1 00:00:02,320 --> 00:00:05,960 Speaker 1: Happy Saturday, everybody. We have a brand new show launching 2 00:00:06,000 --> 00:00:09,560 Speaker 1: on our network called Everywhere. It's hosted by Daniel Scheffler, 3 00:00:09,600 --> 00:00:11,680 Speaker 1: and it's all about travel and not just the places 4 00:00:11,720 --> 00:00:13,840 Speaker 1: to go and the sites to see, but also it's 5 00:00:13,840 --> 00:00:17,560 Speaker 1: focused on Daniel's travel commandments. These are things like thou 6 00:00:17,600 --> 00:00:20,600 Speaker 1: shalt travel with the conscience and thou shalt be polite 7 00:00:20,680 --> 00:00:24,200 Speaker 1: and how these things can become an ideal travel strategy. 8 00:00:24,360 --> 00:00:27,120 Speaker 1: And I am on this show as well. Daniel and 9 00:00:27,120 --> 00:00:29,520 Speaker 1: I do a segment together where usually we talk about 10 00:00:29,520 --> 00:00:31,479 Speaker 1: the history of something that came up over the course 11 00:00:31,520 --> 00:00:34,239 Speaker 1: of him discussing his travels because he has led a 12 00:00:34,280 --> 00:00:37,160 Speaker 1: wildlife and has traveled all the places and done some 13 00:00:38,000 --> 00:00:41,680 Speaker 1: amazing things that you would never expect. Uh. And Daniel 14 00:00:41,680 --> 00:00:43,280 Speaker 1: and I are rather fond of each other, so it 15 00:00:43,400 --> 00:00:47,920 Speaker 1: sometimes dissolves into giggles or snarkiness, but we both have 16 00:00:47,960 --> 00:00:49,600 Speaker 1: a really, really good time, and I hope you have 17 00:00:49,640 --> 00:00:51,920 Speaker 1: a great time listening to it. So to go along 18 00:00:51,960 --> 00:00:55,520 Speaker 1: with the travel theme of Everywhere, today, we are revisiting 19 00:00:55,560 --> 00:00:59,880 Speaker 1: our previous episode on famed traveler Ibn Batuta, which originally 20 00:01:00,000 --> 00:01:03,440 Speaker 1: came out in August of seventeen, so enjoy and stay 21 00:01:03,440 --> 00:01:08,920 Speaker 1: tuned at the end for a peek at Everywhere. Welcome 22 00:01:08,959 --> 00:01:11,480 Speaker 1: to Stuff You missed in History Class, a production of 23 00:01:11,520 --> 00:01:19,960 Speaker 1: I Heart Radios How Stuff Works. Hello, and welcome to 24 00:01:20,000 --> 00:01:23,800 Speaker 1: the podcast. I am Tracy V. Wilson and I'm Holly Frying. 25 00:01:24,560 --> 00:01:27,160 Speaker 1: So back in the spring of we did a podcast 26 00:01:27,200 --> 00:01:31,200 Speaker 1: on Jungha. Remember Jengha I do? Indeed, Jengha led a 27 00:01:31,240 --> 00:01:34,880 Speaker 1: fleet of treasure ships on huge and far reaching voyages 28 00:01:35,000 --> 00:01:38,640 Speaker 1: from China to Southern Asia, the Arabian Peninsula and eastern 29 00:01:38,720 --> 00:01:42,160 Speaker 1: Africa in the fifteenth century. And one of the points 30 00:01:42,200 --> 00:01:45,319 Speaker 1: we made in that episode was that it wasn't necessarily 31 00:01:45,400 --> 00:01:49,640 Speaker 1: accurate to call Jungha an explorer, because he wasn't so 32 00:01:49,720 --> 00:01:54,080 Speaker 1: much exploring as following roots that were known already, and 33 00:01:54,200 --> 00:01:56,800 Speaker 1: we said that in some cases they were actually roots 34 00:01:56,840 --> 00:01:59,600 Speaker 1: that a man named Ibn Batuta had traveled from the 35 00:01:59,680 --> 00:02:04,440 Speaker 1: op Sit direction a century before. Today, we are finally 36 00:02:04,520 --> 00:02:07,720 Speaker 1: going to talk about about Abdellah, Mahabad Eben Abdellah, even 37 00:02:07,880 --> 00:02:12,480 Speaker 1: Ibraheim Alawatti Altanji iban Batuta, who has been requested by 38 00:02:12,520 --> 00:02:15,960 Speaker 1: some listeners, including Julie and Jennifer, and he's commonly just 39 00:02:16,120 --> 00:02:21,440 Speaker 1: known as Ibn Batuta, like Jungha, Hibn Batuta wasn't so 40 00:02:21,520 --> 00:02:24,440 Speaker 1: much an explorer. His travels took him to places that 41 00:02:24,520 --> 00:02:27,680 Speaker 1: were already known within the Muslim world, and they were 42 00:02:27,800 --> 00:02:32,120 Speaker 1: part of that world. Mostly he traveled along well traveled roots, 43 00:02:32,160 --> 00:02:35,840 Speaker 1: but these travels were extensive. He was away from home 44 00:02:35,919 --> 00:02:39,720 Speaker 1: for roughly twenty four years and during that time traveled 45 00:02:39,720 --> 00:02:44,600 Speaker 1: through virtually every Muslim nation and territory, becoming the traveler 46 00:02:44,680 --> 00:02:50,280 Speaker 1: of the age. Ibn Batuta was born on February four, 47 00:02:50,760 --> 00:02:53,720 Speaker 1: which was the year seven oh three in the Islamic calendar. 48 00:02:54,200 --> 00:02:56,920 Speaker 1: We found multiple different conversions of the exact date in 49 00:02:56,960 --> 00:03:00,280 Speaker 1: the Islamic calendar, so keep that in mind. They offered 50 00:03:00,320 --> 00:03:02,880 Speaker 1: by one to two days, and I don't trust my 51 00:03:03,000 --> 00:03:07,760 Speaker 1: own conversion enough to rely on that. He was born 52 00:03:07,800 --> 00:03:10,440 Speaker 1: in Tangier, which is a port city in Morocco, and 53 00:03:10,480 --> 00:03:15,160 Speaker 1: although it wasn't Morocco's busiest port, Tangier's position between the 54 00:03:15,160 --> 00:03:18,240 Speaker 1: Mediterranean and the Atlantic meant that it was a frequent 55 00:03:18,280 --> 00:03:21,440 Speaker 1: departure point for ships bound across the Strait of Gibraltar 56 00:03:21,720 --> 00:03:24,760 Speaker 1: to the Iberian Peninsula or to other parts of Europe 57 00:03:24,800 --> 00:03:27,880 Speaker 1: and Africa. And this meant that although Tangier was a 58 00:03:27,960 --> 00:03:31,400 Speaker 1: Muslim city, it also saw lots of Christian visitors and 59 00:03:31,480 --> 00:03:35,400 Speaker 1: merchants who arrived from places like Genoa, Marseilles and Majorca. 60 00:03:36,040 --> 00:03:39,880 Speaker 1: Apart from the father and grandfather, who were referenced in 61 00:03:40,000 --> 00:03:43,560 Speaker 1: his name even means son of we don't really know 62 00:03:43,600 --> 00:03:47,320 Speaker 1: a lot about Ibn Batuta's family. They were Sunni Muslims 63 00:03:47,320 --> 00:03:50,320 Speaker 1: who were of an indigenous North African people known as 64 00:03:50,360 --> 00:03:54,640 Speaker 1: the Latta, and several were kadi's or judges, or they 65 00:03:54,680 --> 00:03:59,480 Speaker 1: were otherwise scholars of Islamic law. Even Betuta's upbringing was 66 00:03:59,600 --> 00:04:02,960 Speaker 1: probably typical for a Muslim child living in Northern Africa 67 00:04:03,280 --> 00:04:06,560 Speaker 1: in the fourteenth century. He would have attended school, either 68 00:04:06,640 --> 00:04:09,520 Speaker 1: at a mosque or through a private tutor. His early 69 00:04:09,680 --> 00:04:12,880 Speaker 1: education would have focused on the Koran, along with subjects 70 00:04:12,920 --> 00:04:17,080 Speaker 1: like arithmetic and grammar, and literature and history. For students 71 00:04:17,120 --> 00:04:21,240 Speaker 1: from more prominent families, which Ibban Batuta was more advanced, 72 00:04:21,279 --> 00:04:25,400 Speaker 1: study followed as children got older. We do know for 73 00:04:25,680 --> 00:04:28,479 Speaker 1: sure that Iban Batuta's study of the Koran and of 74 00:04:28,560 --> 00:04:32,599 Speaker 1: Islamic law were really lifelong. He learned the whole Koran 75 00:04:32,680 --> 00:04:35,680 Speaker 1: by heart, and he wrote of reciting it to himself 76 00:04:35,680 --> 00:04:39,120 Speaker 1: from beginning to end, as he traveled, sometimes twice when 77 00:04:39,120 --> 00:04:41,080 Speaker 1: he felt like he needed to bolster himself up a 78 00:04:41,120 --> 00:04:44,080 Speaker 1: little more. And when he was twenty one by the 79 00:04:44,120 --> 00:04:47,799 Speaker 1: Gregorian calendar and twenty two by the Islamic Lunar calendar, 80 00:04:48,400 --> 00:04:51,880 Speaker 1: ibn Batuta began preparing for the Hajj, the pilgrimage to 81 00:04:51,920 --> 00:04:54,960 Speaker 1: Mecca that is one of the five pillars of Islam, 82 00:04:55,000 --> 00:04:57,360 Speaker 1: and this was for him a religious duty. It's an 83 00:04:57,400 --> 00:05:00,360 Speaker 1: obligation for all Muslims who are physically in fine, financially 84 00:05:00,440 --> 00:05:03,520 Speaker 1: able to go, and whose families won't be harmed by 85 00:05:03,520 --> 00:05:06,640 Speaker 1: their being away, And it was also something he genuinely 86 00:05:06,680 --> 00:05:10,640 Speaker 1: wanted to do, describing himself as quote swayed by an 87 00:05:10,640 --> 00:05:14,400 Speaker 1: overmastering impulse within me and a desire long cherished in 88 00:05:14,480 --> 00:05:20,200 Speaker 1: my bosom to visit these illustrious sanctuaries. Ibn Batuta's pilgrimage 89 00:05:20,360 --> 00:05:24,839 Speaker 1: was also an opportunity to further his education. Although Tangier 90 00:05:25,040 --> 00:05:28,400 Speaker 1: was a notable ports city, it wasn't particularly known for 91 00:05:28,520 --> 00:05:31,880 Speaker 1: its scholars and it didn't have a college. So Ibn 92 00:05:31,880 --> 00:05:35,720 Speaker 1: Batuta's pilgrimage would allow him to study with legal scholars 93 00:05:35,720 --> 00:05:38,760 Speaker 1: and with Sufi mystics and cities like Tunas, Alexandria, and 94 00:05:38,880 --> 00:05:42,919 Speaker 1: Cairo along the way. Studying with more prominent scholars was 95 00:05:42,960 --> 00:05:46,200 Speaker 1: an opportunity for Ibn Batuta to deepen his own knowledge 96 00:05:46,200 --> 00:05:49,400 Speaker 1: of Islamic law. It's the body of guiding rules and 97 00:05:49,440 --> 00:05:53,040 Speaker 1: principles that govern Muslims daily lives and worship, also known 98 00:05:53,080 --> 00:05:56,560 Speaker 1: as Sharia, and enhancing his legal training would give him 99 00:05:56,560 --> 00:05:59,840 Speaker 1: access to more prestigious work. But this wasn't simply a 100 00:06:00,000 --> 00:06:03,440 Speaker 1: means to moving up a career ladder, because the law 101 00:06:03,480 --> 00:06:06,599 Speaker 1: ibn Batuta was studying was rooted in the Islamic faith 102 00:06:06,880 --> 00:06:10,480 Speaker 1: and was inseparable from that faith. His religious and legal 103 00:06:10,560 --> 00:06:15,080 Speaker 1: educations were also inseparable from one another. On top of 104 00:06:15,120 --> 00:06:19,680 Speaker 1: the intertwined nature of his religious and legal education, the 105 00:06:19,839 --> 00:06:23,440 Speaker 1: concept of seeking knowledge is an important part of Islam 106 00:06:23,480 --> 00:06:26,680 Speaker 1: in general. Both the Koran and the Hadith, which is 107 00:06:26,720 --> 00:06:29,480 Speaker 1: a record of the sayings and actions of the prophet Mohammed, 108 00:06:29,960 --> 00:06:34,279 Speaker 1: have multiple references to learning and seeking knowledge, including how 109 00:06:34,320 --> 00:06:37,240 Speaker 1: to seek knowledge in a way that's ethical and compatible 110 00:06:37,279 --> 00:06:42,039 Speaker 1: with Islam. So essentially, seeking knowledge is an act of worship, 111 00:06:42,160 --> 00:06:46,400 Speaker 1: and it's incumbent upon all Muslims to learn one hadith 112 00:06:46,520 --> 00:06:49,479 Speaker 1: that frequently comes up in relation to Ibn Batuta is 113 00:06:49,560 --> 00:06:53,440 Speaker 1: seek knowledge even as far as China, although there are 114 00:06:53,480 --> 00:06:56,640 Speaker 1: some questions about whether that one is correctly attributed, those 115 00:06:56,680 --> 00:07:01,960 Speaker 1: same basic concepts are definitely present in others. Iban Batuta 116 00:07:02,080 --> 00:07:05,360 Speaker 1: left for Mecca on June fourteenth of thirteen twenty five, 117 00:07:05,440 --> 00:07:08,320 Speaker 1: which was the year seven twenty five in the Islamic calendar. 118 00:07:08,960 --> 00:07:11,760 Speaker 1: Although many pilgrims traveled to Mecca as part of an 119 00:07:11,760 --> 00:07:16,040 Speaker 1: official organized caravan, and iban Batuta may have been planning 120 00:07:16,080 --> 00:07:18,720 Speaker 1: to join a caravan later on in the journey, he 121 00:07:18,840 --> 00:07:23,160 Speaker 1: initially set off alone over land, following the North African coast, 122 00:07:23,800 --> 00:07:27,400 Speaker 1: and even though iban Batuta embarked alone, the Hajj is 123 00:07:27,440 --> 00:07:31,040 Speaker 1: an annual religious observance, so other Muslims were also setting 124 00:07:31,040 --> 00:07:34,560 Speaker 1: out for Mecca on their own pilgrimages, generally following the 125 00:07:34,600 --> 00:07:38,360 Speaker 1: same roads and routes through northern Africa. So after about 126 00:07:38,400 --> 00:07:41,400 Speaker 1: three weeks he fell in with two companions, although they 127 00:07:41,440 --> 00:07:44,440 Speaker 1: separated after they both got sick due to the severe 128 00:07:44,480 --> 00:07:48,320 Speaker 1: summer heat. One companion actually died and the other returned 129 00:07:48,560 --> 00:07:52,000 Speaker 1: that person's body home. A little later in the journey 130 00:07:52,040 --> 00:07:55,360 Speaker 1: across northern Africa, ibn Batuta fell ill as well, one 131 00:07:55,360 --> 00:07:59,520 Speaker 1: of several serious illnesses he contracted during his travels. When 132 00:07:59,600 --> 00:08:02,200 Speaker 1: someone suggested he stay in a town for a while 133 00:08:02,280 --> 00:08:06,360 Speaker 1: to recover, ibban Batuta replied, if God decrees my death, 134 00:08:06,520 --> 00:08:08,560 Speaker 1: it shall be on the road with my face set 135 00:08:08,600 --> 00:08:12,760 Speaker 1: towards the land of Hijas. As he traveled, Ibban Batuta 136 00:08:12,800 --> 00:08:15,120 Speaker 1: would stop for a time in cities and towns, and 137 00:08:15,160 --> 00:08:17,560 Speaker 1: the length of his stay would depend on everything from 138 00:08:17,560 --> 00:08:20,400 Speaker 1: his health to the travel conditions to whether there were 139 00:08:20,440 --> 00:08:24,480 Speaker 1: important scholars in residents. For example, he spent two months 140 00:08:24,480 --> 00:08:27,640 Speaker 1: in Tunas studying at the College of the Booksellers and 141 00:08:27,760 --> 00:08:31,200 Speaker 1: being appointed Kadi of a pilgrim caravan. When he left there, 142 00:08:31,800 --> 00:08:34,720 Speaker 1: he also entered into a marriage contract with the daughter 143 00:08:34,760 --> 00:08:37,880 Speaker 1: of a Tunisian official who was part of that caravan. 144 00:08:38,559 --> 00:08:41,040 Speaker 1: The two men eventually had some kind of falling out 145 00:08:41,080 --> 00:08:45,040 Speaker 1: and broke that contract. Shortly thereafter, Ibban Batuta entered into 146 00:08:45,040 --> 00:08:47,719 Speaker 1: a marriage contract with a different woman, the daughter of 147 00:08:47,760 --> 00:08:50,880 Speaker 1: another pilgrim who was a scholar from Fizz, and she 148 00:08:50,880 --> 00:08:53,720 Speaker 1: would be the first of several wives and concubines, some 149 00:08:53,840 --> 00:08:57,280 Speaker 1: of them enslaved that Ibban Batuta would bring into his life. 150 00:08:57,760 --> 00:09:00,720 Speaker 1: Ibban Batuta and the company of pilgrim he was traveling 151 00:09:00,760 --> 00:09:04,080 Speaker 1: with arrived in Alexandria at the Nile River delta in 152 00:09:04,120 --> 00:09:07,600 Speaker 1: the early spring of thirty six. He stayed there for 153 00:09:07,679 --> 00:09:11,120 Speaker 1: about a month, visiting holy sites, studying, and also doing 154 00:09:11,160 --> 00:09:14,720 Speaker 1: some sight seeing, including touring the city's textile district, but 155 00:09:14,760 --> 00:09:16,960 Speaker 1: eventually he decided it was time to move on again. 156 00:09:17,520 --> 00:09:20,000 Speaker 1: The timing of his journey and the time that he'd 157 00:09:20,040 --> 00:09:23,040 Speaker 1: spent in Alexandria meant that at this point he wasn't 158 00:09:23,240 --> 00:09:26,680 Speaker 1: lined up with the season for pilgrimage caravans anymore, so 159 00:09:26,720 --> 00:09:29,480 Speaker 1: there was no official company for him to join. He 160 00:09:29,640 --> 00:09:33,440 Speaker 1: was once again on his own. His plan was to 161 00:09:33,480 --> 00:09:35,880 Speaker 1: follow the banks of the Nile River south to a 162 00:09:35,920 --> 00:09:39,000 Speaker 1: town near the modern border with Sudan, and from there 163 00:09:39,040 --> 00:09:42,280 Speaker 1: he would travel overland to the Red Sea, board a 164 00:09:42,280 --> 00:09:46,480 Speaker 1: boat to Jetta and travel overland from there to Mecca. 165 00:09:47,000 --> 00:09:49,960 Speaker 1: The trip up the Nile took about three weeks, but 166 00:09:50,040 --> 00:09:52,120 Speaker 1: then when he got to the Red Sea, it turned 167 00:09:52,160 --> 00:09:54,199 Speaker 1: out that most of the boats in the port had 168 00:09:54,240 --> 00:09:57,880 Speaker 1: been destroyed during a dispute between the local ruling family 169 00:09:57,920 --> 00:10:00,720 Speaker 1: and the governor, so he had to turn back. This time, 170 00:10:00,720 --> 00:10:03,839 Speaker 1: taking a boat down the Nile, getting back to Alexandria 171 00:10:03,880 --> 00:10:07,400 Speaker 1: in about eight days, spending one night there before leaving 172 00:10:07,400 --> 00:10:10,440 Speaker 1: for Syria. And the reason he only spent one night 173 00:10:10,640 --> 00:10:13,400 Speaker 1: was that at this point the season for official travel 174 00:10:13,480 --> 00:10:16,120 Speaker 1: to Mecca was approaching, and he thought if he made 175 00:10:16,160 --> 00:10:18,880 Speaker 1: good enough time, he could join a caravan leaving out 176 00:10:18,920 --> 00:10:21,880 Speaker 1: of Damascus. On the way. He stayed for about a 177 00:10:21,920 --> 00:10:24,960 Speaker 1: week in Jerusalem, but even so he got to Damascus 178 00:10:24,960 --> 00:10:27,360 Speaker 1: with enough time to spare that he stayed there for 179 00:10:27,400 --> 00:10:30,880 Speaker 1: nearly a month. Although he had been continuing his studies 180 00:10:30,880 --> 00:10:34,600 Speaker 1: throughout the trip. In Damascus, he continued them formally, earning 181 00:10:34,640 --> 00:10:39,440 Speaker 1: several official certifications in different law texts. In Damascus, Ivan 182 00:10:39,480 --> 00:10:42,960 Speaker 1: Patuta finally did join an official caravan bound for Mecca 183 00:10:43,040 --> 00:10:45,720 Speaker 1: that he stayed with for the rest of the trip there, 184 00:10:45,800 --> 00:10:56,600 Speaker 1: which we will talk about after a quick sponsor break. 185 00:10:57,480 --> 00:11:00,880 Speaker 1: Ivan Patuta set out with a large caravan of pilgrims 186 00:11:00,960 --> 00:11:04,800 Speaker 1: from Damascus on September one, thirty six. This was more 187 00:11:04,840 --> 00:11:08,320 Speaker 1: than a year after leaving his home in Tangier. He 188 00:11:08,400 --> 00:11:11,960 Speaker 1: doesn't specifically say how many people were in this caravan, 189 00:11:12,080 --> 00:11:16,040 Speaker 1: but it was likely several thousand. Official caravans traveling to 190 00:11:16,080 --> 00:11:20,000 Speaker 1: Mecca were in our very large. First they went to Medina, 191 00:11:20,120 --> 00:11:23,559 Speaker 1: which is about eight hundred twenty miles or roughly hundred 192 00:11:23,640 --> 00:11:27,240 Speaker 1: kilometers away from Damascus, and the travel there took about 193 00:11:27,240 --> 00:11:31,760 Speaker 1: fifty days. Once they're pilgrims took part in several days 194 00:11:31,800 --> 00:11:34,720 Speaker 1: of religious rituals, including at the Mosque of the Profit, 195 00:11:35,320 --> 00:11:38,360 Speaker 1: and then from Medina it was another two hundred miles 196 00:11:38,480 --> 00:11:41,840 Speaker 1: or three hundred twenty kilometers to Mecca, where Ibn Batuta 197 00:11:41,920 --> 00:11:46,880 Speaker 1: finally arrived in October of thirteen twenty six. After the Hajj, 198 00:11:47,080 --> 00:11:51,160 Speaker 1: which involves several days of religious observances and rituals, most 199 00:11:51,160 --> 00:11:55,560 Speaker 1: pilgrims returned home, but even Batuta did not. Early in 200 00:11:55,600 --> 00:11:58,000 Speaker 1: his journey, he'd had a dream of a great bird 201 00:11:58,120 --> 00:12:01,280 Speaker 1: sweeping him away over a far day stints. He had 202 00:12:01,320 --> 00:12:03,640 Speaker 1: also meant an ascetic who told him that he would 203 00:12:03,640 --> 00:12:06,680 Speaker 1: meet and offer greetings to the ascetics three brothers, one 204 00:12:06,720 --> 00:12:10,040 Speaker 1: in India when in sind and one in China. Sind 205 00:12:10,240 --> 00:12:14,600 Speaker 1: is now Pakistan. But aside from these more romantic ideas, 206 00:12:14,720 --> 00:12:17,920 Speaker 1: Ibn Batuta thought that if he continued to travel, he 207 00:12:17,920 --> 00:12:20,680 Speaker 1: could continue to learn and to find work as a Kadi, 208 00:12:21,280 --> 00:12:23,920 Speaker 1: and instead of turning west toward home, he went north 209 00:12:24,000 --> 00:12:26,120 Speaker 1: and then east toward what's now a Rock in the 210 00:12:26,160 --> 00:12:30,040 Speaker 1: company of returning pilgrims from that region. Although he did 211 00:12:30,040 --> 00:12:33,240 Speaker 1: make several stops along him away, his primary goal at 212 00:12:33,240 --> 00:12:36,600 Speaker 1: this point was to visit the city of Baghdad. Baghdad 213 00:12:36,640 --> 00:12:39,920 Speaker 1: had been besieged and then sacked during the Mongol invasion 214 00:12:39,960 --> 00:12:42,080 Speaker 1: in twelve fifty eight, and that was a little less 215 00:12:42,080 --> 00:12:46,760 Speaker 1: than seventy years before Ivan Batuta's arrival. That sacking is 216 00:12:46,920 --> 00:12:50,760 Speaker 1: generally considered to be the end of the Islamic Golden Age, 217 00:12:51,240 --> 00:12:54,680 Speaker 1: so when Iban Batuta went there, he was envisioning it 218 00:12:54,720 --> 00:12:57,600 Speaker 1: as sort of witnessing one of the great cities that 219 00:12:57,720 --> 00:13:01,040 Speaker 1: had been He also stopped in most of the major 220 00:13:01,080 --> 00:13:03,320 Speaker 1: cities in the area and took a tour up the 221 00:13:03,320 --> 00:13:07,200 Speaker 1: Tigris River. From there, he returned to Mecca with another 222 00:13:07,240 --> 00:13:10,640 Speaker 1: Hajj caravan, this time staying for at least a year, 223 00:13:10,960 --> 00:13:13,960 Speaker 1: during which time he both studied and performed the rituals 224 00:13:14,000 --> 00:13:18,640 Speaker 1: associated with the lesser pilgrimage a number of times. He 225 00:13:18,800 --> 00:13:22,040 Speaker 1: left Mecca again in either thirteen twenty eight or thirteen 226 00:13:22,120 --> 00:13:25,480 Speaker 1: thirty exactly when is a little bit unclear, but whichever 227 00:13:25,559 --> 00:13:29,240 Speaker 1: it was. He spent the next two years traveling mainly 228 00:13:29,280 --> 00:13:32,440 Speaker 1: by boat to cities along the Red Sea, the Persian Gulf, 229 00:13:32,480 --> 00:13:35,800 Speaker 1: and the Arabian Sea. He went as far south as 230 00:13:35,920 --> 00:13:39,400 Speaker 1: Kilwa on the African coast in what's now Tanzania, but 231 00:13:39,600 --> 00:13:41,960 Speaker 1: was at the time part of the Kilwa sultan It. 232 00:13:42,800 --> 00:13:47,040 Speaker 1: After two years of mostly seafaring wandering, he once again 233 00:13:47,160 --> 00:13:51,280 Speaker 1: joined a pilgrimage caravan Sebecca, traveling over land across the 234 00:13:51,559 --> 00:13:55,640 Speaker 1: entirety of the Arabian Peninsula before observing the Hajj for 235 00:13:55,800 --> 00:13:59,640 Speaker 1: a third time. By this point, Ivan Batuta had learned 236 00:13:59,640 --> 00:14:03,720 Speaker 1: that the Alton of Delhi, Mohammed Togluk, had invited scholars 237 00:14:03,760 --> 00:14:06,280 Speaker 1: to India, and that many who made their way there 238 00:14:06,280 --> 00:14:09,440 Speaker 1: were finding themselves with prestigious appointments that came along with 239 00:14:09,600 --> 00:14:13,559 Speaker 1: lavish gifts. The Sultan had made a practice of specifically 240 00:14:13,600 --> 00:14:17,280 Speaker 1: filling posts with foreign visitors, and even Batuta hoped to 241 00:14:17,360 --> 00:14:19,800 Speaker 1: be one of them. But to get there and to 242 00:14:19,840 --> 00:14:22,840 Speaker 1: get an appointment, he needed a guide who spoke Persian 243 00:14:23,200 --> 00:14:26,240 Speaker 1: New India well and had contacts there who could help 244 00:14:26,280 --> 00:14:30,080 Speaker 1: Ibn Batuta on his way. His initial plan seems to 245 00:14:30,120 --> 00:14:32,360 Speaker 1: have been to try to find such a guide in 246 00:14:32,520 --> 00:14:36,120 Speaker 1: Jetta and then to have a relatively straightforward sea voyage 247 00:14:36,160 --> 00:14:39,080 Speaker 1: to India. But he couldn't find someone with the skills 248 00:14:39,120 --> 00:14:42,480 Speaker 1: and connections that he needed, so instead he set off 249 00:14:42,560 --> 00:14:47,440 Speaker 1: on a much much more circuitous route overland, perhaps thinking 250 00:14:47,520 --> 00:14:50,520 Speaker 1: that he might meet someone along the way. He first 251 00:14:50,520 --> 00:14:52,800 Speaker 1: made his way back to Cairo and from there to 252 00:14:52,880 --> 00:14:56,160 Speaker 1: the port city of Latakia on the Syrian coast, before 253 00:14:56,200 --> 00:14:59,600 Speaker 1: taking a ship across the Mediterranean Sea to Alanna in 254 00:14:59,680 --> 00:15:03,040 Speaker 1: Anna Tolia on the coast of what is now Turkey, 255 00:15:03,080 --> 00:15:06,440 Speaker 1: and he then undertook a very roundabout two year trek 256 00:15:06,480 --> 00:15:10,400 Speaker 1: that went to Constantinople, through the Byzantine Empire, across the 257 00:15:10,440 --> 00:15:14,880 Speaker 1: Asian Step, and then through Afghanistan, finally crossing the Indus 258 00:15:15,000 --> 00:15:19,160 Speaker 1: River in thirty three or thirty five. He essentially went 259 00:15:19,280 --> 00:15:22,480 Speaker 1: quite far to the north, following a zigzagging path between 260 00:15:22,480 --> 00:15:26,120 Speaker 1: the Black Sea and the Caspian Sea before dropping southeast 261 00:15:26,160 --> 00:15:29,240 Speaker 1: into India. If you look at a map, this was 262 00:15:29,320 --> 00:15:33,360 Speaker 1: not just an indirect way to go. Crossing the Asian 263 00:15:33,400 --> 00:15:37,120 Speaker 1: Step was also far more difficult than going by sea 264 00:15:37,280 --> 00:15:40,800 Speaker 1: or by following some of the other overland routes. Taking 265 00:15:40,800 --> 00:15:43,320 Speaker 1: the path that was both the long way and the 266 00:15:43,360 --> 00:15:46,800 Speaker 1: hard way may have been because Matuta had already seen 267 00:15:46,960 --> 00:15:49,640 Speaker 1: several of the cities along the Arabian Sea that they 268 00:15:49,640 --> 00:15:52,480 Speaker 1: would have passed through if he had gone that way instead, 269 00:15:53,160 --> 00:15:55,840 Speaker 1: he had resolved to never travel a path that he 270 00:15:55,920 --> 00:15:59,760 Speaker 1: had traveled before if there was some other option available. 271 00:16:00,360 --> 00:16:03,280 Speaker 1: That seems like it would get so problematic in a hurry, 272 00:16:03,480 --> 00:16:07,360 Speaker 1: and apparently it did. There are there are lots of 273 00:16:07,400 --> 00:16:10,600 Speaker 1: maps of his voyages online and there is very little 274 00:16:11,440 --> 00:16:15,600 Speaker 1: like the arrow going two directions on the same bath, 275 00:16:15,800 --> 00:16:17,800 Speaker 1: and when it is it's usually like okay, yeah, that's 276 00:16:17,840 --> 00:16:21,760 Speaker 1: there's not really a different way to go. Iba Batuta 277 00:16:21,880 --> 00:16:24,480 Speaker 1: spent about eight years in India, where he was named 278 00:16:24,520 --> 00:16:27,600 Speaker 1: Cutty of Delhi, although for his first several months there 279 00:16:27,920 --> 00:16:31,520 Speaker 1: he spent his time accompanying the Sultan on hunting expeditions 280 00:16:31,640 --> 00:16:35,240 Speaker 1: rather than hearing legal cases. He also had some trouble 281 00:16:35,320 --> 00:16:39,960 Speaker 1: with money. He had purchased gifts for the Sultan, including horses, camels, 282 00:16:40,000 --> 00:16:42,840 Speaker 1: and enslaved people along the way with the hope that 283 00:16:42,880 --> 00:16:45,080 Speaker 1: it was going to help him secure a good appointment, 284 00:16:45,760 --> 00:16:48,640 Speaker 1: and although his appointment as Cutty came with an income, 285 00:16:48,720 --> 00:16:51,200 Speaker 1: he just didn't have the same pool of wealth as 286 00:16:51,240 --> 00:16:54,320 Speaker 1: many of the other Deli elite to draw from, and 287 00:16:54,360 --> 00:16:57,520 Speaker 1: he was expected to maintain an opulent lifestyle and to 288 00:16:57,640 --> 00:17:00,960 Speaker 1: spend some of his income on gifts and pay to others, 289 00:17:01,000 --> 00:17:05,400 Speaker 1: so he was soon in debt. Apart from his financial problems, says, 290 00:17:05,480 --> 00:17:09,200 Speaker 1: years in India overall also weren't particularly easy due to 291 00:17:09,480 --> 00:17:14,640 Speaker 1: a combination of famines, uprisings, and political intrigue. At this point, 292 00:17:14,720 --> 00:17:18,959 Speaker 1: India had a majority Hindu population that was being ruled 293 00:17:18,960 --> 00:17:23,480 Speaker 1: by a minority Muslim government, which leads to ongoing uprisings 294 00:17:23,480 --> 00:17:28,560 Speaker 1: and religious violence. Around thirteen forty, ibn Batuta was appointed 295 00:17:28,600 --> 00:17:31,600 Speaker 1: to lead an envoy from Delhi to China, and he 296 00:17:31,720 --> 00:17:34,720 Speaker 1: left in the summer of thirteen forty one. He was 297 00:17:34,800 --> 00:17:38,080 Speaker 1: tasked with ensuring the safety of a huge retinue, including 298 00:17:38,160 --> 00:17:42,480 Speaker 1: hundreds of people and gifts including textiles, dishware, and weapons. 299 00:17:43,280 --> 00:17:46,199 Speaker 1: Although they traveled under armed guard, they were attacked by 300 00:17:46,280 --> 00:17:50,040 Speaker 1: Hindu insurgents only a few days out from Delhi. Ibn 301 00:17:50,080 --> 00:17:53,200 Speaker 1: Batuta was attacked and robbed a second time while waiting 302 00:17:53,200 --> 00:17:56,879 Speaker 1: for reinforcements after that first incident, and then he became 303 00:17:57,000 --> 00:18:00,840 Speaker 1: lost for six days after escaping from his captor. After 304 00:18:00,880 --> 00:18:07,240 Speaker 1: this inauspicious beginning, the expedition ended disastrously in early thirty two, 305 00:18:07,280 --> 00:18:10,360 Speaker 1: when the whole fleet of four ships at this point 306 00:18:10,440 --> 00:18:13,760 Speaker 1: they had moved to a sea voyage, was forced aground 307 00:18:13,880 --> 00:18:16,520 Speaker 1: and wrecked in a storm off the port of Calicut 308 00:18:16,600 --> 00:18:20,240 Speaker 1: on the southwestern coast of India. Most of their retinue 309 00:18:20,359 --> 00:18:24,119 Speaker 1: was also killed in this storm and shipwrecks, including the 310 00:18:24,160 --> 00:18:27,679 Speaker 1: other two highest ranking officials that had been dispatched from Delhi. 311 00:18:28,320 --> 00:18:31,480 Speaker 1: Edmund Btuta only survived because he had moved from the 312 00:18:31,560 --> 00:18:34,680 Speaker 1: junk where the diplomatic envoy was supposed to be sleeping, 313 00:18:34,720 --> 00:18:37,359 Speaker 1: to another ship because the room that was assigned to 314 00:18:37,440 --> 00:18:40,800 Speaker 1: him on the diplomatic junk was just too small for 315 00:18:40,840 --> 00:18:44,359 Speaker 1: his taste. Although he wanted to return to Delhi and 316 00:18:44,440 --> 00:18:47,199 Speaker 1: tell the Sultan what had happened, he didn't feel like 317 00:18:47,240 --> 00:18:50,680 Speaker 1: he could, at least not right away. Not only had 318 00:18:50,680 --> 00:18:53,240 Speaker 1: the entire retinue and all of its goods been lost 319 00:18:53,280 --> 00:18:56,320 Speaker 1: on his watch, but he would also have to explain 320 00:18:56,400 --> 00:18:59,320 Speaker 1: why he had survived while the other officials had not. 321 00:19:00,200 --> 00:19:04,040 Speaker 1: He had also lost nearly everything he had in that storm. 322 00:19:04,119 --> 00:19:07,520 Speaker 1: He wound up stranded for months before finally finding passage 323 00:19:07,560 --> 00:19:10,119 Speaker 1: to Honavar on the western coast of India on a 324 00:19:10,160 --> 00:19:14,159 Speaker 1: fleet of ships that belonged to the Sultan. Once he 325 00:19:14,240 --> 00:19:17,479 Speaker 1: got there, though, the situation was not much better. He 326 00:19:17,520 --> 00:19:19,919 Speaker 1: had hoped to find a patron and some kind of 327 00:19:19,920 --> 00:19:23,240 Speaker 1: appointment that would allow him the time and the resources 328 00:19:23,280 --> 00:19:25,840 Speaker 1: to figure out what he should do next, and perhaps 329 00:19:25,840 --> 00:19:29,679 Speaker 1: even to recoup some of his lost income. Instead, he 330 00:19:29,720 --> 00:19:32,640 Speaker 1: wound up spending most of the summer of thirteen forty 331 00:19:32,680 --> 00:19:36,560 Speaker 1: two and devotional seclusion, praying and reciting the Koran twice 332 00:19:36,600 --> 00:19:40,080 Speaker 1: through every day. He was basically offered housing in a 333 00:19:40,560 --> 00:19:42,520 Speaker 1: like this one person's room, and he was like, yeah, 334 00:19:42,560 --> 00:19:45,240 Speaker 1: I don't really have work for you. You can stay here, though, 335 00:19:45,480 --> 00:19:49,080 Speaker 1: so he basically stayed there in prayer for months, and 336 00:19:49,160 --> 00:19:52,080 Speaker 1: finally he decided to go to China on his own, 337 00:19:52,680 --> 00:19:55,399 Speaker 1: staying for a time in the Maldives and acting again 338 00:19:55,440 --> 00:19:58,960 Speaker 1: as Cutty before going on to China by sea. By 339 00:19:59,000 --> 00:20:01,280 Speaker 1: this point he had been to so many places and 340 00:20:01,320 --> 00:20:04,080 Speaker 1: could tell stories of so many other courts that he 341 00:20:04,160 --> 00:20:09,480 Speaker 1: was received enthusiastically and he was compensated generously. Once he 342 00:20:09,600 --> 00:20:13,040 Speaker 1: left the Maldives. There's some dispute about exactly how far 343 00:20:13,160 --> 00:20:16,200 Speaker 1: into China he did go, in part because he didn't 344 00:20:16,240 --> 00:20:18,960 Speaker 1: give a lot of detail about China when he wrote 345 00:20:18,960 --> 00:20:22,440 Speaker 1: about his travels. This lack of detail has led some 346 00:20:22,480 --> 00:20:24,840 Speaker 1: critics to suggest that he did not go to China 347 00:20:24,920 --> 00:20:28,439 Speaker 1: at all. And while he probably did not get nearly 348 00:20:28,520 --> 00:20:31,520 Speaker 1: as far as the account of his trip suggests, with 349 00:20:31,600 --> 00:20:34,359 Speaker 1: some of that probably being embellished when it was being written, 350 00:20:34,880 --> 00:20:38,680 Speaker 1: he almost certainly did visit the more southeastern parts of China. 351 00:20:39,240 --> 00:20:42,360 Speaker 1: His lack of detail is more likely because the Muslim 352 00:20:42,400 --> 00:20:45,840 Speaker 1: population there was relatively small, and that was really what 353 00:20:45,960 --> 00:20:49,000 Speaker 1: he was most interested in learning from and writing about. 354 00:20:49,040 --> 00:20:51,840 Speaker 1: So he just had a lot less interest in China 355 00:20:51,880 --> 00:20:54,560 Speaker 1: and a lot less to say about it. And it 356 00:20:54,640 --> 00:20:58,200 Speaker 1: was after visiting China that iban Batuta decided at last 357 00:20:58,280 --> 00:21:02,200 Speaker 1: to return home after undertaking the Hajj one last time. 358 00:21:02,720 --> 00:21:04,800 Speaker 1: We're going to talk about all of that after we 359 00:21:04,880 --> 00:21:16,000 Speaker 1: have a little sponsor break. Finally abandoning the idea of 360 00:21:16,040 --> 00:21:19,080 Speaker 1: returning to India to explain what had happened to the convoy, 361 00:21:19,520 --> 00:21:22,760 Speaker 1: Ibn Matuta began working his way toward home in thirteen 362 00:21:22,880 --> 00:21:26,159 Speaker 1: forty seven by way of one last pilgrimage to Mecca 363 00:21:26,320 --> 00:21:29,840 Speaker 1: that would be his fourth during his lifetime. Rather than 364 00:21:29,880 --> 00:21:32,680 Speaker 1: waiting for the next pilgrimage season, he took a wandering 365 00:21:32,760 --> 00:21:37,359 Speaker 1: route through Persia, Iraq, Syria, and Egypt, and in Damascus, Syria, 366 00:21:37,400 --> 00:21:41,120 Speaker 1: he learned that his father had died about fifteen years before. 367 00:21:42,280 --> 00:21:45,040 Speaker 1: He decided to travel to Aleppo in the summer of 368 00:21:46,440 --> 00:21:48,879 Speaker 1: which turned out to be just as the Black Death 369 00:21:48,920 --> 00:21:52,200 Speaker 1: began moving through the region, and for the next several months, 370 00:21:52,200 --> 00:21:54,800 Speaker 1: his travels took him through cities and towns that were 371 00:21:54,920 --> 00:21:58,119 Speaker 1: ravaged by the plague. For a time, he got ahead 372 00:21:58,160 --> 00:22:00,159 Speaker 1: of the spread of the disease, but it caught up 373 00:22:00,160 --> 00:22:02,760 Speaker 1: with him again in Mecca, where he spent four months 374 00:22:02,800 --> 00:22:07,480 Speaker 1: awaiting the Hajj. After his fourth hodge, he began traveling 375 00:22:07,880 --> 00:22:12,080 Speaker 1: finally towards Tangier, but once he arrived there after his 376 00:22:12,280 --> 00:22:15,280 Speaker 1: decades of absence, he learned that his mother had died 377 00:22:15,400 --> 00:22:19,760 Speaker 1: of the plague only about six months before. Iban Batuta 378 00:22:19,840 --> 00:22:22,640 Speaker 1: didn't stay at home for long. He soon set out 379 00:22:22,680 --> 00:22:25,200 Speaker 1: once again for a brief tour of Granada across the 380 00:22:25,240 --> 00:22:28,520 Speaker 1: Strait of Gibraltar, followed by a return to Africa and 381 00:22:28,600 --> 00:22:31,600 Speaker 1: a tour to the south, crossing the Sahara Desert to 382 00:22:31,720 --> 00:22:34,360 Speaker 1: the Kingdom of Mali and the city of tim bucktwo. 383 00:22:34,840 --> 00:22:38,000 Speaker 1: Iban Batuta finally returned to Fez, which was then the 384 00:22:38,080 --> 00:22:41,680 Speaker 1: capital of Morocco, in thirteen fifty four, and as far 385 00:22:41,760 --> 00:22:44,159 Speaker 1: as we know, he spent the rest of his life 386 00:22:44,240 --> 00:22:48,360 Speaker 1: in or near Morocco. The Sultan Abu Nan asked him 387 00:22:48,400 --> 00:22:51,640 Speaker 1: to write an account of his journey, and in doing this, 388 00:22:51,720 --> 00:22:55,240 Speaker 1: iban Batuta worked with an amanuensis ibban Juse, who was 389 00:22:55,280 --> 00:22:59,320 Speaker 1: also a court poet. Iban Jus made his language poetic, 390 00:22:59,560 --> 00:23:03,320 Speaker 1: added some actual poems, and probably embellished a few things, 391 00:23:03,320 --> 00:23:07,080 Speaker 1: while also bringing iban Matucha's account in line with literary 392 00:23:07,160 --> 00:23:10,280 Speaker 1: standards of the time. The end result of all this 393 00:23:10,320 --> 00:23:15,640 Speaker 1: work was finished on December fifty five. It's full Arabic 394 00:23:15,680 --> 00:23:19,760 Speaker 1: title roughly translates to a gift to those who contemplate 395 00:23:19,840 --> 00:23:23,120 Speaker 1: the wonders of cities and the marvels of traveling. It's 396 00:23:23,160 --> 00:23:26,560 Speaker 1: more commonly known as the RelA, although RelA is really 397 00:23:26,600 --> 00:23:31,800 Speaker 1: a genre essentially a travelog within Islamic literature. Given Matuta's 398 00:23:31,840 --> 00:23:36,800 Speaker 1: RelA Chronicles has traveled through essentially the entire fourteenth century 399 00:23:36,880 --> 00:23:41,320 Speaker 1: Muslim world. He had gone seventy five thousand miles or 400 00:23:41,359 --> 00:23:45,160 Speaker 1: a hundred and twenty thousand kilometers, that is three times 401 00:23:45,200 --> 00:23:49,120 Speaker 1: farther than Marco Polo's journeys and three times the circumference 402 00:23:49,160 --> 00:23:52,240 Speaker 1: of the Earth. Along the way, he visited what's now 403 00:23:52,400 --> 00:23:56,680 Speaker 1: forty different modern countries. He met at least sixty heads 404 00:23:56,720 --> 00:23:59,920 Speaker 1: of state and a wealth of lesser leaders and dignitaries, 405 00:24:00,040 --> 00:24:03,000 Speaker 1: and he served as an advisor to at least twelve 406 00:24:03,119 --> 00:24:07,119 Speaker 1: different rulers. He also met all three brothers of the 407 00:24:07,160 --> 00:24:11,120 Speaker 1: Ascetic that he had heard about so early in his journey, 408 00:24:11,280 --> 00:24:14,960 Speaker 1: and did indeed offer them greetings. The RelA is about 409 00:24:15,000 --> 00:24:18,320 Speaker 1: one thousand pages long, and since he was reconstructing it 410 00:24:18,359 --> 00:24:21,919 Speaker 1: from memory after the end of his travels, it's chronology 411 00:24:21,960 --> 00:24:24,639 Speaker 1: is sometimes a little bit mixed up or vague, but 412 00:24:24,720 --> 00:24:28,080 Speaker 1: otherwise it stands as a wide ranging account of what 413 00:24:28,119 --> 00:24:31,439 Speaker 1: the Islamic world was like in the fourteenth century. The 414 00:24:31,480 --> 00:24:34,439 Speaker 1: world was and still is huge, but it is not 415 00:24:34,560 --> 00:24:37,520 Speaker 1: at all monolithic. It's people are united by the core 416 00:24:37,560 --> 00:24:39,879 Speaker 1: belief in the Koran and by the idea that the 417 00:24:39,920 --> 00:24:43,560 Speaker 1: tenets of Islam create a bond that is greater than ethnicity. 418 00:24:43,720 --> 00:24:46,520 Speaker 1: Or race. Yeah, if you're if you're looking at the 419 00:24:46,560 --> 00:24:49,240 Speaker 1: chronology of his travels and you kind of go, does 420 00:24:49,280 --> 00:24:52,240 Speaker 1: that make sense? You may have even thought, does that 421 00:24:52,320 --> 00:24:54,360 Speaker 1: make sense? In some of this episode so far? It's 422 00:24:54,440 --> 00:24:59,520 Speaker 1: because he was basically reconstructing it later on, and and 423 00:24:59,600 --> 00:25:02,000 Speaker 1: sometimes I was talking about places that he passed through 424 00:25:02,040 --> 00:25:04,200 Speaker 1: more than one time, So sometimes a little seems a 425 00:25:04,200 --> 00:25:08,439 Speaker 1: little mixed up. As iban Batuta traveled, he observed the 426 00:25:08,480 --> 00:25:13,200 Speaker 1: diversity of Islam, seeing how it was filtered through Arab, Persian, Turkish, 427 00:25:13,200 --> 00:25:17,280 Speaker 1: and Mongol cultures. He wrote about how people worshiped, how 428 00:25:17,320 --> 00:25:20,560 Speaker 1: they interpreted the law, and what their holy sites were like, 429 00:25:20,880 --> 00:25:24,080 Speaker 1: along with describing the cities themselves, in their cuisine and 430 00:25:24,080 --> 00:25:27,639 Speaker 1: their environment, and things like whether they were clean. The 431 00:25:27,640 --> 00:25:31,400 Speaker 1: book gradually reveals some of iban Batuta's personality and tells 432 00:25:31,480 --> 00:25:35,040 Speaker 1: us a little about the worldview of an educated, devout 433 00:25:35,119 --> 00:25:39,040 Speaker 1: fourteenth century Muslim. He was a pious man who could 434 00:25:39,080 --> 00:25:41,639 Speaker 1: sometimes come off as a bit of a busybody, even 435 00:25:41,680 --> 00:25:44,600 Speaker 1: beyond what might be expected of a man whose job 436 00:25:44,800 --> 00:25:48,000 Speaker 1: was to be a judge. But he was also gregarious 437 00:25:48,040 --> 00:25:51,960 Speaker 1: and highly curious about the world. Otherwise, though there's really 438 00:25:52,080 --> 00:25:55,520 Speaker 1: very little about his personal life. For example, he married 439 00:25:55,560 --> 00:25:57,960 Speaker 1: at least seven women, and he had children with at 440 00:25:58,040 --> 00:26:01,040 Speaker 1: least some of them, in addition to having new risk concubines, 441 00:26:01,560 --> 00:26:03,760 Speaker 1: although none of these people play a part in the 442 00:26:03,800 --> 00:26:07,359 Speaker 1: text beyond the mention of their marriage or occasionally their death. 443 00:26:08,000 --> 00:26:10,879 Speaker 1: And we also get nothing about his homecoming and what 444 00:26:11,000 --> 00:26:13,280 Speaker 1: happened when he met friends and family that he'd been 445 00:26:13,320 --> 00:26:16,800 Speaker 1: separated from for almost a quarter of a century, or 446 00:26:16,880 --> 00:26:19,080 Speaker 1: when he learned how many of them had died in 447 00:26:19,119 --> 00:26:22,560 Speaker 1: the Black Death. And this was really typical of writing 448 00:26:22,800 --> 00:26:25,919 Speaker 1: at the time. It was not considered really appropriate to 449 00:26:25,960 --> 00:26:29,000 Speaker 1: be talking about your personal business in public anyway, so 450 00:26:29,040 --> 00:26:31,399 Speaker 1: it would have been doubly inappropriate if he had filled 451 00:26:31,440 --> 00:26:34,280 Speaker 1: his book up with a lot of personal details about 452 00:26:34,320 --> 00:26:38,000 Speaker 1: his life. So like that is not a typical at all. Also, 453 00:26:38,240 --> 00:26:40,119 Speaker 1: when we say he comes off sometimes it's a bit 454 00:26:40,160 --> 00:26:42,760 Speaker 1: of a busy body. The story that to me typ 455 00:26:42,800 --> 00:26:44,760 Speaker 1: of eyes at the best is there was there's one 456 00:26:44,800 --> 00:26:47,640 Speaker 1: part in his relo or he writes about going into 457 00:26:47,640 --> 00:26:49,919 Speaker 1: a bath house and some of the men didn't have 458 00:26:50,000 --> 00:26:53,119 Speaker 1: waste coverings on, and his response to this was to 459 00:26:53,240 --> 00:26:55,680 Speaker 1: go to the governor of the town and to tell 460 00:26:55,720 --> 00:26:57,440 Speaker 1: the governor of the town that there were some men 461 00:26:58,000 --> 00:26:59,879 Speaker 1: in the bath house that didn't have waste coverings on, 462 00:27:00,400 --> 00:27:03,200 Speaker 1: and then get the governor all riled up about it, 463 00:27:03,720 --> 00:27:08,680 Speaker 1: followed by a crackdown on whether there were waste coverings 464 00:27:08,720 --> 00:27:13,560 Speaker 1: in the bath houses. On the one hand, there was 465 00:27:13,800 --> 00:27:17,719 Speaker 1: just expected that men would have waste coverings on. On 466 00:27:17,760 --> 00:27:19,960 Speaker 1: the other hand, there were definitely a lot of people 467 00:27:20,000 --> 00:27:23,840 Speaker 1: involved in the situation who were like man Ivan Batuda business. 468 00:27:24,000 --> 00:27:28,080 Speaker 1: He went right to escalation on that one. Yeah. So 469 00:27:28,160 --> 00:27:31,960 Speaker 1: the a lot of people in their descriptions of Ivan 470 00:27:31,960 --> 00:27:35,800 Speaker 1: Beatuda use words like kind of a fuss budget or 471 00:27:36,400 --> 00:27:40,520 Speaker 1: a little judgmental uh, and that that kind of uh. 472 00:27:40,560 --> 00:27:43,840 Speaker 1: That kind of account is why. So this book was 473 00:27:44,000 --> 00:27:47,240 Speaker 1: largely unknown until the nineteenth century and even in the 474 00:27:47,280 --> 00:27:51,960 Speaker 1: Arabic speaking world. Although various additions exist in libraries in 475 00:27:52,040 --> 00:27:55,359 Speaker 1: North Africa and the Middle East dating from the time 476 00:27:55,400 --> 00:27:57,840 Speaker 1: after it was written, it does not seem to have 477 00:27:57,920 --> 00:28:02,560 Speaker 1: been very widely read between the fourteenth and nineteenth centuries. However, 478 00:28:02,600 --> 00:28:06,639 Speaker 1: in a weird turn of events, French scholars found five 479 00:28:06,760 --> 00:28:10,679 Speaker 1: manuscripts in Algeria after the French occupied Algeria in the 480 00:28:10,720 --> 00:28:14,640 Speaker 1: eighteen thirties and these scholars began trying to piece together translations. 481 00:28:15,160 --> 00:28:17,920 Speaker 1: A lot of the first translations in English were very 482 00:28:17,960 --> 00:28:21,640 Speaker 1: heavily abridged, unsurprisingly because it is a thousand pages long 483 00:28:22,359 --> 00:28:26,080 Speaker 1: and a complete English language translation. Projects started in nineteen 484 00:28:26,080 --> 00:28:29,600 Speaker 1: twenty nine the Hackleyott Society, which is an English society 485 00:28:29,640 --> 00:28:33,760 Speaker 1: that publishes scholarly editions of primary source texts about travel 486 00:28:33,800 --> 00:28:39,960 Speaker 1: m geography, which is an amazingly specific mission. UH published 487 00:28:40,000 --> 00:28:43,400 Speaker 1: the first three volumes by the mid twentieth century, but 488 00:28:43,480 --> 00:28:46,959 Speaker 1: the fourth volume didn't come out until I think nine four. 489 00:28:47,720 --> 00:28:51,680 Speaker 1: And it's actually unclear when even Batuta died, although it 490 00:28:51,720 --> 00:28:54,320 Speaker 1: was in the year seven hundred in the Islamic calendar, 491 00:28:54,680 --> 00:28:58,240 Speaker 1: which would have been thirteen sixty eight or thirteen sixty nine. 492 00:28:58,400 --> 00:29:01,479 Speaker 1: A two man tangier is tradeally considered to be his, 493 00:29:02,120 --> 00:29:04,960 Speaker 1: but we don't actually know if that's the case today. 494 00:29:04,960 --> 00:29:07,240 Speaker 1: There's also a shopping mall named for him in Dubai 495 00:29:08,560 --> 00:29:12,480 Speaker 1: and its courts are all themed after places that he went, 496 00:29:13,200 --> 00:29:16,160 Speaker 1: and UH A lot of commentators are like, I'm not 497 00:29:16,200 --> 00:29:18,120 Speaker 1: sure if I Tuda thought would have thought this was 498 00:29:18,160 --> 00:29:22,280 Speaker 1: cool or not? Yeah, he like he did. I mean, 499 00:29:22,320 --> 00:29:26,040 Speaker 1: obviously he traveled for almost a quarter of a century 500 00:29:26,040 --> 00:29:28,760 Speaker 1: in a time when travel was a lot more uncomfortable 501 00:29:29,160 --> 00:29:32,240 Speaker 1: and and time consuming than it is in a lot 502 00:29:32,240 --> 00:29:36,080 Speaker 1: of the world today. But the like the fact that, um, 503 00:29:36,160 --> 00:29:41,040 Speaker 1: he was so particular about things. Uh sometimes people are 504 00:29:41,080 --> 00:29:43,240 Speaker 1: like what I Betuda walk in here and be like, oh, yeah, 505 00:29:43,360 --> 00:29:45,040 Speaker 1: this is cool. I like to look at this place. 506 00:29:45,120 --> 00:29:47,600 Speaker 1: Or would he be more like, M I'm not sure, 507 00:29:48,320 --> 00:29:56,600 Speaker 1: we don't know, I don't really now. Thank you so 508 00:29:56,680 --> 00:29:59,240 Speaker 1: much for joining us on this Saturday. If you have 509 00:29:59,480 --> 00:30:01,960 Speaker 1: heard an email address or a Facebook you are l 510 00:30:02,040 --> 00:30:04,920 Speaker 1: or something similar over the course of today's episode, since 511 00:30:04,960 --> 00:30:06,920 Speaker 1: it is from the archive that might be out of 512 00:30:07,040 --> 00:30:10,480 Speaker 1: date now, you can email us at history podcast at 513 00:30:10,520 --> 00:30:12,600 Speaker 1: how Stuff Works dot com, and you can find us 514 00:30:12,600 --> 00:30:15,720 Speaker 1: all over social media at missed in History. And you 515 00:30:15,760 --> 00:30:19,400 Speaker 1: can subscribe to our show on Apple podcasts, Google podcast, 516 00:30:19,520 --> 00:30:22,120 Speaker 1: the I heart radio app, and wherever else you listen 517 00:30:22,120 --> 00:30:28,480 Speaker 1: to podcasts. Stuff You Missed in History Class is a 518 00:30:28,520 --> 00:30:31,440 Speaker 1: production of I Heart Radio's How Stuff Works. For more 519 00:30:31,480 --> 00:30:34,360 Speaker 1: podcasts for my heart Radio, visit the I heart Radio app, 520 00:30:34,480 --> 00:30:42,080 Speaker 1: Apple podcasts, or wherever you listen to your favorite shows. Hi, 521 00:30:42,200 --> 00:30:45,920 Speaker 1: I'm Daniel Scheffler and I have some strong feelings about travel. 522 00:30:46,800 --> 00:30:49,320 Speaker 1: I would love you to listen to my new travel podcast, 523 00:30:49,480 --> 00:30:53,480 Speaker 1: Cold Everywhere. I've spent the majority of my life circling 524 00:30:53,520 --> 00:30:56,360 Speaker 1: the globe. I have fed stray dogs in Cairo for 525 00:30:56,440 --> 00:30:58,960 Speaker 1: a day, ben tattooed in the back of a jewelry 526 00:30:58,960 --> 00:31:01,720 Speaker 1: store in Istanbul. And I've joined a chef to seek 527 00:31:01,720 --> 00:31:04,920 Speaker 1: out new sources of protein in the Amazon. So I 528 00:31:04,960 --> 00:31:08,040 Speaker 1: want to tell you how I travel and how you could. 529 00:31:08,760 --> 00:31:12,440 Speaker 1: I don't like lists or must dues. I don't care 530 00:31:12,480 --> 00:31:17,120 Speaker 1: about aspirational luxury nonsense. In fact, let's throw out that 531 00:31:17,200 --> 00:31:21,040 Speaker 1: word luxury while we're at it. It doesn't matter if 532 00:31:21,080 --> 00:31:24,440 Speaker 1: you're wealthy or not alone or with your personal people, 533 00:31:24,880 --> 00:31:28,640 Speaker 1: you can always have an amazing adventure. All you need 534 00:31:28,760 --> 00:31:31,840 Speaker 1: is to open your mind. Don't think about what I'm 535 00:31:31,840 --> 00:31:36,080 Speaker 1: telling you feel it. It's not head knowledge, it's all 536 00:31:36,240 --> 00:31:39,840 Speaker 1: heart knowledge. Come with me and I'll show you everywhere. 537 00:31:41,560 --> 00:31:44,080 Speaker 1: Every week over two seasons, I will take you to 538 00:31:44,160 --> 00:31:48,680 Speaker 1: different places, from New Jersey to New Delhi, from Disney 539 00:31:48,720 --> 00:31:53,520 Speaker 1: to Denmark and share some magical experiences and stories. I'm 540 00:31:53,560 --> 00:31:57,800 Speaker 1: also including interviews from travel connoisseurs like the CEO of Starbucks, 541 00:31:57,920 --> 00:32:01,960 Speaker 1: Kevin Johnson, designer Lead Worsler and the director of the 542 00:32:01,960 --> 00:32:05,440 Speaker 1: Smithsonian Museum of American Art, plus some soon to be 543 00:32:05,520 --> 00:32:10,280 Speaker 1: revealed i heeartmedia stars too. Listen and subscribe to everywhere 544 00:32:10,440 --> 00:32:13,800 Speaker 1: at Apple Podcasts, the I Heart Radio app, or wherever 545 00:32:13,840 --> 00:32:14,960 Speaker 1: you get your podcasts.