after
all they did us no harm. On reachmg Htnawr, I
went to the sultan .md saluted him, he assigned me
a lodgmg, but without a servant, and asked me to
recite tht.. prayers with him. I spent most of my time
m the mosque 10 and used to read the Koran through
every day, and later twice a day.
Sultan Jamal ad-Din had fitted out fifty-two vessels
for an e:>..ped1t1on to Sandabur [Goa] A quarrel had
broken out there between the sultan and his son, and
the latter had written to Jamal ad-Din mvitmg him
to seize the town and prom1s1ng to accept Islam and
marry his daughter When the ships were made
ready I thought of settrng out with them to the Holy
War, so I opened the Koran to take an augury, and
found at the top of the page 111 tliem ts tlie name of God
frequently me11tto11ed, and verily God wtll atd tliose wlio
atd Htm. I took this as a good omen, and when
the sultan came for the afternoon prayer I said to
him " I W!Sh to Jom the expedition." " In that case 11
2 39
TRAV,ELS OF IBN BATTDTA
he replied " you will be their commander." I related
to him the incident of my augury from the Koran,
which so delighted him that he resolved to Jom the
expedition himself, though prev10usly he had not
intended to do so. He embarked on one of the vessels )
I being with him, on a Saturday, and we reached
Sandabur on the Monday evening. The mhab1tants
were prepared for the battle and had set up mangonels,
which they discharged against the vessels when they
advanced m the morning. Those on the ships jumped
into the water, shields and swords m hand, and I
Jumped with them, and God granted the victory to
the Muslims. We entered the city at the point of
the sword and the greater part of the infidels fled mto
their sultan's palace, but when we threw fire mto 1t
they came out and we seized them. The sultan
thereafter set them free and returned their wives and
children to them. They numbered about ten thousand,
and he assigned to them one of the suburbs
of the city and himself occupied the palace, giving
the neighbourmg houses to his courtiers.
When I had stayed with him at Sandabur for three
months after the conquest of the town, I asked him
for permission to travel and he made me promise to
return to him. So I sailed to Hmawr and thence by
ManJarur and the other towns as before to Calicut
I went on from there to ash-Shahyat, a most beautiful
town, m which the fabrics called by its name are
manufactured 20 After a long slay m this town I
returned to Calicut Two slaves of mme who had
been on the kakam arrived at Calicut and told me
that the ruler of Sumatra had taken my slave-girls,
that my goods had been seized by various hands, and
that my companions were scattered to Chma, Sumatra
and Bengal On hearmg this I returned to Hmawr
and Sandabur, reach1ng it after an absence of five
months, and stayed there two months
240
CHAPTER VIII
THE mfidel sultan of Sandabur, from whom we had
captured the town, now advanced to recapture 1t All
the mfidels fled to Jom him, and our troops who were
quartered m the [ outlymg] v11lages, abandoned us.
We were besieged by the mfidels and reduced to great
straits When the situat10n became serious, I left
the town durmg the siege and returned to Calicut,
where I decided to travel to Dhibat al-Mahal [Maldive
1Slands], about which I had heard a number of tales
Ten days after embarking at Calicut we reached these
1Slands, which are one of the wonders of the world
and number about two thousand m all 1 Each
hundred or less of them form a circular cluster resem-
blmg a nng, this rmg havmg one entrance like a
gateway, and only through this entrance can ships
reach the 1Slands. When a vessel arrives at any one
of them it must needs take one of the mhabitants to
pilot it to the other 1Slands They are so close-set
that on leavmg one island the tops of the palms on
another are v1Sible If a ship loses its course it is
unable to enter and is carried by the wmd to the
Coromandel coast or Ceylon.
The mhab1tants of the Maldives are all Muslims,
pious and upng t The islands are divided mto
twelve distnB:s, each under a governor whom they call
the Kardut The distnB: of Mahal, which has given
its name to the whole archipelago, is the residence of
their sultans There is no agriculture at all on any
of the islands, except that a cereal resembling millet
1s grown m one distnB: and earned thence to Mahal.
241 R
SELECTIONS FROM THE
The mhab1tants hve on a fish called qulb-al-mds, which
has red flesh and no grease and smells hke mutton.
On catchmg 1t they cut 1t m four, cook 1t lightly,
then smoke 1t m palm leaf baskets. 2 When 1t is
qmte dry, they eat it. Some of these fish are exported
to India, Chma, and Yemen. Most of the trees on
those islands are coco-palms, which with the fish
mentioned above provide food for the inhabitants.
The coco-palm is an extraordinary tree, 1t bears twelve
bunches a year, one m each month Some are small,
some large, some dry and some green, never changrng.
They make mtlk, otl, and honey from 1t, as we have
already related [p. I IS],
The people of the Maldive Islands are upright and
pious, sound m belief and sincere m thought, their
bodies are weak, they are unused to :fighting, and their
armour 1s prayer. Once when I ordered a thief's
hand to be cut off, a number of those m the room
famted. The Indian pirates do not raid or molest
them, as they have learned from experience that any-
one who seizes anything from them speedily 'meets
misfortune. In each island of theirs there are beauti-
ful mosques, and most of their bmldmgs are made of
wood. They are very cleanly and avoid filth, most
of them bathe twice a day to cleanse themselves,
because of the extreme heat there and their profuse
perspiration. They make plentiful use of perfumed
oils, such as 011 of sandal-wood. Their garments are
simply aprons, one they tie round their waists m place
of trousers, and on their backs they place other cloths
resemblmg the pilgrim garments Some wear a
turban, others a small kerchief mstead When any
of them meets the qadf or preacher, he removes his
cloth from his shoulders, uncoverrng his back, and
accompanies him thus to his house All, high or
low, are bare-footed; their lanes are kept swept and
clean and are shaded by trees, so that to walk rn them
242
TR AV E L S O F I BX B _-\.TT D TA
is like "alkmg in an orch:i.rd. In spire of that every
person entering a house must W3.sh his feet mrh "Water
from a j.1r kept m a chamber in the \ esribule, and wipe
them "\\1th a rough towel of p3.lm matting "Which. he
finds there. The same pracbce 1s followed on entenng
a. mosque.
Fram these 1sbnds there are exported the nsh we
h:ne mennoned, coconuG, cloths, and cotton turbans,
a.s "\\ell a.s brass utens?ls, oi "Which they haYe a great
many, cowrie shells, and 1,n Z,,;r. This 1s the Il'';ry
integument: or- the coconut, "Wh:ch they r:m in pits on
the shore, 3.nd merw:i.rds beat out with bars; the
women then spin lt a.'1d 1t 1s made into cords for
sewing [the pl;IL~S or"] ships together. These cords
:ire exported to Inch.a, Chma, and Yemen, and are
better than hemp. The Ind1::n and Y ememte ships
are Se"Wn together "Witn them, for the Indian Oc~...n
is full or reer"'s, and li 2 srup 15 natled "\\1th iron n-:qls
it br~ ks up on st..'7.k..mg me rocks, "Wner~-S ii 1t is
se-wn together with cords: it is e:i,en a cerrain resilience
and do;; not fall to nieces. The mhabitant.5 of these
islands use co"\\rie sh~lls as mone.--. Tn:s is an an;rr,aJ.
"\\hich theY g:ither m the se-2. and Dhce in p:r.s, where
its tlesh disappears, leamg iG wlnte shell. - Tney a.:-e
used ior buying and selling a: me rate oi iour hundred
thousand shells ro:- a gold dmar, but they orren fall
in -y-,.Jue to rn-eke nu.no.red t.h.01:sand ror 2. d.in2r.
They sell them in exchange ror nee to the peop!e of
Ben~.J, \'tho also use them as n:one,, as well as to the
l eni'erutes, who use them instead oisand [ 2.5 billas"..]
in their ships. Tn.ese shells are used also b-.; the
negroe.s in their hnd.s; I s::w them being soId at
::.1<>m and w.wgaw [see Ch. XIY.] at the rare of
1,1.50 ror a gold dinar.
Their -womenrofr do not cmer their hands, not
e.--en their queen does so, and they comb their hair
and gather it at one side. ~1osi oi them wee:>-..:- onl--;-
~
.
,., ..,
-7.)
#
SELECTIONS FROM THE
an apron from the1r waists to the ground, the rest of
their bodies bemg uncovered When I held the
qadfship there, I tried to put an end to th1s pracbce
and ordered them to wear clothes, but I met with no
success. No woman was admitted to my presence m
a lawsuit unless her body was covered, but apart from
that I was unable to effect anything. I had some
slave-girls who wore garments like those worn at
Delhi and who covered their heads, but it was more
of a disfigurement than an ornament m their case,
since they were not accustomed to 1t. A smgular
custom amongst them is to hire themselves out as
servants m houses at a fixed wage of five dinars or Jess.
their employer bemg responsible for their upkeep,
they do not look upon th1s as dishonourable, and
most of their girls do so You wtll find ten or twenty
of them m a rich man's house. Every utensil that a
girl breaks is charged up against her. When she
wishes to transfer from one house to another, her new
employers give her the sum which she owes to her
former employers, she pays th1s to the latter and
remains so much m debt to her new employers. The
chief occupat10n of these hired women is spmnmg
qanbar. It 1s easy to get married m these islands on
account of the smallness of the dowries and the _pleasure
of their women's society When ships arrive, the
crew marry wives, and when they are about to sail
they divorce them. It 1s really a sort of temporary
marnage. The women never leave their country.
It 1s a strange thing about these islands that their
ruler is a woman, Khadip. The sovereignty belonged
to her grandfather, then to her father, and after his
death to her brother Shihab ad-Dfn, who was a minor.
When he was deposed and put to death some years
later none of the royal house remamed but Khadija
and her two younger sisters, so they raised KhadfJa to
the throne. She was married to their preacher, Jamal
244
ad-Din, who became Wazfr and the real holder
of authority, but orders are issued m her name only.
They write the orders on palm leaves with a curved
iron mshument resemblmg a knife, they w1 ite nothmg
on paper but copies of the Koran and works on theology.
When a stranger comes to the islands and visits the
audience-hall custom demands that he take two pieces
of cloth with him He makes obeisance towards the
Sultana and throws down one of these cloths, then to
her vVazfr, who is her husband Jamal ad-Din, and
throws down the other Her army comprises about
a thousand men, recrmted from abroad, though some
are natives They come to the palace every day,
make obeisance, and retire, and they are paid m nee
monthly. At the end of each month they come to
the palace, make obeisance, and say to the Wazir
" Transmit our homage and make it known that we
have come for our pay," whereupon orders are given
for it to be issued to them The qadi and the officials,
whom they call wazirs, also present their homage daily
at the palace and after the eunuchs have transmitted
it they withdraw The qadi is held m greater respecl:
among the people than all the other fun&onanes, his
orders are obeyed as implicitly as those of the ruler
or even more so. He sits on a carpet m the palace,
and enjoys the entire revenue of three islands, accord-
mg to ancient custom There is no prison m these
ISlands, crimmals are confined m wooden chambers
intended for merchandise. Each of them is secured
by a piece of wood, as is done amongst us [m Morocco]
with Christian prisoners
;When I arrived at these islands I disembarked on
one of them called Kannalus, a fine island contammg
many mosques, and I put up at the house of one of
the p10us persons there On this ISland I met a man
called Muhammad, belongmg to Dhafar, who told
me that if I entered the 1Sland of Mahal the Wazir
2 45
TR A\" 1: LS OF I B "= BATT U 'l A
rcLng111:cd nH m~l tnl\l thr \V,l1ir\ .1ttcnd.rnb \\ho
l \, 1 l h:, m llk !11111 ,till morl drlightcd to havl.
mr, 111d .lt tlh lic,!llllllnl! of Rlln 1J 111 he .,cnt for 1111..
to Jorn 111 1 li.111qw t .1t1r11dcd In rhc .1m1r, llld Jllllll'>tCr'>.
J ttcr {>Jl J \ hul hi, rcrm1 :on lo ~l\C l u.mqm.t to
the dtr\',, hc \,ho hld Lome t1om \l 1t111g the loot
[of .\dun. rn Cn Ion] I Ir !..! 1, c perm, ':on, 111d :icnt
me 1i, c , ht q', ., h11. h 11 c r 1nt:l, m,nn~ th('m bee rn.,1..
thn lTC llllj ll,tnl fl om \I t'b 1r, )tlu) 1: u.ir, .ind
;\l 1q\l 1 h 1,,, t1't!cthcr ,,:th r,u., d11dsn, 1 ghcc, 111d
J'ILC, I cnt 111 tn1. t) the hou ,L of the \\,ll.lr
!--ul nm 111, \\ h1, ll i-l lt nu:lknth l<,okcd tor lllL, .11H.l
lli~kd to 1t b, .i1ic, ,end in:~ c irr~t. tnd hr t',' utcn,il'>
l I hcd UH \\'in:', J'rfllll .ion tor ~umc of the
mrn1,kr, to 1ttcnd m\ h tll<j\l'-'t, 111d he , 11d to me
" \nd l h 111 u,nH. t1,n" !'-u l th 111hcd llllll llHl on
rcturnrn~ home to Ill\ lvrn c l11un<l lrnn tin idy thLr<..
v. 1th tht. m1n1-.,tu, rnd h1~h <ill1~ 1 ii,, 'I he \\' tiir:, it
ll1 lll dcv ttcd \,<H'iicn I' 1:1lio11, 111d 111 the unir-. 111d
mrnl..,tLr', \\ho 1..1mc l,!rtLlul h11n 111d thrL\\ do\\ll ,lll
un:,cwn doth, ,o th lt tnLrc \\ LrL LollLttLd 1bout 1
hunJrL J doth..,, \\ llllh \\ crL t th.Ln I>\ the J tr\\ 1:iht..:,
ThL food \\ l':> t hL n ',Lf\ <..d, 111d whu1 the guL~h h.1J
l llLn, tht.. Kor rn-rc tJLr:, ch.1ntui Ill hL ntt1ful \ OICL:,
The J tr\\ bhL., then bq. ~ 111 th1..1r rlltul ch lllb rn<l
cl lllC<..'> I h td m tdc n. ~d) .1 Iii c .111d thL)' went rnto
1t, trL 1J111g It with thLir ti.Lt, 111J '>Ollle of tht..m ,\tC
1t l'> one L \t':> :,\\ LLtmc tt:,, until It w b c\t1ngu1:,hcd
\ Vhcn tht. rnght 1.. tme to .111 en<l, the \ V.1.dr w1th-
<lrt. w md I \\cnt with 111111. As \\t.. p.1ssul by ,lll
orch trd bdong111g to tht. trc 1:,ur) he :,.ud to me " This
orLh 1rJ 1., ) our:,, ind l :,h.tll build l. hous1.. m 1t for vou
to live 111 11 l th.inked l11m rn<l pr,l) t..d for )us happ1-
n1..ss. Aftcrw.1rd:, he sent me two :,l.tve-g1rls, some
pieces of silk, and a c 1:,kt..t of JL-Wd:,
The amtu<le of the \Vu{r afterwards became
hostile to me for the followmg rc.1son. The wazir
'.!+7
SELECTIOXS FR01Yl THE
Sulaym,a~ had sent to :11e proposing that I should
marry ms daughter, ancl I sent ro the "'\Yazir Jamil
ad-Din to ask his permission for my acceprance The
messenger returned to me and said '- The proposal
does not find favour with him, for he wishes to rn.z.rr.
you to h:s own daughter when her per.od of mdow-
~ood. comes t? ;11 end." But I for my part refused
mar, m fear or tne 1ll 1uck attached to her, for she bad
already had two husbands v.ho had died before con-
summ;ting the rnamage. l\tieanwbiie I was serioush-
ari.acked by fever, for every person who comes ro tbi~
island inevitably contra& fever. I determined there-
fore to leave it, sold some of the jer.els for cowries,
and hired a vessel to take me to Bengal. "\\hen I
went to take leave of the \\azir, the qadi came our
to me and said .; The "'\Yazir says ' If you msh ro go,
give us back 17hat we hzve given you and go.' " I
replied '- I have boughr cowries v.ith some of the jewels,
so do what you like with those." He ca.me back to
me and said ' He says ' 1Ve ga-ve you gold, nor
cowries.' " I said ' I shall sell them and g1ve you
back the gold." So I v;-ent ro the merchants, 2..o;king
them to buy back che cmrries from me, bur the \\azir
forbade them to do so, his purpose in all this being
to pre'\"ent my leaving him. _r\fterwards he sent one
of his courners to me to say ' T'ne \\azrr says ' Sray
with us, and you shall have v.hat you Trul.' " So
reasorung with myself that I was in their p0wer and
that if I did nor fuv of my own free will I should be
kept b-v main force; and that it was better to stay of
my ov.'n choice, I said to his messenger .: Very well,
I shall fuy with him." When rhe messenger returned
to him he v.as overjoyed, and summoned 1:1e. A~ I
entered he rose and embraced me saying '" We msh
you to fuy near us and you wish to go away from
us l" I made my excuses, which he accepted, and
said to him ,: If you wish me to siay I have some
248
conditions to make" He replied " Granted. Name
them" I said " I cannot walk on foot." (Now 1t 1s
their custom that no one rides there except the Wazfr,
and when I had been given a horse and rode out on
it, the population, men and boys, used to follow me
111 amazement. At length I complamcd to him, so
he had the dunqm (l beaten and a public proclamation
made that no one was to follow me The drmqm 1l
is a sort of brass basm which 1s beaten with an iron
rod and can be heard at a great distance, after beating
it any proclamation wluch 1t 1s desired to make 1s
publicly announced) The Wazir said "If you wish
to ride in a palanqmn, do so, 1f not we have a horse
and a mare-choose which of them you wish." So
I chose the mare and it was brought to me on the
spot, along with a robe Then I said " What shall
I do with the cowries I bought ?" He replied "Send
one of your companies to sell them for you m Bengal"
I said " I shall, on condition that you too send someone
to help him m the transacbon." He agreed to that,
so I sent off my compamon Abu Muhammad and they
sent a man named al-Ha.JJ 'Ali
Immediately after the Ramadan fast I made an
agreement with the wazir Sulayman to marry his
daughter, so I sent to the Wazir Jamal ad-Din re-
quesbng that the ceremony might be held m his
presence at the palace He gave his consent, and sent
the customary betel and sandalwood The guests
arrived but the wazir Sulayman delayed He was
sent for but still did not come, and on bemg summoned
a second time excused himself on the ground of his
daughter's illness The Waz{r then said to me
privily " His daughter has refused, and she 1s her
own mistress. The people have assembled, so what
do you say to marrymg the Sultana's mother-m-law ?"
(It was her daughter to whom the Wazfr's son was
married ) I said " Very well," so the qadi and notaries
2 49
SELECTIONS FROM THE
were summoned, and the profession of fa1th recited.
The Wazfr pa1d her dowry, and she was conducted
to me a few days later. She was one of the best of
women.
After this marriage the W azir forced me to take
the office of qadi. The reason for this was that I
had reproached the qadi for h1s pracbce of talang a
tenth of all estates when he d1v1ded them amongst
the heirs, saymg to him " You should have nothmg
but a fee agreed upon between you and the he1rs."
Besides he never did anythmg properly. When I
was appomted, I strove my utmost to establish the
prescriptions of the Sacred Law. There are no law-
smts there like those m our land The first bad
custom I changed was the pracbce of divorced wives
of srayrng m the houses of their former husbands, for
they all do so till they marry another husband. I
soon put that to nghts About twenty-five men who
had acted thus were brought before me, I had them
beaten and paraded in the bazaars, and the women
put away from them. Afterwards I gave stncr m-
Junctions that the prayers were to be observed, and
ordered men to go swiftly to the sheets and bazaars
after the Friday serVIce, anyone whom they found
not havmg prayed I had beaten and paraded I
compelled the salaned prayer-leaders and muezzms
to be assiduous in their duties and sent letters to all
the ISlands to the same effect I tned also to make
the women wear clothes, but I could not manage
that.
Meanwhtle I had married three other w1ves, one
the daughter of a wazfr whom they held m high
esteem and whose grandfather had been sultan, another
the former wife of Sh1hab ad-Din After these
marriages the islanders came to fear me, because of
their weakness, and they exerted themselves to turn
the W azfr against me by slanders, until our relations
250
T R :\ ,. r LS O I I B ;-: B ,\ 'I T O TA
hcL 1mc .,tr 11ncJ. J\o\\ 1t h 1ppc11c<l tlut :1 !,l.\Vc
hclon:..:111:..: to the ,ult 111 Sh1h.1h .1d-Ui11 w.1s brought
hcfor~ m~ on \ Lh tr[.!C of ulultt n, .ind I h 1<l lum bc;1tu1
111d l'\lt Ill j'fl OJ~ l he \\ ;, ir ,Lilt !,OlllC of lw,
pnnc1p ii 1ttr11d lilt, to me to 1,k Ill<.. to !>Lt h1111 .lt
hhcrt\. I 11d to thrm '' .:\re \o\1 i.!0111~ to tntcr<..Lde
1
for 1 nc!..!_ro lnc v.ho h1, \'1nl1t~d h,-, 111i''>t.Lr !> honour,
\\hen \~\l \our chc, li,it )L'llLrdt) dq)O-.cd Sh1h.1b
1d-Dm rnd put lrnn to dt 1th hcl l\J',c ht. h 1d <..ntcn.d
the hou c ot onL of 111. ,J n c, ;., 'l hereupon I !,Lilt
for the 1\\ c rnd h Hi 111111 hl Hen \\ 1th b.1111bou rods,
\\h1d1 gl\c hc1\1cr hlo\\, thm v,htp", md p,1r1dcd
throu!..!_h the 1,l 111d \\Ith 1 rnp1. round hh nnk \Vhcn
the \\ 1nr he mi of th1--. he fdl mto 1 v1ok nt r.1gc,
1,~cmhlcd the llllll! ,tLr, rnd .1rm\ 1.0mm rnJLr!, rnd
:,c1H for me I c.1mc to him, 111~! thou~h I U!,tnll)
m1dc ohc1 rncc to him, I did not 1111h.c obu:i rnct.. but
,1mph ., 11d ., .. /.im ',;/.,_,J. a11. 'l hLn I s ll(i to those
pn.,u1t Be Ill)' w1tm ,,v, th.it I n.",1gn tht.. oflicL of
q iJ1 blc 1u,c ot 111\ 111 d,1lit) to 1.. Irr) out lb dut1c.s"
The \V.11,1r 1ddr1.''>'Ld 1111.., ,,.h1.rcupon I mountLJ [to
the d m],, lt cic)\\ n 1n I pl \LL t.1c1ng l11m, 'lnd ;tll!,WLrcd
h11n 111 the mo~ unLompromh111g m.urnLr .At this
point the 111ULl7.ln Lh 1ntcd th1.. c 111 to thi.: ~Ull!,et
prt) Lr 'lnd hi.: ,,. 1..nt into lw, p 11.ice -,,1) rng '' They s:1y
th lt l 1111 suit rn, but I .,enc for th1~ fellow to vent
Ill) wrath on him .111J he vented hi!, ,,. r:1th on me 11
Tht: r1..~pLct Ill which l ,,. .1s hdd 1mong:;l: them w:1s
dut: soldy to th1.. !,Ult 111 ot lnd1.1, for they were :nnrc
of tht: reg:1rd 111 wh11..h ht. held me, .md cvi.:n though
they Jre far d1:;l:.rnt from 111111 yet the f1.. 1r of him 1s
m their he.1rts
\Vht:n the \Vuir entered his p.u.1cc he sent for the
formi.:r qldi who had been removed from office This
m:111 had ,lll .1rrog:1nt tongue, and S'lld to me " Our
master asks you why you v10latcd his d1gmty m the
presence of witnesses, and did not make obeisance to
251
I
SELECTIONS FROM THE

him " I answered " I used to make obeisance to hun
only because I was on good terms with him, but when
his attitude changed I gave that up The greeting
of Muslims is Sa/dm and nothmg more and I said
1'
Stl1aJJJ. 11 He sent him to me a second )time to say
" Yo~ are aiming only at 1eavmg us, give back your
wive,~ dowries and pay your debts and go, 1f you
w11l. On heai mg this I made obeisance to him,
went to my house, and acquitted all the debts I had
contracl:ed On Jearnmg that I had done so and was
bent upon gomg, the Wazfr repented of what he had
said and withheld his perm1ss10n for my departure
So I swore with the most solemn oaths that I had no
alternative but to leave, and removed all my possess10ns
to a mosque on the coast. I made a compact with
two of the mmisters that I should go to the land of
Ma'bar [Coromandel], the kmg of which was the
husband of my wife's sister, and fetch troops from
there to brmg the islands under his authority, and
that I should be his representative m them I arranged
that the signal between us should be the ho1shng of
white flags on the ships; when they saw these they
were to rise m revolt on the shore. I had never
suggested this to myself until the Wazir became
estranged from me. He was afraid of me and used
to say " This man will without doubt seize the wazirate,
either m my lifetime or after my death." He was
constantly makmg enqumes about me and saymg " I
have heard that the kmg of India has sent hun money
to aid him to revolt agamst me" He feared my
departure, lest I should fetch troops from Ma'bar,
and sent to me askmg me to stay until he could fit
out a vessel for me, but I refused. The ministers
and chief men came to me at the mosque and begged
me to return. I said to them " If I had not sworn
I should return " They suggested that I should go
to one of the islands to avoid breaking my oath all<l
252
then return, so I said " Vc1 y wcll,1' 111 order to satisfy
them \\Then the night fi'\ed fo1 my departure came
I went to take le.we of the vVa.dr, and he embraced
me and wept so copiously that his tears dropped on
my feet. He passed the followtng mght guardtng
the island tn person, for fear that my relatives by
marriage and my friends would nse 111 revolt aga1nsl:
him
I set sail and reached the 1sl.111d of the wazir 'Ali
Here my wife was attacked by severe pams and wished
to go back, so I divorced her and left her there, sendtng
word to that effecl: to the \.Vazir, because she was the
mother of his son's wife. \.Ve contmued to travel
through the islands from one disl:ncl: to another and
came to a tmy island 111 which there was but one
house, occupied by a weaver He had a wife and
family, a few coco-palms :rnd a small boat, with which
he used to fish and to cross over to any of the islands
he wished to v1s1t His island contarned also a few
banana trees, but we saw no land birds on 1t except
two ravens, which came out to us on our arnval and
circled above our vessel And I swear I envied that
man, and wished that the ISland had been mme, that
I might have made 1t my retreat until the mev1table
hour should befall me vV e then came to the island
of Muluk where the ship belongrng to the captam
Ibrahim was lymg This was the ship 111 which I
had decided to travel to Ma'bar Ibrahim and his
compamons met me and showed me great hospitality.
The Wazir had sent mshuchons that I was to receive
In this island thirty dmars' worth of cowries, together
with a quantity of coconut, honey, betel, areca-nuts,
and fish every day I stayed seventy days at Muluk
and married two wives there The ISianders were
afraid that Ibrahim would plunder them at the moment
of sailmg, so they proposed to seize all the weapons
on his ship and keep them until the day of his depar-
2S 3
S E L E C T I O NS FR OM THE
ture. A dispute arose over this, and we returned to
Mahal but d1d not enter the harbour I wrote to
the W azfr to tell h1m what had occurred, whereupon
he wrote to say that there was no cause for seizing
the weapons We returned to Muluk and set sail
from there m the middle of Rabi' II, 745 (22nd
August I 344). Four months later the Wazir Jamal
ad-Din died-may God have mercy upon him
We set sail without an experienced pilot on board,
the distance between the island and Ma'bar bemg
a three days' journey, and travelled for nme days,
emergmg on the nmth day at the island of Saylan
[Ceylon] We saw the mountam of Sarandib there,
r1smg mto the heavens like a column of smoke.3
When we came to the island, the sailors said " This
port 1s not m the territory of the sultan whose country
can safely be v1s1ted by merchants It 1s m the ter-
ritory of Sultan Ayrf Shakarwatf, who 1s an eVIl
tyrant and keeps pirate vessels." 4 We were afraid
to put mto this harbour, but as a gale arose thereafter
and we dreaded the smkmg of the ship, I said to the
captam " Put me ashore and I shall get you a safe-
conducl: from this sultan." He did as I asked and put
me ashore, whereupon the mfidels came to us and
said " What are you ?" I told them that I was the
brother-m-law and friend of the sultan of Ma'bar,
that I had come to visit him, and that the contents
of the ship were a present for him They went to
their sultan and mformed him of this Thereupon he
summoned me, and I visited him m the town of
Batta.la [Puttelam], which 1s his capital. It 1s a small
and pretty town, surrounded by a wooden wall w1th
wooden towers. The whole of its coasls are covered
with cmnamon trees brought down by torrents and
heaped up like hills on the shore They are taken
without payment by the people of Ma'bar and Mulay-
bar, but m return for this they give presents of woven
2 54
stuffs and similar articles to the sultan. It is a day
and a night's Journey from this island to the land of
Ma'bar.
vVhen I entered the presence of the infidel Sultan
Ayri Shakarwati, he rose to meet me, seated me beside
him, and spoke most kindly to me. He said " Your
companions may land in safety and will be my guests
until they sail, for the sultan of Ma'bar and I are
friends." He then ordered me to be lodged and I
stayed with him three days, enJoying great considera-
tion which increased every day. He understood
Persian and was delighted with the tales I told him
of kmgs and countries. One day, after presentmg
me with some valuable pearls, he said "Do not be
shy, but ask me for anything that you want." I
replied " Since reachmg this 1Sland I have had but
one desire, to visit the blessed Foot of Adam" (They
call Adam Baba, and Eve they call Mama) "That
is simple," he answered, " We shall send an escort
with you to take you to it." '~ That is what I want,"
said I, then I added "And this ship that I came m
can set out m safety for Ma'bar, and when I return
you will send me in your own vessels." " Certamly "
he replied When I related this to the captam,
however, he said to me "I shall not sail until you
return, even if I wait a year on your account," so I
told the sultan of this, and he said " He will remain
as my guest until you come back"
The sultan then gave me a palanquin, which was
earned by his slaves, and sent with me four Yogis,
whose custom it 1s to make an annual pilgrimage to
the Foot, three Brahmans,5 ten other persons from his
entourage, and fifteen men to carry provis10ns Water
is plentiful along that road On the first day we
encamped beside a river, which we crossed on a raft,
made of bamboo canes Thence we Journeyed to
Manar Mandali [Mmnen-Mandel], a fine town
2 55
SELECTIONS FRONI THE
situated at the extremity of the sultan's tern tones.
The mhabitants entertarned us with a. fine banquet,
the chief dish at wh1ch was buffalo calves which they
hunt in a forest there and brtng m aiive. After
passing the small town of Bandar Salawat [Chd:rn]
our way lay through rugged country mtersecl:ed with
streams. In this part there are many elephants, but
they do no harm to pilgrims and strangers, through
the blessed favour of the Shaykh Abu 'Abdallah, who
was the first to open up this road for the pilgrimage
to the Foot These infidels used formerly to prevent
Muslims from makmg th1s p.ugr1mage and would
maltreat them, and neither eat nor trade with them,
but smce the adventure that happened to the Shaykh,
as we have related above [p. 95]> they honour the:
Muslims, allow them to enter their houses, cat with
them, and have no suspicions regarding their dealing~
with their wives and children. To this day they
continue to pay the greatest venerat10n to this Shaykh,
and call him " the Great Shaykh 11
After this we came to the town of Kunakar, which 1s
II
the capital of the prmc1pal sultan in this land It
hes m a narrow valley between two hills, near .1 great
lake called the Lake of Rubies, because rub1e~ .ire
found in 1t Outside the town 1s the mosque of Sh.1yJ..h
'Othman of Shfraz, known as the Sh:iwush, the t.ult.111
and mhab1tants v1s1t his tomb and venerate: hun He
was the guide to the Foot, and when his hJnd Jn<l
foot were cut off, his sons and slaves took his phct..
as guides. The reason for his mut1lat1on W,ts thJt hi:
killed a cow. The Hmdu infidds have a law th it
anyone who kills a cow 1s slaughtt:red 10 the ::.rnti:
fash10n or else put In its skm :ind burned. A:, ~h lj kh
'Othman was so highly revered by tht.:m, the;, LUC
off his hand and foot instead, :ind 1::i:,1gm.J. tu him
the revenues of one of the bazaars Tht. ~ult..1 11 ot
Kunakar 1s called the K unar, and po::,:ic:i~t:, 1 \\ hit.,
256
elephant, the only white elephant I have seen 1n the
whole world. He rides on it at fdhvals and puts
great rubies on its forehead. The marvellous rubies
called b,1h1'1md11 [carbuncles] are found only m this
town. Some arc t.iken from the lake and these are
regarded by them as the most valuable, and some are
obtamed by d1ggmg. In the island of Ceylon rubies
are found m all parts. The land is private property,
and a man buys a parcel of it and digs for rubies
Some of them are red, some yellow [topazes], and
some blue [sapphires]. Their custom 1s that all
rubies of the value of a hundred / an ams belong to
the sultan, who pays their pnce and takes them,
those of less value belong to the finders. A hundred
Jan ams equal tn value szx gold dmars
vVe went on from Kunakar and halted at a cave called
after Usl:.i lYlahmud the Luri, a pious man who dug
out this cave at the foot of a hill beside a small lake
Thence we travelled to the Lake of Monkeys There
are in these mountains vast numbers of monkeys
They are black and have long tails, and their males
are bearded like men Shaykh 'Othman and his sons
and others as well told me that these monkeys have
a chief, whom they obey as if he were a kmg He
fastens on his head a fillet of leaves and leans upon
a staff. On his nght and his left are four monkeys
carrymg Staves m their hands. When the chief
monkey sits down the four monkeys srand behmd
him, and his female and young come and sit m front
of him every day The other monkeys come and sit
at a distance from him, then one of the four monkeys
addresses them and all the monkeys withdraw After
this each one brings a banana or a lemon or some
such frmr, and the monkey chief wrth hrs young and
the four monkeys eat One of the Yogis told me that
he had seen the four monkeys m the presence of their
chief beating a monkey wrth shcks and after the beatmg
257 s
SELECTIONS FROM THE
pulling out its hair. We continued our journey to
a place called "The Old Woman's Hut," which 1s
the end of the mhab1ted part, and marched thence
by a number of grottoes. In this place we saw the
flying leech, which sits on trees and m the vegetation
near water. When a man approaches it JUmps out
at him, and wheresoever 1t alights on his body the
blood flows freely. The mhabitants keep a lemon in
readiness for 1t, they squeeze this over 1t and 1t falls
off them, then they scrape the place on which 1t
alighted with a wooden kmfe which they have for the
purpose.
The mountam of Sarand{b [Adam's Peak] 1s one
of the highest m the world We saw 1t from the sea
when we were nme days' Journey away, and when
we climbed 1t we saw the clouds below us, shutting
out our view of 1ts base On 1t there are many ever-
green trees and flowers of various colours, mcluding
a red rose as big as the palm of a hand There are
two tracks on the mountain leadmg to the Foot, one
called Baba track and the other Mama track, meamng
Adam and Eve. The Mama track 1s easy and 1s
the route by which the pilgrims return, but anyone
who goes by that way is not considered by them to
have made the p1lgnmage at all The Bibi track 1::.
difficult and stiff chmbmg Former generations cut
a sort of stairway on the mountam, and fixed iron
stanchions on it, to which they attached chains for
climbers to hold on by. 7 There are ten such chains,
two at the foot of the hill by the " threshold," st- ven
successive chams farther on, and the tenth 1s tht:
" Cham of the Profession of Faith," so called b<-c:rn~e
when one reaches it and looks down to the foot of the
hill he is seized by apprehensions and rt-Cltt-S the
profess10n of faith for fear of fallrng. \Vhen jOU
climb past this cham you find a rough track. From
the tenth cham to the grotto of Kh1dr 1s s~vt-n mile..:.,
258
this grotto lies Ill a wide plateau, and near by it is
a spring full of fish, but no one catches them Close
to tl11s there arc tv.o t.ink~ cut Ill the rock on either
side of the path At the grotto of Khidr the pilgrims
leave their bclon~mgs .rnd ascend thence for two miles
to the summit ot the mountam where the Foot 1s.
The blessed Footprint, the Foot of our father
1\d.1111, 1s on a lofty black rock Ill a wide plateau
The blessed Foot s.mk lllto the rock far enough to
le.we its 1mpress1011 hollowld out It 1s eleven spans
long In ancient d.1) s the Chmesc came here and
cut out of thl rock the mark of the great toe and the
adJ01111ng parts. Tht.y put this In a temple at Zaytun,
where 1t 1s visited by men from the farthest parts of
the hnd In the rock where the Foot 1s there are
nme holes cut out, in which the mfidcl pilgmns place
offerings of gold, pn:c1ous stones, and Jewels You
can sec the darwishes, after they reach the grotto of
Khidr, racmg one another to take what there is 111
these holes vV e, for our part, found nothing 111
them but a few stones and a httle gold, which we gave
to the guide It 1s customary for the _pilgrims to stay
at the grotto of Kh1dr for three days, v1sit1ng the Foot
every mormng and evenmg, and we followed this
pracbce When the three days were over we returned
by the Mimi track, haltmg at a number of villages
on the mountam At the foot of the mountam there
is an ancient tree whose leaves never fall, situated 111
a place that cannot be got at I have never met
anyone who has seen its leaves I saw there a number
of Yogis who never qmt the base of the mountain
wa1tmg for its leaves to fall. They tell lymg tales
about it, one bemg that whosoever eats of it regains
his youth, even 1f he be an old man, but that 1s fah,e.
Beneath the mountain 1s the great lake from which
the rubies are taken, its water 1s a bright blue to the
sight.
2 59
We travelled thence to Dinawar, a large town on
the coast, mhabited by merchants. In this town
there is an idol, known as Dinawar, m a vast temple,3
m which there are about a thousand Brahmans and
Yogis, and about five hundred women, daughters of
the infidels, who smg and dance every night tn front
of the idol. The city and all 1ts revenues form an
endowment belongmg to the 1dol, from which all who
live m the temple and who visit it are supplied with
food The idol itself is of gold, about a man's height,
and m the place of its eyes it has two great rubies,
which, as I was told, shine at night like lamps \Ve
went on to the town of Qalf [Point de Ga.Ile], a sm:ill
place eighteen miles from Dinawar, and JOurne} cd
thence to the town of Kalan bu [Colombo], which is
one of the finest and largest towns m Ceylon In 1t
resides the wazfr and ruler of the sea Jalasr1, \\ ho
has with him about five hundred Abyss1n1ans. Thru:
days after leavrng Kalanbu we reached Batta.la ag:un
and visited the sultan of whom we have spoken above
I found the captain Ibrahim awa1tmg me and we set
sail for the land of I'vfa'bar.
:.60
CHAPTER IX
ON our voyage to Ma'bar [Coromandel] a gale sprang
up and our ship nearly filled with water We had
no experienced pilot on board. We narrowly escaped
being wrecked on some rocks, and then came mto some
shallows where the ship ran aground. We were
face-to-face with death, and those on board Jettisoned
all that they had, and bade farewell to one another.
We cut down the mast and threw it overboard, and
the sailors made a wooden raft We were then about
six miles from the shore I set about chmbing down
to the raft, when my compamons (for I had two slave
girls and two of my companions with me) said to me
" Are you going to go on the raft and leave us ?"
So I put their safety before my own and said " You
two go and take with you the girl that I hke" The
other girl said " I am a good swimmer and I shall
hold on to one of the raft ropes and swim with them"
So both my companions and the one girl went on the
raft, the other girl swimming. The sailors tied ropes
to the raft and swam with their aid I sent along
with them all the things that I valued and the Jewels
and ambergris, and they reached the shore rn safety
because the wind was rn their favour I myself stayed
on the ship. The captain made his way ashore on
the rudder. The sailors set to work to make four
rafts, but night fell before they were completed, and
the ship filled with water I climbed on the poop
and stayed there until morning, when a party of in-
fidels came out to us in a boat and we went ashore
with them in the land of Ma'bar We told them
261
SELECTIONS FROM THE
that we were friends of the1r sultan, under whose
prote_cbon they live, and they wrote mformmg hun
of this. He was then two days' Journey away, on an
expedit10n. I too wrote to rum tellmg him what had
happened to me.
We stayed there three days, at the end of which
an amir arrived from the sultan with a body of horse
and foot, bringmg a palanqwn and ten horses. I
and my companions, the captam, and one of the slave-
g1rls rode, and the other was earned m the palanquin
We reached the fort of Harkatu, 1 where we spent
the night, and where I left the slave-girls and some
of my slaves and companions. On the following day
we arrived at the camp of the sultan, who was Gh1yath
ad-Din of Damaghan. 2 He was married to the
daughter of the late Sultan Jala1 ad-Din, and it was
her sister that I had marned m Delh1. It 1s a cusrom
throughout the land of India that no person enters
the sultan's presence without boots on. I had no boots
w1th me so one of the mfidels gave me a pair There
were a number of Muslims there and I was asromshed
to find an mfidel show greater courtesy than they did.
When I appeared before the sultan he bade me be
seated and assigned to me three tents m his vicinity,
sending me carpets and food Later on I had an
interview w1th him and put before h1m the proJect
to send an army to the Maldive Islands. He resolved
to do so, decided what vessels were to be sent, and
designated a gift for the Sultana, together with robes
and presents for the mmisters and amirs He charged
me to draw up his contract of marnage with the
Sultana's sister and ordered three vessels to be loaded
with alms for the poor of the islands Then he said
to me "You will return m five days' time," but the
admiral said to him "It 1s impossible to sail to the
ISlands for three months yet." '' Well then " he
replied to me, "1f that 1s the case, come to Fact:in
262
until we finish the present campaign and return to
our capital Mutra [Madur,t], and the expedition will
start from there."
The country through which we were to pass was
an uninterrupted and impassable Jungle of trees and
reeds The sultan gave orders that every man m
the army, great and small alike, should carry a hatchet
to cut it down, and when the camp was struck, he rode
forward with his troops and they cut down those
trees from mornmg to noon Food was then brought,
and the whole army ate m relays, afterwards returning
to their tree-felling until the evening All the infidels
whom they found m the Jungle were taken prisoner,
and brought to the camp with their wives and children
Their pracbce is to fortify their camp with a wooden
palisade, which has four gates Outside the palisade
there are platforms about three feet high on which
they light a fire at 111ght By the fire there is posted
a night guard of slaves and footsoldiers, each of whom
carries a bundle of thm canes If a party of infidels
should attempt to attack the camp by night each sentry
lights the bundle he has m his hand, so that the mght
becomes as bright as the day, and the horsemen ride
out m pursmt of the infidels In the morning the
mfidels whom our troops had captured the previous
day were divided into four groups and impaled at
the four gates of the camp Their women and little
children were butchered also and the women tied by
their hair to the pales Thereafter the camp was
struck and they set to work cuttmg down another
patch of Jungle, and all those who were taken prisoner
were treated m the same way. This [slaughtermg
of women and children J is a dastardly pracbce,
which I have never known of any [ otherJ kmg,
and it was because of 1t that God brought him to a
speedy end
I left the camp and reached Fattan, which is a large
263
SELECTIONS FROM THE
and fine city on the coast, w1th a wonderful harbour.3
There 1s a great wooden pavil10n in 1t, erected on
enormous beams and reached by a covered wooden
gallery. When an enemy attacks the place they tie
all the vessels m port to this pavilion, which is manned
by soldiers and archers, so that the enemy has no
chance [ of capturing themJ. In this c1ty there 1s
a fine mosque, built of stone, and 1t has also large
quantities of grapes and excellent pomegranates. I
met here the pious sha kh Muhammad of Nishapur,
1
one of the crazy darw1shes who let their hair hang
loose over their shoulders He had with h1m a hon
which he had tamed, and which used to eat and sit
along with the darwfshes. Accompanymg him were
about thirty darwishes, one of whom had a gazelle.
Though the gazelle and the hon used to be together
m the same place, the hon did not molest 1t. While
I was staymg at Fattan the sultan fell 111 and came
to the city I went out to meet him and made him
a present When he had taken up his residence
there he sent for the admiral and said to htm '~ Take
no busmess m hand except [to equip] the ships which
are to make the exped1t10n to the ISlands." He wtShed
also to give me the value of my present, but I refused
1t. Afterwards I was sorry for th1s, because he d1ed
and I received nothing. He stayed a fortnight at
Fattan and then set out for his capital, but I stayed
there for another fortnight.
I then journeyed to his capital, the city of Mutra
[Madura], a large town wtth w1de streets. On my
arrival I found 1t m the grip of a plague Those
who were attacked by it died on the second or third
day, or at the most on the fourth. When I went out
I saw none but sick and dead. The sultan on reachrng
Mutra had found his mother, wife, and son tll, and
after staymg m the town for three days, he went out
to a river three miles away I Jomed him there, and
264
he ordered me to be lodged alongside the qad{.
Exaaly a fortnight later the sultan died and was
succeeded by his nephew Nasir ad-Din. The new
sultan gave orders that I should be furnished with
all the ships that his uncle had appomted for the
exped1t10n to the islands. Later on, however, I fell
111 of a fever which 1s mortal m those parts, and thought
that my time had come. God mspired me to have
recourse to the tamarmd, which grows abundantly
there, so I took about a pound of 1t, put 1t m water
and drank 1t It rela.xed me for three days, and God
healed me of my illness I took a dislike to this town
m consequence, and asked the sultan for perm1ss1on
to depart He said to me " Why should you go ?
It is only a month until the season for the expedition
to the islands. Stay until we give you all that the
Master of the World [the late sultan] ordered for
you " I refused however, and he wrote on my behalf
to Fattan, that I might sail m any ship I wished.
I returned to Fattan, and found eight vessels sailmg
to Yemen, on one of which I embarked. We fell m
with four warships which engaged us for a short time,
but afterwards they retired and we went on to Kawlam
[Qmlon]. As I was still feelmg the effects of my
illness, I stayed there for three months, afterwards
embarkmg on a vessel with the mtention of makmg
for Sultan Jamil ad-Din of Hmawr. When we
reached the small island between Hmawr and Fakamir,4
we were assailed by the mfi.dels with twelve warships,
who fought us vigorously and got the better of us.
They seized all that I had kept m reserve for emer-
gencies, together with the jewels and prec10us stones
which the kmg of Ceylon gave me, my clothes and the
travelling provisions I kept with me which had been
given me by pious men and samts, leaving me with
no covermg but my trousers They seized the pos-
sessions of every one on board, and put us ashore on
265
S E L E C T I O N S F R Ofvl THE
the coast. I made my way back. to Calicut, :ind
went mto a mosque, one of the theolooi:ins sent
me a robe, the qadi sent a turban, and a merchant
another robe.
At Calicut I learned of the marnaoe 0
of the Sult.ma
Khadija [of the Maldive islands] with the \\JZir
'Abdallah after the death of the wazir Jamal ad-Din,
and that my w1fe, whom I had left there pregnant, h 1J
g1:,ren birth to a son I thought therefore of making
a Journey to the islands, but remembenng the hofolzt)
of the wazir 'Abdallah towards me l [sought an omen
from the Koran and] opened the volume Jt these
words The a11gels shall desce11d upon tht111 StJ)'JJJg "Ftur
not, 11e11her be sad." So I commended m}sdf to GoJ,
and set sail Ten days later I disembarked at K1n-
nalus, where the governor received me with honour,
made me his guest, and fitted out a boat for me
Some of the islanders went to the wazir '.:\bJalL1h
and mformed him of my arrival. He asked about
me and who had come with me, and w.is told ch 1c
the purpose of my visit was to ft.tch my son, \\ ho
was about two years old 5 His mother c 1me co tht.
wazir to lay a complaint ag:unsl: this, but. he rt.pltt.ll
to her " I for my part will not hmdcr him tram t.ikmg
away his son " He pressed me to v1~it the 1sl.rnd [or
Mahal], and lodged me m a hous<.: t.ic1ng thc.. to\\ a
of his palace, that he might obsave my moVt.mc.,nb
My son was brought to me, but I thought tC bt.tcc..r
that he should ~by with them so I g.1vt. him b tck tu
them. After a shy of fivt.. d,l}S, lt 1.ppnrc.:J cu Illt.
that the best plan was to hastc.,n ffi} Jc.,p 1rturc.., 111-l I
asked permission to It. 1.ve Thc w.rz.ir :,ummon1.J
me and when I entered his prcsc:nce ht. :,1. ltt.J rn:: lt
his' side and askt.d hov, I fared l Jtt. ..1 nKJl 1 1 II'
compan}' and \\ ashed my hand:, in ch 1. :i urn. 6 1 .in
with him, a thing \'w hie h h e d ot.s \\ ttn' no one l''' r I

\\JS brought in and I cook my !t..nc: I !c ~rr 1 : :
~66
robes .rnd hundred~ of thousands of cowries, and was
mosl: generous m his treatment of me.
I set out .1gam, and we spent forty-three mghts at
~ca, .1rnvmg even tu 1lly at the !Jnd of Bang.Ha [Bengal]
This 1s .1 v.1sl: countr), abound mg 111 nee, and nowhere
111 the world have I seen any land where prices arc
lower than there, on the other hand 1t is a gloomy
place, and the people of Khuris.in c.111 it "A hell full
of good things II I have seen fat fowls sold there at
the nte of eight for a single dirham, young pigeons
at fifteen to the dirham, and a fat ram sold for two
dirh.1ms I saw too .1 piece of fine cotton cloth, of
c'\cclknt qu-tlity, thirty cubits long, sold for two
dmars, and a beautiful slave-girl for a stngh; gold
dmar, tlut is, two and .1 half gold dinar~ m 1\tloroccan
money The firsl: city m BLngal that we entered was
Sudk.iwan, .1 hrgc town on the co.isl: of the great
se1. Close by 1t the river G.inges, to which the
Hindus go on p1lgnmagc, and the river Jun 7 unite
.md discharge together mto the sea They have a
large fleet on the river, with which they make war on
the inhabitants of the land of Laknawti 8
The sultan of Bengal is Sultan Fakhr ad-Dfn, an
e::-..cellent ruler with a partiality for strangers, especially
darwishes and sufis. The kmgship of this land
belonged to Sultan N.isir ad-Din, whose grandson
was taken prisoner by the sultan of Delhi, and released
by Sultan Muhammad when he became kmg, on
condition of sharmg his sovereignty with him He
broke his promise and Sultan 1\!Iuhammad went to
war with him, put him to death, and appomted a
relative by marriage of his own as governor of that
country. This man was put to death by the troops
and the kmgdom was seized by 'AH-Shah, who was
then m Laknawd When Fakhr ad-Din saw that
the kmgship had passed out of the hands of Nasir
ad-Din's descendants (he was a client of theirs), he
267
SELECTIONS FROJ\tI THE
revolted in Sudkiw:in and Bengal :ind nude h1m:i.:!i
an independent ruler. A v10lent strucrcrie too!.;. pl.lee
between him and 'Ali-Sh:ih. Dunng::,~he sr:Json ot
winter and mud, Fakhr ad-Din used to m:ike e:-.pc.J1-
tions up the nver agamst the land of Lakn:rn ti, b::c 1u:,c
of his naval superiority, but when the r:11nlcss ::.e.bon
returned, 'Ali-Shih would make r:11ds b1 bnd 0:1
Bengal, because of his supenont} m l rnd-forct.::.
vVhen I entered Sudkiwin I did not v1s1t the suit rn,
nor did I meet him, as he 1s a rebel agam:.1 tht! l-..ing
of India, and I was afraid of the consequencc.s ,i.htLh
a v1s1t to him might entail
I set out from Sudkiw.in for the mount.un::. ur
Kimaru, a month's JOUrrn. j from the.re. Tlu::. I'.:> J
vast range of mountarns c-.::tcnding to China .rnd .tb(.)
to the fond of Thubbat [T1bc:t], \\-hc.re the mu::,k dur
are. The inhabitants of this rangt. re::.c.mu!t.. the
Turks, they possess great endurance., anJ thc.1r vJlu..:
as slavt.s 1s many times grt.1.tc.r th.rn a !:ii we ot rn..,
other nat1onaltt} 1.1 The.; :ire f.1motb I-or chur m 1g1c.il
pracbces. iYly purpose m tr.ivdling to thv.,c.. nwun-
tams w:is to mc..et a not:iblc.. !:i unt v. ho iiH::. thc.rt,
namely, Sha, kh J.ilil ad-Din of T.1briz. :\t 1 dt::.tJn-.t.
of two clap' JOUrnt,j from his .1bo<le I ~~J!, mc.e ln
four of his d1sc1pks, \~ho told m<.. th 1t rhc S~~,.J..h
h:id s:ud to the d1.r\1. ishi:::. who wc.r<.. v.. 1th !um l h.:
traveller from the \\. e:>t hi:> come.. to } ou, (.!O uut
to v.t. lcomc him" H(., had no kno\1,kJ:._:c.. .~h ltc:,._r
Jbout me:, but chis h.1J bc.u1 rc..vt.. t!ul to l11lll [ \,i::c
with tht.m to th1... Sh:.n kh and 1.rr1HJ .tt ht, h:::r11t t..;'-1
s 1tu.itc..J outs1dt. the c L\c... 'I hc..n, 1J no c..u!tt' 11 -~
!:ind thc..rt.. 1 but the inh161t u.t, ot htr\L wun='":, L,;' 1
' .
l\rl usltm 1.nJ 1n fidt..l, come.. to ,. 1::,,c 'rn, on" ~tt --:' -' '
and prt..sc..nb, 1.nJ ch<.: J 1n, 1_,hc.., .rnJ t'" ~ , ll. [, l
1
On thc..s . . . Or1t..f1C1 :. 'f11t 5il lj J..h h>",C', ~r I, II 1,r' !
6
st..lf to J. !:,Jnnk u.w., \\lt!l ...,h<J>l rrd:.. ;,l, !ir .,tf~ n
::i
every tt..n J .1:,:- I t ,1, t .. io,, ',.
f
J
I 't ,l, u _, .,.

i~ tr - . - 1
,
: ,J::
of these mountains became converted to Islam, and
that was the reason for his settling amongst them.
When I came in to his presence he rose to greet me
and embraced me He asked me about my native
land and my travels, and when I had given hrm an
account of them he said to me "You are the traveller
of the Arabs" Those of his disciples who were there
said "And the non-Arabs too, 0 our master." "And
of the non-Arabs too " he repeated, " so show him
honour" They then took me to the hermitage and
gave me hospitality for three days.
On the day when I visited the Shaykh I saw that he
was wearing a wide mantle of goatshair It took my
fancy and I said to myself "I wish the Shaykh could
have given it to me" When I VISited him to bid
him farewell, he went to the side of the cave, took off
the mantle and placed it upon me, together with a
skull-cap from his head, himself puttmg on a patched
garment The darwishes told me that the Shaykh
was not in the habit of wearing this mantle and had
put it on only when I arrived, saying to them " This
mantle will be asked for by the Moroccan, and it
will be taken from him by an mfidel sultan, who will
give it to our brother Burhan ad-Din of Sagharj,
whose 1t is and for whom it was made" When they
told me this I said to them " I have obtamed the
blessmg of the Shaykh through his clothmg me with
his garments, and I for my part shall not enter the
presence of any sultan, mfidel or Muslim, wearmg
this mantle" With this I withdrew from the Shaykh's
presence Now 1t came about a long time afterwards
that I visited Chma and eventually reached the city
of Khansa [Hang-chow-fu] My party were separated
from me by the pressure of the crowd and I was wearmg
this mantle. I happened to be m a certam street
when the wazir came by with a large smte His eye
fell upon me, and summomng me he clasped my hand,
269
SELECTIONS FROM THE
asked me about my arrival, and continued talking to
me until I came to the sultan's palace w1th him. At
this pomt I WIShed to take leave of h1m, but he would
not hear of 1t and introduced me mto the sultan's
presence. The latter queshoned me about the
Muhammadan sultans and when I replied to hts
quesbons, he looked at the mantle and took a hkmg
to 1t. The wazir said to me " Take 1t off," and I
could not resist his order. So the sultan took 1t and
ordered me to be given ten robes, a horse and harness,
and a sum of money. The mc1dent roused my anger,
but afterwards I reca11ed the Shaykh's saying that an
mfidel sultan would seize 1t and I was deeply amazed
at the fulfilment of the pred1chon The following
year I entered the palace of the kmg of China at
Khan-Bahq [Pekmg], and sought out the convent of
the Shaykh Burhan ad-Din of SagharJ I found him
readtng and wearmg that 1dent1cal mantle I was
asromshed and took 1t m my hand to examme 1t.
He said to me " Why examine 1t when you know 1t
already ?" " True " I replied, '' 1t 1s the one that
was taken from me by the sultan of Khansa " " This
mantle " he went on "was made specially for me by
my brother Jalal ad-Din, who wrote to me saying
' The mantle will reach you by the hand of so-and-so.' "
Then he brought out the letter and I read 1t, marvel-
lmg at the Shaykh's perfeB: foreknowledge I told
Burhan ad-Din the beginning of the story, and he said
to me "My brother Jalal ad-Din can do much more
than all this, he has the powers of creation at his
disposal, but he has now passed to the mercy of God.
I have been told "he added, " that he prayed the dawn-
prayer every day at Mecca, and that he made the:
p1lgnmage every year, for he used to disappear from
sight on the days of 'Arafa and the feshval, and no
one knew where he went"
When I had bidden farewell to Shaykh Jal:il ad-Din
270
I Journeyed to Habanq, an exceedmgly large and
beautiful city, traversed by the nver which descends
from the Kamaru mountams This nver 1s called
the Blue River, 10 and is used by travellers to Bengal
and Laknawtf On its banks there are water wheels,
orchards, and villages to nght and to left, like the
Nile 1n Egypt. Its people are mfidels under Muslim
rule, who are mulcl:ed of half their crops and pay
taxes over and above that We travelled down the
nver for fifteen days between villages and orchards,
Just as 1f we were gomg through a bazaar There
are mnumerable vessels on it and each vessel carries
a drum, when two vessels meet, each of them beats
its drum and they salute one another. Sultan Fakhr
ad-Din gave orders that no passage-money should be
taken on this nver from darwfshes, and that prov1s10ns
were to be supplied to those of them who had none,
and when a darwish comes to a town he 1s given half
a dmar After fifteen days' sa1lmg down the nver,
as we have related, we reached the city of Sunur-
kawan, 11 where we found a junk on the pomt of sailmg
for the land of Jawa [Sumatra], which 1s a journey
of forty days from there, so we embarked on 1t
27r
CHAPTER X
FIFTEEN days after leaving Sunarkawan we reached
the country of the Barahnakar, whose mouths are 11ke
those of dogs. 1 This tribe 1s a rabble, professmg
neither the relzgzon of the Hmdus nor any other.
They live 1n reed huts roofed with grasses on the
seashore, and have abundant banana, areca, and betel
trees. Their men are shaped like ourselves, except
that the1r mouths are shaped like those of dogs; this
1s not the case with their womenfolk, however, who
are endowed with surpassrng beauty Their men too
go unclothed, not even h1dmg the1r nakedness, except
occas10nally for an ornamental pouch of reeds sus-
pended from their waists The women wear aprons
of leaves of trees. With them reside a number of
Muslims from Bengal and Sumatra, who occupy a
separate quarter The natives do all the1r traffickmg
with the merchants on the shore) and brmg them
water on elephants, because the water is at some
distance from the coast and they will not let the
merchants go to draw 1t for themselyes, fearmg for
their women because they make advances to well-
formed men. Elephants are numerous m their land,
but no one may dispose of them except the sultan,
from whom they are bought m exchange for woven
stuffs.
Their sultan came to meet us, r1dmg on an elephant,
which earned a sort of packsaddle made of skms.
He himself was dressed m goatskms with the half
to the outside on his head there were three coloured
bands of silk, ,and he had a reed javelin m his hand
Accompanying were about twenty of rus relatives,
272
TRAVEI S OF lBN llATTOTA
mountLJ on del'h.1nt::.. \Ve :.lilt him 1 present of
pcpJ'Lr, g1ngu, unn 1mo11, [ curLd] ti-;h from the
i\1 ddl\ e {.,) 111d..,, rnd .,onu.. lkng.1lt cloth. They do
not \\l 1r the cloth thun~eh v,, but covu thur ek-
ph lllb \\ 1th It on fc 1'>1 ci.n '> Tiu:. -.ult.111 L\. 1cb from
evl r) :,hip th H pub 111 .1t h1:. l.tnd .1 -.I 1ve girl, a white
sl t\ e, enough cloth to cover .111 Lk ph.mt, .rnd ornaments
of gold, \\ h1ch h1:, \\ 1fc \\'t,tr ... on ht r girdle :rnd her
tou, If lll)Onc ,,tthholds th1:. tribute, they put a
spdl on him \\ h1d1 r lJ',t:, .1 lorm on :.e 1, so th.it he
pLw,hu, or 111 but {)Lrt:,hts.
1\, cnt, -11\<.: d.n !> 1fttr It wmg tht'>c people we
rt 1chtd thL l'>I rnd of J 1w.1 [Sumatr 1],.: from which
the rnccmL L 11lu.l ;,n. 1 t.1ke!> lts n1.me \V L saw the
1s1 rnd \\ htn \\ e \\ l rL ...1111 lulf a ch) 's JOUrtH!) from it.
It 1s vcrJ.mt rnd fcrt1k, the commondt trLLS there
arc the coco-p:tlm, 1rLC 1, clove, Ind1.in aloe, pck-
trtc, 1 m.1ngo, J m1un," :.\\LLt or.rngL, and camphor
ClllL The commtrce of its 111hab1t1.nts 1s c1rned on
wtth p1LCLS of till Jnd nat1, e Chinese gold, unsmdted
The m lJOnt, of the .1romat1c plants ,, h1ch grow there
1.rc found only 111 the d1:,1nch occupied by the infidels,
rn the l'vl uslim d1:.'1nch they arc less plentiful \Vhen
we reached thi.: h irbour its pwple came out to us m
small boab with coconuts, b.manas, mangoes, and
fish. Thi.:1r custom 1s to present these to the mer-
chants, who rLcompcnsc thLm, each according to his
means The admiral's representative also came on
board, and after rntcrv1cwing the merchants who were
with us gave us permission to land. So we went
ashore to the port, a large vill.tgc on the coast with
a number of houses, called Sarh.i 6 It is four miles
d1sl:ant from the town. The admiral's representative
havmg written to the sultan to rnform him of my
arrival, the latter ordered the amir Dawlasa to meet
me, along with the q.id{ and other doctors of the law
They came out for that purpose, bnngmg one of the
273 T
SELECTIONS FROM THE
sultan's horses and some other horses as well. I and
my compan10ns mounted, and we rode 1n to the sultan's
capital, the town of Sumutra, a large and beautiful
city encompassed by a wooden wall with wooden
towers
The sultan of Jawa, al-Malik az-Zahir, 1s a most
illustrious and open-handed ruler, and a lover of
theologians He is constantly engaged m warring
for the Faith [agamst the rnfidelsJ and rn raidmg
expeditions, but is withal a humble-hearted man, who
walks on foot to the Friday prayers. His subjecls
also take a pleasure rn warrmg for the Faith and
voluntarily accompany him on his expedit10ns. They
have the upper hand over all the mfidels m the1r
vicrnity, who pay them a poll-tax to secure peace
As we went towards the palace we found near by
1t some spears stuck m the ground on both sides of
the road These are to mdicate to the people to dis-
mount, no one who is ndmg may go beyond them, so
we dismounted there On entermg the audience-hall
we found the sultan's lieutenant, who rose and greeted
us with a handshake We sat down with him and
he wrote a note to the sultan mformmg him of our
arrival, sealed 1t and gave 1t to a page, who brought
the reply wntten on the back. After this a page
brought a buqsha, that 1s, a lmen bag The lieutenant
takmg this led me by the hand mto a small house,
where he spends his hours of leisure durmg the day.
He then brought out of the buqsha three aprons, one
of pure silk, one of silk and cotton and the third of
silk and lmen, three garments like aprons which they
call underclothmg, three garments of different kinds
called middleclothmg, three woollen mantles, one of
them bemg white, and three turbans. I put on one
of the aprons m place of trousers, accordmg to the1r
custom and one garment of each kmd, and my com-
pan1on; took the rest of them. After food had been
2 74
served we left the palace and rode m company with
the lieutenant to a garden surrounded by a wooden
wall In the midst of the garden there was a house
bmlt of wood and carpeted with stnps of cotton velvet,
some dyed and others undyed We sat down here
along with the lieutenant The amfr Dawlasa then
came bnngmg two slave girls and two men servants,
and said to me "The sultan says to you that this
present 1s m proportion to his means, not to those of
Sultan Muhammad [of India]" The lieutenant left
after this, and the amir Dawlasa remamed with me.
The amir and I were acquamted with one another,
as he had come as an envoy to the sultan at Delhi.
I said to him "When can I see the sultan ?" and he
replied "It is the custom of our country that a new-
comer waits three nights before saluting the sultan,
that he may recover from the fatigue of his Journey."
We stayed for three days, food being sent to us thrice
a day and frmts and rare sweetmeats every evenmg
and morning. On the fourth day, which was a Friday,
the amfr Dawlasa came to me and said " You will
salute the sultan [todayJ m the royal enclosure of the
cathedral mosque after the service " After the prayer
I went m to the sultan, he shook me by the hand
and I saluted him, whereupon he bade me sit down
upon his left and asked me about Sultan Muhammad
and about my travels. He remamed m the mosque
until the afternoon prayers had been recited, after
which he went mto a chamber there, put off the
garments he was weanng (these were robes of the kmd
worn by theologians, which he puts on when he comes
to the mosque on Fndays), and dressed m his royal
robes, which are mantles of silk and cotton. On
leaving the mosque he found elephants and horses at
the gate Their custom is that if the sultan rides on
an elephant his suite ride on horses, and vtce versa.
On this occasion he mounted an elephant, so we rode
2 75
SELECTIONS FROM THE
on horses, and went with him to the audience hall.
We dismounted at the usual place [where the lances
were] and the sultan rode on into the palace, where
a ceremonial audience was held, the sultan remammg
on his elephant opposite the pavilion where he sits
[at receptions]. Male musicians came m and sang
before him, after which they led in horses with silk
caparisons, golden anklets, and halters of embroidered
silk. These horses danced before him, a thrng which
astomshed me, though I had seen the same performance
at the court of the krng of India
My stay at his court in Sumutra lasted fifteen days,
after which I asked his permission to contmue my
journey, smce 1t was now the sailmg season, and because
1t 1s not possible to travel to China at all times of the
year. He fitted out a Junk for us, prov1s1oned us,
and made us rich presents-may God reward him 1-
sendrng one of his courtiers with us to bring his
hospitality gift to us on the Junk We sailed along
the coast of his territories for twenty-one mghts, and
arrived at Mul-Jawa, an rnfidel land, two months'
ourney In length, and contammg aromatic spices and
the excellent aloes called Qdquli and Qamdri. Qaqula
and Qamara [after which these aloes are named] form
part of the terntones of this land.6 In the terntones
of the sultan of Sumutra there 1s only mcense, camphor,
and a little cloves and Indian aloes, whereas the largest
quantity of these 1s found m Mul-Jawa.
On reachmg the port of Qaqula, we found there a
number of Jun'""ks ready for making piratical raids, and
also for dealmg with any Junks that might attempt to
resist their exacbons, for they impose a tribute on each
Junk [caHmg at that place]. We went ashore to
Qaqula, which 1s a fine town with a wall of hewn
stones, broad enough for three elephants to walk
abreast on 1t. The first thmg I saw outside the to~n
was elephants bearing loads of Indian aloes, which
276
they burn m their houses and which fetches the same
price as firewood with us, or even less That is when
they are sellmg amongst themselves, to the merchants,
on the other hand, they sell a load of 1t for a roll of
cotton cloth, which is dearer m their land than silk.
Elephants are very numerous there, they ride on
them and use them to carry loads. Every person has
his elephants picketed at his door, and every shop-
keeper his elephant picketed near him, for ridmg on
to his house and for carrymg loads The same is
the case with all the people of Chma and Cathay
[Northern Chma].
The sultan of Mul-Jawa is an mfidel, I saw him
outside his palace sittmg beside a pavilion on the bare
ground. With him were the officers of state, and
the troops were passmg m review before him-foot-
soldiers, for there are no horses there except those
belonging to the sultan, and they have no beasts but
elephants on which to ride and fight. He was told
about me and summoned me, whereupon I came
forward and said "Peace [as-saldm] be upon those
who follow the true rehg10n " 7 They understood
nothing but the word as-saldm. The sultan then
welcomed me and ordered a piece of cloth to be spread
for me to sit upon. I said to the interpreter "How
can I sit on the cloth when the sultan is s1thng on the
ground?" He replied "Such is his habit, he sits
on the ground out of humility You are a guest and
have come from a great sultan, so he w1Shes to show
you honour." Thereupon I sat down, and havmg
asked me very briefly about the sultan [ of India] he
said to me "You shall stay with us as a guest for three
days, and after that you may go."
While this sultan was sitting m audience, I saw a
man with a knife m his hand resembling a book-
binder's tool He put this knife to his own neck,
and delivered a long speech which I did not under-
277
SELECTIONS FROM THE
Stand, then gripped it w1th both hands and cut h1s
own throat. So sharp was the kmfe and so strong
his grip that his head fell to the ground. I was
amazed at his achon. The sultan said to me "Does
anyone do this m your country~,, I replied "I have
never seen such a thmg." Then he laughed and said
" These are our slaves, who kill themselves for love
of us " He gave orders that the body should be
earned away and burned, and the sultan's lieutenants,
the officers of state, the troops, and the c1t1zens went out
to his cremation. The sultan assigned a large pens10n
to his children, wife, and brothers, and they were held
in high esteem because of this acc. One of those
present at this audience told me that the speech made
by the man was a declarat10n of his affecbon for the
sultan, and that he was slaying himself for love of
him, as his father had slazn himself for love of the
sultan's father, and his grandfather for love of the
sultan's grandfather. Thereafter I withdrew from
the audience and he sent me a guest's portion for three
days.
We contmued our Journey by sea and thirty-four
days later came to the sluggish or mot10nless sea.8
There 1s a reddish tznge 1n its waters, which, they say,
zs due to soil from a country m the v1cm1ty There
are no wmds or waves or movement at all m 1t, m
spite of its wide extent. It 1s on account of this sea
that each Chmese Junk 1s accompanied by three vessels,
as we have ment10ned, wh1ch take 1t zn tow and row
1t forwards. Besides this every junk has about twenty
oars as big as masts, each of which 1s manned by a
muster of thirty men or so, who stand m two ranks
facmg one another. Attached to the oars are two
enormous ropes as thick as cables, one of the ranks
pulls on the cable [at its side], then lets go, and the
other rank pulls [on the cable at its side] They chant
zn musical voices as they do this, mosl commonly
278
saymg la'ld, la'ld. We passed thirty-seven days on
this sea, and the sailors were surprised at the facility
of our crossmg, for they [ usuallyJ spend forty to fifty
days on it, and forty days 1s the shortest time reqmred
under the most favourable circumstances.
Thereafter we reached the land of Tawahsi, 1t bemg
their king who 1s called by that name It is a vast
country and its kmg 1s a rival of the kmg of China.
He possesses many Junks, with which he makes war on
the Chmese until they come to terms with him on
certam conditions. The mhabitants of this land are
idolaters, they are handsome men and closely resemble
the Turks in figure Their skm 1s most commonly
of a reddish hue, and they are brave and warlike
Their women ride on horseback and are skilful archers,
and fight exacliy like men We put m at one of their
ports, at the town of Kaylukari, which is among their
finest and largest cities It was formerly the residence
of the son of their kmg When we anchored m the
port their troops came down and the captam went
ashore to them, takmg with him a present for the
prmce. When he enqmred of them about him,
however, they told him that the prmce's father had
appointed him governor of another distriB: and had
made his daughter, whose name was UrduJa, governor
of this city 0
The day following our arrival at the port of Kaylu-
kari, this princess summoned the ship's captam and
clerk, the merchants and pilots, the commander of
the footsoldiers, and the commanders of the archers
to a banquet which she had prepared for them, accord-
- mg to her custom. The captain wIShed me to go
with them, but I declmed, because, bemg mfi.dels, it
1s not lawful to eat their food When they came mto
her presence she asked them if there was any one else
of their company who had not come The captam
replied "There 1s only one man left, a bakhshJ (that
2 79
SELECTIONS FROM THE
1s, a qadf, m the1r tongue), and he will not eat your
food." Thereupon she said "Call h1m," so her guards
came [to me] along with the captam's party and said
"Comply w1th the princess's wish" I went to her
then, and found her sitting m full state On my
salutmg her she replied to me m Turkish, and asked
me from what land I had come. I said to her "From
the land of Ind1a. 11 "From the pepper country?"
she asked, and I replied "Yes." She quest10ned me
about this land and events there, and when I had
answered she said " I must positively make an expedi-
tion to 1t and take possession of 1t for myself, for the
quantity of 1ts nches and 1ts troops attracts me,, I
replied " Do so." She ordered me to be g1ven robes,
two elephant loads of rice, two buffaloes, ten sheep,
four pounds of syrup, and four martabdns (that IS,
large Jars) filled w1th gmger, pepper, lemons, and
mangoes, all of them salted, these bemg among the
things prepared for sea vogayes.
The captam told that this princess has 1n her army
women, female servants and slave-girls, who :fight }Ike
men She goes out In person with her troops, male
and female, makes raids on her enemies, takes part
m the fightmg, and engages m smgle combat with
picked warriors. He told me too that during a fierce
engagement w1th certam of her enemies, many of her
troops were killed and they were all but defeated,
when she dashed forward and broke through the ranks
until she reached the kmg against whom she was
fightmg, and dealt him a mortal blow with her lance
He fell dead and his army took to flight She brought
back his head on the pomt of a spear, and his relatives
redeemed 1t from her for a large sum of money. When
she returned to her father he gave her this town,
which had formerly been m her brother's hands.
The captam told me also that she 1s sought m mamage
by various princes, but she says " I shall marry none
280
but him who fights and overcomes me m smgle com-
bat," and they avoid fightmg with her for fear of the
disgrace [that would attach to themJ if she overcame
them
We then left the land of Tawahsi and after seventeen
days at sea with a favouring wmd, sailmg with maximum
speed and ease, reached the land of Chma.
28r
CHAPTER XI
THE land of China 1s of vast extent, and aboundmg
In produce, frmts, gram, gold and silver In this
respecl: there 1s no country m the world that can rival
1t. It 1s traversed by the river called the "Water
of L1fe," wh1ch nses 1n some mountains called the
"Mountam of Apes," near the city of >Khan-Bahq
[Peking] and flows through the centre of Chma for
the space of s1x months' journey, until :finally 1t reaches
Sin as-Sin [CantonJ 1 It 1s bordered by villages,
fields, frmt gardens, and bazaars, Just hke the Egyptian
Nile, only that [the country through which runs] thls
river 1s even more richly cultivated and populous,
and there are many waterwheels on 1t. In the land
of Chma there 1s abundant sugar-cane, equal, nay
superior, m quality to that of Egypt, as well as grapes
and plums I used to thmk that the 'Othmani plums
of Damascus had no equal, until I saw the plums m
Chma It has wonderful melons too, hke those of
Khwarizm and Isfahan. All the frwts which we have
m our country are to be found there, either much the
same or of better quality Wheat 1s very abundant ,
m Chma, mdeed better wheat I have never seen, and
the same may be said of their lentils and chick-peas
The Chmese pottery [porcelamJ 1s manufa&u-ed
only m the towns of Zaytun and Sin-kalan. It 1s
made of the s01l of some mountams m that difuttt,
which takes :fire like charcoal, as we shall relate sub-
sequen tly They mix this with some srones which
they have, burn the whole for three days, then pour
water over 1t This gives a kmd of clay which they
282
TRAVELS OF IBN BA TTUTA
cause to ferment. The best quality of [porcelam is
made from] clay that has fermented for a complete
month, but no more, the poorer quality [from clayJ
that has fermented for ten days. The price of this
porcelam there is the same as, or even less than, that
of ordmary pottery m our country It is exported to
India and other countries, even reachmg as far as
our own lands m the West, and it is the finest of all
makes of pottery.
The hens and cocks m Chma are very big mdeed,
bigger than geese m our country, and hens' eggs there
are bigger than our goose eggs On the other hand
their geese are not at all large. 2 We bought a hen
once and set about cookmg 1t, but 1t was too big for
one pot, so we put 1t m two. Cocks over there are
about the size of ostriches, often a cock will shed its
feathers and [ nothmg but] a great red body remams
The first time I saw a Chmese cock was m the city
of Kawlam. I took 1t for an ostrich and was amazed
at 1t, but its owner told me that m Chma there were
some even bigger than that, and when I got to Chma
I saw for myself the truth of what he had told me
about them
The Chmese themselves are m:fidels, who worship
idols and burn their dead like the Hmdus 3 The
kmg of Chma is a Tatar, one of the descendants of
Tmkiz [Chmgiz] Khan In every Chmese city there
1s a quarter for Muslims m which they live by them-
selves, and m which they have mosques both for the
Friday services and for other religious purposes The
Muslims are honoured and respeB:ed. The Chmese
mfidels eat the flesh of swme and dogs, and sell it
m their markets. They are wealthy folk and well-to-
do, but they make no display either m their food or
their clothes. You will see one of their prmcipal
merchants, a man so nch that his wealth cannot be
counted, wearmg a coarse cotton tumc. But there is
283
SELECTIONS FROlvl THE
one thmg that the Chmese take a pride in, that is,
g~ld and s1lver plate. Every one of them carries a
s11ck, on which they lean m walking, and which they
call "the thlrd leg." Stlk 1s very plentiful among
them, because the stlk-worm attaches itself to fnuts
and feeds on them without requiring much care. For
that reason it is so common to be worn by even the
very poorest there. vVere 1t not for the merchants 1r
would have no value at all, for a smgle piece of cotton
cloth is sold in their country for the price of many
pieces of stlk. It is customary amongs1 them for a
merchant to cas1 what gold and silver he has mto
mgots, each weighlng a hundredweight or more or
less, and to put those ingots above the door of lus
house.
The Chinese use neither [gold] dmars nor [stlver]
dirhams rn their commerce. All the gold and silver
that comes mto their country 1s cas1 by them mto
ingots, as we have described. Their buymg and
sellmg is earned on exclusively by means of pieces of
paper, each of the size of the palm of the hand, and
stamped with the sultan's seal. Twenty-five of these
pieces of paper are called a bdluht, which takes the
place of the dmar with us [as the unit of currency] ~
When these notes become torn by handlmg, one
takes them to an office correspond.mg to our mint,
and receives their equivalent m new notes on dehvermg
up the old ones. Thls transaction is made wirhout
charge and involves no expense, 5 for those who h~ve
the duty of making the notes receive regular salanes
from the sultan. Indeed the direction of that office
is given to one of therr pnnc1pal amirs. If anyone
goes to the bazaar with a silver drrham or a drnar,
mtendrng to buy somethmg, no one will accept It
from him or pay any attention to him until he changes
if for bdlisht, and with that he may buy what he will
All the inhabitants of China and of Cathay6 use ID
284
place of charcoal a kind of lumpy earth found in their
country. It resembles our fuller's earth, and its
colour too 1s the colour of fuller's earth Elephants
[ are used to J carry loads of 1t. They break 1t up into
pieces about the size of pieces of charcoal with us,
and set 1t on fire and 1t burns like charcoal, only giving
out more heat than a charcoal fire When 1t 1s reduced
to cmders, they knead 1t with water, dry 1t, and use
1t again for cooking, and so on over and over again
until 1t 1s entirely consumed It 1s from this clay
that they make the Chmesc porcelain ware, after
adding to 1t some other stones, as we have related 7
The Chinese are of all peoples the most skilful m
the arts and possessed of the greatest mastery of them.
This characl:eristic of theirs is well known, and has
frequently been described at length m the works of
various writers. In regard to portraiture there is
none, whether Greek or any other, who can match
them m precision, for m this art they show a marvel-
lous talent I myself saw an extraordinary example
of this gift of theirs I never returned to any of their
c1t1es after I had v1Sited it a first time without finding
my portrait and the portraits of my companions drawn
on the walls and on sheets of paper exh1b1ted m the
bazaars When I visited the sultan's city I passed
with my companions through the painters' bazaar on
my way to the sultan's palace We were dressed
after the 'Iraqi fashion On returmng from the
palace m the evenmg, I passed through the same
bazaar, and saw my portrait and those of my com-
panions drawn on a sheet of paper which they had
affixed to the wall Each of us set to exammmg the
other's portrait [and found that] the likeness was
perfecl: m every respeB: I was told that the sultan
had ordered them to do this, and that they had come
to the palace while we were there and had been ob-
serving us and drawmg our portraits without our
285
SELECTIONS FROM THE
noticing 1t. This is a custom of theirs, I mean makmg
portraits of all who pass through their country. In
fact they have brought this to such perfechon that 1f
a stranger conumts any offence that obliges him to
flee from China, they send his portrait far and wide.
A search is then made for him and wheresoever the
[person bearmg a] resemblance to that portrait is
found he is arrested.
When a Muhammadan merchant enters any town
m China, he is given the choice between staying with
some specified merchant among the Muslims domiciled
there, or gomg to a hostelry. If he chooses to slay
with the merchant, his money 1s taken mto custody
and put under the charge of the resident merchant
The latter then pays from 1t all his expenses with
honesty and chanty When the vISitor wishes to
depart, his money 1s exammed, and if any of it 1s
found to be m1ssmg, the resident merchant who was
put m charge of 1t 1s obliged to make good the deficit.
If the visitor chooses to go to the hostelry, his property
1s deposited under the charge of the keeper of the
hostelry. The keeper buys for hun whatever he
desires and presents him with an account If he
desires to take a concubme, the keeper purchases a
slave-girl for him and lodges him m an apartment
openmg out of the hostelry, and purveys for them
both. Slave-girls fetch a low pnce, yet all the Chmese
sell their sons and daughters, and consider 1t no
disgrace They are not compelled, however, to travel
with those who buy them, nor on the other hand,
are they hmdered from gomg 1f they choose to do so.
In the same way, 1 a stranger desires to marry, marry
he may but as for spendmg his money m debauchery,
no, tha~ he may not do. They say " We will not
have 1t noised about amongst Muslims that their people
waste their substance m our country, because 1t 1s a la,?d
of riotous hvmg and [women of] surpassmg beauty.
286
Chma is the safest and best regulated of countries
for a traveller A man may go by himself a nine
months' Journey, carrying with him large sums of
money, without any fo.ir on that account The system
by which they ensure his safety 1s as follows. At
every post-station in their country they have a hostelry
controlled by an officer, who is stationed there with
a company of horsemen and footsoldiers. After
sunset or later 111 the evening the officer V!Slts the
hostelry with his clerk, reg1sl:ers the names of all
travellers shying there for the night, seals up the 11st,
and locks them into the hostelry After sunrise he
returns with his clerk, calls each person by name, and
wntcs a dct.idcd descnpt1on of them on the 11st. He
then sends a man with them to conducl: them to the
next post-station and bring back a clearance certificate
from the controller there to the effccl: that all these
persons have arnved at that station If the guide
does not produce this document, he 1s held responsible
for them This 1s the pracl:1ce at every station m
their country from Sin as-S{n to Khan-Bahq. In
these hostelnes there 1s everythmg that the traveller
reqmres m the way of prov1s1ons, especially fowls and
geese Sheep on the other hand, are scarce with
them
To return to the account of our Journey~ The
first city which we reached after our sea voyage was
the city of Zaytun [Now although zaytr,n means
" olives "] there are no olives m this city, nor mdeed
m all the lands of the Chmese nor m India, 1t 1s simply
a name which has been given to the place 8 Zaytun
1s an immense city In 1t are woven the damask silk
and satm fabncs which go by its name, 9 and which
are superior to the fabrics of Khansa and Khan-Ba.liq.
The port of Zaytun 1s one of the largest m the world,
or perhaps the very largest. I saw m 1t about a
hundred large Junks, as for small Junks, they could
287
SELECTIONS FROIVI THE
not be counted for multitude. It 1s formed by a
large mlet of the sea which penetrates the land to the
pomt where 1t unites with the great river. In this
city, as m all Chinese towns, a man will have a fnut-
garden and a field with his house set m the middle
of 1t, just as in the town of Stitlmasa m our own
country. 1 For this reason their towns are extensive.
The M ushms live m a town apart from the others.
On the day that I reached Zaytun I saw there the
amfr who had come to India as an envoy with the
present [to the sultan], and who afterwards travelled
with our party and was shipwrecked on the Junk.
He greeted me, and introduced me to the controller
of the douane and saw that I was given good apart-
ments [thereJ 11 I received visits from the qadi of
the Muslims, the shaykh al-Islam, and the pnncipal
merchants. Amongst the latter was Sharaf ad-Din of
Tabriz, one of the merchants from whom I had
borrowed at the time of my arrival m India, and the
one who had treated me most fairly He knew the
Koran by heart and used to recite it constantly These
merchants, hvmg as they do m a land of mfidels', are
overjoyed when a Mushm comes to them. They say
" He has come from the land of Islam," and they
make him the rec1p1ent of the tithes on their properties,
so that he becomes as rich as themselves 12 There
was hvmg at Zayrun, amongst other emment shaykhs,
Burhan ad-Din of Kazarun, who has a hermitage out-
side the town, and 1t 1s to h1m that the merchants pay
the sums they vow to Shaykh Abu Ishaq of Kazarun
[seep 97]
When the controller of the douane learned my story
he wrote to the Qan, 13 who 1s their Emperor, to mform
him of my arrival on a mission from the kmg of Ind1a.
I asked h1m to send with me someone to conduct me
to the d1stncl: of Sin [Sfn as-Sfn], which they call
Sfn-kalan, 14 so that I might see that disrr1ct, which 15
288
m his prov111cc, m the interval before the arrival of ,
the Q.in's reply. He granted my request, and sent '
one of l11s officers to conduce me I sailed up the
nver on a vessd resembling the war galleys m our
country, c::-..ccpt that m this the rowers plied their oars
standmg upright, their place be111g 111 the centre of
the ve~sd, l[, while the p.1ssengcrs were at the forepart
:rnd the stern They spread over the ship awnings
made from a plant which grows m their country,
rcsemblmg but different from flax, and finer than
hemp [perhaps gr.1ss-cloth] \Ve sailed up this nver
for twent}-scven days 10 Every day we used to tie
up about noon by .1 village where we could buy what
we needed .rnd pray the noon prayers, then m the
cvenmgs we went ashore at another village and so
on, until we reached the city of Sin-kalan or Sin as-Sin.
Porcelam 1s manufactured there as well as at Zaytun,
and hereabouts the nver of the "1,Nater of Life "
flows mto the sea, so they call the place " The Meetmg
of the vVaters" Sin-kal:in 1s a city of the first rank,
m regard to size and the quality of its bazaars. One
of the largest of these 1s the porcelam bazaar, from
which porcelain 1s e::-..ported to all parts of Chma, to
India, and to Y ernen In the centre of this city there
1s an enormous temple with nme portals, 17 ms1de each
of which there is a portico with benches where the
mmates of the temple sit. Between the second and
third portals there is a place contammg chambers,
which are occupied by the blmd and crippled Each
of the occupants receives subsistence and clothmg from
the endowment of the temple. There are sirntlar
establishments between all the portals In the mtenor
there is a hospital for the sick and a kitchen for cookmg
food, and it has a staff of doctors and servitors I was
told that aged persons who are mcapacitated from
gaimng their livelihood receive subsistence and clothmg
at this temple, likewise orphans and desbtute widows.
289 V
SELECTIONS FROM THE
This temple was bwlt by one of their kings, who
moreover endowed 1t with [the revenues of] this city
and the villages and fnut gardens belonging to 1t
The portrait of this kmg 1s painted m the temple we
have described, and they worship 1t.
In one of the quarters of this city is the Muham-
madan town, where the M ushms have their cathedral
mosque, hospice and bazaar. They have also a qadf
and a shaykh, for m every one of the cities of Chma
there must always be a Shaykh al-Islam, to whom all
matters concerning the Muslims are referred[, e. who
acl:s as intermediary between the government and the
Muslim community], and a qadf to decide legal cases
between them. My quarters were m the house of
Awhad ad-Din of SmJar, one of their prmc1pal men,
of excellent character and immensely wealthy. I
stayed with him for fourteen days, during which gifts
were poured upon me one after the other from the
qadf and other Muslims Every day they made a
new entertainment, to which they came m beautifully-
appomted boats, brmgmg musicians w1th them.
Beyond the city of Sfu-kalan there 1s no other city,
either infidel or Muslim. It 1s suety days' Journey,
so I was told, from there to the Ram part of Gog and
Magog, the mtervenmg territory bemg occupied by
nomadic mfidels, who eat men when they get hold
of them. 18 On that account no one ever crosses their
country or visits 1t, and I did not find m Sfn-kalan
anyone who had hunself seen the Rampart or even
seen anyone who had seen 1t ,
A few days after my return to Zaytun, the Qan s
order arrived with msl:ruchons to convey me to his
capital with all honour and d1gn1ty, by water 1f I
preferred otherwise by land. I chose to sail up the
river so fhey made ready for me a fine vessel of the
sort iliat 1s designed for the use of governors The
governor sent his staff with us, and he, and likewise
290
the qadf and the Muslun merchants, sent us large
quantities of provisions. We travelled as state-guests,
eating our midday meal at one village, and our evening
meal at another. After ten days' Journey we reached
Qanjanfil, a large and beautiful city set m a broad
plam and surrounded by frmt-gardens, 19 which gave
the place the look of the Ghuta at Damascus 20 On
our arrival, we were met outside the town by the
qad{, the Shaykh al-Islam, and the merchants, with
standards, drums, trumpets, and bugles, and musicians.
They brought horses for us, so we rode m on horse-
back while they walked on foot before us. No one
rode along with us but the qadf and the Shaykh
al-Islam. The governor of the city with his staff
also came out [to meet us], for the sultan's guest is
held m very high honour by them, and so we entered
the city. It has four walls, between the first and
second live the sultan's slaves, who are some of them
day-guards and others night-guards of the city, between
the second and third are the quarters of the mounted
troops and the general who governs the city, withm
the third wall live the Muslims (1t was here that we
lodged at the house of their shaykh), and withm the
fourth is the Chinese quarter, which is the largest of
these four cities [m one] The distance separatmg
each gate m this city from the next is three or four
miles, and every mhabitant, as we have said, has his
own orchard, house, and grounds.
One day as I was staymg at QanJanfu, a very large
vessel came m, belongmg to one of their most re-
specl:ed docl:ors I was asked if he might see me,
and he was announced as " Mawlana [Our master
t e The reverend] Q1wam ad-Din of Ceuta." His
name roused my mterest, and when he came m and
we fell to conversation after the usual greetmgs, 1t
struck me that I knew him I kept lookmg at him
mtently, and at last he said ,t I see you are lookmg
291
SELECTIONS FROM THE
at me as 1f you knew me." So I said to him '' Where
do you come from?,, He replied "From Ceuta."
"And I " said I "from Tangier." \Vhereupon he
broke mto fresh greetmgs to me, and wept unttl I
wept 1n sympathy with him. I then said to him
"Did you go to India ;l" He replied "Yes I went
to the capital, Delhi." Then when he told ~e that,
I remembered him and said "Are you al-Bushri r11
and he replied " Yes." I remembered he had come
to Delhi with his mother's brother, Abu- 11-Qasun of
Murcia, as a beardless youth and a very clever srudent.
I had spoken of him to the sultan of India, who gave
him three thousand drnars and rnv1ted rum to shy
at his court, but he refused, as he was set on gorng
to China, where he prospered exceedmgly, and ac-
qmred enormous wealth. He told me that he had
about fifty white slaves and as many slave-girls, and
presented me with two of each, along with many
other gifts I met his brother m after years m the
Negrolands-what a distance lies between them !
I stayed at Qanjanfil for fifteen days and then
contmued my journey. The land of Chrna, m spite
of all that 1s agreeable m it, did not attracr me. On
the contrary I was sorely grieved that heathendom
had so strong a hold over 1t. Whenever I went out
of my house I used to see any number of revoltmg
thmgs, and that dis1ressed me so much that I used
to keep rndoors and go out only m case of necessity
\Vhen I met Muslims in Chma I always felt jusr as
though I were meetmg my own faith and km. So
great was the kindness of this docror al-Bushri that
when I left Qanjanfil he accompanied me for f~~
days, until I reached the town of Baywam Qutlu.
This 1s a small town, mhab1ted by Chmese, a pro-
portion of them bemg troops, the rest common people
The M ushm commumty there consists of four houses
only, the mhab1tants of which are agents of my learned
292
friend "\V c put up at the house of one of them, and
stayed with !um for three days, after which I bade the
doctor adieu and set out ag.un
I sailed up the nvcr with the usu.11 routine, sl:oppmg
for d111ncr .1t one vill.1gc, .rnd for supper at another
After seventeen days of this, we reached the city of
Khans.i [I-fang-chow], which is the b1ggesl: city I
have ever seen on the face of the earth.!:! It 1s so
long that 1t takes three days to traverse m the ordmary
routme of marches and halts. It 1s bmlt after the
Chmese fasluon .1lrcady described, each person, that
1s, havmg his own house and garden It 1s d1v1ded
mto six c1t1cs, as we shall describe later On our
arrival a party came out to meet us, cons1sl:mg of the
q:idi and the Shaykh al-Islam of the city, and the
fanuly of 'Othm.in 1bn Aff:in of Egypt, who are the
prmc1pal :tviuslim residents there, accompamed by
a white fhg, drums, bugles, and trumpets The
governor of the city also came out [to meet us] with
his escort, and so we entered the town
Khansa cons1sl:s of six c1t1es, each with its own wall,
and an outer wall surroundmg the whole In the firsl:
city are the quarters of the city guards and their com-
mander, I was told by the qadi and others that they
musl:ered twelve thousand men on the reg1sl:er of
troops. \Ve passed the firsl: mght after our entry m
the house of their commander On the second day
we entered the second city through a gate called the
Jews' Gate In this city live the Jews, Chnsl:ians,
and sun-worsh1pp1ng Turks, a large number m all,
its governor 1s a Chrnese and we passed the second
mght m his house On the third day we entered
the third city, and this 1s mhab1ted by the Muslims
Theirs 1s a fine city, and their bazaars are arranged
ju~ as they are m Islamic countries, they have mosques
m 1t and muezzrns-we heard them callmg to the
noon prayers as we entered. We stayed here m the
2 93
SELECTIONS FROM THE
mans10n of the family of 'Othman 16n 'Affan of Egypt.
He was a wealthy merchant, who conceived a Iikmg
for th1s city and made his home m 1t, so that 1t came
be be called 'Othmaniya after him, and he transmitted
to his posterity the mfluence and respect which he
enjoyed there. It was he who bmlt the cathedral
mosque of Khansa, and endowed 1t with large bene-
fact10ns. The number of Muslims m this city 1s
very large, and our stay with them lasted fifteen days.
Every day and night we were the guests at a new
entertainment, and they continuously provided the
most sumptuous meats, and went out with us every
day on pleasure rides into different quarters of the
city.
One, day they rode out with me and we entered the
fourth city, which 1s the seat of government, and m
which the chief governor Qurtay resides. When we
entered the gate leading to 1t, my companions were
separated from me, and I was found by the wazfr,
who conducted me to the palace of the chief governor
Qurtay. It was on this occasion that he took from
me the mantle which the samt Jalal ad-Dfn of Sh{raz
had given me, as I have already related [p. 269].
No one resides m this city, which 1s the most beautiful
of the six, except the sultan's slaves and servants.
It 1s traversed by three streams, one of them being
a canal taken off from the great river, which is used
by small boats bnngmg provisions and coal to the
town, and there are pleasure boats on 1t as well The
citadel 23 hes m the centre of this city. It 1s of enor-
mous size, and the government house stands tn the
middle of 1t, surrounded by [the court of] the c1tadd
on all sides. W1thm 1t there are arcades, tn which
sit workmen makmg nch garments and weapons
The amfr Qurtay told me that there were., s1xtctn
hundred master-workmen there, each with thn. c or
four apprentices working under him. They arc all
294
without exception the slaves of the Qan; they have
chams on their feet, and they live outside the fortress.
They are pernutted to go out to the bazaars 1n the
city, but may not go beyond its gate. They are
passed rn review before the governor every day, a
hundred at a time, and if any one of them is miss1ng,
his commander is held responsible for him. Their
custom is that when one of them has served for ten
years, he is freed from his chams and given the choice
between staymg 1n service, without chams, or gomg
wherever he will withm the Qan's dommions, but
not outside them. When he reaches the age of fifty
he is e:,.,.empted from work and mamtamed [by the
state]. In the same way anyone else who has attamed
this age or thereabouts is mamtamed 24 Anyone
who reaches the age of sixty is regarded by them as
a child, and legal penalties cease to be applicable to
him. Old men m Ch1na are greatly respeB:ed, and
each one of them is called Ata, which means
" Father."
The amir Qurtay is the prmcipal am{r m Chma 25
He entertamed us m his palace, and prepared a banquet
(their name for it is towa),2 which was attended by
the prmcipal men of the city. He had Muslim cooks
brought, who slaughtered the ammals [m accordance
with Muslim ntual, so that the food should be cere-
momally cleanJ and cooked the food. This amir, m
spite of his exalted rank, presented the dishes to us
with his own hand, and with his own hand carved
the meat We stayed with him as his guests for three
days. He sent his son with us to the canal, where
we went on board a ship resembling a fire-ship, and
the amir's son went on another along with mus1c1ans
and smgers. They sang 1n Chmese, Arabic, and
Persian The amir's son was a great admirer of
Persian melody, and when they sang a certam Persian
poem he commanded them to repeat it over and over
2 95
SELECTIONS FROM THE
again, until I learned 1t from them by heart. It has
a pleasant lilt, and goes l1ke th1s:
Td dtl 01mt!111at dJdfm
da, /Jahr-1 jikr uftddlm
CJ;,;n dar namdz tflddlm
rar1I 61m1/zrdb andarlm 27
On this canal there was assembled a large crowd in

sh1ps w1th brightly-coloured sails and silk awnings,
and their ships too were admirably pamted. They
began a mimic battle and bombarded each other w1th
oranges and lemons. 28 We returned 1n the evening
to the amfr's palace, and spent the night there. The
musicians were there, and sang all kmds of pleasmg
melodies.
That same night a certain juggler, one of the Qan's
slaves, was there. The amfr said to him " Show us
some of your feats." So he took a wooden ball with
holes m which there were long leather thongs, and
threw it into the air It rose right out of our sight,
for we were sitting in the middle of the palace court,
durmg the season of intense heat. When nothing,
but a short piece of the cord remained m his hand,
he ordered one of his apprentices to go up the rope,
which he did until he too disappeared from our sight.
The juggler called him three times without receiving
any reply, so he took a knife in his hand, as if he were
enraged, and climbed up the rope unttl he disappeared
as well. The next thmg was that he threw the boy's
hand to the ground, and then threw down his foot,
followed by his other hand, then b1s other foot, then
his trunk, and finally his head. After that he came
down himself puffing and blowmg, with his clothes
all smeared with blood, and kissed the ground in front
of the amfr, saymg somethmg to him m Chinese.
The amlr gave him some order, and thereupon he took
the boy's limbs, placed them each touching the other,
296
TRAVELS OF IllN llATTOTA
.md g.ivl. him ,\ kick, Jn<l u\J he rm,t- a::. sound as ever.
I '" 1-, .unuui .rnd took p.1 p1t.1t1on of the heart, Just
.1:, h 1J h.1ppu1ed to me \\ hLn l :.,1w ">omLthmg s1n11lar
.1t th(.. court ot thl. krng of lnd1.1, !iO th<-y admrndl:crcd
::.omL potton to me whlLh removui m) d1stn. . ss The
q iJi .Afkh tr .id-Din ,,. ;1::, s1tt111g bl.side me, and he
::.aid to me "lly God, thLrc w.1::. no cl1mbrng or commg
down or cuttmg up of l1111b::. at .111, the whole thmg
l!i JU{l hoCU'>-,)OCU::.."
On th<- fo lov, 111g cl 1y \\ c en ten.cl the fifth and
lar(!L:.t cit), which 1::, 111hab1tL<l by th(.. common folk.
It-,. . b:1111r::, .ire good rnd cont1m \'Lry ">k1lful artificers,
1t 1::, thLrL th 1t the f.1bnc::, which t.1kL. their name from
th1::, town ,\re ,.,,o,cn \Ve pJs::.Ld .1 night 111 th1:, city
as the guc~1s of 1b governor, rnd on the morrow entered
1
the !.>l\th c1ty rhrou~h .1 g.1tc c1lk<l llo1tmL.t1 :, gate.
This s1\th Cit), ,,. h1~h liL:, on the b.rnks of thL. gn.at
nver, 1::, mh 1b1ted by ::,e.unen, ti::.hLrmen, caulkers, and
c.1qJL11tLr::,, llonb with archer::. and footsoldtLrs, .ill of
them be111g sl \VCS of the sultan No other persons
live [m this town] ,,. 1th thun, and thetr numbers arc
Ver) grL1t \V<.. :,pent a mght thcrc as thc guests of
its governor. ThL. amir Qurtay cqutpped a vessel
for us with :ill that wa::, neL.dL.d m the way of prov1s1ons,
etc , and sent his suitc with us to arr:ingc for our
hospitable reception [ on the JOUrnL.y] So we left this
city, which 1s the last of the provmces of Chm a [proper],
and cntcrLd thc land of Kh1t.i [C1thayJ
Cathay 1s the best cultivated country tn the world.
There 1s not a spot m the whole c\.tent of tt that 1s
not brought under cult1v.1t1on The reason 1s that
1f any part 1s left uncultivated its mhab1tants or their
neighbours arc assessed for the land-ta..x due thereon
Fruit-gardens, villages, and fields extend along both
banks of this nver without 111terrupt1on from the city
of Khansi to the city of Khan-Baltq [Pekmg], which
1s a space of sixty-four days' Journey. There are no
2 97
SELECTIONS FROM THE
Muslims to be found In these d1fu1cl:s, except casual
travellers, smce the country 1s not smtable for [their]
permanent residence, and there 1s no large city m 1t,
only villages and wide spaces, 20 covered with corn,
frwt-trees, and sugarcane. I have never seen any-
thing In the world like 1t, except a space of four days 1
journey between Anbar and 'Ana [m 'Iraq) see
p. 303]. We used to disembark every night and
stay In the villages m order to receive our prov1s1ons
1
as guests of the sultan.
,Thus we completed our Journey to the city of Kh:in-
Bahq, also called Khamqu, 30 the capital of the Qan-
he being their emperor, whose dominion extends over
the countries of Chma and Cathay. When we arrived
there we moored at a distance of ten miles from the
city, as 1s then custom, and a written report of our
arrival was sent to the admirals, who gave us per~
miss10n to enter the port of the city. Having done
so, we disembarked and entered the town, which 1s
one of the largest towns m the world. It 1s not 1::ud
out, however, after the Chmese fashion, w1th gardens
Inside the c1ty, but 1s JUst like the cities m other coun-
tries with gardens outside the walls. The sultan's
city hes m the centre, like a citadel, as we shall relate.
I stayed with Shaykh Burhan ad-Din of SagharJ-
the same man to whom the kmg of India sent 40,000
dinars with an mv1tat10n to him [to come to Indw.],
and who took the money and paid his debts with them,
but refused to go to the kmg and set out [mtead]
for Chma [see above p 202 J The Qan set him at
the head of all the Muslims who l1ve m his terntom:s,
and gave him the title of Sadr al-J1hd11. The word
qdn 1s a term applied by them to every person who
exercises the sovereignty over [all] the provinces, JU:ft
as every ruler of the country of Lur 1s called attfhg Jl
H1s name 1s Pashay, 3.! and there is no mfidd on tht.
face of the earth who owns an empire greater than hb,
298
TRAVEI,S OF IBN BATTOTA
I-fr., p.,l 1ce hes 111 the centre of the [11111t.rJ city, wl11ch 1s
.1ppropn acJ to ht::, rL::,tc.knce. The grt.ater part of 1t ts
con~lrutlcd of c 1rvcd v,ood, .rn<l 1t 1~ c\.ccllentl} planned.
\Vhcn ,r,c re 1chui the c 1p1t.il Kh.in-B.iliq, we found
th.it tht. Q.in w., .... 1\J::,Lnt trom 1t at th.1t time, as he
h 1d gone out to fight his cousin Fin'.11., who had
rchdi"L<l 1g un~ h11n tn the d1slncl: of Qar.iqorum and
B1 .. h-B il1gh 111 C 1th l} "-1 'l he d1::,1.111ce bt.twu:n these
pl.1ccs and tht. c1p1t1l I'> a thrt.e months' Journey
through cult1v.1tLd d1:;1nch AftLr lu'> departure th<..
m1Jonty of ht" unir" threw off thur allt.g1ance to him
111d 1grLcd to <lcpo..,c lum bccause he had dt.parted
from the prt.ccph of tht. Y,rrd7, that 1s, the precepts
which ,,. t.re l 11<l down by their anct.slor Tmkiz
[Chrng11.J Kh.in, who hid \\,1~te the l.rn<ls of lsl.im
Thcy \\ent ovt.r to h1::, rebel nt.pht.w and wrote to the
Q.in to thc cfft.tl that hc ::,}\Oul<l 1bd1c,1te and rctatn
the Cit} of Klnm.i as an appanage. He n .. fust.d to
do so, fought tht.m, 111d \\-as dt.fcated .rnd killed
It w1s .1 ft.w d,1) s .1ftcr our .,rnval .1t his capital
that tht. 111.:ws of th1::, w 1s rt.ce1vt.d. The city was
decoratcd, trumpt.ts, bugles .rnd drums were played,
and games -ind cntcrt unmt.nts hdd for the space of
a. month. The rt. -iftcr the slatn Qan was brought,
with about a hundred other slam, his cousrns, rclat1ves,
and 1nt1mates A grc.1t nci'ris, that 1s, a subterranean
chambcr, was du~ for him and richly furnished The
Q.in was laid m 1t with his weapons, and all the gold
and silver plate from l11s palace was deposited 111 1t
with him With !um also were put four slaveg1rls
and six of the prmc1pal mamluks, who earned dnnktng
vessels, then the door of the chamber was bmlt up and
the whole thing covered over with earth until 1t reached
the size of a large mound. After that they brought
four horses and drove then about the Qan's grave
until they stopped [from exhausl:1on ], then they set
up a wooden erechon over the grave and suspended
2 99
the horses on 1t, havmg first driven a piece of wood
through each horse from tail to mouth. 34 The above-
ment10ned relatives of the Qan were also placed m
subterranean chambers along with their weapons and
house utensils, and they impaled over the tombs of the
prmcipal members, of whom there were ten, three horses
each, and over the tombs of the rest one horse each.
This day was observed as a solemn holiday, and
not one person was absent from the ceremony, men
or women, M ushm or heathen They were all
dressed in mournmg robes, which are white capes m
the case of the m:fidels and [long] white garments m
the case of the Muslims. The Qan's khatuns and
courtiers lived m tents near h1s grave for forty days,
some even more than that, up to a year, and a bazaar
was established there to supply the food and other
things which they reqmred. Such pracbces as these
are observed, so far as I can record, by no other people
in these days The heathen Indians and Chinese, on
the other hand, burn their dead, other people do
mdeed bury the dead man, but they do not put anyone
m with him However, I have been told by trust-
worthy persons in the Negrolands that the heath1e?
there, when their kmg died, used to make a nd us
for him and put m with him some of his courtiers
and servants, along with thirty of the sons and daughters
of their prmc1pal families, first breaking their hands and
feet, and they put m drinking vessels along with them
When the Qan was slam, as we have related, and
his nephew Firuz obtained the sovereign power, he
chose to make his capital at the city of Qaraqorum,
on account of its proximity to the terntones of his 35
cousins, the kmgs of Turkisbin and Transoxania
Afterwards several of the amfrs who were not present
when the Qan was killed revolted agamsl: him and
mtercepted commumcat1ons and the disorders grew
to ser10us proportions.
300
CHAPTER XII
vV 1n.N the revolt broke out and the flames of disorder
were k111dlcd, Shaykh Burh.in ad-Dfn and others
advised me to return to (Southern] Chma before the
disturbances became chro111c They presented them-
selves with me to the representatives of Sultan Ffruz,
who sent three of }us suite to escort me and wrote
orders for my treatment as a guest [ on the Journey]
vV e travelled down the nvu to Khansa, and thence
to QanJanfu and Zaytun, and on rcachmg the last
I found the Junks ready to sail for India. Amongst
them was a Junk bclongmg to al-Malik az-Zah1r, the
ruler of Jawa [Sumatra], the crew of which were
Muslims His agent knew me and was delighted at
my arrival. vV e sailed with fair winds for ten days,
but as we approached the land of Tawahs{, the wmd
changed, the sky darkened, and 1t ramed heavily We
passed ten days without seemg the sun, and then
entered a sea which we did not know The crew of
the Junk became alarmed and wished to return to
Chma, but that was out of the question. We passed
forty-two days not knowmg m what sea we were.
On the forty-third day there was visible to us at
early dawn a mountam, proJecbng from the sea at
a distance of about twenty miles from us, and the wrnd
was carrymg us straight towards it The sailors were
puzzled and said "We are nowhere near land, and there
is no record of a mountam m the sea If the wmd
dnves us on it we are lost" So all on board began
to humble themselves and concentrate their thoughts
on God, and renew their repentance. We implored
JOI
SELECTIONS FROM THE
God in prayer and sought the mediat10n of lus prophet
[Muhammad]-on whom be the Blessing and Peace
of God, the merchants vowed to d1stnbute large sums
1n alms, and I wrote down their vows for them m
a register with my own hand. The wmd calmed a
little, and later on when the sun rose we saw that the
mountam had nsen mto the air, and that daylight
was visible between it and the sea. We were amazed
at this, and I saw the crew weepmg, and takmg fare-
well of one another So I said " What 1s the matter
with you ?" They replied " What we thought was
a mountam is the Rukh, and 1f 1t sees us 1t wtll make
an end of us " 1 We were at that moment less than
ten miles away from 1t. Just then God of His mercy
sent us a favourable wmd, which turned us m another
direchon, so that we did not see 1t and could not
learn its true shape
Two months after this we reached Jawa and landed
at [the town of] Sumutra We found its sultan
al-Malik az-Zah1r just returned from a raid, with a
large tram of captives He sent me two girls and
two boys, and lodged me m the usual manner. I
was present at the marriage of his son to the daughter
of the sultan's brother. After two months' shy on
this island I took a passage on a junk. The sultan
on bidding me farewell, gave me a great deal of aloes-
wood, camrhor, cloves, and sandalwood. I left hun
and set sail, and after forty days reached Kawlam
[Q_~!~1:J: Here..__1,..-dise~barlced ~and 'put-"'up~ 111
proxumty to the qadf of the M ushms, this was m
Ramadan [January 1347] and I attended the feshval
prayer m the cathedral mosque there. From Kawlam
we went on to Calicut) and sl:ayed there for some
,.,.nays.a, - I 1ntende"d-to re!U:n to pelh1_,, but, _?n _s;c~mjcrl
thoughts--Lhad-,some, fear;, 'f-9ot ~ do!l!g~ ~~,. !_~! ;!.-
embarked and twenty-eight days later, I~arrive~_tli't
- Dhafan (p. 113), that bei_nK m Muh~ram o~ e
- - ~-~ - 302
year [seven hundred and] fortyeight [ end of April
'!347] .. -~ . . . ,~,,.,......._ _-
Thereafter I took ship and arrived at Mascat, a
small town m which there is a great abundance of the
fish called qulb al-mds (p 242) Thence we sailed
to the ports of Qurayyat, Shabba, Kalba,2 and Qalhat,
which has been mentioned before [p. I I 8] All these
towns form part of the provmce of Hormuz, though
they are reckoned to be m the distnet of 'Oman.
We sailed on to Hormuz, and after spendmg three
mghts there, travelled by land to Kawrastan, Lar, and
KhunJubal-all of which have been mentioned before
(p r 20 )-thence to Karz{, 3 where we stayed for three
mghts, and so through a number of other towns and
villages to the city of Shiraz From Shiraz I travelled
to Isfahan, and thence through Tustar [Shush tarJ to
Basra, where I visited the sacred tombs which are
there, and so through Mash-had 'AH [NaJafJ and
Hilla to Baghdad, which I reached In Shawwal of
the year 48 [January 1348] I met there a man
from Morocco, who mformed me of the disaster at
Tadfa, and of the capture of al-Khadra [ Algeciras J
by the Chnstians 4-may God repair the breach that
Islam has suffered thereby I
The sultan of Baghdad and of 'Iraq at the time of
my arrival at the date ment10ned was Shaykh Hasan,6
the cousm of the late Sultan Abu Sa'id by his father's
sister. When Abu Sa'{d died, he took possess10n
of his kmgdom m 'Iraq, and married his widow
Dilshad, the daughter of Dimashq KhwaJa, son of
the amir Chuban, JUst as Sultan Abu Sa'l'.d had done
m marrymg Shaykh Hasan's wife Sultan Hasan
was away from Baghdad at this time, on his way to
fight Sultan A ta beg Afras1yab, the ruler of the country
of Lur
After leavmg Baghdad I travelled to the city of
Anbar, then successively to Hit, Had{tha, and 'Ana 6
33
SELECTIONS FROM THE
This d1sh1cl: 1s one of the richest and most fertile m
the world, and there are bmldmgs all along the road
between these pomts, so that one walks as 1t were
through one [continuous] bazaar. We have already
said that we have seen nothmg to equal the country
along the banks of the nver of Chma, except this
d1sl:ncl:. I came next to the town of Rahba, which
1s the finest town m 'Iraq, and the frontier town of
Syria. 7 Thence we went on to as-Sukhna, a pretty
town,8 mhabited mamly by mfidels, that 1s Chnshans.
It 1s called as-Sukhna [" the hot town ,,] because of
the heat of its water, and contams bathhouses for men
and women They draw their water by mght and
put 1t on the roofs to cool. Thereafter we Journeyed
to Tadmur [Palmyra], the city of the prophet Solomon,
which was bmlt for him by the Jmn, 0 and thence to
Damascus, which I thus rev1S1ted after twenty years'
absence. I had left a wife of mme there pregnant,
and I learned while I was m India that she had borne
a male child, whereupon I sent to the boy's maternal
grandfather, who belonged to M1knasa [Mequmez]
m Morocco, forty gold dmars m Indian money. When
I arnved m Damascus on this occas10n I had no
thought but to enqmre after my son. I went to the
mosque, where by good fortune I found Nur ad-Dfn
as-Sakhawf, the imam and prmc1pal [shaykh] of the
Mahk1tes. I greeted him but he did not recognize
me, so I made myself known to him and asked htm,
about the boy. He replied "He 1s dead these twelve
years " He told me that a scholar from Tangier
was living m the Zah1nya academy, so I went to see
him, to enqmre after my father and relatives I
found him to be a venerable shaykh, and when I had
greeted him and told him the name of my family he
mformed me that my father had died fifteen years
before and that my mother was shll alive. I remained
at Damascus until the end of the year, though there
3o4
was a great scarcity of provisions and bread rose to
the price of seven ounces for a dirham nuqra [ about
5d.J Their ounce equals four Moroccan ounces.
On leavrng Damascus I went to Aleppo, by way
of Hims, Hamah, Ma'arra, and Sarm{n It happened
at this time that a certam darwfsh, known as the
Principal Shaykh, who lived on a hill outside the town
of 'Ayntab, 10 where he used to be visited by the people
m search of the blessmgs he conveyed, havmg one
d1sc1ple attendant on him but [ otherwiseJ a solitary
and unmarried, said m one of his discourses "The
Prophet-may God bless him and give him peace 1-
could not do without women, but I can do without
them" Evidence to that effecl: was brought agamsl:
him and proved before a qad{, and the case was
referred to the commander-m-ch1ef The shaykh
and his d1sc1ple, who had assented to his statement,
were brought up [for exammation], the principal
judges of the four rites decided on legal grounds
that both should be punished by death, and they were
duly executed.
Early m June we heard at Aleppo that the plague
had broken out at Gaza, and that the number of
deaths there reached over a thousand a day On
travellmg to Hims I found that the plague had broken
out there about three hundred persons died of 1t on
the day that I arrived. So I went on to Damascus,
and arrived there on a Thursday The mhab1tants
had then been fas-bng for three days, on the Friday
they went out to the mosque of the Footprints,
as we have related m the firs-I: book, and God
eased them of the plague [p 6 8J The number of
deaths among them reached a maximum of 2,400 a
day Thereafter I Journeyed to 'AJalun and thence
to Jerusalem, where I found that the ravages of the
plague had ceased. We revisited Hebron, and thence
went to Gaza, the greater part of which we found
J05 X
SELECTIONS FROM THE
deserted because of the number of those who died
there of the plague. I was told by the qad{ that the
number of deaths there reached r,roo a day. We
continued our journey overland to Damietta, and on
to Alexandria. Here we found that the plague was
d1mm1shing in intensity, though the number of deaths
had previously reached a thousand and eighty a day.
I then travelled to Cairo, where I was told that the
number of deaths during the ep1dem1c rose to twenty-
one thousand a day 11 From Cairo I travelled
through the Sa'{d [Upper Egypt] to 'Aydhab,
whence I took ship to Judda, and thence reached
Mecca on 22nd Sha'ban of the year 49 [16th
November r 348].
After the pilgrimage of this year [28th Feb.-2nd
March r 349 J I travelled with the Syrian caravan
to Tayba [Madfna], thence to Jerusalem, and back
through Gaza to Cairo. Here we learned that through
our master, the Commander of the Faithful, Abu
'Inan (may God strengthen him I), God had umted
the scattered forces of the House of Marfn 12 and
healed by his blessing the western lands when they
had all but succumbed. [We were told that] he had
poured out his bounty upon great and small, and
overwhelmed the whole nation by the torrent of his
favours, so that all hearts were filled with the desire
of standing at his gate and with the hope of kissing
his stirrup. Thereupon I decided to Journey to his
illustrious capital, moved also by the longmg ca!Icd
forth withm me by memories of my home, by
yearning for my family and friends, and by love of
my country, which surpasses in my eyes all other
countries.
I took ship on a small tradmg-vesscl belonging to
a Tumsian m Safar of the year 50 [April-1\tfay r 349],
and travelled to Jerba, where I d1sembark<..d The
vessel went on to Tums, and was captured by the
306
TRAVELS OF IllN BATTOTA
enemy 11 From Jerba I went 111 a small boat to Qab1s
[G.1be::.], where I put up .1s the guest of the two
11lu~nous brothers, Abu lvfarw.1.n and Abu'l-Abbas,
sons of lvl.lkki, the governors of J erba and Ga bes.
I attended with them the fcsbval of the birthday of
the Prophet [1:th Rabi !.=31st lvl.ly]. Thereafter
I went by boat to S.1f.iqus [Sfax] and contmued by
sc.1 to Bul) .ina, 11 from which pomt I travelled on land
m the comp.m) of the Arabs, and after some discom-
forts reached the city of Tums, at the time when 1t
was bemg besu:ged by the Ar.1bs I stayed at Tums
thirt)-SI::-.. d.1y:, and then took ship with the Catalans
\Ve re.1ched the 1::.land of S.1rd.mi) a [Sardinia], one
of the islands bdongmg to the Chnsbans, where there
is .1 \\ onderful h.1rbour, with great baulks of wood
m .1 circle round 1t .md an entrance like a gateway,
which 1s opened only 1f they give permission 16 In
the island there arc fortified towns, we went mto one
of them, and [ saw J m 1t a l.irge number of bazaars.
I made a vow to God to fast for two successive months
1f He should deliver us from this island, because we
found out that its rnhab1tants were proposrng to pursue
us when we left to take us captive \Ve then sailed
away and ten days later reached the town of Tenes,
then M.izuna, then lvlusl:aghamm [Mosl:aganem],
and so to Tilunsan [Tlemsen] I went to al-'Ubbad
and VlSlted [the tomb of] Shaykh Abu lYiadfn 10 I
left T1hms.in by the N adruma road, then took the
Akhandaqan road, and spent the mght at the hermi-
tage of Shaykh Ibrahim. We set out from there
and when we were near Azghanghan 17 we were at-
tacked by fifty men on foot and two horsemen I
had with me the pi1gnm Ibn Qad'at of Tangier and
his brother lVluhammad, who afterwards perished as
a martyr at sea vVe resolved to make a fight for 1t
and put up a flag, whereupon they made peace with
us and we went with them, praise be to God Thus
37
SELECTIONS FROM THE
we reached the town of Taza, where I learned the
news of my mother's death of the plague-may God
Most High have mercy on her. Then I set out
from Taza and arrived at the royal city of Fez on
Friday, at the end of the month of Sha'ban of the year
750 [13th November 1349]
I presented myself before our most noble master,
the most generous imam, the Commander of the
Faithful, al-Mutawakk1l Abu 'Inan-may God enlarge
his greatness and humble his enemies. His d1gn1ty
made me forget the d1gmty of the sultan of 'Iraq,
his beauty the beauty of the kmg of India, his fine
qualities the noble character of the kmg of Yemen,
his courage the courage of the krng of the Turks,
his clemency the clemency of the kmg of the Greeks,
his devot10n the devot10n of the kmg of Turkdlan,
and his knowledge the knowledge of the kmg of
Jawa. I laid down the staff of travel m his glorious
land, having assured myself after unbiassed cons1dera-
tlon that 1t is the best of countries, for m 1t fruits
are plentiful, and runmng water and nourishing food
are never exhausted Few mdeed are the lands which
unite all these advantages, and well spoken are the
poet's words:
Of all the lands the W esl: by thts token's the best
Here the full moon 1s sp1ed and the sun speeds to rdr
The dirhams of the West are small, but their utility

1s great When you compare its prices with the prices
of Egypt and Syr1a, you will see the truth of my
contention, and realize the supenonty of the Maghrib.
For I assure you that mutton m Egypt 1s sold at
eighteen ounces for a dirham nuqra, which equals
value six dirhams of the Maghnb, 18 whereas m t e
t
Maghnb meat 1s sold, when pnces are high, at eighteen
ounces for two d1rhams, that 1s a third of a mdm.
As for melted butter, 1t 1s usually not to be foun in
308
Egypt at all The kinds of thrngs that the Egyptians
c.1t .ilong with their bread would not even be looked
at 111 tht- l\ifaghnb They consist for the most part
of lentils .rnd chickpeas, which they cook m enormous
cauldrons, 10 and on which they put oil of sesame,
b<1silld, a kmd of pc,1s which they cook and eat with
olive 011, gherkins, wl11ch th<...y cook and mix with
curdled milk, purslanc 0 which they prepare m the
same way, the buds of almond trees, which they cook
and serve 111 curdled milk, and colocas1a, which they
cook All these thmgs arc easily come by m the
Maghnb, but God has enabled its inhabitants to
dispense with them, by reason of the abundance of
fleshmeats, melted butter, fresh butter, honey, and
other products As for green vegetables, they are
the rarest of things 111 Egypt, and most of their fruit
has to be brought from Syria Grapes, when they
arc cheap, arc sold amongst them at a d1rham nuqr,i
for three of their pounds, their pound being twelve
ounces.
As for Syria, fruits arc rndeed plentiful there, but
m the Maghnb they arc cheaper Grapes are sold
there at the rate of one of their pounds for a d1rham
11uqrtl (their pound 1s three Maghnbi pounds), and
when their pnce 1s low, two pounds for a d1rham
11uqra Pomegranates and qumces are sold at eight
f als [ coppersJ apiece, which equals a dirham of our
money. As for vegetables the quantJ.ty sold for a
d1rham nuqra 1s less than that sold for a small dirham
m our country Meat 1s sold there at the rate of one
Synan pound for two and a half d1rhams nuqra. If
you consider all this, it will be clear to you that the
lands of the Maghnb are the cheapest m cost of hvrng,
the most abundant rn good thrngs, and blest with the
greatest share of material comforts and advantages.
Moreover, God has augmented the honour and excel-
lence of the Maghnb by the imamate of our master,
39
the Commander of the Faithful,21 who has spread the
shelter of security throughout its territories and made
the sun of eqruty to rise w1thm its borders, who has
caused the clouds of beneficence to shed their rain
upon its dwellers 1n country and town, who has purified
1t from evildoers, and established 1t m the ways alike
of worldly prosperity and of religious observance
JIO
CHAPTER XIII
AFTER I had been pnVIleged to observe this noble
ma.,esty and to share rn the all-embracmg bounty of
his beneficence, I set out to v1s1t the tomb of my
mother I arrived at my home town of Tangier and
visited her, and went on to the town of Sabta [Ceuta],
where I stayed for some months While I was there
I suffered from an illness for three months, but after-
wards God restored me to health I then proposed
to take part m the phdd and the defence of the frontier,
so I crossed the sea from Ceuta m a barque belongmg
to the people of Asila [ Arzila], and reached the land
of Andalusia (may God Almighty guard her I) where
the reward of the dweller 1s abundant and a recom-
pense 1s laid up for the settler and visitor This was
after the death of the Chnfuan tyrant Adrunus
[Alphonso XI ] and his ten-months' siege of the Jebel
[Gibraltar], when he thought that he would capture
all that the Muslims full retam of Andalusia, but
God took him whence he did not reckon, and he,
who of all men stood m the most mortal terror of the
pl:,o-ue, died of it 1 The first part of Andalusia that
I saw was the Mount of Conquest [Gibraltar]. I
walked round the mountain and saw the marvellous
works executed on 1t by our mas1::er [the late Sultan
of Iviorocco] Abu'l-Hasan and the armament with
which he equipped it, together with the addit:10ns
made thereto by our mas1::er [Abu 'Inan], may God
strengthen him, and I should have liked to remain
as one of its defenders to the end of my days.
Ibn Juzayy adds. '- The Mount of Conques1 1s the
citadel of Islam, an obstru&on stuck in the throats
JII
SELECTIONS FROM THE
of the idolaters. From 1t began the great conquest
[ of Spam by the ArabsJ, and at 1t disembarked Tanq
16n Ziyad, the freedman of Musa 16n Nusayr, when
he crossed [the fuait in 7 II]. Its name was Imked
with his, and 1t was called Jebel Tariq [The Mount
of Tanq]. It 1s called also the Mount of Conquest,
because the conquest began there The remams of
the wall bmlt by Tariq and his army are still m exist-
ence, they are known as the Wall of the Arabs, and
I myself have seen them durmg my stay there at the
time of the siege of Algeciras (may God restore 1t
[to Islam] !).
"Gibraltar was recaptured by our late master Abu'l-
Hasan, who recovered 1t from the hands of the Chns-
trans after they had possessed 1t for over twenty years.
He sent hrs son, the noble prmce Abu Malik, to
besiege 1t, a1dmg him with large sums of money and
powerful armies. It was taken after a six months'
siege m the year 733 [r 333 A.D.]. At that time 1t
was not m the present state. Our late master Abu'l-
Hasan built m 1t the huge keep at the top of the
fortress; before that 1t was a small tower, which was
laid in rums by the stones from the catapults, and he
built the new one m its place He butlt the arsenal
there too (for there was no arsenal m the place before),
as well as the great wall which surrounds the Red
Mound, starting from the arsenal and extending to
the ttleyard. Later on our master, the Commander
of the Faithful, Abu 'Inan (may God strengthen hm1)
agam took m hand its fort1ficat10n and embellishment,
and strengthened the wall of the extremity of the
mount, which 1s the most formidable and useful of
its walls. He also sent thither large quantities of
mumtlons, foodstuffs, and proV1s1ons of all k.Inds, ang
thereby acqmtted himself of his duty to God Mo
High with smgleness of purpose and smcere devotion
His concern for the affairs of the Jebel reached such
312
lengths th.1t he gave orders for the construcbon of
a model of it, on wluch he had represented models
of its walls, towers, citadel, gates, arsenal, mosques,
munition-scores, and corn-granaries, together with the
shape of the Jebel itself and the adjacent Red Mound.
This model was executed lll the palace rrecmcts, It
was a marvellous likeness and a piece o fine crafts-
manship Any one who has seen the Jebel and then
sees this copy will recognize its ment This was due
solely to his eagerness (may God strengthen him) to
learn how matters stood there, and his anxiety to
strengthen its defences and eqmpment May God
Iviost High grant victory to lsl:i.m m the Vlestern
Pemnsula [Spam] at his hands, and bring to pass his
hope of conquering the lands of the mfidels and
breakmg the strength of the adorers of the cross "
To resume the narr.1tive of our Shaykh I went
out of Gibraltar to the town of Ronda, one of the
strongest and most beautifully situated fortresses of
the Ivlusltms The qad{ there was my cousm, the
doctor Abu'l-Qas1m l'vluhammad b Yahyi Ibn Bat-
tuta I stayed at Ronda for five days, then went
on to the town of Marbala [Marbella] The road
between these two places 1s difficult and exceedmgly
rough Marbala 1s a pretty little town 1n a fertile
disl:nct I found there a company of horsemen settrng
out for Malaqa, and mtended to go 1n their company,
but God by His grace preserved me, for they went
on ahead of me and were captured on the way, as we
shall relate I set out after them, and when I had
traversed the dtstncl: of Marbala, and entered the
d1slnct of SuhayP I passed a dead horse lymg 1n the
ditch, and a little farther on a panmer of fish thrown
on the ground. This aroused my susp1c10ns In
front of me there was a watchtower, and I said to
myself " If an enemy were to appear here, the man
on the tower would give the alarm" So I went on
313
SE L E CT I O N S F R O :\1 T H E
to a house thereabouts, and at 1t I found .1 ho:.:i.:
killed. \Vhile I was there I ht."ard 1 ::,houc 0--:1::-J.
me (for I had gone ahead of mr pJrt}) Jnd cumin~
back to them, found the commander of the tort or
Suhayl w1th them He cold me:: that four < .1!L,:, 1
be1ongrng to the enemi, had appe 1rc:J there:, ::-rnJ .i

number of the men on bo:ird h1d hndt.J nhc:n tht.
watchman was not m the to\\tr. The hor:,t..mc:n \\ hu
had jus1 left Ivfarbafa, tv, eh e 1n number, h.1J t.n-
countered th1s raiding force The Chn:,11 m:, h tJ
kzlled one of them, one b.'.ld esc 1ped, 1n<l tc..n \H.rc:
taken prisoner. A fisherm1n \\as kdkd along \\ 1th
them, and 1t was he whose b 1sktt I had founJ h ing
on the road.
The officer advised me to spc:nd the mghr \\ 1th him
rn his quarters, so th::it ht: could t.scort me: tht.ni.:t. tu
i\tfab.qa. I passed the night rn th1., l 1:,tk of tht. rt.~1-
ment of mounted front1t.rsn1t.n c:ilkJ tht.. :::.uh n 1
regrment All this time tht. gdle 1:. of Hhit.h \\1., h t{t..
spoken were lyma dost: by. On tht. morro\', ht. ruJt.
with me and we ~eached ivfahq 1, v:h1ch 1:, ont. of cht.
largest and mosl: bc:1ut1ful tov, ns of .\n,l du:i1 l le
unites the convenwnces of both st. l .rnJ 1wJ, rn-1 1,
abundantly supplled ,-.,irh fooJ:.tuff:, .rn~i fnuh I
saw grapes being sold in lb b 1l1 lr:, .it the r Lt1., ,J:
eight pounds for .1 snnll d1rh.un, .rn1.l tb rul., 1-col,;Wt.,i
wlurcian pomegranatt..::. hwc.. no '-'JU tl 1rt th'- \~ ur!.1
As for fius and almonds, tht. 1 m.: t. ,portd r:-u:1
iVfalaqa a~d its outl, mg J1;tnct:, co t~L I tn,L lil):n
of the Ea~1 and the \VtJL .\c ~IL 1.iq.1 t1t.rt. 1> r:..:iu
factun:d excdknt gdJ(.(1 pott'-r}, v, h1 . . h ', t. ,: " ' ' - !
thence to the mo;l: dbbnt l.inJ:, It~ mr;,qu .. .._o,_'l
a brgt: area and h1.::. 1. rc;put1.c10n for:-, t'1..:tit:,. cli_ ~' h ' t
of tht- mosquc 1s of unc:qu:illui buut,, n ! -, 111 ' '
e ..:cc:pt10n:1Uy t.1ll or .1n~t. t,.t.t.:, ,
1
.. , ,
On my .trnval .1t ;,..1 d.itl 1 I !ounJ t 1, <! 1 .1
c' c L ... ,. i.. ,,: r
1n the gn:at mo::iquc:, .1 lon:.; .~ 1 n r- , ,.
J A ;.
law and the prmc1pal inhabitants, all engaged m
collecbng money to ransom the prisoners of whom
we have spoken I said to him "Praise be to God,
Who hath preserved me, and hath not made me one
of them." I told h1m what had happened to me after
they had gone, and he marvelled at 1t and sent me a
hospitality-gift, as also did the preacher of the town.
From Malaqa I Journeyed to the town of Ballash
[Velez], a distance of twenty-four miles Ballash 1s
a fine town with a mag111ficent mosque, grapes, frmts,
and figs are Just as plentiful there as at Malaqa. We
went on from there to al-Hamma [ Alhama], which 1s
a small town with a most elegant mosque 1n a fine
situation Near by, at a distance of a mile or so from
the town, 1s the hot spring [from which the town
derives its name],3 on the bank of the river. There
is a bathhouse here for men and another for women.
Thence I went to on the city of Gharnata [Granada],
the metropolis of Andalusia and the bnde of its cities.
Its environs have not their equal m any country m
the world They extend for the space of forty miles,
and are traversed by the celebrated nver of Shannil
[Xeml] and many other streams. Around it on every
side are orchards, gardens, flowery meads, noble
bmldmgs, and vmeyards. One of the most beautiful
places there 1s 'Ayn ad-dama' [the Fountain of Tears]/
which is a hill covered with gardens and orchards and
has no parallel m any other country The king of
Gharnata at the time of my v1s1t was Sultan Abu'l-
HaJJiJ Yusuf. I did not meet him on account of an
illness from which he was suffenng,5 but the noble,
pious, and virtuous woman, his mother, sent me some
gold dmars, of which I made good use
I met at Gharnata a number of its distmgmshed
scholars and the principal Shaykh, who is also the
superior of the Sufi orders. I spent some days with
him in his hermitage outside Gharnata. He showed
11(
me the greatest honour and went w1th me to VIS1t
the hospice, famed for its san&ty, known as the
Otttpofl of al-'Ugdb [the Eagle]. Al-'Uqab 1s a hill
overlookmg the enVIrons of Gharnata, about eight
miles from the city and close by the rumed city of
al-Bira. 6 There 1s also at Gharnata a company of
Persian darwishes, who have made their homes there
because of 1ts resemblance to their native lands. One
is from Samarqand, another from Tabriz, a third from
Qumya [Koma], one from Khurasan, two from India,
and so on.
On leaVIng Gharnata I travelled back through
al-Hamma, Ballash, and Malaqa, to the caille of
Dhakwan, which 1s a fine fortress with abundant
water, trees, and frmts 7 From there I went to
Ronda and on to Gibraltar, where I embarked on the
ship by which I had crossed before, and which belonged
to the people of Asila [Arztla]. I arrived at Sabta
[Ceuta] and went on to Asila, where I stayed for
some months. Thence I travelled to Sala [Sallee, by
Rabat] and from there reached the city of Marrakush.
It 1s one of the mosr beautiful of cities, spac10usly
bmlt and extendmg over a w1de area, with abundant
supplies It contams magnificent mosques, such as
its pnnc1pal mosque, known as the Mosque of the
Kutubiyin [the BooksellersJ There Is a marvellously
tall mmaret there, I climbed It and obtamed a VIeW
of the whole town from It The town 1s now largely
m rums, so that I could compare it only to Baghdad,
though the bazaars m Baghdad are finer. 8 At l\tlar-
rakush too there is a splendid college, d1sbngmshed
by its fine site and solid confuu&on, 1t was butlt
by our masrer, the Commander of the Faithful,
Abu'1-Hasan [the late sultan of Morocco].
316
CHAPTER XIV
FRoM l\tlarrakush I travelled with the suite of our
master [the Sultan] to Fez, where I took leave of our
master and set out for the Negrolands I reached the
town of SiJilmasa, a very fine town, with quant1t1es
of excellent dates. 1 The city of Basra nvals 1t m
abundance of dates, but the SiJ1lmasa dates are better,
and the kmd called frdr has no equal m the world.
I stayed there with the learned Abu Muhammad
al-Bushri, the man whose brother I met m the city
of Qanpnfu rn China How strangely separated they
are I He showed me the utmost honour
At SiJilmasa I bought camels and a four months'
supply of forage for them Thereupon I set out on
the Ist Muharram of the year [ seven hundred and]
fifty-three [18th February 1352] with a caravan
includmg, amongst others, a number of the merchants
of S1Jilmasa. After twenty-five days we reached
Taghaza, an unattrachve village, with the curious
feature that its houses and mosques are bmlt of blocks
of salt, roofed with camel skms There are no trees
there, nothmg but sand In the sand 1s a salt mme;
they dig for the salt, and find 1t m thick slabs, lymg
one on top of the other, as though they had been
tool-squared and laid under the surface of the earth. 2
A camel will carry two of these slabs No one lives
at Taghaza except the slaves of the Massufa tnbe,
who dig for the salt, they subsist on dates imported
3
from Dar'a and SiJilmasa, camels' flesh, and millet
imported from the Negrolands The negroes come
up from their country and take away the salt from there.
317
s'ELECTIONS FROM THE
At !walatan a load of salt brings eight to ten mtthqdls
mthe town of Malli it sells for twenty to thirty, and
sometimes as much as forty The negroes use salt
as a medium of exchange, Just as gold and silver 1s
used [ elsewhereJ, they cut 1t up mto pieces and buy
and sell with 1t. The business done at Taghaza, for
all its meanness, amounts to an enormous figure in
terms of hundredweights of gold-dust 4
We passed ten days of discomfort there, because
the water 1s brackish and the place 1s plagued w1th
flies. Water supplies are laid in at Taghaza for the
crossing of the desert which hes beyond 1t, which 1s
a ten-nights' Journey with no water on the way except
on rare occasions We mdeed had the good fortune
to find water m plenty, m pools left by the ram. One
day we found a pool of sweet water between two
rocky prominences We quenched our thirst at 1t
and then washed our clothes. Trufiles are plentiful
in this desert and 1t swarms with lice, so that people
wear strmg necklaces contammg mercury, which kills
them. At that time we used to go ahead of the caravan,
and when we found a place smtable for pasturage we
would graze our beasts. We went on domg this until
one of our party was lost m the desert, after that I
neither went ahead nor lagged behmd. We passed
a caravan on the way and they told us that some of
their party had become separated from them We
found one of them dead under a shrub, of the sort
that grows m the sand, with his clothes on and a wh1p
m his hand The water was only about a mile away
from hlffi.
We came next to Tasarahla, a place of subterranean
water-beds, where the caravans halt 5 They stay
there three days to rest, mend the1r waterskms, fill
them w1th water, and sew on them covers of sack-
cloth as a precaution agamst the wmd From th1s
pomt the takshlj 1s despatched The takshfj 1s a name
318
given to any man of the Massufa tnbe who is hired
by the persons rn the caravan to go ahead to Iwalatan,
carryrng letters from them to their friends there, so
that they may take lodgmgs for them. These persons
then come out a distance of four nights' Journey to
meet the caravan, and bnng water with them. Anyone
who has no fnend m Iwalatan wntes to some merchant
well known for his worthy characl:er, who then under-
takes the same services for him It often happens
that the taksliif perishes In this desert, with the result
that the people of Iwalatan know noth1ng about the
caravan, and all or most of those who are with it
pensh. That desert is haunted by demons; 1f the
taksliif be alone, they make sport of him and disorder
his mind, so that he loses his way and penshes. For
there 1s no visible road or track m these parts-
nothmg but sand blown hither and thither by the w1nd.
You see hills of sand 1n one place, and afterwards you
will see them moved to qmte another place. The gmde
there is one who has made the Journey frequently m
both dire&ons, and who is gifted with a qmck intel-
ligence. I remarked, as a strange thmg, that the gmde
whom we had was bl1nd m one eye, and diseased m
the other, yet he had the best knowledge of the road
of any man We hired the takshif on this Journey for
a hundred gold mtthqdls, he was a man of the Massufa
On the night of the seventh day [from Tasarahla]
we saw with Joy the fires of the party who had come
out to meet us
Thus we reached the town of Iwalatan [W alataJ
after a _Journey from SiJilmasa of two months to a
day 6 I walatan is the northernmost provmce of the
negroes, and the sultan's representative there was one
Farha Husayn, farbd meamng deputy [1n their lan-
guage] When we arnved there, the merchants
deposited their goods In an open square, where the
blacks undertook to guard them, and went to the
31 9
SELECTIONS FROl\lI THE
Jarbd. He was s1ttmg o~ a carpet under an archway,
;Vlth his guards before him carrying lances and bows
m their hands, and the headmen of the Massufa behmd
h~m. The merchants remained s1andmg m front of
him while he spoke to them through an interpreter,
although they were close to him, to show his contempt
for them. It was then that I repented of haVIng come
to their country, because of therr lack of manners and
their contempt for the whites.
I went to visit Ibn Badda, a worthy man of Sala
[Sallee, Rabat], to whom I had wntten requeshng
him to hire a house for me, and who had done so.
Later on the mushrif [mspecl:or] of Iwalatan, whose
name was Mansha Ju, mvited all those who had come
with the caravan to partake of his hospitality. At
firsr I refused to attend, but my compan10ns urged
me very srrongly, so I went with the resr The repasr
was served-some pounded millet mixed with a little
honey and milk, put m a half calabash shaped hke a
large bowl. The guesrs drank and retrred. I said
to them "Was 1t for this that the black invited us ?"
They answered " Yes, and it is m therr op1mon the
highesr form of hosp1tal1ty." This convmced me that
there was no good to be hoped for from these people,
and I made up my mmd to travel [back to Morocco
at onceJ with the ptlgnm caravan from Iwalatan.
Afterwards, however, I thought it best to go to see
the capital of their king [at Milli].
'My stay at !walatan lasred about fifty days; and I
was shown honour and entertained by its mhab1tants.
It 1s an excessively hot place, and boasts a few small
date-palms, in the shade of which they sow water-
melons Its water comes from underground water-
beds at that point, and there 1s plenty of mutton to
be had. The garments of its mhab1tants, most of
whom belong to the Nlassufa tribe, are of nne Egyptian
fabncs. Their women are of surpassmg beauty, and
320
are shown more respecl: than the men. The state of
affairs amongst these people 1s mdeed extraordmary.
Their men show no signs of Jealousy whatever, no
one claims descent from his father, but on the contrary
from his mother's brother. A person's heirs are his
sister's sons, not ms own sons. This 1s a thmg which
I have seen nowhere m the world except among the
Indians of Malabar. But those are heathens, these
people are Muslims, puncbhous m observing the hours
of prayer, studymg books of law, and memonzmg
the Koran Yet their women show no bashfulness
before men and do not veil themselves, though they
are assiduous m attendmg the prayers. Any man
who wishes to marry one of them may do so, but they
do not travel with their husbands, and even 1f one
desired to do so her family would not allow her to go
The women there have "friends" and "com-
pamons " amongst the men outside their own families,
and the men m the same way have "compamons"
amongst the women of other families. A man may
go mto his house and find his wife entertammg her
"compamon" but he takes no obJecl:10n to it. One
day at Iwalatan I went rnto the qadi's house, after
askmg his perm1ss10n to enter, and found with him
a young woman of remarkable beauty. When I saw
her I was shocked and turned to go out, but she
laughed at me, mstead of bemg overcome by shame,
and the qadi said to me "Why are you gomg out ~
She 1s my compamon " I was amazed at their con-
duct, for he was a theologian and a pilgrim to boot.
I was told that he had asked the sultan's perm1ss10n
to make the pilgrimage that year with his " com-
pamon " (whether this one or not I cannot say) but
the sultan would not grant 1t.
When I decided to make the journey to Malli
which 1s reached m twenty-four days from Iwalata~
if the traveller pushes on rapidly, I hired a gwde from
32r y
SELECTIONS FROlvI THE
the Massufa (for there 1s no necessity to travel m a
company on account of the safety of that road), .md
set out with three of my compamons. On the Wl)
there are many trees, and these trees are of gre.1t Jge
and g1rth, a whole caravan may shelter in the shade
of one of them. There are trees which have neither
branches nor leaves, yet the shade cast by their trunks
1s sufficient to shelter a man. Some of these trees .ire
rotted m the mtenor and the ram-water collects in
them, so that they serve as wells and the people drink
of the water 1ns1de them 7 In others there are bees
and honey, wh1ch 1s collected by the people I was
surprised to find ms1de one tree, by which I p'1ssed,
a man, a weaver, who had set up his loom in 1t :rnd
was acrually weavmg.
A traveller In this country carries no prov1s1ons,
whether plam food or seasonings, and nuther gold
nor silver He takes nothing but pieces of~ dt .md
glass ornaments, which the people call beads, .md some
aromatic goods. vVhen he comes to .1 vtll.igc th1..
womenfolk of the blacks bring out mdlt:t, nulk,
chickens, pulped lotus frmt, nc1.., /11m (a gr.un r1..-
sembhng mustard seed, from which kuskus,?3 and grud
are made), and pounded hartcot beans. The traveller
buys what of these he wants, but their rtCL caw,1..~
sickness to whites when 1t 1s e.1ten, .1nd thL /:fol 1::,
preferable to 1t
Ten days after leaving Iwalatan we camt- to thL
village of Zagharf, a brgc vtll.1ge, 0 1nhab1t1..d by ntgro
traders called wml)ardta, 10 along with whom ltvt- l
commumty of whites of the 'Ib.1d1tt. st.ct.11 1t tJ
from this village that millet 1s c.irnt.d to I\\ d it.Ill
After leavmg Z:ighari we came to th1.. gr<.. 1t nvtr, th it 1
is the Nile onwh1chscands tht. CO\'<n of K1r.,d-.hu.
The Nile fl~ws from there down to K.ib 1r.1, tnd th1..nlL
to Zagha 13 In both Kib-1r.1 and Z.i~h 1 cht..n.. , ire
sult-rns v, ho owe .1lleg1anct.. to th1.. krng ot i\I.Lll1 l hi.
322
inhabitants of Zagha are of old srandmg 111 Islam;
they show great devotion and zeal for study. Thence
the Nile descends to Tumbuktu and Gawgaw [Gogo],
both of which will be described later, then to the town
of Iviuli1 4 m the land of the Limis, 16 which is the
frontier province of [the kmgdom of] ivialli, thence
to Y ufi, one of the largest towns of the negroes,
whose ruler is one of the mosr considerable of the negro
rulers 16 It cannot be visited by any white man
because they would kill him before he got there.
From Yuff the Nile descends to the land of the Nuba
[Nubians], who profess the Chnsban faith, and thence
to Dunqula [Dongola], which is their chief town 17
' The sultan of Dunqula is called Ibn Kanz ad-Din;
he was converted to Islam in the days of [Sultan]
al-Malik an-Nasir [of Egypt]. 18 Thence it descends
to Janadil [the Cataracts], which ts the end of the negro
terntones and the begmnmg of the provmce of Uswan
[Aswan] 1n Upper Egypt.
I saw a crocodile 111 this part of the N tle, close to
the bank, it looked Just like a small boat One day I
went down to the nver to satisfy a need, and lo, one
of the blacks came and stood between me and the
nver I was amazed at such lack of manners and
decency on his part, and spoke of it to someone or
other He answered " Hts purpose In domg that was
solely to protect you from the crocodile, by placmg
himself between you and it."
We set out thereafter from Karsakhu and came to
the nver of Sansara, which is about ten miles from
Ma.lH 1t 1s their custom that no persons except
those who have obtamed perm1ss10n are allowed to
enter the city. I had already written to the white
commumty [there] requestmg them to hire a house
for me, so when I arrived at this nver, I crossed by
the ferry without interference. Thus I reached the
city of MalH, the capital of the kmg of the blacks.10
32 3
SELECTIONS FROM THE
I stopped at the cemetery and went to the quarter
occupied by the whites, where I asked for Muhammad
1bn al-Faqfh. I found that he had hired a house for
me and went there. His son-m-law brought me
candles and food, and next day Ibn al-Faqih himself
came to vtsit me, with other prominent residents. I
met the qadf of MalH, 'Abd ar-Rahman, who came to
see me, he 1s a negro, a pilgrim, and a man of fine
characl:er. I met also the interpreter Dugha, who 1s
one of the prmc1pal men among the blacks.20 All
these /ersons sent me hosp1tahty-g1fts of food and
treate me w1th the utmost generosity-may God
reward them for their kindnesses I Ten days after
our arrival we ate a gruel made of a root resemblmg
colocasia, which 1s preferred by them to all other
dishes. We all fell ill-there were six of us-and
one of our number died. I for my part went to the
morning prayer and famted there I asked a certam
Egyptian for a loosening remedy and he gave me a
thing called baydar, made of vegetable roots, which he
mixed with aniseed and sugar, and shrred m water
I drank 1t off and vomited what I had eaten, together
with a large quantity of bile God preserved me
from death but I was 111 for two months.
The sultan of MalH lS Mansa Sulayman, manse
meanmg [rn Mantle] sultan, and Sulayman bemg his
proper name. 21 He 1s a miserly kmg, not a man
from whom one might hope for a rich present It
happened that I spent these two months without
seemg him, on account of my illness. Later on he
held a banquet m commemoration of our master [the
late sultan of Morocco] Abu'l-Hasan, to which the
commanders, docl:ors, qadi and preacher were mv1ted,
and I went along with them Readmg-desks were
brought m and the Koran was read through, then they
prayed for ~ur master Abu'l-Hasan and also for Mansi
Sulayman. When the ceremony was over I went
324
forward and saluted Mansa Sulayman. The qad,
the preacher, and Ibn al-Faq{h told him who I was,
and he answered them m their tongue. They said
to me "The sultan says to you ' Give thanks to God,' ,,
so I said "Praise be to God and thanks under all
..n ,,
")-<)
circumMances. -
When I withdrew the [sultan's] hospitality gift was
sent to me. It was taken firsr to the qadi's house, and
the qad{ sent 1t on with his men to lbn al-Faqih's
house. Ibn al-Faqih came hurrying out of his house
bare-footed, and entered my room saymg " Stand up,
here comes the sultan's sruff and gift to you." So11 I
stood up thmkmg [smce he had called 1t "stuff ]
that 1t consisted of robes of honour and money, and
lo I 1t was three cakes of bread, and a piece of beef
fned m native 011, and a calabash of sour curds When
I saw this I burst out laughmg, and thought 1t a most
amazmg thmg that they could be so foolish and make
so much of such a paltry matter.
For two months after this hospitality gift was sent
to me I received nothmg further from the sultan,
and then followed the month of Ramadan Mean-
while I used to go frequently to the palace where I
would salute him and sit alongside the qad{ and
the preacher. I had a conversat10n with Dugha
the mterpreter, and he said " Speak m his presence,
and I shall express on your behalf what 1s necessary."
When the sultan held an audience early m Ramadan,
I rose and stood before him and said to him. " I have
travelled through the countries of the world and have
met their kmgs. Here have I been four months m
your country, yet you have neither shown me hospi-
tality, nor given me anythmg. What am I to say
of you before [other] rulers ?11 The sultan replied
" I have not seen you, and have not been told about
you." The qadi and Ibn al-Faqih rose and replied
to him, saymg " He has already saluted you, and you
32 5
SELECTIONS FROM THE
have sent him food." Thereupon he gave orders to
set apart a house for my lodging and to pay me a
daily sum for my expenses. Later on, on the night
of the 27th Ramadan, he distributed a sum of money
which they call the Zakdh [ almsJ between the qadi,
the preachers, and the doB:ors. 23 He gave me a
portion along with them of thirty-three and a third
mtthqdls, and on my departure from MalH he bestowed
on me a gift of a hundred gold mtthqdls
On certain days the sultan holds audiences m the
palace yard, where there 1s a platform under a tree,
with three sl:eps; this they call the pempt. 24 It 1s
carpeted with silk and has cushions placed on 1t.
[Over 1t] is raised the umbrella, which 1s a sort of
pavilion made of silk, surmounted by a bird m gold,
about the size of a falcon. The sultan comes out of
a door m a corner of the palace, carrymg a bow m
his hand and a qmver on his back On his head he
has a golden skull-cap, bound with a gold band which
has narrow ends shaped like knives, more than a
span m length His usual dress is a velvety red
tunic, made of the European fabrics called mutanfas
The sultan 1s preceded by his musicians, who carry
gold and silver gwmbris [two-sl:rmged gmtars], and
behmd him come three hundred armed slaves. He
walks m a leisurely fashion, affecbng a very slow move-
ment, and even stops from time to time. On reachmg
the pempt he stops and looks round the assembly, then
ascends 1t m the sedate manner of a preacher ascending
a mosque-pulpit. As he takes his seat the drums,
trumpets, and bugles are sounded Three slaves go
out at a run to summon the sovereign's deputy and
the military commanders, who enter and sit down
Two saddled and bridled horses are brought, along with
two goats, which they hold to serve as a protecbon
agamsl: the evil eye. Dughi stands at the gate and the
rest of the people remam m the street, under the trees
326
The negroes are of all people the moft subm1ss1ve
to their kmg and the most abJeet m their behaviour
before him. They swear by his name, saying lvlansd
Sultiymdn kl 25 If he summons any of them while
he 1s holding an audience 1n his pav1hon, the person
summoned takes off his clothes and puts on worn
garments, removes his turban and dons a dirty skull-
cap, and enters with his garments and trousers raised
knee-high He goes forward m an attitude of humility
and deJechon, and knocks the ground hard with his
elbows, then stands with bowed head and bent back
hsl:enmg to what he says. If anyone addresses the
kmg and receives a reply from him, he uncovers his
back and throws dusl: over his head and back, for all
the world like a bather splashing himself with water.
I used to wonder how it was they did not blind them-
selves. If the sultan delivers any remarks durmg his
audience, those present take off their turbans and put
them down, and hsl:en 1n silence to what he says.
Sometimes one of them stands up before him and recalls
his deeds m the sultan's service, saying "I did so-and-
so on such a day " or " I killed so-and-so on such a
day" Those who have knowledge of this confirm
his words, which they do by plucking the cord of the
bow and releasing it [ with a twang], Just as an archer
does when shooting an arrow. If the sultan says
" Truly spoken ,, or thanks him, he removes his
clothes and " dusts " That is their idea of good
manners
lbn Juzayy adds "I have been told that when the
pilgrim Musa al-WanJarad [the Mandingo] came to
our master Abu'l-Hasan as envoy from Mansa Sulay-
man, one of his suite earned with him a basketful of
dust when he entered the noble audience-hall and
the envoy 'dusted' whenever our master sp~ke a
gracious word to him, Just as he would do m his own
country."
SELECTIONS FROM THE
I was at Ma1Ii during the two feshva1s of the sacri-
fice and the fast-breakmg. On these days the sultan
takes his seat on the pempt after the m1dafternoon
prayer. The armour-bearers bring m magnificent
arms-quivers of gold and silver, swords ornamented
with gold and w1th golden scabbards, gold and s1Jver
lances, and crystal maces. At h1s head stand four
amfrs dnvmg off the hes, having m their hands silver
ornaments resembling saddle-stirrups. The com-
manders, qadf, and preacher s1t m their usual places
The interpreter Dugha comes with his four wives and
his slave-girls, who are about a hundred rn number
They are wearing beautiful robes, and on their heads
they have gold and silver fillets, with gold and silver
balls attached. A chair 1s placed for Dugha to sit
on. He plays on an mfuument made of reeds, with
some small calabashes at its lower end, and chants a
poem m praise of the sultan, recalling his battles and
deeds of valour. The women and girls smg along
w1th him and play with bows. Accompanying them
are about th1rty youths, wearing red woollen tunics
and white skull-caps, each of them has his drum slung
from his shoulder and beats it. Afterwards come his
boy pupils who play and turn wheels m the air, like
the natives of Smd. They show a marvellous mmble-
ness and agility in these exercises and play most
cleverly With swords Dugha also makes a fine play
With the sword. Thereupon the sultan orders a g1ft
to be presented to Dugha and he 1s given a purse
contaimng two hundred mtthqals of gold dust, and 1s
mformed of the contents of the purse before all the
people. The commanders nse and twang their bows
in thanks to the sultan. The next day each one of
them gives Dugha a gift, every man according to his
rank. Every Friday after the 'asr prayer, Dugha
carries out a similar ceremony to this that we have
described.
On feast-days, after Dugha has finished his display,
the poets come 1n Each of them is 1nside a figure
resembl1ng a thrush, made of feathers, and provided
with a wooden head with a red beak, to look hke a
thrush's head. They sl:and In front of the sultan in
this ridiculous make-up and recite their poems. I
was told that their poetry 1s a k1nd of sermon1z1ng
m which they say to the sultan " This pempt which
you occupy was that whereon sat this kmg and that
kmg, and such and such were this one's noble achons
and such and such the other's So do you too do good
deeds whose memory will outlive you." After that,
the chief of the poets mounts the steps of the pempt
and lays his head on the sultan's lap, then climbs to
the top of the pempt and lays his head firsl: on the
sultan's right shoulder and then on his left, speaking
all the while m their tongue, and finally he comes
down again. I was told that this prachce 1s a very
old custom amongst them, prmr to the mtroduchon
of Islam, and that they have kept 1t up.20
The negroes disliked Mansi Sulayman because of
his avarice His predecessor was Mansi Magha, and
before him reigned Mansi Musa, a generous and
Virtuous prmce, who loved the whites and made gifts
to them 27 It was he who gave Abu Ishaq as-Sah1H 23
four thousand mzthqdls m the course of a smgle day
I heard from a trustworthy source that he gave three
thousand mtthqdls on one day to Mudnk 1bn Faqqus,
by whose grandfather his own grandfather, Sa.rag
Jata, had been converted to Islam.
The negroes possess some admirable qualities.
They are seldom unjust, and have a greater abhorrence
of mJust1ce than any other people Their sultan
shows no mercy to anyone who 1s guilty of the least
acl: of 1t There 1s complete security m their country
Neither traveller nor mhab1tant m 1t has anythmg to
fear from robbers or men of v10lence. They do not
32 9
SELECTIONS FROM THE
confiscate the property of any white man who dies
m their country, even 1 1t be uncounted wealth. On
the contrary, they give 1t mto the charge of some
trustworthy person among the whites, until the rightful
heir takes possession of 1t. They are careful to observe
the hours of prayer, and assiduous ,n attendmg them
in congregations, and m bnng1ng up their children
to them. On Fridays, 1 a man does not go early
to the mosque, he cannot find a corner to pray m, on
account of the crowd. It 1s a custom of theirs to
send each man his boy [to the mosqueJ with his
prayer-mat, the boy spreads 1t out for his master m
a place befittmg him [and remains on 1t] until he comes
to the mosque. Their prayer-mats are made of the
leaves of a tree resembling' a date-palm, but without
frmt.
Another of their good qualities is their habit of
wearmg clean white garments on Fridays. Even 1f
a man has nothmg but an old worn shtrt, he washes
1t and cleans 1t, and wears 1t to the Friday service
Yet another 1s their zeal for learning the Koran by
heart. They put their children m chams 1f they show
any backwardness m memorizing it, and they are not
set free until they have 1t by heart I visited the qadf
m his house on the day of the festival His children
were chamed up, so I said to him "Will you not let
them loose ~,, He replied " I shall not do so until
they learn the Koran by heart " Among their bad
qualities are the followmg. The women servants,
slave-girls, and young girls go about m front of every-
one naked, without a stitch of clothing on them.
Women go into the sultan's presence naked and without
covermgs, and his daughters also go about naked
Then there is their custom of putting dust and ashes
on their heads, as a mark of respect, and the grotesque
ceremonies we have described when the poets recite
their verses Another reprehensible pratbce among
33
many of them is the eating of carrion, dogs, and
asses
The date of my arrival at Mill{ was 14th Jumada I ,
[seven hundred and] fifty-three [28th June I 352] and
of my departure from it 22nd Muharram of the year
fifty-four [27th February I 35 3]. I was accompanied
by a merchant called Abu Bakr 1bn Ya'qub vVe took
the Mirna road. I had a camel which I was ndmg,
because horses are expensive, and cost a hundred
mttliqdls each We came to a wide channel which
flows out of the Nile and can only be crossed m boats
The place is infested with mosqmtoes, and no one can
pass that way except by night vV e reached the
channel three or four hours after nightfall on a moon-
ht night. On reaching it I saw sixteen beasts with
enormous bodies, and marvelled at them, taking them
to be elephants, of which there are many m that
country. Afterwards I saw that they had gone into
the nver, so I said to Abu Bakr "\.Vhat kmd of
animals are these~,, He replied "They are hippo-
potami which have come out to pasture ashore." They
are bulkier than horses, have manes and tails, and
their heads are like horses' heads, but their feet like
elephants' feet I saw these hippopotami agam when
we sailed down the Nile from Tumbuktu to Gawgaw.
They were swimming m the water, and hftmg their
heads and blowing. The men m the boat were afraid
of them and kept close to the bank m case the hippo-
potami should sink them
They have a cunning method of catching these
hippopotami They use spears with a hole bored
m them, through which strong cords are passed. The
spear 1s thrown at one of the animals, and 1f 1t fu1kes
its leg or neck 1t goes right through 1t. Then they
pull on the rope until the beast 1s brought to the bank
kill 1t and eat its flesh Along the bank there ar~
quant1t1es of hippopotamus bones
33 1
SELECTIONS FROM THE
We halted near th1s channel at a large v11lage,
which had as governor a negro, a pilgrim, and man
of fine character, named Farba Magha He was
one of the negroes who made the pilgrimage m the
company of Sultan Mansa Musa. Farba Magha
told me that when Mansa Musa came to th1s channel
he had with him a qadi, a white man. Th1s qadi'
attempted to make away with four thousand mithqdls
and the sultan, on learning of it, was enraged at h1m
and exiled hrm to the country of the heathen cannibals
He lived among them for four years, at the end of
which the sultan sent h1m back to his own country
The reason why the heathens did not eat him was
that he was white, for they say that the white is m-
digeshble because he 1s not "npe,'1 whereas the black
man IS "ripe" m their opimon.
Sultan Mansa Sulayman was visited by a party of
these negro cannibals, mcludmg one of their amirs.
They have a custom of wearmg m their ears large
pendants, each pendant havmg an opening of half
a span They wrap themselves m stlk 'mantles, and
m the1r country there 1s a gold mme The sultan
received them with honour, and gave them as his
hospitality-gift a servant, a negress. They killed and
ate her, and havmg smeared their faces and hands
with her blood came to the sultan to thank him I
was informed that this 1s their regular custom whenever
they visit his court Someone told me about them
that they say that the choicest parts of women's flesh
are the palm of the hand and the breast.
We contmued our Journey from this vi1Iage which
IS by the channel, and came to the town of Quri
Mansa 29 At this pomt the camel which I was ndmg
died. Its keeper mformed me of 1ts death, but when
I went out to see 1t, I found that the blacks had already
eaten 1t, accordmg to their usual custom of eatmg
carrion. I sent two lads whom I had h1red for my
33 2
service to buy me a camel at Zaghari, and waited at
Quri Mansi for six days till they returned with it.
I travelled next to the town of M{ma and halted
by some wells m its outskirts. 30 Thence we went
on to Tumbuktu, which stands four miles from the
river. Most of its inhabitants are of the Massufa
tribe, wearers of the face-veil. Its governor is called
Farha Musa. I was present with him one day when
he had Just appointed one of the Massufa to be amfr
of a secbon He assigned to him a robe, a turban,
and trousers, all of them of dyed cloth, and bade him
sit upon a shield, and the chiefs of his tnbe raised him
on their heads In this town is the grave of the
mentonous poet Abu Ishaq as-Sahili, of Gharnata
[Granada], who 1s known m his own land as at-Tu-
wayJm [" Little Saucepan ,,] 31
From Tumbuktu I sailed down the Nile on a small
boat, hollowed out of a smgle piece of wood. We
used to go ashore every night at the villages and buy
whatever we needed m the way of meat and butter
m exchange for salt, spices, and glass beads. I then
came to a place the name of which I have forgotten,
where there was an excellent governor, a pilgrim,
called Farha Sulayman. He is famous for his courage
and strength, and none ventures to pluck his bow.
I have not seen anyone among the blacks taller or
bulkier than him. At this town I was in need of some
millet, so I v1S1ted him (it was on the Prophet's birth-
day) and saluted him. He took me by the hand, and
led me mto his audience hall We were served with
a drmk of theirs called daqnu, which is water con-
ta1mng some pounded millet mixed with a little honey
or milk They drink this rn place of water, because
if they drink plain water it upsets them. If they have
no millet they mix the water with honey or milk
Afterwards a green melon was brought m and we ate
some of 1t
333
SELECTIONS FROM THE
A young boy, not yet full-grown, came m, and Farb:i
Sulayman, calling lum, said to me "Here is your
hospitality-gift; keep an eye on him in case he escapes"
So I took the boy and prepared to withdraw, but he
sa1d " Wait till the food comes." A slave-girl of his
joined us, she was an Arab girl, of Damascus, and she
spoke to me rn Arabic. While this was gomg on
we heard cnes rn his house, so he sent the girl to find
out what had happened She returned to him and
told him that a daughter of his had Just: died He
said " I do not hke crying, come, we shall walk to
the nver," meaning the Nile, on wh1ch he has some
houses A horse was brought, and he told me to
nde, but I said " I shall not nde if you are walk.mg,"
so we walked together. We came to h1s houses by
the Nile, where food was served, and after we had
eaten I took leave of him and withdrew I met no
one among the blacks more generous or upright than
him. The boy whom he gave me is still with me
I went on from there to Gawgaw [Gago], which 1s
a large city on the Nile, and one of the finest towns
in the Negrolands 32 It 1s also one of their biggest
and besl:-prov1s10ned towns, with nee 1n plenty, milk,
and fish, and there is a species of cucumber there called
'tndn{ which has no equal The buymg and sellmg
of its inhabitants is done with cowry-shells, and the
same 1s the case at MalH.33 I stayed there about
a month, and then set out m the d1retbon of Tagadda
by land with a large caravan of merchants from
Ghadamas Their gmde and leader was the pilgnm
Wuchfn, which means "wolf" 1n the language of the
blacks. I had a ndmg-camel and a she-camel to
carry my provisions, but when we had travelled the
first stage, the she-camel could go no farther So the
pilgrim Wuchfn took what was on it and d1sl:nbuted
1t amongst his party, each of whom undertook to carry
a part of it. There was m the company a Maghrabm
334
belonging to Tadala, who refused to carry any of 1t
at all, as the rest had done My boy was thirsty one
day, and I asked this man for water, but he would
not give it
We now entered the terntory of the Barda.ma, who
are a tube of Berbers No caravan can travel [through
their country] without a guarantee of their protecbon,
.1.nd for this purpose .1 woman's guarantee is of more
value than a man's. Their women are the most
perfect m beauty and the most shapely rn figure of
all women, of a pure white colour and very stout,
nowhere in the world have I seen any who equal them
m stoutness H I fell 111 in this country on account
of the extreme heat, and a surplus of bile We pushed
on rapidly with our Journey until we reached Tagadda.
The houses at Tagadda are built of red stone, and its
water runs by the copper mmes, so that both its colour
and taste are affected There are no gram crops there
except a little wheat, which 1s consumed by merchants
and strangers. The inhabitants of Tagadda. have no
occupation except trade They travel to Egypt every
year, and import quantities of all the fine fabrics to
be had there and of other Egyptian wares. They live
m luxury and ease, and v1e with one another rn regard
to the number of their slaves and serving-women
The people of MalH and Iwalatan do the same They
never sell the educated female slaves, or but rarely
and at a high pnce 35
When I arrived at Tagadda I wished to buy an
educated female slave, but could not find one After
a while the qadi sent me one who belonged to a friend
of his, and I bought her for twenty-five mtthqdls
Later on her master repented [ of havmg sold herJ
and wished to have the sale rescmded, so I said to
him " If you can show me where to find another I
shall cancel it for you" He suggesl:ed a serv~nt
belongmg to 'AH Aghyul, who was that very Maghrabm
335
SELECTIONS FROM THE
from Tadala who had refused to carry any of my
effects when my camel broke down, and to give my
boy water when he was thirsty. So I bought her
from him (she was better than the former one) and
cancelled the sale with the first man. Afterwards this
Maghrabm too repented of having sold the servant
and wished to have the sale cancelled. He was very
insistent about 1t but I refused, simply to pay h1m
back for his vile conduct. He was like to go mad
or d1e of grief, but afterwards I cancelled his bargam
for him.
The copper mme is 1n the outskirts of Tagadda.
They dig the ore out of the ground, bnng 1t to the
town, and cast 1t m their houses This work 1s done
by their male and female slaves. When they obtam
the red copper, they make 1t mto bars a span and a
half m length, some thrn and others thick The tb1ck
bars are sold at the rate of four hundred for a mtthq4l
of gold, and the thm at the rate of six or seven hundred
to the mtthqal. They serve also as their medmm of
exchange, with the thm bars they buy meat and fire-
wood, with the thick, slaves, male and female, millet,
butter, and wheat. The copper 1s exported from
Tagadda to the town of Kubar, m the regions of the
heathens, to Zaghay,36 and to the country of Barnu,
which 1s forty days' Journey from Tagadda. The
people of Barno are Muslims, and have a kmg called
Idris, who never shows himself to his people nor talks
to them, except from behind a curtam 37 From this
country come excellent slave-girls, eunuchs, and fabrics
dyed with saffron . The copper from Tagadda 1s
carried also to JawJawa, the country of the Muwar-
tabun, and elsewhere.38
Durmg my stay at Tagadda. I wished to meet the
sultan, who 1s a Berber called Izar, and was then at
a place a day's journey from the town .. So I hired
a guide, and set out thither He was mformed of
336
my commg and came to see me, riding J. horse without
a saddle, as is their custom. In place of a saddle he
had a gorgeous saddle-cloth, and he was wearing a
cloak, trousers, and turban, all m blue. With him
were his sister,s sons, who arc the heirs to his kingdom.
We rose at his approach, and shook his hand, then he
asked about me and my arrival, and was told my
story He had me lodged m one of the tents of the
Yanatibun, who are like the wusftin m our country, 30
and he sent me a sheep roasted on a spit and a wooden
bowl of cows' milk Near us was the tent of his
mother and his sister, they came to visit us and saluted
us, and his mother used to send us milk after the time
of evening-prayer, which is their milking time They
drmk it at that time and agam m early morning, but
of cereal foods they neither eat nor know. I stayed
with them six days, and every day received from the
sultan two roasted rams, one m the morning and one
m the evening He also presented me with a she-
camel and with ten mtthqdls of gold, and I took leave
of him and returned to Tagadda.
After my return to Tagadda, a messenger arrived
with a command from our master bidding me proceed
to his sublime capital I kissed the order and con-
formed to its mstrucbons. I bought two ndmg-
camels for thirty-seven and a third mtthqdls and pre-
pared for the Journey to Tawat I took with me
provisions for seventy days, for there 1s no corn to
be had between Tagadda and Tawat, only fl.eshmeat,
milk, and butter, which are paid for with pieces of
cloth
I left Tagadda on Thursday I Ith Sha'ban of the
year [seven hundred and] fifty-four [11th September
I 35 3] with a large caravan which included six hundred
women slaves. We came to Kah1r, where there are
abundant pasturages, and thence entered an unm-
hab1ted and waterless desert, extending for three days,
337 z
SELECTIONS FROM THE
march. 40 We Journeyed next for fifteen days throuO'h
a desert wh1ch, though unmhab1ted, contams watir-
pomts, and reached the place at wh1ch the Ghat road,
leadmg to Egypt, and the Tawat road divide. Here
there are subterranean water-beds which flow over
1ron, 1f a piece of white cloth 1s washed 1n this water
1t turns black
Ten days after leavmg this pomt we came to the
country of Haggar, who are a tnbe of Berbers, they
wear face veils and are a rascally lot 11 \Ve en-
countered one of their chiefs, who held up the taravan
until they paid him an mdemrnty of pieces of cloth
and other goods. Our arrival 1n their country fdl
in the month of Ramadan, during which the} m.1kc
no ra1dmg exped1t10ns and do not molest caravans
Even their robbers, 1f they find goods on the ro.1d
dunng Ramadan, do not touch them Th1!> 1s the
custom of all the Berbers along this route. \V (..
continued to travel through the country of H.1gg.1r
for a month, It has few plants, 1s very sron y, and the
road through 1t Is bad On the fesr1v.1l of the Fas1-
breaking we reached the country of some Berber!>,
who wear the face-veils, like these others
We came next to Bud.i, one of the pnnc1pal village!>
of Tawat The soil there 1s all sand and !>.tltm.tr!>h,
there are quantities of dates, but th<-y are not good,
though the local mhab1tants prefer th<..m to thL <l ltt.!,
1
of S1jdmasa There arc no crops thut., nor bu_cr(.,r,
nor olive 011 all these things have to be 1mportt.d trom
the l\tiaghnb The food of Its inhabitants con!>1;c-. of
dates and Jocusrs, for there are quant1tt<..::, of locw,t
m their country, they $lore them JU$t ltke <l.ttv, and
use them as food. They go out to catch tht. locu::,b
before sunnse, for at that hour tht.j c.1nnor fl; on
account of the cold 4-
1,Ne sl:ayed at Budi for some days, ind dtt.n Jornc..J
a caravan and in the middlt: of Dhu'l-q 1\h re.. 11.hd
338
TRAVELS OF IllN llATTOTA
the city of S1Jilm.isa I sLt out thence on the second
of Dhu'l-h11J,l [~9th Deceml)Lr], .lt a time of 111tense
cold, .rnd snow fell very he.wily on the way I have
m my life !>een bad roads .rnd quant1t1es of snow, at
Bukh.ir.i .rnd S.rnurq rnJ, 111 Khur.1s.i.n, and the l.rnds
of the Turks, but 1H.. ve1 h.we I :,een 111) tl11ng \\orse
than the ro.1d of U mm J un.l) b.1 On tht. t. ve of the
Fc:;11v1l we re:1.cht..d D.1r .it-Tama' I ~a) t..d then.
durmg the J,1) of the fc..1~ .rnd then Wt..nt on. So
I arnvc..d it the ropl city of E1\ [Ft..t.], tht. c.1p1tal
of our 111:1.sler the Commander of tht. F.uthful (ma)
God strengthen hun), wl1Lre I k1!>sc..d h1:, beneficent
h:1.nd and w:is pnv1lcgcd to bd10ld his gracious coun-
tenance. [I-kre] I :,c..ttkd do\\ n undt.r the w111g of
his bounty after long JOllrllC) 111g lVfay God rv1os1:
High recompense him for tht. abundant favours and
ample benefits which he h1s bc..!>1ov,ed on me; Ill1) He
prolong his d:1.ys and spare l11m to tht. iVIusluns for
many years to come
Herc ends the trwcl-narr1t1vt: t:nt1tkd .rl Dona/1011
to those 111/r:rc:flc:d 111 the Cur:ostttc:s of the: Ct11c:s and
1.1I,1rvc:ls of tl1c. !V,,)'S Its d1cl: lt1on was fimshcd on
3rd Dhu'l-h1JJl 756 [9th Dt.ct:mbt:r 1355] Praise
be to God, .md pcact: to His creatures whom He hath
chosen
Ibn Juzayy adds "Here ends the narrative which
I have abridged from the d1cl:.1.t1on of the Shaykh Abu
'Abdallah l\tluhammad 1611 Battuta (may God ennoble
him) It 1s plam to any man of mtell1gence that
this shaykh 1s the traveller of the age and 1f one were
to say " the traveller par ewel!e11ce of this our Muslim
community,, he would be guilty of no exaggeration
339
NOTES
CHAPT,ER I
1 Correspond.mg to 21 solar years and four months
2 Abu Taslufln I (reigned I 3 I 8-1348) of the Ziyamd dynasty
of Tlemsen, whose authority reached at tlus time as far as Algiers
(then a place of mmor importance) About this same year (1325)
Abu Tash.ifln opened a campaign agamSt the sultan of Tums
3
There were various methods m use for th.is purpose One was
to recite a special htany and await the issue ma dream, another, which
was frequently pracbsed by Ibn Battuta, was to take an augury from
the Koran after some prehmmary recitations
-l The fertile plam lying belund Algiers
G Then the frontier difui8: of the sultanate of Ifrfq{ya (Turus),
but on several occasions Bougie formed a separate prmcipahty, e1ther
alone or with ConStantme
0
Turus1a and the eastern part of Algeria had been overrun m the
m1ddle of the eleventh century by nomad Arabs, despatched by the
Faturud Cahph of Egypt to punish a rebel governor, and only behind
the walls of the cities were hfe and property secure
7
Under the Hafsid dynasty, wluch ruled Turus1a from 1228 unul
the advent of the "Barbary Corrairs" 10 the s1.Xteenth century,
Tums was the cluef cultural centre of Northwest Africa, and many
Moorish families from Spam settled there Abu Yahya II reigned
from 13 r 8 to r 346, when Tums was temporarily captured by the
Manrud sultan of Morocco
8
The festival following the annual fasl: observed dunng the month
of Ramadan, known as 'Id al-Fttr or Bayram m the Easl: In 725 1t
fell on 9th September A special plot of ground, called the Musa/Id,
usually outside the walls, was set aside for the ceremomal prayers
on fesbval days It 1s customary to wear new garments on this
occasion
u The om1ss1on of the party to vmt Qayrawan, the site of the most
famous san&uary m Northwest Africa, 1s explamed by the disturbed
state of the mtenor
10
The names of the four gates of Alexandria (Wesl: Gate, Sea Gate,
Rosetta Gate, and Green Gate) were until recently preserved m the
fueet names of the city It IS perhaps worth notmg m this connecbon
that Ale'ralldna 1s apparently the only city m the Easl: wluch has paid
Ibn Battuta the tribute of nammg a fueet after lum
34 1
NOTES
11
Ibn Battuta's e.fumate of three nules between the Pharos and
the city 1s an eV1dent exaggerat:Ion, though Idrlsf also says that the
llghthouse was three nules dlsl:ant by land and one mtle by sea A
later writer, al-Qalqashandl, puts the dlsl:ance at a nule The same
author sl:ates that the Pharos was part:Ially defuoyed by the Greeks m
the early part of the eighth century, and fell gradually mto decay
" unttl m the Illlddle of the fourteenth century 1t had become a total
rum, only a fragment of 1t remauung "
12
" Pompey's Pillar " IS a red grarute column from Assuan, which
IS supposed to have been ereB:ed m late Roman nmes on the site of the
ancrent temple of Serap1s
13
I.e. brother by spmtual affihat:Ion, as the term usually s1gru.fies
m the language of the samts and myfucs
a The phrase seems to be used here as a pohte manner of depre-
cal:Ing the preference shown by the shaylh to the traveller
u; A specres of mullet from which the Itahan caVIa.re (Jottargo)
1s obtamed.
16
Ibn Battuta IS m error here , the crty was defuoyed by the
Egypttan government after the Crusade of St LoUIS m r249-50,
to prevent its recapture by the Franks
17
The rhetoncal descnpl:Ion m the text JS an example (very much
abridged) of the fl.ond style of compOSitlon m balanced and rhymed
sentences commonly found m such passages, and pOSSibly mtended to
convey the emotions of adllllration and aftoU1Shment It IS not all
mere verbta.ge, however , the last sentence IS confirmed by the Itahan
Frescobaldi, who VIS1ted Carro m I 3 84, and remarks that a hundred
thousand persons slept at rught outside the aty because of the shortage
of houses This too after the ravages of the two " Black Deaths "
of 1348 and 1381.
18 Ar-Rawda, now the island of Roda The amerutles of Roda are
frequently mentioned m contemporary Arabic literature, and also
Ill the Aral11a11 Ntghts.
19 Only the facade, entrance hall (with mmaret), and some frag-
ments of this magru.ficent hospital, butlt by Sultan Qa.la'un (1279-90),

now remam The sultan's mausoleum, now partially resl:ored, JS one
of the mosl: exqulSlte monuments of medieval Saraceruc archite&lre
and ornament Part of the fueet full retams the name of" Between
the two Castles," a name denved m all probability from the Fatllllld
palaces erecl:ed m thIS quarter m the tenth and eleventh centuries
20 The mam Qarafa hes to the south of modern Carro, between
Old Carro and the Muqattam hills In extent and m appearance It

resembles a town, owmg to the pecuhar Egyptian custom here referred
to of bmldmg chambers and houses over the tombs
21 On the rught followmg the r4th Sha'ban (the eighth month of
the Mushm year) specral services are held mall mosques The tradl-
oonal reason IS that " on thIS rught the Lote-tree of Paradise, on the
34 2
NOTES
leaves of wluch are mscnbed the names of all livmg persons, 1s shaken,
and the leaf of any mortal who is predestined to die durmg the ensuing
year falls withermg to the ground" (Michell, Egyptian Calendar for
the Koptrc rear 1617 (1900-1901 AD)
22 Al-Husayn, the younger son of the Caliph 'Ali, and grandson of
the Prophet, was killed with most of his fanuly at Karbali m 'Iraq,
while leading a revolt agamft the Umayyad Caliph of Damascus m 681
The death of the Prophet's grandson m this fashion caused a revulsion
against the reigning house, and to this day the episode is commemorated
by both Sunrus and Shi'1tes on the 10th Muharram, the anruversary
of the event The mosque of Sayy1d11a Husen (to be carefully dis-
tmgmshed from the more famous college mosque of Sultan Hasan, not
yet built) is an imposmg edifice near the eastern boundary of the e1ty
13
So called m contrast to the " Sudanese Nile," t e the Niger
2
{ Tlus divmon is found m other Arabic geographers The third
branch is most probably either the Ibyar (Thermut:Iac) branch, wluch
flows mto Lake Burlus and out through the Sebennytlc mouth, or the
Taruutic branch flowing mto Lake Menzaleh
25
Tlus was the name given to the ancient Egyptian temples, round
which, as round the Pyralillds, many fantastic legends grew up Their
confuu&on was popularly a.scnbed to Hermes " the Ane1ent," who
was identified with Enoch The temple of lkhmim seems to have
been the one antiquity which attracted Ibn Battuta's notice m Egypt,
except the Pyralillds
-"6 Itis noteworthy that our traveller says not a word of the temples
of Luxor, although the tomb of Abu'l-HaJJilJ (a famous samt who
died here m I 244) 1s actually m the preC1Ucts of the temple of Ammon
27
In the twelfth, thirteenth, and fourteenth centunes Aydh.ab was
the terminal port of the Yemen and Indian trade, and a place of great
llllportance It was defuoyed m 1422 by the sultan of Egypt, and its
place taken by the nval port of Sawakm Its rums have been identified
" Q_
on a uat and waterless mound" on the Red Sea coast, 12 rrules to
the north of Halayb, at 22 20 N, 36 32 E (G W Murray, m
Geographical Journal 68 (1926 2), 235-40, where the longitude is
giv;f as 36 9' 32", wluch does not agree with the map)
- The Hudrub1s were Arabs, not BeJaS
29
A hostelry (funduq, khan, or karawdnsardy) 1s usually a square
walled butldmg enclosmg a courtyard , beasts and baggage are lodged
m the lower storey and travellers m chambers m the upper sl:orey If
there IS no upper sl:orey all must lodge together
3o N
ow a station on the Sma.i Military railway, about thirty mtles
ea.st31 by north of Qantara
TheJtnn (genu) are a sub-celesbal category of creatures akm to
men, but created of fire, who are credited with superhuman powers.
Accordmg to the Koran they were subJecl:ed to Solomon, and" made
for lum whatsoever he pleased, of lofty halls, and images, and dishes
343
NOTES
hle tanks, and great coolmg-vessels '' In a later passage Ibn Battuta
refers to the legend that 1t was by the rud of thepnn that Solomon built
Palmyra (cf r Kmgs u r8)
JJ The mosque at Hebron 1s a Crusaders' church built on much
older (probably pre-Roman) foundations, some of whose stones fully
bear out Ibn Battuta's statement The cave 1s now blocked up, but
cenotaphs of the Patmrchs and therr WlVes shll fund m small chapels
on either side of the nave The (putative) tomb of Joseph 15 m a
separate exterior chapel. The tomb of Lot lies several mtles to the easl:
I
J The reference 1s to the IDJraculous " rught-Journey " or " ascen~
swn " (1111'rdj) m whlch Muhammad was given a VJs10n of heaven
Though livmg at the time m Mecca, he was, accordmg to the tradition,
firs!: transported to " the farthest mosque " (al-mt1J_Jrd al-a1uf) m
Jerusalem, and thence ascended on the celesbal steed Buraq
34
The present walls were butlt by the Ottoman sultan Sulayman
"the Ivfogmticent" (1520-r 566)
:ii; The" royal" cubit measured about 26 mches
36
Tlus railing was ereted by the Franks dunng the Crusaders'
occupation of Jerusalem.
37
The mosque of the Ascension, on the brow of the Mount of
Oltves, on the farther side of the Valley of Jehoshaphat, not the Valley
of Hmnom (Gehenna)
38
Tlus seems to be a confus1on between Jerusalem and Bethlehem,
where the crypt of the Church of the NattVIty contalns the shrme of
the Manger as well as the shrine of the Birthplace
:so A3alun, now Qal'at ar-Rabad, was a fortress m a conspicuous
pos1tJon on the eastern ridge of the Ghawr (the Jordan valley), 12 miles
NW. of Jerash
0
~ lbn Battuta bas obVJously confused the detuls of three separate
Journeys m Syria-see below pp 12.3 and .305
n A village close to Zahla, formerly reputed to possess the tomb
of Noah U nttl the nuddle of the fourteenth century the floor of the
B1qa' (Coele-Syria) was covered by a lake or marsh at this pomt, and
there was a tradition that the Ark came to rest on the spur of AnJar
on the o_pposJte side to and S E of Zahla
~ 2 Tripoli was recovered by Sultan Qala'un in 1289
43 A sinular story 1s told of Muhammad the Daftardar durmg the
Turl..~Egypttan campaign m Kordofan m 1821 A complamt was

preferred by a woman agamsl: a soldier, and the commander had the
man cut open alive " on the woman agreemg to suffer the same fate r.f
the IDJ!l was not found 10 the man's stomach " (Journal of the .dfncan
Soc, No 98, Jan 1926, p 170). ,
44 The" Ten" were the mos!: pronunent members of Muhammad 8
entourage, and are greatly revered by the orthodox, the Slu'ites on :e

other hand, regard them much as Judas Iscanot 1s re~ded m e
Chrtfuan tradition Theu espeCJal hatred 1s reserved for Omar, who
344
NOTES
\\.is rcsronqhle for the c!c[l10n ul tl.e 11ra C.1hph and \' J, him.elf the
~conJ, JnJ \\hom tl.c) bhn e Jc1..cr<lmrlJ for the nclu,1on of 'All
from the rnc1..c 1c.n ,o \', h1ch he\' l'.i Jc l!;llJtcJ ( L the; n er, m defiance
of all h1$\oriol n1,u11 en:) b) tl.e Pro 1hct
'y ~\er JI Pl. c, l1f :he l'Tll'lral arc Jc\otc<l to an chborJte Jc..,cnp-
llon of \lcrro, cor l,!llll chicH, m 1uotJl,t1nl of ornlte pr, e fJ, .ii;c;
from lbn Jul:.nr, Jnd ,Ji..,rt cxtr.1,L fwm culollcl of the city b/ famoul
poets
,a 'l 17ln IS 11u.1tcJ .:Smile,\\ of \ 1c,ro
1
' In 1 :68 fee h,, letter II> llc,cmunJ Jc mbm 6 tl,e ...tel of the
Cit), m \ u1c's J!wr,J I',/., (.irJ cd, cJ Co,J1cr), I : i note
,, 1 t.e fortrc , of I' 1rr c, C 1l'cJ bJ tie Cru ,Jcr:; G.1 1:on or G1shn,
\\h1ch dcfcndcJ tie cntr: :hr( urh tic lh, 1m 1'1 , bet,,cen \!cun-
drctt1 rnJ A1111e..ch It ,\w.\ rcCJj :urcJ h, 'J!JJm In 11 ss
ig Better lno\,ll ll1 Lur,,re ; ti C .rJJwl/1,J 1 l.eJ .. ere e-.1.:inc.,
of an offh<10t ol tl e l Jt1111.d br11 ch ui the Sh1'1tCJ, founJeJ m t~e
cbenth ccntun
yo lbr.ih1m 1bn \Jl,Jm, , fa,nou:. J cct1c .inJ .11nt, Orlf.,111.111; from
B.1l~h. \\ho IS .1:J to b\e J.cJ <lunni; .t r.l\J] cxrcJ1t1on .1, 1111,t the
Gr1..cls .1bout 7'.:o Lu:\: n l:u .. n of 111) hfc, cxccrt thJt !:>1 r1.1 .. .1.1
the pmc1pl centre of Ill) .cl1t .ou, 1-1.it.c , but I c after, irJs bcc.1mc
the central tigure in .cHr1l ...1 c1c:. ol !':ull 'eucnJ, c.idcntlj demeJ
from the legend, of tl e BuJJhJ
ti &in m-u\, ;irJ cuum of fre l'rurl,et \lul11111nud, and the
centr;il figure 111 th:: Jcctrme) of ti e ::-h1'1tcl
.J HLre folio,,:. J lcnt;th/ extract lrom lbn JubJ}r in rlnmmg pro,c
In order th.It the rcJder 111.1, 1prrec1.1te the rhctoncJ! ,hie cmplo)cd
m such ps~ges, the firft le\\ 'cntencd ma} be transl.ttcJ literally .:b
follo\\ s "As for DJl!lJ!CU,, she u the I' JrJJ1:c of the Orient, and
d.mnmg-pucc of her rc,p}cnJcnt hght, the !cal of the. Lmds of IsLim
\\ho~e hosf.'tJht) \\C h.1\e cnJo,cJ, .1nJ 1.m<le of the. CHILS \\l11ch \\C
ru\c um-.1kJ She IS adorned \\Ith llo,,crs of m-.ct-scc.ntLJ punu,
and apfLars a1111d~l broc.1JcJ gJrduu, she has occup1c<l an exalted
poSltlOn In till puce of beaUt)', and IS lll05l richly bcdLd-.J In )1<.. r bricul
chm" SL\eral pges of other quotations follow bdorc thc Ld1tor
ruumcs thL thread of lbn lhuut;i's narram c
~J Tlus 1s a popuhr trJdltlon, mt<..n<l<..<l to account for the fact that
the Church of ~t John ,., as not com LrtLJ mto a mo,quc. unul S<..\ cnty
}cars aftLr the.. Arab conqudl: of Damascus The. church \\as not
dcmohshLd, but mLrcly $lrippL<l of Its Chn$l.1an furn1shmgs and refitted
JS a mosque Ibn Battuu goes on to g1v<.. a dec,ukd dc..senpuon of the
mosque as 1t c.. \1$l.Ld m !us d.1; Tlus edifice \\as ddtroy<..d by fire
during Tamcrlanc..'s occupation of Damascus m 1+00, and has smcc
been reconfuucled more than once Th<. pn.sLnt bu1ldmg dates only
from I 893, and pres..rvcs httlc trace of !ls former magnificence, c:i..ccpt
the three tme mmar<..ts
3+5
NOTES
M The founder of the U mayyad dynasty of Caliphs, which reigned
at Damascus from 660 to 749, and was supplanted by the 'Abbastd
dynasl:y, who made their capital at Baghdad The bazaar of the
coppersmiths full occupies the same pos1aon, but 1s by no means II one
of the .finesl: m Damascus " at the present day
65
This was origmally a mecharucal water-clock, which was full
m workmg order when Ibn Jubayr VJSJted Damascus m r r 84 (see
le Strange, Pa/efl111t under the Mos/ems, p 250), but had fallen
out of repair m the mterval Though the galleries have long smce
disappeared, the spouang fountam (a relic of Byzantlne days) sail
eXJSts
66
As being contrary to the orthodox do&me that no acbVJty or
quality m God 1s to be compared With the correspondmg human
a&VJty or quality The Hanbahte school, the most conservatlve of
the four orthodox schools (see Introd, p 23), disallowed the ratlonaliz-
mg mterpretaaons of the other schools
67 The wearmg of stlk 1s contrary to fu1cl: Muhammadan law
58
On Ibn Taymiya, who died m r328, see Introd, p 38 His
name 1s now held m great respect as the forerunner of the W ahhab!
and other modem reform movements m Islam
69 A Muhammadan fast 1s lim1ted to the hours of daylight, but
1s absolute during that ttme, even water-drmkmg bemg prohibited

60
It 1s probably this characl:ensbc that has earned for Damascus
the IllCkname Of a/-ma/Oak/J, II the .kitchen "
61
LeaVJng his wife, or one of hts WJves, behmd him, as he relates
below (p 304) This WJfe bore rum a son, but the boy died m child-
hood
62 'Aq,abat as-Sawan, now 'Aqabat al-HiJaz!ya, a sta.tlon on the
HtJaz railway On Prof A101s Mustl's map of the Northern HtJaZ
(r927) it JS situated at 29 50 N, 35 48 E.
Dhat al-HaJJ, a station at 29 05 N, 36 08 E
Baldah 1s 1dena.fied by Musil (Northern He;az, p 329) With the
valley of al-Bazwa, about .fifty kilometres south of Db.at al-HaJJ and
near the &non of al-Hazm at 28 41 N, 36 14 E
63 "The halang-place of al-Ukhaydir (al-Akhzar) hes m a deep
valley enclosed by hlgh slopes, m places covered with lava Ibn
Battuta nghtly compares this to a valley of hell" (Mustl, 10 329)
Al-Akhzar, the name of which (" The little green place ") is obVJously
irorucal, is situated at 28 08 N, 37 or E
64 The srory of the impious tnbe of Thamud, who were anrululated
for their disobedience, 1S frequently related m tl!e Koran It arose
m all probability from the eXlSl:ence of these tombs, which belonged to
an early South-Arabian tradmg commuruty settled on the trade-route
between the Yemen and the marts of Syna, and afterwards confused
Wlth the ane1ent N orth-Arablan tnbe of Thamud
05 From al-HiJr (Mada'm Sah.h) to al-'Ela 1s a distance of about
346
NOTES
r8 Engbsh mtles Al-HiJr 1s situated at 26 49 N, 37 56 E, al-'Ela at
26 36 N, 38 04 E
6d The battle at Badr m 633 AD, m which the pagan Meccans were
defeated by a much smaller force of Musbms, was the first important
success of the new commuruty, and one of the turrung-pomts of
Muhammad's career
u7 Accordmg to the Arabic geographer Hamdan! (pp I 84-5) the
station of Juhfa was situated 103 (Arabic) miles from Rawha', which
was the second sratlon from Madina and 47 miles disrant from the
aty An Arabic mtle measured 1921 metres, as compared as 1609 m
an English mtle
Khulays, descnbed by the Arabic geographer Yaqut as a fortified
cncemte between Mecca and Madina, seems to have taL.en the place
of the older fution of Qudayd, 24 miles from J uhfa and 2 3 from the
next station of 'Usfan
'Usfan and Marr (or Marr az-Zuhran) full e::oft, the latter 23 m.tles
from 'Usfan and 1 3 from Mecca
68
The descnptlons of Mecca and the Ptlgnmage which follow m the
ongmal are abndged. from the worL. of Ibn Jubayr, and have been very
fully annotated by Burton m his Personal Narrative of a Pilgrimage to
al-Madmah and Meccah So many accounts of the Ptlgnmage are now
avatlable m English m addit::Ion to this, that 1t 1s unnecessary to repeat
all these details here
CHAPTER II
1
The p1lgnm road from Baghdad and NaJaf to Madina 1s known
as the Darb Zubayda, after the wife of Caliph Harun ar-Rashid, who
built reservorrs all along the route and proV1ded endowments from
her property for therr upkeep The route, consequently, has scarcely
changed for twelve hundred years Accordmg to Hamdan!, the
stations from Madina to Fayd were Taraf (24 Arabic mtles), Batn
Nakhl (20 m ), 'Usayla (28 m ), Ma'din an-Naqira (26 m ), al-HaJir
(28 m ), Samira (23 m ), Tuz (25 m ), Fayd (24 m) total, 196
Arabic nules or 234 English mtles Ibn Battuta, eVIdently travellmg
by half-fu.ges, taJ...es six days to reach 'Usayla (I cannot find h!s Wadi'l-
'Anis), then taJ...es the alternative road through Naqira mslead of Ma'dm
an-Naqira, reJoms the main route at Qarura (between Ma'din an-
Naqira and al-HaJ1r, and 12 mtles from the latter), and thence follows
It w1thout vanatlon Al-MalJm.iqa-the perforated hill-is shown on
Mustl's I 1,000,000 map 27 Enghsh mtles SW ofFayd, at 26 50 N,
4 1 .36 E, and Fayd itself at 27 08 N, +r 53 E
- Y:iqut adds that a portion of the proV1s10ns and heavy baggage 1s
given m remuneration to the partJes m whose care they are left
347
NOTES
3
The various sl-ages on the Journey between Fayd and Kufa,
totalling 277 Arabic nules or 330 English nules need not be detatled
here " Devtl's Pass " 1s probably the pass ~arked a1h-8hhb on
Mustl's map, at 30 II N, 43 42 E Waq1sa 1s shown at 30 38 N,
4 3 5 I E , Lawza hes r 6 English nules N by E of Waqisa, al-Masa Jid
or al-MusayJid 56 m S by W of Na3af, Manarat al-Qurun appears
as Ummu Qurun, a sanctuary 30 m. S by W of NaJaf Qad1sfya 1s
fifteen mtles due south of NaJaf The battle to which Ibn Battuta
refers was fought m 637, five years after Muhammad's death, and
resulted m the complete rout of the Persian army and the occupation
of 'Iraq by the Arabs
' The son-m-law of the Prophet, and fourth Caliph, assassmated
in 66 r His tomb 1s held m peculiar reverence by the Shi'1tes, along
with that of h.Is son Husayn at Karbala (see Ch I, note 22) For the
meanmg of y1ay1arlya see note 29 below
6
The eve on the 27th RaJab 1s known as Lwylat al-Mt'rJ;, or
Ni~ht of the Prophet's AscenSJon See Ch I, note 30
Ahmad ar-Ri.fa'f, died rI82 and buned at Umm 'Ubayda, was
the nephew of Shaykh 'Abd al-Qadir al-Jilani, and founder of the
Rifa'fya order of darwfshes, a sub-group of the QadJrfya order, and one
of the principal orders m Egypt at the present day The name of
Ahmadi darwishes, which Ibn Battuta gives to the order, 1s now usually
given to the sub-group founded by Shaykh Ahmad al-Badawf, who was
a disople of the convent of U mm 'Ubayda and rued at Tan tam Egypt
m 1276
7 The apparent shrinkage of Basra was due not entirely to decay,
but to a gradual eastward shlftmg of the crty if note Io

8 The nuqra was an Egyptian stlver com worth about fivepence,
see Chap XII, note I 8

9 Ibn Battota's audience would all, of course, be familiar with the
fa8: that 1t was at Basra that the rules of Arabic grammar were sysl:ema-
tized m the second century after Muhammad, the "leader " referred
to below bemg S1bawayh, the author of the first large systemaoc
grammar of Arabic
10 Ubulla occupied the site of the present town of Basra, the medieval
city of Basra lymg on a canal to the west of the Shatt al-'Arab, and a
mtle or two ease of the modern town ofZubair
11 Now Bandar Mashur, on Khor Musa, an mlet east of the delta
1:i The petty Hazarasp1d dynasty, founded in the mountams of
Lunsran m the twelfth century, mamtamed itself throughout the
Mongol penod Their capital IdhaJ, on the Du3ayl river, is now
called Malamir The title AtJbeg (" regent ") was adopted by all
the mmor dynasbes which eslabltshed themselves after the break-up
of the Sal3uq empire in the twelfth century th
13 The beauties of Rukn Abad have been 1I1U11ortalized by e
famous poet Hafiz of Shiraz, a younger contemporary of our traveller
348
NOTES
u Better l.nown as UlJiiytu (reigned 1305-1316), the eighth and
penultimate of the line o( Mongol ill.bans of Per~1a (not to be confused
with hls contemporary UlJaytu, grandson of Qubilay Khan, Mongol
Emperor of Ch.ma, 1294-1307) As a ch.tld DIJaytu had been
baptized mto the Chnfuan Church
15 Qarabagh was m the mountamous disl:ncl: N of Tabnz, across
the Aras nver (see Cla'PIJO m this series, Map II and p 362) The
Mongol sultans mamtamed the nomadic habit of Illlgratmg to the
lughlands m the summer
18
Ibn Battuta appears to have confused h.ts firs!: visit to Shiraz with
lus second, on lus return Journey m r 347 As related a few lines
below, Shayl.h Abu Ishaq, of the house of fnJti, did not obtam
possession of Shiraz until after r 33 5, when h.ts relative and predecessor
Sharaf ad-Dm Shah Mahmud fn3u was put to death by the Mongols
In I 347 he was full at the height of lus power, and m I 3 56 or r 3 57
he was captured and put to death by the nval house of the
Muza!fands
17
The great palace of the pre-IslaDllc Sasarud kmgs of Persia at
Ctes1phon, the rums of which are full to be seen a few IIllles below
Baghdad
18
The author of the famous Ro1e Garden (Gulzildn) and other
poetical works, died m r 29 I
19
Zaydan 1s defined as a village between ArraJan (now Bihb1han)
and Dawraq (now Fallahlya), one day's march from the latter and
less than three days from ArraJan (Schwarz, Iran, IV, 384)
Huwayza 1s the modern Haw!za, seventy miles N of Muhammarah
Kufa (a few Dllles north of NaJaf) was, with Basra, one of the
garnson aties founded by the Arabs m 638, on therr conquest of 'Iraq
Dunng the short reign of 'Ali (see note 4) it was the seat of the
Cah;hate
2
For the explanation of this title and the following ceremony see
lntroducbon, p 38
21
22
See Chap I, note 2 2
Actually at this time (and until 1918) Baghdad was no more
than a provmaal town Its high title was derived from the presbge
it enjoyed as the seat of the Caliphate from 7 56 to 12 58, when 1t was
sac:aed and largely defuoyed by the Mongols
In the baths at Damascus the bather receives anything from six
to ten towels at successive sbtges
2i Th ,
26
e las!: of the lme of Mongol or Tatar Ilk.bans of Persia
Ch Dtlshad was the daughter of D1mashq KwaJah, the son of Ju ban
( uban) whom Abu Sa'Id had put to death
6
~ A mahalla was the mobile camp, cons1fung of the royal retinue
an 27 troops, which accomparued the sultan on his marches
Tabriz-the Tauns of Marco Polo and other wesl:ern wnters-
was the capital of the Mongols 1n PerSia At tlus period 1t had taken
349
NOTES
the place of Baghdad as the pnnapal commercial centre m Western
Asta, and \\as frequented by large numbers of European merchants
.:s Bet\\een 836 and 883 Samarra was the seat of the Caliphs, and
\\as adorned by them wnh many magruficent palaces and pubhc butld-
mgs, of wluch vefuges full remam The fort of Ma'shuq probably
occupied the site of the palace of the same name (al-ma'1hrq means
"~c Belo\ed ") ere8ed by the Caliph Mu'tanud (reigned 870-892)
The nord 1ay1arlya 1s defined vanously as "a pubhc place m
wluch the marJ...et is held " or "a square butldmg contammg chambers,
storerooms, and fulls for merchants " The name IS eV1dently denved
from the Latm or Greel, and was used orgmally only by the Arabs of
Syna and North Afnca, but Its ongm lS obscure Ofvanous theones
which have been advanced the mos!: probable lS that it means a market
butldmg, pnvtleged or authonzed by the ruler (ongmally m the:ic
countries, of course, the Gesar) m return for a certam fued payment,
but no correspond.mg term has been found m the Byzantme lusl:ones
It IS now apphed to the pnnCJpal market of a town, and I have heard
the term used m North Afnca (Tlemsen) for the mam shoppmg fueet
The provmon of gates for bazaars was, and .full Is, qmte common
(Dozy J t1 , le Strange, Landi of tk Eafltm Calrphatt, p 89)
30
SmJar JS eV1dently IDJsplaced It JS mos!: probable that 1t was
VJSJted on the way bad. from .Marldm to Mosul
31 Dara," the rampart of the Roman Empire," was built by Jusbruan
as the frontier fortress over agamsl: the Persian terntones

32 The fortress of Mandm was ass1gned m I I 08 by the SalJ04
ruler of Baghdad to Il-Ghaz.l "one of the mos!: redoubtable of Mushm

warnors agam.s!: the Crusaders" (Lane-Poole), whose descendants,
l...nown as the Ortuq1ds of Mand.In, retamed possesSion of the CJty and
its emirons unul after the death of Tamerlane Al-1\Iahk as-Sabh,
the twelfth of the hne, re.tgned from 1312 to 1363
33 The ntua.1 " hasterung to and fro " between the hillocks of
Safa and Marwa, said to be m commemoration of Hagar's search

for water for her son Ishmael, though usually performed on foot, 1s
frequently earned out by pilgnms on donleys or ~els ,It ~ been
left for the present ruler of NaJd, Sultan 'Abd a.1-Azfz Al-Saud, to
perform 1t m an automobile
CHAPTER IIP
l Ra's Dawa'll', wruch IS said to mean " The Cape of Whrrlwmds

(or Wlurlpools)," 1s not ment10ned many work which I hav~ consulted
It can hardly be other than the headland now called Ra s RawCJya
- 1 The passages m this chapter dcahng mth the East Co.ill of Africa
have been annotated by L M Devic, u
Payr du Zcrdp, Pans, 1 883
3S 0
NOTES
(21 N ), and 1t 1s quite possible that Dawa'1r 1s m facl: a wrong
transcnpuon of this name
~ Hali properly" Haly (with consonantal y) of the Son of Ya'qub,"
\\as a lar~e town on the highroad from San'a to Mecca some thirty
nules mland, and forty miles SE of Qunfuda, m a d1fu1cl: suffiCJently
fertile to produce three crops a year The port of Hali 1s a small
sheltered anchorage m the d1fu1cl: now called Asfr, at I 8 36 N, +1 19 E
At tlus nme Hali was subordmate to the sultan of Yemen (Hamdani
188, Redhouse, Hrflory of tl:t Rm,ltyy Dsnafly I, 307, III, 169,
Handbook of .rlrabta I 36, 1++)
3
A place named Sarp 1s mentioned as a halt on the San'a-Mecca
road, ten slanons before Haly (Hamdan{ 188), but Ibn Battuta's port
of call was SharJa, an anchorage m the neighbourhood of Luhayya
(to be d1fungu1shed from Sharp m Truc1al 'Oman) (Qalqashandf V,
r+, Redhouse op crt III, 148)
i Zab!d was the wmter residence of the sultan, Ta'1zz bemg the
summer capital Zab!d lay fifteen (Arabic) miles from the coill,
which 1s called m the Arabic authors GhaHfiqa, and Jts port was
al-Ah\\ab (not al-Abwab, as m the pnntcd te.'\t) (Qalqashandf V,
9-10, Redhouse III, 1+9)
6
The subut an-nakhl, literally "Palm Saturda}'s," \\ere a \\ell-
J..n.own feature of the soCJal life of Zab!d Accordmg to Redhouse " 1t
was a local Saturnalta, and perhaps ongmatcd m the pagan times
before the advent of Islam" (op crt III, 186, 197)
a Yemen, the Arabic name for Arabia Felu, cons1fu of a lugh
central table-land droppmg abruptly to the coillal plam on the south
and \\esl: The mountams mtercept the summer monsoon rams,
and the country, bemg m consequence predoill1Ilantly agncultural,
has always enJoyed a greater measure of culture than the resl: of the
perunsula San'a, the anCJent and present capital, hes m the mounta1Ds
Ill the mtenor, Ta'1zz hes closer to the edge of the lulls at a heJght of
4,000 feet The Rasuhd dynasty, of wluch 'All (reJgned 1321-63)
was the fifth sovewgn, made themselves 1Ddependent of Egypt ID
12 29, and continued to govern Yemen unnl the nnddle of the fifteenth
century
7
It was the pracbce of Muslim rulers to proV1de accommodation
for ambassadors and \'lSltors of quality and to supply them with pro-
vision or a datly sum of money ID lieu thereof Chardm, m lus Trarids
111 Ptma, m the seventeenth century, relates that the Shah had "above
three hundred houses m Ispahan which are properly his own

They are all large and fine, are almosl: always empty, and run to rum
for want of bemg l.ept up m suffiCJent repair These they give to
ambassadors and persons of conS1derat1on that come to Ispahan "
Alternatively accommodation nnght be proV1ded m some of the
nu~erous religious esl:abhshments See also C/aOIJO, p 122
It was cusl:omary m Islannc lands for the sovereJgn to pray m
35 1
NOTES
a part of the mosque railed off with a carved wooden screen called
the ma9sura ' or "enc losure "Tlus pracbce was adopted partly ' as a
measure agamsl: assassmat:Ion
9
From as-8awJh1I (" The coasl: lands "), the name given by the
Arabs to part of the coasl: of what 1s now Kenya and Tanganyib
Temtory, JS denved the name of the Swahili language Zan1 1s a word
of unknown ongm, employed m medieval times to denote the negroes
of Easl: Afnca, and .full preserved m the name of Zanzibar
10
Tlus appears to mean, not that the ISland JS two days' Journey
from the mamland (from wluch It JS separated only by a narrow furut),
but that the Sawalul country began two days' Journey to the south-
ward
11
See note I 5 to Chapter XIV
12
Insl:ead of mcluding them m the ordinary revenue and usmg them
for the general e.. penses of government, as was more often done
13
Dhofar IS backed by a lugh ndge wluch receives the summer
monsoon rams, and is covered m consequence with tropical vegetation
The outlying population IS not Arab, but of a Sudaruc type
u A small island m the Kuna-Muna group
15
According to Muhammadan law, no ammal 1s lawful for food
unless Jts throat has been cut before death
16
" MaSira Island, the Sarap1s of the unlnown author of the
Penplus, famous even m those days for Jts tortoises, and mhab1ted, then
as now, by ' settlements of Fish Eaters, a vtllamous lot, who use the
Ard.btan language and wear gmlles of palm-leaves' "(Sir A T Wilson,
Geog J, 69, 236-7, quoting from Schoff, Perrplus)
17
Sur and Qalhat owed their importance to their posttlon at the
southern end of 'Oman, JUst north of Ra's al-Hadd, the firs!: pomt m
Arabia reached by ships commg from India Qalhat 1s Marco Polo's
" Calatu a noble ctty The haven 1s very large and good,
and IS frequented by numerous ships with goods from India " It also
played an important part durmg the Portuguese penod
18 'Oman Proper lies mland, on the slopes of Jebel Akhdar
10 Accordmg to the 1oca11uslonans the succession of Azd1te imams
of 'Oman re1grung at Nazwa was broken between I I 54 and r.t- 0 6,

durmg wluch penod a nval tnbe, the Banu Nabhan, who,e seat was at
Makruyat m the Dhahtra, became overlords of the country From
Ibn Battuta's account, however, It 1s clear that the Azd1te 1mamatc
at Nazwa contmued to extsl:, or was restored before I 332 (G P
Badger, Imams and 8e1y1ds of Oman, 37, 41 , Wellited, TriWdJ 111
Arabia, I, 2I 5)
20 The island of Ormuz S E of Bandar Abbas The island wa,
captured by the Portugues; m 1512, and held by them until 16 2 ::,
when 1t was recovered by the Persians Wlth English rud ha
:u "They call these deadly pestiferous Storms Bad Sammoun, t ;
It nses only between the 1 5th
0
is to say, the Winds of Poison
35 2
NOTES
June and the 15th of August, which Is the t:J.me of the excess.ive Heats
near that Gulph That Wmd runs whistlmg through the Air, 1t
appears red and mflam'd, and kills and blafu the People, 1t fu1kes
m a manner, as 1f 1t fufled them, particularly m the Day time Its
surpnzmg Effe& 1s not the Death 1t self, which It causes, what's most
amazmg 1s, that the Bodies of those who die by 1t, are, as it were,
dissolved, but without losmg their Figure and Contour, msomuch that
one would only take them to be asleep , but 1f you take hold of any piece
of them, the Part remams m your Hand" (Chardm, Travds 111 Pema
(1927), 136)
~~ Tlus 1s tal..en by Schwarz (Iran im Mtttdalter, III, 13 3) to be
the same as Khawrnftan (otherwise called Sa.rvistan), about fifty miles
S E of Shiraz If so, the msernon of the town here is an error due to
Ibn Battuta's faulty recolle&on of his route on the return Journey from
India m I 347 (see note 3 to Chap XII), when he must have passed
through Khawrnftan on his way to Shiraz It 1s very unhl..ely, however,
that an Arab should reproduce Khawnstan as Kawrastan, unless the
name was pronounced so locally
23
Lar hes about 120 miles NW of Bandar Abbas
2
' The" hospitality gift" consisted of food or gifts m hmd supplied
to disbngu1shed v1s1tors (see note 7 above)
2li KhunJubal 1s probably a double name The second part 1s
mentioned by Yaqut as Fal, and descnbed as a large vtllage, vergmg
on a town, at the southern extremity of the proVJnce of Fars, near the
seacoasl: He adds that it lay on the route between Hormuz and
Huzu (a fort on the mainland opposite Kish island, now Qal'at al-
'Ubayd) The first part of the name appears on our maps as HunJ
or HunJu, 27 04 N, 54 02 E (Schwarz, Iran III, I 32, II, 80,
Z DJtf G, 68, 533)
0
~ lbn Battuta has fallen mto a considerable error here The
ancient port of Sira.f, once the entrepot of the Persian Gulf, was situated
near the present Tab.in Qays or K.fsh 1s an island some seventy miles
further south, which m the twelfth century supplanted Siraf, and was
itself supplanted by Hormuz about I 300, Hormuz m tum bemg
su~flanted by Bandar 'Abbas m the seventeenth century
The more encl: Chardin says " The divers that fish for pearls
arc sometimes near half a quarter of an hour under water "
s T
he underground waterbearmg beds of ea.stem Arabia discharge
mto the sea at Bahrayn During the Turl.ish occupation, the sailors
ued to dive mto the sea and brmg up fresh water ma leather sad. for
the use of the commander, and the Portuguese supphed themselves m
the SJme way by pumps There 1s a story that a camel once fell mto
a spnng at al-Hasa, and was never seen agam unul 1t came up m the
$e.1 near Bahra}'ll
")
- A full descnpnon of the oasIS of al-Hasa or Hapr (the former
me.uung Pebbles and the latter Stones), of which the chief town is now
3S3 AA
NOTES
called Hofuf, will be found m the Geog Journal, 63 (1924), pp 1 89-
207 It apF.ars from trus article that at Hasa there is full a "con-
s1d~rablc sprmUmg of Sru'ahs, mostly descendants ofBahanna (Bahrayn
Slu ahs), who settled m the oasis long ago "
J, 1-ormerly the crucf town of NaJd, the sand-buned remams of
\-.luch he 58 miles SE of the present capital Riyad at 24 07 N
47 2 5 E (sec Plulby, Heart of Ara61a, II, 3 r-+) ' '
CHAPTER IV 1
1
Br/ad ar-Rurt, literally "the land of the Greeks," though used
of the Bynntmc tcmtorics generally, was naturally applied more
specially to the frontier proVJnce of Anatol.ta After some temporary
conqudls m earlier centuries, it had been finally overrun by the Sal3uq
Tur~s bcmecn 1071 and 1081 Down to the end of the thirteenth
century, the whole perunsula, e:ccept those sechons which were held
by the Chr1fuans (Byzantmm, Treb1zond, and Armerua) or the ruler
of 'Iraq, owed allegiance to the SalJuq sultan of Korua, but from a
little before I 300 it was parcelled out between a score of local chiefs,
whose temtoncs were gradually absorbed mto the Ottoman Empire
2
The port of 'Alaya was confuucled by one of the greatest of the
Sal3uq sultans of Rum, 'Ala ad-Din Kay-Qubad I (1219-37), and was
renamed after lum To the Wesl:ern merchants rt was known as
Candelor (from its Byzantme name kalon oros) Egypt, bemg notori-
ously deficient m wood, has always needed to import large guantltles
of 1t for the bu1ldmg of fleets, etc
3 Adahya, l.nown to the \Vesl:ern merchants as Satalia, was the
mosl: important trad.ing sl:aaon on the south coasl: of Anatol.ta, the

Egyptian and Cypnote trade bemg the most achve The lemon 1s
full called .ddaltya m Egypt
t The closmg of the City gates and exclusion of Chnsbans at rught
and durmg the hours of the Friday semce was observed unal quite
recently ma number of places on the Med.iterranean seaboard, such as-
Sfax, probably as a measure of precauaon agamft surprise attacks
r; The ruifl:ory of the orgaruzauons called by the name of F11tuwa lS
full obscure They appear .first m the twelfth century m several
divergent forms, which can probably all be traced to the Sofls, or
darwish orders The word futuwa, "manliness," had long been
applied amongsl: the latter ma moral sense, defined as" to abfuun from
1 The se&on relating to Anatol.ta has been translated and annotated
by Defremery m No11odlu .Annalu des /Toyages, Dec 1850-Aprtl
185 r, and that relatmg to the Crunea and Qipchaq by the same m
Joumal Aua11;11t, July-Sept 1850
3S4
NOTES
m3ury, to give without sbnt, and to maJ...c no complamt," and the
patched rob1., the mark of a Sufi, was called by them l:bJs al-futuwa,
" the garment of manlmc.,s " It \\JS applied m a more aggressive
sense among the guilds of" \Vamors for the Faith," especially as the
latter degenerated mto robber bands, and It 1s m reference to the
ceremony of adnuS:i1on mto one such band at Baghdad m the nuddle
of the t\\ dfth century that trous1.rs arc Jir:,'1 mentioned as the symbolic
l:bJ1 al-futuwa (lbn al-.\th1r XI, +r) A f1.w ;cars later Ibn Jubayr
found at Damascus an orgamzauon called the Nub.iya, wluch was
engaged m combaung th1. fanaucal Sh1'1te sc& m Syna The
membu, of tlus \\arnor guild, \\ho,e ruk 1t was that no member
should call for :iss1funce m any misfortune that might befall !um,
eleaed suitable pcr~ons and smularly mvc:.'kd them \\ 1th trous1.rs on
their adm1ss1on
In I I 82 the Caliph an-N.is1r, havmg been mvd1cd wJth the l:bds
or trousers by a Sufi shayJ...h, conc1.1\1.d th1. idea of orgamzmg the
F.1tu.ca on the Imes of an order of Cluvalry (probably on the Fran!Jsh
model), confutut1.d lumsclf s0\ae1gn of the order, and bcslo\\ed the
l16J1 as its ms1gma on the rullng princes and oth1.r personages of !us
time The ceremony of msbUauon included the solemn putting-on
of the trousers and drmJ...mg from the "cup of manhood" (ka's al-
futtrua), \\ruch cont:un1.d not wme, but salt and water The order
tool. over from lls Sufi progen1tors a fifuuous gcn1.alogy bad. to the
C:iliph 'Ali (see Chap II, note 4), and continued to exist for some
time after the TC1gn of Nim m a langu1shmg ~'late. The Brotherhood
wluch Ibn Battuta found m Koma, and which \\JS disbngutshed from
the other gmlds m Anatolla by its special ms1gma of the trousers and
tts clatm to spmtual descent from 'Ali, \\as probably a relic of the order
founded by the romanoc Ciliph The remammg Anatolian orgaruza-
tions seem to have been local trade-guilds with a very fuong mfus1on
of Sufism, oddly combmed With a polJUcal tendency towards local
self-government and the l.eepmg m checJ... of the tyranny of the Turlish
sultans (See generally Thorning, Tur!wclu B:bl:otluk, Band XVI
(Berlm, r9r3), and Wacyf Boutros Gha.l.i, La Trad:llon Cluoaleresque
du/lra6e1 (Pans, 1919), pp r-33)
Thts passage seems to mean that by ta1.mg boats across Egerdir-
Gul and Kmlt-Gul (the lal..e ofBeysha,hr, wluch Ibn Battuta apparently
regarded as Jomed to Egcrdir-Gul) AJ...shahr and Beyshahr could be
reached m two days Dcfremery thmJ...s that this Aqshahr JS not
Al!hahr, but the town of Oushar or Alshar, near Egerdrr-Gul
' Gul-H1sir, according to Defremery, was a small fortress, after-
wards defuoyed, on the edge of the lal..e of Buldur , le Strange on the
0
~er hand places Jt on Sugud-Gul, west of Isbmoz
9
See note 5 above
This JS the v.ell-J...nown l'vievleYI fraterruty, or "dancmg dar-
wishes," which was msbtuted by Jalal ad-D!n m memory of lus masler
355
NOTES
Shams{ Tabrfz (the sweetmeat-seller of lbn Battuta's story) Jalal
ad-Dfn, who died at Korua m 1273, 1s generally held to be the oreatesl:
of the Persian mysbcal poets (See R A Nicholson, Stletled Poems
from tlzt DloJnz 8/ramsl Tabriz, lntroducl:!on)
10
Bug{ Is the ane1ent Pyrg1on, m the valley of the Caysrer There
1s an obvious gap m 1bn Battuta's narratlve at th.is pomt, smce he can
hardly have crossed the entlre breadth of Anatoba without touch.ma
some town or another, even If he went by the dire& road from SI~
through the central plateau It Is more bl..ely that he retraced lus
route to some extent towards Korua and thence through Eaerdrr
11
This refers to the capture of Smyrna m I 344 (manyyears ajttr
lbn Battuta's VlSlt) by a crusadmg force, Wlth the assillance of the
Knights of St John
u FuJa (Fuggia, the ane1ent Phoc:ea), which had been ceded by
the Pahelogi to the Genoese family of Zaccana, was an rmportant
trading &non, the Zaccana family having sole control of the alum-
mmes there and of the ma.she trade of Cruos ( which they had seized m
1304) It is not quite certarn whether the FuJa of this penod was
Old Phoc:ea (Es!u FoJa) or New Phocea (Yeru FoJa)
13
lbn Battuta's account IS one of the few firsthand accounts we
possess of the early days of the Ottoman Emprre Brusa IS said to
have surrendered to the TurJ...s m r326, the year of 'Othman's death,
and NI<:a!a fell m r 329, but hosbbtles agamst both Citles had begun
very much earber (see H A Gibbons, Foundattons of tlzt Ottoman
Empire, 46-8) W1th regard to the name 'Othman Chul, given to
'Othman, Prof Kramers has suggested that It was denved not drrealy
from the Arabic name 'Othman, but from the fortress of OsmanJik
on the Kml Armal (Z D.lvf G, 8r, LXII f)
u I prefer this, the reading of the best MS to the readmg " We
treated her kmdly," whlch IS adopted m the text
16 Burlu Is Ident:J.fied by Defremery with Boyalu, SW of Kastamuru
16 More commonly called Solghat, now Stary-K.nm, m the mtenor
of the Crrmea At thls tune lt was the residence of the Mongol governor
of the Cnmea, and later on the seat of an mdependent Khanate
17 The Khanate of Q1pchaq or the Golden Horde was the wesl:em-
most of the four great Mongol Khanates established m the thirteenth

century, and was Itself at this tune ruVIded mto the Blue Horde and
the Whlte Horde Though the latter held a ntular suzeramty, the
Blue Horde, whose appanage was on the Don and Volga, was a&ially
the more powerful, and therr terntones extended from Kiev ~d the
Caucasus to the Aral Sea and Kluva Sultan Muhammad uzbeg,
who reigned from I 3 r 2 to I 3+0, was one of the greatest of the Khans
of the Blue Horde ds the
18 Caffa, now Feodosia, was rebutlt by the Genoese towar he
end of the thirteenth century as therr pnne1pal tradmg sta t:10n on t
northern coast of the Blad. Sea.
356
NOTES
10 Muslims hold the nngmg of bells m the grcatcsl: abhorrence, and
attribute to the Prophet the saying " The angels will not enter any
house wherem bells arc rung,,
0
~ I tal..e tlus to be the csluary of the Mmss nvcr, well: ofTaganrog
21 The legal alms or " tithe " amounts to two and a half per cent
2
~ The rums of l\laJar (now Burgomad,d1ary) lie on the Kuma
nver SW of Afua!....han, r ro J...1lometrcs NE of Georg1ews!...., at

++ 50 N, ++ 27 E
~J Bcshtaw, one of the footlulls of the Caucasus, 1s a wooded lull
nsmg to a height of nearly r, ~oo metres, JU~'l: north of PyaugorsL,
about 35 !....1lonll.trt.s S \V of GLorglL\\SI....
:l There appcars to be no rLcord m the Ilynntme l11sl:or1ans of
the marriage of a daughter of An<lromcus III (who was tlurty-five years
of age m r 33 I) to a Khan of th<.. Golden Horde, but there arc at least
two mfunccs before tlm of b~'l.ard daughters of the Emperor bemg
given m marriage to Tartar chiefs
5
~ Bulghir, the rums of \\h1ch he on the left banJ... of the Volga
JUft below the JUncuon of the Kama, was the cap1t1I of the media.val
l.mgdom of Great Bulgaria, anne\ed by thL Mongols m the thirteenth
century It possc~sed great commerc1al importance as the disl:nbuung
centre for Russian and Siberian produ& It 1s difficult to undersb:md,
however, how Ibn Battuta could have made the Journey from MiJar
to Bulghar, some 800 miles, m ten da}S I
0
~ Tlus term apparently dLSJgnatcs Northern Siberia, sec Yule's
Marco Polo3, II, 484-6
27
It has been pointed out ma note to Yule's Marco Polo (II, 488)
that tlus U!....aJ... 1s not the \\cll-1....nown town of that name frequently
mentioned by the med1;cval writers, which was situated on the Volga
about s1:i:: nulcs below Saratov, but a small place menuoned m the
portolans as Locaclu or Locaq, on the Sea of Azof The silver mmes
of wluch Ibn Battuta spcals arc " certam mmcs of argenttforous lead-ore
near the river Mmss (a nvcr falling mto the Sea of Azof, about
2 2 mtles weft of Taganrog) It was these mmcs which furrushed
the ancient Russian ru6/es or mgots "
!!8 S d-'
ur ,1q or Solda1a, now Suda!..., m the Crimea, was until the nsc
of CafFa (see note 18) the pnnc1pal trading port on the northern coasl:
of the Eu::nne It 1s not clear why tlie party should have made a detour
~ough the Crimea, possibly Ibn Battuta has confused the details of
e29route, and visited Surdaq durmg his flay at Stary Knm
There seems to be no clue to the position of tlus sanctuary, but
from Ibn Battuta's descnpt1on 1t was somewhere between the Dmepr
and the Crimea It has been suggested that from tlus Baba Saltuq
~transported to Baba Dagh m Moldavia m 1389) arose the cult of
Aan Salak assoCJated with the Beltash1 order (see F W Hasluck,
n3~ Brzt Sch Athens XIX, 203-6, XX, 107, note 1)
Ibn Battuta's route through Thrace to Confu.nt1nople 1s totally
357
NOTES
unrecogruzable from h.ts account of 1t Here, as agam m Cluna, the
unfa.1111.banty of the names has led to mange perversions, especiall1
when reproduced from memory after a lapse of twenty years The
frontier city of the Empire m 1331-2 (the date wh.tch musl: be assigned
to th.ts Journey m spite of Ibn Battuta's chronology) was D1ampohs,
otherwise Kavub (now Jamboh), for wh.tch " Mahtuli II may perhaps
pass The '' canal " 1s evidently a tidal nver or estuary, and one
naturally th.tnls of the Danube, though th.ts mvolves a serious mts-
placmg But Fanika 1s probably Agathonike, where the mam road
from Diampohs crossed the Tun1a (Tontzos) nver, at or near KIZII
Agach The "Fortress of Maslama ibn 'Abd al-Mahl." belongs to
the legendary accretions to the h.tsl:ory of the Arab expeditlon against
Constantinople m 7 I 6-7, of wluch Maslama was the commader-m-ch.ief
31
K tfdll 1s a transhteratlon of the Greel. ktphak, head, cluef
32
The Emperor at this time was Androrucus III, grandson of
Androrucus II The title Takfur (from Armeruan tagaoar=" l.mg '')
was applied by the Muhammadan writers to the Emperor and the
other Chnsban lungs m Asia Mmor, probably as a rhyming Jmgle
with the title given to the Emperor of Ch.Ina, Fagl:ftir (for Bagh-pur,
the Persian translat:Ion of the Chmese t:Itle" Son of Heaven") There
1s some difficulty m explammg how Ibn Battuta came to call the retired
Emperor Androrucus II (who had abdicated m r328, become a monk,
and died on February 13, 1332) by the name of George
33 The ceremorual here described 1s m accordance with the pra&ce
of the Byzantme court, afterwards adopted by the Ottoman sultans

when they captured Consl:antmople
31 The Muslims believe that Jesus was not crucdied but earned up
to Heaven, and that a figure resembling lum was crucified m lus stead,
35 The number of monks and churches m Consbmtmople seems to
have fuuck most travellers at th.ts time Bertrandon de la Bloqu1erc,

who spent the wmter of 1432-3 there, esbmates the number of
churches at 3,000, and implies that the greater number of the inhabt
tants hved m monaftenes See also C/aor;o, p 88
:w Barbara 1s a transcnpl:Ion of hyptrpyrrm, the debased dinar of the
Pa1eologues ,
37 There were two Citles of" Sarray m the land ofTartaryc,' whtdi
\\ere successively the capital of the Khans of the Golden Horde'

Old Sarai, situated near the modern village of Sebtrcnnoe, 7+ mt!cf
0
above Astrakhan, and New Sarai, wh.Jch embraced the modern t~w~
Tsarev 225 I1ll.les above Astrakhan Sultan Muhammad Vt i:fi
movea'the capital from Old Sarai to New Sarai about th.ts period, a~ft
probably a few years before Ibn Battuta's descr1pt10n agrcc 3 J
With New Sar.u, the rums of wh.Jch extend over a d1funcc of m~ri:
than forty llllles, and cover an area of over twenty sq uan. mile.; I (vce
F Balodis, m Latrn;as Untr1tmtatt1 Rakflr (Afla UnrotrJtlaltJ am
tnm, XIII (Riga, 1926), pp 3-82)
358
NOTES
CHAPTER V 1
1 The rums of Saracht.iJ... or Sara1J1J.. he a short disl:ancc from the
shore of the Caspian Sea, near Gurycv, at the mouth of the Ural nver
!l The name Khwanzm was applied throughout the middle ages
to the pnne1pal town for the umc bcmg of Khorezlllla, the dtsmct now
l.."Uown as Kluva At tlus ume 1t was the town of Kun ya U rgench
3 The glass vessels and wooden spoons were for the use of those
whose religious suscepttb1hues debarred them from usmg the gold

utensils, wluch are reprobated by sl:ncl: Muhammadans
t Almahq or Almaligh rose suddenly mto prommence at the begm-
rung of the thirteenth century, and was rumed m the clVll wars between
the successors of Tarmashidn m the Jaghatay Khanate (see note 7),
whose capital it was It was situated m the valley of the Ill nver, some
disl:ance NW of the modern town of Kulp
5
Kat or Kath, a former capital of Khorezm1a, stood near the modern
town of ShayJ..h Abbas Wah
6
The force of this mdicl:ment hes m the facl: that BuJ...hara was
formerly one of the prme1pal centres of theological sl:udy m the Islamic
world
7
" TurJ...1stan and the lands beyond the 0:1.us," whose sultan has
been included m a previous passage among the seven great sovereigns
of the world, wns one of the four Mongol Khanates mto wluch the
empire of Chmg1z-Khan and lus successors was d1V1ded Its rulers
were 1-.nown as the Jaghatay-Khans, after Jaghatay, the son of Chmgiz-
Khan to whom tlus country was assigned as an appanage Ibn Battuta
relates a cunous sl:ory of the fate of Tarrnashirln Hts conversion to
Islam roused the ill-will of the nobles, who charged lum with v10latmg
the precepts of Clungiz-Khan, and m r 33 5 or r 336 rose m revolt
Tarmashlrln fled across the Oxus, but was captured and reported to
have been put to death Later on a man arrived m Ind.ta, claurung
to be Tarmashlrin, but though lus cla.un Is said to have been substan-
tiated, the sultan, for pohttcal reasons, reJecl:ed 1t and had lum expelled
He eventually found a refuge at Shiraz, where he was sbll hvmg m
honourable confinement when Ibn Battuta reVISited the town m
13+7
8
Now l..nown as ShJh-Zmda The mausoleum IS full one of the
pnne1pal edtfices of Srunarqand
9
From 1245 Herat was ruled by the local dynasty of the Karts,
wluch under tlus J...mg Husayn (commonly called Mu'Izz ad-Din,
reigned 1331-70) becrune an unportant power m Khurasan As he
was sbll a cluld at the tlme of Ibn Battuta's v1s1t the followmg anecdote
1
Tlus chapter has been annotated by Defremery m Nour;d/es
.dnna/u des JToyagu, January-July r84-8
359
NOTES
CHAP1 r.R Vl 1
1 1he poful ~en1ce (bur/J) 111 i\luh,unmaJm LOUlllflw, JS 111
ch.<-s1cal tunes, \\as purclr an ot11c11l org.11117at10n for the np1J tr.ms-
m1<-s1on ot slate busm~s, and could not, of cour<e, be ut1hzcd b) prnate
c1t1zens
l The customs of the S.inma so dearly 111d1catc their H111du ongm
that their 1dent1ficat1on \\Ith the Arab S.im1n mu$l be regarded as a
fi&t10us genealog) dat111g from their coll\ er.ion to Liam It aprcars
that thcsL S.im1ra arc the R.1Jput Samm.is, \,ho about this ume n11Jc
themschcs m151.crs of Lo\,er Smd Janfol therefore Liy prob.ibl;
halfoa\ bet\\eLn Rohn and Seh\\an
1
1 he summer heats m Smd (111 111 the months of June 1nd Jul/,
and as lbn Ilattuta rc.iched the Indus m September there \\oulJ app. 1r
to be a gap of some nme months m thL narr Jtl\ e It 1s more probable,
ho\\e\er, that !us chronolog1 is ~light!} out, or dse that the prt)
cxpcncnced an unusual spell of heat
' Ibn Battuta cxplams bclo\\ that the utlc .fi,g ,,as g1\en m lnd1.1
to gO\ emors of pro, mccs and other high 0Hic1als
:. The rums of Lahar! (" Larr) bun<ler ") hL on the northLrn side
of the R.iho channd, some 28 m1ks St of K1racl11, by ,,h1ch It ,,u
supplanted about I 800 O\\ 111g to thL shoal111g of IL> entrancL 1 he
expression "on the coast" must not be tal..Ln too literally, as the shore
Is unmhab11.1bk to a depth of ~L\eral miles O\\mg to thL constant
inundations dunng thL S \V monsoons
0
The rums dcscnbed by lbn l3attul.1 ha,e not lx..cn 1dLnt1fiul \\Ith
cerl.lmty Hatg suggdted that they might be tho51.. of Mora-man,
eight mtlcs N E of Lfharf, and 1t has also been suggcskd (first by
Cunningham) that they \\ere thL rums of Daybul or DLbal, a fom1Lr
port on the Indus +5 mtlcs ESE of Karachi, ,,h1ch ,,as captured and
burned by the Arabs on their mv.is1on of Smd m 710-7 I 5
7
Bal..har (Ilul..l..ur m the Indran Gau/far) 1s a foruficd island m
the Indus, lymg bcn,cen the towns of Sul..l..ur and Rohn
8
Tlus fueam was the old channel of the Ra,... 1, ,,h1ch at this time
JOmed the uruted Jhelum and Clunab below Multan
9
AJudahan should have come before Abohar
1
Kusdy can hardly represent Knshna, as the French translat:10n
suggests, more probably 1t stands for gusa'I, "rehg1ous teacher" (" also
name of deity "-Platt's Hmdustam D1cbonary)
1
Ibn Battuta's travels m Smd are discussed by M R Hrug m
Jo.Jma/ of the Royal .Auatrc Socuty, 1887, pp 393-+12 The entire
travels m India and Cluna (covermg Chapters VI to XI) have been
translated and annotated by H von M.!11., Du Rem der .Aralnrs Jim
Batu/a durch Indren und Chzna, Hamburg, 191 r
361
NOTES
, ;\h\\TJ 1s ro~s1bly Umn, ne1r nl11nJ \hrh 1~ not lno\,n, but
ev1dlnth la} l l{l of G\\ ahM
' There 1sa \lllage of \hpur 1 fc,, milt, Sr. of G\,ahor Janbil
1s probably chc <amc nrnK 1s them er Ch.1mb.1l, and the. mJidcl sulr1n
the Raph of Dholpur
" PamJn IS alnw-:1 certamh ~amar 1n G\\Jhor sl.-ite (lbn Ilattuta
hLre as else\, here rendering a <lnnge name b/ one more famrlnr,
namcl) Paman m \fgl11n1shn), ,,l11ch \a<, according to the /r:J1,n
Guu/1,:,:r," once a lloun<hmg place on 1 route bcl\\ccn Delhi and the
Deccan,, ~lodLrn mar, shO\.' 1ho 1 rlace c.1llcd Par,,al, :5 miles
NE ofNamar 1nd 30 S of G\, 1hor
\s regard:, Kaprd, there can bL no guo11on th1t this 1s KhaJunho,
17 nulcs r: of Chlntarpur and 15 I'- \\' ol Pann 1, m spltL of the detour
which 1t In\ oh LS on the J0Urn1.., 'l he dL$Cnpt1on g1\ en by lbn
Battuta 1s m compkrc.. agrc.cment \ 1th the Jc:cription of the <IIL
contained m Sir \le.\ 1ndLr Cunningham's Report., (.-lr,:!:.:-J/cgtcul
S.1~r, of ]"Jr .. , Rctorn/cr 180:-,, \ol II, pp .p:-4-39)
0
If, JS 1s probable., this b Dh;ir m \Iah\a, It should come after
U JJam
~ The fortrc,s of DLogm 1s d1..,cnb1..d a., folio,., m the hJ1 .. -:
Gauu,:,:r "The form.~ 1s built uron a conical rod, sc.1rpld from
a height of 1 50 fLet from the bast. 1 hL lull uron \\ luch 1t stands me;
1lmosl: pcrpcnd1cularl) from the plain to a height of about Geo k1.t"
It ,,as fir~'l captured bv the :\luh;immaJ;ins m I 19+, and Sult;in
::\[uh;imm;id 1bn Tughbq, recognwng lb 1111portancL as a b~e for
operations m Southern India, rrnamed Jt D.1,\lat.1bad, :ind conce1\1.d
the idea of mal..mg It his er.pita! [\Lil before his d1.;ith, ho,,c\Lr, It
had been seized br a rebel go\ Lrnor, and It r1.mJJn1.d mdefendent of
Dcllu unul the reign of \l..bar
8
Cambay, at the head of thL Gulf of CambJ), \\JS at tlus time
one of the pnncipal SCJfOrtS of India It.> dLclme \\JS due to the
stltmg-up of the Gulf, and the bore of ns udes, and 1t b TIO\\ used
only b1 small craft
9
Kawa, a small place on the opposite side of the ha, from Camba,
10
Qandahir 1s eertamly an Arab1c1zauon of Gandlur or Gundh1r,
l..nown to medieval seamen as Gandar, on the c,,'luary of the small
mer Dhandar a short d1sbnee south of Kawa
The name Jalans1 probably represents the Rajput tnbal name
lhalas, full preserved m the name of the d1fuiet of Jhala,, ar or Gohehvar
m Katluawar
11
The small island of Penm or P1ram, near the mouth of the G.tlf
of Cam bay, which was a notonous pirate stronghold until short!, before
th.ts time, when it was captured by the I\Iuhammadans and deserted
1
~ Sandabur or Smdabur \\JS the name by ,,..h1ch the island and
b1y of Go1 '1-ere lnown to the early 1[uslim traders and taken from
them by the first European travellers The older n;me Goa did not
363
NOTE'S
come mto general use unal the sr'l:teenth century. It wa.s captured by
the Muhammadans for the first tlme m 1312, and was subsequently
taJ..cn and retaken more than once
13
The sites of these medieval ports, many of which no longer exill,
arc discussed by Yule, Cathay, IV, 72-79
11
The name of trus lungdom, Ih or Eli, has left a trace m Mount
Ddly The medieval port 1s probably now represented by the village
of Nilcshwar, 11 few miles north of the promontory
16
Calicut, which Ibn Batruta has already ranked (p 46), as one
of the great seaports of the world, decayed rapidly after the e.ftabhsh-
mcnt of the Portuguese trading sl:atJons ,tn the sIXteenth century The
tJtlc of Its ruler, called by Ibn Batruta the Sa.marl (which 1s an adapta-
tion to Muslim ears of a foreign name, Samari bemg a word fan:uhar
to theologians as the legendary ancestor of the Samaritans), 1s the
Malayalam word 8amutrrr or 8Jmurr mearung " Sea-Jang," more
familiar to European readers m its Portuguese form Zamonn
16
The purpose of these was to tow the Junk m calm weather, as
Ibn Batruta e:-..plams below (p 278)
17
Although a considerable part of the distance between Cahcut
and Qutlon may be traversed by inland waterways, it does not seem
possible to go the whole way by water Ibn Batruta here, as agam m
the descnptlon of his travels m Chma, negle& the land stages
18
Qmlon, ranJ..ed by Ibn Batruta with Calicut, was from very early
times the transhipment port for the Chinese trade It 1s mentJoned
by the Arab and Persian sailors of the mnth century under the name of
Kawlam-Malay, and fell mto decay, hle its nval Calicut, m the
suteenth century Yule suggests that the ntle Tiraroarf given by Ibn
Batruta to 1ts ruler may be the Tamtl-Sansl.nt compound T:ru-pall
"Holy Lord 11 (Cathay, IV, 40)
10 "Always a sign that things were gomg badly with Ibn Batruta"
(Yule)
20 Shahyat, the Portuguese Chiliate or Chale, now Beypore, 6
nules south of Calicut The fabncs manufactured here were of various

kinds and the name shalt 1s full used for a soft cotton fabnc It is
possible that the name of this town is the ongm of the French chJk,
and hence our shawl
CHAPTER VIII
1 Although the Maldive Islands had long been 1.nown to satlors
and travellers, and had become Islamized m the twelfth century, Ibn
Battuta's narrative 1s the earbesl: descnpave account we possess of the
islands and therr mhab1tants Many of h.Is names can sbll be traced
on the map
!l Maldive kalu-!1tlt-mas, black boruto .fish, from its blac1. appearance
after smokmg
NOTES
:i The " mountain of Serend!b " 1s Adam's PcaJ... Sercnd!b is the
old Arabic and Persian name of C . ylon (commonly dLTlVLd from the
SansJ...nt S11nhala-do1pa, L1on-d\\cilmg-1s!and), wluch was gradually
replaced by the Pali form S1halam=Sayl:m=Ccylon
! The old Sinhalese J...mgdom of Ceylon \\:lS mvadLd about I 3 r+
by the Pandyas, whost.. own J...mgdom at Madura m .Ma'bar, which had
e:uslcd smce at leas! the third cc:..ntury n c , was now m tht.. hands of
the Muhammadans The kada of the mvad<..rs \\as Arya Chal.ra-
varu, but Ibn Dattuta's patron was more prob1bl} a htLr g<-neral of
the same name, who m I 37 I ercclLd forts at Colombo and elsLwhere
The scat of the Pandyas \\as m the:. island of Jaffna
G The hollow on the summit of Adam's Peal., venerated by the
Mus!Jms as the 1mprmt of Adam':. foot, \\as equalJy venerat<..d by the
Brahmans and the Buddlufu, as the marl of Sna':. and Buddha's foot
resrecbvcly
KunaJ...ar 1s CLrtamly Korncgaile (Kurunagala), the rc..s1dencc of the
old dyna:lly of Sinhalese J...mgs at this pwod 'I he namt.. Kunar IS
cxplamcd as SansJ...nt Kun-var," Prince"
' ThcsL chams arc full m cxislencL
8 Dma\\ar (which 1s properly the name of a medieval tO\\ n m
Kurdistan, to the N E ot Kirmanshah) here funds for De\\::mdera,

the site of a famous temple of Vishnu (ddlroyed by the Portugu<..sc m
I 587), near Dondra Head, the southerruosl: pomt of Ceylon
CHAPTER IX 1
1
Har1.atu cannot be the modern town of Arcot, which hes too far
north As 1t was only a fort its locauon 1s very doubtful, though the
name 1s probably conneaed with the d1slncl: of Arcot (Tamil aru-kadu,
SIX forefu)
2
Jalal ad-Dfn, who had been appomtcd by Sultan Muhammad of
Delhi to the posl: of military governor of Ma'bar (which had been
occupied by the Muhammadans m I 3 II), made himself independent
about r338, and was murdered five years later The throne was then
occupied by a success10n of generals, of whom Ghiyath ad-Dfn was
the third
J Of the many -patans and -patams of the Coromandcl coasl:, 1t
is difficult to determme exacl:ly the ongmal of this Fattan The
prmcipal port of medieval Ma'bar was Kavenpattanam, at one of the
mouths of the Kaven, said to have been desl:royed by an mundation
about I 300 If this was lbn Battuta's Fattan, its desl:rucbon musl:
1
The secbons dealing with Bengal, the Archipelago, and Cluna
have been annotated by Sir Henry Yule m Cathay and the ff7ay Thither,
new ed1t10n revised by H Cordier, Vol IV, Ha!Juyt Society, London,
r91 6
NOTES
be dated nearer r350 (see Marco Polo, II, 335-6) Fattan mav
however, have been Negapatam, which was an unportant harbour ~
after centuries Yule's conJe&ire that the place must be farther south,
m the neighbourhood of Ramnad, 1s unlikely if the name Harlatu has
anything to do with Arcot (see note r) At some time dunng lus vmt
to Ma'bar, on the other hand, or else on his Journey from Fattan to
K.awlam, lbn Battuta must have called at the small port of Kaylul..arf,
ro mtles S of Ramnad, which he afterwards transported to somewhere
m the Clu.na. Sea (see Chap X, note 9) It IS fuange that Ibn Battuta
does not mention the port of Kaya1, Marco Polo's Cati, situated m the
delta of the Tamraparru nver, south of Tuncorm, which was a very
unportant tradmg sl:auon at this ume (see Marco Polo, II, 370-4)
t Th.is 1s identified, followmg Yule, Wlth the Pigeon Island, 2 5 miles
south of Onore (Hmawr)
6
This statement is impOSSJble to reconctle with any chronology
of Ibn Battuta's travels m the Far East Judgmg by the course of the
narrative, this second VlSit cannot have been made later than a year
after his departure from the Maldive Islands
6
Sudkawan is identified by some authonnes with Satgaon (Satganw),
a rumed town on the Hooghly lymg N W of Hooghly town, wluch
was the mercantile capital of Bengal from the days of Hindu rule
until the foundation of Hooghly by the Portuguese Yule, Wlth more
probability, identified it mth Chittagong (Chatganw), which was
a more converuent port than Satgaon, and is " on the shores of the
Great Sea," as descnbed by Ibn Battuta There seems, however, to
be some uncertamty whether Sultan Fathr ad-Dm had any conne&on
with Chittagong (cf Book of Duarte Barbosa, II, I 39)
7 Jun, which IS Ibn Battuta's transcnptlon for the Jumna, here
obVIously represents the Brahmaputra (cf p 52)

8
Lakhnaoti (Lal..shmanawati), the ane1ent name of the town of
Gawr, long the capital of the Muhammadan governors of Bengal
after its conquest m I 204, the rums of which are situated near Maldah
The name was retained for one of the three difui& of Bengal (see
note r r), covenng the area between the Ganges and the Brahinaputra
9 It has been fully established by Yule (Cathay, IV, rp-5), that
the dlStncl: vmted by Ibn Battuta was Sylhet, where the tomb of Shah
Jdal (=ShayJ...h Ja1il ad-Din) is sbll venerated The name Knrnru,
more correctly Kamrub (for Kamartipa), was applied to the dlslncl
roughly correspondmg to Assam, whose Indo-Chmese popuhuon
(KhaSIS, etc) present the usual Mongolian charactenfucs
10 The Blue River can only be the Meghna, and on the left bank of
the Baral.., one of 1ts headwaters, there is full a 111/ah, or low htll, called
Ha bang, a little to the south of Hab1gan J h
11 Sonargaon (Sunarganw), I 5 miles SE of Dacca, \\a5 one oft e
old Muhammadan capitals of Bengal, and gave its name to one of the
three difu1& of Bengal, the third bemg Satganw
366
NOTES
CHAPTER Xl
l Barah NaJ..fr, formerly identified, on account of the descnpllon
given by Ibn Battuta of the nauves, with the Andaman or Nicobar
Islands has been shown by Yule to have bu.n more probably on the
mamla~d of Arakan, m Burma, near the island of Negra1s But the
t~t of Ibn Battuta appears to maJ..e Barah NaUr the name of the
people rather than that of the country (Cathay, IV, 92, Marco Polo,
II, 309-12)
:2 The name ]a\\a was applied g1.ncrally to the l\lalay Archipelago,
Jawa" the kss" bemg the island of Sumatra, and Jiwa" the gr1.ater"
or Jawa prop1.r the island now called Java The mtrodufuon of
hlam mto Sumatra \\as dfccled gradually by traders and m1ss10nancs
from Southern India durmg the th1rte1.nth c1.ntury Tiu.. b1.gmnmgs
of Muslim ruk m the island date from the la.st decade of th1. same
century, probably a few ) cars before the foundauon of the town of
Sumatra Al-1\lahJ.. az-Zahir was a utle borne by s1.veral of the
Mus!Jm rulers
J On the pd..-tree sec Yule and Burnell, l/ob1on-Jo!JJ011
" The pmun 1s a small fruit resemb!Jng an oltve but S\\e1.t, as lbn
Battuta e:\.plams man earlier passage It 1s not the same as the pmbu
or rose-apple See Hob1011-J ob1011 under both entries
6
I suspect the word translated " houses " to refer to some J..md of
offiCial establishments In slnct grammar the word sarhJ may be taJ...en
to refer to the "houses" (as m the translauon), but 1s more probably
the name of the port
11
Mul-Jawa has usually been taJ...en to mean the island of Java, but
Yule adduces several cogent reasons for 1denufymg It with the Malay
Penmsula In accordance with tlus view the port and city of Qiqula
are to be placed on the east coast of the Malay Peninsula, m the neigh-
bourhood of Kelantan
Qamira 1s almost certamly Khmer, the ancient name of Cambodia,
on the opposite side of the gulf of Siam (Cathay, IV, 155)
7 This somewhat aggressive phrase was the regular formula of
greeung to non-Muslims (if p 214), the words as-Sa/Jm '..d/aykum
(" Peace be upon you") bemg sl:nctiy applicable only to true believers,
although, as we have seen, lbn Battuta occas1onally tooJ... the liberty of
mfnngmg tlus rule (p I 59)
8
The "mot10nless sea," which m this passage Ibn Battuta calls
by the Arabo-Persmn name al-bahr a/-kJhtl, 1s referred to by other
1
Ibn Battuta's travels m the Indian Archipelago have been anno-
tated also by E Dulauner, m Journal .As,at:que, February-March,
1847, and by G Ferrand, m Textu arabes, tic, rdatifs d /'Extr(me-
Omnt, t II (Pans, 1914), pp 436-455
367
NOTES
vinrcr.1roi,H: ,H1tcn under ,Jr1 mg n.1me3 (e z, the p1tchy sea, the sea
old 1r~11c,1) P 11 m;; in the e<trcmc c1{t It .ecms therefore to corrcs-
! 0,1d ,,, our C!un I S<' 1 or some of the neighbouring \\atcrs The
fol!,1,.int' ,\orJ, In Jim IJJttut.i's nJrr.1tnc show that It v,as on the
re, t1l,u roure
" 1 lie problem of 1Jcnr1ijms the ~mg T,rn.Ilisl a.nd hu CJt} of
KA: !11~ irf D one rh It Ii 1J cxcrcud the mgcnUlt) of all Ibn Battuta.'s
co,nmcnt.trorJ CclebcJ, TonL1n, C.1mbo<l1.1, Codun-Chma the
pro,mcc ol K,,,111 ,,, the Phdrppmc l3Lmd3, and the Sulu Arcruicfago
hJ, c 111 bccn ,uggc,tcJ i ule .1cceptJ rhc J,1{t solu11on '"more probable
t/1,111 Jn; otl1cr, but onl,- Jlccr conti:JJJng co" a famt susp1c10n
th ll 1 t ,\ lid 11 rc.!111 to be looLcJ lor in chat flrt of the atlJS nhich
\.Olll.\11\, the 111.mne Junc}J of the fate C1ptam Gulliver" The mo.ft
,urprnrni; Jct 11I m cl1c n.1rr,1tn e 1, not the etiltcnce of the princes~ of
JIIIJ 11111111 cl1JrJc:kn.,t1c,, bur her 'l urLl.lh nam<. (alrcad; given by
lbn ll.1ttut 1 Jl chc IIJme of 6ulun U.tbeg-Kh.fn's fourth queen, sec
1bu\c p r f8) ind 'I ud.r,h ,pccch Yule, foUo~H.d by Dr von Miil.,
Ju1,:r,c.,,l..1 thJt rhc dccJil.) of lier proncss m.1y be. demc.d from the slory
of h..1;Ju-KhJn'.1 \.1l1Jnt <laughcc.r J\1pruc, \\h1ch lbn Battuta may
lw c he ir<l from ;;ome of the sh1p':1 foll. \J;aruc 1s m face a Turl.1sh
111111e, an<l It 1:1 quite probJblc that Ibn llattut.1, \\hose memory for
str 1nge 111111cJ \\.lJ not of the best, confu,cd It n1th the s1m1lar-soundmg
UrJuJ.i In the ,Jme \\J} Ka1 lu~ar! \\J5 re.ally th<. name of a seaport
m ~ L lnJ1,1 (!c<- Cl11p IX, note 3), \\h1ch Ibn Battuta has confused
\\llh th1. 111111'- ul king T1;.ih,i's" port (C.ithay, IV, I 57-60, Marco
l'al<J, l I, ~o 5 , G 1 err ,111J, 1 c-rtcs rduttji JI' I:. -rlrtru-Onc11, +3 1-3)
CH\lYflR XI
1 The Je,cript10n of tl11> great m c.r, tra\ chmg Chma from north
to south anJ Jlo\\ mg mto the sea at Canton, has soml.t1mes been tal.en
to pro\c that lbn llattuca's Journc:} to China, or at least m Cluna, 1s
.1 pure fiJ,on. lt musl, ho\\<.\<-r, be born<- m mmd that he l.nen no
more of Cluna than tht. frmge \\ h1ch h<- lumsdf v1,1ted, supplemented
by\\ Int he. cou!J gathc.r from various (and doubtkss not .U\\ays reliable)
mformJnt,, and m tl11s pJs,Jg1. he. 1s mc.rdy rc.producmg the common
\ 1ew ot hu t1m1. The. " River of Life" 1s, m Its first se&on, the
GrJnd Canal, bi.t\\1.c.n Pc.king and the Yang-ts1 The merchants
on the. coaft Lnc.w \.lguc.ly ot the mland \\ater syslem connechng
Hang-chow and the Yang-t,1 \\1th the Wdr Rncr and Canton, prob-
ably by way of the S1ang-J..1ang, and consequently regarded the esluary
of th~ Pc.1-J..1ang as that of the. entJrc sr~'lem There 1s greater difficulty
m e:cplammg lbn llattuta's ~'latc.ments that Zaytun (Ts'nan-chow-fo)
\\as JmJ..c.d b} mland \\Jtc.rway, with both Canton and Hang-chow,
whc.re prc.sumably he was spc.al.mg from per,ona1 e~per1ence As
368
NOTES
\\e have seen above, ho\\evcr, m connechon with his land Journey
between Calicut and Qu1lon (Chap VII, note 17), Ibn Danuta simply
omits all n.fc..rencc to the land slagc..s as secondary, or he may possibly
have forgotten about them m the tc..n years that intervened bet\\cen
lus visit to Chma and the d1cbuon of his travels It 1s not irrelevant
to note that other writers, mcludmg even some Chinese sources, also
speal,. of Zaytun as being on the same \\ater S}slem as Hang-chow
(Khansa or Qumsay) (Sec m addition to Yule and von l\I11J..,
R Hartmann m Dtr 11/an, IV, 434)
:2 Friar Odonc of Pordenonc.. also rcmarls, m conncEtwn \\ 1th
Fuchow," Herc be sec..n the b1ggdl: cods m the\\ orld" , but he. says
of the geese at Canton that thc..y arc.. "bigger and finer and chc.aFcr
than anywhere m the world" ( Cathay, II, I 8 I, I 8 5)
3 An earlier traveller (Po5agt Ju Marchand arabt SJ/a5man m
8 5 1, tr G Ferrand, p 5 5) tells us that the Chinese buncd their dead,
as they do at the present day Marco Polo, ho\\CVc..r, conslantly
refers to the pracbce of cremauon, wluch must therefore have been
a common cusl:om m Chma at this period
The bdluht or /;J/uh, originally an mgot of metal \\c1ghmg
about 4 lbs , \\as the.. currency of the sleppcs at the beginning of the
thirteenth cc..ntury The term was probably brought mto Cluna
by the Mongols On Chinese paper-money sec.. Marco Pair, I, 423.ff.
Ii According to Marco Polo, the owner of used notes paid three
per cent on the value on receiving new pieces (I, 42 5)
6
Cathay (Khztdy), a term employed first by the Muhammadans
and from them by European travellers and m1sswnancs from the
thirteenth to the suteenth centuries, denoted the northern prt of
Cluna, m contrast to Sin or China proper m the south The name \\as
certamly denved from the K1tay or Khnay TurJ..s, \\ ho founded a
dynasty (the Lino) which reigned at Pel.mg durmg the tenth and
eleventh centuries The name Sin or Chin (China) is, m all prob-
ability, to be derived similarly from the Ts' 111 dynasty ( 2 5 5-209 B c )
7
In this passage Ibn Battuta obviously confuses coal and porcelam
clay, possibly owmg to a cusl:om follo,,ed m China of powdering the
coal and m.wng It with clay to form "patent fuel" (see :Marco Polo,
I, 442-3)
8
It 1s generally admitted that the city known to all Muham-
madan and Chnshan travellers m the Middle Ages as Zaytun 1s Ts'wan-
cliow-fu (Chilan-chow-fu, 24 5 3 N , 118 3 3 E ) The arguments
m favour of this 1denoficauon, together with an exammatlon of the
claims of Chang-chow-fu (Amoy), will be found 111 e:>:ten,o m Marco
Polo, II, 2 37.ff
0
Yule adduces some strong arguments for the denvauon of ,attn
from zayJunl through medieval Italian zetta111 (Catha',) IV 1 J J 8)
10 S 1m1 JJ
iJi <1Sa was m the neighbourhood of Tafilelt, m Southern
Morocco, see below, Chap XIV, note J
369 BB
NOTES
11
1 take the dlwdn mentioned m th.is passage to be not the
" Council" (whatever organization that may have been): but the
msbtut10n commonly known by that name m North Afnca and Egypt
m all ports open to foreign commerce, from which ongmated the
Italian dogane and French douane It was at one and the same time
custom-house, warehouse, lodgmg house and bourse for foreign
merchants (for which reason Ibn Battuta is lodged m 1t), and 1ts con-
troller was one of the pnnc1pal officers of the realm (see Mas Latr1e
Rdatron, et Commerce de l'Afrrque Septentr:onale, 335.ff) A snmla~
orgamzatton appears to be mdicated m the Chinese ports A few
Imes below Ibn Battuta says of Canton that it was "m the province"
of the controller of the dlwdn, probably m the sense that the trading
sratton there was also under his JUnsdi&on
12
The sense of tlus passage is quite clear According to the Koran,
the legal alms are to be given to "parents, J...mdred, orphans, the poor,
and the wayfarer " The Muhammadan commuruty at Zaytun was
so wealthy that the only one of these five classes to which the alms were
of any value was the Jasr
13 The Arabic and Persian writers (like Marco Polo) conventionally
use the term Qdn or Qa'dn for the" Great Khan" of the Mongols
It 1s not, however, as Yule considered, a different title from the ordmary
Turkish title Khdqdn (see Sluraton, Memom of Research Dept of the
Toyo Bunko, No r, Tokyo, r926, pp r9-26)
u Sfn-kalan 1s an Arabicized form of the Persian Chfn-kalan, for
Sanscnt Mahacfna=Great China, which is also the meaning of the
Arabic name Sin as-Sfn
16 The text is defe&ve at this pomt, due either to the m1swntmg
of a word, or to the om1ss10n of another word

16 Ibn Battuta's route" up the nver "from Ts'wan-chow to Canton
is, m the nature of things, uncertam Yule tlunks of a route up the
Mm from Foochow, and down the upper reaches of the Kan to the
Pei-bang 'Pta the Me1-lmg Pass It seems a peculiarly roundabout
Journey, when much more direcl: commumcatlon 1s offered by the
Me1 and the Tung, if these are navigable
17 This temple has not been identified with any certamty Yule
suggefu that it is the Temple of Glory and Ft/ta/ Duty, near the NW
corner of the modern ctty
18 The site of the Rampart of Gog and Magog, the bmldmg of
wluch is described m the Koran and attributed to Ale:.ander the Great,
was a slandmg problem to the Arabic geographers It was generally
regarded as lymg at the north-easrern end of the habitable world, ~d
was vaguely confused with the Great Wall of China But Ibn Battutn
could have had no idea that Chma was wtth111 the Wall, and his queshon
appears to have been put at random, perhaps on hearing some chance
reference to the Great Wall 9
Marco Polo also speaks of a race of canmbals m the mount:UD
370
NOTES
between Fulien and Kiang-si or Che-liang (II, 22 5 , cf H Schmidt-
thenner m Zettschrift der Ges jllr Erdkunde zu Berlin, 1927, P 388)
19 The 1denaficat10n of Qan-pn-fu 1s full uncertam If lbn
Battuta 1s correct m placmg it between Zaytun and Khansa, its position
will depend on the route whl.ch he followed Yule identified 1t with
Kien-chang-fu on the Fu-ho m the provmce of Kiang-s1, and the next
fu.tion Baywam Quth1 with the Po-yang Sea The obJe&ons to this
identification are that (1) 1t mvolves a very roundabout Journey to
Hang-chow, and would mdeed cut out Hang-chow altogether ,
(2) there 1s no eVIdence for the e::,..1sl:ence of a frequented trade-
route (such as Ibn Battuta's route 1s represented to be) through Kien-
chang-fu
Smee Ibn Battuta took 31 days for the Journey to Hang-chow,
whtle Marco Polo took 2 7, travelling m the reverse direcbon, there arc
very good grounds for assummg that their routes were substantially
the same In thl.s case the most natural 1dent1ficat1on for Qan-Jan-fu
is Fuchow In favour of thl.s are (1) the size of the city, with
a governor of its own and a large garrison (which corresponds very
well with Marco Polo's descnption) , ( 2) the arrival of" a very large
vessel" at the port, smce Marco Polo expressly states that "From
Zayton shl.ps come thl.s way nght up to the city of Fu JU by the nver
I have told you of, and 'ns m thl.s way that the precious wares of India
come hither " The name whl.ch Marco Polo gives to the disl:ncl: of
Fuchow, Chon1.a or Concha (the proper name of the oty bemg Chm-
kiang), may possibly explam the transformation mto Qan-pn-fu.
On the other hand, Marco Polo allows only five days from Fuchow
to Zaytun, which would suggest: some place further up the Mm nver
(on the naV1gab1hty of the Mm see Marco Polo, II, 234)
Dulauner suggested that Qan-Jan-fu may fu.nd for Chm-bang-fu
at the Juncbon of the Y ang-tsi and the Grand Canal, ID whl.ch case
1t should come between Khansa and Khan-baliq (Pekmg) S1illllar
mslances of illlSplacmg are, as will have been noticed, not mfrequent
With Ibn Battuta, but Chin-k1ang-fu scarcely seems large enough to
fit his descnpnon M Ferrand tales Qan-Jan-fu to be Marco Polo's
KenJanfu, the old capital of China, now Si-an-fu on the Wei nver m
Shen-si, which was called Khumdan by the Arabic geographers Thl.s
1dent1fication, however, hangs together with M Ferrand's thesis that
Ibn Battuta did not go to China at all It 1s safest to assume either
that Qan-Jan-fu was a name used by the Muslim merchants for Fuch~w
(hl.e Zaytun for Ts'wan-chow), or that Ibn Battuta has confused two
s1mtlar-soundmg names
20
The Ghu.ta is the name given to the wide plam covered with
frmt-trees around Damascus
21
It would be a waste of time to search for anythl.ng corresponding
to tls name on a modern map of China, and its pos1tion can be deter-
mmed only by reference to the other towns mentioned It is qmte
371
NOTES
possible that 1t was not a place-name at all, but the name of some
Turko-Tatar commander (? Bayan Qutlugh=" Bayan the Lud.y ")
whtch Ibn Battuta erroneously took to be the name of a town
22
It 1s agreed by all travellers, both Chnsban and Mushm that
what Marco Polo calls "the most noble city of Kmsay b;yond
dispute the finest and noblest m the world'' was mdeed the largesl.-
city m the world m the fourteenth century The admirat10n 1t aroused
lent itself to exaggeratton, and when even Marco Polo avers that
"1t hath an hundred miles of compass And there are m it-twelve
thousand bndges of stone, for the most part so lofty that a great fleet
could pass beneath them," 1t is not to be wondered at that m Ibn
Battuta's account there are, tn Yule's phrase," several very quest.tonable
statements" The name Khansa 1s an Arabic modificat.ton (to accord
Wlth the name of a famous Arabic poetess), as Kmsay, Cansay, Cassay,
etc , are European mocbficat.tons, of the Chmese K111g-sze " Capital,"
Hang-chow having been the capital of the Sung synasty from rr27 to
1276
~ The word translated c1tadd means "mner city occupied by the
ruler or governor " The viceroy's palace was not m the centre of
Hang-chow, however, but at the southern end
~, In the Cham of Htflorus we are told that " On reachmg the age
of eighty a man 1s exempted from paymg the poll-tax, and receives
a grant from the 1mpenal treasury The Chmese say of this " We made
lum pay the tax when he was young , now that he 1s old we will give
lum a pension'" (Ferrand, Yoyage du marcha11d 8ulayma11, p 63)
u Qurtay appears to be a contracbon of Qaratay, a common
Turkish t.ttle, but no governor of tlus name ts menttoned m Chmese
works, so far as ts known It 1s probable that it was the title given to
the commander by the Turbsh troops, hl:e many other of the terms
employed by Ibn Battuta tn tlus se&on, whtch are not Chinese but
Turkish or Persian In the same way he gives as the name of the
Emperor lus Perso-Turlash t.Itle of" kmg", see below, note 32
24 Towa or tuw1 1s a Turlash word mearung feast or fesbval
27 Yule, remarking that the "pretty cadence" 1s precisely that of
We won't go Jome ttll mom111g,

gives a " somewhat free " rendenng
My heart given up to emotions,
Was o'erwhelmed tn waves bke the ocean's,
But betakmg me to my devotions,
My troubles were gone from me 1
The last Ime of the poem, however, neither reads nor scans properly.
:is Marco Polo also speaks at length of pleasure partles on the fake,
but does not mention mtmtc battles (II, 20 5) d
~9 Tlus statement is 3usb1iably challenged by Yule, who regar s
37 2
NOTES
1t 1s " so conlr JT) to l 11.1, thJl 0111..', Jou bts an e \\ huh1..r I bn lhttu ta
coulJ hn1.. tr.1\dkd bc}onJ I-I 1%ChtU" (C.it,1:.iJ, l\, 137)
Ju Pd 1ng c.1lkJ b) th1.. ~lonbol:, h.h.in-1.1.ihq," (11y ol th1.. Kh.in,"
th1.. C1mbJlu' and Cuubuluc ot Wdkrn \HHl.CS 'I he 11am1.. KhJnr;u
h.1, bc1..n L\rlJinl.J JS Ill 1dJ1..\.tl\ l1 "(CII)) of the Kit.in" (Jr:,.Jmt1I
1,
lst.itr 1.Jc, ~I rq r 3, p 70 r)
JI !3ll. Unp 11, not1.. I;:
i i Prol.J.1bl) .1 1..orrupuon ol the P1..r,1;rn pJJ1!:JI:, "I mg" (.u. note
.!5) lh1..rllgnmglmt1..ror,,.1)Togon l1mur(rc1gnLJ 1333-71)
JJ Qu 1qorum, th1.. ur,l lJJ 11.1I ol th1.. ~longol,, tl11.. ,Jtl. ol \', h1ch
1, now 01..cup11.J b) th1.. 111011.1,kr) ul LrJ1..nH~u, lay .1bo\l. the right
b.1n!.. o( tl11. Od hon m Lr, about .!CO 1111k~ W S \V of U rga and
;:o mik, SL ol h..1r;ib.1lg.1~un, in Outer \longoha
B1shb 1h11 \\ 1s ~1tu.1t1..d on or near thl. rre.cnt Guc!H.n, to the. c.:ift
ol Urunm1 m D.:ung.1r1:1
JI lbn B.1ttut.1 here. g1H.) ;in accur.1te ;iccount of th1.. ccr1.111on1.1I
ob.LrHJ at th1. bun.ii ol .1 I 11.1r clud, but It 1, ob\ 1ous th.it It cannot
hl\ 1. b1.rn the Lmferor's burial \\ l11ch he \\ 1tn1.~;cd, 1{ tnd1.cd thl.
narr.1uv1. b al hr,thanJ
J.., \s thl) l irn: 1p11.Jr, to bL lcJt.11lr uni no\\ n, anJ as thl. ~1.;it of
tl11. Gr1.:it h.h.ins \\;is nol r1.111m1.J lo <2.1r.t11orn111 unul ;ift1.r lhl. lh.;ith
ot fogon 'I unur 1n 1371 (11 th1. U11m.s1. r1.corJs ;ire. tru1.), thL 1.. \1,knc'-
ol tl11s p.1~ag1.. m 1 boo!.. ol \\ l11d1 .1 copy \Hlll1.n III r J ;o 1s ~hll 1.:i.t:int
1s a probkm b1.ttLr ~u1t1.J tor 1m dt1g.1uon bj thl. Psycluc Soc11..t; th.in
by th1.. mau1..r-ot-lacl luslonan
CH.\P fLR XII

1
ThL ruk.h 1:, sut1ic11..ntly \\ell J..no\\11 m Europe, thank.s to Sindbad
the Sailor, to n1.cd no C\planauon Yuk has \Hllt1.n m conn1..chon
wnh Marco Polo':, account (ll, +I 5-;:o) a long note discussing po:,s1blc
ongmals for tl11s giganuc bird On1.. or l\\o Arabic \Hll1..r:, had alrtady
shown some sc1..puc1,rn on th1. subJ1.Et, and lbn Balluta, It \\Ill be
nouccd, 1s prudently non-commmal His narr.1uvc ccrtamly suggdl.s
the part played by mirage or abnormal r1.fract1on m g1vmg currency to
tlus widespread story
J Qurayyat (Qury.it) shll appears on our maps, Shabba and Kalba
arc not shown, at least under thc:,1.. names, but arc probably shll 111
e\1slence, as there 1s an alrnosl: conunuous belt of villages along the coast
of'Orn.in
3
Karz! or Karz!n lay on the nght bank. of the Salk.an (Mund)
nver, a little above its eastward bend Ibn Battuta's route lay up the
valley of the nver from tlus pomt to Shiraz On the mam road
between Bassa (Fasa) and Shiraz was the town of Khawrnftan, which
may possibly be Ibn Battuta':, KawrasUn (sec Chap III, note 22)
373
NOTES
r.1vag1.s m the :\Icd1terr.1ne.m durmg thee centuries \\ere (m :\las
Latr1c's \IC\\) e\ en gr1. ttcr th.111 those ol the llarb.1ry pirates (Rd111ton1
J, 1'.lfn7.Jt upu,1mr;1 .. lt, pp fOf7)
u llulylna dOLs not appc.ir many mcd1e,al or modern \\ods that
I ha,e b1.cn abk to consult 1 should lnnr<l that the place meant
1s :-.:.ibeul, a snull port 30 mile, S L of 'I uni,, wher1., according to
Idris!, there \\JS 1 lortrc s
1"' The Jucnptwn of the harbour m.ilc~ ll ccrt.im th.it th1. port
\\JS Caglun, which, as It belonged at this t11nc to \r.igon, ,. .is 1 natunl

port of c.ill lor Cn.1l.1n \L,,cls It 1, dc.ocnbed m th1. R1110 Portolan
as "bon porto f.ito p.r for 'J de i .1lrng.1d1." 'l h1. kar felt by lbn
B.1ttu1.1 for his sJkt) 1s e:i..pL11ned b) the piratical Jctl\ mes of lts
mhabn.1nts (" Les l.iubourg:, de C.ighan scT\Jlcnt de rcp.11rc aux
forb.ins" :\las L.1tr1c, z!i1J, +05)
10 fhc \ illagc of al-' U bb 1J, mu.ill, c.1lkd S!J! llu :\I 1d!n after
the sanctuary, hu .1 1111k cut of 'l lcm'cn 'l he mo,que, built m

13 ,9 1 1s th1. finc.,1 c:..amplc of \loonsh uclutcdure m \lgc.n.i
17
fh1. \~glungh.in ( \1g.1ng.1n m Lc.o \lnc.inus) \\1.r1. a lkrbcr
tr1b1. st..ttlc<l near cite co.i,1 bet \ccn \lcld/a .1nJ ll1c \luluJJ mer
1 ~ 1 Im :ft.1tcm1.nt 1s conl1rmcJ b) 1h1. gcogrtphc.r 'Om.irl, \\ ho
rdatcs th1t the. 'i1t,7JI ( =Jm 1r) oi 1,0\i cont.1m1.d I :!O d1rhJ.Jm,
equal to 60 full d1rhams, and that thr1.1. 1ul1 d1rh.1111s \\1.r1. 1.qu.11 to
one dtrham of good money (r:qrJ) Ill l:.g 1 pt and S) n.1 1 h1. \\ orJ
"d1rha111" med \\llhout qu11.Jfic.1t1on, he add), m1..ms '' small d1rham"
The large gold dmar ol the :-.IarlniJs \\Llghc.d 87 grams, \ aluc.d al
1 ~ 50 francs , th1. small gold dmar ol tl11. \lmora\ ids 6 5 gram~, \ aluc.d
at to 93 francs lbn llattuta con,1antl) rcler:. to th1. Indian gold
tangah, \\ h1ch contamLd 17 5 grams, as \\ orth :: } l\Ioroccan dmar,,
a proporuon \\ruch fits th1. small dmar much b1.ttcr than the larg1.
The small d1rham at I ::o to th1. gold dmar of th1. l\ladnids had an
absolute \ alue of t:: CLnllmLS , 1t the Almorav1d 1.hnar 1s m1.ant 1t
would b1. worth nme c1.numes The h1ghdl: dl.imat1. of the valu1. of
th1. d1rham nuqra of Egypt 1s m the n1.1ghbourhood of 7 5 cenumes,
and 1t 1s more usually put at bet\\1.en 50 and 60 cenumLS (Yuk,
Cathay, IV, s+../f, i\lasstgnon, Lt Jlaroc J,.IIJ Ju prtm1,11t1 anntts du
Xl-'lt 11hlt (Alger, 1906), 101-::, al-'Omari, Ma1Jhk 11/-.,-fbsJr, tr
Demombynes (Pans, 1927), I, 173)
10
The phrase 1s agam a remm1sccnce of Solomon , see Chap I,
note 28
20
I take tlus to refer to the popular mu/uklr1y (Corchorus oh/onus)
of Egypt
21
The ImJmatt m trus sense 1s the Caliphate Ibn Battuta means
that the dignity of the \V ~ has been enhanced by the assumption of
the Caliph's title Commander of the Fa1tlrful by the rulers of Morocco
and m parttcular by Abu 'In.in For the same reason he gives rum:
a few lmcs back, the throne-utle al-lvlutawakkll, adopted by the sultan
375
NOTES
in imttatlon of the Cabphs of Baghdad. There was no uni,ersal
Caliphate at this time, the nommal Cabphs at Cauo not bemg recogruzfd
m the v. es1 The sultans of :Morocco have retamed the t1tle to the
present day
CHAPTER XIII
1
For Alphonso XI and the siege of Gibraltar see Chap. XII, note+
The unusually bitter tone of this chapter re.fie& the temper wluch
arumated both 1vloors and Spamards dunng the reconquest of Anda-
lusia, and for centuries afterv.ards
2
Suhayl, which 1s not menuoned m IdriSI, IS descnbed by Maqqari
(I, 103) as" a large dJ.fuid to the weft of Malaqa contauung numerous
villages Within It 1s the mountam of SuhayJ, which 1s the only
mountam m Andalus from wruch the constellat10n of Suhayl (Canopus)
can be seen From Ibn Battuta's account it 1s clear that 1t comprued
the s1retch of com between Marbella and .Malaga
3
.-ll-Han:una, 1 e, Hot Spnngs, or Thenn.:e, a place-name which
occurs very frequently m all Arabic countnes A contemporary of
Ibn Battuta descnbes the town as follows "The castle of al-Hamma
1s snuated on the summit of a mountam, and those who have tra,elled
all mer the world declare that there 1S no place on earth that can compare
mth It for sohdJty of confuu&on and fur the warmth of Its water.
Sicl persons from all parts Vlslt It and slay there unul their dJseases are
relieved In the spnng the mhab1tant5 of Almena go there mth their
wi,es and families and spend large amounts on food and dnn1
(i.1lasaltk al-.dlmir)
" The locality " preserves to this day 1ts Arabic name, corrupted
mto Dmamar or Admamar It 1s a pleasant and much frequented
spot close to Granada " (Pascual de Gayangos, Hzfiory of tlu ;lluhatr-
madan DJnafius 111 Spam, I, 3+9)
5 Sultan Abu'1-HaJJaJ Yusuf I, the seventh ruler of the Na.md
dynasty of Granada, reigned from 1333 to 135+ The nature of his

malady does not appear to be ment1oned by other wnters As Ibn
Battuta dJd not VISlt hun, 1t IS probable that he did not see the mtenor
of the Alhambra It would ha\ e been mterefung to have his oplD.lon
of its archltedural features as compared mth other contemporary
palaces
6 The reading Bira, which 1s found m one manuscnpt, 1s preferable
to the reading Tua, adopted 1D the pnnted text No place of the name
of Tira seems to be menuoned many Sparush Arabic work .'ii-Bua
1s the a.noent Elvrra, which was supplanted m the .i\Ioonsh penod bv
Granada, and Jay fifteen mtles to the weft of the latter The nunou~
condition m which Ibn :Battuta found It was poss1bly the result of the
battle ofElvrra m wluch the Muslims defeated the Casbhans Ill r3r9
The town must ha.ve been rebmlt later on, smce 1t 1S mennoned aga.m
376
NOT'E S
in the lusl:ory ofFerdmand's final campaign agamsl: Granada, as having
been captured by lum m 1486 (Pascual de Gayangos, II, 3 50-1, 377 ,
Maqqnrf, II, 805, al-'Omart tr Demombynes, p 245).
7 Dhalwan or ZaJ...wan 1s mentioned by an early wnter as a village
to the wesl: of M.ilaqa, and on its capture by Fcrdmand m I 48 5 1s

descnbed as a fortified town with a fairly large population (lbn
al-'Abbar, Takm:la, 348, P de Gayangos, II, 374, Maqqarf, II,
803)
8 Marr.flush was founded m 1077 as the capital of the A1morav1d
dynasty It was, accordmg to Idris!, more than a mile long and about
as much m breadth The city wall, wluch still stands, 1s about seven
miles m length After its siege and capture by the Marfmds and the
transference of the capital to Fez, It fell mto decay The mmaret
of the Kutubiya mosque 1s sl:111 m e"\1stence, and 1s JUsl:ly admired as
one of the fines!: monuments of Moorish art
CHAPTER XIV 1
1
Between the eighth and the sn.teenth centuries S!J1lmasa , .. as
the principal tradmg station south of the Atlas mountams The rums
of the ancient town he on the Wad! Zfz, over a distance of five miles,
m the ne1ghbourhood of the modern Tafilelt
:i The salme of Taghaza hes to the NW of Taodem On account
of its salt 1t formed nn important outpost of the negro empues
3
The Wadi Dra, which drams the southern slopes of the Ann-
Atlas
The name Massufa appears to have been given at tlus time to the
SanhaJa, who, with the Lamtuna, have been from time 1mmemonal
the prmopal stod..s m the wesl:ern Sahara From Ibn Battuta's account
the Massufa occupied the entire central Sahara from Taghaza to
T1mbultu, and eastwards as far as Au and the Hoggar
"' The phrase used m the text (which may be rendered cantars
encantared) 1s talen from the Koran, where 1t means" untold wealth"
6
Tasarahla probably corresponds to Iddsi's well of Tisar, m the
desert of Azawwad (Cooley, 14-15)
1
Ibn Battuta's travels m the Sahara and Niger tern tones were .first
eluCidated (on the basis of a very 1mperfecl: text) by W D Cooley,
The Negro/and of the Arabs, London, 1841 The full text was trans-
lated and annotated by de Slane m Journal .Astattque, March 1843
The material 1s very fully rehandled by M Delafosse, Haut-S!nlgal-
Niger, Pans, 1912 (quotedm the followmgnotes asH 8.N , an abridged
account of Ibn Battuta 1s contained m tome II, pp 194-203), and by
J Marquart m the Introduchon to Du Bemn-Sammlung 111
Leiden, Le1den, 191 3
377
NOTES
0 1'
walatan 1s the plural of Walata, the place cons1fung, accordmg
to Leo Afncanus, of three hamlets Modern maps show two places
called Walata, lbn Battuta's fwalatan 1s the southern one at r7 02 N
6 ++ W It tool-. the place of Ghana as the southern termrous of th;
trans-Saharan trade-route m the trurteenth century (see note 2 r below),
bemg bu1lt (according to Hartmann, Mrt Stm Or Stud/ XV', r62)
on the site of the old Berber town of Audaghusht
7
The baobab tree (Ada,11onra d1g1tata), which rapidly attams a
very great girth, is frequently artificially hollowed for the storage of
water, and thus enables settlements to be made rn places where there
a.re no wells These trees were mtroduced for that purpose mto the
Ea.stern Sudan (Kordofan) from West Africa m the eighteenth century,
but from Ibn Battuta's description 1t would appear that artmcral hollow-
mg was not yet pracbsed there
8
Kuskusu (m French couss-cou11), the ordlnary cereal dish m
N \V Africa, 1s made by steammg coarsely-ground flour, and IS served
up w1th savoury or sweet condiments
0
Zagharl, 1dent1fied by Delafosse with D1oura, has been shown by
Lippert to be identical w1th ilie village called by Barth Ture-ssangha,
S SE of Ba-ss1lunnu or Bacikounou (Barth's TrarJe/1, Engl ed ,
1857-8, V, 481, 1ll1t &111 Or St, IIP, 198-9)
10
\Vangara (Wankore, Wai..ore) 1s one of the names given by the
Peuls (Fulani) and Songhay to the people called the Somnke (called
by the Portuguese Sara1.o1e), and used by extension to mean both
Sonmke and Malmle, thus bemg equ1valent to the modern use of the
term Mande or Mandingo, which 1s properly the name of the Mab.nke
Both Mahnke and Sonm1.e belong to the same famtly, the latter to its
noriliern group and the former to its central group (Delafosse, H 8.N,
I, r r4-5, r22-7)
11
The 'Ibad1tes are tlie remnant of an important puntarucal sea
of the first IslaIIUc century, I.nown as ilie K hawdry or DISSenters The
only ex:1fung commuruaes are found m 'Oman, Zanzibar, and the
M'zab district m southern Algeria, round Gharda1a The latter are
noted for their enterprise and success m trade, but hold (or are held)
very much aloof from the oriliodox Muslun population, and It 1s
probable that the commuruty mentioned m th.is passage was an outpost
of M'zab1te traders (see also MS OS, foe ctt)
12 Karsakhu JS ta1.en by Delafosse to be Kara-Salho, u market of
Kara, " close to and facmg the present loca.1.Ity of ,Kongokuru, on the
left ban1. of ilie Niger some d1sta.nce north of Kara '
13 The Kabara of th.is passage 1s probably not the well-known P,0 rt
of that name near Timbuktu , Delafosse regards 1t as a name of Ja fa-

raba (D1afarabe)
Zagha or Zaghay more correcl:ly called Jaka or Jaga (Diaga), after
the ancient capital ;f the longdom of Takrur, was a large ~iB: on
the NW. branch of the Niger, half a day's journey north of Ja farab.l
378
NOTES
It was m Tah.ror that Islam obtained 1ts firsl: foothold m the Sudan m
the early part of the eleventh century (I\Iarquart, Bcntn-Sammlung,
Intr' 150-1, 15+, 2+1)
14 Mull was m all probability the disl:ncl: later called Mud, on the
left banl.. of the N1ger about N1amey, the opposite banh. bemg occupied
by the Qumbun (perhaps Ibn Battuta's Qanburnl)
15 The Llmfsun oflbn Battuta arc talen by Delafosse and Marquart
to be the 1nhab1tants of the Kebbe (K1ba) d1fu1cl: There 1s, however,
a great deal to be said m favour of Cooley's view that the Llm{s are
1denucal with the Lam/am menuoncd by other Arabic geographers,
and placed by the geographer Balri (who calls them Damdam) on the
Niger below Gaogao The latter word unqucfuonably means" Canni-
bals," and 1s not the name of a speCific tnbe In the Fulbe language
1t became nyam-nyam (from Fulbe nyJm=eat), wluch 1s variously
reproduced as nam-nam and yam-yam m Arabic script The term was
current also on the east coa:,'l: of Africa m both forms Ibn Battuta
(above, p 112) heard at Ktlwa that gold dust was brought to Sofa.la
from "Yuff m the country of the Llmfs" (see next note), which was
distant a month's Journey from there For this trans-contmental
trade see note 33 below The word Nyam-nyam finally became
particularized as the name of a canrubal tnbe m Belgian Congo
Meanwhile 1t had passed mto Mediterranean foll.lore, F W Haslud
heard from an Albanian muleteer of" an entuely new lmd of vampire
called Niam-Niam s01, which he has seen You know 1t because
(1) it is excesmely fond ofhver and (2) has donkey's teeth and (3) large;
teet" (Cooley, u2.ff, Hartmann m MS O 8 1 XV', 172, Haslucl,
Letters on Rdzgton a11J Folklore, 9)
16
Cooley's identificat:J.on (p 93) of Yufl with Nupe, on the left
banl of the Niger between Jebba and LoloJa, has been accepted by
all later authonues
17
In thus lmlmg the Niger on to the Nile (probably by way of the
Bahr al-Ghazal) lbn Battuta is at least professmg the less erroneous
of two wrong views commonly held before the dlscovenes of Mungo
Pad, Idris{, followed by Leo Afncanus and many early European
geographers, 1IDagmed the Niger to flow west, and idenufied 1t with
the Senegal river
18
The Chnfuan lmgdom of Nubia was mvaded by the sultans of
Egypt on several occasions between 1272 and 1323 These expedi-
tlons, wluch were produfuve of no advantage to Egypt, hastened the
breal-up of the Nubian kmgdom, and early m the fourteenth century
Dongola fell mto the hands of the Arab tnbe of Kanz or Kanz ad-Dawla,
formerly the hereditary amirs of Aswan It is the chief of this tnbe
whom Ibn Battuta calls by the name of lbn Kanz ad-Din, and who,
though not lumself a convert, may be recl..oned quite fairly as the first
Mushm lmg of Nubia (Marquart, 252-4)
lu The name Mali 1s the Fularu pronunciatlon of Mantle or
379
NOTES
Iviandmg, and was slnaly the name of the rulmg tnbe, not of the town
The site of the latter has long been a matter of contro,er,y Cook}
(pp 8 r-2) placed It near Segu, at a village called Bmru "men mtles
above Samee," and took the Sansara nver to be a channel of the N1oer
Delafosse (H 8.N, II, r8r) accepts the VIew that the site of ~,I;1lli
was "a place situated on the left ban!. of the Niger, SW of Nurrum
and S SW of .Monbugu, level with the nllages of Konma and Kondu
Malh lay therefore a little to the neft of the present road from
Niafilllla to Kuhloro" The name Sansara, gnen by Ibn Battut.l to
the stream ten mtles north of Malli, was found by Barth to be full
applied to the small tributary which Joins the N1ger JUst belo\-.. Numma
Marquart (ro5, r9r) prefers Cooley's v1ev,, but puts .Milli a lmlc
lower down the nver, a day's march above Sille (Sele), and 1denufie,
1t with Kugha or Juga, the Quzoquza of the Portuguese
[Smee the wntmg of this note and preparauon of the map, l find
that MM V1dal and Gatllard claun to have defirutcly efubb,hcd that
the name of lv!alh was Nyaru, and that Jt was s1tuated " near the pre:,ent
village ofNyaru, on the left ban!. of the Sanl.aram, a bttle to the north
of Balandugu and to the south of Jel.tba (D1el.tba), the other cap1ul of
the same empire," 1.e at I I 22 N, 8 I 8 W, about I ;o mile:, S \V
of the pos1tlon shown on the map See Dcmombyne:,, trans of
al-'Oman's ;vlasa/zk a!-Absar, p. 52, note 2]
20
Delafosse remarks that" Dugha IS the name of a .lmd of vulture
and also that of a demon among the Banmana. and the ::\Iabnkc.., and
1s often given as a name to men "
21
The followmg JS a bnef account of the early negro empires
The earl.test Sudaruc emprre was that of Ghana (which was really
the utle of its later Sorun1.e rulers) Trus empire was founded about
the fourth century, apparently by some wrute 1mm1grants The sttc
of 1ts capital seems to have changed more than once. From the nmth
to the eleventh century the SonmJ..e of Kumb1 \\ere masters of the
Ghana empire, unul 1ts de:,'l:rucbon by the -Umorav1d3 of .:Vlorocco ID
1076. A number of small states \\ere confututed on lt3 ru11u, and
one of these, the Sorun1.e dynasty of the Kanntc, whose cap1ul \\J3 at
Sosso (to the we:,'l: of Sansandmg), recaptured Gh.ma ID r203 and
re.,'l:ored the Sorun!.e empire To this nas due also the foundat100
of Walata, as the Muslim mhab1tants of Ghana, rcfusmg to h,c.. uodLr
miidel rule, eftabl.tshed themsehes at the \,ater-pomt of Wawt.l or
Biru (see note 6) The conqueror, Sumanguru, was Wled ID b...tttk
m 1235 with the Ma!mle, who::-e l.mg Sunpu or 1fari Jiu annuLJ
the Sorun!.e emprre, was com erted to Islam (seep 329), and ~'bbli,l.u!
the new capital at Ma.ill. He captured and ddho;ed Gh.Jiu m 12 .P ~
and died m r 2 5 5 After a succes.,1on of ruler,, the n.:xt c..mp::or ot
lillportance was .Musa (lbn Battuta's .:\fansi ~Iu.J), m .,ho.1.. {r'~
(1307-32) the Ma.ill empire reached 1G \\Jdc.,1 d1mellilOIU ~J
was the grandson of a s1.,'1:er of SunJita The.. w.;n of h., ...-0'1 .1
380
NOTES
successor Mansa Maghan (1332-6) marls a brief retrogression, but
under Mus.i's brother Sulayman (1336-59), the Ma.ill regamed much
of thetr pov,er and presbge With hts death there set m a sharp
decltne, accentuated by ctvtl wars The Malli 1.mgdom, however,
full remamed the most powerful of the Niger states unttl the nse of
the Songhay 1.mgdom (see note 32), and did not finally disappear
unttl 1670
22 The additton of" under all crrcumsl:ances ,, 1s a gentle lunt that
thtngs are not so well as they might be

23
The eve of the 27th Ramadan 1s 1.nown as the Lay/at al-Qadr,
the "Night of Power" referred to m the Koran It 1s believed that
on tlus mght the gates of Heaven are opened, and all prayers of the truly
devout are favourably recetved
2
' Bembe m !vlandmgo means "platform" Al-'Oman descnbes
the bembe as an ivory bench surmounted by an arch of tusl.s
~ It "The Emperor Sulayman has commanded," m !vlandmgo
2
26
Delafosse remarl.s that tlus custom, hl.e almost all those described
by Ibn Battuta, has been retamed down to the present day m most of
the countnes of the Sudan
27
See note 21 above
28
See note 3 l below.
2
!1 Qurl Mansa 1s placed by Delafosse near the present vtllages of
Kolm and Massamana, N E of Sansanding, and not far from Ibn

Battuta's former halting place at Karsal.hu (see note 12)
30
Mirna seems to have been one of the chief towns m the clillncl:
which Ibn Battuta mentions above under the name of Zagha (see note
13) In later ttmes the name was applied to the area above the !al.es
(and possibly mcludtng them), correspondmg to part of modern
Masma According to Barth, the site of Mfma 1s still m existence,
though now deserted, a few miles west of Lere (TraoelI, Engl ed ,
V, 487)
31
Tl.lllbul.tu was annexed by Mansa Musa after the conquest of
Gao m l 32 5 In 133 3 the town was pillaged and burned m a raid
by the Moss1 from Yatenga (Upper Volta), but was rebutlt by Sulay-
man shortly after lus accession The poet as-Sahill met Mansa Musa
at Mecca dunng the Ptlgnmage, and was persuaded by the sultan to
accompany hllll back to the Sudan He was the architeB: of the
mosques at Gao and Tllllbuktu, and died at Tlillbuktu tn I 346.
32
Gao or Gaogao (which 1s apparently a vanant of the ongtnal
name Kugha) was an lillportant trading sl:atton at the convergence
not only of the salt route from the west and the trans-Saharan route
from the north--easl:, but also the trans-continental trade-route Early
m the eleventh century 1t became the capital of the state of Songhay
(Songhoy), on the convers10n to Islam of the first Songhay dynasty,
which ts S!Ud to have been of Berber ongm. The Songhay ktngdom
was annexed to Malli by Mansa Musa m 1325, but m 1335 the
38r
NOTES
dynasly was re-cstabbshed (with the ntle of sonnf), though 1t sbll
remamed m at leasl: nommal subJect10n to Malli unt:ll the reign of
Sonni 'All (1465-92), the 1aA1: ruler of the ongmal Berber bne, who
enlarged his lmgdom chiefly at the expense of Mall He was suc-
ceeded by his SonmJ..e general Muhammad (1493-1529), the founder
of the askra dynasty, who brought Songhay to the height of 1ts power
The Songhny empire was broken up and the dynasty e::-..tmgu1shed by
the Moroccans, who captured Gao and Timbuktu m I 59 r
13
The e::usl:ence of a cowry exchange m the Malli emprre, alongside
the salt exchange, 1s conclusive evidence of the commercial re1atJons
across the Afncan contJ.nent referred to m note 14, as cowries are found
m Afncn only on the east coasl: between the Equator and Mozambique
(Grande Encyclopldre I fJ Caun). In Ibn Battuta's tlme, however,
cowries were imported by merchants from the north (al-'Oman 75-76)
14
The descnptJon of the Bardama tnbe, and particularly of their
women, corresponds very closely With Barth's descnpt:lon of the
TagMma tnbe to the south and SW of Air
Jll Tagadda or Takndda. was at this tJme the largesl: town m the
Tuareg country Its Berber sultan, who was nommally subJeB: to
the Emperor of Malli, 1s probably to be regarded as the rulmg chief
of the Massufu (Sanhap) The problem of the site of TagaddJ 1s
not yet cleared up It 1s generally talen, on the basis of Barth's
1dentJficat10n, to be Teg1dda n'T1semt, 97 miles WNW of Agades
Barth added that although" nothmg 1s lnown of the eXJsl:ence of copper
hereabouts," a red salt 1s obtamed from mmes there GautJer and
Chudeau (Mwrom au Sahara, II, 2 57) also remark on the absence of
copper m the Sahara except at Tamegroun m the Ougarta range
(29 I 5 N, r 40 W ), and slate that all the copper used m Air and m
Ahaggar comes from Europe The absence of copper at Tegtdda 1s
confirmed by F R Rodd, who tlunks that Ibn Battuta's Tagadda
must be looked for "at some considerable d1sl:ance south of Agndes"
(People of the /Teti, 452-6) The meamng of the word Tegrdd,1,
accordmg to the latter, 1s "a small hollow where water collefu," and
the name 1s apphed to a number of different places (Cf H 8.N, II, 193 ,
Marquart, 98) The ex!sl:ence of copper mmes at Tagaddii 1s, however,
confirmed by al-'OmarI on the authority of Mansa Musa (tr Demom-
bynes, I, 80-8 I)
30 Kuhar 1s Gobir, the country north of the present Sokoto, and
consequently bordenng on Tagadda. to the south Whether Zaghay
stands here for the disl:ncl: SW of Tnnbuktu, or for the central areas
round Kanem and Wada1, vaguely known as Zaghawa, 1s quite
uncertam
Jt Bamu here stands for Kanem, rather than Bomu JD Nigeria The
empire of Kanem at this period extended across the central Sahara
northwards to Fezzan and eastwards towards Dar Fur, as well :
mto Northern Nigena Th.is Idris (1353-76, not to be confused Wl
382
NOTES
the famous \1J1 IJds of Burnu m the St'tt1.cnth century) \\ u the son
ol ont' lbr.ih!m ~ti. Ile, \\ho c!1111HJ to be of ~outh \nbun <.h...,cent
1nd \\ is ,ultan of K 111cm lrom I 307-.!6 'l he conc1. 1!1111.nt of the
i.mg ,,as due to a belief m the ma~tcal ciu1ht1c, of Im olltce (Barth,
I, 638 9, :--led, N~rdtr1 N11;(n.i, I, z5 ~)
J~ Ja\\jJ.\,J, more often sr,cllcJ K.i,,bw or Kui.u, the G10gao of
Leo Afncmu~, ts ctthcr Ku~ 1 on l,.1i.c l ltrt 111 \V ,11.h1, ~ I of Kanun

or che Kub m llornu ( \lJrquut 95 ff, II utm inn m US() S
).,,V3, 176.ff) I ha,e not been J.blc to trJce the :-.Iu\',Utabun or
\lurtabun
u 1 he corp of '7.JifJ1 or" guarJs" 1t the court ol the sultm of
l\lorocco formed the nuclcm of 1 ttanJm~ arm}, as J1~mct from the
trtbJ.! 1111ht1a (.U.. 1J/1k .,/-.lb1Jr, tr Dcmomb)nC.J, lnck't so)
Demomb,ncs rc;iJs, \\1th 0111. \I~, ln.itt1 un m p!Jc1. of Yanfobun
(i!J1J :10, n :)
,u Kfo1r 1s a ,ar!.lnt of the name \1r, g1,cn to the sp.irsel; populated
hilly country l}mg to the south of In \1..-rna or \siu, the \,di ref1.rred
to bc!o,, at the fOtnt \\ here the routes le.id mg to 'I \dt and Eg; pt
di\ tdc It u slrangc that lbn llattuta should apprentl; r1.f1.r to
K.ih1r as seprat1.d from the num ridge b) 1 tlirc1. <la) s' march
0
Haggu or liogg1r, the lkrbcr (1 uar1.g) trtbcs mhab1tmg the
central Sahann maSS1f, tl11. ancient \tbs mountam~, no,, c1lkJ Ahaggar
after its mhab1unts
2
Buda hes at the northern end oftht.. T,,.tt \alky at :8):, o 30 C
'\n account of the dill.ncl: and 1ts h1.,'lor; 1s g1v1.n b) Gaut11.r and
Chudcau, Mzmom a.J S.ihar.i (Pans, t<)o8), I, 250 According to
the Arabic geographer), locu:;h \\ 1.rc also 1.at1.n by the mlubttants
of Marril..ush
I. INDEX OF GEOGRAPHICAL
NAl'VIES
'AnnAnA", SS
\bu llli 'har, 191
Abulur (Abohar), 190
l \nb.ir,:: h ::98, 303, 37+
\n,hlum, 9, 18, l<J, ,3, (303),
3I1-316, 374, 376-377
Ab)s 1ma, 1c9, (110)
AJ.ih)a, I:: }-I ::7, 35 \.
lI \nJn ( \nJ.1rlb), 178
\ntlln-1, 1.:1,-1.:7
\dlm's Pc.i~, 95, 2 ~6, 254, 2;5, \n11och, (11
2 57- 2 59, 365 'Aqabat as-S:m In (er al-I hJi-
'\den, 109-110 L.lp), F, 346
Afghamnan, 17, (178-180), 1!-'Aqr, 1oz
360 1\- \qra', 6t-
Agathomi c, 15 S \q,1r.1 (Al st..r.11), 131
Ahaggar, 3S::, 383 \qshahr, 127,355
al- \h\,ab, 108, H 1 \r.ibn, 367
\.Jr, 38::, 383, ,11J 1u K Uur \rcot, 365
Aplun, 57, 305, 3H Armt..ma., 61, 3 5+
al-\Jfur, 80 'Aru1, \V .id1'l, 79
AJudahan, 191 \rL.anJin, 1 p.
Alhandaqfo, 307 \rz ar-Rum, 1 3::
al-A\.,.h1ar, 346 \rz1la., 3 t 1, 3 16
'Al.,.\.,.a (Acre), 58 Ashmun, 49
'Alibur (Abpur), ::::3-::::4, 363 .\sir, 351
'ALlyi, 123, 124, 3;+ Asm, 383
Alcxandna, 19, 46-4 7, 5o, 3 06, \skalon, 57
3.p' (34 2 ) Assam, 366
Algcc1ras, 303, 3 12, 37 4 Assua.n (Aswan), 50, 323, 379
Algiers, I 8, 44, 3+ 1 Asl:ra.\.,.han, I 5 I, I 6 5
Alhama Su al-Ha.mma. Asyut, 53
Alhambra, 376 Atribulus Su Tnpoh
Aligarh, 362 , and 1u Koel Auda.ghusht, 378
Alma.liq, 171, 359 Ayi Suluq, l 34
Amisiya., l 32 Aydhib, 53-5+, 60, 107, 123,
Ampd (AmJhera.), 192 306, 343
Amoy, 369 Ayd{n, 134
'Ana,298, 303,374 Ayntab, 305
Anatolia., 17, 21, 25, 49, 123- Azaq (Azov), 144, r+6
141, 354, 355, 358 Azghanghan, 307, 37 5
385 cc
INDEX OF
Ba'albek, 64 Basra, 72
Baba Saltuq, 153 ,16 5, 357 Bougie, 44, 341
Bacanor, 233 Boyalu, 356
Badr, 7 5, 7 8, 347 Brahmaputra Su Jun
Baghdad, 2I, 85, 88, 93, 99-100, Brusa, 136,356
102,303,316,347,349,350, Buda, 338, 383
355 Budfattan, 2 34
Baghlan, 178, 360 Bukhara, IO, 21, 171-172, 339,
Baghras, 6r, 345 359
Bahrayn, 121-122, 353, 354 Bulghar, 150, 151, 357
Bakar (Bukkur), r 88, 361 Buli, 140
Baldah, Wad!, 73, 346 Bulyana, 307, 374
Balikasrf, l 35-136 Burdur (Buldur), 127
Balkh, 21, 175 Bur3 Bura (Bur3pur), 223
Ballash, 3 I 5, 316 Burlu, 140, 356
Bandar 'Abbas, 3 53 Burma, 367
Barcelore, 2 33
Barghama, 1 35 Caffa (Kafa), 142, 356
Barkur, 233 Cagban, (307), 374
Basra, 21, 85, 86-87, rr9, 303, Cairo, 50-52, 54, 57, 58, 69,
317,348,349 123, 306, 342
Bassa, 373 Cabcut, 46, I IO, 234, 235-238,
Battala, 254-255, 260 239, 240, 241, 266, 302, 364
Bayana, 215 Cambay, rro, 228-229, 363
Bayram, 230 Candelor, 354
Bayrut, 59 Can nano re, 2 34
Baywam Qutlu, 292 Canton Su Sin-Kalan
Bazwa, 7 5, 346 Cathay, 52, 202, 277, 284, 297-
Belvedere, 64 301, 369
Bengal, 8, 23, 240, 243, 246, Ceuta, 292, 311, 3 r6
248, 249, 267-271, 272, 366 Ceylon, 8, 95-96, 231, 234, 241,
Bethlehem, 55 246, 254-260, 365
Beypore, 364 Chandfrf, 226
Beyshahr, 127,355 Charkh (Chankar), I79
B1Jaya, 44, 341 Crulaw, 256
Btlbays, 54 China, 7, 8, 13-14, 97, rr5, 131,
B1qa', 344 169,170,171,214,234,235,
B1'r Mallaha, 98 236, 238, 239, 240, 242, 243,
al-Bfra, 316, 376 246, 268, 269-270, 276, 277,
B1rg!, I 32-134, 3 56 279, 281, 282-301, 358, 368-
Bfsh-Babgh, 299, 373 373
B!shdagh (Beshtaw), 147, l 5 I, Cluna Sea, 97, 235, (276-281),
357 (301-302), 367-368
B1ilim, 177, 178, 360 Cluttagong Su Sudkawan
Bona, 44 Colombo, 260, 365
Bornu (Barnu), 336, 382, 383 Consl-antme, 44
386
GE O GRAP H I CAL N A Ivl E S
Con~antmopk, 6, 13, 26, 58, D1).ir lhJ..r, 102, (103-10~)
135, q8, 1+9, 151, 15+, Doni;o!J, 323, 379
l 56- I 6+, 3 58 ad-Dumb, 233
Coron11ndd Su l\la'b tr
Crimea, 1+21+h 152-153, 356, Ldfu, 53, 123
357 c.i;1.rd1r, 127,128,356
c.i;1.rd1r-Gul, 3 5 5
Dahfattan, 23+ Egypt, 5, 16, 17, 20-21, 2h
Damanhur, +7 Vi5h 59, 123, 12+, 125,
Damascu~, 5, 2 5, 59, 60, 6+, 282, (300), 308-309, 323,
65-72, 92, 177, 282, 291, 335, 338, 35 h 170, 375, 379
30+-105, 135, H53 ~6, 3+9, [hira, 376
37 1 [phcsus, 1 H
Dam11.. tta, +9, 50, 306 1'..r11.rum, 132
Danube, 358 1'..sn.i, 53
D.id, 1 o+, 3 50 Luphrat1.,, 52, 80, 81, 85, 37+
Dar'a, 317
Darb ZubJ)'JJ, 3+7-3+8 l aJ..anur, 233, 265
Dir Fur, 3l:lz 1'.il, 353
Dir at-Tama', 339 Fandarayn.i, 2H, 237
Davas, 129 F1nfJ..a, 155,358
Daw lat Ab.id, 8+, I 8+, 20+, 208, l .insJ..ur, +9
211, 227-228, 362, 303 Lirs, 21, 78, 87, (92-97), 119,
Daybul (Debal), 361 120-121, q6, 187, 233, 23+,
Dayr al-Farus, 63 235, (303), 353
Dayr at-Tfn, 52 ras.1, 37 3
Dead S1.a, 55 lath Ab.id, 172
D1.ccan, 23, (227-228), 362, 363 rattan, 262, 263-26+, 265, 365-
Ddh1, 6, 8, 10, 21, 22, 23, 25, 366
103, 183, 188, 193, 19~-205, Fawwa, +7
207, 210-212, 225-226, 2++, fayd, So, H 7, 3+8
262, 292, 302, 362, 363 Feodosia Su Kafa
Denizh, 128 Fe.t, 9, 11, 19,308,317, 339
Deogm (Duwayg1r), 227, 362, Fezzan, 382
363 Ffruzan, 9 1
Dhafiin (Dhofar), 113-1 q, 302, "Fortress of Maslama," 1 s+, 3 5 8
35 2 France, 13 5, 160
Dhakwan, 316, 377 Fuchow, 369, 371
Dhar (Dhihir), 192, 226, 363 FuJa (Fuggta), I 3 5, 3 56
Dhit HaJJ, 72, 3+6
Dholpur, 363 Galata, 160
Dhu'l-Hulayfo, 75 Galilee, Sea of, 5 8
Diam polis, 3 58 Gandhar See Qandahir
D1eliba, 380 Ganges, sz, r8+, r93, 212,
Dinawar (Dondra), 260, 365 267
D1oura, 378 Garad! Buli, r40
387
INDEX OF
Gawgaw (Kawl..aw), 2+3, 323, Hull, 39, 9S-99, 33
331, 33+, 381-382, s,( a/Jo Hims, 60, 305
JawJawa Hma\H, :::30-231, 239-.!40, .!Cl5
Gawr, 366 Hmdulu~h .M~, lj';J-179
Gaza, 55, 123,305, 306 Hbn al-.-Hdd, 60
Genoa (Genoese), 19, 25, 123, H1t, 303, 37+
135, 1+2, 144, 160, 356 Hormuz, 1 rS, 20:, 303
Ghadamas, 33+ Hormuz, N''-\\, r rd, .:01, 35::,
G ha.Wiqa, 3 51 I
353
Ghana, 378, 380
I
HumJ.}thir.1, 53
Gharnata (Granada), 315-316, I HunJ (HunJu), 353
HU\\.l,Z3., 97, 3 ~9
333, 376
Ghat, 338
Ghazna, 179-180, 185,360
I
Huzu, 353
IdhJ.J, S9, 3+8
Ghcna, 137 al-'Idh,u, 85
Gibraltar, 311-313, 316, 3H Ifr1q1}.1, 18
Goa Ste Sandabur
H.h1mm, 53
Gob1r, 382 In .\t.1\\J, 383
Gog and Mago~, R.impart of, InJ1.1, 0, 7, 17, .!.!.! i ~b.
290,370 83-85, 87, 1c9, I 10, I lj,
Gogo, 230 l l f , 115,118, 11<), 1.:3, IJl,
Granada Su Gharn.1ta 158,109,176, 177,(113-.:.,;).
Gumush Khanah, 13:: :::35, 2+2,.: U, 20.:, 2~3. :.:37,
G\\al10r, 22+ 288, 289, JOI, 30.:, 310,
360-366
Habanq, 27 r, 366 InJ1.rn OclJn, +, I 7
Had{tha, 303 InJuJ rnt-r, 52, 181, r'tiJ, t85',
HaJH, 122,353 186-181:i
al-Haw, 79, H7 'lr.iq '\pm!, S8, (JI
HaJJ TarJ...hfo, I 5 I, 165 lr.1q ( \r.ivi), 17, .!C, !f, Ji,
H:ili, 107,351 40, n, 6!, 8c-b.:!, Ip, l j l
H:irnah, 61, 30; qz, 3 a 3- 3 o ~. Hs, n,. 3n
al-Hamm:i, 315,316,376 I,.1!un (Lr.ih.rn), Jt, JJ, ; I,
H:ina-chow
0
Su Khans.1 28:?, J03, 3;1
H,rns1, 193 L!JnJ vt .UirJJ, r I tJ
Harb:i, 102 l;r.1r1.t, 11.7
Harbtu, 262, 365, 366 !ell (Vol1), ;.:, r;r, cv;
al-H3.5.i, 1:::2, 353-35+ i .il.it.tn.., (Wal.it.1.), Jrri, JI')
I Iisik, J ls 32r, p:., 335,37 1, P')
H:m1.a, 3+9
I-!t:bron, 55, l:?J, 305, 3H f.1v.tl..J, 6::., /.J J, l ! J
I
H1.dt, 175-176, 359 ' ]ai ...m l'.1nJli, 19.:, JI-,!

H11Jz, 21, +5, 52, (7+75), 77, J.!-J ..d.1'!, .:1;, !10, J'>~
(ro5), (1c6) J.i,, 176-r77, y,)
.:i!-H1Jr, 73, 7-t-, 346, H7 Jin ~.i.,, 93
].in.ii:/, t::,;, Jf>I
Hlli, :: H, 36+
Jb8
GEOGRAPHICAL NAMES
Janbil, 224, 363 Kaynul., l 3 8
Jarawn, 119 Kazarun, 97
Jarillly:in, 128 Kerch, 142
Jawa, 367, and JU Sumatra Kermian, 128
JawJawa, 336, 383 Kevruk, 138
Jazirat 1bn 'Omar, 103 KhaJuraho, 363
Jedda (Judda), 106, 123, 306 Khan-Baliq, Kharuqu (Pekmg),
Jerba, 18, 306-307, 374 270, 282, 287, 297, 298-299,
Jerusalem, 55-57, 123,159,163, (301), 368, 369, 373
305, 306, 344 Khansa (Hang-chow), 36, 269,
Judi, Mount, 103 270, 287, 293-297, 299, 301,
Juhfa, 75, 347 368, 369, 372, 37 3
Jun nver, 52, 267, 366 Khawnsl:an, 353,373
J urfattan, 2 34 Khiva, 3 56, 3 59; and JU Khwa-
nzm
Kabara, 322, 378 Khmer, 367
Kabul, l 80, 360 Khor Musa, 348
Kafa (Caffa), 142, 356 Khulays, 75, 78, 347
Kahir, 337, 383 KhunJubal, 120, 121, 303, 353
Kaprra, 226, 363 Khurasan, 78, 119, 175-17S,
Kalba, 303, 373 189, 190, 316, 339, 359, 360
Kalmd1 nver, 2 2 3 Khusraw A.bad, 188
Kamaru (Kamarupa), 268, 271, Khwanzm, 167-171, 172, 282,
366 359
KanauJ, 223 Kiev, 356
Kanem, 382, 383 Kilwa, 112-113, 379
Kannalus, 245-246, 266 Kish IS!and, 3 53
Kara1., 64, 72 Koel, 3, 36,215,222,223
Kara1. Nuh, 59 Koma, 130, 354, 355, 350
Karam.in, 131 Kordofan, 344, 378
Karbala,99, 170,348 Kral. des Chevaliers, 60
Karmash, l 80 Kubar, 336,382
Karsa1.hu, 322, 378, 381 Kufa, 80, 97-98, 104, 349
Karz{ (Karz{n), 303, 373 Kugha, 3 80, 3 8 1
Kat, 171, 359 Kul..a, 383
Katal..a, 227 Kulllsh, 1 32
Kavenpattanam, 36 5-366 Kunal..ar (Kornegalle), 256-257,
Kawa, 229, 363 365
Ka\\Jya, 137 KunJ:i-KarI, 238
Kaw1.a,\ S,i! Ga,\ gaw Kun,a Urgench, 359
Kawlam (Qu1lon), 46,110,231, Kutiluya, 128
23+, 238-239, 265, 283, 302,
364 L:idluq, 128-129
Ka,u.istin, I20, 3o3, 353, 373
lu)al, 366
I
LldruqJ} a, 6 3-64, I 2 3
: LaharI, 186, 187, 361
Ka) lu1.arI, 2 79, 366, 368 I :il-L:iJJUll, 72
389
INDEX OF
Lalnav.ti, 267-268, 27r, 366 1\forbala ( Marbdfa), ; 1 J
" Land of Darlness," I 50-1 51 l\Iarh, 2 2 3, 163
Lar, 120-121, 303, 353 l\landin, ro+, 350
Laranda, r 3 r al-Marqab, 6+
Larrybunder See Lahar Marr (l\Iarr az-Zuhdn), 75, 7S,
Lawza, 80, 348 3+7
Lebanon, 3+, 6+ l\farral-.ush, 316, 177, 383
Ltinsl-an, 88-9r, 298, 303, 348 al-i\Ias.i11d, So, 3-1-8
Lu:rnr, 53, H3 Mascat, 301
Mashhad (.i\IcohhtJ), 177, 360
Ma'an, 72 al-Ma'~huq, I 02, 150
Ma'arra, 6r, 305 Mashur, Bandar, 3+8
Ma'bar (Coromandel), :?Io, 212, r.fasma, 38 l
231, 2+r, :q6, 2+7, 252, 25+, Masira, ~r6, 352
255, 261-265, 365, 366 Mas'ud Ab.id, 193, 19~, 36.:
Madina, 43, 55, 7-f, 78-79, 306, Mawrf, 223, 363
347 Mecca, 5, 12, zS, 1, +8, 55,
1' +
Madura, 262, 264, 365 75-78, 105, ro6, 107, r .:.:,
Maghnb (North-Wesl: Africa), , :n 2, 270, 306, JH, J p, 38 t
r8, r9, 3+, 35, 38, 59, 283, Men, 175
306-3 ro, 338, 34-r, 370, 375, J\.I1kn.Is.i (J\.h.qum1.z), 30+
IU a/10 Morocco M1Lls, I 29
Magnesia, I 3 5 M1ltfoa, +3
Mahal, 24r, 2+5, 246,254,266 l\lima, 331,333,381
al-Mahal!b, I 09 Mmnc.n-Mandd, 2 55-2 56
Mahtuli, I 53-15+, 358 M1tfp, H, (3 p)
Mapr, r+6, r47, 357 .i\liuss nva, J;7
Ma3ul, 88, 89 Mogd1,hu, 110--112
Mal-.myat, 3 52 l\lomb:i,J, I I2
Malabar (l\Iulaybar), 7, 8, z3, i\Ioramrn, 361
rro,23r-239,247,254-,(302), \Iorocco, q, 18, 19, :q;, JOJ,
3 2r 304, (308-3r1), (316-317).
Mal (al)-Amlr, 89, 3+8 (339), 37;, 376
Malaga, 313-315, 316,376 I ;\lo,1Jgan<.m, 307
Malawa (Mah\a), 223, 226 ! Mo,ul, 102, 103, 104
:Maldive Islands, 7, 8, 10, r1,, I l\Iudurlu, 138,139
231, 241-25+, ::62, 26+-26;, Mugh1ftan, 118
266, z.67, 273, 364-, 366 I l\Iughfa, I 29
l\I.ilJI, :?{J, JI 8, 320, 32 !, 3~2, / .Mulf, 323, 37 1)
323-331, 33+, 335, 380-381, , l\Iul-Jfa:1, 271;-.:78, 367
82 \[ulwn, q;, 183, 1.,1, 1-l~-1,;;
3
i\fanfrat a1-Qurun, 8 r, 343 \I ului., :? ; J, 2 5 ~
1\-Ianfalut, 53 \Iuny.it 1bn Kl .i,16, jj
l\fangalon.. (l\Ianprur), 233-23 ~. \IutrJ, 26:e, 26 ~
z-4-0 \Iucurnf, q3, 1 JI)
l\faqda..,h:m, r rc-112, 2+7 \l'zab, 37
39
GEOGRAPHICAL NAMES
Nabcul, 37+ Penm island, 363
Nabulus, 57 Persia, 17, 21, 24, 38, 349
Nadruma, 307 Phoc::ca See FuJa
Napf, 81-83, 303 Pigeon island, 366
NaJd, 79-80, 3 5+ Pomt de Galic, 260
Nal..da, I 3 I Puttclam (Batt.ala), 254-255, 260
Nalhshab, 172
Nandurbar, 228 Qab1s (Gabes), 45, 307
an-Naq1ra, 79, 3+7 al-Qad1sfya, 8 I, 348
Narwar, 363 ' JU a/10 Parwan Qalhat, II6-118, 303,352
Nasibin, 103-10+ Qill, 260
Naysabur (Nishapur), 17 5, 177 Qahqut Su Calicut
Nazwa, 118,352 Qamara, 276, 367
Ncgapatam, 365 Qandahar (Afghamslan), 1 So
Negrolands, 9, 300, 3 18-33+ , Qandahar (Gandhar), 229, 363
Niamey, 379 Qan-Jan-fu, 291-292, 301, 317,
N1ca:a, I 36, 3 56 37 1
N1gda, 131 ' Qaqula, 276, 367
Niger river ("Nile"), 322-323, Qarabagh, 93, 3+9
31 l, 333, 33+, 3+3, 378, Qar.iJfl (Himalayas), 214
379 Qaraqorum, 299, 300, 373
Nile River, 49-50, 52, 323, 3+3, QarshI, 172
379 al-Qarura, 79, 347
Nubia, 21,323, 379 Qaslamu01, 139, 140-q1
Nupc, 379 Qathff, 121, 122
Nyani, 380 Qatya, 54
Qayrawan, 341
'Oman, 115-118, q.6, 303,352, Qays island, 121, 353
373,378 Qaysadya, 13 1
Onore Su Hmawr Qma, 53
Ormuz Su Hormuz Q1pchaq desert, r+2, r 53,
'Othmaniya, 294 (165), (167)
Oude, 212 Qiram, 141, 143, 356
Oushar, 3 55 Qudayd, 347
0).US nver, 168, 175 Quluslan, 175
Qutlon Su Kawlam
Pagr:e (Baghras), 61,345 Quioquia, 3 So
Palpattan, 191 Qul H1sar, 128,355
Palam, 19+ Qundus (Qunduz), 178, 360
Palmyra, 304 Qumya, 130, 316, su also
Panderam, 234 Koma
PanJsh1r, 179 Quqa, 230
Parwan (Afgharusta.n), 179 Qurayyat, 303, 373
Panvan (? Nanvar), 224, 226, Qud Mansa, 332 333, 381
363 Qus, 53, 54
Pel.mg, 8 , see also Khan-Bahq Qusayr, 12
39 1
INDEX OF
Rabat, 316, 320 Sayda (Sidon), 58
Rabigh, 75 Sehwan (S!wasitan), 185-186
Rahba, 304, 374 Senegal nver, 379
Ram1z (Ram-hurmuz), 89 Sfax, 45,307,354
ar-Ramla, 57, 12 3 Shabba, 303, 373
Ra's Dawa'ir (? Raweiya), 107, ash-Shabyat, 240, 364
123, 350 ash-Sham (Tabriz), 101
Rawi nver, 361 SharJa, 351
Red Sea, ro6-107, 123 Shashnaghar, 180, 360
Rome, Romans, 135, 160 Shiraz, 92, 93, 94-95, 96-97,
Ronda, 313,316 202,303,349,359,373
Rouss1 Uon, 2 5 Shushtar, 89, 303
Rukn .A.bad, 92, 96, 348 Sibcna, 3 57
Sicily, 19, 37 4
Sabta See Ceuta Sidon Ste Sayda
Saghar, 227, 228 S11tlmasa, 14, 19, 288, 317, 319,
Sala (Sallee), 316,320 338, 339, 369, (377)
Salawat (Clulaw), 256 S111sbin (Se1fun), 176
as-Sahhiya, 54 Smd, 22, 119, 145, 183-190,
Samannud, 49 203,212, 328, 360, 361
Samarqand, 2r, r74, 316, 339, SmJar, 104,350
Sm-Kalan, Sfn as-Sfn (Canton),
359 235, 282, 287, 288-290, 368,
Samarra, 102, 350
Samhal (? Sambhal), 214, 362 37
Sam!ra, 79, 347 Smope, 141
San'a, 108, 109, 351 Sfraf, 121-122, 353
Sandabur, 230, 23r, 239-240, Sfrl, 23, 194, 362
241, 363-364 Sis, 6 r
Sansara nver, 323, 380 Siwas, x31-132
Sanub, r4r Smyrna, 25, 134, 356
Saqarf (Sanganus) nver, 137 Soldaia Su Sudaq
Sara (Saray), 143, 165-166, 167, Solghat, 3 56
Sosso, 380
358 Spam, 146, 312, and Itt Anda-
Sarachuk (SaraiJik), 167, 359
Sarand{b, 365, and ue Ada.m's lusia
Peak, Ceylon Stambul, 160
Sarasati (Sarsun), 193 Stary-Knm, 356
Suakm, 107
Sardtrua, 307, (37 5) Sudaq (Surdaq), 46, I 52-15 3,
SarM, 273, 367
SarJa, 107, 351 357
Sudkawan, 267,268,366
Sarmln, 6r, 305
Sam (Hoang-ho) nver, 52 Sufala, rr2, 379
Suhayl, 313, 314, 376
Satalia, 3 54 as-Sukhna, 304,374
Satgaon (Satganw), 366 Sulayman Mts, 180,360
as-Sawalul, rr2, 352 Sultanlya, 2 1
Sawabn, 107
39 2
GEOGRAPHICAL NAMES
Sumatra, 's, 234, 240, 271, 272, Tfzfn, 6r, 345
273-276, 301, 302, 367 Tlemsen, 18, 19, 43, 307, 341,
Sunurkawan, 271, 272, 366 375
Sur ('Oman), rt6, 352 Transcaucasia, 146
Sur (Tyre), 58 Transoxama (Turkesl:an), 21, 22,
Susa, 45 60,300
Sylhet, 366 Treb1zond, 3 54
Syna, 16, 25, 33, 39, 49, 54, Tnpoli (Afncan), 18, 21, 45
(55-72), 123, 304-305, 308, Tnpol.I (Synan), 60, 63, 123,
3o9, 355 344
Ts'wan-chow-fu Su Zaytun
Tabarfya (T1benas), 58-59 Tughlaq A.bad, 194
Tabriz, 21, 101-102, 316, 349- Tums, 18, 19, 44, 45, 307, 341,
350 374
Tabuk, 73 Turbat-1 Haydan (Za.wa), 177,
Tadala, 335 360
Tadmur, 304 Ture-ssangha, 378
Tagadda, 334, 335-337, 382 Turklshfn, 148, 171, 359, !U
Taghaza, 317-318, 377 also Transoxarua
Ta'1f, 77 Tus, 177,360
Ta'1zz, I08-109, 351 Tufuu-, 89, 303
TaJ Bura, 222 Twat Su Tawat
Takrlt, 102 Tyre Su Sur
Takrdr, 378, 379
Tamegroun, 382 al-'Ubbad, 307, 374
Tangier, 2, 9, 20, 43, 304, 307, Ubulla, 87, 348
3II Uch (A.Ja), 188
Taralli, 137 'Udayna, 109
Tarlfa, 1 9, 3o3, 374 al-'Udhayb, 81
Ta.ma, 187, 361 UJJam, 227
Tasarahla, 3 18, 377 Ukak (Locaq), l 52, 357
"Tawabsf, Land of," 279-281, al-Ukhayclir, 73, 346
301, 368 al-'Ula (al-'Ela), 73, 74,
Tawas, 129 347
Tawat, 337, 338, 383 Umm Junayba, 339
Taza, 308 Umm 'Ubayda, 86,348
Tegidda Su Tagadda. Ural nver, 167
Tenes, 307 al-'Usayla, 79, 347
ath-Thaniya, 72 'Usfan, 75, 347
Thrace, 357, 358 U shturUn, 91
Tibet, 268
Ttlbat, 206, 2 1 5 Velez, 31 S
Tiling (Tehngana), 227 V alga Ste fol
Tunbuktu, 323, 331, 333, 381
T!ra, 1 34, 376 Wabl.ana (Wafk.end), 171
T1rnudh, 168, 174-175, 190 Wada1, 382, 383
393
INDEX
Walata Su Iwalatan az-ZabdanI, 64
Waq1sa, Bo, 348 Zabfd, ro8, 35I -
Was1t, 86 Zagha, 322 - 323, 378, 381,
382
Xeml nver, 3 I 5 Zagharf, 322, 333, 378
Zaghawa, 382
Yaroama, I22, (354) Zaghay, 336, 382
YamJa, r37 Zanzibar, 378
Yatenga, 381 Zarud, Bo
Yazd1khwasr, 92 Zawa, 177, 360
Yazmfr, 134 Zaydan, 97, 349
Yaznfk, 136 Zayla' (Ze1la), r ro
Yemen, 48, ro6, 107-r ro, r r 3, Zaytun (Ts'wan-chow-fu), 8, 46,
rr5, 123, 146, r85, 233,234, 235, 259, 282, 287-288,
235,242,243,265,289,343, 290, 301, 368, 369, 370,
346, 35I 37 1
Yuff, I 12, 323, 379 Zfza, 72
394
II SELECT INDEX OF PERSONAL
N Ai\ 1ES, ETC ~ 1
'AnnASm C.1.t1r11s, 38, 66, 194-, Ibn Battuta, Travels m Bengal,

346 267-27 I
Abraham, 27, 55 Ct.ntral Asia, 167-175
Aby~s1mans, 224-, 229, 230, 260 C1.ylon, 2 5+-260
Adam, 27, 82, 255, 258-259 China and Cathay, 269-
Afghans, 1 So 270, 282-301
A1pruc, 168 Coromandd, 261-265
'lli aJ-Dln Kl11IJl, .! 2-.! 1 Easl Africa, 107, 110-
'Alawl,, 39, .ind JU Sh1'1tw 113
'\U, 38, 39, 4-0, 53, 62, 81-82, East Ind1c..~, 272-281 1
97, 1 3, 3+1, 3+5, (3+8), 349, 302
355 Egypt, +5-5+, 123,306
Almohads, 1 S Khur.isfo, 175-178
Almora,1ds, 1 S, 375, 377, 380 India, 190-229
Altamsh, 22 'Iraq, 81-88, 97-102,
Arab nomads (Dada\\ m), 18, 20, IO{, 303-30+
-t--t-, -t-5, 53, q, 75, 79, So, l\laghrib, +3-+5, 306-
97, 109, 120, 307, 3+1 308, 3II, 316-317 1
Armemans, I 32 337-339
"Assassins " Sa Isma'1ht1.s l\falabar, 229-2+1, 302
l\la!J1ve Islands, 2+1-
BarahnaUr, 272-273 1 367 25+ 1 266
Bard.ima, 335, 382 Mesopotamia, 103-10+
lbn Battuta, 2-10 Ncgrolands, 317-337
"Travds of," compos1t1on Persia, 89-97, 118-12 I,
and veracity of, 10-q, 303
35-36 Smd, 183-190
Travels m Afghamfun, 178- South Russia, q2-153,
180 165-167
Anatolia, 123-q1 Syria, 55-72, 123, 30+-
Andalus1a, 311-316 305
Arabia, 72-80, 105- Thrace and Confuin-
106, 107-110, 113- unople, 153-164
118, 122, 302-303, Baybars, 20, 60, 61, 62
306 Be3ns, 53-54, 107, 123, 3+3
Names compounded with .dbu and Jbn are indexed under the letter
of the following word cg, lbn Battuta 1vzll be found under B
395
SELECT INDEX OF
Berbers, 2, 18, 20, 335-338, 375, 1 Hasan, Shaykh Uala'1r), roe,
377, 381, 382, 383, Jtt a/Jo ) 303, 374-
" Massufa Abu'l-Hasan (Mad01d), 9, 19
Black Death," 8, 24, 25, (68- 3rr, 312, 316, 32+, 327 '
69), (3o5-3o6), 374 Husayn, 35, 52, 99, 3+3, 3+8
Buddlusl:s, 96, 365
Burhan ad-Dfn of SagharJ, 47, Ibrahfm 160 Adham, 62, 3+5
202, 269, 270, 298, 301 litutm1sh, 22
Abu '!nan, 9, r9, 20, 41, 306,
Catalans, 2 5, 37, 374 308, 3rr, 312, (Jr7), (337),
Chmg1z-Khan (T10Uz), 172,175, (339), 375
1 79, 28 3, 2 99, 359 Abu Isha'/ fnJu, 9+, 202, 3+9
Chnsbans, 15, 16, 18, 19, 25-26, Islam, Dogmas and Ceremonies
55, 57, 6r, 63, 65, 69, 74, of, 27-29, 357, 370
123, 124-125, 132, 134-135, Islamic Law, 25, 29, 169, 346,
142, 152, 160,166,245, 293, 352, 360
3o3, 3o4, 3o7, 311,312,313, Isma'ilite,;, 61-62, (345)
345, 354, 358, 374, 379, JU
also Corsaus, Crusaders, GreeJ..s Jaghatay-Khans, 17, 21, 22, 359,
C1rcass1ans, 146, r 66 360, and stt Tarmashfrin
Corsairs, 9, 26, 134-135, 307, Ja.lal ad-Din ar-Rumf, 130-131,
341,374,375 356-357
Crusades, Crusaders (Franls), I 5, Jesus, 27, 55, 57, r6r, 358
16, 17, 33,49, 56, 58,60,64, Jews, 69, 125, q6, r 58, :z38,
2 93
34 2 , 3+4, 34S, 356
JlhJd, 32-33, (rr2), 134, 135,
Darwishes Su Sufis 136, (:z39-240), (263), 274,
Dtlshad the Indian, 48, 221-222 (302), 3rr-3r2
Druse, 39 Jrnn, 28, 55, 319, H3-J++
Joseph, 59, 34+
Faqirs Su Sufls lbn Jubayr, r r, 12, 65, 3+;, 3+6,
Fefuva.l prayers, 28, 45, 341 3+7, 355
Franks See Crusaders Ibn Juzayy, 2, rr, 1+, .p, 311,
Futuwa, 125-127, 128-129, 130, 327, 339
137, 1+0 , 35+-355 Kebel Khan, 60
Ibn Khaldun, rr, 37+
Abu Ghurra, 83-85 Kurds, 89, 98, 104
Golden Horde, 17, 356, 357,
3 58, a11d su .Muhammad Lrmls, I 12, 32 3, 379
Uzbeg St LoUis, 18
Gree!.s, 125,128, 134-, 135,138, Luwata, 2
1.p, 149, 152, 153-16+, 166,
235, 285, 3+5, 35+, 357,358 .MaJd ad-Dm, Sh.1ylh, 92-93, 2oz
Mamluk djn:i.ll:,, 20-21, 2::, 2~
Hafod dynasty, 18-19, (45), 3-P Mand10goe:1 (~falinL~), J:!.!, J:?7,
Haggar, 338, 383 378, 380-381
PERSONAL NA:tvIES, ETC.
Marath:i<, 227, ~28 Pirates, Ind1:1n, 10, 230, 233,
l\larimd d\ naslv, 18, 19 1 306, 239, 242, 25 h 265, 276
,nJsu \bu'l-H1san, \bu 'Info
Massufa, 233, 317, 319, 320, Qala'un, 20 1 6+,, 3+2, H+
322, 333, 377, 382 Qutb ad-Din Aybak, 22, 195,
Mas'ud Kh.in, 203-20+ 210
Mongols (Tat:irs), 16 1 17 1 20,
21, 22, 2-1-, 93, 100-101, 172, Ramad.in, Iasl: of, 28, 29
17-1-, 178, 179, 283, 3+8, 3+9, r,bJt (zJvrya, k/2Jnr1Jh), 33, 51
356, 357, 359, 360, 369, 372, ar-R1fa'i, 86, 3 ~8
373 r"kh, 302, 373
l\losi.s, 27 1 68 RussJJns, 152, 166
l\[uh:imm:id tht. Prophet, 27, 29,
38, -t- 0 , 5 3, 50, 7 3, 3 2, 3+3, as-Sa'd!, 96, 97
3H,H5 Abu S.i'id (sultan), 2 I, 7 8, 9+,
Muh:1mm;1d h.hud.ibanda Su 100-101, 102, 303, 3+9, 37+
UlJ.i) tu ' Saladm, 20, 56, 59, 3+5
MuhanunJd 1bn 1 ughlaq, 6, 7, S.iama (Samma~), 185,361
17, 23, 3 2, 83-85, 9+-95, 1+5, Sh1'1tcs, 35, 38-+o, 58, 61, 82,
176, 183-185, 187, 188, 189, 85, 91, 93, 98, 99, 122, 12+,
190, 193-2 I 5, 223, 226, 229, 177, 3++, 3+5, H8, 355
230,239,251,252,267,268, Solomon, 55, 58, 161, 180, 30+,
275, 276, 292, 359, 362, 363, 3+3, 31-+, 375
365 , SonghJy, 381, 381-382
Muhammad Uzbt.g Kh.in, 1+2, Sufis (darwhht.s), 33-38, 39, 51,
1+3, x++, q8-152, 165, 168, 85, 86, 95-96, 106, 120-121,
173,356,358 130, 139, 177, 2+6-2+7, 259,
al-Mursh1df, +1-+8, 222 26+, 267,268,271,315,316,
Musa (~lahnkc sultan), 3 29, 332, HS, 3+8, 35+, 357, ue also
380,381 Futuwa
Sulayman (Malml-c sultan), 3 2 3-
an-Nam (Caliph), 355 329, 332, 381
an-Nam, al-Mahl- (Sultan), 20,
2+, +6, 6+, 72, 122, 323 Tarmashirin, 172-17+, 209, 359
Ncapohtans, 19 Tatars Sec Mongols
Noah, 27 1 82, 103, 3+4 Ibn Taymfya, 38, 67-68, 346
Normans, 25 Thamud, 7 3-74, 3+6
Nur ad-Din, 59, 60 Timur (Tamerlane), 2 5, 3+5,
Nusayns, 39 1 62-63 350, 360, 162, 37+
Orl..han Bek, 1 36, I 38 Tml...fz See Chmg1z-Khan
Ossetes, 166 Tughlaq Shdh, 2 3
Ottoman Turks, 16 1 17, 136-138, Turl...s, Turi-mens, 16, 21, 22,
3+4, 356,358 6+, 92, 100-101, 120, 121,
123-154, 159, 164-180, 293,
P1lgnmage, 3, 4, 5, 12, 29, 69, 369, 372 , Jee a/Jo Ottoman
72-75, 78, 10+-105, 122, 347 Turks
.197
SELECT INDEX
u13ayru, 21, 93, 349 Abu Ya'qub Yusuf, 59-60
Umayyad Caliphs, 38, (65), Yogis, 225-z:::6, z55, 257, 259,
(66), 343, 346 260
Urdu3a, 148, 279-281, 368
Uz9eg-Khan Su Muhammad
Uzbeg ZanJ, 35:::
Z1y:imd dynasty, 18, (.t-3), 3 p
Venetians, 160 Zubayda, 79, Hi
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THE BROADWAY TRAVELLERS

EDITED BY SIR E DENISON ROSS

T17zth an f ntroductton and :Jl.&tes

EDITED BY SIR E DENISON ROSS

'IRAYELS AND ADl'EN'IURES

'Jbe abOfle volmntJ are ready or nearing p11blic11t1on

PRll,TEP IN GRSAT ERITAI._ IJY

To the world of today the men of medieval Christen-

'. devobon, a man w1th a]] the makin~ of a smner, and

qadi or_J_l;!dge,,m pn,t qQhe Mo..rqc~an towns, an4 died

mc:ins dLvoid of intc..rc~ and \-aluc t.vcn to us. Out

porter m the wazir, at whose msl1gat1on possibly

d'There is finally the question of his verac1ty. There

2. THE HISTORICAL BACKGROUND OF IBN BATTUTA'S

The Islamic world m the fourteenth century differed,

and the authority of Delhi extended agam mto Bengal

3 THE RELIGIOUS BACKGROUND OF IBN BATTUTA S

, .__ To the Muslim world m general, however, political

of certam beliefs. No one has fully earned the name

Here begms the narrative of the Shaykh Abu

Abu Ya'qub told h1m to brmg them and when he had

Each khat\'111 posscs'-es c;cveral towns and districts

went on to .LV!ecca to perform the pilgrimage This

hundred men beionQUlg- to different rrades, h:n err: .. !

ample garments with gold embroidery, with his

the students He gave us a kmdly wtlcomt. :in 1

., Thu-e n1l 11 "!''- 1k rnu1.nt .:\nhic rn<l I h.110\\ onh

white horse and a robe, bcs1 d es ass1gnrng n c..

'.-\l.1 d-:.Jul;.. Klrnd'1,~ rnd Z1d1h, ,\ho cnt on ,lll

.ttUlk, and t-liey _eat also_a kmd of small lizard stuffed

i'.l 'iolrh to ,ed,. 1ppro H.h to Ku L),' l\ u"1; bcmg the

TRAVELS OF IBN BATTOTA

't9is _ki!.1g is _of all men the fonddl: of making gift'>

, <1-,' If 1t 1s one of the mfidel Hmdus who makes obeisance,

Jthe chamberlams say to him " ,9od gmde thee"

fu the roof of his palace and looked out over Delhi, I

SELECTIONS FROM THE

On this canal there was assembled a large crowd in

The dirhams of the West are small, but their utility

be1ongrng to the enemi, had appe 1rc:J there:, ::-rnJ .i

ments of this magru.ficent hospital, butlt by Sultan Qa.la'un (1279-90),

Old Carro and the Muqattam hills In extent and m appearance It

Turl..~Egypttan campaign m Kordofan m 1821 A complamt was

entourage, and are greatly revered by the orthodox, the Slu'ites on :e

1s absolute during that ttme, even water-drmkmg bemg prohibited

but to a gradual eastward shlftmg of the crty if note Io

see Chap XII, note I 8

as the frontier fortress over agamsl: the Persian terntones

ruler of Baghdad to Il-Ghaz.l "one of the mos!: redoubtable of Mushm

Safa and Marwa, said to be m commemoration of Hagar's search

l Ra's Dawa'll', wruch IS said to mean " The Cape of Whrrlwmds

three hundred houses m Ispahan which are properly his own

of 'Oman re1grung at Nazwa was broken between I I 54 and r.t- 0 6,

mosl: important trad.ing sl:aaon on the south coasl: of Anatol.ta, the

most of the four great Mongol Khanates established m the thirteenth

nver SW of Afua!....han, r ro J...1lometrcs NE of Georg1ews!...., at

of the Byzantme court, afterwards adopted by the Ottoman sultans

have fuuck most travellers at th.ts time Bertrandon de la Bloqu1erc,

\\ere successively the capital of the Khans of the Golden Horde'

whose religious suscepttb1hues debarred them from usmg the gold

nules south of Calicut The fabncs manufactured here were of various

Kurdistan, to the N E ot Kirmanshah) here funds for De\\::mdera,

obVIously represents the Brahmaputra (cf p 52)

of a word, or to the om1ss10n of another word

We won't go Jome ttll mom111g,

CH.\P fLR XII

\\JS Caglun, which, as It belonged at this t11nc to \r.igon, ,. .is 1 natunl