8
Oct 06 '24
I thought he also travelled to Scandinavia at one point, no? I wonder where my brain is getting that from…
Ibn Battuta was a fucking G though. We read the Dover translation of his book when I was in college, for a class I had called Medieval Travelers. The class was mostly about pilgrimages, but the teacher also had us read Battuta, who I hadn’t known of until then, and that was super cool. Definitely check out his book if you haven’t, it’s just a fascinating look at various cultural traditions that existed at the time in different parts of the world.
9
u/Equivalent-Rip-1029 Oct 06 '24
You probably confuse him with ibn Fadlan. He was sent to Volga Bulgars by Abbasid Caliph and has many detailed descriptions about volga vikings.
2
Oct 06 '24
Ahhhh yep, he’s the one, I remember the name Ibn Fadlan. I was definitely blending them into one person in my head lol
2
u/sheytanelkebir Oct 06 '24
there was a semi mythical movie with ibn fadlan called "the 13th warrior".
1
Oct 06 '24
Yeah now that I’ve been thinking about it more, I remember. Well, I remember the book. I remember there was a movie with Antonio Bandares in like the 90s but I didn’t see it.
3
u/MAGA_Trudeau Oct 06 '24
I’ve heard some of his writings is stuff he “heard” or copied from other travelers. Still a great guy though.
3
u/HistoricalLoss87 Oct 06 '24
We stayed in a hotel in Dubai. Which was in Ibn Battuta. I like history.
1
u/trescreativeusername Oct 07 '24
Why is Tsushima marked Mongol territory? IIRC they were only there for a year or something.
1
1
u/Infinite-Beyond-679 Oct 10 '24
This is what real motivation looks like: having sex new women each month at their expense.
-3
u/PaaaaabloOU Oct 06 '24
Yeah no real proof of these travels except his own writings and local tales. I personally wouldn't take them as real, more like a compilation of tales of travels of other people.
5
u/FallicRancidDong Oct 07 '24
no real proof of these travels
Really what an interesting take that challenges most historians. I wonder what makes you say that.
his own writings
and local tales
???????? So he wrote stories of his travels and people who should have stories of his travel actually have stories of his travel.
I don't think you understand how evidence works.
2
u/PaaaaabloOU Oct 08 '24
Downvote me to the underground world but a tale written by himself of his own travels is no evidence of nothing. Even more considering he lived in one of the trade centers of the world.
Plato wrote that Solon went to Atlantis and we know that Atlantis isn't real, Dante went to hell, and I can write that I have traveled to china while shitting in my bathroom but that does not prove anything.
First of all we know there is no diary of his travels, he wrote them by remembering them which raises more doubts.
Some travels are said to be adapted from local merchant stories, some are literally copied from other Arab writers (Palestine, China, Damascus), some are said to be adapted from Marco Polo (also there is the reverse accusation) and then there are some real travels.
There is no real proof of his travels except his own book, so this is one of the lot of historical people which should be treated with caution.
1
u/FallicRancidDong Oct 08 '24
There are accounts of people from the lands he's traveled to telling stories about him
29
u/HYDRA2308 Oct 06 '24
Ibn Battuta, a Moroccan explorer, traveled over 75,000 miles between 1325 and 1354, making him one of the most well-traveled individuals of the pre-modern world. His journey took him across North Africa, the Middle East, South Asia, Southeast Asia, and even as far as China and parts of sub-Saharan Africa. Unlike many explorers of his time, Battuta traveled primarily by land and sea for personal enrichment, often engaging with local rulers, scholars, and communities along the way. His observations were eventually recorded in a detailed account known as the Rihla.
Ibn Battuta's travels spanned around 40 modern countries, including India, the Maldives, and the Mongol Empire in China.
He visited Mecca multiple times, fulfilling his Islamic pilgrimage (Hajj), which initially inspired his journey.
Battuta served as a judge (qadi) in the Maldives, due to his deep knowledge of Islamic law