1325–1354Reputable sourceWell documented
Ibn Battuta, the Great Traveler
On the timeline · around 1325–1354 ·
What happened
The Moroccan scholar Ibn Battuta spent nearly thirty years journeying across the connected world of the 14th century, covering perhaps 120,000 kilometers — through North Africa, Arabia, Persia, India, and, by his account, China. His travel book, the Rihla, is a vivid record of the vast, interlinked Afro-Eurasian world at its medieval height.
Why it matters
Ibn Battuta was the Muslim world's Marco Polo, and traveled far farther. His journeys show how, in the age of the Mongol peace and Islamic trade networks, a single traveler could cross most of the known world along its roads and sea lanes.
Sources
- World History Encyclopedia. Ibn Battuta · Reputable source