Because I will be focusing on Ibn Battuta’s last trip from Fez, Morrocco to Mali, West Africa which began in 1353, I will be using two main sources as I recount Ibn Battuta’s last journey: One is a secondary source by Ross E. Dunn entitled The Adventures of Ibn Battuta-A Muslim Traveler of the 14th Century. The other book is a primary source in which portions of Ibn Battuta’s writings relating to his travels to East Africa in 1329 or 1331 and his longer trip to West Africa between 1352 and 1354 have been selected, translated, and edited by Said Hamdun and Noel King in their book, Ibn Battuta in Black Africa. I will read aloud selections from these two sources to my students as we accompany Ibn Battuta on his journey.
Why did Ibn Battuta travel?
Ibn Battuta belonged to the religious upper-class in Tangier, Morocco. We assume, therefore, that he had received an education (both literary and scholastic) of the type that a Muslim theologian would have received. According to H.A.R. Gibb, “it was because he was a theologian and because of his interest in theologians that he undertook his travels at all and survived to complete them” (Gibb, H.A.R. The Travels of Ibn Battuta. New Delhi: Goodword Books, 2006, p. 3).
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At the age of 20, Ibn Battuta left his home in 1325 intent on making a hajj, or pilgrimage to the holy city of Mecca in Arabia. He did successfully complete his hajj but didn’t end his travels there. Lucille McDonald uses a very apt quote of our traveler in her book, where Ibn Battuta attributes his desire for relentless travel to a hungry heart (McDonald, Lucille. The Arab Marco Polo: Ibn Battuta. New York: Thomas Nelson Inc.,
Publishers, 1975, p.15). Traveling at times by sea but primarily by land (which he preferred), Ibn Battuta covered a distance of about 73,000 miles in 29 years, confining most of his travels “within the cultural boundaries of what Muslims called the Dar al-Islam or Abode of Islam” (Dunn, The Adventures of Ibn Battuta-A Muslim Traveler of the 14th Century, p. 6). By visiting lands where the sacred law of Islam (shari’a) provided the foundation of social order (either because of dominant Muslim populations or because of strong Muslim leaders), Ibn Battuta was able to surround himself with people of similar values and beliefs known as the umma, or community of believers. That is not to say that he was always accepting of their customs. Indeed, we shall see that he was often quite critical of some of the rituals and practices he observed in different lands.
Dunn suggests that Ibn Battuta was actively involved in four variant “streams of travel” at one time. As noted earlier, he was a Muslim pilgrim joining other believers who were making the hajj. Secondly, being devoted to Sufism (a mystical form of Islam), he traveled in order to visit important Sufi hermitages and to dialogue with Sufi holy men. Thirdly, he was a juridical scholar searching for knowledge as well as for the company of other such scholars throughout the Muslim World, not to mention a job for himself. Fourthly, Ibn Battuta had the necessary mobility to travel as “an educated adventurer” expecting to receive both generous hospitality and lucrative jobs from his hosts in areas of Asia and Africa where Islam was beginning to flourish (Dunn, The Adventures of Ibn Battuta-A Muslim Traveler of the 14th Century, pp. 11-12). Another significant reason for Ibn Battuta’s extended periods of travel was the relative ease of such endeavors due to the stable political conditions at that time found in Muslim lands.
Where did Ibn Battuta travel?
The span of time of Ibn Battuta’s travels was 1325-1354. Before focusing on his final journey to Mali, we will spend some time learning about the places he went, the people he met and the adventures he had. There are two children’s books about the life of Ibn Battuta which I plan to read excerpts from to my students: James Rumford’s Traveling Man and Lucille McDonald’s book cited earlier. At this juncture, I will introduce the Harcourt Multimedia Biographies website (www.harcourtschool.com/activity/
biographies/battuta) on Ibn Battuta which provides an account of his travels written at an appropriate reading level for my third-graders. The text is accompanied by numerous links to explore related topics of interest. We will also examine the excellent map of his travels found in the National Geographic article entitled ‘Ibn Battuta: Prince of Travellers,’ by Thomas J. Abercombie. While tracing the many routes he took as shown on this map, my students will gain familiarity with the locations of the many countries he traversed. Within this article are some beautiful photographs of present-day places that Ibn Battuta once visited. Another interesting map that we will refer to provides the travel routes of both our man, Ibn Battuta, and another famous world-traveler, Marco Polo, and can be found in An Atlas of World History by Gerald A. Danzer.
Additional relevant resources:
The Travels of Ibn Battuta-A Virtual Tour, Chapter Twelve
www.isidore-of-seville.com/ibn-battuta/1.html
www.the153club.org/battuta.html
In 1351, after years of travel to far corners of the earth, Ibn Battuta decided while living in Fez to make a final 1500-mile trip by caravan across the Sahara Desert to Mali, West Africa.
Why did Ibn Battuta decide to undertake this final journey fraught with danger?
There are a number of reasons to consider. The trade routes across the Sahara were more well-established by this time and the caravans were led by highly-paid, experienced Berber guides. He planned to meet up with such a camel caravan in the cooler winter time when travel across the hot, dry desert was more bearable.
Trans-Saharan Trade Routes
Trans-Saharan trade provided a vital link between the Mediterranean countries that needed gold to produce their coins (dinars) with sub-Saharan countries that needed salt in their diet and to preserve and flavor their food. From Mali came other desired commodities including slaves, ivory, kola nuts, cowrie shells (used as currency) and ostrich feathers. With the spread of Islam in the 7th century came an increase in trans-Saharan trade. Over time two main trade routes developed. One ran from Morocco through the western desert to the Niger Bend. A second trade route ran from what is now modern Tunisia to the Lake Chad area. In fact, these routes were relatively short and within them a number of oases were located where the caravan could stop for water. We will also use a map of world trade routes during the time period of 1100-1500 in Danzer’s atlas.
What did the slave trade look like before 1500?
The McKissacks in their book, remind us that “Slavery was not a new concept to Africans.” (McKissack, Patricia and Fredrick McKissack. The Royal Kingdoms of Ghana, Mali, and Songhay: Life in Medieval Africa. New York: Henry Holt and Company, 1994, p.106) Beginning in Ancient Egypt and continuing for hundreds of years, black slaves, primarily from Ethiopia, were sold throughout North Africa. With the spread of Islam into West Africa, came the expansion of the black slave trade across the Sahara Desert.
The North African and Arabian slave trade was a very profitable business. Such African peoples as the Soninke, the Songhay, the Tuareg, the Fulani and the Malinke regularly supplied both the Arabs and later the Europeans with black slaves, some criminals, others captives of war and others prisoners taken from raids in local non-Muslim provinces. Even though it was forbidden by Islamic law to make slaves of free Muslims, it was allowed to enslave those who did not practice the faith or who converted after being captured. Although the value of a slave was not as high as that of gold or salt, there remained a high demand for them. They were used as porters in caravans, as servants in households, as soldiers and as workers out in the fields.
Hugh Thomas tells us in his book The Slave Trade, that Ibn Battuta recorded frequently meeting slaves throughout his journey in Africa in the fourteenth century. Although Ibn Battuta regularly registered his outrage at the brutal treatment received by many of the slaves that he saw while traveling, he did not suggest at any point that this practice be banned. Indeed, he left Africa with six hundred women slaves! (Thomas, Hugh. The Slave Trade. New York: Simon & Shuster, 1997, p. 791).
Another reason why Ibn Battuta decided on this journey might have been because he had heard of all the ways that Mali’s previous ruler, Mansa Musa, had made Mali a thriving Muslim empire where mosques and palaces designed by a Muslim architect could be found. In fact, Mali sounded like another place within the Muslim fold where Ibn Battuta could interact with fellow believers and perhaps even work as a judge (qadi). While visiting Cairo, Egypt in 1326 Ibn Batttuta probably also heard about the elaborate pilgrimage that Mansa Musa had made to Mecca and so he wanted to see for himself the empire of this legendary figure.
Additional relevant resources:
Africa-A Look Back by James Haskins and Kathleen Benson
www.news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/1523100.stm
The History of Emigration from Africa by Catherine Chambers
Mansa Musa’s Hajj
Why was Mansa Musa’s pilgrimage to Mecca so memorable?
Other rulers of Mali had made a pilgrimage to Mecca in the past but none were as memorable or as impressive as Mansa Musa’s hajj. According to Dunn, “In the history of medieval West Africa no single incident has been more celebrated” (Dunn, The Adventures of Ibn Battuta-A Muslim Traveler of the 14th Century, p. 290).
In 1324 Mansa Musa, a devout Muslim, made plans to make his first pilgrimage to Mecca. It took many months for both officials and servants to prepare for this 3000-mile trip from Niani, Mali. They had to collect different animals to use as both beasts of burden and food sources: horses, camels, cows and goats. One hundred camels were each laden with 300 pounds of gold while others carried necessary items such as food and clothing. According to Peggy Pancella, of the 60,000 people included in this caravan, 12,000 were the king’s personal slaves. The king’s senior wife also brought an entourage of 500 maids. Then there were the many soldiers, doctors, teachers, and griots (storytellers) who were to accompany their ruler on this trip (Pancella, Peggy. Mansa Musa: Ruler of Ancient Mali. Chicago, Illinois: Heinemann Library, 2004, p. 17). It was said that Mansa Musa, in an effort to discourage any mutinous behavior in his absence, also brought along officials from each of the provinces in the empire.
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Royal drums signaled the start of the hajj that departed from the city of Niani with 500 slaves leading the way, each carrying a gold staff. Near the ruler, who was dressed in fine robes and riding his own camel (some say a horse) were the royal guards and those carrying the flags of his empire. These travelers headed for the city of Timbuktu by way of the Niger River and then traveled eastward across the Sahara Desert. After traveling for about 8 months, they arrived in Cairo where Mansa Musa visited with the sultan, El Malik en Nasir (who reigned during the Mameluke period). From there they headed for Arabia, where it is said people lined the streets to catch a glimpse of this ruler and his elaborate entourage that they had heard so many stories about from merchants and travelers alike.
What are the rituals involved in a hajj?
What exactly did Mansa Musa do while on his hajj in Mecca? As we learned earlier, Ibn Battuta had made his first hajj in 1325 and spent three weeks in Mecca meeting with holy men and visiting other sacred sites. In his lifetime he would go on to make three additional trips to this holy city of Mecca.
The Hajj
The Qur’an commands that all able-bodied Muslims perform a hajj (pilgrimage) if they have the means to do so. The five pillars of Islam are five duties that Muslims must perform and the hajj is one of them. The other four are: shahadah (the declaration of faith), salah (prayer), zakah (giving money to a worthy cause) and sawm (fasting from daybreak to sunset during the holy month of Ramadan).
Upon completing his pilgrimage, Mansa Musa gave away many gifts of money and gold to the residents of both Mecca and Cairo (on his return trip there). In fact, he depleted his supply of gold and had to actually borrow money to purchase supplies for his return trip home. He passed out so much gold that its value in the Middle East fell dramatically. The McKissacks write that according to an Egyptian reporter “the Cairo gold market had been so saturated that it still had not fully recovered twelve years after Mansa Musa’s fabulous hajj” (McKissack, Patricia and Fredrick McKissack. The Royal Kingdoms of Ghana, Mali, and Songhay: Life in Medieval Africa, p. 62).
There were other long-lasting results of Mansa Musa’s hajj. He started new trade routes and encouraged more trade with Muslim traders by bringing back four sharifs (descendents of Muhammad) to live in Mali. He also established lasting relationships with other rulers whom he had encountered during his hajj. Because he had made his pilgrimage so memorable, many travelers and traders spread the story of the wealthy and very generous king to others. According to Pancella, word spread to Europe and even to parts of Asia (Pancella, Peggy. Mansa Musa: Ruler of Ancient Mali, p. 21). It was this pilgrimage that truly awakened other parts of the world to Mali’s riches. In 1339 it was Angelino Dulcert of Palma, Spain who designed a sea chart accentuating the location of the Mali empire and referring to its monarch as the Saracen king in whose mines lay an abundance of gold (Thomas, Hugh. The Slave Trade, p. 51). A Spanish map created in 1375 called the Catalan Atlas included an illustration of Mansa Musa holding a gold nugget in his hand. Many traders came to West Africa to seek their fortune after seeing this map.
Additional relevant resources:
The Travels of Ibn Battuta-A Virtual Tour, Chapter Two
Muslim by Richard Tames
Muslim Festivals Throughout the Year by Anita Ganeri.
‘Pilgrimage to Mecca’, by Muhammad Abdul-Rauf (National Geographic Magazine)
In what ways was Mansa Musa a good ruler?
As students learn about the ancient empire of Mali they will see the critical role that its ruler played in its prosperity. In their readings I expect my students will discover that Mansa Musa led his people with strength and tolerance. Although Muslim himself, he respected the traditional African religions that many of his people especially in the countryside, followed and he never forced people to convert to Islam. He was responsible for expanding the empire of Mali, having led many conquests including that of the Ghana empire. Finding himself thus in control of the gold trade, he worked hard not only to maintain but to increase it.
In order to strengthen trade with the Arab world, he made Islam the official religion of the Mali empire. According to David C. Conrad, during the height of Mansa Musa’s rule, Mali consisted of much more territory than the empire of Ghana ever had and as a result there were many more resources to exploit (Conrad. David C. Empires of Medieval West Africa: Ghana, Mali, and Songhay. New York: Facts on File, Inc., 2005, p. 40). He divided his kingdom up into provinces, each led by a governor and towns, each led by a mayor. He effectively employed his army to police the trade routes and to keep the peace. Mansa Musa freely spent his wealth in the building of mosques and palaces, using the services of a Spanish Arab architect, Abu Ishaq al-Sahili, who initiated an architectural style new to that region of the world. Mansa Musa also contributed to the development of Timbuktu, which later became a great center of learning and trade. Conrad states that the 25 years in which he reigned, 1312-1337, were “thought of as the golden age of Mali” (Conrad. David C. Empires of Medieval West Africa: Ghana, Mali, and Songhay, p. 36).
Additional relevant resources:
West African Kingdoms-Empires of Gold and Trade by Katherine Reece
Ghana, Mali, Songhay by Kenny Mann
The Empire of Mali by Carol Thompson
Mali Land of Gold & Glory by Joy Masoff
Ancient West African Kingdoms: Ghana, Mali & Songhai by Mary Quigley
http://www.fcps.edu/Kings ParkES/technology/mali
http://mali/pwnet.org/history/.
Ibn Battuta Travels to Mali
Let us now resume our travels with our world traveler. Ibn Battuta spent four months in a town named Sijilmasa waiting for the winter to come and the caravan to arrive. During this time he bought some camels, expecting these ‘ships of the desert’ to serve him well.
Why are camels so well-suited to desert travel?
It was in the second century A.D. that the camel was first introduced to North Africa. The use of the camel revolutionized travel across the desert at that time. These creatures are well-adapted to desert life. Because of the powerful muscles in their upper legs, they were able to carry heavy loads (more than 330 pounds) for long distances (and at a faster speed than any other beast of burden available at that time) through the desert.
Not bothered by the dry heat of the desert, camels can go without drinking water for up to nine days. A camel uses the fat stored in the large hump on its back to provide energy for its muscles. A camel’s eyelashes, ears and nose effectively block out the sand, its bushy eyebrows provide shade for the eyes, and its cushioned feet do not cause it to sink in the desert sands as it walks. Camels are truly amazing animals.
Additional relevant resources:
Camels-Ships of the Desert by Eulalia Garcia
Read more : Why Lowering Your Car Can Make a Dramatic Difference
Camels by Judith Jango-Cohen
Camel by Caroline Arnold
www.camelfarm.com/camels_about.html.
Heading Toward Walata
And so the caravan began its trek across the sands of the largest desert in the world, heading for Walata. After 25 days of difficult travel, they arrived in a major salt-mining settlement named Taghaza. Ibn Battuta refers to it as “a village with no good in it” (Hamdun, Said and Noel King. Ibn Battuta in Black Africa. London: Rex Collings, 1975, p. 23) and describes how the slaves living there mine the salt and load big slabs of it on each camel to be later traded for gold. These slaves live under despicable conditions and are given only dates and camel meat for sustenance. Ibn Battuta recounts his party’s continual search for decent drinking water while there, complaining that it was bitter tasting and so often fly-ridden. During his ten-day stay there, Ibn Battuta also relays his experience of sleeping in a house and praying in a mosque both made completely of salt except for the roofs, which were made of camel skin.
The caravan must now prepare for the most arduous part of the journey, a 500-mile stretch across the desert to Walata. Along this route there is only one watering point (Tasarahla). Dunn tells of their great fortune in finding intermittent pools of water left from a winter rainfall that helped sustain them along the way. Having water is of great concern in desert travel, and Ibn Battuta describes how everyone spent time at this oasis repairing their waterbags, filling them and stitching covers on them in order to protect them from the hot desert winds.
Also of great concern, was not getting lost in the desert where one would quickly perish. Ibn Battuta tells us of a man named Ibn ‘Adi who lagged behind the caravan after having an argument with another man. Because of all the blowing sands that erased any trails, he quickly lost his way and was never heard from again. It was essential to have a competent guide from the local tribe of the Musafa to act as takshif or scout. His job was to go on ahead of the caravan to Walata and inform the merchants there of their impending arrival so that they could meet them with fresh water. These merchants would prepare a convoy of water-bearers who would travel for 4 days to meet the caravan. Ibn Battuta describes the many dangers such a scout faces, including battling with devils (jinn) and mirages along the way. If the takshif perishes while on his mission to find water, chances are the caravan will perish too.
In what ways was travel across the Sahara Desert hazardous?
According to Simon Scoones, “The Sahara is a place of contrasting landscapes” (Scoones, Simon. The Sahara and Its People. New York: Thomson Learning, 1993, p. 5). Fifteen percent consists of sand dunes, another fifteen percent consists of rocky plateaus and seventy percent consists of gravel plains. The northern expanse is a combination of dry coastal scrubland and desert land where there is little evidence of life. In contrast, on a strip of land along the desert’s southern edge known as the Sahel, the land is semi-arid and there are areas of dry woodland, dry wooded grassland and even mountain vegetation. Because the conditions are still very harsh there, living things have had to make adaptations in order to survive. Temperatures in the Sahara Desert are often very extreme, rising to 110 degrees Fahrenheit in daytime during the winter season and 130 degrees Fahrenheit during the hot season. However, at night, especially in the winter months, it is often below freezing due to the sparseness of clouds.
Additional hazards that caravans faced as they traveled on the trade routes included horrible sandstorms capable of creating mile-high walls of sand caused by hot harmattan winds (dry, dusty desert Northeast winds in West Africa), nomadic thieves lying in wait along the way, and arduous travel over huge sand dunes. In Scoones’ book there is a map showing the oases to be found along these trade routes. According to this author, “Nomads would sometime act as the gangsters of the desert. They were paid protection money for promising safe passage to travelers between oases” (Scoones, Simon. The Sahara and Its People, p. 13).
Additional relevant resources:
The Sahara Desert-The Biggest Desert by Aileen Weintraub.
www.lexiorient.com/e.o/sahara.htm
www.danheller.com/sahara.htm
Who were the Tuareg?
The Tuareg are a nomadic people known as ‘the nobles of the desert’ who live in northern Africa. Being nomadic, the Tuareg move from place to place to find new sources of water and places for their livestock to graze on. In her book Ann Carey Sabbah explains, “The Tuareg were used to moving about freely without thinking about national boundaries” (Sabbah, Ann Carey. Tuaregs. Mankato, Minn.: Smart Apple Media, 2000, p. 22).
Long ago the ancestors of the Tuareg, known as Berbers, lived along northern Africa’s coast. In the 8th century, however, when the Arab invaders conquered North Africa they moved south en masse to the Sahara Desert where their numbers grew and they moved out to other parts of the desert. Sabbah informs us, “By the 14th century the Tuareg were the most powerful people in the desert of northern Africa” (Sabbah, Ann Carey. Tuaregs, p. 21). They were the gatekeepers of the most important trade routes across North Africa and they led many caravans transporting precious goods and slaves across the rugged desert terrain to the Mediterranean coast. It was said that some of their caravans were very large and included thousands of camels, their most prized possession.
Additional relevant resources:
www.calacademy.org/exhibits/africa/ exhibit/sahara.
www.pbs.org/wnet/ africa/explore/sahara
African Journey by John Chiasson
Arrival in Walata
At the end of April, the caravan arrived safely in Walata and an event occurred there that almost caused Ibn Battuta to head straight back to Fez. Keep in mind that Ibn Battuta was used to being treated quite generously by his hosts and was therefore greatly insulted by the meager offering of anli (millet mixed with honey and yogurt) that his Malian host, a local governor, offered him. He was also put off by the indirect way (through an interlocutor) that this Malian official spoke to him. As Dunn describes, what irritated Ibn Battuta was “this inclination of the Sudanese to combine Islamic practice with regional custom.” He felt that Malians should follow normal standards of Muslim protocol and not have “rulers speaking to fellow believers through ritual heralds or entertaining visiting ‘ ulama with small dishes of porridge” (Dunn, The Adventures of Ibn Battuta-A Muslim Traveler of the 14th Century, p. 299).
Onward to the Mali Capital
Ibn Battuta, however, did elect to stay (and in fact remained in Mali for 50 days), deciding to travel southward along the Niger River to the capital of Mali to the palace of the king, Mansa Sulayman. Ibn Battuta was not impressed by this ruler, comparing the generous and virtuous ways of his brother, Mansa Musa with his, saying, “He is a miserly king, not much giving is to be expected of him” (Hamdun, Said and Noel King. Ibn Battuta in Black Africa, pp. 34-35). The hospitality gift sent by the king consisted of 3 circular pieces of bread, a piece of fried beef and a container of sour milk! Our traveler had expected much better treatment and says when preparing to receive the king’s gifts, “I stood up, thinking they were robes of honour and things of value. . .When I saw them I laughed and wondered a lot at their weakness of mind and their magnifying of the insignificant” (Hamdun, Said and Noel King. Ibn Battuta in Black Africa, p. 35).
Ibn Battuta devised a way to receive better treatment by later presenting himself before the king, boldly criticizing his lack of hospitality over a 4-month period and comparing it with the elaborate receptions that he had received by rulers in so many other places that he had traveled to. Thus, arousing the king’s vain desire to cultivate a legacy, Ibn Battuta asks, “What shall I say about you before the sultans?” (Hamdun, Said and Noel King. Ibn Battuta in Black Africa, p. 36). From then on he was treated better, given a house, an allowance and a supply of gold upon his departure.
Ibn Battuta spent a little over eight months in the capital. Dunn accurately describes his attitude toward the Malian culture as being one of ambivalence. He praised the ruler’s government which brought both justice and stability to the empire and he was also very impressed by the piousness with which the Muslim Malians prayed and studied the Qur’an. However, he never became tolerant of the ways in which many Malians continued to practice African traditions. Among the examples that Dunn mentions are the demeaning ways in which the king’s subjects bow before him, beating the ground and throwing dust and ashes on their heads, females slaves and servants appearing naked in the court, and royal poets dressed in ridiculous costumes of feathers and bird masks (Dunn, The Adventures of Ibn Battuta-A Muslim Traveler of the 14th Century, p. 303).
Ibn Battuta’s Legacy
In February of 1353, our now-weary traveler began his trek back home and arrived in Fez in January of 1354. All of his travels, including this final journey were later to be recorded by the court-appointed scribe by the name of Ibn Juzayy in the Rihla. Sadly, for all of his efforts, Ibn Batttuta was not appreciated by his contemporaries during his lifetime. It was only when his Rihla was rediscovered by European Orientalists in the 19th century that Ibn Battuta and his momentous undertaking received its due attention. Without it, in fact, we would not have been able to take this journey.
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Category: WHY
