Ibn+Battuta

=Ibn Battuta= (1304-1368/1369) //"I set out alone, having neither fellow-traveler in whose companionship I might find cheer, nor caravan whose party I might join, but swayed by an overmastering impulse within me, and a desire long-cherished in my bosom to visit these illustrious sanctuaries. So I braced my resolution to quit all my dear ones...and forsook my home as birds forsake their nests. My parents being yet in the bonds of life, it weighed sorely upon me to part from them, and both they and I were afflicted-with sorrow at this seperation." - Ibn Battuta, starting his journey.//

__**Early Life**__
Ibn Battuta was born February 25, 1304 in Tangier, Morocco. He was born into a Beber family of scholars. In his early years, he studied at an Islamic school and recieved education in Islamic law. After finishing school, at the age of 21, he left home and traveled to Mecca to perform //Hajj// (a pilgrimage to Mecca) and to continue his studies in the East in 1325//.//

__**Traveling Years**__
On his first trip to Mecca, he encountered a Holy Man named Shayhh Abul Hasan al Shadili, who told him that he would only reach Mecca by traveling through Syria. Eventually, he completed his first //Hajj// (which he would later repeat multiple times) in 1326. This journey made him want to see more of the world. From Mecca, he traveled to Iraq and Persia and from Persia, returned to back to Mecca via Baghdad in 1327. This later led him to the Swahili Coast (and some of northern Africa), then to India, and finally to China. (Dates and his path are located on the map below)

In nearly 30 years he had traveled most of the Islamic world with a total of 75,000 miles (almost 44 present-day countries). During his travels, he stopped in India for about 8 years and while in India, he was awarded with the title "Gadi" or judge. After he left India, he journeyed to China. In the span of his life, he traveled from Tangier to Mecca 7 times. The total distance that he traveled was three times the distance that the great explorer, Marco Polo, covered. In addition to traveling the Islamic World and China, Ibn also traveled over Africa. Eventually, he returned to Morocco in 1354 by request from the Sultan of Morocco. The Sultan insisted that Ibn should dictate his stories to a scholar. Ibn then told a scholar, Ibn Juzzay, his stories.

Juzzay kept Battuta's record of journies in a book called the "Rihlah", or "The Journey". However most of Battuta's stories came from pure memory. This causes concerns on if the accounts are true or not even to this day. Many believe that he most likely over exaggerated the length of his journies to an extent, since the amount traveled is extremely hard to achieve. Eventually, the Moraccan court found Battuta to be a mediocre scholar with a tendency towards exageration.

__**End Life**__
Died in either 1368 or 1369. It is unclear of the time of his death because of the ceasing of entries in his journal. He died in his homeland, Morroco.

**__Documentary__**
In this Documentary a writer retraces Ibn Battuta's path, visiting the places that Ibn Battuta saw and showing the different cultures of those places. [] [] __**Part 3**__ []
 * __Part 1__**
 * __Part 2__**

**__Citations__**
"Travels of Ibn Battuta." //Shining History :Medieval Islamic Civilization//. Web. 09 Feb. 2012. [].

"Muhammad Ibn Battuta Biography." //BookRags.com | Study Guides, Lesson Plans, Book Summaries and More//. Web. 09 Feb. 2012. [].


 * __WCUPA.edu __**

"Ibn Battuta in West Africa." //West Chester University's - On-line Web Courses//. Web. 20 Jan. 2012. .


 * __ABC-Clio __**

Fritze, Ronald. "Ibn Battuta." //World History: Ancient and Medieval Eras//. ABC-CLIO, 2012. Web. 20 Jan. 2012.

"Time Line of Muslim Scholars 1300 - 1700." //MetaExistence Organization | Geo Political Think Tank//. Web. 06 Feb. 2012. []. "Travels of Ibn Battuta." //Neolography//. Web. 06 Feb. 2012. .
 * __Metaexistance.org __**
 * __Neolography.com __**