I am writing a History essay about Ibn Batutta. There are five parts to this essay. First is the introduction about him by giving a brief summary of the figure. Second is talking about the impact he had during his time or in the present day. Third is how would the world be different if he didn't exist by talking about what would be different and what would be the same? Fourth (which I don't know how to write about) how might it effect us today in United States? Last is a conclusion. I did write a brief introduction but haven't written he conclusion. What I need help on is if I am grasping the point of his character and the point the essay. Ibn Batutta was a very hard figure for this topic but I feel like I have managed to write this essay. I just need some advice on this essay and any assistant that can improve my essay will be appreciated greatly. Also If i can get some few pointers on what to write more in the introduction because there is nothing about his childhood. All that is written is where he traveled and what he saw. Also If I can get some few advice on what to write the conclusion about and what to include in it, that would be great. Thank you!
-Ashar Khan (Below is the Essay)
Introduction
More than 700 hundred years ago, parts of Asia and North Africa were part of the Islamic Empire, where much of learning, science and medicine took place. This was also the battlefront for wars between the Muslim and Christian armies. Among all this, emerged a young lawyer and a pious Muslim who would become the greatest explorer of his time. Soon he would be referred to as “the Muslim Marco Polo” but he would travel even more than Marco Polo himself, covering 73,000 miles. His name is Ibn Battuta.
Ibn Battuta was born on February 25th, 1304 in Tangier. He belonged to a wealthy family of legal scholars and judges, which made up part of the elite. Ibn Battuta was a devote Muslim. His religion would shape many of his life decisions. Ibn Battuta described his homeland as one with lavish mosques and education centers. In fact, the oldest university in the world, built in 1859 A.D. is situated here. In 1325, at the age of 21, Ibn Battuta left for pilgrimage to Mecca. Islam obliges every Muslim who can afford it, to make a pilgrimage to Mecca. Ibn Battuta would not return home for 24 years.
IMPACT OF IBN BATTUTA
The 1300s were still the Age of Discovery. People were interested in lands beyond their scope. Many explorers’ tried foreign lands but none can compare to the journey of Ibn Battuta, who wrote extensively of his travels. There are many reasons as to why Ibn Battuta’s impact is greater than any other explorer. This can be seen by comparing the written accounts of Ibn Battuta to other explorers.
One theme found in books written by Muslim scholars dating from the medieval times focuses on the centrality of the religion of Islam. Their accounts are limited to Muslim lands and traditions. One such book, the Kitab-al-Masalik wa ‘l-mamlik written by Ibn Hauqal, a Muslim writer, geographer and chronicler, stops description at the north and south boundaries of the Islamic Territory (Berman 200). The book provides no descriptions of the areas beyond the dar-al-Islam, also known as lands of Islam (Berman 199). Many other medieval geographical books written by Muslim scholars follow this theme and avoid non-Muslim lands. Another theme that these books follow is focus on concept of ahl-al-kitab, meaning “People of the book” or monotheists (Berman 200). These include Muslims, Christians and Jews. Such books leave out Polytheists and Hindus which were regarded as uncivilized and not important enough to study. In comparison to these books, Ibn-e-Battuta’s account is remnant because it describes other groups as well as the ahl-al-kitabs. Battuta’s account is full of descriptions of Hindu ceremonies and traditions, which other scholars fail to include (Berman 200). Ibn Battuta followed the Islamic principle called talab al-‘ilm which means search of knowledge. It is a Muslim saying, “Search for knowledge, even if you have to go to China.” The phrase says even China because China is outside of the Muslim territory (Berman 200). In Battuta’s account, he writes of visiting China and describes valuable information about merchant trading. He even confirms the presence of Muslim merchants residing in China at that time. After Battuta’s visit, China closed its doors to foreigners. Battuta’s account of China may be the last before it closed its doors.
Battuta’s writings have preserved the influence that the religion of Islam has and had on the world, which western history books fail to describe. Periods of 1000 to 1500 saw the increase of Muslim territories and populations across western Africa, all the way to the seas of China. One would assume that this would be one of the main topics of world history of the time in history books, but it is not. Ross E. Dunn, a distinguished scholar of Ibn Battuta compared many history books taught at schools in the United States. In these books, he found that they failed to describe the importance of Islamic empires. The books describe other civilizations in detail and describe Islamic civilizations as a mere characteristic or aspect of these other civilizations. Dunn writes, “For the centuries after 1000 to 1200, the continuing attainments of Islam tend to be ignored in so far as they are no longer seen as influencing the course of Western history in significant ways. All of the texts I would suggest display some confusion or inconsistency in their desire to give Islamic civilization its due” (333). In a world where most of Islamic empire’s accomplishments would have been forgotten, Ibn Battuta is applauded for his detailed narrative of notable families and their accomplishments, shrines, food, ceremonies and educated elites (Brummett 16). Ibn Batutta’s accounts on the Islamic world are a set of an history book itself. As Dunn points out, not many information is gathered for the Islamic Empire. There were numbers of civilizations that contributed to the Islamic empire, but as we all know, the western countries dominated for centuries and on. Ibn Battuta’s records can be a door opener for historians to dig in to the Islamic world and observe the steps that made such a great empire held before.
While other travelers of the time wrote about the Mediterranean Sea, and landscapes, Ibn Battuta focused on scholarly accomplishments (Brumment 17). Hailing from a family of legal scholars and judges, Ibn Battuta knew how to communicate with the scholarly elite and this added leverage to his accounts. In his accounts, he writes briefly of his surrounding and focuses on scholarly men. Brummett writes, “Only when he comes to Alexandria does Ibn Battuta feel compelled to face the sea, and briefly describe the city’s magnificent harbor…. Ibn Battuta, nonetheless, is more interested in scholarly accomplishments; so, after this brief paean to the ancient harbor, he turns his attention to the learned men of the city” (17). This shows that most of Ibn Battuta’s accounts focus on academic accomplishments and erudite encounters. By writing accounts focusing on scholars at his time, historians can get a sense of what types of people lived there. By readings Ibn Batutta’s accounts on this, historians can get a better sense of how and why some Islamic civilizations were so powerful. Also by history, we know Islam was rich in culture, politics, and was a power empire. From Ibn Batutta’s accounts, we can see the small impacts that led to an almighty empire. During the 14th century, as Douglas Bullis illiterates, Dar-Islam was at its finest. There numerous numbers of scholars, artists, doctors and craftsman that contributed into the culture of Islam. As Bullis interestingly points out, “Ibn Battuta became the first and perhaps the only man to see this world nearly in its entirety.”
Besides being known as a famous traveler, Ibn Battuta was a tremendous jurist. He came from a family of judges and served numerous advisors throughout his travels. Ibn Battuta was an icon of Islam everywhere he traveled. He spread Islam through politics and had numerous impacts along the way. One example if given in Bullis’s reading The longest Hajj: The Journey of Ibn Battuta, while in Delhi, Ibn Batutta was called upon by Queen Rehendi Kilege, who forced Ibn Batutta to file the role of a qadi at the time. Knowing Ibn Batutta was a great jurist, he was left with no choice but to accept. While being a qadi, Ibn Battuta enforced laws and one of the laws was to require women to cover more of them. Remember that this was in Delhi, where Hinduism flourished. (Give an example of an ariticle or something that says Hinduism was big in Delhi at his time). He enforced these laws by the Islamic book of principles. Note Bullis writes, this custom was not dictated at this time by the queen in Delhi. We can see Ibn Battuta tried to enforce the women in Delhi to behave as Muslim women by covering themselves which exhibits the spread the religion of Islam by a very little attempt. Nonetheless this law grew once Ibn Battuta married into the royal family which led him to enforce more Islamic laws under his power.
HOW THE WORLD WILL BE DIFFERENT
Although Ibn Battuta was just a traveler and made no “major” impacts, Battuta contributed to the movement of Dar-Islam. As Izzati?, Abu? Al-Faz?l points out in his reading, The Spread of Islam: The Contributing Factors, the high courts of the Islamic world with their sophisticated culture fueled the empire of Islam. Literacy was power in the era of Islam. Islam was so dominated that it needed people to bring forth the knowledge of the religion to the world of ignorance. Islam became such a big and a dominant religion by the success and the power the empire gained that many people started to get interested in Islam. Four types of people back in the day were left with to spread Islam. As Abu? Al-Faz?l, points out, four types of people were left with to spread the message of Islam which were merchants, warriors, sufi’s (Islamic mysticism), and scholars. Ibn Battuta being a great scholar came towards Indonesia, the kingdom of Africa, and turkey to enlighten the idea of Islam after these people accepted that Islam was the way to go. Even though this was not a huge impact, Islam wouldn’t have been a dominant force in the course of history as we know of today If Ibn Battuta never traveled to these regions.
The legacy of Ibn Battuta cannot be ignored, yet to emphasize his significance in history one can create an alternative history; one in which Ibn Battuta never existed. If Ibn Battuta never wrote extensive accounts of his travels, it would be difficult to accommodate understanding of the ways in which early people envisioned the world around them. Ibn Battuta’s accounts The Travels, give a Muslim scholar’s first point view of the world and cultures that existed along the west coast of Africa to the east coast of China. No other explorer has written such extensive accounts of the variety of cultures that existed during the times. If such cultures were not preserved in The Travels, it would be unclear to determine how these people lived. If it had not been from Ibn Battuta’s accounts, it would be unclear to determine that Islam had spread to China through an Arab trader named Ding, who became the first of his kind to come to China.
If Ibn Battuta had not existed, people of his time would not have an idea of the lands and people that existed beyond their scope. There would not be a tolerance of diversity in His journey and accounts convinced other explorers to tread beyond to foreign lands.