THE LIFE AND TIMES OF IBN BATTUTA (1304–1369)
Born on 24th of February, 1304
Ibn Battuta or Abu Abdullah Muhammad ibn Battutah (1304 - 1369) commonly known as Ibn Battuta, was a Berber Moroccan.
He was born in Tangiers, Morocco and died in Marrakesh, Morocco.
Ibn Battuta was born on February 25, 1304, in Tangier, Morocco. At this time, Morocco was part of the Islamic Empire and Ibn Battuta grew up in a Muslim family. He likely spent his youth studying at an Islamic school learning reading, writing, science, mathematics, and Islamic law.
He was a scholar and explorer who travelled extensively in the lands of Afro-Eurasia, largely in the Muslim world.
He traveled more than any other explorer in pre-modern history, totaling around 117,000 km (73,000 mi), surpassing Zheng He with about 50,000 km (31,000 mi) and Marco Polo with 24,000 km (15,000 mi) and transversing different lands under the rulership of different Muslim rulers.
Over thirty years, Ibn Battuta visited most of southern Eurasia, including Central Asia, Southeast Asia, South Asia, China, and the Iberian Peninsula. He met with several monarchs and sultans, such as the Mongol Khan and the sultan of Delhi.
After spending over a year in China, Ibn Battuta decided to head home to Morocco. He had almost reached home when a messenger informed him that his parents had died while he was away. Rather than return home, he continued on his travels. He went north to Al-Andalus (Islamic Spain) and then headed back south into the heart of Africa to visit Mali and the famous African city of Timbuktu.
When Ibn Battuta returned to Morocco near the end of his life in 1354, he told many tales of his fantastic journeys abroad. The ruler of Morocco wanted a record of Ibn Battuta’s travels and insisted that he tell the stories of his journeys to a scholar. The scholar wrote the accounts down and they became a famous travel book known as the Rihla, which means "Journey."
He died in 1369 in Marrakesh, Morocco.
