Ibn Battuta was born on 24 February 1304 in Tangier. A Moroccan scholar and traveller from Tangier, Ibn Battuta left home as a young man to make the pilgrimage to Mecca and ended up spending around thirty years on the road. He journeyed through North Africa, the Middle East, Anatolia, Central Asia, India, the Maldives and, by his own account, as far as China, and also visited parts of sub-Saharan Africa. Often serving as a judge in Muslim courts, he was received by many rulers along the way. After returning to Morocco he dictated an account of his travels, the Rihla, to a scholar named Ibn Juzayy. It is one of the most valuable sources on the fourteenth-century Islamic world, although some of its details are debated by historians.
Before and after
- from 1301 to 1500Late Middle Ages
- from 1303 to 1850Little Ice Age
- 1303Founding of Sapienza University of Rome
- from 20 April 1303 to 22 April 1303Battle of Marj al-Saffar
- 24 February 1304Birth of Ibn Battuta
- 20 July 1304Birth of Petrarch
- from 1309 to 1377Avignon Papacy
- 1310Rise of ars nova
- 13 November 1312Birth of Edward III of England
More in Exploration & discovery
The era
This moment belongs to the Medieval world (500 CE to 1500 CE), kingdoms, faiths and trade routes. You can also browse everything in the 14th century.