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