Sindbad the Sailor: Inspiration by Ibn Battuta

Waheeda Bi khan

Sindbad the Sailor: Inspiration by Ibn Battuta

If history is the story of our past, travelogues are an integral source of this story. One such is the Rihla which has intrigued and etched history from the perspective of an adventurous traveller from Morocco whose name is as long as the title of his book and the distance he covered in the exploration of the 14th-century Muslim dynasties.

Historic copy of selected parts of the Travel Report by Ibn Battuta, 1836 CE, Cairo; Source: Wikipedia

The book we are referring to was dictated by Ibn Battuta in the last leg of his life as ordained by the Sultan of the Marinid Sultanate, to immortally record the amazing quest, events, and feats accomplished by him. The original book's title is as long as his travels and is translated as – A Gift to Those Who Contemplate the Wonders of Cities and the Marvels of Travelling or Rihla (Journey).

We continue from the first part of this story when Ibn Battuta was appointed as the qadi in the Delhi Sultanate under Mohammad Tughlaq. He was enjoying the implementation of his expertise in Islamic law with full authority and high-ranking status in the court with lucrative rewards.

When Tughlaq returned from a faraway province of rebellion, he faced a similar revolt from the governor of Delhi who raised his army against the Sultan. Ibn Battuta witnessed that the Sultan had excellent skills as a warrior too when he saw the incident where Tughlaq jumped amidst his soldiers into the war when things looked like going south and soon overpowered the governor and his rebel army. But all such betrayals and conflicts of his governors and kinsmen trying to constantly usurp his sultanate turned him into a paranoid who began suspecting everyone.

Things got to a boiling point even for our traveller, when one of his friends who was a Sufi holy man, refused to obey some of Sultan’s unreasonable commands and was punished. Tughlaq also ordered a list of the punished man’s friends and associates. Fearing that he would come under the radar of the ruler’s ire, he immediately adopted a beggar’s disguise and went to stay with a hermit in a cave on the outskirts of Delhi.

After five months, when the Sultan had calmed down, he sent some royal messengers to invite Battuta back to court, assuring the qadi’s safety and retainment of the designations. Though Ibn Batutta returned apprehensively, he became very cautious. As often quoted as ‘once bitten twice shy’, he felt it was time to escape India till things were favourable. Moreover, he was inherently a restless explorer.

So at the first opportunity, he put forth his wish to Tughlaq for another pilgrimage to Hajj. Owing to his love for adventure and insatiable quest to explore new things and places, the Sultan offered him an exciting option. He assigned the traveller to join the group of Chinese monks from the Yuan dynasty, who were returning and had come earlier to seek permission to rebuild a Buddhist temple in the Himalayas. Tughlaq wanted to send him as an ambassador to the Mongol ruler’s court in China.

Though risky, the adventurer could not refuse the exciting chance to explore the new lands in such a grand style. Thus in mid-1341, Battuta began his journey leading the group of Chinese monks with the consignment of their luggage and the extensive gifts for the Mongol host.

A thousand special soldiers accompanied to protect all the wealth and the travellers. The track of this initial journey would be from the port of Khambhat in Gujarat through the Arabian Sea to Calicut in the south and then sailing towards the north across the Bay of Bengal.

The unpredictable and adventurous streak similar to the Sindbad stories of Battuta seemed to strike its course once again. As soon as the travellers were out of Delhi, they were attacked by bandits twice. The Moroccan was separated from his group, as he ran for his life pursued by the bandits. He boasts in his books that he outrode a few horsemen and then escaped by hiding in a deep ditch.

But as soon as he emerged, he was captured by the rebels to be killed the next day. But our brave explorer escaped by offering his last garments as a bribe to some bandit and ran away in just a pair of trousers. Luckily, he met a Muslim villager who helped him and after seven days, Battuta reunited with the original group.

Ibn Battuta was amazed by the thirteen Songjunks (Chinese ships) that were larger than the Dhows, the largest of which had five decks and five masts and was maneuvered by one thousand mariners. But his unlucky streak continued and there was a terrible storm the same night. The Junk on which he was to board along with one more, had crashed into the shore to perish. Ironically, the other Junks abandoned and sailed away along with all the gifts and luggage of Battuta. So once again, the traveller found himself penniless.

Though he tried to catch up with the other ships by travelling to the next port, they never arrived. Later, he got the news that the ships were apprehended by the non-Muslim King of Sumatra who confiscated the whole fleet along with the gifts of Tughlaq.

Left with nothing but his intelligence, legal knowledge, and cunning diplomacy to survive, the explorer had to decide his next course of action. Fearing the wrath of Tughlaq for failing the whole consignment, he realised that going back to Delhi was not a wise option. So he tried to gain the favour of the southern sultan Jamal-ud-Din of the Nawayath Sultanate on the banks of Sharavathi. To prove his lenience, he also took part in the war to defend the fort along with the Sultan. But, the traveller could predict that the Sultan would lose the seat very soon, so he escaped at the first chance right from the battle line.

He returned to Calicut for the fifth time during his stay in India. With no better option, he decided to proceed to the Mongol kingdom in China alone, just like at the beginning of his journey in 1325. He sought the help of the Muslim kings on the route and thus landed on the shores of Maldives. Here, he offered his services briefly as a judge and went on a pilgrimage to Adam’s Peak in Sri Lanka, continuing further to the next destination.

They somehow reached Daulatabad and after replenishment, they began the journey to Khambhat. Here, Battuta witnessed numerous foreign travellers and scholars living in luxurious houses. At Gandhar, they found reinforcements in the form of awaiting Dhows to sail south towards Calicut. One was a warship with soldiers, among whom were Africans, skilled in archery and spearing. At Calicut, he received a grand welcome and enjoyed the hospitality of Zamorin.

Thus came an end to the association of Ibn Battuta with 14th-century India. In his book Rihla, he has given detailed descriptions of the political as well as economic scenarios of India. Apart from the records of the exotic trade and education system, he also archived the cuisines he relished at each place. The mention of Sambusak (our Samosa), with the variations and leanings to western Persia, is also noteworthy.

Ibn Battuta and his travelogue thus, are an integral part of the Indian history of travellers and traders. Moreover, his acumen in archiving his contemporary era has become a resourceful treasure trove for historians across the globe.