After Ibn Battuta returned to Fez in 1354, the Sultan of Morocco listened to his report on Mali. He also listened to Ibn Battuta's other adventures, and ordered him to stay in Fez. He wanted to have these stories written down for the amusement of his family and others. So Ibn Battuta was commanded to "dictate an account of the cities which he had seen in his travel, and of the interesting events which had clung to his memory, and that he should speak of those whom he had met of the rulers of countries, of their distinguished men of learning, and of their pious saints." [From the introduction to the Rihla, transcribed by Ibn Juzayy, 1354.]
The Sultan hired a young writer - Ibn Juzayy - the young man Ibn Battuta had met in Granada three years earlier. Ibn Juzayy must have been excited about such a task! He had been fascinated by Ibn Battuta's stories earlier, and as a young writer, this job was one that could earn him respect. He was to put the stories into the proper form of a travel book, called a "rihla".
And so began the retelling of his adventures that had begun twenty-nine years before. Ibn Battuta wove his observations and hearsay, history and odds and ends into his story. Ibn Juzayy added poetry here and there, but generally he kept to Ibn Battuta's telling. Ibn Juzayy borrowed descriptions of Mecca, Medina and Damascus from a twelfth century traveler named Ibn Jubayr, and perhaps descriptions of other places from other travelers, too. And so the book grew.
Maybe Ibn Battuta exaggerated his own importance to people he met. After all, he was just a traveler with little formal education. In telling the story, perhaps he couldn't get all the details in order and perhaps his memory failed him on some details. Others who read his book would call him a liar! (One famous biographer of the time had met Ibn Battuta in Granada and said of him, "purely and simply a liar.")
But Ibn Battuta had his supporters, too. One advisor to the Sultan in Andalusia said, "Be careful not to reject such information about the condition of dynasties, because you have not seen such things yourself." And another scholar in Tunisia said, "I know of no person who has journeyed through so many lands as [he did] on his travels, and he was withal generous and welldoing." [Both quoted by Dunn, p. 316]
When it was finished, The Rihla had little impact upon the Muslim world. However, it was copied by hand and the whole book or shortened versions might be found in some libraries, or carried around by travelers who followed on parts of his trips. It was not until the 19th century that some of the Arabic books were found and translated into French, German, and then English. Then the book began to receive the attention it deserves as a record of history.
And what happened to Ibn Battuta after telling his story in the palace of the Sultan? He probably got a job as a qadi (judge), but we don't know where. Little is known about this period of his life. Perhaps he married again and fathered more children. Perhaps he entertained scholars and students with his stories, as he had entertained kings, commoners, and holy men on three continents.
Ibn Battuta died in 1368 or 1369. Tour guides in Tangier take tourists to see an unmarked grave that they claim to be his, but no one can confirm it as his final resting place.
The exterior of the burial monument of Ibn Battuta in
Tangier. The grounds keeper said that this was built on Ibn
Battuta's family's land, part of a garden. Today it also
serves as a fountain, from a faucet, for the neighboring
community.
This is inside the monument. The casket is very short,
about five feet long, and the head of the casket points to a
picture of Mecca.
. . .
And today Ibn Battuta is somewhat famous. A crater on the moon is named after him, as is an Internet online matchmaking service for Arab singles! But most appropriately, the airport of Tangier and a ferry going across the Strait of Gibraltar from Tangier to Spain is named "The Ibn Battouta" - carrying young Moroccan travelers as they begin their own adventures.
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Slavery: Ibn Battuta mentions slavery several times. He was given slaves as part of his "hospitality gifts" in Turkey, and he bought slaves there as well. Indeed, slavery existed in almost every place he traveled. The treatment of slaves seems to vary, as he says. Some slaves even became the wives of the Sultan and became the mothers of the next sultan! The Mamluk slaves (hired military for the Egyptian sultan) eventually took over the rule of Egypt. Most, of course, did not have such a glamorous life. For a more detailed account of slavery that can be found in his book, press [here]
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Attitudes toward Women and Sex: Ibn Battuta observes different customs as to the treatment of women. In many cases he is very critical of women having a high status or being able to meet socially with men. He is also critical of women who (in his view) are not modest in dress, going "topless" (as in West Africa and the Maldive Islands), and not having their faces covered (as in Anatolia and the Steppe). He praises women who cover up and are thereby "modest". He tells many examples of the separation (or lack of separation) of the sexes. He tells of taking many wives and consorts ("lovers" or slave-girls), and has children by them, only to leave them, divorce them, or presumably sell them (for slaves). The details are not discussed in his story. He is extremely strict, as a Muslim qadi would be, about adultery. (Adultery would carry a death penalty in most of the places he visited.) He is critical of prostitution (as he learned about in Anatolia). He admired certain men who resisted seduction by celibacy or even by castrating themselves, and considered them holy. He also tells of some eunuchs (castrated men) who served in various countries in which he traveled. He is critical of nudity in a bath-house in upper Egypt and complained to the governor who put a stop to that practice. For a more detailed account of his attitudes toward women and sex, press [here].
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Religious Tension As a strict Sunni Muslim judge, Ibn Battuta definitely has opinions of other religious groups. He is critical of the Shi'i Muslims, and the Christians, and the Jews. He is especially antagonistic towards "heathens" - those who believe in more than one god, like the Hindu and the Chinese. For a more detailed account of his attitudes toward religious groups, press [here].
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Dunn, Ross, The Adventures of Ibn Battuta: A Muslim Traveler of the 14th Century, University of California Press, Berkeley, 1989. This book gives much information about the societies into which Ibn Battuta traveled. It is outstanding in giving a historical context to Ibn Battuta's story.
Gibb, H.A.R., The Travels of Ibn Battuta, Vols. I, II, III, Hakluyt Society, Syndics of the Cambridge University Press, London, 1956. A translation and notes from the Arabic "Rihla" of Ibn Battuta. (The fourth and final part is still being translated by Professor C. F. Beckingham.)
Said Hamdun & Noel King, Ibn Battuta in Black Africa (with a foreword by Ross Dunn), Markus Wiener Publishers, Princeton, 1975.
Books for young adults:
Travellers and Explorers, IQRA Trust, London, 1992. A beautifully illustrated children's book telling of several Muslim travelers of the Middle Ages, including eight pages about Ibn Battuta.
National Geographic Magazine Dec., 1991, "Ibn Battuta, Prince of Travelers" pp. 3 - 49. Well photographed, of course! A brief story of Ibn Battuta, and information and modern photographs of the places he visited.
Ibn Battuta: A View of the Fourteenth-Century World (A Unit of Study for Grades 7 - 10), by Joan Arno and Helen Grady, National Center for History in the Schools, University of California, Los Angeles, 1998.
Amazing Adventures of Ibn Battuta by Durke and Ibn Battuta in the Valley of Doom, and The Travels of Ibn Battuta and others, Astrolabe Pictures (call 1-800-39-ASTRO) [Muslim Heroes series]. These books, except for the first, do not follow closely the real travels of Ibn Battuta, but go off into fantasy adventures. They are aimed at young children and don't contain Ibn Battuta's own words.
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