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Abu Abdullah Muhammad ibn Battuta, commonly known as Ibn Battuta, is a famous explorer from the 14th century. Born in February 1304 in Tangier, Morocco, he was born into a family of Qadis ,an Islamic judge. He is believed to be one of the most famous travellers of the medieval period. In his time, he travelled 75 thousand miles, or 120 thousand kilometres, as described in his travel books, his most famous being the rihlah. He travelled to places such as China and modern day Indonesia. Ibn Battuta was never a traveller until the age of 21. Being a devoted Muslim, he desired to travel the 3188 miles to mecca, Saudi Arabia to perform Hajj. This is where his travelling passion began. His purpose of the journey is to complete his religious duties and learn more from the scholars of Egypt, where he was passing. During his time at hajj he discovered an irresistible passion for travel. To get to mecca, he had to pass a number of lands such as Tunis, Alexandria, Cairo, Damascus and Jerusalem. When he returned, he had a desire to travel more. He made a rule to 'never travel to the same road twice.' He made a living as a traveller. He had increasing fame as a traveller. He received several gifts from multiple people such as sultans. These gifts were what helped him continue on his travels as it secured an income for him. From Cairo set out through upper Egypt to the red sea. He then returned to Syria, where he joined a caravan to Mecca. He went via Mecca to countries such as Iraq, southern Iran, Azerbaijan and Baghdad. There he met several rulers such as the last of the Mongol Khans. Between the years of 1327 to 1330, Ibn Battuta stayed in Mecca and Medina as a quite devotee, however, decided this as not the life for him and so he continued travel. He embarked on a boat in Jidda with some other followers down the shores of the Red Sea to the country of Yemen. He then crossed it by land before setting sail for Aden. Travelling on sea was the quickest journey for him. He then navigated along the East African coast visiting places such as Tanzania on the way. His return journey took him to Southern Arabian territory- places like Oman, Hormuz and southern Persia before returning to Mecca, age 28. Ibn Battuta, despite being famous, was quite poor. He lived of gifts given to him. He needed a new way to get money. He hatched a plan. he set out to sea to visit the sultan of Delhi, Muhammad Ibn Tughluq. He was known for his generosity towards Muslim scholars. He gave him enough money to pay of his debts, which Ibn Battuta was very grateful for. He continued his journey across the Black Sea to the Crimean Peninsula, before passing the lands of northern Caucasus and carrying on to Saray on the lower Volga river. According to his books, he travelled from Saray to Bulgary, but many people doubt this ever happened. People think some of the places recorded in his books that he travelled to were made up. Ibn Battuta always enjoyed travelled to the Muslim lands rather then the lands of other religions, whether they be Hindu, Christian or Pagan. Ibn Battuta then continued in the general direction of India. He travelled from Saray to Central Asia on a caravan, and visited towns such as Bukhara, Samarkand and Balkh, all of which were recovering from the attack of the Mongols. He took a complicated route through Khorasan and Afghanistan and after crossing the Hindu Kush Mountain range, he arrived on the borders of India in September 12th 1333. as he recorded. This would have been highly unlikely, as travelling the distance from Mecca in one year is practically impossible. By the time Ibn Battuta reached India, he had multiple wives and many followers. The sultan lived up to Ibn Battuta's expectations, and showered him with gifts and wealth. He was later appointed as official Qadi of Delhi, a role he kept for several years. It was clear that life in India was not without difficulties. He left Delhi, and shortly after barely attacked with his life after being attacked by Hindu insurgents. He often was involved in Local wars and was shipwrecked near modern day Kozhikode. He lost all his properties and gifts for the Chinese emperor. He feared the wrath of the Sultan, and so spent two years in the Maldives. As a qadi, he was soon in a job of politics and had married into the royal family, soon set out to become Sultan. Finding the situation far too dangerous, he set out for Sri Lanka, where he visited the ruler as well as Adams peak. After a shipwreck on the coast of southeast India, he set out to a war led by his brother in law. He then went again to the Maldives, before then going to places such as Bengal and Assam. He then decided to continue his journey to China. He was gifted a boat by the Muslim Sultan and so set of. He landed at the great Chinese port of Quanzhou, before travelling by Chinese waters to places as far as Beijing and back. His passage about his journeys about China was brief. Ver few know details about it. Ibn Battuta then decided to start his return journey. He returned via the lands of Sumatra, Malabar and the Persian gulf to places like Baghdad and Suria. In Syria, he witnessed what was left of the Black death and then travelled to Egypt. From Egypt he travelled to Mecca where he did his final pilgrimage. He then sailed from Alexandria to Tunisia, then to places like Sardinia and Algiers, before finally reaching Fes, the capital of the Marinid Sultanate in November, 1349. He the visited two more Muslim countries not known to him- the kingdom of Granada in Spain, the last of the Muslim empire there, and crossed the Sahara into Western Africa. He then spent a year in the kingdom of Mali, then at the height of its power under Mansa Suleman's rule. After this, he returned to Morocco, completing the journey in 1353. Under the sultans command he told the stories of his travel to Ibn Juzzay, a writer who recorder them. He died in the year of 1368, and was buried in his home town of Tangier