The Travels of Ibn Battuta,

A.D. 1325–1354
Volume II

Edited by
H.A.R. Gibb
 BY

THE TRAVELS OF IBM BATT'OTA

A.D.
ii

No.

ISSUED FOR 1959

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 Arab deep-sea dhow, Persian Gulf
Photograph by Commander Alan Villiers
 OF
IBM
A.D. I32S-I3S4

Translated with and

from the Arabic edited by
C. and B. 1. SANGUINETTI

by
H. A. R,

VOL. II

CAMBRIDGE
PMuked/ar tke-HMtyt
AT THE UNIVERSITY PRESS
1963
 PUBLISHED BY
SYNDICS OF TUB CAMBRIDGE UNIVERSITY
Bentley Home, «*« R«md, Londton, N.W.i
33 Sfth N«W York sts N.Y.

THE HAKLUYT SOCIlf'f

c,
m
(y Robert and Cmtpmmy
at lif University Press Glasgow
 CONTENTS
LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS AND MAPS .. .. page viii

FOREWORD TO VOLUME TWO .. .. .. .. ix

CHAPTER VI. SOUTHERN PERSIA AND 'IRAQ .. 271

Ibn Battuta travels from al-Najaf to Wasit, 271; visits
the Rifa'I convent at Umm 'Ubaida, 273; anecdote on
the Haidaris in India, 274; goes on to al-Basra, 275;
description of the city, 276; its monuments and sanc-
tuaries, 277; sails to al-Ubulla and 'Abbadan, 280; to
Machul, 283; rides to Ramiz, 283; to Tustar, 284; to
Idhaj, 287; the Atabek of the Lurs, 288; funeral cere-
monies at his court, 290; Ibn Battuta visits the atabek,
293; goes on to Isfahan, 294; Suhirawardl affiliation,
297; travels to Yazdikhas and Shiraz, 298; description
of Shiraz and its people, 299; Shaikh Majd al-Din, 300;
his embroilment with Sultan Khudabandah, 302;
Sultan Abu Ishaq, 306; his conflict with Muzaff ar Shah,
308; his ambition and generosity, 310; anecdotes on
the generosity of the Sultan of Dihli, 311; sanctuaries
at Shiraz, 313; Shaikh Ibn Khafif, 314; other sanc-
tuaries at Shiraz, 316; journey to Kazarun, 319; hospice
of Shaikh Abu Ishaq, 319; Ibn Battuta goes on to
Zaidani, al-Huwaiza'", and al-Kufa, 321; description of
the city, 322; Bi'r Mallaha and al-Hilla, 324; sanctuary
of the 'Master of the Age', 325; al-Karbala', 325;
Baghdad, 326; poems on the city, 327; its bridges and
baths, 329; Western bank, 331; Eastern bank, 332;
tombs of the caliphs and saints, 334; Sultan Abu Sa'id,
335; fate of Dimashq Khwaja, 337; flight of al-Juban
and his sons, 338; Abu Sa'id's murder by Baghdad
Khatun, 340; dissolution of his kingdom, 341; descrip-
tion of his mahalla, 342; Ibn Battuta visits Tabriz,
344; returns to Baghdad, 345; passes Samarra, 346; goes
on to al-Mawsil, 347; the city and its sanctuaries, 348;
its governor, 350; Jazirat Ibn 'Omar, 350; Nasibin, 351;
Sinjar, 352; Dara and Mardm, 352; the sultan of
Mardm, 353; anecdote on its qadl, 354; Ibn Battuta
returns to Baghdad, 355; joins the pilgrim caravan to
Mecca, 355; pilgrimages of A.H. 727, 728 and 729,356;
outbreak in the sanctuary, 358.
 CONTENTS
CHAPTER VII. SOUTHERN ARABIA, EAST AFRICA,
AND THE PERSIAN GULF .. .. .. page 360
Ibn Battuta leaves Mecca for Judda, 360; embarks on
zjalba, 361; is driven ashore on the African coast, 362;
travels with the Bujah to Sawakin, 363; sails to Hall,
364; the ascetic Qabula, 364; the sultan of Hall, 365;
Ibn Battuta sails to al-Ahwab, 366; rides to Zabid,
366; its inhabitants and scholars, 367; Ahmad b. al-
'Ojail, 367; journey to Ta'izz, 368; the sultan of
al-Yaman, 369; visit to San'a', 371; 'Adan, 371; its
trade and merchants, 372; Ibn Battuta sails to Zaila',
373; to Maqdashaw, 373; customs of its merchants,
374; its sultan, 375; voyage to Manbasa and Kulwa,
379; the sultan of Kulwa, 380; return voyage to
Zafari, 382; its produce, 383; inhabitants, 383; hos-
pices, 385; description of the betel tree, 387; use of
betel, 387; the coco-palm, 388; uses of the coconut,
388; the sultan of Zafari, 390; Ibn Battuta sails to
Hasik, 391; to Maslra, 394; to Sur, 394; his adventurous
walk to Qalhat, 394; description of Qalhat, 396; Tibi,
397; Nazwa, 397; the Ibadis and their customs, 398;
the sultan of 'Oman, 398; description of Hurmuz
Island, 400; its sultan, 401; journey to Khunju Bal,
404; perils of the desert, 404; Kawristan, 405; Lar,
405; hospice of Shaikh Abu Dulaf at Khunj, 406;
Qais, 407; pearl-fisheries, 408; Bahrain, 409; al-
Quthaif, 410; Hajar, 410; Yamama, 410; pilgrimage
of A.H. 732, 411; poisoning of Baktumur and Amir
Ahmad, 411.
CHAPTER VIII. ASIA MINOR AND SOUTH RUSSIA .. 413
Ibn Battuta leaves Mecca to go to India, 413; sails to
'Aidhab, 413; travels to Cairo and al-Ladhiqiya, 414;
sails on a Genoese vessel to 'Alaya, 415; virtues of
Asia Minor and its people, 416; the sultan of 'Alaya,
417; Antaliya, 417; the Akhis and their customs, 418;
the sultan of Antaliya, 421; journey to Burdur,
Sabarta and Akridur, 421; the sultan of Akridur, 422;
Qul Hisar and its sultan, 424; Ladhiq, 425; its akhis,
426; its sultan, 427; journey to Tawas, Mughla, and
Milas, 428; the sultan of Milas, 429. Ibn Battuta then
goes to Quniya, 430; thefutuwwa, 430; Mawlana Jalal
al-Dm, 430; the sultan of al-Laranda, 432; journey to
Nakda and Qaisariya, 432; Siwas, 434; the amir
Artana, 435; Amasiya, 436; Sunusa, 436; Kumish, 436;
Arzanjan, 437; Arz al-Rum, 437; return to Birgi, 438;
its sultan, 439; anecdote on a Jewish doctor, 443; and
a meteorite, 443; Tlra, 444; Aya Suluq, 444; Yazmir,
vi
 CONTENTS

445; its governor 'Omar Bak, 445; Maghnisiya, 447;

Barghama, 448; Ball Kasri, 449; Burst, 449; its sultan
'Othman Bak, 451; Yazmk, 452; Makaja, 454; Saqari
river, 454; Kawiya, 454; Yanija, 455; Kainuk, 456;
Muturm, 457; Bull, 459; Garadai Bull, 460; Burlii, 461;
Qastamuniya, 461; its sultan, Sulaiman Padshah, 462;
hospice [at Tashkoprii], 464; Sanub, 465; exploits of
Ghazi Chalabi, 466; voyage to Karsh, 468; landing in
Dasht-i Qifjaq, 469; Kaffa, 470; al-Qiram, 471; wag-
gons, 472; customs of the Turks, 473; journey to Azaq,
475; ceremonies there, 476; Turkish horses, 478;
journey to Machar, 479; respect shown to wives by
Turks, 480; Bish Dagh and return to Machar, 481;
Sultan Muhammad Czbak, 482; his public ceremonial,
his khatuns, 483; the principal khatun, 486; the
second khatun, 487; the third khatun, 488; the fourth
khatun, 488; the sultan's daughter, 489; his sons, 489;
journey to Bulghar, 490; the Land of Darkness, 491;
festival at Bish Dagh, 492; journey to al-Haj j Tarkhan,
496; Ibn Battuta sets out for Constantinople with the
third khatun, 498; journey to Surdaq, 499; Baba
Saltuq, 499; entry into Greek territory, 500; reception
of the khatun, 502; approach to Constantinople, 504;
entry, 504; Ibn Battuta's audience of the Emperor,
505; description of the city, 506; the Great Church,
506; monasteries, 511; the ex-king Jirjis, 512; the
qadi of Constantinople, 513; departure and journey
to al-Haj j Tarkhan, 514; to al-Sara, 515; descrip-
tion of al-Sara, 515; preparations for the journey to
Khwarizm, 517.
BIBLIOGRAPHY .. .. .. .. .. Page 518
APPENDIX: A Provisional Chronology of Ibn Battuta's
Travels in Asia Minor and Russia .. .. .. 527

vn
 OF
AND
Arab deep-sea dhow. Persian. Gulf ., .. ., frontispiece
Fig, i. Ibn Baftita's itineraries in Southern Persia
and 'Iraq ., .. .. ,. fadmg 271
2. Baghdad in the fourteenth century .. ,. /tag* 330
3. Ibn Battttta's itineraries in Southern Arabia,
Africa ittd the Gulf .. facing 361
4. Anatolia and the Black shewing Ibn
Battute's itineraries ,. .. ., faring page 4*3
S» Constantinople — .. .. .. .. page 507

¥111
 FOREWORD TO VOLUME TWO
lbn Battuta moves further and further out of the

A central lands of the Middle East, it becomes progres-

sively more difficult to follow up his travels in detail.
For Egypt, Syria and the Hijaz there are extensive contem-
porary materials, historical and biographical, which enable
the annotator to check his statements with relative assurance.
To the reader who is interested only in the travel narrative
this may seem to be superfluous or misguided effort, and
indeed the translator hopes that the narrative may be read by
some with pleasure for its own sake, and without too much
critical questioning. But these travels have also served, and
will continue to serve, as a major source for the political,
social and economic life of large regions of Asia and Africa;
if then this translation is to meet these needs in any adequate
degree, it becomes an imperative task to check every signifi-
cant detail as far as possible. In particular, it must be estab-
lished with reasonable certitude whether Ibn Battuta is
speaking at first-hand or at second-hand, whether he visited
the cities that he describes, and when.
To establish these facts, the only two instruments available
are the internal consistency of the narrative and the con-
cordant or contradictory statements of approximately con-
temporary sources. If additional justification be needed for
recourse to the second, it is amply furnished by the dis-
concerting situation revealed by study of the first. Ibn
Battuta is not overly concerned with chronology, and his
dating for some of the journeys recorded in this volume is
impossible to reconcile with some of the facts that he
mentions. It would still be premature, however, to attempt to
impose a precise chronology upon them. The same principle
has been followed, therefore, as in the first volume. The
author's own chronology has been retained in the text, and
discrepancies are pointed out in the footnotes. In addition,
in chapters VII and VIII, where Ibn Battuta gives precise
ix
 FOREWORD

dates, the footnotes give alternative dates, on the provisional

assumptions that the travels in chapter VII are to be placed
in 1329 instead of 1331-2, and those in chapter VIII in
1331-2 instead of 1333-4. The question will be fully dis-
cussed in the terminal essay; for the present, the arguments
for these assumptions have been set out in an article entitled
Notes sur les voyages d'lbn Battuta en Asie Mineure et en
Russie, in Melanges Levi-Proven$al, to be published in Paris,
1962; this is reprinted in a revised English version as an
Appendix to the present volume.
The biographical works and chronicles utilized in the first
volume are of little assistance for checking detail in this
second volume, except, occasionally, the Durar al-Kamina
of Ibn Hajar. Substitutes of approximately equal value are
available, however, only for Shiraz and al-Yaman. The con-
temporary Persian chronicles of the Mongol kingdom in
Persia and al-Traq are far from equalling the Egyptian and
Syrian chronicles in range and density of detail, and for East
Africa and Anatolia only the scrappiest materials are avail-
able. Such as they are, however, they all supply on occasion
useful facts and synchronisms, as will be shown in the
footnotes to the relevant passages. In a few instances, the
task of annotation has been lightened by articles on and
annotated translations of sections of Ibn Battuta's travels,
and by studies relating to individual regions in which his data
are utilized or discussed.
The most serious question raised by some of the travel
narratives in the present volume is not, however, that of their
chronology but that of their veracity. In some passages
relating to South-eastern Persia it will be seen that he either
anticipates his later journeys in 1347-8 or confuses an earlier
with a later journey. On the other hand, the extensive ex-
cursion to the eastern provinces which he interpolates in his
travels in Asia Minor raises the gravest doubts. With even more
assurance it can be asserted that the journey that he claims
to have made to the trading centre of Bulghar on the middle
Volga is fictitious. This is followed by a journey through
the South Russian steppes to and from Constantinople,
which some critics have regarded as equally fictitious. The
present translator, for his part, is convinced that it is genuine,
 FOREWORD

and that it fits without difficulty into a revised chronology.

As in the preceding volume the text of the edition of
Defremery and Sanguinetti has been taken as the basis of the
translation. The variant readings recorded by the editors
have been duly noted, and occasionally adopted, and a few
obviously erroneous readings have been corrected. In addi-
tion, the entire text has been compared with one of the Paris
manuscripts (no. 2289), which is a somewhat careless copy of
what seems to have been a good original. It would have been
ridiculous to burden the footnotes with the numerous errors
of the copyist, but in several passages the manuscript has
supplied valid alternative readings and a few corrections and
vocalizations not noted in the French edition.
In conclusion, the translator acknowledges with gratitude
the assistance willingly given by many colleagues and friends
in elucidating problems posed by the text, in drawing atten-
tion to studies and articles in diverse journals, and lending
copies of some otherwise inaccessible. Special acknowledge-
ment is due to Professor Omeljan Pritsak for his assistance
in the elucidation of many Old Turkish terms, to the Biblio-
theque Nationale in Paris for supplying photostatic copies of
considerable sections of MSS. 2289 and 2291, and to those
reviewers of the first volume who have contributed correc-
tions and additions to its annotation. It is hoped to assemble
these in a cumulative list at the conclusion of the work.

XI
 ABBREVIATIONS
BSOAS Bulletin of me School of Oriental &md African StuMm,
London.
Doxy R. P» A, Doiy, Supplement ®ux Mctimawes ®moe$,
Dumr al-Durar ml-Kamin®. By Ibn fllajar al-'Askaliiil.
E.I, Emyetopmdm of Islam.
Ibid., second edition.
GJ
JA Journal A sia,liqmr Paris.
JRAS Jomvnal of the Royal Asiatic Society, London.
Mmk«l al-Memlmi «I-S aft , By Ibn Taghribirdl,
Sdecti&m Ion B&Mja's 'Tmvels in Asia and Africa. Translated
and selected by H. A. R, Gibb.
*0mari Benckk mber AmMim, By al-'Umarl, edited by
F. Taesctiner.
Yaqtit MM'jam al-BulMn. By Yaqiit al-RQml.
Zetfersteen Beitnge zur Geschicttte dor Mmmlmkensutiane in den
Jultfen 690-741 de? Hijra, Edited by K. V.
Zetterstfen.

XII
40° 44°

Qa r a

1 Ibn Battuta's itineraries in

SOUTHERN ' PERSIA and IRAQ.
Miles
SO 100 150

44°
 48° 52°

i b a gh

Isfahan

yazdikhas

Shiraz

48° 52°
 CHAPTER VI

Southern Persia and 'Iraq

TER we had enjoyed the privilege of visiting [the tomb
of] the Commander of the Faithful 'Ali (peace be on
him),1 the caravan went on to Baghdad. But I set out
for al-Basra, in company with a large troop of the Khafaja
Arabs, who are the occupants of that country.2 They are very
powerful and violent, and there is no way to travel in those
regions save in their company, so I hired a camel through the
commander of that troop, Shamir b. Darraj al-KhafajT. We
set out from Mashhad 'AH (peace be on him) and halted
[first] at al-Khawarnaq, 3 the seat of al-Nu'man b. al-
Mundhir and his ancestors, the kings of the house of Ma'
al-Sama'. It is still inhabited, and there are remains of vast
domes, lying on a wide plain on a canal derived from the
Euphrates. From there we went on, | and alighted at a place
called Qa'im al-Wathiq, where there are vestiges of a ruined
village and a ruined mosque, of which nothing but the
minaret remains. 4 On resuming our journey, our way lay
alongside the Euphrates by the place known as al-'Idhar,
which is a water-logged jungle of reeds, inhabited by nomad
Arabs called al-Ma'adi. 5 They are brigands, of the Rafidl sect.
1 At al-Najaf (Mashhad 'All), see vol. I, pp. 256-7.
2 The Khafaja are a branch of the powerful tribe of 'Uqail. In the tenth
century they migrated from al-Hasa to the region of Kufa, where they are
still established; see Encyclopaedia of Islam, s.v., and Max Freiherr von
Oppenheim, Die Beduinen (Wiesbaden, 1952), III, 128, 180.
3 Al-Khawarnaq was a famous pre-Islamic palace, one mile east of al-
Najaf. It is usually attributed to the early Arab kings of al-Hira (more par-
ticularly to al-Nu'man b. Imru'ul-Qais, d. c. 418, not al-Nu'man b. al-
Mundhir, d. c. 602) or to the Persian king Bahrain Gur, d. 438. Although
maintained as a residence by the Arab governors of al-Kufa in the seventh
and eighth centuries, it has completely disappeared, and this is apparently
the last mention of it.
4 I have found no other reference to this place.
6 Al-'Idhar, a vague term meaning 'marginal land between the cultivation
and the desert', is usually applied to the region south of al-Kufa, but here
271
 SOUTHERN PERSIA AND IRAQ
They came out upon a party of poor brethren who had fallen
behind our troop, and stripped them of everything down to
their shoes and wooden bowls. They fortify themselves [as it
were] with this jungle and are able to defend themselves in it
against all attacks. Savage beasts also inhabit this jungle, in
large numbers. Our journey through this 'Idhar took three
days' march, and thereafter we arrived at the city of Wasit.
The City of Wdsit. 6 It has fine quarters and an abundance of
orchards and fruit trees, and is famed for its notable men, the
living teachers among whom furnish a way to the Good and
3 the tombs of the dead furnish lessons for meditation. | Its
inhabitants are among the best people in al-'Iraq—indeed,
the very best of them without qualification. Most of them can
recite the Holy Qur'an from memory and are expert in the
art of its melodious recitation with the correct reading. All
those in the country who wish to learn this art come to them,
and in the caravan of al-'Iraq with which we travelled there
were a number of students who had come for the purpose of
learning the manner of reciting the Qur'an from the shaikhs
in this city. It has a large and magnificent college with about
three hundred cells, where strangers who have come to learn
the Qur'an are lodged; this college was built by the shaikh
Taqi al-Dln b. 'Abd al-Muhsin al-Wasiti, 7 who is one of its
principal citizens and jurists. To each student in it he gives a
set of clothing every year and supplies money for his expenses
every day, and he himself sits in the college with his brothers
and his associates to teach the Qur'an. I met him and he
showed me hospitality and supplied me with provisions of
dates and money.
apparently to the marshlands. Since Wasit lies 115 miles east of al-Najaf, the
indications given by Ibn Battuta for his journey are quite inadequate. The
name Ma'adl is an earlier form of Ma'dan, by which the marsh-dwellers are
still known; see Oppenheim, Die Beduinen, III, 477 ff.
' Wasit, on the Dujaila (still in the fourteenth century the main channel
of the Tigris; see Mustawf I, Nuzhat al-Qulub, trans. G. Le Strange (Leyden-
London, 1919), 53, 207), was founded by al-Hajjaj, governor of al-'Iraq
under the Umayyad caliphs, about 703, as the 'midway' garrison town
between al-Kufa and al-Basra, each about fifty leagues distant. On the
modern examination of the site see Fu'ad Safar, Wasit (Baghdad, 1945). Its
fame as a centre of learning at this time is confirmed by the number of
scholars known as al-Wasiti.
7 'Abd al-Rahman b. 'Abd al-Muhsin al-Wasiti (d. 1343/4), author of a
biography of Shaikh Ahmad al-Rifa'I (see the following note).
272
 THE

When | we halted at the city of Wasit the caravan stopped 4

outside it for three nights in order to trade. This gave me the
opportunity of visiting the grave of the saint Abu'1-'Abbas
Ahmad al-Rifa'i, which is at a village called Umm 'Ubaida,
one day's journey from Wasit. 8 I asked the shaikh Taqi al-
Din to send someone with me to conduct me to it, and he sent
with me three Arabs of the Banu Asad, 9 who are the occu-
pants of that region, and mounted me on one of his own horses.
I set out at noon and after spending that night in the en-
closure of the Banu Asad we arrived at the hospice at noon on
the following day. It is a vast convent in which there are
thousands of poor brethren. Our visit coincided with the
arrival of the shaikh Ahmad Kujak, the grandson of the
Friend of God Abu'1-4Abbas al-Rifa'i, whose tomb we had
come to visit.10 The shaikh had come from his place of
residence in the land of Rum [Anatolia] in order to visit his
grandfather's tomb, and it was to him that the headship of
the hospice had descended. |
When the afternoon prayers had been said, drums and 5
kettle-drums were beaten and the poor brethren began to
dance. After this they prayed the sunset prayer and brought
in the repast, consisting of rice-bread, fish, milk and dates.
When all had eaten and prayed the first night prayer, they
began to recite their dhikr, with the shaikh Ahmad sitting on
the prayer-carpet of his ancestor above-mentioned, then they
began the musical recital. They had prepared loads of fire-
wood which they kindled into a flame, and went into the
midst of it dancing; some of them rolled in the fire, and
others ate it in their mouths, until finally they extinguished
8 Shaikh Ahmad b. 'All al-Rifa'i (d. 1183), founder of the widespread
Rifa'l fraternity of suf Is; see E.I., s.v. al-Rifa'I. The term Ahmadlya, used
by Ibn Battuta, was later dropped to avoid confusion with the Egyptian
order of Shaikh Ahmad al-Badawi (d. 1276). Umm 'Ubaida (or 'Abida),
now called Shaikh Ahmad Rifa'l, lies about 30 miles south-east of Wasit.
9 One of the most famous Arab tribes, established in al-'Iraq since the
Arab conquest. Since the twelfth century they have occupied the area along
the Euphrates west and north-west of its junction with the Tigris; E.I*,
s.v., and Oppenheim, Die Beduinen, III, 450-7.
10 This Ahmad Kuchuk ('the Lesser') is described on p. 463 below as a son
of Taj al-Din; the latter is presumably the great-great-grandson of Shaikh
Ahmad who died in 1304 (Ibn Kathir, al-Bidaya wa'l-Nihdya, Cairo, n.d.,
XIV, 35). Aflakl (tr. Huart, II, 366) reports a meeting at Amasya between
Shaikh Ahmad Kuchuk and the Mevlevi shaikh 'Arif (d. 1320).
273
 SOUTHERN PERSIA AND 'IRAQ

it entirely. This is their regular custom and it is the peculiar

characteristic of this corporation of Ahmadi brethren. Some
of them will take a large snake and bite its head with their
teeth until they bite it clean through. 11 1
6 Anecdote. I was on one occasion at a place called Afqanbur
in the district of Hazar Arnruha, which is at a distance of five
nights' journey from Dihll, the capital of India. 12 We had
encamped there on a river called the river of al-Sarw. 13 This
was in the season of the shakdl (shakdl in their language
meaning rain14), which falls at the time of the summer heats.
The river was coming down in flood from the mountains of
Qarajil. Now everyone who drinks from it, whether man or
beast, dies because of the falling of the rain on poisonous
grasses. We stayed by this river for four days without anyone
going near it. There came to me there a company of poor
brethren who had iron rings on their necks and arms, and
whose chief was a coal-black negro. They belonged to the
corporation known as the Haidariya15 and they spent one
night with us. Their chief asked me to supply him with fire-
7 wood | that they might light it for their dance, so I charged
the governor of that district, who was 'Aziz known as al-
Khammar (an account of him will be given later), to furnish
it. He sent about ten loads of it, and after the night prayer
they kindled it, and at length, when it was a mass of glowing
coals, they began their musical recital and went into that fire,
still dancing and rolling about in it. Their chief asked me for
a shirt and I gave him one of the finest texture; he put it on
11 The thaumaturgic practices of the Rifa'Iya have always been notorious;
cf. E. W. Lane, Modern Egyptians (London, 1836), ch. X. They are said to
have been introduced only in the Mongol period, about a century after
Shaikh Ahmad's death.
12 I.e. the division of Amroha, on whose harvests Ibn Battuta had been
given an assignment (see vol. Ill, p. 436, Arabic). The village of Afghanpur,
now Aghwanpur, 5^ miles south-east of Tughluqabad, one of the 'four
cities' of Delhi (The Rehla of Ibn Battuta, Mahdi Husain (Baroda, 1953),
54, n. 2), can hardly be the place mentioned here.
13 Spelled incorrectly Surur in the printed text; cf. vol. Ill, 437 (Arabic).
The modern name of the river is Sarju (Rehla, 145, n. 2). QarajU is the name
traditionally given to the Himalayas in the Arabic and Persian texts.
14 Evidently from Sanskrit varsakdla, 'monsoon season', rendered as bar-
shakal by al-Biruni, India, Hyderabad, 1958, p. 170.
16 A suf i fraternity related to the Qalandaris (see vol. I, p. 37, n. 108),
founded by Qutb al-Dm Haidar of Zawa (see vol. Ill, p. 79, Arabic).
274
 AL-BASRA

and he began to roll about in the fire with it on and to beat

the fire with his sleeves until it was extinguished and dead.
He then brought me the shirt showing not a single trace of
burning on it, at which I was greatly astonished.
After making the visitation of the shaikh Abu'1-'Abbas
al-Rifa'I (God give us good of him) I returned to the city of
Wasit and found that the company that I was with had al-
ready started out, but I overtook them on the way. We
alighted at a water-point called al-Hadhib, then continued
our journey and alighted in Wadi'l | Kura', where there was »
no water, then after a further march in a place called al-
Mushairib. 16 From there we went on and camped in the
vicinity of al-Basra, and on resuming our march we entered
the city of al-Basra on the forenoon of the following day.
The city of al-Basra.™ We alighted at the ribat of Malik ibn
Dinar.18 As I approached the city I had remarked at a dis-
tance of some two miles from it a lofty building as tall as a
castle. I asked what it was and was told that it was the
mosque of 'All ibn Abi Talib (God be pleased with him). Al-
Basra was in former days so widely settled and so vast in
extent that this mosque was in the centre of the town, where-
as now it is two miles outside it. Likewise from this mosque
to the old wall that encircled the town it is about the same
distance, so that the mosque stands midway between the old
wall and the present city. 19
The city of al-Basra is one of the metropolitan cities of
al-'Iraq, renowned throughout | the whole world, spacious in 9
16 None of these stations seems to be identifiable on modern maps.
Mustawf I (see n. 6 above) gives the regular stations from Wasit to al-Basra
as Xahraban, Faruth, Dair al-'Ummal, and Hawanit, the total distance
being forty farsakhs (p. 166).
17 The original city of al-Basra, on the site of modern Zubair, was aban-
doned in the twelfth century, and the later mediaeval city lay two miles
further east, being linked to the Shatt al-'Arab by a canal. The palm-groves
of the region have always been celebrated, and remain so. The general lay-
out of the ancient city and sites are studied by L. Massignon, 'Explication
du Plan de Basra', in Westostliche Abhandlungen Rudolf Tschudi uberveicht
(Wiesbaden, IQ54). I54~74-
18 See below, p. 279, n. 34.
19 The Arabic historians attribute the Great Mosque at al-Basra, not to
'All, but to Ziyad (d. 676), governor under Mu'awiya. According to al-
Harawi (81; trans. 187), the minaret and south wall only were ascribed to
'All. The remains of the mosque lie to the East of the old town of Zubair;
L. Massignon, 'Plan de Basra', 155, Plan I.
B 275 T.O.I.B.—u
 SOUTHERN PERSIA AND 'IRAQ

area and elegant in its courts, remarkable for its numerous

fruit-gardens and its choice fruits; blessed with an abounding
portion of plenty and of fruitfulness, since it is the meeting
place of the two seas, the salt and the fresh. 20 No place on
earth exceeds it in quantity of palm-groves, so that the cur-
rent price of dates in its market is fourteen 'Iraqi pounds to a
dirham, their dirham being one-third of the nuqra. 21 The
qadl there, Hujjat al-DIn, sent me a hamper of dates that a
man could scarcely carry; I sent them to be sold and they
fetched nine dirhams, three of which were taken by the porter
as the charge for carrying them from the house to the market.
There is manufactured there from dates a honey called sailan,
which is sweet and like jalap. 22
Al-Basra is composed of three quarters. One of them is the
quarter of Hudhail, and its chief is the worthy shaikh 'Ala
al-Dm ibn al-Athir, a generous and distinguished scholar,
who showed me hospitality and sent me clothes and money. |
10 The second quarter is the quarter of Banu Haram, whose
chief is the noble sayyid Majd al-DIn Musa al-Hasani, a
bountiful and meritorious man, who [also] showed me hos-
pitality and sent me dates, sailan and money. The third
quarter is the quarter of the Persians, the chief of which is
Jamal al-DIn ibn al-Lukl. 23
The people of al-Basra are of generous nature, hospitable
to the stranger and readily doing their duty by him, so that
no stranger feels lonely amongst them. They hold the Friday
prayers in the mosque of the Commander of the Faithful
20 An allusion to a Qur'anic phrase, e.g., 'He it is Who hath sent forth the
two seas, this one sweet and fresh, that salt and bitter, and Who set between
them a barrier and ban inviolable' (sura xxv. 53).
21 The standard silver dirham of account; see vol. I, p. 223, n. 141.
22 Sailan (or more precisely sayalan) means 'a flowing'; its use in the
sense of 'date-honey' does not seem to be attested elsewhere.
23 Hudhail and Banu Haram were among the old quarters of al-Basra,
named after Arab tribes; the former is mentioned by a writer in 1142, in a
description of the city which strikingly resembles that of Ibn Battuta (Ibn
Haukal, Opus Geographicum, 2nd ed. (Leiden, 1938) I, 237); the latter
acquired literary fame from the 48th maqama of al-Harlri. The quarter 'of
the Persians' is not mentioned elsewhere, to my knowledge, but Rashid
al-DIn mentions a quarter called al-Shuka (? al-Shawka), containing a
hospice for travellers, college, and hospital; Letters of Rashid al-Dln Fadl
Allah, ed. M, Shan (Lahore, 1947), 14. The three governors have not been
identified, and the name of the third is variously transcribed in the manu-
scripts.
276
 MOSQUE OF 'ALl

'AH (God be pleased with him) which I have already men-

tioned ; it is closed after that and they do not visit it except on
Fridays. This is one of the finest of mosques. Its court is of
immense extent and paved with red pebbles which are brought
from Wadi'1-Siba'. 24 There is preserved in it the copy of the
Holy Qur'an which ' Othman (God be pleased with him) was
reading when he was killed, and the stain of the blood is still
on the leaf which contains j the word of God Most High 'And
God will suffice thee against them, for He is the Hearer, the
Knower'.25
An anecdote, for reflection. I was present one day at the
Friday service in this mosque and when the preacher rose
and recited his discourse he committed in it many gross
errors of grammar. I was astonished at his conduct and spoke
of it to the qadi Hujjat al-Dln, who said to me 'In this town
there is not a man left who knows anything of the science of
grammar'. Here is a lesson for men to reflect on—magnified be
He who changes all things and inverts all conditions. This
Basra, to whose inhabitants fell the mastery in the science of
grammar, from whose soil sprang its trunk and its branches,
and from whose people arose its leader whose primacy is un-
disputed—the preacher in this town cannot deliver a Friday
discourse according to its rules for all his efforts !26 1
This mosque has seven minarets, one of them the minaret
which shakes, or so they say, when the name of 'All ibn
Abi Talib (God be pleased with him) is mentioned. I climbed
up to this minaret from the top of the roof of the mosque,
accompanied by one of the inhabitants of al-Basra, and I
found in one angle of it a wooden hand-grip nailed into it,
resembling the handle of a builder's trowel. The man who was
with me placed his hand on that hand-grip and said 'By right
24 Six miles north of Zubair, as mentioned below, slightly to the north of
the present station of Shu'aiba Junction.
25 'Othman, the third caliph, was murdered in al-Madma in 655 by
mutinous troops from Egypt, while engaged (according to tradition) in
reading the Qur'an. A number of mosques claimed the possession of this
relic. The verse quoted is part of sura ii. 137.
26 The rules of Arabic grammar were systematized at al-Basra in the
eighth century, and it was the 'School of al-Basra' which set the universally
acknowledged standards of correct classical usage. The 'leader' referred to is
the Persian Slbawaih (d. c. 796), who composed the first comprehensive
work on the subject and was reputedly buried in Shiraz; see E. I., s.v. (For
dawbihi in the printed text read darbihi.)
277
 SOUTHERN PERSIA AND 'IRAQ

of the head of the Commander of the Faithful 'AH (God be

pleased with him), shake,' and he shook the hand-grip, where-
upon the whole minaret quivered. I in my turn placed my
hand on the hand-grip and said to him 'And I say "By right
of the head of Abu Bakr, the successor of the Apostle of God
(God give him blessing and peace), shake,' and I shook the
hand-grip and the whole minaret quivered. They were as-
tonished at this. The people of al-Basra are followers of the
Sunna and the Community, and no one who does as I did has
anything to fear from them, but if anything like this were to
happen at Mashhad 'AH [Najaf] or Mashhad al-Husain
[Karbala'] or at al-Hilla or al-Bahrain or Qumm or Qashan
13 or Sawa or Awa | or Tus, whoever did it would perish, because
they are fanatical Shi'ites. 27
Ibn Juzayy says 'I have seen in the city of Barshana, in the
valley of al-Mansura in the land of al-Andalus (God protect
her), 28 a minaret which shakes without having mentioned to
it the name of any of the Caliphs or anyone else. It is the
minaret of the principal mosque there, of no very ancient
construction, and it is about the finest minaret that you could
see for beauty of appearance, proportions and height, without
any inclination or deviation. I climbed it once in company
with a number of people, and some of those who were with
me grasped the sides of its topmost part and shook them so
that the whole tower quivered, until I made signs to them to
stop shaking it and they stopped.' (To return).
Description of the Blessed Sanctuaries at al-Basra. One of
them is the tomb of Talha ibn 'Obaidallah, one of the Ten
[to whom Paradise was promised] (God be pleased with
H them). It is inside the city and has a dome over it | and an
adjacent mosque and convent in which food is served to all
comers. The people of al-Basra venerate it very highly, and
rightly so. There is also the tomb of al-Zubair ibn al-'Awwam,
27 Ibn Battuta's uncompromising Sunni loyalties have already been
demonstrated in vol. I, pp. 83, 93, etc. The cities mentioned were all noted
centres of Shi'ism and the term translated 'fanatical Shi'ites' is in the original
'Rafidi extremists'. The Persian geographer Mustawfi (c. 1340) also men-
tions the trembling of the minaret at the oath by 'All, 'for although it is
indeed a matter contrary to reason, yet in respect of any miracle wrought by
'AH, the Commander of the Faithful, reason does not enter' (Nuzhat al-
Qulub, trans. 45).
28 Purchena, on the Rio Almanzora, 58 km. north of Almeria.
278
 SANCTUARIES AT AL-BASRA

the disciple of the Apostle of God (God give him blessing and
peace) and the son of his parental aunt (God be pleased with
them both). It is outside al-Basra and has no dome, but has a
mosque and a convent in which food is served to travellers. 29
Also the grave of Hallma of the tribe of Sa'd, the foster-
mother of the Apostle of God (God be pleased with her), and
by her side the grave of her son, the foster-brother of the
Apostle of God (God give him blessing and peace). 30 Then the
grave of Abu Bakra, the companion of the Apostle of God
(God give him blessing and peace) which has a dome over it. 31
About six miles from al-Basra, near Wadi'1-Siba', is the grave
of Anas ibn Malik, the servant of the Apostle of God (God
give him blessing and peace),32 but it cannot be visited except
in a large company because of the number of wild beasts and
its uninhabited state. Furthermore there is j the grave of 15
al-Hasan ibn Abi'l-Hasan al-Basri, the chief of the generation
of Followers (God be pleased with him), 33 and the tombs of
Muhammad ibn Sirin, Muhammad ibn Wasi', 'Utba the lad,
Malik ibn Dinar, Habib al-'Ajami, and Sahl ibn 'Abdallah al-
Tustari (God be pleased with them all). 34 Over each of these
29 Talha and al-Zubair, two of the inner circle of Muhammad's Com-
panions, opposed 'All's assumption of the caliphate and were defeated by
'All at the battle of 'the Camel' outside al-Basra in 656, both being killed in
in the battle. Their tombs still exist, that of Talha near the Great Mosque,
and that of al-Zubair in the town named after him; see L. Massignon,
'Plan de Basra', 157, Plan II.
30 These tombs are not mentioned in other sources.
31 Abu Bakra (d. 672), an Abyssinian slave emancipated by Muhammad.
His descendants formed one of the notable families of al-Basra for over a
century; see E.I. 2, s.v.
32 Anas b. Malik (d. 710) was, as a young boy, the personal servant of
Muhammad, and the last survivor of the Companions; see E.I., s.v.
33 Al-Hasan al-Basri (642-728), the most famous of the early Muslim
ascetics; see E.I., s.v. and L. Massignon, Essai sur les ovigines du lexique
technique de la mystique musulmane (Paris, 1922), 152-79. His tomb is still
preserved; Massignon, 'Plan de Basra', 157, Plan II.
34 Muhammad b. Sirin (d. 728), a celebrated Traditionist; see £./., s.v.
Muhammad b. Wasi' (d. 738), an early ascetic; see al-Hujwiri, Kashf al-
Mahjub, trans. R. A. Nicholson (London, 1911), 91-2. 'Utba b. Aban,
called al-Ghulam ('the deacon') because of his assiduity in religious exer-
cises, was killed in battle with the Greeks near al-Missisa: al-Isfaha.nl,
Hilyat al-Auliya' (Cairo, 1936), VI, 226-38; Malik b. Dinar (d. c. 747), a
companion of al-Hasan al-Basri; al-Hujwiri, trans., 89. Habib al-'Ajami
was a disciple of al-Hasan al-Basri: al-Hujwiri, trans., 88-9. Sahl b.
'Abdallah al-Tustari (d. 886 or later) was the founder of a famous school of
Islamic mysticism: al-HujwIri, trans., 139-40, 195-210.
279
 SOUTHERN PERSIA AND 'IRAQ

tombs is a tombstone with the name of the person buried

there and the date of his death inscribed upon it. All of these
are inside the old wall, and are today about three miles
distant from the town. In addition, there are there the graves
of a vast number of the Companions and Followers who found
martyrdom on the day of the Camel.
is The governor | of al-Basra at the time of my arrival there
was named Rukn al-Din al-'Ajami of Tawriz, 35 and he showed
me hospitality and made gifts to me. Al-Basra is on the banks
of the Euphrates and Tigris, and there is high tide and low
tide there just as there is in the Wadi Sala and elsewhere in
the country of the Maghrib. 36 The channel of salt water
which comes up from the Sea of Fars is at a distance of ten
miles from the town, and at high tide the salt water over-
powers the sweet but at low tide the sweet water overpowers
the salt. The inhabitants of al-Basra draw this water for use
in their houses and for this reason the saying goes that their
water is brackish.
Ibn Juzayy remarks: It is for the same reason that the air
of al-Basra is unhealthy and that the complexions of its
inhabitants are yellowish and sallow, to such an extent that
they have become proverbial. A certain poet said when a
citron was brought in front of the Sahib : 37
A citron here amongst us shows
the image of the lachrymose. |
17 So God hath clothed in sickly hue
the slaves of love—the Basrans too!
(To return.) Thereafter, from the strand of al-Basra, I
embarked in a sumbuq, that is a small boat,38 for al-
Ubulla. The distance between them is ten miles, through an
uninterrupted succession of fruit gardens and overshadowing
palmgroves both to right and left, with traders sitting in the
35 Not identified.
38 Wadi Sala is the estuary of the river now called Bou Regrcg, between
the cities of Rabat and Sala (Sallee). The 'channel of salt water' is the
southern end of the Shatt al-'Arab.
37 'The Sahib' is the traditional designation of Isma'il b. 'Abbad (d. 995),
vizier of the Buwaihid princes of Western Persia, and a noted patron of
literature.
38 A small high-prowed vessel with a mast for a lateen sail, illustrated in
Alan Villiers, Sons ofSinbad (London, 1940), 2-3.
280
 UBULLA AND ABBADAN

shade of the trees, selling bread, fish, dates, milk and fruit.
Between al-Basra and al-Ubulla there is the cell of Sahl ibn
'Abdallah of Tustar; and when those travelling in the vessels
draw level with it you may see them drinking from the water
of the river which faces it and praying at the same time, in
order to profit by the blessing of this saint (God be pleased
with him). The sailors in this country row standing up. 39
Al-Ubulla was in former times a great city, frequented by
merchants from India and Fars, but it fell into decay and is
now a village,40 though it preserves traces of palaces | and i»
other buildings which indicate its former greatness. Here we
embarked on the channel which comes up from the Sea of
Fars in a small ship belonging to a man from al-Ubulla
named Mughamis. It was after sunset when we sailed and in
the early morning we reached 'Abbadan, a large village on a
salt marsh, with no cultivation but containing many mosques
and cells and hermitages for devotees. 41 It is three miles
from the strand.
Ibn Juzayy remarks: 'Abbadan was a township in former
times, but it is barren, grain is not grown on it and has all to
be imported, and water also is scarce in it. A certain poet said
of it:
Who will tell my friends in Andalus that I
Dwell in 'Abbadan, at earth's remotest shore?
Desolatest spot that ever met my eye—
Only that its fame I wanted to explore. |
Every sip of water there you have to buy, 19
Every crust of bread's a prize to wrangle o'er.42
(To return.) On the shore of 'Abbadan there is a hermitage
39 For yahrifuna and other variants in the MSS. read yajdifuna. For Sahl
b. 'Abdallah see above, p. 279, n. 34.
40 Al-Ubulla (Apologos) occupied the site of the 'Ashar quarter of modern
Basra, on the Shatt al-'Arab. It was the chief port at the head of the Persian
Gulf until the foundation of al-Basra by the Arabs in 639.
41 'Abbadan, formerly an island between the estuaries of the Tigris and
the Karun (Dujail), hence called in Persian Miydn Rudan ('Between the
Rivers'), became celebrated as a religious centre when it was selected as a
retreat by the disciples of al-Hasan al-Basri (see above, p. 279, n. 33) in the
eighth century; see E.I. Z, s.v. and al-Harawi, Guide des Lieux de Pelerinage
(Damascus, 1957), 191, who also mentions the sanctuary of al-Khidr. For
the association of al-Khidr with Ilyas (Elijah) see below, p. 466, n. 193.
42 The sense and provenance of the verse obviously require tahada to be
taken in its Spanish-Arabic sense; see Dozy, s.v.
28l
 SOUTHERN PERSIA AXD 'IRAQ

which is called after the name of al-Khidr and Ilyas (peace be

upon them), and alongside it a convent inhabited by four
poor brethren with their children, who maintain the service
of the hermitage and the convent and subsist on private
charity. Everyone who passes by them gives them alms. The
men of this convent told me that there was at 'Abbadan a
devotee of great merit, living entirely alone. He used to come
down to this sea once a month and catch there enough fish for
a month's provision, and would not be seen again until the
end of the next month. This had been his custom for many
years. When we reached'Abbadan I had no other care than to
seek him out, so while those who were with me were occupied
in prayers in the mosque and cells, I went off in search of him.
201 came to a mosque in a ruinous condition | and found him
praying in it, so I sat down beside him. He shortened his
prayer, and after pronouncing the benedictions took my hand
and said to me 'May God grant you your desire in this world
and the next'. I have indeed—praise be to God—attained my
desire in this world, which was to travel through the earth,
and I have attained in this respect what no other person has
attained to my knowledge. The world to come remains, but
my hope is strong in the mercy and clemency of God, and the
attainment of my desire to enter the Garden.
When I came back to my companions and told them what
had happened to me with this man and indicated his place to
them, they went to see him, but they could not find him nor
come to any information about him and they were filled with
amazement at this incident. We returned in the evening to the
convent and put up in it for the night. After the last night-
prayer one of the four poor brethren came into our room. It
was the custom of this brother to go into 'Abbadan every
21 night and light the lamps in the mosques, after which | he
returned to his convent. When he reached 'Abbadan [that
evening], he found the devotee, who gave him a fresh fish,
saying to him, Take this to the guest who came today'. So
the poor brother said to us as he came in, 'Which of you saw
the Shaikh today?' I replied, 'It was I who saw him' and he
said, 'He says to you "This is your hospitality-gift".' I
thanked God for that and the poor brother cooked that fish
for us and we all ate of it. I have never tasted better fish. For a
282
 MACHUL AND RAMIZ

moment I entertained the idea of spending the rest of my life

in the service of this shaikh, but I was dissuaded from it by
the pertinacity of my spirit.
On the next morning we resumed our sea-voyage, making
for the town of Machul. It was a habit of mine on my travels
never, so far as possible, to retrace any road that I had once
travelled over. 43 I was desirous of making for Baghdad in
al-'Iraq, and a man at al-Basra advised me to travel to the
country of the Lurs, and from there to 'Iraq al-'Ajam and
then on to 'Iraq al-'Arab, and I followed | his advice. Four 22
days later we reached the town of Machul, a small place on
the coast of this channel which we have described as coming
out of the Sea of Fars.44 Its ground is saline, without trees or
vegetation, and it has an immense bazaar, one of the largest
of its kind. I stayed there only one day and after that I hired
from some merchants who bring grain from Ramiz to Machul
a mount for my conveyance. We travelled for three nights
across open country inhabited by Kurds in hair-tents, who
are said to be Arabs by origin,45 and then reached the town of
Ramiz, a fine city with fruit-trees and rivers. 46 We lodged
there with the qadi Husam al-Din Mahmud, in whose com-
pany I found a man of learning, religion, and piety, of Indian
origin, called Baha' | al-Din. His name was Isma'il and he 23
was one of the sons of the shaikh | Baha' al-Din Abu Zakariya
of Multan, 47 and had studied under the shaikhs of Tawriz and
other places. I stayed only one night in the town of Ramiz,
after which we continued our journey for three nights more
across a plain where there are villages inhabited by Kurds.
At the end of each stage of this journey there was a hospice at
48 This explains many of the strange groupings of cities in his narrative.
44 Now Bender Ma'shur, at the head of Khor Musa, east of the delta.
Ibn Battuta is obviously mistaken in describing it as on the same 'channel'
as the Shatt al-'Arab.
45 The routes in this region were infested by bedouins already in the tenth
century; P. Schwarz, Iran im Mittelalter, IV (Leipzig, 1921), 334. In the
thirteenth century there was a large immigration of Kurdish and related
tribes (including some Arabs of the 'Oqail tribe) from northern Syria into
this area; see E.I., s.v. Lur.
46 Ramiz is the shortened form of Ram(a) Hurmuz, a Sasanian foundation
some 90 miles east of Bender Ma'shur.
47 Abu Zakariya is an error for Zakariya; Baha' al-Din (1183-1267), a
Khurasanian by origin, was the leading representative of the Suhrawardi
order in India (see vol. Ill, p. 102, Arabic).
283
 SOUTHERN PERSIA AND 'IRAQ

which every traveller was supplied with bread, meat and

sweetmeats. Their sweetmeats are made with grape-syrup
mixed with flour and ghee. In each hospice there is a shaikh,
a prayer-leader, a muezzin, and a servitor for the poor
brethren, together with slaves and servants who cook the food.
I came next to the city of Tustar, which is situated at the
edge of the plain in the dominion of the Atabek and the be-
ginning of the mountains—a large city, splendid and flourish-
ing, with noble orchards and superb gardens, and possessed
of rare attractions and well-stocked markets.48 It is of ancient
foundation, having been captured by Khalid b. al-Walid, and
24 it is after this city that Sahl b. 'Abdallah is called. | It is en-
circled by the river called al-Azraq, which is a marvel, un-
surpassed in its clearness and exceedingly cold during the hot
season. 49 1 have never seen any river as blue except the river
of Balakhshan. 50 The city has a single gate by which travellers
can enter, called darwdza Disbul, darwdza meaning in their
language 'gate', but it has other gates leading down to the
river. 51 On both banks of the river, there are orchards and
water-wheels; the river itself is deep and over it, leading to
the travellers' gate, there is a bridge upon boats like the
bridges of Baghdad and al-Hilla. 52
48 Tustar, the Arabic form of Shush tar, situated on a cliff on the east bank
of the Kariin river, 90 miles north of Bender Ma'shur, and 70 miles north-
west of Ramhurmuz; see E.I., s.v. Shuster, and L. Lockhart, Famous
Cities of Ivan (London, 1939), 86-95, with plates and sketch-plan. It was
captured by the Arabs under Abu Musa al-Ash'ari in 642, after a long siege
in which the city was defended by the Persian general Hurmuzan; L.
Caetani, Annali dell'Islam (Milan, 1911), IV, 454-9. Since Idhaj, Ibn
Battuta's next stop (and the capital of 'the Atabek'), lies only 40 miles
north of Ramhurmuz, he seems to have taken a curiously zigzag route.
49 Al-Azraq (i.e. Blue River) is the Karun, usually called Dujail in the
mediaeval texts. It is divided immediately above Tustar into two branches,
the eastern branch being an artificial canal, called Masruqan, which flows
past the east side of the city; see E.I., s.v. Karun.
80 The river of Balakhshan (i.e. Badakhshan) is an affluent of the Oxus,
called by the mediaeval geographers Dirgham and in modern times
Kokcha; see vol. Ill, p. 82 (Arabic).
51 Mustawfl (trans., 108) mentions four gates. The spelling Disful and
Dispul (for the more usual Dizbul) is found also in the contemporary
Letters ofRashld al-Dln.
52 The earlier geographer al-Maqdisi also mentions the bridge of boats at
Tustar. At a later period it was replaced by a bridge built upon the dam
(see next note). By 'deep', I suspect that Ibn Battuta means that the river
flows far below the town.
284
 TUSTAR

Ibn Juzayy remarks: It is of this river that a certain poet

has said:
See Tustar's water-fence53
With wondrous art dispense
The streams that it impounds
To all the thirsty grounds.
So will a mighty prince
Engross his subjects' pence,
Then parcel them away
Upon his soldiers' pay. |
There is an abundance of fruits at Tustar, commodities are 35
plenteously available, and its bazaars have not their equal in
attraction. Outside the city there is a venerated tomb to
which the inhabitants of those regions come on pilgrimage
and make vows. It has a convent where a number of poor
brethren lodge, and the people there assert that it is the tomb
of Zain al-'Abidin 'All b. al-Husain b. 'All b. Abi Talib. 54 I
stayed in the city of Tustar at the college of the pious shaikh
and versatile imam, Sharaf al-Din Musa, son of the pious
shaikh and learned imam Sadr al-Din Sulaiman, who is de-
scended from Sahl b. 'Abdallah. The shaikh is a man of
generous qualities and outstanding merits, who combines
knowledge and religion, saintly life and munificence. He has a
college and a convent, the servitors of which are slaves of his,
four in number, Sumbul, Kafur, Jawhar and Surur. One
of them administers the endowments of the convent, the
second lays out whatever is required of expenditure on each
day, | the third is the servitor of the table for visitors and «<>
supervises the distribution of food to them, and the fourth is
83 The weir of Tustar, traditionally built by the Roman emperor Valerian
and his troops during their captivity there, 260-7 (and hence called in
Persian Band-i Qaisar, 'Caesar's Dam'), was a dam about 400 yards in
length across the Karun, behind which the river-bed was paved with square
blocks, from which it derived its Arabic name Shddharwdn (from Persian
shddorwdn = 'figured carpet'). The weir provided not only the head of water
for the Masruqan canal (see above, n. 49), but also for another canal, called
Minaw, which was led off above the dam through a tunnel under the citadel
of the city, and thence irrigated the lands to the southward.
54 'All Zain al-'Abidin, the fourth Imam of the Shi'ites, died in al-Madma
c. 711 and was buried there (Harawi, 93; trans., 211). Al-Harawi, however
(98; trans., 222), mentions at Tustar the tomb of Muhammad, son of the
sixth Imam, Ja'far al-Sadiq.
285
 SOUTHERN PERSIA AND 'IRAQ

the superintendent of the cooks, water-carriers and domestics.

I stayed with him for sixteen days and I have never seen
anything more admirable than his organization nor more
lavish than the supply of food at his table. There was put
before each man enough to supply four persons: pilaff of rice
flavoured with pepper and cooked in ghee, fried chickens,
bread, meat and sweetmeats.
This shaikh is one of the handsomest of men in figure and
most upright in conduct. He preaches to the public after the
Friday prayer in the cathedral-mosque, and when I attended
his preaching-session all the preachers whom I had seen pre-
viously in the Hijaz, Syria, and Egypt sank in my estimation,
nor have I ever met his equal. I was present with him one day
in a garden of his on the bank of the river where there was a
27 gathering of the doctors and the notables of the city, | and the
poor brethren came from every direction. He served them all
with food, then led them in the mid-day prayer and, after the
Qur'an-readers had recited in front of him, chanting in a
manner that brought tears to the eyes and with moving and
stirring modulations, he rose up to preach and admonish. He
delivered a discourse with solemnity and dignity, making
extempore use of all kinds of learning, interpretations of the
Book of God, citation of the traditions of the Apostle of God,
and dissertation upon their meanings. When he had finished,
bits of paper were thrown to him from all sides, for it is a
custom of the Persians to jot down questions on scraps of
paper and throw them to the preacher, who answers them.
When these scraps of paper were thrown to him, he collected
them all in his hand and began to answer them one after the
other in the most fascinating and elegant manner. 55 It was
then time for the 'asr prayer, so he led the congregation in the
prayers and then they retired. His assembly was an assembly
of learning, admonition and blessed power, the penitents
** presented themselves one after the other, | and he took the
pledge from them and clipped their forelocks. 56 They were
55 The same practice is related of many other scholars; see, for example,
Ibn Jubair's account of Ibn al-Jawzl at Baghdad (222; trans. Broadhurst,
231). This Sharaf al-Dln Musa has not been identified.
66 In the Qur'an (sura xcvi. 16) the forelock is called 'lying, sinful'; the
clipping of the forelock is thus presumably a symbol of renunciation of false-
hood and error.
286
 IDHAJ

fifteen men of the student class who had come from al-Basra
for this purpose, and ten men of the general population of
Tustar.
Anecdote. When I entered this city I was attacked by a fever,
for visitors to these countries in the hot season generally
suffer from fever, as happens also in Damascus and other
cities which have abundant waters and fruits. The fever
attacked my companions also and one of them died, a shaikh
whose name was Yahya al-Khurasani. The shaikh [of whom
I have spoken] paid the costs of his preparation for burial
with all that a dead man needs, and prayed over him. I left
there also one of my companions called Baha al-DIn al-
Khatani, and he died after my departure. During my illness I
had no | appetite for the dishes which were prepared for me in 29
his college. The faqih Shams al-DIn al-Sindi, one of the
students there, mentioned a certain dish to me and I fancied
it and paid him some dirhams. He had that dish cooked for
me in the bazaar and brought it to me and I ate of it. When
this was told to the Shaikh he was cut to the quick and came
to see me and said 'How can you do this and have food cooked
in the bazaar? Why did you not order the servants to prepare
for you what you fancied?' He then had them all called and
said to them 'Whatever he asks for from you in the way of
food and sugar and so on, bring it to him and cook for him
whatever he wishes', and he impressed this on them in the
most emphatic way—God reward him with good.
We set out from the city of Tustar, travelling for the space
of three nights through towering mountains, at each stage
there being a hospice like those already described, and came
to the city of Idhaj, also called | Mal al-Amir,57 the capital of 30
the sultan Atabek. On my arrival there I met with its shaikh
of shaikhs, the learned and pious Nur al-DIn al-Kirmani,
who has the supervision of all the hospices (which these
people call by the term madrasa). The Sultan venerates him
and comes to visit him, and so also the officers of state and
the chief men of the capital visit him morning and evening.
57 Now called Malamir, on a tributary of the Karun river. This name,
meaning 'the amir's estate', is explained by Schwarz (IV, 336) as connected
with the fact that the 'Abbasid caliph al-Mahdi (775-85) was born here, but
is more probably of later origin. It was at this time the capital of the prin-
cipality of the Greater Lur (see below, n. 59).
287
 SOUTHERN PERSIA AND 'IRAQ

He received me honourably and hospitably and lodged me in

a hospice by the name of al-DInawari, where I stayed for
some days. My arrival was at the period of the summer
heats ;58 we used to pray the night prayers and then lie down
to sleep on the top of the roof of the hospice and descend to
the hospice itself in the early morning. I had in my company
twelve poor brethren including an imam, two skilled reciters
of the Qur'an and a servitor so that we made a well-organized
party.
Account of the king of Idhaj and Tustar. The king of Idaj at
31 the time of my entry into it | was the sultan Atabek Afrasiyab,
son of the sultan Atabek Ahmad, 59 atabek being with them a
title common to every king who rules that country, 60 and the
country itself is called the country of the Lurs. 61 This sultan
succeeded his brother Atabek Yusuf, and Yusuf succeeded
his father Atabek Ahmad. The Ahmad just mentioned was a
pious king; I have heard from a trustworthy person in his
country that he established four hundred and sixty hospices
in his territories, forty four of them in the capital Idhaj. He
divided the revenue of his territories into three parts, one
third of it for the upkeep of the hospices and colleges, one
third for the pay of his troops, and one third for his own ex-
68 This statement, repeating a remark already made relating to his stay
at Tustar, is difficult to reconcile with his later statement (below, p. 297)
that he was in Isfahan on 14 Jumada 11 = 7 May 1327, in consequence of
which his stay at Malamir can only be dated to the first half of April. It
would seem, however, from what follows that he has confused details of this
visit with his second visit in 1347, when he presumably passed through
Malamir on his way from Isfahan to Tustar (vol. IV, p. 312, Arabic).
59 Here again Ibn Battuta is confused. As pointed out by the French
translators, Afrasiyab (II), son of Ahmad, reigned 1340-56. Not only so;
but since the reigning Atabek in 1327 was in fact Ahmad (1298-1333), it is
curious that Ibn Battuta should report his actions only on hearsay 'from
trustworthy persons'. On the Greater Lur or Hazaraspid dynasty and its
relations to the Ilkhans see B. Spuler, Die Mongolen in Iran, 2nd ed.
(Berlin, 1955), 161-3, and E.I., s.v. Lur.
60 Atabek was the title given by the Seljuk sultans to the 'tutors' of the
young princes to whom the government of a province was allotted. Since
several Atabeks founded dynasties of their own, the title came to be com-
monly given to mediatized princes; in this instance it is said to have been
granted by the 'Abbasid caliph al-Nasir (see below, p. 3z6,n. 180) to Hazarasp,
the first of this line of princes (c. 1203-52).
61 The Lurs are an Iranian people with some mixture of immigrant
elements; see E.I., svv. Lur and Luristan. The Hazaraspid princes appar-
ently belonged to the Bakhtiyari, one of the four main tribes of Lurs.
288
 THE ATABEK OF THE LURS

penditure and the upkeep of his household, slaves and ser-

vants. From this money he used to send a gift to the king of
al-Traq every year, and often went to visit him in person. I
observed from my own experience that of the pious founda-
tions that preserve his name in his country the majority are
amid | lofty mountain-ranges; but roads [to them] have been 32
hewn out of the rocks and stones and have been made so level
and so wide that transport animals can climb them with their
loads. These mountains extend for a distance of seventeen
days' journey in length and ten days' in breadth, and they
are exceedingly high, in continuous chains one after the
other, and cut through by rivers. The trees on them are oaks,
from the flour of which they make bread. At each station in
these mountains there is a hospice, which they call the
'college', and when the traveller arrives at one of these col-
leges he is given a sufficient supply of food for himself and
fodder for his beast, whether he asks for it or not. For it is
their custom that the college servitor comes, counts all those
who have alighted at it, and gives each one of them two cakes
of bread, with meat and sweetmeats. All this comes out of the
sultan's endowments for its upkeep. The sultan Atabek
Ahmad was a self-mortifying and pious man, as | we have 33
said, and used to wear a hair-shirt beneath his clothes next
his skin.
Anecdote. The sultan Atabek Ahmad once went to visit the
king of al-Traq, Abu Sa'Id. One of the king's courtiers told
him that the Atabek was coming into his presence wearing a
cuirass, for he thought that the hair-shirt which was beneath
his outer garments was a cuirass. So the king ordered them to
test this in some familiar manner, in order to find out what
truth there was in it. One day when the Atabek came into his
presence, the amir al-Juban, the chief of the amirs of al-
Traq, and the amir Suwaita, the amir of Diyar Bakr, and the
shaikh Hasan, who is the present sultan of al-Traq, fl2 came up
to him and took hold of his garments as though they were
jesting with him in a playful mood and found the hair-shirt
62 For al-Juban (i.e. Choban) see below, p. 337, and Shaikh Hasan,
p. 341. Suwaita is the amir Nusrat al-Din Sutay Noyon, who served under
Hulagu, was appointed governor of Diyar Bakr in 1313 (also of Mosul and
Sinjar), and died in 1332: Durar, II, 178-9; Letters of Rashld al-Din, 40;
Hafi?-i Abru, Chronique. trans. K. Bayani (Paris, 1936), 36.
289
 SOUTHERN PERSIA AND 'IRAQ

underneath his robes. When the sultan Abu Sa'id saw this he
rose up and came to him, embraced him and, making him sit
by his side, said to him San Atd, which means in Turkish
34'You are my father'. He returned to him the value of | his
present many times over and wrote for him a.yarligh, that is a
rescript, 63 to the effect that neither he nor his sons should
henceforth require of him any gift.
In that same year he died, and his son Atabek Yusuf ruled
for ten years, 64 and after that his brother Afrasiyab. When I
entered the city of Idhaj I wished to see this sultan Afrasi-
yab, but that was not easily come by as he goes out only on
Fridays, owing to his addiction to wine. He had one son and
one only, who was his designated heir, and who fell ill at this
time. On a certain night one of his servants came to me and
made enquiries of me about myself; when I told him he went
away and came back later after the sunset prayer, bringing
with him two great platters, one with food and the other
with fruit, and a pouch containing money. Accompanying
him were musicians with their instruments and he said to
them 'Make music, so that these poor brethren will dance and
35 pray for the Sultan's son.' 65 1 said to him 'My associates | have
no knowledge of either music or dancing/ but we prayed for
the sultan and his son, and I divided the money among the
poor brethren. In the middle of the night we heard cries and
lamentations, for the sick boy had died.
On the following morning the shaikh of the hospice and
[some of] the townsfolk came into my room and said 'All the
principal men of the city, qadis, faqihs, sharifs and amirs,
have gone to the Sultan's palace for the [ceremony of] con-
dolence, and it is your duty to go along in company with them.'
I refused to go, but when they insisted with me and I had no
alternative but to go, I set out with them. I found the audi-

63 Yarllgh was a term employed by the Mongols to denote a patent

stamped with the sovereign's seal; see Yule's Marco Polo, I, 352.
64 There is some confusion again here, since Ahmad died in 1333, and
Choban was killed in 1328. Yusuf's accession is variously dated in 1330 and
1333, but he may have been co-regent for some years, since in the Letters
(255) of Rashid al-Din (executed in 1318) he is already called ' Atabek Yusuf
Shah, king of Luristan'.
66 An interesting indication that the use of music was by this time
regarded as a typical feature of darwish rituals.
290
 FUNERAL CEREMONIES

ence hall66 in the sultan's palace filled with men and youths
—slaves, sons of princes, viziers and soldiers—all wearing
sacks of coarse cloth67 and horses' saddle-cloths; they had put
dust and straw on their heads and some of them had cut
off their forelocks. They were divided into two groups, one
group | at the top end of the hall and another at its lower end, 36
and each group would advance towards the other, all beating
their breasts with their hands and crying khundikdrimd,
which means 'Our master'. 68 The spectacle that I witnessed
there was an appalling thing and a disgraceful sight, the like
of which I have never encountered.
Anecdote. A strange thing that happened to me that day
was that, when I entered, I saw that the qadis, the khatibs
and the sharifs had taken up positions with their backs to the
walls of the hall. The place was crammed with them on all
sides, some of them weeping, some pretending to, some with
eyes fixed on the ground, and all of them wearing on top of
their robes unbleached lengths of rough cotton stuff, not
properly tailored and inside out, with the face of the cloth
next their bodies. 69 Each one of them also had on his head a
bit of rag or a black veil. They continue to do the same | until 37
forty days have passed, this being for them the end of the
period of mourning, and thereafter the sultan sends a com-
plete set of clothing to every one who has done so.
When I saw all parts of the audience-hall crowded with
people I looked right and left, searching for a place to seat
myself. Then I saw there a dais, raised above the ground
about a span; at one corner of it there was a man, apart from
the crowd, sitting there, and wearing a woollen robe like the
felt coat which the poor people in that country wear on days
of rain or snow and on journeys. So I went up to where this
man was; my companions fell back behind me when they saw
66 Ibn Battuta here uses the characteristic Maghribl term mishwar
(literally 'council chamber'), rarely found in the East.
67 Talalls, the long sacks used for grain and other heavy goods; see Dozy,
s.v. tillis. For saddle-cloths cf. Aflaki (see p. 430, n. 67), I. 72.
88 Khundikar (Khundigar) is derived, like the classical Persian Khawan-
dagar, from Khudawand - 'lord, master'; -ma is the suffix 'our'.
49 The wearing of garments inside out was a regular ceremonial practice
in prayers for rain (istisqa' ; see E.I., s.v.), and was sporadically adopted also
as a sign of mourning. The other customs which so scandalized Ibn Battuta
appear to have been peculiar to the Lurs.
c 291 T.O.I.B.-II
 SOUTHERN PERSIA AND 'IRAQ

me going towards him and were amazed at my action, where-

as I had no knowledge at all of what he was. I mounted the
dais and gave the word of greeting to the man; he returned
my greeting and raised himself from the ground as if he in-
38 tended to rise, a gesture which they call 'half-rising', j and I
sat down in the corner opposite him. Then I observed that
the people present had fixed their eyes on me, everyone of
them; I was surprised at them, and I looked at the faqihs and
shaikhs and sharifs, all with their backs to the wall behind
the dais. One of the qadis made a sign to me that I should come
beside him, but I did not do so, and then I began to suspect
that the man was the sultan. At the end of an hour or so, the
chief shaikh Nur al-Din al-Kirma.ni, whose name we have
mentioned above, came forward, mounted the dais and
saluted the man; he rose up to him, and the shaikh then sat
down between me and him; thereupon I knew for certain that
the man was the sultan. Next, the bier was brought in, sur-
rounded by citron lemon and orange trees, the branches of
which they had loaded with their fruits, the trees them-
selves being carried by men, so that the bier seemed to be a
moving orchard, with torches on tall lances carried before it,
and candles likewise. Prayers were recited over it, and those
present went out with it to the burial-ground of the kings,
39 which is at a place | called Halaf man, four miles distant from
the city. 70 There is there a large madrasa [hospice], through
which the river runs; inside it there is a mosque in which the
Friday service is held, and outside it a bath, and the whole
place is surrounded by a large fruit-garden. At this hospice
food is served to all comers and goers.
I was unable to go with them to the burial-ground because
of the distance to the place, so I returned to the madrasa
[where I was lodged]. Some days later the sultan sent to me
the messenger who had brought the hospitality-gift pre-
viously, to invite me to visit him. So I went with the mes-
senger to a gate called the Cypress Gate and we mounted a
long flight of steps, finally reaching a room which was un-
carpeted, on account of the mourning that they were
70 This place is probably to be identified with Kal'a-i Madrasa, 12 miles
north of Malamlr (in which case 'four miles' is possibly an error for 'four
farsakhs').
292
 ATABEK AFRASIYAB

observing at the time. The sultan was sitting on a cushion,

with two goblets in front of him which had been covered up,
one of gold and the other of silver. There was in the chamber a
green prayer-rug; | this was laid out for me near him, and 140
sat down on it. No one else was in the room but his chamber-
lain, the faqih Mahmud, and a boon companion of his, whose
name I do not know. He put questions to me about myself
and my country, and asked me about al-Malik al-Nasir and
the land of al-Hijaz, and I answered him on these points. At
this juncture there came in a great faqih, who was chief of
the doctors of the law in that country, and the sultan said to
me 'This is Mawlana Fadu", for in all the lands of the Persians
a faqih is never called by any title other than mawldnd, 11 and
is so addressed by the sultan and everyone else. The sultan
then began to recite the praises of the faqih just mentioned,
and it became clear to me that he was under the influence of
intoxication, for I had already learned of his addiction to
wine. Afterwards he said to me in Arabic (which he spoke
well), 'Speak'. I said to him 'If you will listen to me, I say to
you "You are the son of the sultan Atabek Ahmad, who was
noted for piety and self-restraint, and there is nothing to be
laid against you as | a ruler but this",' and I pointed to the 41
two goblets. He was overcome with confusion at what I said
and sat silent. I wished to go but he bade me sit down and
said to me, 'To meet with men like you is a mercy.' But then
I saw him reeling and on the point of falling asleep, so I with-
drew. I had left my sandals at the door but I could not find
them, so the faqih Mahmud went down in search of them,
while the faqih Fadil went to look for them inside the cham-
ber, found them in a window-embrasure there, and brought
them to me. His kindness shamed me, and I began to apolo-
gise to him, but at that he kissed my sandals, placed them on
his head, and said 'God bless you. What you said to our
sultan no one could say but you. I sincerely hope, by God,
that this will make an impression on him.'
71 Literally 'our master', from which is derived the common Persian and
Indian term mullah for a professional religious teacher or jurist. Ibn
Battuta may have noted the point because the same term (or the corres-
ponding form Mawldya, 'my master') was already becoming exclusively
applied in Morocco to the sultans (cf. vol. I, p. 2) and finally became, in the
form Moulay, part of the ruler's title.
293
 SOUTHERN PERSIA AND 'IRAQ

A few days later came my departure from the city of

Idhaj. I stopped at the madrasa of the sultans, where their
graves are, and stayed there for some days, and the sultan
42 sent me | a number of dinars [as a farewell gift], with a like
sum for my companions. For ten days we continued to travel
through the territories of this sultan amidst lofty mountains,
and on each night we would halt at a madrasa where food was
served. 72 Some of these madrasas are in cultivated country,
and some have no cultivation in the vicinity at all, but every-
thing that they require is transported to them. On the tenth
day we halted at a madrasa by the name of Madrasa Kiri-
wa'lrukh, which marks the end of the territories of this king. 73
We travelled on from there across a well-watered plain
belonging to the province of the city of Isfahan, and there-
after reached the town of Ushturkan, a pleasant township, with
numbers of running streams and orchards, and possessed of a
very fine mosque intersected by the river. 74 From this place
we went on to the city of Firuzan, which is a small town with
43 streams, trees and orchards. 75 We arrived there | after the
hour of afternoon prayer, and found that its population had
gone out to escort a funeral. Behind and before the bier they
had lit torches, and they followed it up with fifes and singers,
singing all sorts of merry songs. We were astonished at this
behaviour of theirs. After spending one night there, we passed
on the following morning through a village called Nablan; 76
this is a big village on a broad river, beside which there is a
mosque of the utmost beauty. One goes up to it by a flight of
steps, and it is surrounded by orchards.
We travelled on for the whole of this day between orchards
and streams and fine villages with many pigeon-towers, and
after the time of the 'asr prayer we reached the city of Isfahan,
also called Ispahan, in Persian 'Iraq. 77 The city of Isfahan is
72 As late as the nineteenth century, the road from Malamir to Isfahan
was still called 'the Atabek's road' (jadde-i atabeg) ; Schwarz, IV, 937, n. 2.
73 Probably Girlw al-Rukhkh, 'neck of the rukh' (Schwarz, ibid.). It is
identified with the modern Kahvarukh in Charmahall.
74 Ushturkan (? '[place] of camels') is not attested elsewhere.
75 Six farsakhs from Isfahan; Schwarz, V, 648.
76 Probably an error for Lunban, a large village close to the city; Schwarz,
V, 655. The river is the Zayanda-rud (Zinde-rud), the river of Isfahan.
77 The main city of Isfahan was at this time somewhat to the east of the
present city, as the city has gradually shifted westwards (Schwarz, V, 623-4) •
294
 ISFAHAN

one of the largest and fairest of cities, but it is now in ruins

for the greater part, as the result of the feud there between
the Sunnls and the Rafidis, which continues to rage between
them still to the present day, so that they never cease to |
fight. 78 It is rich in fruits, among them being apricots of un- 44
rivalled quality which they call qamar al-din; the people
there dry these apricots and preserve them, and their kernels
when broken open disclose a sweet almond. 79 Others of its
products are quinces that are unequalled for goodness of
taste and size, delicious grapes, and the wonderful water-
melons whose like is not to be found in the world, except for
the water-melons of Bukhara and Khawarizm. Their rind is
green, and the inside is red; they are preserved as dried figs
are preserved in the Maghrib, and are exceedingly sweet.
When anyone is not used to eating them, they relax him on
his first experience of them—and so indeed it happened to
me when I ate them at Isfahan.
The people of Isfahan have fine figures and clear white
skins tinged with red; their dominant qualities are bravery
and pugnacity, together with generosity80 and a strong spirit
of rivalry between them | in procuring [luxurious] viands. 45
Some curious stories are told of this last trait in them. Some-
times one of them will invite his friend and will say to him,
'Come along with me for a meal of nan and mas'—that is
bread and curdled milk in their language; then, when his
friend goes along with him, he sets before him all sorts of
wonderful dishes, with the aim of outdoing him by this [dis-
play]. The members of each craft appoint one of their own
number as headman over them, whom they call the kilu,*1
and so do the leading citizens from outside the ranks of the
78 This was apparently a continuation of the feuds between rival Sunnl
schools (Hanafl/Shafi'i) for which Isfahan was noted in earlier centuries,
and whose violence had laid parts of the city in ruins even before the
Mongol conquest (Schwarz, V, 607-8).
79 See vol. I, p. 91, n. 92; p. 117, n. 178.
80 This is not the prevailing view in either mediaeval or modern times;
cf. for the former Schwarz, V, 603, 616, n. 5, and for the latter, E. G. Browne,
A Year among the Persians, 3rd ed. (London, 1950), 214: 'The character
which they bear among the Persians is not altogether enviable, avarice and
niggardliness being accounted their chief characteristics.'
81 Kulu, 'headman', 'market superintendent'; the term is sometimes found
at this period attached to a personal name as a title (Hasan KulQ, etc.); see
Qasim Ghani, Ta'rlkh-i 'Asr-i Hafi? (Tehran, n.d.), 57, 230 ff.
295
 SOUTHERN PERSIA AND 'IRAQ

craftsmen. One company [for example] will be composed of

young bachelors. These companies try to outdo one another
and invite one another to banquets, displaying all the re-
sources at their disposal and making a great show in regard
to the dishes and everything else. I was told that one com-
pany of them invited another, and cooked their viands with
lighted candles, then the second company returned the
invitations and cooked their viands with silk. |
46 My lodging at Isfahan was in a convent which is attributed
to the shaikh 'AH b. Sahl, 82 the disciple of al-Junaid. It is
held in great veneration and is visited by the people of those
regions, who seek to obtain blessing by visiting it. Food is
served in it to all wayfarers, and it has a magnificent bath,
paved with marble, and with qdshdni tiles83 on its walls. It is
endowed for the service [of God], so that nothing is required
of any person in order to enter it. The shaikh of this convent
was a pious and scrupulous devotee Qutb al-Dm Husain, son
of the pious shaikh, the friend of God, Shams al-Din Muham-
mad b. Mahmud b. 'AH, known as al-Raja. 84 His brother was
the scholar and jurisconsult Shihab al-Din Ahmad. I stayed
with the shaikh Qutb al-Din in his hospice for fourteen days,
and what I saw of his zeal in religious exercises and his
affection for the poor brethren and the distressed and his
humility towards them filled me with admiration. He went to
47 great lengths in | honouring me, showed me generous hos-
pitality, and presented me with a fine set of garments. At the
very hour of my arrival at the convent he sent me food and
three of those water-melons which we have mentioned already,
and which I had not seen nor eaten previously.
A Grace of this Shaikh's. One day he came to visit me in the
part of the hospice where I was staying. This place looked out
over a garden belonging to the shaikh, and on that day his
garments had been washed and spread out in the garden to
82 A famous ascetic, died in Isfahan 919/920; his tomb is still in existence
and visited in the northern section of the city. For al-Junaid, the most
famous exponent of 'orthodox' Sufism, who died in Baghdad in 910, see
£.7.,s.v.
83 On Qdshdni tiles see vol. I, p. 256, n. 42, and on the town of Qashan,
Schwarz, V, 568-70.
84 Not identified, but of a notable family of scholars in Isfahan (see Ibn
al-Sabuni Takmilatal-Ikmal, Baghdad, 1958, 145-6).
296
 SUHRAWARDI ORDER

dry. Among them I saw a white tunic with a lining, [of the
kind] called by them hazdrmikhi.*5 I admired it and said to
myself This is the kind of thing that I was wanting.' When
the shaikh came into my room, he looked out towards the
garden and said to one of his servants 'Fetch me that
hazarmikhi robe,' then when they brought it, he put it upon
me. I threw myself at his feet, kissing them, j and begged him 48
to clothe me also with a skull-cap from his head, and to give
me the same authorization in [transmitting] this that he had
received from his father on the authority of the latter's
shaikhs. He invested me with it accordingly on the fourteenth
of Latter Jumada in the year 727** in his convent afore-
mentioned, as he had been invested with it by his father
Shams al-Din and his father had been invested with it by
his father Taj al-Din Mahmud, and Mahmud by his father
Shihab al-Din 'All al-Raja, and 'All by the Imam Shihab
al-Din Abu Hafs 'Omar b. Muhammad b. 'Abdallah al-
Suhrawardi, 87 and 'Omar had been invested by the great
shaikh Diya' al-Din Abu'l-Najib al-Suhrawardi, and Abu'l-
Najib by his paternal uncle, the Imam Wahid al-Din 'Omar,
and 'Omar by his father Muhammad b. 'Abdallah, known as
'Amawaih, and Muhammad by the shaikh Akhu Faraj al-
Zinjani, and Akhu Faraj by the shaikh Ahmad al-DInawari,
and Ahmad by the Imam | Mamshad al-DInawari, and Mam- 49
shad from the shaikh, the seer of the truth, 'All b. Sahl al-
Sufi, and 'AH from Abu'l-Qasim al-Junaid, and al-Junaid
from Sari al-Saqati, and Sari al-Saqati from Da'ud al-Ta'I,
and Da'ud from al-Hasan b. Abi'l-Hasan al-Basri, and al-
Hasan b. Abi'l-Hasan al-Basri from the Commander of the
Faithful, 'AH b. Abi Talib.
Ibn Juzayy comments: In this manner did the shaikh
85 Literally '[garment] of a thousand wedges', the darwish robe made of
numbers of 'patches' or small pieces; see vol. I, p. 80, n. 47.
86 7 May 1327. What follows is the chain of authorities by which Ibn
Battuta was affiliated into the Suhrawardi order, acquiring thereby
valuable connections for some of his future journeys.
87 Shihab al-Din 'Omar (d. 1234) was the founder of the Suhraward! order,
one of the most widespread religious congregations in the eastern Islamic
world. The family claimed descent from the second caliph, 'Omar b. al-
Khattab, and the founder's tomb is still preserved in the mother-convent of
the order at Baghdad. For the early links in this chain of authorities, see
below, p. 335, n. 210, and for al-Hasan al-Basri, above, p. 279, n. 33.
297
 SOUTHERN PERSIA AND 'IRAQ

Abu 'Abdallah [Ibn BattutaJ cite this chain of authorities.

But it is a matter of common knowledge that Sari al-Saqati
was the disciple of Ma'ruf al-Karkhl, and Ma'ruf was the
disciple of Da'ud al-Ta'I; likewise that between Da'ud
al-Ta'i and al-Hasan there was Habib al-'Ajami. In regard to
Akhu Faraj al-Zinjam, it is known only that he was the
disciple of Abu'l-'Abbas al-Nihawandi, and that al-Niha-
wandi was the disciple of Abu 'Abdallah ibn Khaf If, that Ibn
Khafif was the disciple of Abu Muhammad Ruwaim, and
Ruwaim the disciple of Abu'l-Qasim al-Junaid. As for
50 Muhammad b. | 'Abdallah 'Amawaih, he it was who was the
disciple of the shaikh Ahmad al-Dinawari 'the Black', with-
out any intervening person; but God knows best. The person
who became the disciple of Akhu Faraj al-Zinjani was
'Abdallah b. Muhammad b. 'Abdallah, the father of Abu'l-
Najib.
(To return). We set out thereafter from Isfahan with the
object of visiting the shaikh Majd al-DIn at Shiraz, 88 which is
ten days' journey from there. We came to the town of Kalil,
three nights' journey from Isfahan; it is a small town, with
running streams, gardens and fruit-trees. 89 1 saw apples being
sold in its bazaar at fifteen 'Iraqi pounds for a dirham, their
dirham being the third of a nuqra. We alighted there at a hospice
which was founded by the headman of this town, known as
Khwaja Kafi, a man of considerable wealth, whom God had
assisted to spend it in the way of good works, such as the
giving of alms, the foundation of hospices, and the provision
of food for the wayfarers. We continued our journey from
51 Kalil on the same day and | came to a large village called
Surma' 90 where there is a hospice, supplying food to all
comers and goers, founded by the same Khwaja Kafi.
From there we journeyed to Yazdukhas, a small town sub-
stantially built, and with a fine bazaar; the congregational
mosque in it is a marvel, built of stone and with arcades of
stone also. 91 the town is on the edge of a valley, in which are
88 For Majd al-Din al-Sharazl, see below, pp. 300-6.
89 Not known otherwise and apparently misplaced; see the following note.
90 Surma.' is two days' journey south of Yazdikhwast; Browne, A Year
among the Persians, 254.
91 Yazdikhwast, built on a precipitous rock. Browne (op. cit., 245-8) de-
scribes the town, but saw no arcades at the mosque.
298
 YAZDUKHAS AND SHIRAZ

its orchards and its streams. In its outskirts there is a ribdt in

which travellers are lodged; it has an iron gate and is of the
utmost strength and impregnability, and inside it there are
shops where everything that travellers may need is on sale.
The ribdt was founded by the amir Muhammad Shah Inju,
the father of the sultan Abu Ishaq, king of Shiraz. 92 At
Yazdukhas there is made the cheese called Yazdukhasi, |
which has not its equal for goodness of flavour; the weight of 52
each of such cheeses is from two to four ounces. We went on
from there by way of the Dasht al-Rum,93 which is open
country inhabited by Turks, and then travelled to Maym, 94
a small town with many streams and orchards and fine
bazaars. Most of its trees are walnuts.
From there we travelled to the town of Shiraz, which is a
city of solid construction and wide range, famous in repute
and high in esteem; it has elegant gardens and gushing
streams, sumptuous bazaars and handsome thoroughfares;
and is densely populated, substantial in its buildings, and
admirable in its disposition. 95 Those engaged in each craft
occupy the bazaar particular to that craft, no outsiders
mixing with them. Its inhabitants are handsome in figure and
clean in their dress. In the whole East there is no city except
Shiraz which approached Damascus in the beauty of its
bazaars, fruit-gardens and rivers, | and in the handsome 53
figures of its inhabitants. It is situated in a plain, surrounded
by orchards on all sides and intersected by five streams; one
of these is the stream known as Rukn Abad, the water of
which is sweet, very cold in summer and warm in winter, and
gushes out of a fountain on the lower slope of a hill in those
parts called al-Qulai'a. 96
92 See below, p. 306. Ribat here has its original sense of fortified convent
or khan.
93 Various desert areas on this road are called dasht ('wilderness'), but no
other reference has been found to this name ('wilderness of the Anatolians').
94 Fourteen farsakhs north of Shiraz: Schwarz, I, 26; III, 182; Mustawfl,
trans., 176.
95 For the mediaeval descriptions of Shiraz, see Schwarz, II, 43 ff., and
A. J. Arberry, Shiraz (Norman, Oklahoma, 1960).
98 Ruknabad acquired enduring literary fame through the poems of the
Shirazi poet Hafiz (d. 1389): see E.I., s.v.; E. G. Browne, A Literary History
of Persia (Cambridge, 1920), III, 271-311. Its source lies a few miles north
of the city, but the name Qulai'a ('small fort') does not seem to be attested
elsewhere. See also Arberry, Shiraz, p. 51.
299
 SOUTHERN PERSIA AND 'IRAQ

The principal mosque of Shiraz, which is called the

'ancient mosque',97 is one of the largest of mosques in area
and most beautiful in construction. Its court occupies a wide
expanse paved with marble, and is washed down every night
during the summer heats. The leading inhabitants of the city
assemble in this mosque every night and pray the sunset and
night prayers in it. On its northern side is a gate known as the
Hasan gate, leading to the fruit market, which is one of the
most admirable of bazaars and to which I for my part would
give the preference over the bazaar of the Courier Gate at
Damascus. 98 1
54 The people of Shiraz are distinguished by piety, sound re-
ligion, and purity of manners, especially the women. These
wear boots, and when out of doors are swathed in mantles and
head-veils, so that no part of them is to be seen, and they are
[noted for] their charitable alms and their liberality. One of
their strange customs is that they meet in the principal
mosque every Monday, Thursday and Friday, to listen to the
preacher, sometimes one or two thousand of them, carrying
fans in their hands with which they fan themselves on account
of the great heat, I have never seen in any land an assembly
of women in such numbers.
On my entry into the city of Shiraz I had no desire but to
seek out the shaikh, the qadi, the imam, the pole of the saints
and solitaire of the age, noted for his evident 'graces', Majd
al-Dln Isma'il b. Muhammad b. Khudhadad (Khudhdddd
meaning 'gift of God'). 99 1 arrived at the madrasa, called after
him the Majdiya, in which is his residence, it being in fact his
55 own foundation, | and went in to visit him with three of my
companions. I found there the men of law and principal in-

97 The 'ancient mosque' (al-jami1 al-'atlq) of Shiraz was built by the

Saffarid prince of Sijistan, 'Amr b. Laith (879-900), who held Fars as part
of his dominions at various times.
98 The Hasan Gate is not mentioned in the contemporary Persian works
on Shiraz. For the Courier Gate at Damascus, see vol. I, p. 131.
99 Majd al-Din, whose correct name was Isma'il b. Yahya b. Isma'il, was
born in 1272/3 and died in 1355. His grandfather (d. 1268) and father (d.
1307) were both qadis at Shiraz. See Subki, fabaqat al-Shafi'tya (Cairo,
n.d.), VI, 83-4; Junaid Shlrazi, Shadd al-Izar (Tehran, 1327 Sh.), 423-6.
According to al-Subki, Majd al-Dm was first appointed as qadi at the age of
fifteen (presumably as substitute for his father) and held the office for
seventy-five years(?).
300
 SHAIKH MAJD AL-DIN

habitants of the city awaiting him; then he came out to

attend the afternoon prayer, having with him Muhibb al-Dm
and 'Ala al-Din, the sons of his uterine brother Ruh al-Dln,
one of them on his right and the other on his left—they being
his substitutes in his office as qadi, on account of his weak
sight and advanced age. 100 When I saluted him, he embraced
me and took me by the hand until he came to his prayer-mat,
then let go my hand and signed to me to pray alongside him,
and I did so. After he had prayed the afternoon prayer, there
was read before him part of the book of the Lanterns (al-
Masabih] and of the Shawdriq al-Anwdr of al-Saghani, 101 and
his two substitutes informed him of the suits which had come
up before them. The notables of the city came forward to
salute him, as was their custom with him morning and
evening, and then he asked me about myself and how I had
come, and questioned me | about the Maghrib, Egypt, 56
Syria and al-Hijaz, to all of which I answered. He gave
orders for my lodging to his servants, who lodged me accord-
ingly in a very small chamber in the madrasa.
On the following morning there came to visit him the envoy
of the king of al-'Iraq, the sultan Abu Sa'id, namely Nasir
al-Din al-Darqandi, one of the chief amirs and of Khurasan by
origin. 102 When he came before the qadi, he removed his cap
—which they call kuld103—from his head, kissed the qadl's
100 In 1327 Majd al-Dm was about fifty-five years of age, and this descrip-
tion can apply only to Ibn Battuta's later visit to Shiraz (see n. 118 below)
in 1347. In 1327 also, his substitutes were apparently his brothers Siraj
al-Dm Mukram (d. 1332) and Ruh al-Din Ishaq (d. 1355 also) (Junaid
Shirazi, 426-8), and only at a later date would Mukram's son Muhibb
al-Dm Muhammad and Ishaq's son 'Ala' al-Din Muhammad have officiated
as his substitutes.
101 Al-Hasan b. Muhammad al-Saghani, HanafI traditionist and gram-
marian, born at Lahore in 1181 and d. at Baghdad in 1252. His most
celebrated work was Maskdriq (not Shawdriq) al-Anwdr, a rearrangement
of the standard works of Tradition by al-Bukhari and Muslim (see vol. I,
p. 144, n. 289; p. 154, n. 319); Masdblk al-Sunna was another famous
compilation of traditions from the same and other reputed collections of
Prophetic Hadlth made by al-Baghawi (d. 1122) (seeE.I.2 , s.v.).
102 Of the several Dilqandi's in the contemporary records, the most likely
to fit this passage is 'Imad al-Din Nasir b. Muhammad (d. 1345), who was
both an amir and a sharif (al-'Azzawi, Ta'rlkh al-'Irdq baina Ihtildlain
(Baghdad, 1936), II, 51); but another amir al-Dilqandi, 'AH b. Talib, was
governor of Kufa until 1333 (ibid., 35).
103 Persian kuldh.
301
 SOUTHERN PERSIA AND 'IRAQ

foot, and sat down before him holding one of his own ears
with his hand. This is the regular usage of the amirs of the
Tatars in the presence of their kings. Now this amir had come
with about five hundred mounted men, his mamluks, ser-
vants, and companions; but he encamped outside the city
and came in to the qadi's residence with only five persons,
and entered his chamber entirely alone, in deference to him. j
57 Narrative of the reason of their esteem for this Shaikh, which
is an example of manifest grace™* The [late] king of al-'Iraq,
the sultan Muhammad Khudabandah, 105 had as an associate,
while yet in his state of infidelity, a doctor of law of the
Imami sect of the Rafidis called Jamal al-Din Ibn Mutah-
har. 106 When this sultan embraced Islam and the Tatars
were converted by his conversion, he showed even greater
esteem for this faqih; the latter consequently gave him a
beguiling view of the Rafidis and its superiority over the
other [Islamic schools]. He expounded to the sultan the his-
tory of the Companions and of the Caliphate, persuaded him
to believe that Abu Bakr and 'Omar were [only] viziers of the
Apostle of God and that 'AH, being the son of his paternal
uncle and his son-in-law, was the [true] heir to the Caliphate, 107
and represented this to him in terms with which he was
familiar, i.e. that the kingship which he himself possessed
was his only by inheritance from his ancestors and kinsmen
58 —taking advantage of the short time | since the sultan had
been living in infidelity and his lack of knowledge of the
principles of the Faith. The sultan, accordingly, gave orders
that the people should be forced to [subscribe to] the Rafidi
doctrines, sent rescripts to that effect to the two 'Iraqs, Fars,
Adharbaijan, Isfahan, Kirman and Khurasan, and de-
spatched envoys to the various cities. 108 The first cities to
104 The following narrative is the most elaborate version of a famous story,
not related in detail elsewhere; but both al-Subkl and Junaid Shirazi (see
above, n. 99) refer to Majd al-Dm's being 'thrown to the dogs and the lions'
or 'imprisoned with ravening beasts and wild dogs'.
105 Also called Oljaitu, reigned 1304-16; see below, p. 335.
106 Jamal al-Din al-Hasan b. Yusuf al-Hilli (1251-1325), one of the most
celebrated Shi'ite theologians; Durar, II, 71-2.
107 For the refusal of the Shi'ites to recognize the first three Caliphs, see
vol. I, p. 93, n. 98
IDS -phis was in 1310. See on this whole episode B. Spuler, Die Mongolen in
Iran, 190-1.
302
 SHAIKH MAJD AL-DIN

which these orders were brought were Baghdad, Shiraz, and

Isfahan. As for the people of Baghdad, the inhabitants of the
Bab al-Azaj quarter, who are all adherents of the Sunna and
for the most part followers of the school of the Imam Ibn
Hanbal, 109 refused to submit to them, and declared that they
would 'neither hear nor obey'. On the [following] Friday they
came with their weapons to the congregational mosque,
where the sultan's envoy was, and when the khatib mounted
the mimbar [to deliver the formal address], they surged up to-
wards him—some twelve thousand men in all, armed, who
constituted the garrison of Baghdad and its most notable
citizens—and swore an oath to him that if he should change
the customary khutba or add to it or subtract from it in any
way110 | they would kill him and kill the sultan's envoy and 59
submit themselves thereafter to what God willed. For the
sultan had commanded that the names of the Caliphs [Abu
Bakr, 'Omar and 'Othman] and of the other Companions of
the Prophet should be removed from the khutba and that
there should be mentioned in it no names but that of 'All and
his followers, such as 'Ammar (God be pleased with him).111
But the khatib was afraid of being killed, and he delivered
the accustomed khutba.
The people of Shiraz and of Isfahan acted in the same way
as the people of Baghdad. So the envoys returned to the king
and gave him an account of what had happened in regard to
this matter. Whereupon he ordered the qadis of the three
cities to be fetched, and the first of them who was brought
was the qadi Majd al-Din, the qadi of Shiraz, the sultan being
at that time at a place called Qarabagh, which is his summer
residence. 112 When the qadi arrived, the sultan gave orders
that he should be thrown to the dogs which he had there—
109 For Bab al-Azaj, see the sketch-plan of Baghdad below, p. 330. Ibn
Battuta rightly describes it as a stronghold of Hanbalism.
110 For the general contents of the formal khutba at the Friday congrega-
tional prayers, see vol. I, p. 232.
111 'Amrnar b. Yasir, a vigorous partisan of 'All, was killed in the battle of
Siff In between 'All and Mu'awiya, the governor of Syria, in 657; see E.I.2,
s.v.
112 In the mountains, north of the Aras river; see P. Clavijo, Embassy to
Tamerlane, trans. G. Le Strange (London, 1928), 362 and map II. The
Mongol Ilkhans maintained the nomadic habit of migrating to the highlands
for their summer camp (dylagh); see E.I., s.v. Yaila.
303
 SOUTHERN PERSIA AND 'IRAQ

these are enormous dogs, with chains on their necks, and

trained to eat human beings. When anyone is brought to be
delivered to the dogs, he is set at liberty and without chains
60 in a wide plain; | those dogs are then loosed on him, so they
overtake him, tear him to pieces, and eat his flesh. But when
the dogs were loosed on the qadi Majd al-Din and reached
him, they fawned on him and wagged their tails before him
without attacking him in any way.
On being informed of this, the sultan went out from his
residence, bare-footed, prostrated himself at the qadi's feet,
kissing them, took him by the hand and placed upon him all
the garments that he was wearing. This is the highest mark of
distinction which a sultan can confer in their usage. When he
bestows his garments in this way upon some person, this
action constitutes an honour for the latter and for his sons
and his descendants, which they inherit generation after
generation so long as these garments last or any part of them,
the most honourable garment in this respect being the
trousers. When the sultan had bestowed his garments on the
61 qadi Majd al-Din, he took his hand, | led him into his resi-
dence, and commanded his wives to show him reverence and
profit by his blessing. The sultan also renounced the doctrine
of the Rafidis and sent rescripts to his territories to the effect
that their inhabitants should conform to the doctrine of the
followers of the Sunna and the Community. 113 He made a
magnificent gift to the qadi and sent him back to his country
with every mark of esteem and veneration. Among the gifts
which he made to him were one hundred of the villages of
Jamakan, which is a [valley like aj trench between two
mountains, twenty-four farsakhs in length and traversed by
a great river, with the villages ranged on both sides of it. 114
113 That Oljaitu did not in fact entirely renounce his Shl'ite sympathies is
proved by his coinage. Sunnism, although henceforth tolerated, was not
officially re-established until the accession of Abu Sa'id in 1316; Spuler,
Die Mongolen in Iran, 190-1.
114 The Ribat of Jam(a)kan is placed by Mustawfi (trans., 176) 5
farsakhs south of Kavar and 6 farsakhs north of Mimand, i.e., near the
modern Zanjlran. Ibn Battuta has apparently confused the name with that
of Slmkan, a district 6 farsakhs in length lying midway between Mimand
and Karzin drained by a right-bank affluent of the Sakkan (Mand) river, since
on his return journey in 1347 (vol. IV, p. 311, Arabic) he places Jamakan
between these two places: cf. Schwarz, III, 71-2. Mimand, to the east of
304
 SHAIKH MAJD AL-DlN

This is the finest place in the [region of] Shiraz, and among
its larger villages, which are equal in size to towns, is Maiman;
this belongs to the qadi of whom we have been speaking.115
One of the curious things about this place called Jamakan is
that the half of it which is contiguous with Shiraz—namely,
for the distance of twelve farsakhs—is exceedingly cold. The
snow falls there and the majority of the trees are walnuts.
But the other half, which | is contiguous to the land of Hunj 62
Ubal and the country of al-Lar, 116 on the way to Hurmuz, is
exceedingly hot, and there the majority of the trees are date
palms.
I had a second opportunity to meet the qadi Majd al-Din
at the time when I left India. I went to visit him from Hur-
muz, to gain the blessing of a meeting with him, in the year
48. 117 It is thirty-five days' journey from Hurmuz to Shiraz.
When I entered his chamber (though he had then become too
weak to walk) and saluted him, he recognized me, rose up to
welcome me, and embraced me. My hand happened to touch
his elbow, and [I felt] his skin clinging to the bone without
any flesh between them. He lodged me in the same madrasa
where he had lodged me the first time. I visited him one day
and found the king of Shiraz, the sultan Abu Ishaq (who will
be mentioned shortly), sitting in front of him, holding his
own ear in his hand. This is the height of good manners
amongst them, and all the people do so when they are seated
in presence of the king. I went | on another occasion to see him 63
in the madrasa, but found its gate closed. When I asked after
the reason for this, I was told that there had been a dispute
between the mother and the sister of the sultan over some
inheritance, and that he had referred it to the qadi Majd al-
Flruzabad, is Ibn Battuta's Maiman. His division of the valley into a hot
region and a cold region probably derives from the traditional division of
Fars into the Garmslr ('Hot Lands') and Sardslr ('Cold Lands'), originally a
south-north division, but later on distinguishing the coastal lowlands from
the interior highlands (see G. Le Strange, Lands of the Eastern Caliphate
(Cambridge, 1905), 249).
116 According to the Persian Guide to Shiraz (Bahman Karimi, Rahnumayi
Athar-i Tarlkh-i Shiraz (Tehran, 1327 Sh.), 55), the township of Mimand was
constituted by Tashi Khatun (below, p. 307, n. 121) a wa<7/-endowment for
the tomb-mosque called Shah Chiragh (below, p. 313, n. 135), and still is so.
116 See below, p. 405.
117 Began 13 April 1347. See vol. IV, p. 311 (Arabic) and the following note.
305
 SOUTHERN PERSIA AND 'IRAQ

Dm. So both of them came down to him in the madrasa,

pleaded their cases before him, and he gave judgment be-
tween them in accordance with the Divine Law. The people
of Shiraz do not call him 'the qadi', but speak of him only as
Mawldnd a'zam [that is 'Our most venerated master'] and
actually write the same in the documents of registration and
contracts in which his name has to be mentioned. The last
time that I saw him was in the month of Second Rabf in the
year 48. His lights gave illumination to me and his blessed
power has procured blessings for me, God profit us by him
and those like him!
Account of the Sultan of Shirdz. The sultan of Shiraz at the
6+ time of my entry j was the distinguished king Abu Ishaq, son
of Muhammad Shah Inju. 118 His father named him Abu
Ishaq after the shaikh Abu Ishaq al-Kazaruni119—God profit
us by him! He is one of the best of sultans, handsome in
figure and conduct and form, of generous character and good
moral qualities, humble in manner yet a man of power, with
an army numbering more than fifty thousand Turks and
Persians. His most favoured supporters are the people of
Isfahan; on the other hand, he places no trust in the people
of Shiraz, will not take them into his service, nor admit them
to intimacy, nor permit any man of them to carry arms,
because they are men of bravery and great courage, and
audacious against kings. Whosoever of them is found with a
weapon in his hand is punished. I myself once saw a man
being dragged by thejanddrs (that is the police troops) to the
hakim [chief of police], after they had tied his hands to his
neck. I asked what he had done, and was told that there had
65 been found | in his hand a bow during the night. So the sultan
118 This paragraph can only relate to Ibn Battuta's second visit to
Shiraz in July 1347. Abu Ishaq's grandfather Muhammad Shah (called
Takhtakh by Rashid al-Din, Letters, 168) was administrator for the Mongol
Ilkhans of the crown domains (inju in Mongol) in Fars, and hence called
Takhtakh Inju. His son Mahmud Shah Inju asserted his independence in
Shiraz in 1325, and was presumably the 'Sultan' of Shiraz in 1327. He was
executed in January 1336, and succeeded by his eldest son Mas'ud, who was
forced to surrender Shiraz to Pir Husain, grandson of Choban, in 1339/40. The
latter was driven out two years later by his nephew Malik Ashraf, and only
on Ashraf's withdrawal in 1342/3 did Abu Ishaq, the youngest son of Mah-
mud Shah, assume the royal title: see Spuler, Die Mongolen in Iran, 327-9;
Ta'rlkh-i Guzlda, ed. E. G. Browne (Leiden-London, 1910), 630, 637.
119 See below, p. 319.
306
 SULTAN ABU ISHAQ
of whom we are speaking has made a practice of holding down
the men of Shiraz and favouring the Isfahanis over them, be-
cause he is afraid that they may make an attempt on his life.
His father Muhammad Shah Inju was governor of Shiraz
on behalf of the king of al-'Iraq, and was a man of upright
conduct and beloved by the citizens. When he died, the
sultan Abu Sa'id appointed in his place the shaikh Husain,
the son of al-Juban, the chief of the amirs (an account of
him will be given later), and sent him with a large body of
troops. So he arrived at Shiraz, took possession of it, and
seized its revenues. Now Shiraz is one of the greatest cities
of the world in yield of revenue; al-Hajj Qiwam al-Din al-
Tamghaji, who was the intendant of revenues in it, 120 told me
that he had contracted to farm them for ten thousand silver
dinars a day, the value of which in the currency of the
Maghrib is two thousand five hundred gold dinars. When the
amir Husain, after staying in the city for some time, pre-
pared | to rejoin the king of al-'Iraq he arrested Abu Ishaq, 66
the son of Muhammad Shah Inju, together with his two
brothers Rukn al-Din and Mas'iid Bak and his mother Tash
Khatun, m intending to carry them off to al-'Iraq so that
they should be put to the question for their father's riches.
When, however, they reached the centre of the bazaar at
Shiraz, Tash Khatun unveiled her face (she had been wearing
a veil out of shame at being seen in such a condition, for it is
the custom of the Turkish women not to cover their faces)
and called on the men of Shiraz to come to their aid, saying,
Ts it thus, O men of Shiraz, that I am to be carried away
from amongst you, I who am so-and-so the wife of so-and-so?'
Thereupon one of the woodworkers, named Pahlawan122
120 Hajji Qiwam al-Din is a well-known figure, owing to his patronage of
the poet Ha.fi?. He was confidant (sometimes called vizier) of Abu Ishaq
Inju, and died in 1353 (Qasim Ghani, 145-6). Tamghachl, apparently the
ethnic of Tam.gha.ch (a term of political geography, probably identified at
this time with Eastern Turkestan), seems in this instance to mean 'Keeper
of the Seal' (tamghd). Mustawf I (trans., 114) gives the revenues from Shiraz
as 450,000 dinars, whereas those from Baghdad were about 800,000 (trans.,
43). For Husain b. Choban, see above, n. 118.
121 Properly Tashi Khatun, as in other sources and in the dedication of a
Qur'an as waqf at Shiraz, where she is called 'the supreme Khatun, queen
of the Sulaimam kingdom, Tashi Khatun' (Qasim Ghani, 77, n. i; see also
another version of this story in the Anonym of Iskander, Tehran, 1957, 162).
"2 For this title see vol. I, p. 249, n. 2.
D 307 T.O.I.B.-II
 SOUTHERN PERSIA AND 'lRAf,>

Mahmud (I saw him in the bazaar when I came to Shlraz),

rose up and said 'We shall not let you go out of our town, nor
accept any such thing.' The people supported him in his de-
claration, and the whole body of them rose up, came in with
e? their weapons, killed | many of the troops, seized the moneys
[which were being taken to al-'Iraq] and set free the woman
and her sons. The amir Husain and those with him fled, and
came before the sultan Abu Sa'id in a discomfited condition.
The sultan then gave him a powerful body of troops and com-
manded him to return to Shlraz and to take such measures
towards its inhabitants as he saw fit. When the news of this
reached its people, they realized that they were powerless to
resist him, so they sought out the qadi Majd al-Din and be-
sought him to prevent the effusion of blood on both sides and
that a reconciliation should be effected. He went out accord-
ingly to the amir Husain. The amir dismounted from his
horse for him and saluted him, and a peaceful agreement was
reached. The amir Husain encamped that day outside the
city, and on the following day its inhabitants went out to
68 welcome him in the most beautiful order; they decorated | the
city and lit a great number of candles, and the amir Husain
entered with great pomp and ceremony, and observed the
most generous conduct towards them.
Then, when the sultan Abu Sa'id died and his line was ex-
tinguished, and when every amir seized what was in his
hands, the amir Husain became afraid that the people [of
Shlraz] would make an attempt on his life and removed him-
self from them. The sultan Abu Ishaq made himself master of
it, as well as Isfahan and the land of Fars, this amounting to
[an area of] a month and a half's march. Having [thus] a
powerful military force at his disposal, his ambition incited
him to take possession of the neighbouring lands, and he
began with the nearest of them. This was the city of Yazd, a
fine, clean city with magnificent bazaars, perennial streams
and verdant trees, whose population are merchants of the
Shafi'ite rite. 123 So he laid siege to it and captured it, but the
amir Muzaffar Shah, son of the amir Muhammad Shah b.
123 Note that Ibn Battuta here describes Yazd (for which see Schwarz, I,
19-20; L. Lockhart, 58-64), although he nowhere mentions having visited
it at any time.
308
 SULTAX ABU ISHAQ

Muzaffar, shut himself up in a castle six miles from the city, a

forbidding fortress encompassed by sands. 124 When Abu
Ishaq went on to besiege him in it, the amir Muzaffar dis-
played a courage transcending the natural order of things and
such as has never been heard of. He would fall upon the camp
of the sultan Abu Ishaq | in the night, kill at will, burn the 69
bivouacs and encampments, and return to his fortress, yet
nothing could be done to get the upper hand of him. One
night he fell upon the sultan's enclosure, killed a number
there, seized ten of his pedigree horses, and returned to his
fortress. Thereupon the sultan commanded that on every
night five thousand horsemen should ride out and lay am-
bushes for him. They did so, and when he made a sortie as
usual with a hundred of his associates and fell upon the camp,
the men in ambush surrounded him and the [rest of the]
troops came up in successive parties, yet he fought them off
and got safely back to his castle, while none of his associates
were captured but one man. This man was brought to the
sultan Abu Ishaq, who put a robe of honour on him, and sent
by him a safe-conduct for Muzaffar, in order that he should
come to him. Muzaffar refused to do so, but there followed an
exchange of correspondence between them. For an affection
for him had grown up in the heart of the sultan Abu Ishaq
through witnessing his bold actions, and he said | 'I should 70
like to see him, and when I have seen him I shall withdraw
and leave him.' Accordingly the sultan took up a position
outside the castle while Muzaffar took up his stance in its
gateway and saluted him. The sultan then said to him
'Descend, on guarantee of safety,' but Muzaffar replied 'I
have made a vow to God that I should not come down to you
until you for your part enter my castle, and thereafter I shall
come out to you.' The sultan said to him 'I accept the condi-
tion/ and entered in with ten of his intimate companions.
124 On the Muzaffarids of Yazd see E.I., s.v. They were an Arab family
from Khurasan, the head of which at this time was Mubariz al-Dln Muham-
mad (1300-64), son of Muzaffar (d. 1314). Muhammad seized Yazd in 1318
and Kirman in 1340. The conflict between him and Abu Ishaq, and the
latter's unsuccessful siege of the castle of Maibud, is reported also in
Td'rikh-i Guzlda (645-6), but without date or mention of his son Muzaffar
Shah. Muhammad subsequently captured Shiraz (1353) and replaced the
Injuid family by his own; Abu Ishaq fled, but was captured and executed
in May 1356 (ibid., 674).
309
 SOUTHERN PERSIA AND 'IRAQ

When he reached the gate of the fortress, Muzaffar dis-

mounted, kissed his stirrup, and walking before him on foot
led him into his apartment, where the sultan partook of his
food. Muzaffar then went out with him on horseback to the
camp, and there the sultan bade him sit by his side, placed
his own robes on him, and made him a large present of money.
It was agreed between them that the khutba should be recited
in the name of Abu Ishaq125 and that the province should
belong to Muzaffar and his father, and the sultan returned to
his own country. |
71 The sultan Abu Ishaq had at one time conceived the ambi-
tion to build a vaulted palace like the Aywan Kisra,126 and
ordered the inhabitants of Shiraz to undertake the digging
of its foundations. They set to work on this, each corporation
of artisans rivalling every other, and carried their rivalry to
such lengths that they made baskets of leather to carry the
earth and covered them with lengths of embroidered silk.
They did the same with the panniers and sacks on the don-
keys, and some of them made mattocks127 of silver and lit
quantities of candles. When they were digging they would
put on their best garments and fasten silk aprons round their
waists, while the sultan would watch their work from a
balcony he had [there]. I saw this edifice, which had then
reached the height of about thirty cubits from the ground.
When its foundations were laid the inhabitants of the city
were freed from service on it, and labourers began to work on
it for wages. Several thousands of them were collected for
72 that purpose, | and I heard from the governor of the city that
the greater part of its revenues was spent on this building.
The officer charged with it was the amir Jalal al-DIn ibn
al-Falaki al-Tawrizi, one of the great [amirs], whose father
was a substitute for the vizier of the sultan Abu Sa'id,
named 'AH Shah Jilan. 128 This amir Jalal al-DIn al-Falaki had

125 I.e., that Aba Ishaq should be recognized as his suzerain.

ize Aywan Kisra ('The Hall of Chosroes') is the Perso-Arabic name of the
great Sasanid palace at Ctesiphon, the vaulted hall of which is still to be
seen a few miles below Baghdad.
127 One MS. reads 'a lantern' (fanus) for 'mattocks' (fu'us).
128 Al-Falaki is apparently an error for al-Quhaki; 'Izz al-DIn Qflhaki,
governor of Fars, was appointed substitute (na'ib) of Taj al-DIn 'All Shah
(see below, p. 345, n. 249) in 1312 (Spuler, Die Mongolen in Iran, 287, n. 4;
310
 BENEFACTIONS OF THE KING OF INDIA

a brother, a distinguished man named Hibat Allah and en-

titled Baha' al-Mulk; he joined the service of the king of
India at the same time as I did, and along with us came also
Sharaf al-Mulk Amir Bakht. The king of India gave robes of
honour to us all and appointed each one to a service appro-
priate for him, assigning to us a fixed stipend and a gift, as
we shall relate in due course.
This sultan Abu Ishaq wished to be compared to the king
of India just mentioned for his munificence and the magnitude
of his gifts, but 'How distant are the Pleiads from the clod!'
The largest j of Abu Ishaq's gifts that we heard tell of was n
that he gave the Shaikh-Zada al-Khurasam, 129 who had come
to him as an envoy from the king of Karat, seventy thousand
dinars, whereas the king of India never ceased to give many
times more than that to persons from Khurasan and else-
where in numbers beyond reckoning.
Anecdote. As one instance of the extraordinary dealings of
the king of India with the Khurasanians, there came to his
court one of the doctors of the law from Khurasan, of Harat
by family, but he lived in Khwarizm, called the amir
'Abdallah. The Khatun Turabek, wife of the amir Qutludu-
mur, the ruler of Khwarizm, 130 had sent him as bearer of a
gift to the king of India of whom we are speaking. The king
accepted the gift and gave in return one many times its
value, which he sent to her. But the envoy of hers whom we
have mentioned chose to remain at his court, and the king
enrolled him among his familiars. One day, he said | to this n
man, 'Go into the treasury and take out of it as much gold as
you are able to carry.' So he went to his house and came back
with thirteen bags; he then filled each one of these as full as it
would hold, tied each bag to one of his limbs (for he was a
powerful man), and rose up with them. When he got outside
the treasury, he fell and was unable to rise; whereupon the
sultan gave orders to weigh the amount that he had carried
346). Tawriz was the popular pronunciation for Tabriz; see Yule's Marco
Polo, I, 74-6.
129 Shaikh-zada is an Arabic-Persian formation, meaning 'son of the
Shaikh', adopted by or used of descendants of celebrated doctors. In his
account of the court of Delhi, Ibn Battuta mentions several other such
Shaikh-zadas.
130 For Qutludumur and his wife Turabak see vol. Ill, p. g (Arabic).
 SOUTHERN PERSIA AND 'IRAQ

out. It amounted to thirteen maunds, in the maunds of

Dihli, each one of which is twenty-five Egyptian rails. 131 The
king ordered him to take it all, and he took it and went off
with it.
A similar anecdote. On one occasion Amir Bakht, entitled
Sharaf al-Mulk al-Khura.sa.ni (the same man as was mentioned
previously), felt indisposed at the capital of the king of India.
The king came to visit him, and as he entered Amir Bakht
75 wished to get up, but the king swore that | he should not
come down from his kat (kat meaning a bed132). A seat, which
they call a milra 133 was placed for the sultan and he sat down
on it. He then called for gold and a balance and when they were
brought he commanded the sick man to sit on one of the
pans of the balance. Amir Bakht then said, 'O Master of the
World, had I known that you would do this, I should have
put on many clothes.' The sultan replied, Tut on now all the
clothes that you have.' So he put on his garments intended
for wear in cold weather, which were padded with cotton-
wool, and sat on the pan of the balance. The other pan was
filled with gold until it tipped down, when the king said
Take this and give it in alms for your recovery/ and left
him.
Another analogous anecdote. The jurist 'Abd al-'Aziz al-
Ardawili, who had studied the science of Tradition at Damas-
cus and made a profession of it, came to join his service, and
76 the king fixed his stipend | at a hundred silver dinars a day
(this being the equivalent to twenty-five gold dinars [of the
Maghrib]). This jurist came to his audience one day, and the
sultan asked him about a certain hadith. He reeled off so
many kadlths to him on that subject, that the sultan, de-
lighted with his powers of memory, swore to him by his own
head that he should not leave the audience hall until he (the
sultan) took what action towards him he thought proper.
The sultan then descended from his seat, kissed his feet, and
commanded a golden tray to be brought. This tray resembles
131 The Egyptian rail was of two standards, 450 grammes and 500
grammes; since the mann ('maund') of Delhi is evaluated at 15-284 kilo-
grammes, Ibn Battuta evidently implies the latter (see W. Hinz, Islamische
Masse und Gewichte (Leiden, 1955), 22, 29).
132 Urdu khat.
«<» Urdu Morha.
312
 SANCTUARIES AT SHIRAZ

a small bowl, and he ordered that a thousand gold dinars

should be put into it. rThe sultan then took this into his own
hand, poured the coins over him, and said. These are yours
and the tray as well.' On [another] occasion a man of Khura-
san known as Ibn al-Shaikh 'Abd al-Rahman al-Isfarayini, 134
whose father had settled in Baghdad, came to his court, and
the sultan gave him fifty thousand silver dinars, and quan-
tities of horses, slaves and robes of honour. We shall have
many stories to relate of this king when we describe the land
of India, and we have brought these in here only because, as
we have already mentioned, | the sultan Abu Ishaq wanted to ??
be likened to him in respect of his gifts—whereas, although
he was generous and of eminent merit, he could not be classed
with the king of India in generosity and open-handedness.
Account of some of the sanctuaries at Shiraz. One of these is
the mausoleum of Ahmad b. Musa, the brother of al-Rida
'AH b. Musa b. Ja'far b. Muhammad b. 'AH b. al-Husain b.
'AH b. Abi Talib (God be pleased with them); it is a sanctuary
highly venerated by the people of Shiraz, who visit it in
order to obtain blessing by him and make their petitions to
God by his virtue. Tash Khatun, the mother of the sultan
Abu Ishaq, built over it a large college and hospice, in which
food is supplied to all comers, and Qur'an-readers continually
recite the Qur'an over the tomb. 135 The Khatun makes a
practice of coming to this sanctuary on the eve of every |
Monday, and on that night the qadis, the doctors of the law, ?s
and sharifs assemble [there]. Shiraz is of all cities in the world
the one which most abounds in sharifs; I heard from trust-
worthy persons that the number of sharifs in it who are in
receipt of stipends is more than fourteen hundred, counting
both children and adults. Their Naqib is 'Adud al-Dm al-
Husaini. When these persons are assembled in this blessed
sanctuary, they 'seal' the Qur'an136 by reading from copies,
134 'The Shaikh 'Abd al-Rahman' converted the first of the Mongol
Ilkhans (Takudar, renamed Ahmad) to Islam, was sent by him on a mission
to Egypt to announce his conversion, but was detained in Damascus until his
death in 1285; Ibn al-'Imad, Shadharat al-Dhahab (Cairo, n.d.), V, 381.
«8 The tomb-mosque of Ahmad b. Musa, the brother of the eighth Imam
of the Shl'ites, was constructed by order of Tashi Khatun in 1343/4, and is
locally known as Shah Chiragh. The mosque was rebuilt in 1506 and later,
but the college or hospice no longer exists (Junaid Shirazi, 289-92).
"« See vol. I, p. 153, n. 318.
313
 SOUTHERN PERSIA AND 'IRAQ

and the readers recite [it] with beautiful modulations. Food,

fruit and sweetmeats are brought in, and when those present
have eaten, the homiletic preacher delivers a sermon. All this
takes place from after the midday prayer until the night
prayer, while the Khatun occupies an upper chamber with a
grilled window which overlooks [the nave of] the mosque. To
end with, kettledrums, fifes and trumpets are sounded at the
gate of the tomb, exactly as is done at the gates of kings.
Another of the sanctuaries of Shiraz is the mausoleum of
the imam and pole, the saint Abu 'Abdallah b. Khafif, who is
79 known by them | [simply] as 'the Shaikh'. 137 He is the para-
gon of the whole land of Fars, and his mausoleum is highly
venerated by them; they come to it morning and evening,
and rub their hands on it [for a blessing]. I myself saw the
qadi Majd al-Din come to it on visitation and kiss it. The
Khatun comes to this sanctuary on the eve of every Friday.
Over it [has been built] a hospice and a college, and the qadis
and doctors of the law assemble there and go through the
same ceremony as at the tomb of Ahmad b. Musa. I myself
was present at both places [on the occasion of these gather-
ings]. The tomb of the amir Muhammad Shah, father of the
sultan Abu Ishaq, is contiguous to this tomb.
The shaikh Abu 'Abdallah b. Khafif occupies a high rank
among the saints and is widely celebrated. It was he who
revealed the track of the mountain of Sarandib in the island
of Ceylon in the land of India.138 |
so A miracle of this shaikh. It is related that on one occasion
187 Aba 'Abdallah Muhammad b. Khafif, known as al-Shaikh al-Kdblr,
(d. 982 and buried in the main cemetery) was the founder of orthodox
Sufism in Shiraz; see Junaid ShirazI, 38-46, and the biography of the shaikh
by Abu'l-Hasan al-Dailami, Slrat-i Ibn al-Haflf as-§lrazl, ed. A. Schim-
mel (Ankara, 1955); also Arberry, Shiraz, 61-85.
188 For the track of Adam's Peak in Ceylon, see Selections, 258-9 (vol. IV,
179-82 Arabic). The story that follows is not found in any of the score or so
of surviving biographical notices of the saint (see the editor's Introduction
to the Sirat, cited in the preceding note) and apparently derives from the
traditional stories and legends of the sailors in the Persian Gulf. It is
possible, however, that the tradition of his visit or visits to Ceylon may
be founded on fact; but the Arabic epitaph found in Ceylon dated
A.H. 337=A.D. 949 of an unknown personage named Khalid b. Abu
Tha'laba (?) (E. Combe et al. (edd.) Repertoire chron. d'epigraphie arabe
(Cairo, 1931), III, no. 1435), although it contains sufi phraseology, cannot
be directly connected with him, except possibly through the name Abu
Tha'laba (cf. Sirat, 211).
314
 SHAIKH IBN KHAFIF

he set out for the mountain of Sarandib, accompanied by

about thirty poor brethren. They were assailed by hunger on
the way to the mountain, in an uninhabited locality, and lost
their bearings. They asked the shaikh to allow them to catch
one of the small elephants, which are exceedingly numerous
in that place and are transported thence to the capital of the
king of India. The shaikh forbade them, but their hunger got
the better of them; they disobeyed his instruction and, seiz-
ing a small elephant, they slaughtered it and ate its flesh. 139
The shaikh, however, refused to eat it. That night, as they
slept, the elephants gathered from every direction and came
upon them, and they went smelling each man and killing him
until they had made an end of them all. They smelled the
shaikh too, but offered no violence to him; one of them took
hold of him, wrapped its trunk round him, set him | on its BJ
back, and brought him to the place where there was some
habitation. When the people of the place saw him [thus],
they were astonished at it, and went out to meet him and
find out all about him. Then the elephant, as it came near
them, seized him with its trunk, and lifted him off its back
down to the ground in full view of them. These people then
came up to him, touched the fringes of his robe [for a blessing]
and took him to their king. [There] they made known the
story of his adventure—[all of] them being infidels—and he
stayed with them for some days. That place lies on a khawr
called 'Bamboo Khawr', khawr meaning 'river'. In the same
place there is a pearl fishery, 140 and it is recounted that the
shaikh, one day during his stay there, dived in the presence
of their king and came out with both hands closed. He said to
the king 'Choose what is in one of them.' The king chose
what was in his right hand, whereupon he passed over to him
what it contained. They were three stones of | ruby, un-»2
equalled [in quality], and they are still in the possession of
their kings, [set] in their crown and inherited by them in
succession.
I visited this island of Ceylon. Its people still remain in a
139 In spite of the celebrated dictum of Sa'dl (Gulistan, ed. J. Platts
(London, 1874), i, 3; see p. 318, n. 145 below): 'The sheep is clean but the
elephant is carrion', there appears to be no general agreement among
Muslims that elephant flesh is forbidden.
"o See vol. IV, p. 177 (Arabic).
315
 SOUTHERN PERSIA AND 'IRAQ

state of infidelity, yet they hold the poor brethren of the

Muslims in great respect, lodge them in their houses and give
them food, and these Muslims will be in their rooms amidst
their wives and children, contrary to [the practice of] all the
other infidels of India. For these never admit Muslims to their
intimacy, nor give them to eat or to drink out of their vessels,
although at the same time they neither act nor speak offen-
sively to them. We were compelled to have some of them cook
flesh for us, and they would bring it in their pots and sit at a
distance from us. They would bring banana leaves and put
rice on them—this is their regular food—and they would pour
over it kushdn, 1** which is a meat sauce, and go away; after
we had eaten of this, what we left over would be eaten by the
83 dogs and the birds. If | any small child who had not reached
the age of reason ate any of it, they would beat him and give
him cow dung to eat, this being, so they say, the purification
for that act.
Among the sanctuaries at Shiraz is the mausoleum of the
virtuous shaikh, the pole, Ruzbihan al-Baqli, one of the great
saints. 142 His tomb is in a congregational mosque, in which
[the Friday prayers and] the khutba are held. It is in the same
mosque that the qadi Majd al-Din mentioned above (God be
pleased with him) performs his prayers. In this mosque I
attended his lectures on the book of the Musnad of the Imam
Abu 'Abd Allah Muhammad b. Idris al-Shafi'i. 143 He stated
[his chain of authorities as follows] 'We received the tradition
on it from Wazlra, daughter of 'Omar b. al-Munajja, who
said: We received the tradition from Abu 'Abd Allah al-
Husain b. Abu Bakr b. al-Mubarak al-Zubaidi, who had it
from Abu'l-Hasan al-Makki b. Muhammad b. Mansiir b.
84 'Allan al-'Urdi who | had it from the qadi Abu Bakr Ahmad
b. al-Hasan al-Harashi, from Abu'l-'Abbas b. Ya'qub al-
Asamm, from al-Rabi' b. Sulaiman al-Muradi, from the
Imam Abu 'Abd 'Allah al-ShafiT. I attended also the lec-
141 See below, p. 376.
142 Ruzbihan b. Abu Nasr al-Baqli (whose name is variously corrupted in
the MSS.), 1128-1209, was of Dailamite origin; see Junaid Shlrazi, 243-7,
and L. Massignon 'La vie et les Oeuvres de Ruzbehan Baqll', in Studia
Orientalia loanni Pedersen dicata (Copenhagen, 1953), 236-49.
143 I.e. a collection of the Traditions of the Prophet cited by al-Shafi'i (see
vol. I, p. 43, n. 126) in his legal works, made by his pupil Abu Ja'far al-
Naysaburl. For the Mashdriq al-Anwar see above, p. 301, n. 101.
316
 SANCTUARIES AT SHIRAZ

tures of the qadi Majd al-Din in this same mosque on the

book Mashdriq al-Anwdr of the Imam Radi al-Din Abu'l-
Fada'il al-Hasan b. Muhammad b. al-Hasan al-Saghani, on
the authority of his hearing it from the shaikh Jalal al-Dm
Abu Hashim Muhammad b. Muhammad b. Ahmad al-
Hashiml al-Kufl, in his transmission of it from the imam
Nizam al-Din Mahmud b. Muhammad b. 'Omar al-Harawi
from the author of the book.
Another of the sanctuaries at Shiraz is the tomb of the
virtuous shaikh Zarkub, 144 over which [there is built] a hos-
pice for the provision of food. All of these sanctuaries are
inside the city, and so also are most of the graves of its in-
habitants. For if | the son or the wife of one of them dies, he 85
prepares a tomb for him [or her] in one of the chambers of his
house and buries him there. He furnishes the chamber with
reed mats and carpets, places a great number of candles at
the head and feet of the deceased, and makes a door from the
chamber towards the lane [outside the house] and an iron
grille. From this door there enter the Qur'an-readers, who
recite with beautiful modulations, and there are not in the
whole inhabited world any whose recitation of the Qur'an
is more beautifully modulated than the inhabitants of Shiraz.
The members of the household look after the tomb, cover it
with carpets, and light lamps over it, so that the deceased
person is, as it were, still present [with them]; and it was told
me that they prepare every day the deceased person's portion
of food and give it away in alms on his behalf.
Anecdote. I was passing one day through one of the bazaars
in the city of Shiraz when I saw there a mosque, substantially
built and handsomely carpeted. Inside it there were copies of
the Qur'an, placed in | silken bags laid upon a rostrum. On se
the northern side of the mosque was a cell with a grille opening
in the direction of the bazaar, and there [sat] an old man, of
handsome appearance and garments, with a Qur'an before
him, in which he was reading. I saluted him and sat down
facing him, and, after he had asked me where I came from
and I had replied to him, I questioned him on the subject of
144 'Izz al-Din Mawdfid b. Muhammad al-Dhahabi (d. 1265), an associate
of Shaikh Ahmad al-Rifa'I (see above, p. 273, n. 6) and of Shaikh Ruzbihan
al-Baqli; see Junaid Shirazi, 310-15.
317
 SOUTHERN PERSIA AND 'IRAQ

his mosque. He told me that it was he who had built it and

endowed it with the revenues from a number of properties,
for the maintenance of Qur'an-readers and others, and that
this cell in which I had sat down with him was the site of his
grave, if God should decree his death in that city. He then
lifted a carpet which was underneath him, and [there was]
the grave, covered over with planks of wood. He showed me
also a chest, which was at the other side of him, and said 'In
this chest is my shroud and the spices for my burial, and some
money that I earned by hiring myself to dig a well for a
8? saintly man, and when he paid me | this money I put it aside
to meet the expenses of my interment, and any of it left over
is to be distributed in alms.' I was astonished at what he told
me and made ready to withdraw, but he adjured me to stay
and served me with food in that place.
Among the sanctuaries outside Shiraz is the grave of the
pious shaikh known as al-Sa'di, who was the greatest poet of
his time in the Persian language and sometimes introduced
Arabic verses into his compositions. 145 It has [attached to it]
a hospice which he had built in that place, a fine building
with a beautiful garden inside it, close by the source of the
great river known as Rukn Abad. The shaikh had constructed
there some small cisterns in marble to wash clothes in.
People go out from the city to visit his tomb, and they eat
from his table, 146 wash their clothes in that river and return
ss home. | I did the same thing at his tomb—may God have
mercy upon him. In the neighbourhood of this hospice is
another hospice, with a madrasa adjoining it. These two are
built over the tomb of Shams al-Din al-Simnani,147 who was
an amir and faqih at the same time and was buried there by
his own testamentary indication.
148 The Persian poet Sa'di (Mushrif al-Din Muslih b. 'Abdallah al-Sa'di),
d. 1292, author of the famous 'Rose Garden' (Gulistari) and other poetical
works. The almost contemporary Junaid ShirazI, author of Shadd al-Izdr
(461-2) also exalts his eminence as a Sufi, endowed with 'miraculous graces'
(kardmdt), and mentions the hospice, which supplied food to "great and
small, birds and beasts'. The tomb has remained in existence, although
somewhat neglected until recently (Browne, A Year among the Persians,
307), but the adjoining buildings have disappeared; Arberry, Shiraz, 112-38.
146 I.e. eat food prepared and supplied at his hospice.
147 Muhammad b. al-Hasan b. 'Abd al-Karlm, formerly Grand Qadi of
Simnan (Letters of Rashld al-Dln, 27-9).
318
 JOURNEY TO KAZARUN

In the city of Shiraz, one of the principal faqihs is the

sharif Majid al-Din, a man of astonishing generosity. 148 He
often gives away everything that he possesses and the very
clothes that he is wearing, and puts on an [old] patched robe
that he has. The chief men of the city come to his house to
visit him, and then they find him in this condition and give
him [new] clothes. His pension from the sultan is fifty silver
dinars a day.
Then followed my departure from Shiraz with the object of
visiting the grave of the pious shaikh Abu Ishaq al-Kazaruni,
at Kazarun, which is at a distance of two days' journey from
Shiraz. 149 We encamped on the first day in the territory of
the Shul, who are a body of Persians living in the open
country150 and amongst whom there are a number of
devotees. |
A Grace of one of these [devotees]. One day I was in a certain 89
mosque in Shiraz, and had sat down to recite the Book of
God (High and Mighty is He) after the midday prayer. It
came into my mind that I should like to have a copy of the
Holy Book so that I might read from it. At the same moment
there entered a young man, who came up to me and said in a
powerful voice Take'; I raised my head towards him, and he
cast in my lap a copy of the Holy Book and left me. I recited
the whole Book that day and waited for him in order to re-
turn it to him, but he did not come back to me. Afterwards I
made enquiries about him and was told 'That was Buhlul the
Shull,' but I never saw him again.
We arrived in Kazarun in the evening of the second day
and went to the hospice of the shaikh Abu Ishaq (God
benefit us by him), where we passed that night. 151 It is their
148 Not identified.
149 Fifty-five miles (20 farsakhs) to the west of Shiraz; Schwarz, III,
196.
180 A tribe, probably of Kurdish origin, who were driven out of Luristan in
the twelfth century and occupied the region north and north-west of Shiraz,
as far south as Dasht-i Arzhan. The name is preserved in the village of
Shul, 33 miles north-north-west of Shiraz, and the district of Shulistan
(£.!.', s.v.Shulistan).
161 Abu Ishaq Ibrahlm b. Shahriyar al-Kazaruni (963-1035), a pupil of
Ibn al-Khafif (above, p. 314, n. 137), founded a missionary order whose
members played an active role from Anatolia to Southern India and China
(cf. vol. IV, pp. 89, 103, 279, Arabic). His tomb still exists in Kazarun. See
F. Meier, Die Vita des Scheich Abu Ishaq al-Kazarunl (Leipzig, 1948), Intro.
319
 SOUTHERN PERSIA AND 'IRAQ

custom to serve to every visitor, whoever he may be, hansa

made from flesh, wheat and ghee, 152 and eaten with thin
90 breadcakes; and they will not let any visitor to them j pro-
ceed on his journey without staying as their guest for three
days, and disclosing his wants to the shaikh who [resides] in
the hospice. 153 The shaikh tells these to the poor brethren
attached to the hospice (these exceed a hundred in number,
some of them married, others who are celibate, having re-
nounced the goods of this world), and they then 'seal' the
Qur'an, perform the dhikr, and pray on his behalf at the
tomb of the shaikh Abu Ishaq, when his want is satisfied by
God's goodwill.
This shaikh Abu Ishaq is highly venerated by the people
of India and China. Travellers on the Sea of China make a
practice when the wind turns against them and they fear
pirates, of making vows to Abu Ishaq, and each one of them
sets down in writing the obligation he has undertaken in his
vow. Then, when they come safely to land, the servitors of the
hospice go on board the ship, take the inventory, and exact
[the amount of] his vow from each person who has pledged
himself. 154 There is not a ship that comes from China or
91 from | India but has thousands of dinars in it [vowed to the
saint], and the agents on behalf of the intendant of the hos-
pice come to take delivery of that sum. There are some poor
brethren who come to beg alms of the shaikh; each of these
receives a written order for some amount, sealed with the
shaikh's device (this is engraved on a silver die, and they put
the die into red wax and apply it to the order so that the
mark of the stamp remains upon it), to this effect: 'Whoso
has in his possession [moneys dedicated under] a vow to the
152 Harlsa is a kind of gruel composed of pounded wheat or other cereals,
sometimes mixed with pounded meat. It was a dish especially associated
with the Sufis; al-Maqdisi, Descriptio Imperil Moslemici, 2nd ed. (Leiden,
1906), III, 44.
153 Another contemporary eye-witness reports that every morning about
a thousand persons, men and women, came to the 'table of the Shaikh', and
each received from the servitors at the convent a bowl with harlsa, oil,
and bread; Vita, Intro., 69.
164 On the role of Abu Ishaq as the protector of travellers by sea, cf. Vita,
Intro., 69-71, where there is quoted also the text of a document from the
superior of the mother-convent delivered to a member of the order, authoriz-
ing the payment to him of sums from the vows and other alms due to the
saint.
320
 AL-ZAIDANI AND AL-HUWAIZA'

Shaikh Abu Ishaq, let him give thereof to so-and-so so much,'

the order being for a thousand or a hundred [dirhams], or
some intermediate or smaller sum, according to the standing
of the poor brother concerned. Then, when the mendicant
finds someone who has in his possession anything under vow,
he takes from him and writes for him a receipt for the amount
on the back of the order. The king of India once vowed ten
thousand dinars to the Shaikh Abu Ishaq, and when the
news of this reached | the poor brethren of the hospice, one 92
of them came to India, took delivery of the money, and went
back with it to the hospice.
We travelled next from Kazarun to the city of al-Zaida.ni
[i.e. the two Zaids], which is called by this name because it
contains the grave of Zaid b. Thabit and the grave of Zaid b.
Arqam, both of them of the Ansar, and Companions of the
Apostle of God (God's blessing and peace upon him). 155 It is a
beautiful town, with abundant fruit-gardens and streams,
fine bazaars, and exquisite mosques. Its people are of upright
conduct, trustworthy, and strict in religious observance. To
this town belonged the qadi Nur al-DIn al-Zaidani; he had
migrated to join the people of India, and was appointed as
qadi in that country in the Maldive Islands. These are a large
number of islands, the king of which was Jalal al-Din Salih,
and he married this king's sister. An account of the king will
be given later, and of his daughter Khadija, 156 who was
invested with the kingdom in these islands after him, and
it was there that the abovementioned qadi | Nur al-Dm93
died.
We travelled on from there to al-Huwaiza', a small town
inhabited by Persians, four nights' journey from al-Basra,
155 Zaidan is described as a village between Arrajan (now Behbehan) and
Dawraq (now Fellahiya), one day's march from the latter and less than three
days' from Arrajan (Schwarz, IV, 384-5). It would seem therefore to have
been on or near the Jarrahi river, to the north of Bandar Ma'shur, and near
Ibn Battuta's route from the latter to Ramiz (p. 283 above). The Arabic
dual form is apparently an error on his part, the ending -an being probably
an instance of the usage (mentioned by Yaqut, Mu'jam al-Bulddn, s.v.
al-Basra) of adding -an to the name of the person after whom a place is
named. In any case, Zaid b. Thabit died in al-Madina in 665 (al-Harawi, 94;
trans., 213), and Zaid b. Arqam died in al-Kufa in 683 (Ibn Sa'd, Kitdb
al-Tabaqat al-Kablv (Leiden, 1909), VI, 10).
is6 vol. IV, pp. no ff. (Arabic); see Selections, 241 ff.
321
 SOUTHERN PERSIA AND 'IRAQ

and five nights' from al-Kufa. 157 To this town belongs the
pious shaikh and devotee Jamal al-DIn al-Huwaiza'I, shaikh
of the Sa'id al-Su'ada convent in Cairo. 158 Then we travelled
on, making for al-Kufa, through a wilderness in which there
is no water except at a single place called al-Tarfawi. 159 We
reached this place on the third day of our journey, then after the
second day of our arrival at it we came to the city of al-Kufa. 16°
The city of al-Kufa. She is one of the metropolitan cities of
al-'Iraq, distinguished among them by superior prerogative;
the place of abode of Companions and followers, habitation
of scholars and saints, and capital city of 'Ali b. Abi Talib,
94 Commander of the Faithful. 161 But | desolation has gained the
mastery over her, by reason of the hands of violence which
have been extended towards her, and her disordered state is
due to the beduins of Khafaja who live in the vicinity, for
they rob on her highway. 162 The town is unwalled and its
buildings are of brick; its bazaars are pleasant, dried dates
and fish being the chief commodities sold in them, and its
principal mosque is a great and noble cathedral mosque with
seven naves163 supported by thick pillars of dressed stones,
157 Al-Huwaiza* or al-Hawiza lies in a marshy plain seventy miles north
of Muhammara (Khurramshahr), described by Mustawf! (trans., 108) as a
famous hunting-grojmd and a centre of the Mandaeans. The vizier Rashid
al-DIn in his Letters (179) refers to the success of his efforts to restore the
prosperity of al-Hawiza, which had become 'the lair of lions and haunt of
highwaymen*, by settling Lurs, Kurds and Arabs on its lands, some twenty
years before this time.
158 Already mentioned in vol. I, p. 58.
159 Ibn Battuta must have crossed the Tigris at some point between
Huwaiza' and al-Kufa. 'Through a wilderness' suggests a route westward to
some point on the old course of the Tigris. The waterpoint of al-Tarfawi
cannot now be identified.
IBO Al-Kufa, a few miles north of Najaf, was founded by the Arabs in 638,
after their conquest of al-'Iraq from the Sasanid Persians, as one of their
two garrison-cities, the other being al-Basra. For the surviving traces of the
mediaeval city, see L. Massignon, 'Explication du Plan de Kufa,' in Melanges
Maspero (Cairo, 1935), III, 337-60.
161 The fourth Caliph, nephew and son-in-law of the Prophet, who trans-
ferred the capital of the Arab empire to al-Kufa in 656. This paragraph
reproduces with little change the description of al-Kufa by Ibn Jubair
211-12; trans. Broadhurst, 219-21).
162 See above, p. 271, n. 2.
168 Ibn Jubair says more precisely 'five naves on the southern (qibla) side
and two on the other sides'. The architecture of this mosque (rebuilt in
670) is discussed by K. A. C. Creswell, Early Muslim Architecture (Oxford,
1932), I, 36-7.
322
 AL-KUFA

which were prepared in sections, set one on top of the other

and the interstices filled with molten lead, and of immense
height. In this mosque there are [a number of] sacred relics.
One of them is a chamber alongside the mihrab, on the right
as one faces the qibla; it is said that [Abraham] al-Khalil
(God's blessing upon him) had in that spot a place of prayer.
Close by it is a mihrab [in a space] enclosed by bars made of
teak and raised [above the level of the floor]; this is the
mihrab of 'AH b. Abi Talib (God be pleased with him). It was
in this spot that he was cut down by the accursed Ibn Mul-
jam, 164 and the people made a point of praying | in it. 165 95
In the corner, at the [western] end of this colonnade, is a
small mosque, also enclosed by bars of teak; this is said to be
the spot at which the furnace boiled up166 at the time of
Noah's (peace be upon him) flood. Behind it, outside the
mosque, is a chamber that they assert to be the house of
Noah (peace be upon him), and in line with it [another]
chamber that they assert to be the cell of Idris (peace be
upon him). 167 Adjoining this is an open space, extending
along the southern wall of the mosque, which is said to be the
place of building of the ark of Noah (peace be upon him);
and at the far end of this space is the house of 'AH b. Abi
Talib (God be pleased with him) and the chamber in which
he was washed [after his death]. Adjoining this is a chamber,
and this also is said to be the house of Noah168 (peace be upon
him); but God knows best what truth there is in all of this.
On the eastern side of the mosque there is a chamber,
raised above the ground and feached by steps, in which is the
grave of Muslim b. 'Aqil b. Abi Talib169 (God be pleased with
him), and in its vicinity, outside the mosque, | the grave of 96
164 One of the sectaries called Kharijites, who avenged the massacre of a
large body of the sectaries by 'All's army at al-Nahrawan in 658 by striking
'All with a sword in this mosque in 660.
165 Ibn Jubair adds 'weeping and supplicating'.
lee A quotation from Qur'an, xi, 40; xiii, 27, reflecting a Talmudic inter-
pretation of the biblical 'fountains of the deep' as pouring out boiling water
from a furnace or cauldron.
167 Commonly identified in Muslim tradition with the biblical Enoch; see
E.I., s.v.
188 Ibn Jubair says 'of the daughter of Noah'.
199 Muslim b. 'Aqil, a nephew of 'AH, was sent as the agent of his cousin
al-Husain to Kufa in 680, and was there seized and executed; see E.I., s.v.
E 323 T.O.I.B.-H
 SOUTHERN PERSIA AND 'IRAQ

'Atika and Sukaina, the daughters of Husain170 (peace be

upon him). As for the governor's castle at al-Kufa, which was
built by Sa'd b. Abi Waqqas171 (God be pleased with him),
nothing is left of it but the foundations. The Euphrates is at a
distance of half a farsakh from al-Kufa, to the east of the
town, and is bordered by groves of date palms, crowded to-
gether and each adjoining the other. To the west of the ceme-
tery of al-Kufa I saw a spot that was of dense blackness in a
white plain; I was told that it is the grave of the accursed
Ibn Muljam, and that the people of al-Kufa come every year
with loads of firewood and light a fire over the site of his grave
for seven days. In its vicinity is a dome which, I was told, is
over the grave of al-Mukhtar b. Abi 'Obaid. 172
We then resumed our journey and halted [for the night] at
Bi'r Mallaha, a pretty town in the midst of palm-groves. 173 I
encamped outside it, and would not enter the place, because
its inhabitants are Rafidis. We went on from there next
97 morning and alighted in the city of al-Hilla, which is | a
large town, situated perpendicularly along the Euphrates,
which is on the east side of it. 174 It has fine markets, stocked
with both natural produce and manufactured goods, and a
large number of habitations and palm groves encompassing
it both inside and out, the houses of the town lying among
the groves. It has also a great bridge fastened upon a con-
tinuous row of boats ranged from bank to bank, the boats
being held in place both fore and aft by iron chains attached
on either bank to a huge wooden beam made fast ashore.
The inhabitants of this city are all of them Imamis
[Shi'ites] of the Twelver' sect, and are divided into two
factions, one known as 'the Kurds' and the other as 'men of
170 For Sukaina, see vol. I, p. 142, n. 282; E.I., s.v. No mention of her
sister 'Atika has been found in any of the historical sources.
171 See vol. I, p. 255, n. 38; E.I., s.v.
172 The leader of a popular Shi'ite rising in Kufa in 685, killed in battle
with the forces of Ibn al-Zubair (see vol. I, p. 179, n. 85; see also £./., s.v.).
173 Literally 'Saline Well', the reputed site of the tomb of Ezekiel, iden-
tified by the Muslims with the Qur'anic prophet Dhu'1-Kifl (cf. al-Harawi,
76; trans., 174) and now called Kifl.
174 Al-Hilla (The Settlement') was founded by the Shi'ite Arab shaikh
Sadaqa b. Mazyad in 1102, as the capital of a minor Arab principality in
Lower 'Iraq. Thanks to its bridge, it became an important station on the
route from Baghdad to the Hijaz.
324
 AL-HILLA

the Two Mosques'. Factional strife between them is never

interrupted, and fighting is always going on Near the prin-
cipal bazaar in this town there is a mosque, over the door of
which a silk curtain is suspended. They call this 'the Sanctuary
of the Master of | the Age'. 175 It is one of their customs that 9»
every evening a hundred of the townsmen come out, carrying
arms and with drawn swords in their hands, and go to the
governor of the city after the afternoon prayer; they receive
from him a horse or mule, saddled and bridled, and [with this
they go in procession] beating drums and playing fifes and
trumpets in front of this animal. Fifty of them march ahead
of it and the same number behind it, while others walk to
right and left, and so they come to the Sanctuary of the
Master of the Age. Then they stand at the door and say 'In
the name of God, O Master of the Age, in the name of God
come forth! Corruption is abroad and tyranny is rife! This is
the hour for thy advent, that by thee God may divide the
true from the False.' They continue to call in this way,
sounding the trumpets and drums and fifes, until the hour of
the sunset prayer; for they assert that Muhammad b. al-
Hasan | al-'Askari entered this mosque and disappeared from 99
sight in it, and that he will emerge from it since he is, in their
view, the 'Expected Imam'.
The city of al-Hilla was [later] seized, after the death of the
Sultan Abu Sa'id, by the amir Ahmad b. Rumaitha, son of
Abu Numayy, the amir of Mecca. 176 He ruled it for several
years and made a good governor, praised by the people of
al-'Iraq; but eventually the shaikh Hasan, the sultan of al-
'Iraq, defeated him, tortured him, put him to death, and
seized all the wealth and treasures which were in his
possession.
We travelled from there to the city of al-Karbala', the

175 A Shi'ite term for the Twelfth or 'Expected' Imam, Muhammad, son
of the eleventh Imam (d. 873); see £./., s.v. Ka'im al-Zaman. (For the other
sanctuary of the Expected Imam at Samarra, see below, p. 346.) The fol-
lowing invocation to him is based on Qur'anic themes (suras xxx. 41, and v.
25; reading fayafruqa iorfaya'rifa in the printed text).
176 Ahmad b. Rumaitha had been appointed amir of the Arabs in al-'Iraq
by Sultan Aba Sa'id about 1330, with his seat at al-Hilla. In 1336 he de-
clared his independence and seized al-Kufa, but was defeated and killed by
Shaikh Hasan in 1339; see al-'Azzawi, II, 35-6.
325
 SOUTHERN PERSIA AXD 'IRAQ

sanctuary of al-Husain b. 'All (peace be upon both). 177 It is a

small town, surrounded by palm groves and watered from
the Euphrates. The sanctified tomb [of al-Husain] is inside
the town, and beside it is a large college and a noble hospice,
in which food is supplied to all wayfarers. 178 At the gate of
the Mausoleum stand chamberlains and guardians, without
whose leave no person may enter. [The visitor] kisses the
august threshold, which is of silver. Over | the sanctified tomb
there are [hanging] lamps of gold and silver, and upon its
doors there are silken curtains. The inhabitants of this town
[also] are divided in two factions, the 'sons of Rakhiq' and
the 'sons of Fayiz', 179 and fighting goes on interminably
between them; yet they are all Imamis and trace their
descent from one ancestor, and in consequence of their dis-
orders this city has fallen into ruins. We travelled on from
there to Baghdad.
The City of Baghdad, city of the Abode of Peace and
capital of al-Islam, of illustrious rank and supreme pre-
eminence, abode of Caliphs and residence of scholars. Abu'l-
Hasan Ibn Jubair (God be pleased with him) has said: 180
'And this illustrious city, although she still remains the
capital of the 'Abbasid Caliphate, and centre of allegiance to
the Imams of Quraish, yet her outward lineaments have de-
parted and nothing remains of her but the name. By com-
parison with her former state, before the assault of mis-
fortunes upon her and the fixing of the eyes | of calamities in
her direction, she is as the vanishing trace of an encampment
or the image of the departing dream-visitant. There is no
beauty in her that arrests the eye, or summons the busy
passer-by to forget his business and to gaze—except the
Tigris, which lies between her eastern and western [quarters]
like a mirror set off between two panels, or a necklace ranged
between two breasts; she goes down to drink of it and never
177 The site of the battle in 680 in which al-Husain was killed by the
troops of al-Kufa; see vol. I, p. 46, n. 140.
178 On the mosque of al-Karbala' see E.I., s.v. Mashhad Husain.
179 No other reference to these factions, nor to the factions at al-Hilla, has
been traced.
180 Ibn Jubair visited Baghdad in 1184, during the Caliphate of al-Nasir
(1180-1225). The city itself, however, was not destroyed on its capture by
the Mongols in 1258, and, as noted below, Ibn Battuta's account is drawn
largely from that of Ibn Jubair.
326
 BAGHDAD

suffers thirst, and views herself by it in a polished mirror that

never suffers rust; and between her air and her water feminine
beauty is brought to its flowering.'
Ibn Juzayy remarks: One would imagine that Abu Tam-
mam Habib b. Aws181 had witnessed with his own eyes what
befell her in the end, when he said of her:
Over Baghdad is stationed death's loud herald—
Weep for her, then, weep for time's rapine there!
Erstwhile, upon her stream by war imperilled,
When in her streets its flames were briefly bated, |
Men hoped her happy fortunes reinstated.
Now all their hopes have turned to dull despair!
Since she, from youth to eldritch age declined,
Has lost the beauty that once charmed mankind.
Many persons have composed verses in her praise and have
celebrated her charms at length, and finding the subject to
admit of spacious discourse have enlarged on it profusely and
in pleasing fashion. Of her said the imam and qadi Abu
Muhammad 'Abd al-Wahhab b. 'All b. Nasr al-Maliki al-
Baghdadi182 [in verses] which my father (God's mercy on
him) recited to me many times:
The fragrance of the Baghdad breeze
Bids my fond heart by her to stay,
Though contraried by fate's decrees;
Then how shall I depart today,
When both delights commingle there—
The airy and the debonair?
Concerning her also he says (God have mercy on him and be
pleased with him): |
Salute Baghdad in every habitation,
And due from me is doubled salutation.
No, not in hate, I swear, did I depart,
For both her shores are graven on my heart.
181 Abu Tammam, celebrated Syrian-Arab poet (d. 846), especially noted
for his ponderous and involved style. In the fourth line, I read blnan for
husnan.
isz He emigrated to Egypt towards the end of his life and died there in
1031; al-Khatib al-Baghdadi, Ta'rlkhBaghdad (Cairo, 1931). XI. 31-2.
327
 SOUTHERN PERSIA AND 'IRAQ

She cramped me sore for all her spaciousness,

And fortune never granted me redress,
Like one beloved whom I would fain draw nigh
While she, evasive, willed the contrary.
And of her he says again, angrily repudiating her [in verses]
which my father (God's mercy on him) recited to me many a
time:
Baghdad for men of wealth has an ever-open door
But short and narrow shrift is all she gives the poor.
The livelong day I roamed through all her lanes and lands,
As lorn as the Qur'an in a free-thinker's hands.
Concerning her the qadi Abu'l-Hasan 'AH b. al-Nabih183 says,
in the course of an ode: |
104 Over 'Iraq from afar a fulgent rnoon she descried,
On through the darkness she pressed into a noonday's glare.
Sweetly around her the breeze the scents of Baghdad diffused,
But for her journey's fatigue she could have flown in that air!
Gardens she called to her mind amid the pastures of Karkh,
Streams ever limpid, and verdant glades that are never sere,
Flowers from the hills of Muhawwal she plucked, and at the Taj
Saw from its portals a splendour of sunlight flare.
The following verses were composed by a woman of Baghdad
in recollection of the city:
O for Baghdad, and O for its 'Iraq!
For its gazelles with witchery in their eyes,
For where beside the stream they swaying walk
With faces that like crescent moons arise
Above the blackness with their necklets starred,
As if their gently-nurtured qualities
Had stirred the passion of the 'Udhrite bard ! 184 1
105 Such beauties might I with my soul redeem
That shine for all time in her sunlit gleam!
183 Ibn al-Nabih (d. 1222) was a secretary (not qadi) in the Ayyubid
chancery (C. Brockelmann, Geschichte der ardbischen Litteratur (Weimar,
1898), I, 261-2). The verses quoted describe a journey on his she-camel.
Karkh was the main sector of west Baghdad and al-Muhawwal a village on
its western outskirts; the Taj was the great palace of the Caliphs on the
east bank.
184 Reading khuliqa for khuluqu. For the love-poetry called 'Udhrite see
vol. I, p. 253, n. 23.
328
 BATH-HOUSES IN BAGHDAD

(Resumes). There are two bridges at Baghdad, made fast in

the same manner as we have mentioned in describing the
bridge of the city of al-Hilla. 185 The population are con-
tinually crossing them, night and day, men and women; in-
deed they find in this unending pleasure. 186 Of mosques in
Baghdad in which the khutba is pronounced and the Friday
services are held there are eleven, eight of them on the west
bank and three on the east bank. As for the other mosques,
they are very numerous, and so too are the colleges, although
these have fallen into ruin. The bath-houses in Baghdad
[also] are numerous; they are among the most sumptuous of
baths, and the majority of them are painted and plastered
with pitch, so that it appears to the spectator to be black
marble. This pitch is brought from a spring between al-Kufa
and al-Basra, from which it flows continuously and gathers
at its sides | like black clay; it is shovelled up from there and *°t
transported to Baghdad. 187 In each of these bath-houses
there are a large number of cubicles, each one of them floored
with pitch and having the lower half of its wall [also] coated
with it, and the upper half coated with a gleaming white
gypsum plaster; the two opposites are thus brought together
in contrasting beauty. Inside each cubicle is a marble basin
fitted with two pipes, one flowing with hot water and the
other with cold water. A person goes into one of the cubicles
by himself, nobody else sharing it with him unless he so de-
sires. In the corner of each cubicle is another basin for
washing in, and this also has two pipes with hot and cold
[water]. Every one on entering is given three towels; one of
them he ties round his waist on going into [the cubicle], the
second he ties round his waist on coming out, and with the
third he dries the water | from his body. I have never seen 107
185 See above, p. 324. The two bridges at this time were the old bridge at
the northern end of the Tuesday Market (Suq al-Thalatha') and one from
the vicinity of the former Taj palace to the suburb of Qurayya.
186 The phrase is taken from Ibn Jubair, who, however, uses it of the
continual crossing of the river by ferry.
187 The two preceding sentences also are taken, slightly abbreviated, from
Ibn Jubair, but the details that follow are independent. The site of the
spring of pitch 'between al-Kufa and al-Basra' is not denned in any known
source, and it seems more probably that the bitumen was obtained from the
well-known seepages at Hit (on the Euphrates) or al-Qayyara (on the
Tigris; see below, p. 347).
329
 BAGHDAD
in the fourteenth century 1 Mosque of Al-Mansiir
2 Ma'ruf al-Karkhi
3 Al-Junaid
4 .Al-Kaztwain
5 Xbu 3ianifa
6 Kusflfa mosque
7 $u(tan's mosque
B 'Adudi Hospital
9 3fizamil/a ca((^e
CO 10 Mustansinya college
CO
o tfARBIYA 11 Palaces of the Caliphs
12 C
Ol
13 Al-Jilani
BAB AL-BASRA 14 X
15 Sudan's (pr Mu'azzam) gate
16 Khurasan Gate
17 >falba (mte
18 Kalwftdha or Eastern gate
19 £at* of the Taj
20 OM Tow6 of IbnHanbal
 BAGHDAD: WEST BANK
such an elaboration as all this in any city other than Baghdad,
although some [other] places approach it in this respect.
Account of the Western side of Baghdad. 166 The western side
of the city was the one first built, but is now for the most part
in ruins. In spite of that, there still remain of it thirteen
quarters, each quarter like a city in itself, with two or three
bath-houses, and in eight of them there are cathedral
mosques. One of these quarters is that [called] Bab al-Basra
[i.e. Basra Gate] ;189 it contains the mosque of the Caliph Abu
Ja'far al-Mansur (God's mercy on him). The Maristan [Hos-
pital] lies between the quarter of Bab al-Basra and the quar-
ter of al-Shari', on the Tigris; it is a vast edifice in ruins, of
which only the vestiges remain. 190 On this western side there
are several sanctuaries: the tomb of Ma'ruf al-Karkhi (God
be pleased with him),191 in the quarter of Bab | al-Basra; on 108
the road to Bab al-Basra a superbly constructed mausoleum
inside of which is a tomb with a broad sepulchral stone
carrying the inscription 'This is the grave of 'Awn, a son of
'AH b. Abi Talib' ;192 on this side also the tomb of Musa al-
Kazim b. Ja'far al-Sadiq, the father of 'AH b. Musa al-Rida,
and beside it the tomb of al-Jawad—both of these tombs are
IBS This paragraph is based on Ibn Jubair also, but revised in view of the
changes resulting from the Mongol conquest in 1258. It was on the western
bank that al-Mansur built his new capital, the famous 'Round City' of
Baghdad, in 756. Its site lay between Bab al-Basra and Harbiya, but the
only surviving monument of it at this time was the Great Mosque of al-
Mansur. See K. A. C. Creswell, A Short Account of Early Muslim Architec­
ture (London, 1958), 163-82. Also Fig. 2, no. i.
189 So called because it was the suburb outside the southern or Basra
Gate of the Round City.
190 The Hospital was built by the Buwaihid prince 'Adud al-Dawla in 979
on the site of the site of the former Khuld ('Paradise') palace of the early
'Abbasid Caliphs, and was still in operation at the time of Ibn Jubair; see
G. Le Strange, Baghdad during the Abbasid Caliphate (Oxford, 1900), 103-5.
Also Fig. 2, no. 8.
m A celebrated sufi, d. 816, and venerated as one of the protectors of the
city. The tomb is still a prominent landmark on the west bank; see Fig. 2,
no. 2.
192 Ibn Sa'd (III, 12) mentions 'Awn among the sons of 'AH, but he is
otherwise unknown (Ibn Jubair mentions another son, Mu'In, along with
'Awn, but no other reference to him has been found), and al-Harawi does
not mention the tomb. Le Strange (Baghdad, 352) conjectures that it may-
be the monument now called the tomb of the Lady Zubaida (wife of the
caliph Harun al-Rashid; see vol. I, p. 243, n. 215), who was buried in al-
Kagimain.
 SOUTHERN PERSIA AND 'IRAQ
inside the sepulchral chamber and surmounted by a platform
veneered with wood which is covered with plaques of
silver.198
Account of the Eastern side of Baghdad. 19* This eastern part
of Baghdad has magnificent bazaars and is splendidly laid
out. The largest of its bazaars is one called the Tuesday
bazaar, in which each craft [occupies a section] by itself. 195
In the centre of this bazaar is the wonderful Nizamiya
College, the splendour of which is commemorated in a number
of proverbial phrases, and at the end of it is the Mustan-
siriya College, named after the Commander of the Faithful |
109 al-Mustansir bi'llah Abu Ja'far, son of the Commander of the
Faithful al-Zahir, son of the Commander of the Faithful
al-Nasir. 196 All four schools are included in it, each school
having a [separate] iwdn,'191 with its own mosque and lecture
room. The teacher takes his place under a small wooden
canopy, on a chair covered with rugs; he sits [on this] in a
grave and quiet attitude, wearing robes of black and his
[black] turban, and with two assistants on his right and left,
who repeat everything that he dictates. This same system is
followed in every formal lecture of all four sections. Inside
this college there is a bath-house for the students and a
chamber for ablutions.
On this eastern side there are three mosques in which the
193 MusJL b. Ja'far (d. 799) and his grandson Muhammad b. 'All b. Musa
al-Jawad (d. 835), the seventh and ninth Imams of the Shi'ites, from whose
sanctuary the Shl'ite suburb of al-Ka?imain ('the two Ka^ims') took its
name; see Fig. 2, no. 4.
194 The eastern city grew up originally around the suburb of Rusafa, but fell
into ruin from the effects of war and floods. In 1095 the caliph al-Musta?hir
enclosed the suburbs surrounding the Caliphs' palaces with a new wall, and
the area so enclosed survived the Mongol conquest and remained for many
centuries the main 'city' of Baghdad.
198 The Tuesday Market (Suq al-Thalathd') ran parallel to the river be-
tween the quarter of the Caliphs' palaces and the main bridge.
196 The Niijamiya College, founded by Ni^am al-Mulk, vizier of the Seljuk
sultans Alp Arslan and Malikshah, in 1065, was the most famous of Islamic
colleges in the Middle Ages; see E.I., s.v. Madrasa, and Fig. 2, no. 9. It was
originally a Shafi'ite college exclusively. The Mustansiriya was built by the
caliph al-Mustansir in 1234, and the building (recently restored) still stands
(Fig. 2, no. 10). The inclusion of all four Sunni schools in this college was an
innovation.
197 1wan (from Persian llwan] means a vaulted hall at the end or side of a
central court.
332
 BAGHDAD: EAST BANK
Friday prayers are held. One is the Caliphs' mosque, which is
adjacent to the palaces and residences of the Caliphs. 198 It is
a large cathedral mosque, containing fountains and many
lavatories for ablutions and baths. | I met in this mosque the
shaikh, the learned and pious imam, the doyen of tradi-
tionists in al-'Iraq, Siraj al-Din Abu Hafs 'Omar b. 'Ali b.
'Omar al-Qazwini,199 and attended his lectures in it on the
entire Musnad of Abu Muhammad 'Abdallah b. 'Abd al-
Rahman b. al-Fadl b. Bahrain al-Dariml, 200 this being in the
month of Rajab the Solitary in the year 727. 201 He said: 'We
were instructed in it by the pious woman shaikh and tradi-
tionist Sitt al-Muluk Fatima, daughter of the notary Taj al-
Din Abu'l-Hasan 'AH b. 'AH b. Abu'1-Badr, who said: We
were instructed by the shaikh Abu Bakr Muhammad b.
Mas'ud b. Bahruz al-Tayyib al-MaristanI, who said: We were
instructed by Abu'1-Waqt 'Abd al-Awwal b, Shu'aib al-
Sinjari al-Sufi, who said: We were instructed by the imam
Abu'l-Hasan 'Abd | al-Rahman b. Muhammad b. al-
Muzaffar al-Da'iidi, who said: We were instructed by Abu
Muhammad 'Abdallah b. Ahmad b. Hamawaih al-Sarakhsi,
who had it from Abu 'Imran 'Isa b. 'Omar b. al-'Abbas al-
Samarqandi, from Abu Muhammad 'Abdallah b. 'Abd al-
Rahman b. al-Fadl al-Darim!'.
The second cathedral mosque is the Sultan's mosque,
which is situated outside the town,202 and in proximity to it
are palaces designated as the Sultan's. The third cathedral
mosque is that of al-Rusaia, which is about a mile from the
Sultan's mosque. 203
198 The palaces of the Caliphs occupied a large area, enclosed by its own
wall, on the bank of the river, roughly in the centre of the space enclosed by
the wall of al-Musta?hir; see Le Strange, Baghdad, 263 fi. Also Fig. 2, nos.
II, 12.
199 A celebrated teacher of Tradition, d. 1349; Durar, III, 180.
200 The Musnad (or Sunan) of al-Darimi (d. 869) is a highly reputed collec-
tion of Prophetic Tradition, although not included in the six 'canonical'
collections.
201 23 May-2i June 1327. See above, p. 297 and n. 86.
202 In the former Mukharrim quarter, to the north of al-Mustaifhir's wall
(Fig. 2, no. 7). The palaces of the sultans were situated between this and the
river.
208 Al-Rusafa was the suburb built around the palace of al-Mahdl, the
third 'Abbasid caliph (775-85), on the left bank, opposite the Round City
of his father al-MansQr; see Le Strange, Baghdad, 187-98. Also Fig. 2, no. 6.
333
 SOUTHERN PERSIA AND 'IRAQ

Account of the Tombs of the Caliphs at Baghdad and of the

Tombs of Scholars and Devotees which it contains. The tombs
of the 'Abbasid caliphs (God be pleased with them) are in al-
Rusafa, and over each of these tombs is the name of its
occupant. 204 Among them are the graves of al-Mahdi, of al-
iiaHadi, of al-Amin, | of al-Mu'tasim, of al-Wathiq, of al-
Mutawakkil, of al-Muntasir, of al-Musta'm, of al-Mu'tazz, of
al-Muhtadi, of al-Mu'tamid, of al-Mu'tadid, of al-Muktafl, of
al-Muqtadir, of al-Qahir, of al-Radi, of al-Muttaqi, of al-
Mustakfi, of al-Mutf, of al-Ta'i', of al-Qa'im, of al-Qadir,
of al-Mustazhir, of al-Mustarshid, of al-Rashid, of al-
Muqtafi, of al-Mustanjid, of al-Mustadi, of al-Nasir,. of al-
Zahir, of al-Mustansir, and of al-Musta'sim—who was the
last of them. It was from him that the Tatars captured
Baghdad by the sword; they slaughtered him some days after
their occupation, and [even] the name of the 'Abbasid Cali-
phate ceased to be associated with Baghdad. This was in the
year 654. 206
In the vicinity of al-Rusafa is the grave of the Imam Abu
Hamfa (God be pleased with him). 206 Over it there is a great
dome, and a hospice at which food is served to all comers. In
"3 the city of Baghdad today there is no hospice | in which food
is supplied except this hospice—Magnified be he who brings
destruction and change to all things. 207 Near it is the grave of
the Imam Abu 'Abdallah Ahmad b. Hanbal (God be pleased
with him). 208 There is no dome over it, and it is said that a
dome was built over his grave on several occasions, but it was
then destroyed by the decree of God Most High. His grave is
204 This list of tombs of all the 'Abbasid caliphs in roughly chronological
order from 775 to 1258 (omitting only Harun al-Rashid, al-Ma'mun and
al-Qa'im's successor al-Muqtadi) is highly suspect. al-Harawi's list, com-
piled about 1200, mentions only the tombs of ten caliphs (down to al-
Mustanjid) at al-Rusafa, and of four on the west bank (73-4; trans., 163-4;
cf. also Le Strange, Baghdad, 194, note).
205 The correct date is 656 = 1258.
206 The tomb-mosque still exists in the suburb called (in honour of him)
al-Mu'a??am (Fig. 2, no. 5). Abu Hanifa (d. 767) was the eponymous founder
of the 'Iraqi school of law, called after him the Hanafi school; see E.I.Z, s.v.
207 I.e. 'Marvel at this change in human affairs'.
208 The founder of the Hanbali school of law, d. 855. The original tomb,
on the west bank (Fig. 2, no. 20) was washed away by floods, and the site
was transported at some unknown date to the east bank; see al-Harawi,
trans., 164, n. 8.
334
 THE SULTAN OF AL-'lRAQ

held in great veneration by the inhabitants of Baghdad, most

of whom follow his school. Near it is the grave of Abu Bakr
al-Shibli, one of the imams in the practice of Sufism (God's
mercy on him), 209 and the graves of Sari al-Saqati, Bishr al-
Hafi, Da'ud al-Ta'i, and Abu'l-Qasim al-Junaid (God be
pleased with them all). 210 The people in Baghdad have one
day in each week for the visitation of one of these shaikhs,
and a day following it for another shaikh, and so on until the
end of the week. In Baghdad there are [also] many graves of
devotees and scholars (God Most High be pleased | with them). "4
In this eastern part of Baghdad there are no fruits, but all
fruit is transported to it from the western part, because it is
there that the gardens and groves are.
My arrival at Baghdad coincided with the presence in it of
the king of al-'Iraq, so let us speak of him here.
Account of the Sultan of the Two 'Iraqs and of Khurasan,
namely the illustrious sultan Abu Sa'id Bahadur Khan
(Khan in their language meaning 'king'),211 son of the illus-
trious sultan Muhammad Khudabandah—he was the one of
the [line of] kings of the Tatars who was converted to Islam. 212
His name is differently pronounced; some say Khudha-
bandah, with dh, but as to bandah there is no dispute. The
interpretation of the name according to the latter pronun-
ciation is 'Abdallah [i.e. slave of God], because Khudhd in
209 Died 946/7; his tomb is still preserved in al-Mu'azzam; see al-Harawi,
74; trans., 165.
210 All four of these tombs were situated on the west bank, and still are
(see Fig. 2, no. 3), except that of Bishr al-Hafi, which has been transferred
to the east bank. Bishr (d. 841), Sari (d. 871), and al-Junaid (d. 910) are all
celebrated saints of the sfifi school of Baghdad; Da'ud al-Ta'I (d. 781) was
the link between them and the early school of ascetics (see the chain of
authorities on p. 297 above), but is believed to have died in al-Kufa.
211 Abu Sa'id (b. c. 1304, reigned 1316-35) was, as explained below, the
last of the direct line of Mongol Khans of Persia and al-'Iraq, descended
from Chingiz Khan. Bahadur is a Mongol word (bagatur) meaning 'brave,
hero', and was assumed as a title by Abfl Sa'id in 1319 after breaking a
revolt of several amirs.
212 Khudabandah's proper name was Oljaitu-Buqa (meaning 'Good
Augury' in Mongol), but according to Hafiz-i Abru (trans., p. 4) this was
later changed to Timur and then to Kharbandah, following a Mongol
custom of changing a child's name to protect him against the evil eye.
Oljaitu was born in 1282, and succeeded his brother Ghazan Khan in 1304.
He was not, however, the first of the Ilkhans to adopt Islam, since both
Ahmad Takudar (1282-4) and Ghazan (1295-1304) were Muslims.
335
 SOUTHERN PERSIA AND 'IRAQ

»5 Persian | is the name of God (High and Mighty is He) and

bandah is 'servant' or 'slave' or words to that effect. It is said
also that it is really Kharbandah, khar in Persian meaning
'ass', so that his name according to this means 'servant of the
ass'. What a world of difference there is between these two
statements! But yet it is this latter name that is the best
known, and the former was the name to which he changed it
out of religious zeal. It is said that the reason why he was
called by this latter name is that the Tatars name a new-born
child after the first person to enter the house after its birth;
when this sultan was born the first person to enter was a mule-
driver, whom they call kharbandah, so he was given this
name. Kharbandah's brother in turn [was called] Qazghan,
which the people pronounce Qazan. Qazghan means a
cooking pot, and the story goes that he was given this name
because, when he was born, a slave girl entered carrying a
cooking pot. 213
"6 It was this Khudhabandah who | embraced Islam—we
have previously related the story of this, and how he at-
tempted to compel the people to adopt the Rafidi doctrine
after his conversion, and the story of his relations with the
qadi Majd al-Dm. 214 When he died, there succeeded to the
kingdom his son Abu Sa'id Bahadur Khan. He was an excel-
lent and a generous king. He became king while of tender age,
and when I saw him in Baghdad he was still a youth, the most
beautiful of God's creatures in features, and without any
growth on his cheeks. His vizier at that time was the amir
Ghiyath al-DIn Muhammad, son of Khwaja Rashid;215 his
father was one of the emigrant Jews, and had been appointed
vizier by the sultan Muhammad Khudhabandah, the father
of Abu Sa'id. I saw both [the sultan and his vizier] one day
on the Tigris in a launch (which they call shabbdra, and is like
213 Qazghan or qazghan is Turkish for 'cauldron', and colloquially pro-
nounced qazan (or with a Persian accent ghazdn), but in contemporary
sources the two names are clearly distinguished.
214 See above, p. 302.
215 According to Hafi?-i Abru (who calls him a man of rare distinction,
learning, and knowledge of affairs) Ghiyath al-DIn was not appointed to the
vizierate until after the death of Dimashq Khwaja (on 24 August 1327). His
father Fadl Allah Rashid al-Dm (b. 1247, executed 1318) is deservedly
famous both as an administrator and as a historian. Ghiyath al-Din was
himself executed in 1336 along with Aba Sa'id's successor Arpa Khan.
336
 DIMASHQ KHWAJA

a sallura) ;216 in front of him was Dimashq Khwaja, son of the

amir al-Juban who held the mastery over Abu Sa'id, and to
right and left of him were two shabbaras, carrying musicians
and dancers. 11 was witness to one of his acts of generosity on «
the same day; he was accosted by a company of blind men,
who complained to him of their miserable state, and he
ordered each one of them to be given a garment, a slave to
lead him, and a regular allowance for his maintenance.
When the sultan Abu Sa'id succeeded, being a young boy,
as we have mentioned, the chief of the amirs, al-Juban,
gained control over him217 and deprived him of all powers of
administration, so that nothing of sovereignty remained in
his hands but the name. It is related that on the occasion of
one of the festivals Abu Sa'id needed ready money to meet
some expenses, but having no means of procuring it he sent
for one of the merchants, who gave him what money he
wished. Things went on in this way until one day his father's
wife Dunya Khatun218 came into his chamber and said to
him: 'If we were men, we should not let al-Juban and his son
continue to behave in this way.' He asked her what she
meant by these words, and she said to him: | 'The conduct of "
Dimashq Khwaja, the son of al-Juban, has reached the point
of dishonouring your father's wives. Last night he passed the
night with Tugha Khatun, and he has sent to me saying
"Tonight, I shall pass the night with you". 219 The only thing
to be done is to assemble the amirs and troops, and then
when he goes up to the citadel incognito to spend the night
there, you can seize him. As for his father, God will suffice to
deal with him.' Al-Juban was at that time absent in Khur-
216 A shabbara is a kind of barge with an elevated cabin, used by princes
and notables; see H. Kindermann, 'Schiff' in Arabischen (Zwickau, 1934).
s.v., and for the sallura, ibid., 41.
217 Choban, of the Sulduz tribe of Mongols, was the grandson of Turan-
noyon, one of Hulagu's generals. He was married successively to the two
daughters of Oljaitu Khudabandah, Dawlandl, mother of his son Jalu
Khan (see below, p. 328), and after her death to Sati Beg, mother of
Surghan (killed in 1346). He was thus the brother-in-law of Abu Sa'id, as
well as commander-in-chief of the armed forces.
218 Daughter of the Artukid (Turkish) prince of Mardln, al-Malik al-
Mansflr Najm al-Din Ghazi; see below, p. 353.
219 This appears to be a popular elaboration of an intrigue between Dimashq
Khwaja and Qonqotai, a favourite concubine of Oljaitu Khan; see Hafiz-i
AbrQ, (trans., 97), and cf. Spuler, Die Mongolen in Iran, 124.
337
 SOUTHERN PERSIA AND 'IRAQ

asan. 220 The affront to his honour roused Abu Sa'id to anger;
he spent the night laying plans for action, and when he learned
that Dimashq Khwaja was in the citadel he commanded the
amirs and the troops to encircle it on every side. The next
morning Dimashq came out, accompanied by a soldier called
al-Hajj al-Misri, and found a chain stretched across the gate
of the citadel and fastened with a lock, so that he could not
go out on horseback. Al-Hajj al-Misri struck the chain with
his sword, and after he had cut it through they came out to-
"9gether, only to be surrounded | by the troops. One of the
amirs of the private guard,221 named Misr Khwaja, and a
eunuch named Lu'lu' attacked Dimashq Khwaja and killed
him; they brought his head to the king Abu Sa'id and threw
it before his horse's feet, for this is what they customarily do
with the heads of their chief enemies. The sultan gave orders
to pillage his house and to kill all those of his attendants and
mamluks who put up a fight.
The news of this reached al-Juban while he was in
Khurasan. With him were his sons, Amir Hasan, who was the
eldest, Talish and Jalu Khan, who was the youngest—he was
the son of the sister of the sultan Abu Sa'id, his mother Sati
Beg being the daughter of the sultan Khudhabandah222—and
also the regiments and garrison troops of the Tatars. They
agreed together to fight against the sultan Abu Sa'id and
marched towards him, but when the two armies met the
Tatars deserted to their sultan and left al-Juban without
120 support. When | he saw this he turned in his tracks, fled to
the desert of Sijistan, and took refuge in its depths. He de-
cided to join the king of Harat, Ghiyath al-Din, in order to
gain his protection and find security in his city, since he had
put the latter in his debt by previous good services. His two
sons Hasan and Talish disagreed with him over this plan,
arguing that Ghiyath al-Din was not a man of his word,
since he had betrayed Firuz Shah after he fled to him for

220 Choban was in command of an expedition against the troops of the

Chagatay-Khan Tarmashirm (see vol. Ill, pp. 31 ff., Arabic), who had
invaded Khurasan. The following account of the death of Dimashq
Khwajah and the fate of his father Choban is substantially confirmed by
the contemporary Persian sources.
221 Ibn Battuta here uses the Egyptian term khdssikiya; see vol. I, p. 30.
222 There is a slight error here; see above, n. 217.
338
 REVOLT OF AL-JUBAN

refuge, and had put him to death. 223 But al-Juban would not
hear of anything but joining Ghiyath al-Dm, so his two sons
separated from him, and he went on, accompanied by his
youngest son, Jalu Khan. Ghiyath al-Din came out to wel-
come him, dismounted before him, and brought him into the
city on guarantee of safety; but a few days later treacherously
killed him and his son with him, and sent their heads to the
sultan Abu Sa'id. As for Hasan and Talish, they proceeded to
Khwarizm and made their way to the sultan Muhammad
Uzbak;224 he received them hospitably and took them under
his protection, until certain actions | of theirs made it neces-
sary to kill them and he put them to death. Al-Juban had a
fourth son, whose name was al-Dumurtash; he fled to Egypt,
where al-Malik al-Nasir received him honourably and offered
him [the governorship of] Alexandria, but he refused to
accept it, saying 'All that I want is troops to fight Abu Sa'id
with'. 225 He was [the kind of man that] when al-Malik al-
Nasir sent a robe to him, he gave the person who brought it
to him a more handsome robe, out of despite for al-Malik
al-Nasir, and he behaved in a manner which made it neces-
sary to kill him, so al-Malik al-Nasir put him to death and
sent his head to Abu Sa'id. We have already related in a
previous narrative the story about him and about Qara-
sunqur. When al-Juban was killed, his corpse and that of his
son were brought [to Mecca] and taken to the 'Standing' at
'Arafat [during the Pilgrimage]; they were then carried to
al-Madma to be buried in the mausoleum which al-Juban had
made for himself near the mosque of the Apostle of God (God
bless and give him peace). But this was prevented, and he

223 Ghiyath al-Dln Kurt, prince of Herat, succeeded his father Fakhr al-
Din Kurt in 1310 and died 1328/9. As shown by the parallel sources, Ibn
Battuta has confused both the Kurt prince and his victim. The Oirat
Nawruz, son of Arghun, governor of Khurasan (d. 1278), was appointed
commander-in-chief by Ghazan Khan in 1295; he befriended Fakhr al-Dln
Kurt and had him appointed prince of Herat, but when Nawruz himself fell
out with Ghazan Khan in 1297 and fled to Herat, Fakhr al-Dm was com-
pelled to surrender him. See Hafiz-i AbrQ, tr. K. Bayani, 104-5.
224 See below, pp. 482 sqq.
225 Timurtash b. Choban had been appointed governor of Anatolia in
1316. He declared himself independent in 1321 and extended his domains
into south-western Anatolia. For his flight to Egypt after the death of
Choban and execution there, see vol. I, p. 109, n. 158.
F 339 T.O.I.B.-I1
 SOUTHERN PERSIA AND 'IRAQ

was buried in the Baqf , 226 It was al-Juban who had the
water brought to Mecca (God Most High ennoble her). 227
122 When the sultan Abu j Sa'id had become sole master in the
kingdom he decided to marry al-Juban's daughter; she was
named Baghdad Khatun and was one of the most beautiful
of women. She was married to the Shaikh Hasan, the same
who became master of the kingdom after the death of Abu
Sa'id, he being the son of the sultan's paternal aunt. 228 On
the sultan's order he divorced her, and Abu Sa'id married her
and she became the most favoured of his wives. 229 Among the
Turks and the Tatars their wives enjoy a very high position;
indeed, when they issue an order they say in it 'By command
of the Sultan and the Khatims'. Each khatun possesses
several towns and districts and vast revenues, and when she
travels with the sultan she has her own separate camp. This
khatun gained an ascendancy over Abu Sa'id, and he pre-
ferred her to all the other [wives]. She continued to enjoy this
position for [almost] the whole period of his life; but he sub-
sequently married a woman called Dilshad, 230 whom he loved
with a violent passion, and neglected Baghdad Khatun. |
123 She became jealous in consequence, and administered poison
to him in a kerchief, with which she wiped him after conjugal
relations. So he died, and his line became extinct, and his
amirs seized the provinces for themselves, as we shall relate.
When the amirs learned that it was Baghdad Khatun who
had poisoned him they resolved to kill her. The Greek slave
Khwaja Lu'lu', who was one of the principal and senior
226 According to Durar, I, 542 (where the personal character of Choban is
highly praised), this was done on the orders of the Sultan of Egypt, al-
Malik al-Nasir. For Baqi' al-Gharqad see vol. I, p. 179.
227 Choban had in 1325 restored the old conduit of Zubaida (see vol. I,
p. 243, n. 215) which had been allowed to fall into disrepair, with the result
that good water became abundant and cheap in Mecca during the Pilgri-
mage, and plentiful enough to grow vegetables in the city (Chroniken der
StadtMekka, ed. F. Wustenfeld (Leipzig, 1859), II, 428-9; IV, 248).
228 See below, p. 341.
229 According to Durar, I, 480, Choban had prevented Abu Sa'id from
marrying Baghdad Khatun. After her marriage with Abu Sa'id, she used to
ride in a magnificent cortege of Khatuns {cf. below, pp. 343-4) and to wear
a sword round her waist.
280 Dilshad was the daughter of Dimashq Khwaja. and during the reign
of her subsequent husband Shaikh Hasan enjoyed undisputed authority;
Durar, II, 101-2.
340
 DEATH OF ABU SA'lD

amirs, took the initiative in this; he came to her while she

was in the bath-house and beat her to death with his club.
Her body lay there for some days, with only her pudenda
covered with a piece of sacking. The Shaikh Hasan became
independent in the kingdom of 'Iraq al-'Arab, and married
Dilshad, the wife of the sultan Abu Sa'id, exactly as Abu
Sa'id had done in marrying his wife.
Account of those who seized power over the kingdom after the
death of the sultan Abu Sa'id. Among those was the Shaikh
Hasan, the son of his paternal aunt, 231 whom we have just
mentioned; he seized j the whole of 'Iraq al-'Arab. The others
were: Ibrahim Shah, son of the amir Sunaita,232 who seized
al-Mawsil and Diyar Bakr; the amir Artana, 233 who seized
the territories of the Turkmens, known also as the land of the
Rum; Hasan Khwaja b. al-Dumurtash b. al-Juban, 234 who
seized Tabriz, al-Sultaniya, Hamadan, Qumm, Qashan, al-
Rayy, Waramin, Farghan, 235 and al-Karaj; the amir Tug-
haitumur, 236 who seized part of the territories of Khurasan;
the amir Husain, 237 son of amir Ghiyath al-Din, who seized
Herat and the greater part of the territories of Khurasan;
Malik Dinar, 238 who seized the lands of Makran and Kij;
881 Called Shaikh Hasan the Greater (or the Elder), of the Jala'ir tribe of
Mongols, governor of Anatolia in the latter part of Abu Sa'Id's reign,
occupied Tabriz in 1336; after losing this to Hasan b. Timurtash (see below,
n. 234), he occupied Baghdad in 1339 and maintained his rule in al-'Iraq
until his death in 1356. Ibn Battuta omits the brief reign of Arpa Khan,
and other descendants of Hulagu or of Chingiz Khan who were fleetingly
recognized as Sultans. For the confused history of this period, see Spuler,
Die Mongolen in Iran, 127-37.
232 Ibrahim Shah, son of Sutay (see above, p. 289, n. 62), is recorded as
having occupied Mosul in 1342/3; Durar, II, 221.
838 See below, p. 435.
234 Known as Shaikh Hasan the Lesser; he had remained in Anatolia after
his father's flight (see above, p. 339, n. 225), revolted against Shaikh Hasan
al-Jala'iri in 1338, proclaimed Abu Sa'id's sister Sati Beg sultan, and
occupied the provinces mentioned until murdered by his wife in 1343.
235 This is probably Farahan (mentioned by Mustawfi, trans., 73, along
with Karaj), a valley 50-60 miles south-east of Hamadan. Karaj was the
upper part of the same valley; see Le Strange, Lands, 197-9.
286 Tughay-Timur, a descendant of Chingiz Khan's brother, set up as
independent prince in Khurasan in 1336, after the death of Arpa Khan;
killed in warfare with the Serbedars (see vol. Ill, p. 64, Arabic), in 1351/2.
287 Husain b. Ghiyath al-Din Kurt, reigned 1331/2-1369/70: see above,
p. 339, n. 223; Spuler, Die Mongolen in Iran, 155-61.
238 Probably Ghiyath al-Din Dinar, of a local noble house in Makran, re-
lated by marriage to the princes of Hormuz (see J. Aubin,' Les Princes d'Ormuz
341
 SOUTHERN PERSIA AND 'IRAQ

Muhammad Shah b. Muzaffar, who seized Yazd, Kirman, and

Warqu;239 the king Qutb al-Dfn Tamahtan, who seized
125 Hurmuz, Kish, al-Qatif, | al-Bahrain and Qalhat; the sultan
Abu Ishaq (whom we have mentioned previously), who
seized Shiraz, Isfahan, and the kingdom of Fars, this [ex-
tending over] a space of forty-five days' journey; the sultan
Afrasiyab Atabek, who seized Idhaj and other territories,
and whom we have mentioned previously. 240
Let us return now to the matter that we were dealing with.
I left Baghdad after this in the mahalla of the sultan Abu
Sa'id,241 on purpose to see the ceremonial observed by the
king of al-'Iraq in his journeying and encamping, and the
manner of his transportation and travel. It is their custom to
set out with the rising of the dawn and to encamp in the late
forenoon. Their ceremonial [on setting out] is as follows:
each of the amirs comes up with his troops, his drums and
his standards, and halts in a position that has been assigned
to him, not a step further, either on the right wing or the
left wing. When they have all taken up their positions and
126 their ranks are set in perfect order, | the king mounts, and
the drums, trumpets and fifes are sounded for the departure.
Each of the amirs advances, salutes the king, and returns to
his place; then the chamberlains and the marshals move for-
ward ahead of the king, and are followed by the musicians.
These number about a hundred men, wearing handsome
robes, and behind them comes the sultan's cavalcade. Ahead
of the musicians there are ten horsemen, with ten drums
carried on slings round their necks, and five [other] horsemen

du XIII«au XV«siecle' in J A (Paris, 1953) 102, 138, Table I). Kij (or Kiz),
which is always associated with Makran in the mediaeval texts, is the Kej
(Kech) valley in the middle course of the Dasht river, now in Baluchistan.
It was five days' journey (about 160 miles) east of the chief port of Makran
at Tiz, 8 miles north of Chahbar; see T. H. Holdich, 'Notes on Ancient and
Mediaeval Makran,' in GJ (London, 1896), VII, 387-405 and map.
239 WarqQ was a local pronunciation of Abarquh (Abarquya), 80 miles
south-west of Yazd, on the main route to Shiraz; Schwarz, I, 17-18.
240 For Muhammad Shah b. Muzaffar, see above, p. 309, n. 124; for Qutb
al-Din Tahamtan, below, p. 401; for Abu Ishaq, above, p. 306; and for
Afrasiyab, above, p. 288.
241 The mahalla was the mobile camp of the Mongol khans; cf. below,
p. 482. According to Hafiz-i Abru (trans,, 96), Abu Sa'ld left Baghdad 'in
the spring' of this year, i.e. most probably in May.
342
 THE SULTAN'S MAHALLA
carrying five reed-pipes, 242 which are called in our country
ghaitas. They make music with these drums and pipes and
then stop, and ten of the musicians sing their piece; when they
finish it those drums and pipes play [again], and when they
stop, ten others sing their piece, and so on until ten pieces are
completed, whereupon the encampment takes place. On the
sultan's right and left during his march are the great amirs,
who number about fifty, and j behind him are the standard- "7
bearers, drums, fifes and trumpets, then the sultan's mam-
luks, and after them the amirs according to their ranks. Each
amir has his own standards, drums and trumpets. The or-
ganization of all this is supervised by the amir jandar,243 who
has a large corps [under his command]. The punishment of
anyone who lags behind his unit and his corps is that his
boots are taken off, filled with sand, and hung round his neck.
He walks on his bare feet until finally, on reaching the en-
campment, he is brought before the amir [jandar], thrown
face downwards on the ground, and beaten with twenty-five
lashes on his back; whether he be of high degree or low degree,
they except no one from this [punishment].
When they encamp, the sultan and his mamluks occupy a
camp by themselves, and each of his khatuns occupies a
separate camp of her own, each | of them also having her own ™*
imam, muezzins, Qur'an-readers, and bazaar. The viziers,
secretaries and officials [of the finance department] 244 en-
camp separately, and each amir also has his own camp. They
all present themselves for duty after the afternoon prayer,
and are dismissed after the last evening prayer, [returning
to their camps] with torches carried before them. When the
hour of departure comes, the great drum is beaten, 245 fol-
242 Arabic surnaydt. The surndy is not a flute (nay) but a reed-pipe or
oboe, with a wooden tube. For the varieties of this instrument, including
the Moroccan ghaita, see H. G. Farmer, Turkish Instruments of Music in the
Seventeenth Century (Glasgow, 1937), 23-6.
243 Jandar (Persian ='arms-bearer') was the term for ushers at the court,
who acted also as a bodyguard and as executioners. Amir jandar (spelled
jandar by Ibn Ba^tuta) may thus be loosely translated 'chief of the body-
guard'.
244 AM al-ashghdl, literally 'employees', is apparently used here in the
Moroccan sense of ashghal as 'fiscal administration'; see Dozy, s.v. shughl.
845 The 'great drum' (called in Mongol hurga) was one of the royal
insignia: see Yule's Marco Polo. I, 339 f.; H. G. Farmer in E.I.. Supplement,
s.v. Tabl Khana.
343
 SOUTHERN PERSIA AND 'IRAQ

lowed by the beating in succession of the drums of the chief

khatun, who is the queen, then of the other khatuns, then of
the vizier, then of those of the amirs all at once. Then the
amir of the advance guard rides off with his troops, followed
by the khatuns, then the sultan's baggage and baggage-
animals and the baggage of the khatuns, then another amir
with a troop under his command to prevent persons from in-
truding in between the baggage and the khatuns, and finally
the rest of the army.
I travelled in this mahalla for ten days, and thereafter
accompanied the amir 'Ala al-Din Muhammad, one of the
tag great and distinguished amirs, to the town of Tabriz. 246 | We
arrived at the city of Tabriz after ten days' journey, and en-
camped outside it in a place called al-Sham. 247 At that place
is the grave of Qazan, king of al-'Iraq, and alongside it a fine
madrasa and a hospice in which food is supplied to all way-
farers, consisting of bread, meat, rice cooked in ghee, and
sweetmeats. The amir arranged for my lodging in this hos-
pice, which is situated among rushing streams and leafy trees.
On the following morning I entered the city by a gate called
the Baghdad Gate, and we came to an immense bazaar called
the Qazan bazaar, one of the finest bazaars I have seen the
world over. 248 Each trade has its own location in it, separate
from every other. I passed through the jewellers' bazaar, and
my eyes were dazzled by the varieties of precious stones that
I saw; they were [displayed] in the hands of beautiful slave-
130 boys, wearing rich robes | and their waists girt with sashes of
246 'Ala al-Din was later in this year appointed joint-vizier, and subse-
quently controller of finances. Abu Sa'ld was on his way to Sultanlya (the
new capital built by Oljaitu, 65 miles west of Qazwin and 190 miles south-
west of Tabriz), about 400 miles from Baghdad by Hamadan. The point at
which Ibn Battuta left the mahalla would then be somewhere in the vicinity
of Hamadan (280 miles from Baghdad).
247 Sham was a new suburb built by Ghazan Khan outside the second
wall of the city, called in Persian histories Ghazamya, and by Rashid
al-Din (Letters, 207) Sham-i Ghazan. Ghazan's tomb is described by Mustawfi
(see the next note) as constructed of 'lofty edifices such as are not to be seen
in the whole land of Iran'; see also A. U. Pope (ed.), A Survey of Persian Art
(London, 1939), II, 1045-6.
248 Tabriz was at this time at the height of its prosperity as the entrepdt
between Europe and the Mongol empire. The contemporary Persian
geographer Mustawfi (trans., 78-83) elaborates on its size, magnificence,
products, and wealth, but does not mention a 'Baghdad Gate' in his list of
gates in either wall. See also Yule's Marco Polo, I, 74-6.
344
 TABRIZ

silk, who [stood] in front of the merchants exhibiting the

jewels to the wives of the Turks, while the women were
buying them in large quantities and trying to outdo one
another. What I saw of all this was a scandal—may God pre-
serve us from such! We went into the ambergris and musk
bazaar [also] and saw the like of this again, or worse. After-
wards we came to the cathedral mosque, which was founded
by the vizier 'AH Shah, known by the name of Jllan.249 Out-
side it, to the right as one faces the qibla, is a college, and to
the left is a hospice. The court of the mosque is paved with
marble, and its walls are faced with [tiles of] qashani, which
is like zalfj; 250 it is traversed by a canal of water, and it con-
tains all sorts of trees, vines and jasmines. It is their custom
to recite every day, after the afternoon prayer, the suras
Ya-Sln, Victory, and 'Ammaz51 in the court of the mosque,
and | the people of the city gather [there] for the ceremony. 1
We spent one night in Tabriz. On the following morning
the amir 'Ala al-Din received the order of the sultan Abu
Sa'id to rejoin him, so I returned along with him, without
having met any of the scholars of Tabriz. We continued our
journey until we reached the sultan's mahalla, where this
amir told the sultan about me and introduced me into his
presence. He asked me about my country, and gave me a robe
and a horse. The amir told him that I was intending to travel
to the noble Hijaz, whereupon he gave orders for me to be
supplied with provisions and mounts in the pilgrim caravan252
accompanying the Mahmil, and wrote instructions to that
effect on my behalf to the governor of Baghdad, Khwaja
Ma'ruf. 253 I returned therefore to the city of Baghdad, and
249 Taj al-Din 'All-Shah Jilan was appointed joint-vizier with Rashid al-
Dm in April 1312, compassed the latter's execution in 1318, and died in
1324 (the only vizier of the Ilkhansto die in his bed). His immense mosque,
built outside the Narmiyan quarter, dominated the city, and its ruins
survive under the name of the Arg or citadel; see Pope, II, 1056-61; IV,
plates 377-9.
250 See vol. I, p. 256, n. 42.
251 Suras xxxvi, Ixvii, and Ixxviii of the Qur'an.
252 The Arabic term sabll is denned as 'a pilgrim caravan conducted by
an amir hajjl and in which food, mounts, and everything needed by the pil-
grims are supplied to them without charge'; Juwayni, Ta'vlkh-i Jahdn-gusha
(Leyden-London, 1916), II, 96, n. 5. For the mahmil see vol. I. p. 58, n. 181.
253 Khwaja 'Izz al-Din Ma'rQf is mentioned as governor of Baghdad in
1336; al-'Azzawi, I, 523.
345
 SOUTHERN PERSIA AND 'IRAQ

received in full what the sultan had ordered for me. As there
still remained more than two months before the time for the
departure of the caravan, 254 I thought it a good plan to jour-
ney to al-Mawsil and Diyar Bakr to see those districts, and
132 then return to j Baghdad when the caravan was due to set
out, and go on to the noble Hijaz.
So I went out from Baghdad to a station on the canal of
Dujail, which is derived from the Tigris and waters a large
number of villages. 255 We halted next, after two days' jour-
ney, at a large village called Harba,256 [in] a wide and fertile
[tract]. Journeying on from there, we halted at a place on the
bank of the Tigris near a fort called al-Ma'shuq;257 the fort is
built on the Tigris and on the eastern bank opposite it is the
city of Surra-man-ra'a, also called Samarra. Some people call
it Sam Rah, which means in Persian The road of Sam',
rah being 'road'. 258 This city has fallen into ruins, so that
nothing is left of it but a fraction. It has an equable climate
and is strikingly beautiful in spite of its decay and the
effacement of its monuments. Here too there is a sanctuary of
the 'Master of the Hour', as at al-Hilla. 259 j

254 This would imply that he returned to Baghdad before the end of
June 1327.
285 This and the following sections as far as Nasibin are abridged from
Ibn Jubair's narrative, with the exception of the reference to the Shi'ite
sanctuary at Samarra and two paragraphs relating to Mosul.
Dujail canal was taken off from the west bank of the Tigris below
Samarra, and rejoined it at Baghdad. The northern road on the right bank
followed this canal from the Harblya quarter in west Baghdad.
866 The chief town in the district called Maskin, on the Dujail canal, about
50 miles north of Baghdad.
887 Originally a palace built on the west bank of the Tigris opposite
Samarra by the caliph al-Mu'tamid (870-92), later converted into a fort,
and now known as al-'Ashiq: see al-Ya'qubi, Bibl. Geographorum arabicorum,
VII, 268; Alois Musil, The Middle Euphrates (New York, 1927), 53.
268 Surra man rd'a ('Rejoiced is the beholder') was the official designation
of the city when it was the capital of the ' Abbasid caliphs (from 835 to 890).
This is evidently a play upon an older name (in Assyrian surmarrate, in
Syriac sumara), and the common designation as Samarra is ingeniously
explained as a punning correction of the official name to Sd'a man rd'a
('Grieved is the beholder'), after the abandonment and ruin of the city.
Sam-rah is a parallel Persian adaptation, Sam being one of the heroes of the
Persian epic cycle. For the history of Samarra see E. Herzfeld, Geschichte
der Stadt Samarra (Hamburg, 1948).
289 This is the sanctuary, still venerated by the Shi'ites, in which the
Twelfth or 'Expected' Imam is said to have gone into concealment. It is
346
 JOURNEY TO AL-MAWSIL

After one day's journey from there we reached Takrit,260 a 133

large city with spacious environs, fine markets and many
mosques, and whose inhabitants are distinguished by good-
ness of disposition. The Tigris is on the northern 2<J1 side of the
city, and it has a well-fortified castle on the bank of the river.
The city itself is of ancient construction and protected by a
wall, which surrounds it. From there we journeyed two stages
and came to a village called al-'Aqr, on the bank of the
Tigris. 262 At its upper end there is a hill, on which there stood
formerly a fort, and at its lower end is the khan known as
Khan al-Hadid, a powerful building with towers. From this
place there is a continuous sequence of villages and cultiva-
tion to al-Mawsil.
Continuing our journey we halted at a place called al-
Qayyara,263 near the Tigris. At this place | there is a patch of 134
black land in which are springs that exude pitch, and tanks
are constructed for it to collect in. When you see it, it looks
like clay on the surface of the ground, deep black in colour,
glistening, soft and with a good smell. Round these tanks is a
large black pool, covered by a kind of thin scum, which the
pool deposits on its edges, and it also becomes pitch. In the
vicinity of this place there is a large spring, and when they
wish to transport the pitch from it, they light over it a fire,
which dries up what watery moisture there is at that spot;
then they cut it up into slabs and transport it. We have al-
ready mentioned the spring of the same kind which is between

known as Ghaibat al-Mahdl: see Herzfeld, 286-9; al-Harawi, 72; trans.,

159-60. For the similar sanctuary at al-Hilla see above, p. 325.
860 On the west bank of the Tigris, thirty miles north of Samarra, and
noted for its fortress, which guarded the approach to central 'Iraq from the
north. See E.I., s.v.; F. Sarre and E. Herzfeld, Archdologische Reise in
Mesopotamien (Berlin, 1911), 219-22; III, plate 29.
881 Ibn Battuta here quietly corrects an apparent error in Ibn Jubair,
who has 'southern'. The citadel itself was situated on a sandstone bluff at
the northern end of the town, 'defended landwards by a deep moat and
accessible only by secret steps cut in the rock and leading from the heart of
the citadel to the water's edge' (S. Lane-Poole, Saladin (London-New York,
1898), 3)-
282 The site of the Assyrian city of Kartukulti-ninurta, 64 miles north of
Takrit.
263 '(The place) abounding in pitch', still noted for its seepages of bitumen,
32 miles south of Mosul.
347
 SOUTHERN PERSIA AND 'IRAQ
al-Kufa and al-Basra. 264 We continued our journey from these
springs for two stages, and thereafter arrived at al-Mawsil.
The city of al-Mawsil™ It is an ancient and prosperous
135 city, and its citadel | known as al-Hadba' is imposing in
appearance and famed for its impregnability, surrounded by
a wall of solid construction, strengthened by massive towers. 266
Adjoining it are the buildings of the Sultan's palace and
separating these two [complexes of buildings] from the town
is a broad street, extending in length from the upper part of
the town to its lower end. The town itself is encircled by two
stout walls, no less, close-set with towers, and inside the
walls there are chambers, one above the other, circularwise
in its inner face. In no city walls have I seen its like except
the wall round the city of Dihli, the capital of the king of
India.267
Al-Mawsil has a large suburb, containing mosques, bath-
houses, warehouses and bazaars, and in it there is a cathedral
mosque on the bank of the Tigris, round which there are iron
lattices, and adjoining it platforms overlooking the Tigris, of
136 the utmost beauty | and skill in construction. 268 In front of
the mosque is a hospital. Inside the city there are two cathed-
ral mosques, one ancient269 and the other modern. 270 In the
court of the modern mosque is a cupola, inside which there is
an octagonal basin of marble supported by a marble column;
264 p jag above.
865 Founded c. 642 by the Arabs as a garrison-city, on the site of a fortified
monastery on the west bank of the Tigris; see E.I., s.v.
266 The citadel and fortifications were reconstructed by the atabeg Zanki
(1127—44) and his successors, and were not destroyed in the Mongol in-
vasions. Al-Hadba' means 'the hump-backed', a poetical designation corres-
ponding to al-Shahbd' for the citadel of Aleppo; cf. vol. I, p. 95, n. 105;
p. 101, n. 132, and below, p. 353.
This was the old citadel, situated to the north of the later Turkish citadel
(Ich Qal'a), whose ruins still stand at the northern end of the city.
267 See vol. Ill, p. 148 (Arabic).
268 The 'Red Mosque', built by the governor Mujahid al-Din in 1180.
According to Ibn Jubair he founded the hospital also. On the mosque see
A. Sioufi in Sumer (Baghdad, 1955), XI, 177-88.
269 The Umayyad mosque, enlarged by Marwan II (744-50); see A.
Sioufi in Sumer (Baghdad, 1950), VI, 211-19.
270 The mosque of Nur al-Din, known as the Great Mosque, built in
1170-2 and recently restored. In the following sentence Ibn Battuta again
corrects Ibn Jubair, whose text implies that the cupola and fountain were
in the ancient mosque.
348
 AL-MAWSIL

the water spouts out of this with force and impetus, rises to
the height of a man, and then falls down, providing a beauti-
ful spectacle. The qaisdriya211 of al-Mawsil is very fine; it has
iron gates and [the interior] is encircled by shops and
chambers, one upon the other, of skilful construction.
In this city is the sanctuary of the prophet Jirjis272 (upon
him be peace); there is a mosque over it, and the tomb is in
an angle of it, to the right as one enters. This lies between the
new mosque and the gate of the bridge. We had the privilege
of visiting his tomb and of praying in his mosque, and to God
Most High be the praise. There too is the hill of Yunus (upon
whom | be peace) and at about a mile from it the spring 137
called by his name. 273 It is said that he commanded his fol-
lowers to purify themselves at it, after which they ascended
the hill and he prayed, and they with him, whereupon God
averted the chastisement [of the city] from them. In its
vicinity is a large village, near which is a ruined site said to be
the site of the city known as Ninaway [Nineveh], the city of
Yunus (upon whom be peace). The remains of the encircling
wall are still visible, and the positions of the gates which were
in it are clearly seen. On the hill there is a large edifice and a
convent with numerous chambers, cells, lavatories and water-
channels, the whole being enclosed by a1 single gate. In the
centre of the convent is a chamber over which there is a silk
curtain, and with a door inlaid [with precious metals]. It is
said that this was the place on which Yunus (on whom be
peace) stood [when he prayed], and the mihrab of the mosque
in this convent is said to have been the cell in which he per-
formed his devotions (peace be upon him). The inhabitants | of 138
al-Mawsil come out to this convent on the eve of every Friday
to perform their devotions in it. They are distinguished by
271 For the qaisarlya or main bazaar see vol. I, p. 97, n. 115.
272 The mausoleum of Jirjis (St George) is still preserved, in the quarter
called after him Bab al-Nabi ('Prophet's Gate'); see F. Sarre and E.
Herzfeld, II, 236-8.
278 The sanctuary of Jonah is prominently situated (on the site of an
older Christian sanctuary) on a hill east of the Tigris (probably the remains
of the ziggurat of Nineveh), formerly called Tell Tawba ('the hill of repen-
tance'); al-Harawi, 70; trans., 156. The surrounding village is now known
as NabI Yunus. The spring still exists, on the outer side of the second
eastern rampart of Nineveh (al-Harawi, trans., 156, n. 4); in Ibn Jubair's
time there was a mosque adjoining it.
349
 SOUTHERN PERSIA AND 'IRAQ

noble and generous dispositions, gentleness of speech, virtue,

affection for the stranger and care for him.
The governor of the city at the time of my visit to it was
the virtuous Sayyid and Sharif 'Ala al-Din 'All, son of Shams
al-Din Muhammad, known by the sobriquet of Haidar, and a
man of generosity and distinction. 274 He lodged me in his own
dwelling and paid for all my expenses and maintenance
during the period of my stay with him. He has to his credit
many benefactions and famous acts of munificence, and the
sultan Abu Sa'id used to hold him in high honour, and set
him in authority over this city and its dependencies.275 He
rides out in an impressive cavalcade of his mamluks and
troops, and the leading men of the city and principal citizens
come to salute him in the morning and the evening. He is a
man of courage and one who inspires respect. His son, at the
time of writing this, is in the royal city of Fez, the place of
settlement of strangers, asylum of the dispersed, goal of the
139 homagers—God increases her | in glory and splendour by the
felicity of the days of our Master, the Commander of the
Faithful [i.e. Sultan Abu 'Inan], and guard her regions and
her provinces!
We then set out from al-Mawsil and halted at a village
called 'Ain al-Rasad, 276 on a river over which there is a per-
manent bridge, and where there is a large khan. Journeying
on, we halted at a village called al-Muwailiha, and from there
alighted at Jazlrat Ibn 'Omar, a large and beautiful city sur-
rounded by the river [Tigris], which is the reason why it is
called Jazira ['island']. 277 The greater part of it is in ruins. It
has a good bazaar and an ancient mosque, built of stone and

274 Perhaps to be identified with Malik 'All b. Muhammad-Shah b. Malik

Pahlawan, of the Rawwadi Kurdish family of Mimlan, formerly atabegs of
Tabriz (Letters of RasMd al-Din, 128-9).
275 Reading ma ilaiha with three MSS.; see Dozy, s.v. ila.
276 Located by Ibn Jubair less than a day's journey from Mosul, with
al-Muwailiha half a day's journey further on. 'Ain al-Rasad is probably
therefore to be identified with Kizlek Koprii, 25 miles north-west of Mosul,
and al-Muwailiha more tentatively in the vicinity of Tell Uwainat, 22 miles
north-west of Kizlek Koprii.
277 Cizre on Turkish maps, 90 miles north-west of Mosul; see E.I,, s.v.,
and Le Strange, Lands, 93-4. In place of this, Ibn Jubair has a village
called Judal, one stage from al-Muwailiha and one day's journey from
Naslbm.
350
 NASIBIN

of solid workmanship, and the city wall also is built of stone.

Its inhabitants are of upright character and friendly towards
strangers. On the day that we stayed there we saw Jabal al-
Judi, which is mentioned in the Book of God as that on which
there came to rest the ship of Noah (on him be peace); it is a
lofty and high-soaring mountain.278
We travelled on two stages from there | and reached the 140
city of Nasibin, which is an ancient city of middling size,
most of it now fallen into ruin.279 It is situated in a wide
and open plain, in which there are flowing streams, thickly
planted orchards, trees ranged in order and abundance of
fruits. In this town there is manufactured a rose-water which
is unequalled for perfume and sweetness. Round it there runs
like a bracelet a river which wells out from springs in a
mountain close by and is divided into several channels, so
that it threads through its orchards. One branch of it enters
the town, flows through the streets and dwellings, cuts
through the court of its principal mosque, and empties into
two basins, one of them in the middle of the court [of the
mosque] and the other at the east gate. In this city there is a
hospital and two colleges, and its inhabitants are upright,
pious, sincere and trustworthy. Abu Nuwas280 spoke truly in
saying: |
Pleasant to me was Nasibin once on a day, and I to her— MI
Would that my lot in this world were Nasibin.
Ibn Juzayy remarks: People characterize the city of
Nasibin by badness of water and unhealthy climate, 281 and
on this one of the poets has said:
278 Sura, xi. 46. The sentence is quoted from Ibn Jubair's account of his
stay at Judal. Jabal JudI (Cudi dagi on Turkish maps) is a range 25 miles
east of Jazlrat ibn 'Omar, rising to over 6,000 feet, backed by a higher
range to the north-east rising to over 12,000 feet. For the Mesopotamian
background of this identification with the site of Noah's ark, see E.I., s.v.
Djudi.
279 Sixty miles west of Jazlrat ibn 'Omar. The paragraph is abridged from
Ibn Jubair, who also quotes the verses of Abu Nuwas.
280 gee vol. I, p. 61, n. 195. The point of the verses is the play on the name
of the city and the Arabic word nasibi, 'my share').
281 The unwholesome climate and water of Nasibin are remarked also by
Max von Oppenheim, Vom Mittelmeer zum Persischen Golf (Berlin, 1900),
II, 36. Mustawfi (trans., 105) states that its roses are 'the finest throughout
all the lands of Iran'.
351
 SOUTHERN' PERSIA AND 'IRAQ

How strange that thing in Nasibin

Which seems all ailments to invite!
Never red rose in her is seen,
And even cheeks are deathly white.

Thereafter we travelled to the city of Sinjar, 282 which is a

large town with an abundance of fruits and trees, and per-
manent springs and streams, built at the foot of a mountain,
and resembling Damascus in the number of its streams and
gardens. Its cathedral mosque is a famous place of blessing; it
is stated that prayer made in it is answered, and it is en-
circled and traversed by a running stream. The inhabitants
of Sinjar are Kurds, and are brave and generous. One of those
142 whom | I met there was a pious shaikh and devotee, the
ascetic 'Abdallah al-Kurdi, one of the great shaikhs and en-
dowed with miraculous powers. It is stated of him that he
eats only after fasting for forty days, and then breaks his fast
only with half a cake of barley bread. I met him in a hermi-
tage on top of the mountain of Sinjar,283 when he prayed on
my behalf and provided me with some silver pieces which I
kept in my possession until I was despoiled by the Indian
infidels.
We travelled from there to the city of Dara, which is an
ancient and large place, white in appearance, and with an
imposing castle, but now in ruins and totally uninhabited. 284
Outside it there is an inhabited village in which we made our
stay. Journeying on from there we came to the city of
Mardin, a great city at the foot of a hill, one of the most
beautiful, striking and substantially-built cities in [the lands
282 This is obviously misplaced, as the next place mentioned, Dara, lay
about 15 miles north-west of Nasibin. Sinjar (Balad) lies at the foot of a
low range 80 miles west of Mosul: see Le Strange, Lands, 98; Sarre and
Herzfeld, I, 202-4; H. 3°7 ff-
283 Al-Harawi (trans., 142) mentions a sanctuary 'at the top of Sinjar'
associated with 'All b. Abi Talib; it was destroyed during the Mongol
invasion, but later rebuilt.
284 Dara was the great frontier fortress of Byzantium against Sasanid
Persia, and Ibn Battuta correctly describes it as completely ruined. See
al-Harawi, trans., 143, n. 8; E. Sachau, Reise in Syrien und Mesopotamien
(Leipzig, 1183), 395-8. As its buildings were of black stone (Bibl. Geog.
Arab., Ill, 140), his (and Ibn Jubair's) adjective 'white' is perhaps to be
taken as 'glistening'.
352
 MARDIN

of] Islam, I and with the finest bazaars. 285 Here there are MS
manufactured the fabrics called by its name from the wool
known as mar'izz [i.e. goat's hair]. It has a soaring castle, one
of the most famous fortresses, on the summit of its hill.
Ibn Juzayy remarks: This castle of Mardin is called al-
Shahba', and it is to it that the poet of al-'Iraq, Safi al-Dln
'Abd al-'Aziz b. Saraya al-Hilli286 refers in his stanza:
Leave wide-bosomed Hilla's halls,
Skew the camels from Zawra',
Halt not in hunched Mosul's walls,
Lo, the lightning of Shahba'
Sears the demon of time's haps. |
The fortress of Aleppo also is called al-Shahba'. This poem in 144
stanza form is a gem, composed as a panegyric of al-Malik
al-Mansur, the sultan of Mardin. 287 He was a generous
[prince] and widely famed; he ruled in it for some fifty years,
survived to the reign of Qazan, king of the Tatars, and
became allied by marriage to the sultan Khudhabandah
through [the marriage of the latter to] his daughter Dunya
Khatun. 288
Account of the Sultan ofMdrdm at the time of my visit. He is
al-Malik al-Salih, son of al-Malik al-Mansur (whom we have
just now mentioned), and inherited the kingdom from his
father. He is a man of widely famed generosity; there is none
more open-handed than he in the land of al-'Iraq, Syria and
Egypt; and poets and poor brethren come to visit him and he
makes them munificent gifts, following the example of his
father. He was visited by Abu 'Abdallah Muhammad b.
Jabir al-Andalusi al-Marwi, the blind [poet], to recite a
285 One of the most famous fortresses in Western Asia, which even the
Mongols and Timur were unable to storm: see generally E.I., s.v.; Sachau,
404-7.
286 The most famous 'Iraqi poet of the time, d. 1349- The stanza is built
on the poetical names for al-Hilla (al-Faiha'), Baghdad (al-Zawrd', see vol.
I, p. i2i, n. 193), Mosul (al-Hadbd', see above, p. 348), and al-Shahba '. For
the similarly-named citadel of Aleppo, see vol. I, p. 95.
287 Ghazi b. Qara Arslan, of the Artuqid dynasty (see £./.2, s.v. Artukids),
d. 1312, succeeded by his son Shams al-Din Salih (after the death of the
latter's brother), reigned 1312-64: Durar, III, 216-17; II. 202 - Al-Malik
al-Salih also is eulogized in a number of poems by Safi al-Dln al-Hilli.
288 See above, p. 337.
353
 SOUTHERN PERSIA A N D 'l RAQ

panegyric, and gave him twenty thousand dirhams. To his

MS credit [also] are works of charity, | colleges, and hospices for
the supply of food. He has a vizier of high distinction, namely
the learned imam, unique scholar of the time, and solitaire of
the age, Jamal al-Din al-Sinjari; he studied in the city of
Tabriz and under the great scholars [of the past generation].
His Grand Qadi is the accomplished imam Burhan al-Dm
al-Mawsill, who claims descent from the shaikh and saint
Fath al-Mawsill. 289 This qadi is a man of sound religion,
scrupulosity and virtue; he dresses in coarse garments of
woollen cloth, which are not worth ten dirhams apiece, and
wears a turban of the same kind. He often holds his judicial
sessions in the courtyard of a mosque, outside the college, in
which he used to perform his devotions; and anyone seeing
him who did not know him would think him to be one of the
qadi's servants or assistants.
Anecdote. It was told me that a certain woman came up to
146 this qadi as he was coming out | of the mosque, and not
knowing him she said to him 'O shaikh, where is the qadi
sitting?' He said to her 'What do you want of him?' She
replied 'My husband has beaten me, and, besides, he has
another wife and does not make a fair division [of time]
between us. I have summoned him before the qadi, but he has
refused, and I am a poor woman and have nothing that I can
give to the qadi's men so that they may bring him to his
tribunal.' He said to her 'And where is your husband living?'
She replied 'In the village of al-Mallahm, outside the town.'
Then he said to her 'I shall go with you to him myself,' and
when she exclaimed 'But truly, by God, I have nothing that
I can give you' he said 'And I would not take anything from
you in any case,' then added 'Go on [ahead] to the village and
wait for me outside it, for I shall be following you.' So she
went on as he had ordered her, and waited for him, and he
came up to her there, having no one at all with him, for it was
his habit never to allow anyone to follow him. She brought
him then to the house of her husband, who, on seeing him
147 said to her, 'What is this ill-favoured shaikh | who is accom-
panying you?' Then the qadi said 'Indeed, by God, I am so,
but give satisfaction to your wife.' When the argument grew
289 None of these persons has been identified.
354
 RETURN TO BAGHDAD

prolonged, other people came up and, recognizing the qadl,

saluted him. The man was overcome with fear and confusion,
but the qadl said to him, 'Don't be upset. Put your affair
with your wife to rights,' so the man gave her satisfaction
and the qadl gave them enough for their needs that day and
went off. I met this qacli and he gave me hospitality in his
house.
I then set out to return to Baghdad, and on reaching the
city of al-Mawsil, which we have mentioned above, I found
its pilgrim caravan outside the town, proceeding to Baghdad.
Among them was a pious woman devotee called the Sitt
Zahida, a descendant of the Caliphs, who had gone on pil-
grimage many times and used to fast assiduously. I saluted
her and placed myself under her protection. She had with her
a troop of poor brethren who were in her service. On this
journey | she died (God have mercy on her); her death took 148
place at Zarud290 and she was buried there.
When we arrived at Baghdad I found the pilgrims making
preparations to set out, so I sought out its governor, Ma'ruf
Khwaja, and asked him for the things that the sultan had
ordered for me. He assigned me the half of a camel-litter and
provisions and water for four men, writing out an order to
that effect for me, then sent for the commander of the
pilgrim caravan, who was the Bahlawan Muhammad al-
Hawih, 291 and commended me to him. I already had an
acquaintance with the latter which went back [to my journey
from Mecca], but our friendship was strengthened by this and
I remained under his protection and favoured by his bounty,
for he gave me even more than had been ordered for me. As
we left al-Kiifa I fell ill of a diarrhoea and they had to dis-
mount me from the litter many times during the day;
[during all this time] the commander [of the caravan] kept
enquiring for me and giving instructions that I should be
looked after. My illness continued until after I reached
Mecca, the sanctuary of God Most High | (may He exalt her 149
in honour and veneration). I made the [prescribed] circuits of
the Holy House (God Most High ennoble it) on arrival, but I
was so weak that I had to carry out the ordinances seated, so
290 See vol. I, p. 253.
291 See vol. I, p. 249, and below, p. 359, n. 310.
c 355 T.O.I.B.-II
 SOUTHERN PERSIA AND 'IRAQ

I made the circuits and the trottings between al-Safa and al-
Marwa292 riding on the horse of the amir al-Hawih mentioned
above.
We made the 'Standing' [at 'Arafat] that year on a Mon-
day,293 and when we camped at Mina I began to feel relief and
to recover from my malady. At the end of the Pilgrimage I
remained as a 'sojourner' at Mecca [for the whole of] that
year. In it [during this year] was the amir 'Ala al-Din b.
Hilal, the inspector of the diwans, who was residing there for
the construction of the hall of ablutions outside the druggists'
[bazaar] by the gate of the Banu Shaiba. 294 In that same year
there were among the Egyptians who 'sojourned' at Mecca a
number of persons of note, including Taj al-Din Ibn al-
150 Kuwaik, Nur al-DIn | the qadi, Zain al-Din Ibn al-Asil, Ibn
al-Khalili, and Nasir al-Din al-Asyuti.295 1 stayed that year in
the Mu?affariya College, and God healed me of my sickness. I
led a most agreeable existence, giving myself up to circuits,
pious exercises and frequent performances of the Lesser
Pilgrimage. 296
In the course of that year there arrived the pilgrims by way
of Upper Egypt; with them came the pious shaikh Najm
al-Dm al-Usfuni (this was the first of his Pilgrimages), the
brothers 'Ala al-Dm 'All and Siraj al-Din 'Omar, sons of the
pious shaikh Najm al-Din al-Balisi, qadi of Cairo,297 and a
number of other persons. In the middle of Dhu'l-Qa'da there
arrived the amir Saif al-Din Yalmalak,298 a man of eminent
virtue, and in company with a number of the inhabitants of
292 See vol. I, pp. 197-8, 205.
293 For the 'Standing' at 'Arafat see vol. I, p. 244, n. 78. The date in 727
was Monday, 26 October 1327.
294 See vol. I, p. 206.
295 Ibn al-Kuwaik is presumably Siraj al-Din 'Abd al-Latif b. Ahmad
al-Takritl (1261-1334), a wealthy merchant of Alexandria, and the ancestor
of a noted family of scholars: Durar, II, 405; IV, 24-5. Ibn al-Khalil is
'Abdallah b. Muhammad b. Abu Bakr (d. 1375), a descendant of the caliph
'Othman: Durar, II, 291; Manhal, no. 1336. The qadi Nur al-Dm is 'All b.
'Abd al-Nasir al-Sakhawi (d. 1349), Malikite Grand Qadi: Durar, III, 79;
Manhal, no. 1596.
296 For the Lesser Pilgrimage or' Umra, see vol. I, pp. 209, 234-5.
297 Najm al-Din 'Abd al-Rahman b. Yusuf (d. 1350), a noted devotee:
Durar, II, 350, and cf. vol. I, p. 221. The qadi Najm al-Dm is Muhammad b.
'Oqail al-Balisi (1262-1329), deputy of the Grand Qadi al-Qazwinl (see vol.
I, p. 132, n. 235); Durar, IV, 50.
298 See vol. I., pp. 30-1.
356
 PILGRIMS AT MECCA

Tanja, my own [native] town j (God guard her), including the 151
legist Abu 'Abdallah Muhammad, son of the qadi Abu'l-
' Abbas, son of the qaoli and khatfb Abu'l-Qasim al-Jurawi
[?]; the legist Abu 'Abdallah b. 'Ata'-Allah; the legist Abu
'Abdallah al-Hadari; the legist Abu 'Abdallah al-MursI;
Abu'1-'Abbas, son of the legist [v.l. qadi] Abu 'AH al-Balansi;
Abu Muhammad b. al-Qabila; Abu'l-Hasan al-Biyari; Abu'l-
' Abbas b. Tafut; Abu'1-Sabr Ayyub al-Fakhkhar ['the pot-
ter']; and Ahmad b. Hakkama. [There were also] of the
inhabitants of Qasr al-Majaz the legist Abu Zaid 'Abd al-
Rahman, son of the qadi Abu'l-'Abbas b. Khuluf, and of the
inhabitants of al-Qasr al-Kabir the legist Abu Muhammad b. |
Muslim, Abu Ishaq [v.l. Ishaq b.J Ibrahlm b. Yahya, and his 152
son. There came also in the same year the amir Saif al-Dln
Tuquzdumur, one of the Private Guard, 299 the amir Musa b.
Qaraman,300 the qaqli Fakhr al-Dln,301 inspector of the army
and clerk of the mamluks, al-Taj Abu Ishaq, and the Lady
Hadaq, 302 the nurse of al-Malik al-Nasir. They distributed
alms to all and sundry in the Holy Sanctuary, and the most
liberal of them all in almsgiving was the qadi Fakhr al-Dln.
Our 'Standing' [at 'Arafat] took place that year on a
Friday, of the year [seven hundred and] twenty-eight,303 and
at the conclusion of the Pilgrimage I remained as a 'so-
journer' at Mecca (God Most High guard her) during the year
twenty nine. In this year there arrived Ahmad, son of the
amir Rumaitha, and Mubarak, son of the amir 'Utaifa,
coming from al-'Iraq in company with | the amir Muhammad 153

299 Tuquzdumur (d. 1345), twice son-in-law of al-Malik al-Nasir; Durar,

II, 225' His pilgrimage in 1328 is confirmed in the Egyptian sources:
Zettersteen, 179.
300 Baha al-Dm Musa, brother of Badr al-Dln Mahmud, prince of Qara-
man (see below, p. 432); his pilgrimage is mentioned also (but without date)
by al-'Omari (Bericht iiber Anatolien, ed. F. Taeschner (Leipzig, 1929),
29-30).
301 'Abdallah b. Muhammad (c. 1271-1333); he was responsible for certi-
fying the construction work carried out by 'Ala al-Dm on the aqueduct at
Mecca in this year; Durar, II, 295.
802 Taj al-Dm AbQ Ishaq has not been identified. The Lady Hadaq was
the controller of al-Malik al-Nasir's jiarlm; Durar, II, 7, where it is added
that on this Pilgrimage 'she became proverbial for the amount of charity
she distributed'.
aos Friday, 14 October 1328, confirmed by Chron. der Stadt Mekka, II,
279.
357
 SOUTHERN PERSIA AND 'IRAQ

al-Hawih,304 also the Shaikh Zada al-Harbawi, and the

shaikh Daniyal. 305 They brought large gifts of alms for the
'sojourners' and the inhabitants of Mecca on behalf of the
sultan Abu Sa'Id, the king of al-'Iraq. In that year his name
was included in the khuiba after the name of al-Malik al-
Nasir; 306 they also prayed for a blessing on him from the top
of the pavilion of Zamzam; and after his name was mentioned
that of the sultan of al-Yaman, al-Malik al-Mujahid Nur
al-Din. 307 The amir 'Utaifa was not in agreement with this,
and sent his full brother Mansur to inform al-Malik al-Nasir
of it, but Rumaitha ordered that Mansur should be brought
back, and brought back he was. 'Utaifa sent him again by
way of Judda, so that he finally did inform al-Malik al-Nasir
of what had taken place.
We made the 'Standing' that year, i.e. twenty-nine, on a
Tuesday308 and at the end of the Pilgrimage I stayed on as a
'sojourner' at Mecca (God guard her) for the year thirty.
During the pilgrimage season of that year there befel an
(54 armed conflict between the amir | of Mecca, 'Utaifa, and
Aydumur, the amir jandar, [called] al-Nasiri. 309 The cause of
this was that certain merchants among the Yamanites had
goods stolen and complained about it to Aydumur. Aydumur
said to Mubarak, the son of the amir 'Utaifa, 'Produce these
thieves.' He replied 'I have no knowledge of them, so how
can I produce them? Moreover the people of al-Yaman are
under our rule, and you have no authority over them. If any-
thing is stolen from the people of Syria or Egypt, then
demand restitution from me.' Whereupon Aydumur shouted
abuse at him, said to him 'You pimp, do you speak to me like
this?' and struck him on the chest, so that he fell and his
turban fell off his head. Mubarak was enraged, and his slaves
equally so on his behalf; and when Aydumur rode off to join
304 For Rumaitha and 'Utaifa, amirs of Mecca, see vol. I, 214-15; and for
Muhammad al-Hawih above, p. 355.
305 Daniyal b. 'All b. Yahya al-Lurista.ni was one of the principal Persian
shaikhs in Mecca and had been the Amir Choban's agent for the restoration
of the Lady Zubaida's aqueduct (see above, p. 340); Chron. der Stadt Mekka,
II, 128.
308 See vol. I, p. 248, where Ibn Battuta dates this in the previous year.
307 See below, p. 369.
308 Tuesday, 3 October 1329.
so9 This is an error for Saif al-Din Aldumur (see the following note).
358
 OUTBREAK IN MECCA

his troops, Mubarak and his slaves overtook him, killed him,
and killed his son as well. 310 Conflict then broke out in the
sanctuary, where Amir Ahmad, uncle's son of al-Malik
al-Nasir, was, and the Turks shot arrows and killed a woman
who, it was said, | was egging the Meccans on to [join in] the
fighting. All of the Turks who were in the pilgrim caravan
mounted their horses, as well as their commander Khass
Turk, but the qadl with the imams and the 'sojourners' went
out to them, carrying copies of the Qur'an over their heads,
and were able to make peace. The pilgrims went into Mecca,
took what they possessed there, and returned to Egypt.
When the news of this reached al-Malik al-Nasir, he was
cut to the quick and sent troops to Mecca. The amir 'Utaifa
and his son Mubarak took to flight, while his brother
Rumaitha with his sons went out to Wadl Nakhla. 311 When
the [Egyptian] troops arrived at Mecca, the amir Rumaitha
sent one of his sons to beg for a safe-conduct for himself and
sons. They were granted this, whereupon Rumaitha came,
carrying his shroud in his hand, before the commander. 312
He was given a robe of honour, Mecca was handed over to
him, and the army returned to Cairo. Al-Malik al-Nasir
(God's mercy on him) was a forbearing and generous-minded
man.
310 The murder of Aldumur and his son Khalil on the day of the Festival
is confirmed by Durar, I, 407 and several other sources. Two first-hand
reports of the riot and massacre in the Sanctuary are contained in Chron.
der Stadt Mekka, II, 279-80. According to al-Maqrizi (Al-Suluk fi dnwal
al-Muluk, ed. M. M. Ziada (Cairo, 1942), II, pt. 2, 323-4), the conflict arose
from orders sent by al-Malik al-Nasir to the amir 'Utaifa to kill the leader
of the 'Iraqi caravan, 'a man of Tabriz called Muhammad al-Hajij' (evi-
dently the same person as Ibn Battuta's Muhammad al-HawIh).
311 See vol. I, p. 214, n. 111.
312 According to the Mamluk chronicle (Zetterstfien, 182) this detach-
ment, commanded by Aytamush al-Ashrafi (Durar, I, 424), left Cairo at the
end of November 1330. Ibn Battuta's statement is consequently not a first-
hand account.

359
 CHAPTER VII

Southern Arabia, East Africa

and the Persian Gulf
156-j- SET out at this time from Mecca (God Most High ennoble

I her) intending to travel to the land of al-Yaman, and came

.to Hadda, 1 which lies half way between Mecca and Judda. I
then reached Judda, an old town on the sea coast, which is
said to have been founded by the Persians. 2 Outside it there
are antique cisterns, and in it are pits for water, bored in the
solid rock and connected with each other in numbers beyond
computation. 3 This year was one of little rain, so water was
brought to Judda from the distance of a day's journey, and
the pilgrims used to beg for water from the owners of the
houses.
Anecdote. A strange thing happened to me in Judda. There
stopped at my door a blind beggar led by a boy, to ask for
157 water. He saluted me, called me by my name | and took me
by the hand, although I had no acquaintance with him, nor
did he know me. I was astonished at his doing so; but next he
grasped my finger with his hand and said 'Where is the
fatkhal' (meaning the ring). Now, as I was going out from
Mecca, I had been accosted by a certain poor brother, who
asked me for alms, and as I had nothing with me at that time
I handed him my ring. So when this blind man asked about
it, I told him that I had given it to a poor brother, and he
1 Eighteen miles west of Mecca, where the Judda road crosses the Wadi
Fatima. For this name and that of the neighbouring Rutba, see Ibn al-
Mujawir, DescriptioAmbiacMeridionalis.ed.O.Loigren (Leiden, 1951),1,41.
8 Ibn al-Mujawir (I, 43-6) gives an account of the occupation and forti-
fication of Judda (as the Arabic authors always write the name) by Persians
after the destruction of Siraf (see below, p. 407, n. 138), and their later
ejection by the local Arabs. Old Judda was about 10 m. S. of the present
city.
8 Cf. Ibn Jubair, 76; trans. Broadhurst, 71. Ibn al-Mujawir gives a list of
cisterns (I, 43-4).
360
Kawristan
0ld
_
JHuwmz
arun
10° 10

Manbasa

Pig. 3Itm Battuta's itineraries in

SOUTHERN ARABIA,
EAST AFRICA and the P.ERSIAN GULF
Miles
100 • 200 300

Kutwa.
10° 10°

SO" 60°
 J UDDA

said 'Go back and look for it, for there are names written on
it which contain a great secret.' Great was my astonishment
at him and at his knowledge of all this—God knows best who
and what he was.
In Judda there is a cathedral mosque called the Ebony
Mosque,4 known for its blessed power and in which prayer is
answered. The governor in the city was Abu Ya'qub b. 'Abd
al-Razzaq, and its qa<jli and khatib was the legist 'Abdallah,
a man from Mecca and a Shafi'ite in rite. On Fridays, | when 158
the people assemble for the service, the muezzin comes and
counts the number of residents of Judda at it. If they reach a
total of forty, he holds the Friday khutba and prays with them,
but if their number falls short of forty he prays a noon-
prayer with four bowings, and no account is taken of those
present who are not inhabitants of the town, however many
they may be. 5
We then embarked from Judda on a vessel that they call a
jalba* which belonged to Rashid al-Dm al-Alfi of al-Yaman,
and of Abyssinia by origin. The sharif Mansur b. Abu
Numayy7 embarked on another jalba and desired me to
accompany him, but I did not do so on account of there being
a number of camels with him in his jalba, and I was frightened
of this, never having travelled by sea before. There were
there a number of men of al-Yaman, who had placed their
provisions and goods in jalbas, in preparation for the
voyage. |
Anecdote. When we got on board, the sharif Mansur 159
4 Ibn Jubair says more precisely 'a mosque with two pillars of ebony
wood'. The building was variously attributed to the second Caliph, 'Omar,
or to Harun al-Rashid.
5 According to the Sha.fi' ite school of law, the congregational prayer on
Fridays is not valid unless attended by a minimum of forty Muslims. The
local rule was abnormal only in disregarding the 'foreigners'.
6 The jalba is described by Ibn Jubair (70-1; trans. Broadhurst, 65) as a
wooden vessel, the planks of which are sewn together with thread made
from coconut fibre (qunbdr), caulked with slivers of datepalm wood, and
smeared with castor or shark oil. The same traveller sharply criticizes the
avarice of the owners of these boats in overloading them with pilgrims.
(Broadhurst renders the word as jilabah, for which I know no authority.
The Persian form is galabat, and the word is reflected in the English 'jolly-
boat'.) See Kindermann, 'Schiff' in Arabischen, 19.
7 For Abu Numayy, sharif of Mecca 1254-1301, and his descendants see
vol. I, p. 214, n. 114. This Mansur was the brother of the amirs of Mecca
as mentioned above, p. 358.
361
 SOUTHERN ARABIA, E. AFRICA, PERSIAN GULF

ordered one of his slaves to fetch him an 'adila (that is half

a camel-load) of flour and a cruse of ghee, taking them from
the jalbas of the men of al-Yaman. When the man brought
them to him, the merchants came to me weeping, stated to
me that inside that 'adtla there were ten thousand dirhams of
silver, and begged me to speak to him, to send it back and
take another instead. So I went to him and spoke to him on
the matter, saying, The merchants have something inside
this 'adtla.' He replied 'If it is an intoxicant, I shall not
return it to them, but if it is anything else they shall have it.'
They opened the sack then and found the dirhams, so he gave
it back to them, saying to me 'If it had been 'Ajlan, he would
not have given it back/ 'Ajlan being the son of his brother
Rumaitha; he had about that time entered the house of a
Damascus merchant who was intending to go to al-Yaman, |
160 and had made off with most of what was in it. 'Ajlan is the
amir of Mecca at the present time, and he has reformed his
conduct and shown himself just and upright. 8
We then travelled on this sea with a favouring wind for
two days, but thereafter the wind changed and drove us off
the course which we had intended. The waves of the sea
entered in amongst us in the vessel, and the passengers fell
grievously sick. We continued in stormy weather until we
emerged at a roadstead called Ra's Dawa'ir, between 'Aid-
hab and Sawakin. 9 We landed there and found on the shore a
hut of reeds, shaped like a mosque, and inside a large number
of ostrich egg-shells filled with water, so we drank from these
and cooked [some food].
I saw in that roadstead a marvellous thing. This is a
channel something like a river-bed [which fills with water]
flowing out from the sea. The people there would take a
length of cloth, holding it by its ends, and bring it out filled
161 with fish, each about a cubit long, | which they call by the
8 See vol. I, pp. 214-15, nn. 114, 116.
9 As this roadstead was only two days' journey from Sawakin, it may
most probably be identified with Mersa Darur, in lat. 19° 50' N., 43 miles
from Sawakin (Red Sea and Gulf of Aden Pilot (London, Admiralty, 1900),
144). Water has to be brought to the shore from half a mile inland. The
tidal arm mentioned below is, however, more probably the donga formerly
at Mersa Shaikh Barud (or Barghut), 14 miles to the southward (ibid., 145),
now engulfed in Port Sudan.
362
 SAWAKIN

name of hurt. 10 These people then cooked and broiled a large

quantity of them. A party of the Bujah came to meet us;
these are the inhabitants of that land, black in colour, with
yellow blankets for clothes, and they tie round their heads
red bands as broad as a finger. 11 They are hardy and brave
fighters, their weapons being lances and swords, and they
have camels which they call suhb, and on which they ride
with saddles. We hired camels from them and travelled with
them through a desert country with many gazelles. The
Bujah do not eat them, so they are sociable with human
beings and do not flee from them.
After two days' travelling we came to an encampment of
Arabs known as Awlad Kahil, 12 who are intermingled with the
Bujah and know their speech. On the same day we reached
the island of Sawakin. It is about six miles off the coast, 13 and
has neither water, nor cereal crops, nor trees. Water is
brought to it in boats, and on it there are cisterns | in which 162
rainwater is collected. It is a large island, and in it is [to be
had] the flesh of ostriches, gazelles and wild asses; its in-
habitants have goats also in large numbers, together with
milk products and ghee, which is exported from it to Mecca.
Their cereal isjurjur, a kind of coarse grained millet, which is
also exported to Mecca.
Account of its Sultan. The sultan of the island of Sawakin
at the time of my coming was the Sharif Zaid b. Abu
Numayy. His father was the amir of Mecca, and his two
brothers were its amirs after the [death of the] latter, namely
'Utaifa and Rumaitha, who have been mentioned previously.
It came into his possession through the Bujah, because they
are his maternal relatives, and he has with him an armed force
of the Bujah, the Awlad Kahil, and the Juhaina Arabs. 14
10 See vol. I, p. 35, n. 97, but it is questionable whether the same fish is
meant here.
11 Most of these details have already been mentioned by Ibn Battuta; see
vol. I, p. 69.
12 Commonly known as Kawahla. They are of mixed origin, but claim
that their eponymous ancestor Kahil was a son or grandson of Fatima. See
further A. Paul, A History of the Beja Tribes of the Sudan (Cambridge, 1954),75.
13 Ibn Battuta's memory has betrayed him here. Sawakin is one of two
small islands, close to the mainland and within an almost land-locked bay.
14 Juhaina was a southern Arab or Himyarite tribe, to which most of the
Arab tribes in the Sudan claim to belong: see E.I., s.v.; H. A. MacMichael,
History of the Arabs in the Sudan (Cambridge, 1922).
363
 SOUTHERN ARABIA, E. AFRICA, PERSIAN GULF

We took ship from the island of Sawakin, making for the

land of al-Yaman. No sailing is done on this sea at night
163 because of the large number of rocks in it. | They travel on it
only from sunrise to sunset, then anchor and disembark, and
at dawn they mount into the ship again. They call the captain
of the ship the rubbdn, and he remains constantly in the bow
of the vessel to warn the steersman of rocks, which they call
nabdt. 15 Six days after leaving the island of Sawakin we
reached the city of Hall, which is known [also] by the name
of [Hall] Ibn Ya'qub ; 16 he was one of the sultans of al-Yaman,
and an inhabitant of it in former times. It is large and well-
built, and inhabited by two Arab tribes, the Banu Haram17
and the Banu Kinana. 18 The congregational mosque of this
city is one of the most beautiful of mosques and contains a
congregation of poor brethren who devote themselves ex-
clusively to religious exercises.
Among those was the pious shaikh, the devotee and ascetic
Qabula al-Hindi, one of the greatest of saints. His garments j
164 consist of a patched robe and a felt hat. He has a cell adjacent
to the mosque, floored with sand and without even a rush
mat or a rug in it. I saw nothing in the cell when I went to
visit him, except a jug for ablutions and a table-mat of palm
fibre, on which were some dry pieces of barley-bread and a
little dish containing salt and marjoram. When anyone
comes to visit him, he offers this to him, and his associates,
hearing of the visitor, come, each one bringing what he has at
hand without going to any effort or expense. After they have
observed the afternoon prayers, they assemble before the
15 The rubbdn is the pilot, not the shipmaster (ndkhuda); the two are dis-
tinguished in several narratives; see e.g. G. F. Hourani, Arab Seafaring
(Princeton, 1951), 117. The word nabdt, literally "plants', is apparently a
seamen's term for reefs.
16 Properly Haly (with consonantal y), a large town on the highroad from
San'a' to Mecca, some 30 miles inland and 40 miles south-east of Qunfuda,
in a district sufficiently fertile to produce three crops a year. The 'Son of
Ya'qub' attached to its name seems to be unknown. The port of Hall is a
small sheltered anchorage in the district now called 'Asir, at 18° 31' N.,
41° 19' E. (Red Sea Pilot, 295).
17 A major segment of the south-Arabian tribe of Nahd (al-Hamdam,
?ifat Jazlrat al-'Arab, ed. D. H. Muller (Leyden, 1884), 116).
18 An important north-Arabian tribe occupying the coastal area. Haly
was rebuilt by one of them towards the end of the thirteenth century (Ibn
al-Mujawir, 53), presumably by the Dhuwaib mentioned below.
364
 HALI

shaikh for the dhikr until the sunset prayers, and when they
have observed these each one then takes up his place for
supplementary prayers. They continue in this exercise until
the last evening prayers, and when they have observed these,
they resume recitation of the dhikr until the first third of the
night [has elapsed]. Thereafter they withdrew, but they
return to the mosque at the beginning of the third third | and
engage in supplementary night-prayers until dawn, when
they engage in devotions until the hour of sunrise prayers,
after which they retire, but there are some of them who re-
main in the mosque until they pray the forenoon prayers.
This is their practice continually, and indeed I should have
wished to remain with them for the rest of my life, but my
desire was not fulfilled—may God Most High overtake us by
His grace and furtherance.
Account of the Sultan of Halt. Its sultan was 'Amir b.
Dhuwaib, of the Banu Kinana, a man of eminent virtue [as
well as] a man of letters and a poet. I travelled in his com-
pany to Judda (we had already made the Pilgrimage in the
year 30), and when I came to his city he assigned me a
lodging as his guest for some days. I embarked on a ship of
his and reached the township of al-Sarja,19 | a small town
inhabited by a body of the Awlad al-Hiba. 20 These are a
company of merchants of al-Yaman, most of whom are
inhabitants of Sa'da'. They are men of generosity and open-
handedness, and [make a practice of] supplying food to
wayfarers, and assist pilgrims, transporting them in their
vessels and giving them provisions from their own funds. They
are indeed noted and famed for this, and God has multiplied
their wealth and given them increase of His bounty and
aided them to their work of charity; there is not upon the
earth any who compare with them in this respect, except the
shaikh Badr al-Din al-Naqqas, who lives in the town of al-
19 A place named Sarja is mentioned as a halt on the San'a'-Mecca road,
ten stations before Haly (al-Ham.da.nl, 188), but Ibn Battuta's port of call
was Sharja, a township of grass huts with an anchorage in the vicinity of
Luhayya (al-Qalqashandi, Subfy al-A'sha (Cairo, 1915), V. 14; al-Khazraji,
History of the Resuliyy Dynasty of Yemen, trans. J. M. Redhouse, (Leyden-
London, 1906-8), III, 148).
20 Presumably the descendants of the sharif 'Izz al-Din Hiba b. Fadl,
established in the town of Sa'da on its capture by the Rasulid sultan in 1254
(al-Khazraji, II, 138, 145).
365
 SOUTHERN ARABIA, E. AFRICA, PERSIAN GULF

Qahma,21 and has to his credit similar acts of generosity and

munificence.
We stayed at al-Sarja only one night, enjoying the hos-
pitality of these merchants, then continued our journey to
the roadstead of al-Hadith, 22 where we did not land, thence
on to the roadstead of al-Ahwab, 23 and then [rode] to the city
of Zabid, a great city in al-Yaman. 24 Between it and San'a' is
a distance of forty farsakhs, and after San'a' there is no
167 [place] in al-Yaman that is larger than it nor | whose popula-
tion is wealthier. It lies amid luxuriant gardens with many
streams and fruits, such as bananas and others, and is in the
interior, not on the coast, and one of the capital cities of al-
Yaman. It is a great and populous city, and contains groves
of palms, orchards and running streams—[in fact] the
pleasantest and most beautiful town in al-Yaman. Its in-
habitants are courteous in manners, upright in conduct, and
handsome in figure, and its women are of exceeding and pre-
eminent beauty. This is the 'vale of al-Husaib' of which it is
related in certain Traditions that the Apostle of God (God
bless and give him peace) said to Mu'adh in his admonition
[to him]: 'O Mu'adh, when you come to the vale of al-Husaib,
quicken your pace.' 25
The people of this city hold the famous [junketings called]
subut al-nakhlz* in this wise. They go out, during the season
21 Not al-Qahma in 'Asir (between Haly and Jizan), but a township 9
miles north of Zabid (Ibn al-Mujawir, 236; cf. al-Khazraji, III, 90).
22 No other reference to this place has been found.
23 Described by Ibn al-Mujawir as 'the port for shipping from 'Adan', and
said to have been constructed by a Persian merchant in 1138. Its exact
location is unknown. The major port of Zabid was Ghulafiqa, 25 miles
north-west of the city (Red Sea Pilot, 337, writes Khor Ghuleifaka).
24 Zabid was throughout the mediaeval centuries the capital of lowland
Yaman and the main citadel of Sunnism (of the Shafi'i school) against the
Zaidi Shi'ism (see below, p. 368, n. 29) of the highlands, centred on San'a.'.
25 Mu'adh b. Jabal was sent by Muhammad as a missionary to the Yaman
in 631 (see vol. I, p. 83, n. 58). Al-Husaib is identified with Zabid in all inter-
pretations of this Tradition, which continues: 'for there are women there
who resemble the black-eyed maidens of Paradise." Hence Ibn Battuta's
remark on their 'exceeding beauty'; Ibn al-Mujawir (246), however, says:
'Never have I seen in all of al-Yaman, dale or hill, a pretty face for eyes to
dwell upon, nor any elegance, delicacy, grace, or sweetness among them.'
26 These, literally 'Palm Saturdays', were a well-known feature of the
social life of Zabid. Redhouse (al-Khazraji, III, 186, 197) calls them 'a local
Saturnalia", and suggests that this was a pagan custom deriving from pre-
Islamic times. Ibn al-Mujawir (78-9) discreetly confirms the description,
366
 ZABID

of the colouring and ripening of the dates, | to the

groves on every Saturday. Not a soul remains in the town,
whether of the townsfolk or of the strangers. The musicians
go out [to entertain them] and the bazaar folk sell fruit and
sweetmeats. The women go out riding on camels in litters.
Together with the exceeding beauty that we have already
mentioned, they are virtuous and generous in character, and
they have a predilection for the stranger and do not refuse to
marry him, as the women of our country do. When he wishes to
travel, his wife goes out with him and bids him farewell; and
if there should be a child between them, it is she who takes care
of it and supplies what is needed for it until its father returns.
During his absence she makes no demands on him for main-
tenance or clothes or anything else, and when he is resident
she is content with little from him for upkeep and clothes;
But the women never leave their own town and would not
consent to do so even if one of them were offered any sum
that might be offered to her on condition that she should
leave j her town. 169
The scholars and doctors of the law in this country are up-
right, pious, trustworthy, generous, and of fine character. I
met in the city of Zabid the learned and pious shaikh Abu
Muhammad al-San'am, the jurist and accomplished sufi
Abu'1-'Abbas al-Abyani, and the jurist and traditionist Abu
'AH al-Zabidi. 27 1 placed myself under their protection; they
received me honourably, and showed me hospitality, and I
went into their palm-groves. In the company of one of them I
met the jurist and learned qadi Abu Zaid 'Abd al-Rahman
al-Sufi, one of the eminent men of al-Yaman. Mention
happened to be made in his presence of the ascetic and humble
devotee Ahmad b. al-'Ojail al-Yamani, who was one of the
greatest of men and of those favoured with miraculous powers.28
but asserts that the establishment of the palm-groves goes back only to the
eleventh or twelfth centuries.
27 None of these scholars have been identified. Al-San'am means 'be-
longing to San'a' '; al-Abyani means 'belonging to Abyan' or 'Ibyan' (the
region 30 m. east of 'Adan); al-Zabidi, however, is probably to be read al-
Zubaidi (cf. al-KhazrajI, V, 136).
28 Ahmad b. Musa b. 'AH 'Ojail (1212-91) was one of the celebrated jurists
of his time in Arabia; see al-Khazraji, I, 221-2, who, however, describes his
eminence only as a jurist and makes no allusion to his alleged miraculous
powers as a saint.
367
 SOUTHERN ARABIA, E. AFRICA, PERSIAN GULF

A miraculous grace. They relate that the jurists and leading

men of the Zaidiya came once on visitation to the shaikh
Ahmad b. al-'Ojail. He sat awaiting them outside the hospice,
170 and his associates went to meet them | but the shaikh himself
did not budge from his place. After they had saluted him and
he had shaken hands with them and bidden them welcome, a
discussion arose between them on the question of predestina-
tion. 29 They maintained that there is no predestined decree
and that the [creature who is made] responsible for carrying
out the ordinances of God creates his own actions, whereupon
the shaikh said to them: 'Well, if the matter is as you say, rise
up from this place where you are.' They tried to rise up but
could not, and the shaikh left them as they were and went
into the hospice. They remained thus until, when the heat
afflicted them sorely and the blaze of the sun smote them,
they complained loudly of what had befallen them, then the
shaikh's associates went in to him and said to him 'These
men have repented to God and recanted their false doctrine.'
The shaikh then went out to them and, taking them by their
hand, he exacted a pledge from them to return to the truth
and abandon their evil doctrine. He brought him into his
hospice, where they remained as his guests for three nights,
171 and then returned to | their own towns.
I went out to visit the grave of this saintly man, which is in
a village called Ghassana, outside Zabld, and met his pious
son Abu'1-Walid Isma'il.30 He received me hospitably and I
spent the night with him. After visiting the shaikh's tomb, I
stayed three nights [more] with him and set out in company
with him to visit the jurist Abu'l-Hasan al-Zaila'i. He is one
of the great saints and leads the pilgrims from al-Yaman
when they go on the Pilgrimage.31 The inhabitants of that
country, and its bedouins as well, hold him in great esteem
and veneration. We came to Jubla,32 a small and pretty town
29 For the Zaidis see vol. I, p. 182, n. 103. They shared the doctrine of the
Mu'tazilite (or philosophical) school in asserting the freedom of the human
will.
30 Al-Khazraji (IV, 422) dates the death of Isma'il b. Ahmad b. 'Ojail in
1317. The village of Ghassana was already at this time known as Bait
al-Faqih ('the Jurist's residence'), and is still called by that name.
31 'All b. Abu Bakr b. Muhammad (1260-1332), of Abyssinian origin;
al-Khazraji, V, 54.
82 Not on the direct route from Zabid to Ta'izz, but 75 miles east-south-
368
 THE SULTAN OF AL-YAMAN

with palms, fruit-trees and streams, and when the jurist

Abu'l-Hasan al-Zaila'i heard of the arrival of the shaikh
Abu'1-Walid he came out to meet him and lodged him in his
hospice. I saluted him together with the shaikh, and we en-
enjoyed a most agreeable residence with him for three days.
When we left he sent one of the poor brethren with us and we
proceeded to | the city of Ta'izz, the capital of the king of al- 172
Yaman. It is one of the finest and largest of the cities of
al-Yaman. Its people are overbearing, insolent and rude, as
is generally the case in towns where kings have their seats. It
is composed of three quarters; one of them is the residence of
the sultan, his mamluks and courtiers, and the officers of his
government, and is called by a name that I do not remember;
the second is inhabited by the amirs and troops and is called
'Udaina; the third is inhabited by the common people and
contains the principal bazaar, and it is called al-Mahalib.33
Account of the Sultan of al-Yaman. He is the sultan al-
Mujahid Nur al-DIn 'AH, son of the sultan al-Mu'ayyad
Hizabr al-DIn Da'ud, son of the sultan al-Muzaffar Yusuf b.
'AH b. Rasul. 34 His ancestor became widely known by the
apellation of Rasul ['Envoy'] because one of the 'Abbasid
caliphs sent him to al-Yaman to be a governor there, and
later on | his sons gained the royal power for themselves. He 173
has an elaborate ceremonial in his sitting [for public audience]
and his riding out. When I came to this city with the poor
brother whom the shaikh and jurist Abu'l-Hasan al-Zaila'I
had sent to accompany me, he had sought out with me the
Grand Qadi, the imam and traditionist Safi al-DIn al-Tabari
of Mecca; 35 we saluted him, and he bade us welcome and we
east of Zabid, 40 miles north of Ta'izz, and a few miles south of modern Ibb.
It was formerly the capital of the Isma'ili Sulaihid dynasty in al-Yaman.
33 The first quarter was apparently called al-Mu'izzrya (al-Khazraji, III,
138). 'Udaina was at the foot of the citadel (Ibn al-Mujawir, 233). A quarter
called al-Mahalib does not seem to be otherwise attested (al-Mahalib was a
town on the site of modern Zaidlya, three farsakhs north of Wadl Surdud
(Ibn al-Mujawir, 58-63), 80 miles north of Zabid); perhaps the name stands
here for Bab al-Mahalib.
34 For the RasOlid dynasty see vol. I, p. 203. Al-Malik al-Mujahid Nur
Din reigned 1321-63, with some intervals of dethronement and imprison-
ment. Al-Mujahid is a title, not to be literally translated as 'the warlike'.
35 For the Tabari family of Mecca see vol. I, p. 216, n. 119. But this mem-
ber of the family is unknown, and the Grand Qadi of Ta'izz who died in 1342
was Jamal al-Din Muhammad b. Yusuf al-Sabri (Durar, IV, 310).
369
 SOUTHERN ARABIA, E. AFRICA, PERSIAN GULF

stayed in his house as guests for three nights. On the fourth

day, which was a Thursday, the day on which the sultan sits
in audience for the general public, the qadi presented me to
him and I saluted him. The method of saluting him is that
one touches the ground with his index-finger, then raises it to
the head and says 'May God prolong thy majesty.' I did as
the qadi had done; the qadi took his seat to the king's right,
and on his command I sat in front of him. He then questioned
me about my country, about our Master, the Commander of
Faithful, the prince of liberality, Abu Sa'id (God be pleased
with him), and about the king of Egypt, the king of al-'Iraq, [
174 and the king of the Lurs, and I answered all the questions
that he asked concerning them. His vizier was in his presence,
and the king commanded him to treat me honourably and
arrange for my lodging.
The ceremonial at the [public] session of this king is as follows,
He takes his seat on a platform carpeted and decorated with
silken fabrics; to right and left of him are the men-at-arrns,
those nearest him holding swords and shields, and next to
them the bowmen; in front of them to the right and left are
the chamberlain and the officers of government and the
private secretary. The amir jandar is in attendance on him,
and the shawushes, who form part of the corps of jandars, are
stationed at a distance. 36 When the sultan takes his seat they
cry with one voice Bismilldh, and when he rises they do the
same, so that all those in the audience-hall know the moment
of his rising and the moment of his sitting. When he has
settled in his seat, each one of those persons whose custom it
is to salute him enters, makes his salutation, and stands in
175 the place appointed for him on | the right and on the left. No
person goes beyond his place or sits down, except those who
are bidden to sit. The sultan says to the amir jandar 'Com-
mand so-and-so to sit down,' whereupon the person so com-
manded to sit advances a little way from his place and sits
down on a carpet there in front of those standing on the right
and the left. The food is then brought, and it is of two sorts,
the food of the commons and the food of the high officers. The
34 For the amir jandar, i.e. captain of the bodyguard, see above, p. 343.
Shawush, from the Turkish chawush, means an usher, herald, or more
especially a man-at-arms belonging to the bodyguard.
370
 SAX A AND ADAN

superior food is partaken of by the sultan, the grand qadi, the

principal sharifs and jurists and the guests; the common food
eaten by the rest of the sharifs, jurists and qadis, the shaikhs,
the amirs and the officers of the troops. The seat of each
person at the meal is fixed; he does not move from it, nor does
anyone of them jostle another. On exactly this same pattern
is the ceremonial of the king of India at his meal, but I do not
know whether the sultans of India took it over from the
sultans of al-Yaman or | the sultans of al-Yaman took it over 176
from the sultans of India.
After I had remained for some days as the guest of the
sultan of al-Yaman, during which he treated me generously
and provided me with a horse, I took leave to continue my
journey to the city of San'a'. 37 It is the former capital of the
country of al-Yaman, a large and well-constructed city, built
with bricks and plaster, with many trees and fruits, and with
a temperate climate and good water. It is a curious thing that
the rain in the lands of India, al-Yaman and Abyssinia falls
during the period of summer heat, and mostly during the
afternoon of every day in that season, so that travellers make
haste when the sun begins to decline, to avoid being caught
by rain, and the womenfolk retire to their dwellings, because
these rains are heavy downpours. 38 The whole city of San'a'
is paved and when the rain falls it washes and cleans all its
streets. | The cathedral mosque of San'a' is one of the finest 177
of mosques, and contains the grave of one of the prophets
(peace be upon them).
I travelled from there next to the city of 'Adan, the port of
the land of al-Yaman, on the coast of the great sea. It is sur-
rounded by mountains and there is no way into it except
from one side only. 39 It is a large city, but has no crops, trees,
or water, and has reservoirs in which water is collected during
the rainy season. 40 This water is at some distance from it and
37 San'a' lies 130 miles north of Ta'izz in a direct line, and the journey to
it from Ta'izz and back involves a considerable detour.
38 Ibn al-Mujawir (159) says, speaking of the region of Ta'izz: 'Every
afternoon there blows up a cold and bracing wind, after which the sky be-
comes clouded over and rain falls for an hour or two, then the sky clears.'
39 Aden is about 85 miles south-east of Ta'izz, and somewhat further by
road. The stages are enumerated by Ibn al-Mujawir (155).
40 For the famous reservoirs of Aden, see E.I.2, s.v.
H 371 T.O.I.B.-II
 SOUTHERN ARABIA, K . AFRICA, PERSIAN GULF

the bedouins often cut off the approach to it and prevent the
townsfolk from obtaining it until the latter buy their consent
with money and pieces of cloth. It is an exceedingly hot place,
and is the port of the merchants of India, to which come
great vessels from Kinbayat [Cambay], Tanah, Kawlam
[Quilon], Qaliqut, Fandaraina, al-Shaliyat, Manjarur [Man-
galore], Fakanur, Hinawr [Honavar], Sindabur [Goa], and
other places. The merchants of India live there, and the
merchants of Egypt also. The inhabitants of 'Adan are either
178 merchants or porters or fishermen, j The merchants among
them have enormous wealth;41 sometimes a single man
may possess a great ship with all it contains, no one sharing
in it with him, because of the vast capital at his disposal,
and there is ostentation and rivalry between them in this
respect.
Anecdote.*2 It was told me that one of them sent a slaveboy
of his to buy for him a ram, and another of them sent a slave-
boy for the same purpose. It happened that there was only a
single ram in the bazaar on that day, so there ensued a con-
test for it between the two slaves, bidding against one an-
other, until its price rose to four hundred dinars. Then one
of them got possession of it and said, 'The sum of my wealth
is four hundred dinars, and if my master gives me its price,
good and well, but if not, I shall pay out of my own capital
for it, and I shall have vindicated myself and defeated my
rival.' He went off with the ram to his master, and when the
179 latter learned what had happened he freed him | and gave
him a thousand dinars. The other returned to his master
empty-handed, and he beat him, took his money and drove
him out of his service.
I lodged in 'Adan with a merchant called Nasir al-Din
al-Fa'ri. There used to come to his table every night about
41 For the range and commodities of trade at Aden, cf. The Suma Oriental
of Tome Pires (London, Hakluyt Society, 1944), I, 15-17. The Karimi or
spice merchants of Egypt and al-Yaman were famous: see G. Wiet, 'Les
marchands d'epices sous les Sultans mamlouks' in Cakiers d'Histoire
egyptienne (Cairo, 1955), VII/2, 81-147; W. J. Fischel, 'The spice trade in
Mamluk Egypt' in Journal of the Economic and Social History of the Orient
(Leiden, 1958), 1/2, 157-74.
42 The same story, in largely similar terms but about a particular fish
(dairak), is told by Ibn al-Mujawir (98) to illustrate the rivalry of the rich
merchants of Siraf in al-Yaman.
372
 VOYAGE TO ZAILA'
twenty of the merchants, and he had slaves and servants in
still larger numbers. Yet with all this, they are men of piety,
humility, uprightness and generous qualities, doing good to
the stranger, giving liberally to the poor brother, and paying
God's due in tithes as the Law commands. I met [also] in this
city its pious qadi Salim b. 'Abdallah al-Hindl; the father of
this man had been a slave, employed as a porter, but the son
devoted himself to learning and became a master and leader
[in the religious sciences]. He is one of the best and worthiest
of qadis. I stayed as his guest for some days.
I travelled from the city of 'Adan by sea43 for four days,
and arrived | at the city of Zaila', the city of the Barbara, 44 180
who are a people of the negroes,45 Shafi'ites in rite. Their
country is a desert extending for two months' journey, be-
ginning at Zaila' and ending at Maqdashaw. Their cattle are
camels, and they also have sheep which are famed for their
fat. The inhabitants of Zaila' are black in colour, and the
majority of them are Rafidis. 46 It is a large city with a great
bazaar, but it is in the dirtiest, most disagreeable, and most
stinking town in the world. The reason for its stench is the
quantity of its fish and the blood of the camels that they
slaughter in the streets. When we arrived there we chose
to spend the night at sea in spite of its extreme rough-
ness, rather than pass a night in the town, because of its
filth.
We sailed on from there for fifteen nights and came to
43 In view of the probable date for Ibn Battuta's arrival at Mogadishu (see
below, n. 49), the beginning of his voyage is most probably to be placed at
or after mid-January 1330 [1328].
44 Zaila', on a sandy spit on the Somali coast due south of Aden (see Red
Sea Pilot, 472), was included at this time in the Ethiopian kingdom of
Awfat or Ifat; al-'Omarl, L'Afvique moins I'Egypt, trans. M. G. Demom-
bynes (Paris, 1927), 5. In Egypto-Arabic usage the Somali regions are
commonly called Jabart.
By the term Barbara the Arabic geographers apparently mean the
Hamitic tribes who are neither Abyssinian (Habash) nor negroes (Zinj),
and more especially the Somalis, although Ibn Ba^tQta here includes them
among the negroes; see L. M. Devic, Le Pays des Zendjs (Paris, 1883), 51-2.
The term itself probably came into Arabic from Greek (cf. Periplus of the
Erythraean Sea, ed. W. H. Schoff (New York, 1912), 22-6, 56) and is ulti-
mately derived from ancient Egyptian usage.
45 Arabic zinj or zanj, a term ultimately derived from Persian or Sanskrit,
probably in the language of the seamen of the Persian Gulf.
46 I.e., Shi'ites, probably of the Zaidi sect.
373
 SOUTHERN ARABIA, E. AFRICA, PERSIAN GULF

Maqdashaw, which is a town of enormous size.47 Its inhabi-

tants are merchants possessed of vast resources; they own
181 large numbers of camels, | of which they slaughter hundreds
every day [for food], and also have quantities of sheep. In
this place are manufactured the woven fabrics called after it,
which are unequalled and exported from it to Egypt and
elsewhere.48 It is the custom of the people of this town that,
when a vessel reaches the anchorage, the sumbuqs, which are
small boats, come out to it.49 In each sumbuq there are a
number of young men of the town, each one of whom brings
a covered platter containing food and presents it to one of the
merchants on the ship saying This is my guest,' and each of
the others does the same. The merchant, on disembarking,
goes only to the house of his host among the young men,
except those of them who have made frequent journeys to
the town and have gained some acquaintance with its in-
habitants; these lodge where they please. When he takes up
182 residence with his host, the latter sells his goods for him j and
buys for him; and if anyone buys anything from him at too
low a price or sells to him in the absence of his host, that sale
is held invalid by them. This practice is a profitable one for
them.
When the young men came on board the vessel in which I
was, one of them came up to me. My companions said to him
'This man is not a merchant, but a doctor of the law,' where-
upon he called out to his friends and said to them 'This is the
guest of the qadi.' There was among them one of the qadi's
men, who informed him of this, and he came down to the
beach with a number of students and sent one of them to me.
I then disembarked with my companions and saluted him
and his party. He said to me 'In the name of God, let us go to
salute the Shaikh.' 'And who is the Shaikh?' I said, and he
47 Mogadishu was founded in the tenth century as a trading colony by
Arabs from the Persian Gulf, the principal group being from al-Hasa. The
fidelity of Ibn Battuta's account of this place is remarked by M. Guillain,
Documents sur . .. I'Afrique orientals (Paris, 1856), I, 286-90; II, 531, 539.
48 The continuing importance of the cotton industry at Mogadishu is
confirmed by Guillain (II, 531).
49 Guillain (II, 548-9) indicates that (before the creation of the new port)
the violence of the north-east monsoon in December and January made
communication with the coast at Mogadishu practicable only in September-
October and in and after February. For sumbuqs see above, p. 280.
374
 MAQDASHAW

answered, 'The Sultan/ for it is their custom to call the

sultan 'the Shaikh'. Then I said to him 'When I am lodged,
I shall go to him/ but he said to me, 'It is the custom that
whenever there comes a jurist j or a sharif or a man of re- 183
ligion, he must first see the sultan before taking a lodging/
So I went with him to the sultan, as they asked.
Account of the Sultan of Maqdashaw. 60 The sultan of Maq-
dashaw is, as we have mentioned, called only by the title of
'the Shaikh'. His name is Abu Bakr, son of the shaikh 'Omar;
he is by origin of the Barbara and he speaks in Maqdishi, but
knows the Arabic language. One of his customs is that, when
a vessel arrives, the sultan's sumbuq goes out to it, and en-
quiries are made as to the ship, whence it has come, who is its
owner and its rubbdn (that is, its captain), what is its cargo,
and who has come on it of merchants and others. When all of
this information has been collected, it is presented to the
sultan, and if there are any persons [of such quality] that the
sultan should assign a lodging to him as his guest, he does so.
When I arrived with the qadi I have mentioned, who was
called Ibn al-Burhan, an Egyptian | by origin, at the sultan's 184
residence, one of the serving-boys came out and saluted the
qaxjli, who said to him'Take word to the intendant's office and
inform the Shaikh that this man has come from the land of
al-Hijaz/ So he took the message, then returned bringing a
plate on which were some leaves of betel and areca nuts. He
gave me ten leaves along with a few of the nuts, the same to
the qadi, and what was left on the plate to my companions
and the qadi's students. He brought also a jug of rose-water
of Damascus, which he poured over me and over the qadi
[i.e. over our hands], and said 'Our master commands that
he be lodged in the students' house/ this being a building
equipped for the entertainment of students of religion. The
qadi took me by the hand and we went to this house, which
60 The various Arab tribes occupied different quarters in Mogadishu
(hence presumably its expansion), but recognized the supremacy of the
tribe of Muqn, who called themselves Qahtanis, i.e. south-Arabians, and
furnished the qadi of the city. The sultanate seems to have emerged only
towards the end of the thirteenth century, and the most noted of its sultans
was this Abu Bakr b. Fakhr al-Din (see Enciclopedia Italiana, s.v. Moga-
discio). From Ibn Battuta's statement it would appear that the population
was by now largely assimilated to the Somalis.
375
 SOUTHERN ARABIA, E. AFRICA, PERSIAN GULF

is in the vicinity of the Shaikh's residence, and furnished

with carpets and all necessary appointments. Later on [the
serving boy] brought food from the Shaikh's residence. With
him came one of his viziers, who was responsible for [the care
of] the guests, and who said 'Our master greets you and says
185 to you that you are heartily welcome.' He then set down | the
food and we ate. Their food is rice cooked with ghee, which
they put into a large wooden platter, and on top of this they
set platters of kushdn. &1 This is the seasoning, made of
chickens, fleshmeat, fish and vegetables. They cook unripe
bananas in fresh milk and put this in one dish, and in another
dish they put curdled milk, on which they place [pieces of]
pickled lemon, bunches of pickled pepper steeped in vinegar
and salted, green ginger, and mangoes. These resemble
apples, but have a stone; when ripe they are exceedingly
sweet and are eaten like [other] fruit, but before ripening
they are acid like lemons, and they pickle them in vinegar.
When they take a mouthful of rice, they eat some of these
salted and vinegar conserves after it. A single person of the
people of Maqdashaw eats as much as a whole company of us
186 would eat, as a matter of habit, | and they are corpulent and
fat in the extreme.
After we had eaten, the qadi took leave of us. We stayed
there three days, food being brought to us three times a day,
following their custom. On the fourth day, which was a
Friday, the qadi and students and one of the Shaikh's viziers
came to me, bringing a set of robes; these [official] robes of
theirs consist of a silk wrapper which one ties round his waist
in place of drawers (for they have no acquaintance with
these), a tunic of Egyptian linen with an embroidered
border, a furred mantle of Jerusalem stuff, and an Egyptian
turban with an embroidered edge. They also brought robes
for my companions suitable to their position. We went to the
congregational mosque and made our prayers behind the
maqsura. 52 When the Shaikh came out of the door of the

51 Kftshan is probably a term of the Persian Gulf seamen for seasonings

of meat and vegetables, resembling curries, served with rice. The origin may
be related to Persian gushtan, glossed as 'meats and fruit pulps'.
sz The enclosure in the congregational mosque reserved for the ruler; see
vol. I, p. 127, n. 213.
376
 THE SULTAN OF MAQDASHAW

maqsura I saluted him along with the qadi; he said a word of

greeting, spoke in their tongue with the qa^i, and then said in
Arabic 'You are heartily j welcome, and you have honoured 187
our land and given us pleasure.' He went out to the court of
the mosque and stood by the grave of his father, who is buried
there, then recited some verses from the Qur'an and said a
prayer. After this the viziers, amirs, and officers of the troops
came up and saluted him. Their manner of salutation is the
same as the custom of the people of al-Yaman; one puts his
forefinger to the ground, then raises it to his head and says
'May God prolong thy majesty.' 53 The Shaikh then went out
of the gate of the mosque, put on his sandals, ordered the
qadi to put on his sandals and me to do likewise, and set out
on foot for his residence, which is close to the mosque. All the
[rest of the] people walked barefoot. Over his head were
carried tour canopies of coloured silk, with the figure of a
bird in gold on top of each canopy. 54 His garments on that
day were a large green mantle of Jerusalem stuff, with fine
robes of Egyptian stuffs with their appendages (?) 55 under-
neath it, and he was girt with a waist-wrapper | of silk and i»8
turbaned with a large turban. In front of him were sounded
drums and trumpets and fifes, and before and behind him
were the commanders of the troops, while the qadi, the doc-
tors of the law and the sharifs walked alongside him. He
entered his audience-hall in this disposition, and the viziers,
amirs and officers of the troops sat down in a gallery there.
For the qadi there was spread a rug, on which no one may sit
but he, and beside him were the jurists and sharifs. They re-
mained there until the hour of the afternoon prayer, and after
they had prayed it, the whole body of troops came and stood
in rows in order of their ranks. Thereafter the drums, fifes,
83 See above, p. 370.
54 Ibn Battuta does not call these by the name of the ceremonial parasol,
jitr, the use of which had been apparently introduced by the Fatimid
caliphs of Egypt and spread to all parts of the Muslim world. But apart from
the fact of the four 'canopies' (qibab), it is difficult to see how these differed
from the parasols, especially as the latter too were often surmounted by the
figure of a bird.
65 All MSS. but one apparently read taruhatiha (see the French editors'
note on p. 455); if this is correct, taruha probably means something like
'veil' or 'attachment1 , but the term seems not to be attested elsewhere, and
I suspect a copyist's error for matvuzat —mutavrazat, 'embroideries'.
377
 SOUTHERN ARABIA, E. AFRICA, PERSIAN GULF

trumpets and flutes are sounded; while they play no person

moves or stirs from his place, and anyone who is walking
stands still, moving neither backwards nor forwards. When
the playing of the drum-band comes to an end, they salute
189 with their fingers as | we have described and withdraw. This
is a custom of theirs on every Friday.
On the Saturday, the population comes to the Shaikh's
gate and they sit in porticoes outside his residence. The qadi,
jurists, sharifs, men of religion, shaikhs and those who have
made the Pilgrimage go in to the second audience-hall, where
they sit on platforms prepared for that purpose. The qadi will
be on a platform by himself, and each class of persons on the
platform proper to them, which is shared by no others. The
Shaikh then takes his seat in his hall and sends for the qadi,
who sits down on his left; thereafter the jurists enter, and the
principal men amongst them sit down in front of the Shaikh,
while the remainder salute and withdraw. Next the sharifs
come in, their principal men sit down in front of him, and the
remainder salute and withdraw. If they are guests, they sit
on the Shaikh's right. Next the shaikhs and pilgrims come in,
and their principal men sit, and the rest salute and withdraw.
190 Then come | the viziers, then the amirs, then the officers of
the troops, group after group, and they salute and withdraw.
Food is brought in; the qadi and sharifs and all those who are
sitting in the hall eat in the presence of the Shaikh, and he
eats with them. If he wishes to honour one of his principal
amirs, he sends for him, and the latter eats with them. The
rest of the people eat in the dining-hall, and the order of
eating is the same as their order of entry into the Shaikh's
presence. The Shaikh then goes into his residence, and the
qacji, with the viziers, the private secretary, and four of the
principal amirs, sits for deciding cases among the population
and petitioners. Every case that is concerned with the rulings
of the Divine Law is decided by the qaoll, and all cases other
than those are decided by the members of the council, that is
to say, the viziers and amirs. If any case calls for consultation
of the sultan, they write to him about it, and he sends out the
reply to them immediately on the reverse of the document
«9i as | determined by his judgement. And this too is their fixed
custom.
378
 MAMBASA

I then sailed from the city of Maqdashaw, making for the

country of the Sawahil [Coastlands], with the object of visit-
ing the city of Kulwa in the land of the Zinj people. We came
to the island of Mambasa, a large island two days' journey by
sea from the Sawahil country. 56 It has no mainland territory,
and its trees are the banana, the lemon, and the citron. Its
people have a fruit which they call jammun, resembling an
olive and with a stone like its stone.57 The inhabitants of this
island sow no grain, and it has to be transported to them from
the Sawahil. Their food consists mostly of bananas and fish.
They are Shafi'ites in rite, pious, honourable, and upright,
and their mosques are of wood, admirably constructed. At
each of the gates | of the mosques there are one or two wells 19*
(their wells have a depth of one or two cubits), and they draw
up water from them in a wooden vessel, into which has been
fixed a thin stick of the length of one cubit. The ground round
the well and the mosque is paved; anyone who intends to go
into the mosque washes his feet before entering, and at its
gate there is a piece of thick matting on which he rubs his
feet. If one intends to make an ablution, he holds the vessel
between his thighs, pours [water] on his hands and performs
the ritual washings. All the people walk with bare feet.
We stayed one night in this island and sailed on to the city
of Kulwa, a large city on the seacoast, 58 most of whose in-
habitants are Zinj, jet-black in colour. They have tattoo
marks on their faces, just as [there are] on the faces of the
56 Sdhil, literally 'coastland', meant in maritime usage a port serving as
an entrepot for the goods of its hinterland; see Dozy, s.v. Mombasa (in
Arabic spelling also Manfasa) is separated from the mainland only by a
narrow strait, but Ibn Battuta apparently means that it is two days sailing
time from the 'Coastlands' properly so called, i.e. the trading ports to the
southward.
87 The jammun or jumun is, as indicated in later passages, the Indian
jamun (Eugenia jambolata), incorrectly identified by the French translators
with the jambu or rose-apple; see H. Yule and A. C. Burnell, Hobson-
Jobson (London, 1886), s.v.
58 Kilwa (Kulwa is not otherwise attested), Quiloa of the Portuguese
chronicles, now Kilwa Kisiwani in Tanganyika (8° 57' S., 39° 34' E.), 340
miles south of Mombasa: see M. H. Dorman, 'The Kilwa civilization and the
Kilwa ruins' in Tanganyika Notes (Dar-es-Salaam, 1938), no. 6, 61-71;
J. Walker, 'The Coinage of the Sultans of Kilwa' in Numismatic Chronicle
(London, 1936), 43-81. The journey from Mogadishu towards the end of the
north-east monsoon in February or early March might take from six to ten
days.
379
 SOUTHERN ARABIA, E. AFRICA, PERSIAN GULF

Limis of Janawa. 69 1 was told by a merchant that the city of

Sufala60 lies at a distance of half a month's journey from the
193 city of Kulwa., and that between | Sufala and Yufi, in the
country of the Limis, is a month's journey; from Yufi gold
dust is brought to Sufala. 61 The city of Kulwa is one of the
finest and most substantially built towns; all the buildings
are of wood, and the houses are roofed with dis reeds. 62 The
rains there are frequent. Its people engage in jihad, because
they are on a common mainland with the heathen Zinj people
and contiguous to them, and they are for the most part
religious and upright, and Shafi'ites in rite.
Account of the Sultan of Kulwa. Its sultan at the period of
my entry into it was Abu'l-Muzaffar Hasan, who was called
also by the appellation of Abu'1-Mawahib, on account of the
multitude of his gifts and acts of generosity. He used to
engage frequently in expeditions to the land of the Zinj
people, raiding them and taking booty, and he would set aside
the fifth part of it to devote to the objects prescribed for it in
the Book of God Most High. 63 He used to deposit the portion
for the relatives [of the Prophet] in a separate treasury;
69 LIml is a variant form of Lamlam, applied by the Arab geographers to
the (supposedly cannibal) tribes of the interior (cf. Ibn Khaldun, Mttqad-
dima, trans. F. Rosenthal (New York, 1958), I, 118). Janawa (this reading is
supported by two MSS. against Janada and Jandra) was the name given to
the country of the pagan tribes south of the Muslim lands in West Africa,
which passed into Portuguese and thence into English as Guinea (cf. Yaqut,
Geogr. Diet., s.v. Kinawa).
80 Sofala, at 20° 10' S., 34° 42' E., was the southernmost trading station
of the Arabs in Africa, founded by colonists from Mogadishu; see also
Guillain, I, 337 f. On the gold production and trade of Sofala see Devic,
173-7-
61 Yufi is the kingdom of Nupe in West Africa (cf. vol. IV, p. 395, Arabic).
This confusion between the gold dust of the Niger and the mined gold ore of
Sofala and the assumption of a connection between them are probably due
to some misunderstanding on Ibn Battuta's part.
•2 'Substantial', i.e. by comparison with the hutments in other settle-
ments. The dis reed is identified by Guillain (I, 295) with ampelodesmos
tenax. (The suggested corrections of G. S. P. Freeman-Grenville, 'Ibn
Battuta's visit to East Africa' in Uganda Journal (Kampala, 1955), XIX,
1-6, to read bi'l-hasab for bi'l-khashab and to translate saqfas 'concrete roof
laid over mangrove poles' are more than dubious.)
83 The Arabic History of Kilwa (ed. S. A. Strong in JRAS (1895), 385-430)
dilates on the piety and warlike prowess of this Abu'l-Mawahib Hasan b.
Sulaiman. This text is very corrupt and omits many lines, but can be utilized
with the summary made by Joao de Barros in his work Asia, translated by
G. Ferrand, 'Les sultans de Kilwa' in Memorial Henri Basset (Paris, 1928),
380
 THE SULTAN OF KULWA

whenever he was visited by | sharifs he would pay it out to 194

them, and the sharifs used to come to visit him from al-
'Iraq and al-Hijaz and other countries. I saw at his court a
number of the sharifs of al-Hijaz, amongst them Muhammad
b. Jammaz, Mansur b. Lubaida b. Abu Numayy, and
Muhammad b. Shumaila b. Abu Numayy, 64 and at Maq-
dashaw I met Tabl b. Kubaish b. Jammaz, who was intending
to go to him. This sultan is a man of great humility; he sits
with poor brethren, and eats with them, and greatly respects
men of religion and noble descent.
An anecdote illustrating his generosity. I was present with
him on a Friday, when he had come out [of the mosque] after
the prayer and was proceeding to his residence. He was
accosted by a poor brother, a Yamanite, who said to him 'O
Abu'1-Mawahib;' he replied 'At your service, O faqir—what
do you want?' The man said, 'Give me those robes that you
are wearing.' He said 'Certainly I shall give you them.' The
man said 'Now,' and he said 'Yes, now,' went back to the
mosque and into the khatib's chamber, where he dressed in
other garments, and having taken off j those robes he called 195
to the poor brother 'Come in and take them.' So the faqir
came in, took them, made a bundle of them in a kerchief,
placed them on his head and went off. The population were
loud in their gratitude to the sultan for the humility and
generosity that he had displayed, and his son, who was his
designated heir, took the clothing from the poor brother and
gave him ten slaves in exchange. When the sultan learned of
the gratitude expressed by the people to him for that action,
he too ordered the faqir to be given ten head of slaves and two
loads of ivory, for most of their gifts consist of ivory and it is

242-56, and summarized also by Guillain (I, 180); but Ferrand erroneously
identifies Abu'l-Mawahib with no. 8 instead of no. 21 in Barros's list. His
jihad against the heathen tribes is obviously slave-raiding, and his piety in
'setting aside the fifth' is contrasted with the disregard by other rulers of the
injunction in Qur'an, viii, 42: 'Whatsoever you take in booty, the fifth of it
belongs to God, the Apostle, the relative, the orphans, the poor and the
traveller'. By traditional interpretation the term 'relative' was taken to
mean those persons related to the Prophet by descent, i.e. the sharifs.
84 I.e., of the Husainid sharifs of al-Madma, from the house of Jammaz b.
Shiha (see vol. I, p. 259, n. 55), and of the Hasanid sharifs of Mecca, from
the house of Abu Numayy (see above, p. 361, n. 7).
381
 SOUTHERN ARABIA, E. AFRICA, PERSIAN GULF

seldom that they give gold. 65 When this worthy and open-
handed sultan died (God have mercy on him), he was suc-
ceeded by his brother Da'ud, who was of the opposite line of
conduct. 66 When a petitioner came to him he would say to
him 'He who gave is dead, and left nothing behind to be
given.' Visitors would stay at his court for many months, and
finally he would make them some small gift, so that at last
solicitors gave up coming to his gate.
i96 We sailed | from Kulwa67 to the city of Zafari'1-Humu^,
which is at the extremity of the land of al-Yaman, on the
coast of the Indian Sea. 68 From it thoroughbred horses are
exported to India,69 and the sea between it and the land of
India can be crossed with the aid of the wind in a full month.
I myself crossed it once from Qaliqut in the land of India to
Zafari in twenty-eight days with a favouring wind, sailing
continuously by night and by day. Between Zafari and 'Adan
by land it is a month's journey through desert country,
from Zafari to Hadramaut sixteen days, and from Zafari to
'Oman twenty days. 70 The city of Zafari lies in an isolated
desert region, in which there is not a village, 71 and it has no
65 On the importance of the ivory trade of East Africa, see Dcvic, 179-81.
68 Da'ud (who had previously reigned for two years during Hasan's
absence on pilgrimage) reigned again for twenty-four years after his death
(see the ref above in n. 63; the text translated in JRAS absurdly says '24
days'), and is described as 'ascetic and pious'. Note that Ibn Battuta here
relates at second-hand events which took place after his visit.
87 As the south-west monsoon sets in on the African coast during March
and reaches the Arabian Sea in April, Ibn Battuta's departure from Kilwa
is probably to be dated about the end of March, and the direct journey to
Dhafar can be reckoned at from three to four weeks; cf. Villiers, 297.
88 The small enclave of Dhafar on the southern coast of Arabia, backed
by a high ridge (Jabal Qara) which receives the summer monsoon rains and
is covered by tropical vegetation in consequence on its southern face. See
T. Bent, Southern Arabia (London, 1900), 233-43; for ancient Dhafar,
Periplus of the Erythraean Sea, 107. The addition of al-FIumud (to dis-
tinguish it from several other places in al-Yaman called Zafar) is an error
or re-cast from the term al-Habudl, the ethnic of the dynasty from whom it
was seized by the Rasulids of al-Yaman in 1278 (al-Khazraji, III, 60); cf.
below, n. 71, and p. 390, n. 86.
69 On the horse-trade between Dhafar and India see Yule's Marco Polo,
II, 340, 444.
70 Ibn al-Mujawir gives the stages on the land routes from Dhafar to
'Adan (268-70), Shibam in IJadramaut (256-60), and Qalhat (270-2).
71 The HabudI ruler Ahmad b. 'Abdallah removed the town from inland
to the coast in 1223 to protect it from attack (presumably by the bedouins),
and named the new city al-Mansura (Ibn al-Mujawir, 260). This was ap-
' 382
 ZAFARI

dependencies. 72 The bazaar is outside the city in a suburb

called al-Harja', and it is one of the dirtiest, most stinking
and fly-ridden of bazaars, because of the quantity | of fruit 197
and fish sold in it. 73 Most of the fish in it are the species called
sardm, which are extremely fat there. 74 It is a strange fact
that their beasts have as their sole fodder these sardines, and
likewise their flocks, 75 and I have never seen this in any other
place. Most of the sellers [in the bazaar] are female slaves,
who are dressed in black.
The grain grown by its inhabitants is millet, which they
irrigate from very deep wells. Their method of irrigation is
that they make a large bucket and attach it to a number of
ropes, each one of which is tied round the waist of a male or
female slave; these draw up the bucket over a large beam
fixed above the well, and pour the water into a tank from
which they water [the crop]. They have also a wheat-grain,
which they call 'alas, but it is in reality a kind of barley. Rice
is brought to them from India, and forms their principal food.
The dirhams of this city are made of brass and tin, and are
not accepted as currency anywhere else. 76
The population of Zafari are engaged in trading, and have
no | livelihood except from this. It is their custom that when 198
a vessel arrives from India or elsewhere, the sultan's slaves
go down to the shore, and come out to the ship in a sumbuq,
carrying with them a complete set of robes for the owner of
the vessel or his agent, and also for the rubban, who is the
captain, and for the kirdni who is the ship's writer. 77 Three
patently situated on the ruined site now called al-Balad or al-Bilad, two
miles east of Salala, on the ruins of an ancient Sabaean city, with a citadel
some 100 feet in height (Bent, 240; cf. Red Sea Pilot, 443).
72 The other township of Mirbat was destroyed by Ahmad al-Habudi (Ibn
al-Mujawir, 270).
73 Al-Harja' lay to the west of the city, 'a pleasant town on the sea-coast';
Ibn al-Mujawir, 261-2.
74 The surprising identity of this term (almost certainly non-Arabic) with
that of the European languages is probably to be explained by common
derivation from Greek.
76 Cf. Ibn al-Mujawir (265): 'The fodder of their animals is dried fish,
which is [called] 'aid, and they manure their lands with fish only.'
78 There are several other instances of such debased local currencies, pro-
bably with the object of preventing the export of silver.
77 'The karrani (or kirdni) is a writer who keeps the accounts of the ship':
A'ln-i Akbarl, tr. H. Blochmann (Calcutta, 1939), I, 290.
383
 SOUTHERN ARABIA, E. AFRICA, PERSIAN GULF

horses are brought for them, on which they mount [and pro-
ceed] with drums and trumpets playing before them from the
seashore to the sultan's residence, where they make their
salutations to the vizier and amir jandar. Hospitality is
supplied to all who are in the vessel for three nights, and
when the three nights are up they eat in the sultan's residence.
These people do this in order to gain the goodwill of the ship-
owners, and they are men of humility, good dispositions,
virtue, and affection for strangers. Their clothes are made of
199 cotton, which is brought to them from | India, and they wear
wrappers fastened round their waists in place of drawers.
Most of them wear [only] one wrapper tied round the waist
and put another over their backs, because of the violent
heat, and they bathe several times a day. The town has many
mosques, and in each mosque there are a number of lavatories
equipped for them to bathe in. In it are manufactured fabrics
of silk, cotton and linen, of very good quality. There is pre-
valent among the inhabitants, both men and women, the
disease called elephantiasis, which is a swelling of both feet,
and most of the men suffer from hernia—God preserve us!
One of their good customs is to shake hands with one another in
the mosque after the morning and the afternoon prayers; those
in the front row [of worshippers] turn their backs to the [wall
containing the] qibla, and those [in the row] next to them
shake hands with them. They do the same thing after the noon-
prayer on Friday, all of them shaking hands with one another.
aoo One of | the special properties and marvels of this city is
that no one approaches it with an evil design but his guile
turns on himself and he is prevented from attaining it. It was
told me that the sultan Qutb al-Dln Tamahtan b. Turan-
Shah, the ruler of Hurmuz, invested it once by land and sea;
but God (magnified be He) sent against him a violent wind
which broke up his vessels, and he desisted from his siege of it
and made peace with its king. So also it was told me that al-
Malik al-Mujahid, the sultan of al-Yaman, appointed a
cousin of his to the command of a powerful force with the
object of seizing it from the hand of its king, who was also his
paternal cousin. 78 But when that commander came out of his
78 No record of either of these expeditions is found in any of the contem-
porary sources relating to the Persian Gulf or southern Arabia.
384
 ZAFARI

house, a wall fell down upon him and upon a number of those
with him, so that they all perished, and the king desisted
from his project and abandoned [all thought of] besieging
and laying claim to it.
Another strange thing is that the people of this city of all
men most closely resemble the people of the Maghrib in | their 201
ways. I lodged in the house of the khatib in its principal
mosque, who was 'Isa b. 'All, a man of great distinction and a
generous soul. He had a number of slavegirls, who were
called by the same names as the female slaves in the Maghrib;
one was named Bukhait and another Zad al-Mal,79 and I have
never heard these names in any other country. Most of its
inhabitants leave their heads uncovered, and do not wear a
turban. In every one of their houses there is a prayer-mat
of palm leaves hung up inside the house, on which the master
of the house performs his prayers, exactly as the people of
the Maghrib do, and their food [also] is millet. All of this
similarity between them, is of a nature to strengthen the
opinion that the Sanhaja and other tribes of the Maghrib
originate from Himyar. 80
In the vicinity of this city and among its groves is the
hospice of the pious shaikh and devotee Abu | Muhammad b. 202
Abu Bakr b. 'Isa, of the people of Zafari. This hospice is held
in great veneration by them; they come out to it in the
mornings and evenings and seek asylum in it, and when the
suppliant for asylum has entered it, the sultan has no power
over him. I saw there one person, who, I was told, had been
in it for a period of years as a refugee, without any violence
being offered to him by the sultan. During the days that I
spent in Zafari, the sultan's secretary took refuge in it and
remained there until a reconciliation was effected between
them. I went out to this hospice and spent a night in it,
enjoying the hospitality of the two shaikhs Abu'1-'Abbas
Ahmad and Abu 'Abdallah Muhammad, sons of the shaikh
Abu Bakr mentioned above, and I found them to be men of

79 Bukhait is the diminutive of bakht, 'good luck'. Zad al-Mal appears to

be a phrase, 'May wealth increase'.
80 This belief is based on the legend that the Tubba's, the pre-Islamic
Himyarite kings of al-Yaman, conquered North-West Africa and that their
Yamanite troops settled there.
385
 SOUTHERN ARABIA, E, AFRICA, PERSIAN GULF

great benevolence. When we washed our hands after the

meal, one of them, Abu'l-'Abbas, took that water in which we
had washed, drank some of it, and sent the servant with the
rest of it to his wives and children, and they too drank it. This
is what they do with all visitors to them in whom they per-
203 ceive indications of goodness, j In the same way I was enter-
tained by its pious qadi Abu Hashim al-Zabidi; he himself
undertook the office of serving me and of washing my hands,
and would not delegate it to any other person.
In the neighbourhood of this hospice is the mausoleum of
the ancestors of the sultan al-Malik al-Mughith. 81 It is held in
great veneration by them; anyone who has a petition to
make puts himself under its protection and his petition is
granted. It is the custom of the soldiery, if the month comes
to an end and they have not been paid their allowances, to
seek the protection of this mausoleum, and they remain
under its protection until they receive their allowances.
Half a day's journey from this city is al-Ahqaf where [the
people of] 'Ad dweit.82 There is a hospice there and a mosque
on the sea-coast, with a village of fishermen surrounding it.
In the hospice is a tomb over which is inscribed This is the
204 tomb of Hud b. 'Abir, | upon whom be most copious blessing
and peace'. I have already related that in the mosque of
Damascus there is a place over which is inscribed 'This is the
tomb of Hud b. 'Abir', but it is more likely that his tomb
should be in al-Ahqaf, since it was his country, but God
knows best. 83
81 See below, p. 390.
82 Al-Ahqaf, mentioned in the Qur'an (xlvi, 20) as the land of the ancient
tribe of 'Ad, to whom the prophet Hud was sent, is commonly taken to
mean all or part of the sand deserts of southern Arabia. But an early
Islamic tradition locates it in 'a wadl between 'Oman and Mahra', and Ibn
Battuta may well be repeating a local tradition. His statement, however,
seems to confuse two places; the city of the 'Adites is probably the ruined
Sabaean city below a cave on the edge of Jabal Qara, some ten miles north
of al-Balad, visited by the Bents in 1895 (Southern Arabia, 265-6);
and the village of fishermen on the coast is probably RaisOt, ten miles west
of al-Balad.
83 This again is evidently a local ascription. The accepted tradition places
the grave of Hud at a well-known site (see E.I., s.v. Barahut) 40 miles east
of Tarim in Hadramaut, and over 300 miles west of Dhafar. Note that in his
earlier reference (vol. I, 129) Ibn Battuta states that he had himself seen
this grave, but does not actually say so here.
386
 THE BETEL TREE
This city [of Zafari] has groves in which grow large num-
bers of bananas of great size; one of them was weighed in my
presence and its weight was twelve ounces. They are pleasant
to the taste and very sweet. There too are betel and coconut
(known as 'Indian nut'), which are to be found only in the
land of India and in this city of Zafari, because of its similar-
ity and proximity to India—except, however, that in the
city of Zabid, in the sultan's garden, there are some few
coconut trees. Since the mention of betel and coconuts has
come up, I shall now proceed to describe them and give an
account of their properties.
Account of the Betel Tree** The betel is a tree which is
cultivated in the same manner as the grape-vine; | trellises of 205
cane are made for it, just as for grape-vines, or else the betel
trees are planted close to coconut trees, so that they may
climb upon them in the same way that vines climb, and as
the pepper climbs. The betel has no fruit, and is grown only
for the sake of its leaves, which resemble the leaves of the
bramble, and the best ones are the yellow. Its leaves are
picked every day. The Indians attach immense importance to
betel, and when a man comes to the house of his friend and
the latter gives him five leaves of it, it is as though he had
given him the world, especially if he is an amir or some great
man. The gift of betel is for them a far greater matter and
more indicative of esteem than the gift of silver and gold.
The manner of its use is that before eating it one takes areca
nut; this is like a nutmeg but is broken up until it is reduced
to small pellets, and one places these in his mouth and chews
them. Then | he takes the leaves of betel, puts a little chalk on 206
them, and masticates them along with the betel. Their
specific property is that they sweeten the breath, remove foul
odours of the mouth, aid digestion of food, and stop the in-
jurious effect of drinking water on an empty stomach; the
84 The Arabic (or Perso-Arabic) word is tanbul (cf. Yule's Marco Polo, II,
371, 374), derived from the Sanskrit name of the betel-shrub, the common
European term betel being derived from the Malayalam language of south-
west India through Portuguese (see Hobson-Jobson, s.v.). On the use of
betel leaf in India, see The Ocean of Story, ed. N. M. Penzer, London, 1927,
VIII, 237-319, and Mrs Meer Hasan AH on 'the dear delightful pawn'
(Observations on the Mussulmauns of India (1832), ed. W. Brooke (London,
). 57)-
I 387 T.O.I.B.-II
 SOUTHERN ARABIA, E. AFRICA, PERSIAN f.ULF

eating of them gives a sense of exhilaration and promotes

cohabitation, and a man will put some by his head at nights
so that, if he wakes up or is awakened by his wife or slave-
girl, he may take a few of them and they will remove any foul
odour there may be in his mouth. I have been told, indeed,
that the slave-girls of the sultan and of the amirs in India eat
nothing else. I shall speak of this [again] in describing the
land of India.
Account of the Coconut, which is the 'Indian nut'. These
trees are among the most peculiar trees in kind and most
astonishing in habit. They look exactly like date-palms,
207 without any difference between them | except that the one
produces nuts as its fruits and the other produces dates. The
nut of a coconut tree resembles a man's head, for in it are
what look like two eyes and a mouth, and the inside of it
when it is green looks like the brain, and attached to it is a fibre
which looks like hair. They make from this cords with which
they sew up ships instead of [using] iron nails, and they [also]
make from it cables for vessels. The coconut, especially that
in the islands of Dhibat al-Mahal [Maldives], is the size of a
human head, and they tell [this story]: A certain philosopher
in India in past ages was in the service of one of the kings and
was held by him in high esteem. The king had a vizier, be-
tween whom and this philosopher there was enmity. The
philosopher said to the king, 'If this vizier's head is cut off
and buried, there will grow out of it a palm that will produce
large dates which will bring advantage to the people of India
208 and other peoples in the world.' | The king said to him 'And
what if this that you have stated does not come from the head
of the vizier?' He replied 'If it does not, do with my head as
you have done with his.' So the king gave orders to cut off
the vizier's head, and the philosopher took it, planted a date-
stone in his brain, and tended it until it grew into a tree and
produced this nut as its fruit. This story is a fiction, but we
have related it because of its wide circulation among them.
Among the properties of this nut are that it strengthens
the body, fattens quickly, and adds to the redness of the face.
As for its aphrodisiac quality, its action in this respect is
wonderful. One of the marvellous things about it is that at the
beginning of its growth it is green, and if one cuts out a piece
388
 THE COCONUT

of its rind with a knife and makes a hole in the head of the
nut, he drinks out of it a liquid of extreme sweetness and
coolness, but whose temperament is hot and aphrodisiac. |
After drinking this liquid, he takes a piece of the rind and 209
fashions it like a spoon, and with this he scoops out the pulp
which is inside the nut. The taste of this is like that of an egg
which has been broiled but not fully cooked, and one uses it
for food. This was what I lived on during my stay in the
islands of Dhibat al-Mahal for a period of a year and a half.
Another marvellous thing about it is that there are made
from it oil, milk and honey. The way in which honey is made
from it is as follows. The servants who have the care of the
coconut palms, and who are called fdzamya, climb up a palm-
tree in the morning and the evening, when they intend to
take its sap, from which they make the honey (which they
call atwaq). 85 They cut the stalk on which the fruit grows,
leaving of it two fingers' length, and on this they tie a small
bowl, into which there drips the sap which flows out of the
stalk. If he ties it on in the morning, | he climbs up to it in 210
the evening, carrying with him two cups made from the rind
of the nut mentioned above, one of which is filled with water.
He pours out the sap that has collected from the stalk into
one of the cups, washes the stalk with the water in the other
cup, cuts a small piece off it, and ties the bowl on it again.
He then repeats in the morning what he did the previous
evening. When a large quantity of this sap has collected for
him, he cooks it in the same way that grape-juice is cooked
when rubb is made from it. It then makes a delicious honey of
great utility, and this is bought by the merchants of India,
al-Yaman and China, who transport it to their countries and
manufacture sweetmeats from it.
The way in which milk is made from it is as follows. There
is in every house a kind of chair upon which a woman sits,
having in her hand a stick with a protruding ferrule at one
end of it. They make a hole in the nut just large enough to
admit that | ferrule and mash its contents, and all that comes an
out of it is gathered on a plate, until nothing is left inside the
nut. This mash is then steeped in water, so that it becomes

85 Neither of these terms has been traced.

389
 SOUTHERN ARABIA, E. AFRICA, PERSIAN GULF

just like the colour of milk in whiteness and has the same
taste as milk, and the people use it as a sauce. The method
of making the oil is that they take the nuts when they are
ripe and have fallen from the trees, peel off their rinds and
cut them up into pieces. These are placed in the sun, and
when they are dried they cook them in cauldrons and extract
their oil. They use it for lighting and also as a sauce, and the
women put it on their hair. It too is of great utility.
Account of the Sultan of Zafari. He is the sultan al-Malik al-
Mughith, son of al-Malik al-Fa'iz, cousin of the king of al-
212 Yaman.86 His father was governor of Zafari on behalf of | the
ruler of al-Yaman, and was under obligation to send the
latter a present every year. Subsequently al-Malik al-Mughith
made himself independent as king of Zafari, and refused to
send the present. This was the occasion for the decision of the
king of al-Yaman to go to war with him, his appointment of
his cousin for that purpose, and the falling of the wall upon
him, as we have related above. The sultan has a palace inside
the city which is called the Castle, a large and extensive
building, and the cathedral mosque is alongside it.87
It is his custom to have drums, trumpets, bugles and fifes
sounded at his gate every day after the afternoon prayer, and
every Monday and Thursday the troops come to his gate and
stand outside the audience-hall for an hour, then withdraw.
The sultan himself does not go out, nor is he seen by anyone
except on Fridays, when he goes out for the [midday] prayer,
and then returns to his residence, but he prevents no one
from entering the audience-hall. The amir jandar sits at its
213 gate, and it is to him that every | person with a petition or
a grievance presents his case; he sends it for the sultan's
consideration, and the reply comes to him at once. When the
sultan desires to ride out, his riding-beasts, along with his
arms and mamluks, come out of the palace and go outside
the city; then a camel is brought, bearing a litter covered
with a white curtain embroidered in gold, and the sultan and
86 Dhafar was captured in 1278 from the last of the Habudi amirs, Salim
b. Idris, by al-Malik al-Muzaffar Yusuf, second sultan of the Rasulid dynasty
of al-Yaman (al-KhazrajI, I, 190 sqq.). Al-Malik al-Fa'iz was a brother of
his (al-Khazraji, I, 120); al-Malik al-Mughith (not otherwise known) would
thus be an uncle or cousin of al-Malik al-Mujahid.
87 See above, p. 382, n. 71.
390
 THE SULTAN OF ZAFARI
his familiar ride in the litter in such a manner as not to be
seen. When he has gone out to his garden and wishes to ride a
horse he does so, and dismounts from the camel. It is his
custom also that no one may accost him on his way, nor
stand to look at him or to make a complaint or for any other
purpose. Anyone who ventures to do so is most severely
beaten; consequently you find the inhabitants, when they
hear that the sultan has come out, make a practice of running
away from his route and avoiding it.
The vizier of this sultan is the jurist Muhammad al-'Adani.
He was a teacher of school-children, and taught this sultan
to read and write. | He made a compact with him that he ai 4
would appoint him vizier if he became king, so that when he
became king, he appointed this man vizier. But he was not
competent for this office; consequently, while he had the
title, the authority was in other hands.
From this city we sailed towards 'Oman in a small vessel
belonging to a man called 'Ali b. Idris al-Masiri, an inhabitant
of the island of Masira. On the day following our embarkation
we alighted at the roadstead of Hasik, on which there are a
number of Arabs, who are fishermen and live there. 88 They
possess incense trees; these have thin leaves, and when a leaf
is slashed there drips from it a sap like milk, which then turns
into a gum. This gum is the incense, and it is very plentiful
there. The only means of livelihood for the inhabitants of this
port is from fishing, and the fish that they catch is called
lukham, which is like a dogfish. It is cut open, dried in the
sun, and used for food; their huts also are built with | fishes
bones, and roofed with camel hides. We continued our jour-
ney from the roadstead of Hasik for four days, and came to
the Hill of Lum'an, in the midst of the sea. 89 On top of it is a
hermitage built of stone, with a roofing of fish bones, and
with a pool of collected rainwater outside it.
88 Bandar Hasik, 80 miles east of Dhafar (Red Sea Pilot, 447). It is sur-
prising that this is the first mention that Ibn Battuta makes of incense trees
in this region although Dhafar was the main centre for the production and
trade in incense; see Yule's Marco Polo, II, 445-9.
89 This can only be the island of al-Hallaniya, one of the Khuriya Muriya
group, an island of granite peaks terminating at the northern end in an
almost perpendicular bluff, 1,645 feet in height (Red Sea Pilot, 451). The
island, however, is only 20 miles east of Hasik.
391
 SOUTHERN ARABIA, E. AFRICA, PERSIAN GULF

Account of a Saint whom we met on this Hill. When we cast

anchor under this hill, we climbed up to this hermitage, and
found there an old man lying asleep. We saluted him, and he
woke up and returned our greeting by signs; then we spoke to
him, but he did not speak to us and kept shaking his head.
The ship's company offered him food, but he refused to accept
it. We then begged of him a prayer [on our behalf], and he
kept moving his lips, though we did not know what he was
saying. He was wearing a patched robe and a felt bonnet, but
216 had no | skin bag nor jug nor staff nor sandals. The ship's
company declared that they had never [before] seen him on
this hill. We spent that night on the beach of the hill and
prayed the afternoon and sunset prayers with him. We
offered him food, but he refused it and continued to pray
until the hour of the last night-prayer, when he pronounced
the call to prayer and we prayed along with him. He had
a beautiful voice in his reciting of the Qur'an and in his
modulation of it. When he ended the last night-prayer, he
signed to us to withdraw, so, bidding him farewell, we did
so, with astonishment at what we had seen of him. After-
wards, when we had left, I wished to return to him, but on
approaching him I felt in awe of him; fear got the better of
me, and when my companions returned for me, I went off with
them.
We resumed our voyage and after two days reached the
Island of Birds, which is uninhabited. We cast anchor and
217 went ashore | on it, and found it full of birds like blackbirds,
except that these were bigger. 90 The sailors brought some
eggs of those birds, cooked and ate them, and also caught and
cooked some of the birds themselves without slitting their
throats, and ate them. There was sitting alongside me a
merchant, of the people of the island of Masira, but living in
Zafari, named Muslim; I saw him eating these birds along
with them, and reproved him for it. 91 He was greatly abashed
and said to me, 'I thought that they had slaughtered them,'
90 A small island close to the western coast of the Gulf of Masira, about
30 miles north of Ra's Markaz, called in the Red Sea Pilot (458) Hamar an-
Nafur (? 'Wild Doves'), and described as frequented by 'myriads of wild
fowl'.
91 In Islamic law and practice no animal is lawful for food unless its throat
has been cut before death.
392
 THE ISLAND OF BIRDS

but he kept aloof from me thereafter out of shame and would

not come near me until I called him. My food during those
days on that ship was dried dates and fish. Every morning
and evening [the sailors] used to catch fish called in Persian
shir mdhi, which means 'lion of fish', because shir is a lion and
mdhi is fish; it resembles the fish called by us tdzart. 92 \ They 218
used to cut them in pieces, broil them, and give every person
on the ship a portion, showing no preference to anyone over
another, not even to the master of the vessel nor to any other,
and they would eat them with dried dates. I had with me
some bread and biscuit, which I brought from Zaf ari, and these
were exhausted I had to live on those fish with the rest of them.
We celebrated the Feast of Sacrifice at sea ; 93 on that very day
there blew up against us a violent wind after daybreak and it
lasted until sunrise and almost sunk us.
A miraculous grace. There was accompanying us in the
vessel a pilgrim, a man from India named Khidr, but he was
called Mawldnd because he knew the Qur'an by heart and
could write excellently. 94 When he saw the storminess of the
sea, he wrapped his head in a mantle that he had and pre-
tended to sleep. When God gave us relief from what | had 219
befallen us, I said to him 'O Mawlana Khidr, what kind of
thing did you see?' He replied 'When the storm came, I kept
my eyes open, watching to see whether the angels who
receive men's souls had come. As I could not see them I said
"Praise be to God. If any of us were to be drowned, they
would come to take the souls." Then I would close my eyes
and after a while open them again, to watch in the same
manner, until God relieved us'. A ship belonging to one of the
merchants had gone ahead of us, and it sank, and only one
man escaped from it—he got out by swimming after suffering
severely.
92 Shir mdhl is defined in the Persian lexica as 'a fish with white scales',
and is presumably the fish described in the Red Sea Pilot (462) as 'of very
excellent quality'.
93 According to Ibn Battuta's chronology this would be 10 Dhu'l-Hijja
731 =14 September 1331. I suspect, however, that the true year was 729,
and that the Feast was not that of the Sacrifice but of the Fast-Breaking on
ist Shawwal = 29 July 1329. Note that in speaking of his journey to Qalhat
a few days later (below, p. 396), Ibn BattQta says that it was the hot season,
and cf. also below, p. 404, n. 130.
94 See above, p. 293, n. 71.
393
 SOUTHERN ARABIA, E. AFRICA, PERSIAN GULF

I ate on that vessel a kind of dish which I have never eaten

before or after. It was prepared by one of the merchants of
'Oman from millet, which he cooked without grinding, and
poured over it saildn, that is honey made from dates,95 and
we ate it [so].
We came next to the island of Masira, to which the master
220 of the ship that we were sailing on belonged. | It is a large
island, whose inhabitants have nothing to eat but fish. 96 We
did not land on it, because of the distance of the anchorage
from the shore; [besides] I had taken a dislike to these people
when I saw them eating the birds without proper slaughter-
ing. We stayed there one day, while the master of the ship
went ashore to his home and came back to join us.
We continued our voyage for a day and a night and came
to the roadstead of a large village on the seashore called Sur, 97
from which we saw the city of Qalhat on the slope of a hill,
and seeming to us to be close by. 98 We had arrived at the
anchorage just after noon or before it, and when the city
appeared to us I felt a desire to walk to it and spend the night
there, since I had taken a dislike to the company of the ship's
221 folk. I made enquiries about the way to it and was told that
I should reach it by mid-afternoon, so I hired one of the
sailors to guide me on the road. I was accompanied by Khidr
the Indian, who has been already mentioned, and I left my
associates with my possessions on the ship to rejoin me on the
following day. I took some pieces of clothing of mine and
gave them to the man I had hired as a guide, to spare me the
fatigue of carrying them, and myself carried a spear in my
hand. Now that guide wanted to make off with my garments,
so he led us to a channel, an inlet from the sea in which there
was a tidal flow and ebb, and was about to cross it with my
garments, but I said to him, 'You cross over by yourself and
95 See above, p. 276, n. 22.
96 See G. de Gaury, 'A Note on Masira Island' in GJ (London, 1957),
CXXIII, 499-502 (with map). The island is 40 miles long, 10 miles broad,
and contains a few date plantations. Already in the Periplus (35) its in-
habitants are described as ichthyophagi, 'fish-eaters'.
97 For the village and anchorage of Sur, at the southern end of 'Oman,
see Red Sea Pilot, 476.
98 The distance is 13 miles in a direct line. The author of Tuhfat al-A'yan
(see below, p. 398, n. in) identifies the inlet mentioned immediately below
with Kh6r Rasagh.
394
 WALK TO QALHAT

leave the clothes with us; if we can cross, we shall, but if

not we shall go up higher to look for a ford.' He drew back
and afterwards we saw some men who crossed it by swim-
ming, so we were convinced that he had meant to drown us
and make away with the garments. Thereupon I made a show
of vigour and took a firm attitude; I girt up my waist and
kept brandishing the spear, so that the guide went in awe of
me. | We went up higher until we found a ford, and then came 222
out into a waterless desert, where we suffered from thirst and
were in a desperate plight. But God sent us a horseman with a
number of his companions, one of whom had in his hand
a waterskin and gave me and my companion to drink. We
went on, thinking that the city was close at hand, whereas [in
reality] we were separated from it by nullahs through which
we walked for many miles.
When the evening came the guide wanted to lead us down
towards the shore, where there was no road, for the coast
there is [nothing but] rocks. He wanted us to get stuck
amongst them and to make off with the garments, but I said
to him 'We shall just keep walking along this track that we
are following,' there being a distance of about a mile between
us and the sea. When it became dark he said to us 'The city is
no distance from us, so come, let us walk on so that | we can 223
stop overnight in its outskirts.' But I was afraid that we
might be molested by someone on our road, and was not sure
how far we still had to go, so I said to him The right course is
to turn off the track and sleep, and in the morning we shall
reach the town, if God will.' I had observed a party of men on
a hillside thereabouts, and fearing that they might be robbers
said [to myself] 'It is preferable to go into hiding.' My com-
panion was overcome by thirst and did not agree to this, but I
turned off the road and made for a tree of Umm Ghailan.
Although I was worn out and suffering from exhaustion, I
made a show of strength and vigour for fear of the guide; as
for my companion, he was ill and incapacitated. So I placed
the guide between him and me, put the garments between
my robe and my skin, and held the spear firmly in my hand.
My companion went to sleep and so did | the guide, but 1224
stayed on watch, and every time the guide moved I spoke to
him and showed him that I was awake. We remained thus
395
 SOUTHERN ARABIA, E. AFRICA, PERSIAN GULF

till daybreak, when we came out to the road and found people
going to the town with various kinds of produce. So I sent the
guide to fetch water for us, and my companion took the gar-
ments. There were still some steep slopes and nullahs between
us and the city, but the guide brought us water and we drank,
this being the season of heat.
Finally we reached the city of Qalhat, arriving at it in a
state of great exhaustion. My feet had become so swollen in
my shoes that the blood was almost starting under the nails.
Then, when we reached the city gate, the finishing touch to
our distress was that the gatekeeper said to us, 'You must go
with me to the governor of the city, that he may be informed
of what you are doing and where you have come from.' So I
went with him to the governor, and found him to be an
225 excellent man | and of good disposition. He asked me about
myself and made me his guest, and I stayed with him for six
days, during which I was powerless to rise to my feet because
of the pains that they had sustained.
The city of Qalhat is on the seacoast; it has fine bazaars
and one of the most beautiful mosques." Its walls are tiled
with qdshdni, which is like zalij, and it occupies a lofty situa-
tion from which it commands a view of the sea and the
anchorage. It was built by the saintly woman Bibi Maryam,
bibi meaning in their speech 'noble lady'. 100 1 ate in this city
fish such as I have never eaten in any other region; I preferred
it to all kinds of flesh and used to eat nothing else. They broil
it on the leaves of trees, place it on rice, and eat it [thus]; the
rice is brought to them from India. They are traders, and
make a livelihood by what come to them on the Indian Sea.
When a vessel arrives at their town, they show the greatest
226 joy. Their speech is incorrect although they are j Arabs, and
every sentence that they speak they follow up with Id ['no'].
So, for example, they say 'You eat, no; you walk, no; you do

99 Marco Polo (Yule, II, 449—51) calls Calatu 'a great city', 'a noble city'.
In Arabic also the form Qalatu is found.
100 Bibi Maryam, wife of Ayaz, a former ruler of Qalhat and Hurmuz.
continued to rule Hurmuz for some years after his death in 1311/12. Both
were Turkish slaves of a former usurper at Hurmuz, Mahmud QalhatI
(Aubin, JA (1953) 97, 99)- BIW is a word of Turkish origin, glossed in Per-
sian lexica as 'good woman, lady of the house'.
396
 QALHAT AND NAZWA

so-and-so, no.'101 The majority of them are Kharijites, 102 but

they cannot make an open profession of their tenets because
they are subject to the sultan Qutb al-Din Tamahtan, king of
Hurmuz, who is a Sunni. 103
In the vicinity of Qalhat is the village of Tibi, one of the
loveliest of villages and most striking in beauty, with flowing
streams and verdant trees and abundant orchards.104 Fruits
of various kinds are brought from it to Qalhat. There is there
the banana called marwdri, which in Persian means 'pearly' ; 105
it grows plentifully there and is exported from it to Hurmuz
and other places. There is also the betel but it is small-leaved.
Dried dates are imported into | these parts from 'Oman.
We set out thereafter for the land of 'Oman,106 and after
travelling for six days through desert country we reached it
on the seventh. It is fertile, with streams, trees, orchards,
palm groves and abundant fruit of various kinds. We came to
the capital of this land, which is the city of Nazwa107—a city
at the foot of a mountain, enveloped by orchards and streams,
and with fine bazaars and splendid clean mosques. Its inhab-
itants make a practice of eating [meals] in the courts of the
mosques, every man bringing what he has and all assembling
together to eat in the mosque courtyard, and the way-
101 In Tuhfat al-A'yan (I, 312-13; see below, n. in) this practice is said
to be limited to phrases of invitation and the like. A somewhat similar usage
is recorded by Bertram Thomas for the speakers of the mountain dialect on
the Musandam peninsula.
108 The Kharijites were a sect who broke away from 'All when, after the
indecisive battle at Siffin (A.D. 657) against Mu'awiya, then governor of
Syria, he agreed to put the question of the lawfulness of the killing of
'Othman to arbitration. They subsequently erupted in a series of revolts
against the Umayyad and 'Abbasid caliphs on the charge of corrupting the
primitive tenets and practices of Islam. Of their many sub-sects, the most
lasting were the Ibadlya, who acquired a dominant position in 'Oman in the
eighth century, and have maintained it to the present day.
103 See below, p. 401.
104 Called Taiwa by Ibn al-Mujawir (280, 284), but more commonly known
as TiwI (cf. Tuft/at al-A'yan, 313).'It lies 10 miles north of Qalhat, and is
described as 'with a date-grove in a gorge (and) many fruit-trees' (Sailing
Directions for the Persian Gulf (Washington, U.S. Navy, 1931, 52).
105 An Arabic formation from Persian marwand, 'pearl',
106 I.e. 'Oman proper, an area of oasis villages on the slopes of Jabal
Akhdar, in the interior.
107 At the foot of the western flank of Jabal Akhdar, 130 miles from
Qalhat in a direct line; general view in J. Morris, Sultan into Oman (London-
New York, 1957), 20» plate.
397
 SOUTHERN ARABIA, E. AFRICA, PERSIAN GULF

farers eat along with them. They are pugnacious and brave,
and there is continual warfare among them. They are Ibadis
in rite, and they make the congregational prayer on Friday
[an ordinary] noon prayer with four 'bowings' ; 108 after they
have finished these, the imam reads some verses from the
«8Qur'an and delivers an address in prose, resembling | the
khutba, in the course of which he uses the formula 'God be
pleased with him' in respect of Abu Bakr and 'Omar, but
makes no mention of 'Othman and 'AH. 109 These people,
when they wish to speak of 'AH (God be pleased with him),
allude to him [simply] as 'the man'; thus they say 'It is re-
lated of the man' or The man said'. [On the other hand] they
use the formula 'God be pleased with him' of the accursed
wretch Ibn Muljam, 110 and refer to him as 'the pious servant
[of God], the suppressor of the sedition'. Their womenfolk are
much given to corruption, and the men show no jealousy nor
disapproval of such conduct. 111 We shall relate an anecdote
later on which bears witness to this.
Account of the Sultan of Oman. Its sultan is an Arab of the
tribe of Azd b. al-Ghawth, and is called Abu Muhammad Ibn
Nabhan. 112 'Abu Muhammad' is among them an appellation
108 See above, n. 102. The canonical Sunnl rule is to make two 'bowings'
before the khutba at the congregational prayer on Friday. According to the
author of Tuhfat al-A'yan (1,314), the omission of the congregational prayer
was for the reason that in Kharijite doctrine the presence of an imam is
required for its validity, and the Nabhani rulers were not regarded as
imams (see below, n. 112).
109 For the mention of the first four caliphs in the Sunnl khutba see vol. I,
p. 252. The Kharijites rejected 'Othman as an innovator and evildoer and
rejected 'All on the issue of the arbitration (see above, n. 102).
110 The Kharijite assassin of 'AH; see above, p. 323, n. 164.
111 The modern Kharijite historian of 'Oman, the imam Nur al-DIn
'Abdallah b. Humaid al-Salimi, and his commentator Ibrahim Atfish
(Tuhfat al-A'yan, Cairo, A.H. 1350, I, 314-18) criticize Ibn Battuta's state-
ments in this paragraph as exaggerations motivated by sectarian prejudice,
but do not positively deny any of them except the total avoidance of the
name of 'AH and the imputation in the last sentence (sec below, however,
p. 400, n. 116).
112 The Banu Nabhan belonged to the 'Atik branch of the great south-
Arabian tribe of Azd, and ruled Inner 'Oman from 1154 to 1406. In the
Kharijite tradition they are regarded as impious tyrants, who usurped the
rights of the legitimate Imams. For this reason, no precise chronological
narrative of this period has survived. The author and commentator of
Tuhfat al-A'yan (316), however, express disbelief in the statement that
every sultan of the dynasty was called Abu Muhammad, and this was cer-
tainly not the practice in its earlier years (cf. ibid., 303-4).
398
 OMAN

given to every sultan who governs 'Oman, just like the ap-
pellation 'Atabek' among the kings of the Lurs. It is his
custom to sit outside the gate of his residence in a place of
audience there. He has no chamberlain nor | vizier, and no 239
one is hindered from appearing before him, whether stranger
or any other. He receives a guest honourably, after the custom
of the Arabs, assigns him hospitality, and makes gifts to him
according to his standing, and he is of excellent character. At
his table there is eaten the flesh of the domestic ass, and it is also
sold in the market, because they maintain that it is lawful for
food, but they conceal the fact from one who comes to their
country and do not produce it openly in his presence. 113
Among the cities of 'Oman is the city of Zaki114—I did not
enter it, but according to what was told me it is a large city—
and al-Qurayyat, Shaba, Kalba, Khawr Fakkan, and Suhar, 115
all of them with streams, groves, and palm trees. Most of this
country is under the government of Hurmuz.
Anecdote. One day I was in the presence of this sultan, Abu
Muhammad Ibn Nabhan, when a woman came to him,
young, pretty and with unveiled face. She stood | before him 230
and said to him, 'O Abu Muhammad, the devil is in revolt in
my head.' He said to her 'Go and drive out the devil.' She
said 'I cannot, and I am under your protection, O Abu
Muhammad.' Then he said to her 'Go and do what you want.'
I was told that this girl and anyone who does as she did are
under the sultan's protection, and engage in debauchery.
113 This statement also is strongly disputed in the Tuhfa (317). The authors
argue that the flesh of the donkey is not prohibited in the Qur'an, that its
prohibition was disputed among the early scholars of Islam, and that
although some Kharijite doctors may have declared it lawful this doctrine
has never been followed in practice. The general Muslim doctrine is that it is
prohibited by a Tradition of the Prophet. It is reported, however, that the
wild ass is eaten by some tribesmen of Inner 'Oman (W. Thesiger, Arabian
Sands (London-New York, 1959), 147).
114 More commonly known as Azkl or Izkl, 30 miles east of Nazwa.
115 These are all townships on the coast, roughly from south to north:
al-Qurayyat is a group of villages 25 miles south-east of Masqat; Suhar is
125 miles north-west of Masqat; Kalba and Khor Fakkan (or Fukkan) are
60 and 75 miles north of Suhar. No place called Shaba (or Shabba) has been
identified in 'Oman. From its order in this list it seems to correspond to Sib,
25 miles west of Masqat, the mediaeval name of which is uncertain (see
Kashf al-Ghumma, ed. H. Klein (Hamburg, 1938), 62). Masqat is omitted in
this list, but is mentioned on his return journey in 1347 (vol. IV, p. 310,
Arabic).
399
 SOUTHERN ARABIA, E. AFRICA, PERSIAN GULF

Neither her father nor any of her relatives can punish her,
and if they kill her they are put to death in retaliation for her,
because she is under the sultan's protection. 116
I travelled next from the land of 'Oman to the land of
Hurmuz. Hurmuz is a city on the sea-coast, and is also called
Mughistan. 117 Opposite it in the sea is New Hurmuz, and be-
tween them is a sea passage of three farsakhs. We came to
New Hurmuz, which is an island whose city is called Jarawn. 118
231 It is a fine large city, with magnificent bazaars, as it is | the
port of India and Sind, from which the wares of India are
exported to the two 'Iraqs, Fars and Khurasan. It is in this
city that the sultan resides, and the island in which it is
situated is a day's march in size. Most of it is salt marshes and
hills of salt, namely the ddrdbi salt;119 from this they manu-
facture ornamental vessels and pedestals on which they place
lamps. Their food is fish and dried dates exported to them
from al-Basra and 'Oman. They say in their tongue Khurtna
wamdhi luti pddishdni, which means 'Dates and fish are a
royal dish'. On this island water is an article of price; it has
water-springs and artificial cisterns in which rain-water is
collected, at some distance from the city. The inhabitants go
there with waterskins, which they fill and carry on their backs
to the sea [shore], load them on boats, and bring them to the
232 city. I saw | a remarkable thing [there]—near the gate of the
cathedral mosque, between it and the bazaar, the head of a fish
116 The author of the Tufrfa admits that this story is perhaps credible, but
only in view of the tyrannical and ungodly character of the government of
the Nabhanids.
117 Old Hurmuz was situated on the mainland, some six to eight miles up
the Minab creek ; see Yule's Marco Polo, I, no-n, and A. T. Wilson, The
Persian Gulf (Oxford, 1928), 100-4. Mughistan was the name of the district
of Kirman adjoining the coast: see Pedro Teixeira, Travels, trans. W. F.
Sinclair (London, Hakluyt Society, 1902), 156, 186; Wilson, ibid., 126. (One
MS. reads 'a region' instead of 'a city'.) Ibn Battu^a strangely omits to say
where he sailed from.
118 New Hurmuz was founded on the island of JarQn by Ayaz (see above,
p. 396, n. 100) shortly after 1300 (Schwarz, III, 242, 245). According to
Mustawfl (177) the ferry-port for Jarun on the mainland was called Tusar,
The island is actually about six miles long.
119 Darabi (for daranl in the printed text), i.e., like the salt of Darabjird,
to the south-east of Shiraz, where there were hills of salt of different colours
from which platters were made (Schwarz, II, 95). The island of Jarawn is in
fact a salt-plug, and almost all its water had to be brought from neighbour-
ing islands or the mainland (cf. Wilson, 108).
4OO
 HURAIUZ ISLAND

as large as a hillock and with eyes like doors, and you would see
persons going in by one eye and coming out by the other. 120
I met in this city the pious shaikh and follower of the Sufi
path Abu'l-Hasan al-Aqsarani, from the land of al-Rum by
origin, who received me hospitably, visited me, and presented
me with a robe. He gave me also the 'girdle of companion-
ship', which is used for tying up the ends of one's robes; it
supports one who is sitting and serves as something to lean
on. 121 Most of the Persian poor brethren wear this girdle.
At a distance of six miles from this city is a place of visita-
tion called by the name of al-Khidr and Ilyas (on both of
whom be peace).122 It is related that they used to pray there,
and there have been obtained at it blessings and evidentiary
miracles. There is at the same place a hospice inhabited by a
shaikh, who maintains the service [of food] at it for way-
farers. We stayed with him for a day, and from there went to
visit | a pious man who lives as a recluse at the end of this 233
island. He has carved out for his habitation a cave, in which
is a hermitage, a sitting-room, and a small chamber in which
he keeps a slave-girl. He has slaves outside the cave, who tend
cattle and sheep of his. This man was one of the principal
merchants, then he went on pilgrimage to the [Holy] House,
renounced all attachments, and devoted himself to religious
exercises at this spot, having transferred his wealth to one of
his brethern to use in trading for him. We spent one night
with him, when he treated us with exceeding hospitality
(God be pleased with him), and the marks of goodness and of
pious exercises were plainly visible on him.
Account of the Sultan of Hurmuz. He is the sultan Qutb
al-Din Tamahtan [Tahamtan] b. Turan-Shah,123 one of the
120 There are relatively few references to the whale (called bdl or wdl) in
Arabic writings. The most vivid are the seamen's stories at the beginning
of The Chain of Histories (M. Reinaud (ed.), Relation des Voyages faits dans
I'lnde et a la Chine (Paris, 1845), I, 2) ; cf. also al-Damiri, Hayat al-Hayawan
(Cairo. A.H. 1306), 1,102.
121 See vol. I, p. 121, n. 201.
122 For the association of al-Khidr and Elijah, see below, p. 466, n. 193.
123 Tahamtan, a descendant of the former ruling house of Hurmuz, re-
conquered Hurmuz in 1319, in company with his brother Ni?am al-Din
Kaiqubad, and in 1330 or 1331 added the islands of Qais and Bahrain and
the ports of Qatif and Machul to his dominions (Aubin, JA (1953). 103-5)-
During this period, and for some years later, complete harmony prevailed
between the two brothers.
401
 SOUTHERN ARABIA, E. AFRICA, PERSIAN GULF

most generous of princes, exceedingly humble, and of excel-

234 lent character. It is his custom to visit in person every | jurist
or pious man or sharif who comes to his court, and to give to
each one his due. When we entered his island, we found him
occupied in preparations for war with the sons of his brother
Nizam al-Din, and on every night he would make ready for
battle. 124 Meanwhile the island was in the grip of famine. We
were met by his vizier, Shams al-Din Muhammad b. 'AH, his
qadi 'Imad al-Din al-Shawankari, and a number of dis-
tinguished persons, who presented their excuses on the ground
of their present situation of engagement in war. We stayed
with them for sixteen days, and when we were about to leave
I said to one of my associates 'How can we go away without
seeing this sultan?' So we went to the vizier's residence,
which was in the neighbourhood of the hospice where I
lodged, and I said to him 'I wish to salute the king.' He
replied 'In the name of God,' took me by the hand and went
with me to his residence, which was on the shore, with ships
235 of war 125 | drawn up on the beach beside it. And lo and be-
hold, [there was] an old man, wearing long cloaks, both
skimpy and dirty, with a turban on his head, and a kerchief
for a waist girdle; the vizier saluted him and I saluted him
too, not knowing that he was the king. At his side was his
sister's son, 'All Shah b. Jalal al-Din al-Klji,126 with whom I
was already acquainted, so I began to converse with him, not
knowing the king. When the vizierinf ormedme of the fact, I was
covered with confusion before him, because of addressing my
conversation to his sister's son instead of to him, and I made
my excuses to him. The king then rose and went into his
residence, followed by the amirs, viziers, and officers of state;
124 Ibn Battuta suddenly transports his narrative to the year 1347, when
he passed through Hurmuz on his way back from India to Baghdad, pro-
bably just before Tahamtan's death in the spring of that year (vol. IV,
p. 311, Arabic). See also below, p. 403, n. 128. In a later passage he vividly
illustrates the disastrous effect of this conflict upon commerce in the Persian
Gulf (vol. Ill, p. 248, Arabic).
125 The Arabic term ajfdn is used almost indiscriminately of merchant
vessels and war galleys, but the second seems to be the more appropriate
rendering in this context.
126 This person was probably related to the ruling house of Makran (for
Kij see above, p. 342, n. 238), which was closely connected with the princes
of Hurmuz.
402
 THE SULTAN OF HURMUZ
I entered along with the vizier and we found him sitting on
his throne, wearing the same clothes without any change,
and with a rosary in his hand made of pearls such as eyes
have never seen, because the pearl fisheries are under his
authority. 127 One of the amirs sat down at his side, and I sat
down | at the side of that amir. The king asked me about 236
myself and my arrival, and about the kings that I had met,
and I answered him on these matters. Food was served, and
those present ate, but he did not eat with them; after a time
he rose and I said farewell to him and went away.
The reason for the war between him and his brother's sons
is that once upon a time he sailed from his new city for a
pleasure outing in Old Hurmuz and its gardens, the distance
between them by sea being three farsakhs, as we have already
mentioned. His brother Nizam al-Dln revolted against him
and proclaimed himself king, and the people of the island, as
well as the troops, gave him their oath of allegiance. 128 Qutb
al-Din, fearing for his life, sailed to the city of Qalhat (which
has been mentioned above, and is included in his dominions);
he stayed there for some months, equipped ships, and came to
the island, but its people fought against him on his brother's
side and put him to flight. He returned to Qalhat and re-
newed his attack j several times, but could find no stratagem 237
[to succeed] until he sent an emissary to one of his brother's
wives, whereupon she poisoned his brother and he died. He
127 In the next paragraph Ibn Battuta defines the pearl fisheries as those
of Qais Island, and in a later passage (vol. IV, 168, Arabic) speaks of having
seen the pearl fisheries 'in the island of Qais and the island of Kish [read
Kishm], which belong to Ibn al-Sawamili'. This statement seems to
define fairly closely the date of this journey. (Ibn) al-Sawamili was the
popular designation of the celebrated merchant Jamal al-Dln Ibrahim b.
Muhammad of Tib, entitled Malik al-Islam (d. 1306; see Durar, I, 59-60),
who founded a short-lived dynasty of princes of Qais. His sons held the
island until 1329, and it was captured by Tahamtan from their sons in 1330
or 1331 (see Aubin, JA (1953), 89 sqq., 138, Table II). Ibn Battuta, if he
visited Qais Island, must thus have done so during the government of the
Sawamill house, and presumably before the lengthy hostilities broke out
with Tahamtan in 1330.
128 Nizam al-Din seized JarQn in 1344/5, while Tahamtan was on a
hunting expedition, and in a battle on the mainland defeated Tahamtan,
who, however, recovered Hurmuz and Jarun after Nizam al-Dm's death in
1346. He died in the soring of 1347, and only under his son and successor
TGranshah was control regained over Qais and Bahrain (Aubin, JA (1953).
106-9).
K 403 T.O.I.B.-II
 SOUTHERN ARABIA, E. AFRICA, PERSIAN GULF

now came to the island and entered it, while his brother's
sons fled with the treasuries, moneys and troops to the island
of Qais, where the pearl fisheries are. They set about inter-
cepting the merchants of India and Sind who were making
for the island and raiding his coastal territories, with the
result that the greater part of them have been devastated.
We travelled next from the city of Jarawn with the object
of visiting a saintly man in the town of Khunju Pal. After
crossing the strait, we hired mounts from the Turkmens; 129
they are the inhabitants of that country, and no travelling
can be done through it except in their company, because of
their bravery and knowledge of the roads. In these parts
there is a desert extending over four nights' journey, which
238 is the haunt of Arab brigands and in which the samum wind
blows up in the two months of June and July. All those whom
it overtakes there it kills; indeed, I was told that when a man
is killed by that wind and his friends attempt to wash him
[for burial] all his limbs fall apart. 130 There are many graves
in it of those who have succumbed there in this wind. We
used to travel by night, and when the sun rose we would halt
in the shade of the Umm Ghailan trees, resuming our journey
in the late afternoon [and going on] until sunrise. It was in
this desert and the adjoining regions that Jamal al-Luk,
whose name is famous in those parts, used to hold up
travellers.
Anecdote. Jamal al-Luk was a man of Sijistan, of Persian
129 Probably the tribesmen now called Qashqa'is. The Arab brigands men-
tioned below are most probably the Qufs or Qufs, supposedly of south-
Arabian origin but perhaps Kurds, inhabitants of the highlands of this
region from pre-Islamic times. They were notorious brigands, whose
haunts extended from Hurmu/ far to the east (Schwarz, III, 261-6). Cf.
Mustawfi (117), who describes the population of this region as 'brigands,
highwaymen, and footpads'.
130 'They call these deadly pestiferous Storms Bad Sammoun, that is to
say, the Winds of Poison .... It rises only between the i5th of June and
the isth of August, which is the time of the excessive Heats near that Gulph.
That wind runs whistling through the Air, it appears red and inflamed, and
kills and blasts the People; it strikes in a manner, as if it stifled them, par-
ticularly in the Day time. Its surprising Effects is not the Death it self,
which it causes; what's most amazing is, that the Bodies of those who die
by it, are, as it were, dissolved, but without losing their Figure and Contour;
insomuch that one would only take them to be asleep; but if you take hold
of any piece of them, the Part remains in your Hand 1 (J. Chardin, Travels in
Persia, ed. N. M. Penzer, London, 1927, 136).
404
 PERILS OF THE DESERT

origin; 131 al-Luk means 'having a hand cut off', his hand
having been cut off in one of his battles. He had under him a
large band of Arab and Persian horsemen, with whom he en-
gaged | in highway robbery. He would build hospices and 239
supply food to wayfarers with the money that he robbed
from people, and he is said to have claimed that he never
employed violence except against those who did not give
tithes on their property in alms. He continued in this way for
a considerable time, he and his horsemen making raids, cross-
ing wildernesses unknown to others and burying in them
large and small waterskins, so that when they were pursued
by the sultan's troops they would make off into the desert and
dig out the water [they had stored], while the troops would
give up pursuit of them for fear of perishing. He persisted in
this conduct for a time, while neither the king of al-'Iraq nor
any other could do anything against him; but afterwards he
repented and gave himself up to religious devotions until his
death, and his grave is a place of visitation in his country.
We travelled through this desert until we came to Kaw-
ristan, a small town with running streams and gardens, and
extremely hot. 132 From there we continued our march | for 24°
three days through [another] desert like the former, and
came to the city of Lar, a large city with many springs and
perennial streams and gardens, and with fine bazaars.133 We
stayed there in the hospice of the ascetic shaikh Abu Dulaf
Muhammad134—he was the person that we had in mind to
visit at Khunju Pal. In this hospice was his son Abu Zaid
'Abd al-Rahman, and along with him a company of poor
131 Ibn Hajar (Durar, IV, 260) relates that this man (incorrectly called
al-Hammal Ltik) terrorized the caravans between Yazd and Shiraz, but was
eventually caught in an ambush by Muhammad b. Muzaffar and executed,
before Ibn Muzaffar occupied Yazd (see above, p. 309, n. 124). L-uk is
glossed in the Persian lexica as 'one who crawls on hands and knees'.
132 This is apparently Kuristan, a village on the Rud-i Kuristan, a western
affluent of the Rfld-i Shur, and on the direct westward route from the
vicinity of the later town of Bandar 'Abbas. The spelling Kawrastan in the
text is an error; cf. vol. IV, p. 311 (Arabic).
133 This is the earliest mention of a town of Lar; the contemporary
Persian geographer Mustawfi (138) mentions Lar only as a district near the
seacoast (adding, strangely, 'Its population are Muslims'), but twice men-
tions the town of Laghir, on the main road to Shiraz, twelve farsakhs north-
west of Khunj (176, n. 2).
184 Not identified.
405
 SOUTHERN ARABIA, E. AFRICA, PERSIAN GULF
brethren. It is part of their regular practice to assemble in the
hospice after the afternoon prayer every day, and then make
a circuit of the houses in the city; at each house they are
given one or two loaves, and from these they provide food for
wayfarers. The householders are used to this practice, and
include [the extra loaves] in their [daily] provision in readi-
ness for the faqirs, as a contribution to their distribution of
food. On the eve of every Friday the poor brethren and devout
men of the city assemble in this hospice, each bringing as
241 many dirhams as he can afford, | and they put them together
and spend them the same night. They then pass the night in
religious exercises, including prayers and recitation of the
dhikr and of the Qur'an, and disperse after the dawn prayer.
Account of the Sultan of Ldr. In this city is a sultan named
Jalal al-Din, a Turkmen by origin. 135 He sent us a hospitality
gift but we did not meet him nor see him.
We went on next to the city of Khunju Pal (sometimes
pronounced Hunju Pal), 136 in which is the residence of the
shaikh Abu Dulaf, whom we had set out to visit, and in
whose hospice we lodged. When I entered the hospice, I saw
him sitting in a corner of it on the bare earth, and wearing a
dilapidated green woollen tunic, with a black woollen turban
on his head. When I saluted him, he warmly returned my
242 salutation, asked me about my arrival | and my country, and
assigned me a lodging. He used to send me food and fruit by a
son of his, himself a pious devotee, exceedingly modest and
humble, who fasted continuously and was assiduous in
prayer. This shaikh Abu Dulaf is a man of remarkable
character and strange ways, for his outlay in this hospice is
very large; he makes immense gifts, gives presents of gar-
ments and horses to [many] persons, is generous to every
wayfarer, and I saw none to compare with him in that
country; yet he is not known to possess any income except
185 Not identified.
136 Khunj-u Pal is a double name, for the towns of Khunj and Fal. Khunj
lies 40 miles north-west of Lar, and is often confused with Hunj, about 50
miles south of Lar. The ruins of Fal lie 4 miles south of Gallah-Dar, some
60 miles west of Khunj, at 27° 38' N., 52° 39' E.; see Sir M. Aurel Stein,
Archaeological Reconnaissances in North-West India and South-Eastern Iran
(London, 193?). 220. There seems to be no explanation for Ibn Battuta's
conjunction of the two names.
406
 KHUNJUPAL

what comes to him as gifts from brethren and associates.

Many persons, consequently, assert that he is able to draw on
the resources of creation. In this hospice of his is the tomb of
the shaikh, the pious saint and pole Daniyal, whose name
is widely famed in that country, and of great eminence in
sainthood. 137 Over his tomb is a vast cupola, built by the
sultan Qutb al-Dln Tamahtan [Tahamtan] b. Turan-Shah. 11 w
stayed with the shaikh Abu Dulaf only one day, on account
of the urgency of the caravan in whose company I was
travelling to press on.
I heard that in this city of Khunju Pal there was a hospice
in which there were a number of pious devotees, so I went to
it in the evening and saluted their shaikh and them. [In
them] I found a blessed company upon whom assiduous de-
votions had left their mark, for they were pale in colour, lean
in body, much given to weeping and profuse in tears. When I
arrived among them they brought food, and their chief said
'Call my son Muhammad to me,' as he was engaged in solitary
exercises in some part of the hospice. So the boy came to us,
and he was as though he had come out of a tomb, so emaciated
was he by his devotions. He said a greeting and sat down,
then his father said to him 'My son, join these newcomers in
the meal and you will gain the advantage of their blessings/
and although he was fasting at the time he broke his fast
with us. They are Shafi'ites | in rite, and when we had finished 244
eating they pronounced a blessing on us and we went away.
We travelled on from there to the city of Qais, also called
Siraf. 138 It is on the coast of the Indian Sea, which connects
137 Shaikh Daniyal was instrumental in the acquisition of Jarun by Ayaz
(see above, p. 396, n. 100), and his mosque still exists in Khunj (Aubin, JA
(1953). 95)-
las The confusion of Qais with Siraf here arises from Ibn Battuta's habit
of occasionally combining literary reminiscences with his personal experi-
ences. As is clear from above, n. 127, he was well aware that Qais was an
island, and it was still relatively nourishing at this time. His description, in
fact, applies much more accurately to Qais than to Siraf, where there were
scarcely any trees or cultivation and most of its water had to be carried in
(Schwarz, II, 59-64, 88-9). Down to the tenth century, however, Siraf had
been the richest trading port on the Persian Gulf; it was destroyed by an
earthquake in 977, and never recovered. Its site, near the modern Tahiri,
20 miles west of Gallah-Dar, has been examined by Sir Aurel Stein (202-12,
with plan). Schwarz suggests that Ibn Battu^a confused Siraf with Charak,
on the coast, north-east of Qais, but it is doubtful whether Charak existed
407
 SOUTHERN ARABIA, E. AFRICA, PERSIAN GULF

with the sea of al-Yaman and [that of] Fars, and it is

reckoned as one of the districts of Fars. [It is] a city of wide
extent, commodious, in a rich country-side, and with
wonderful gardens of scented herbs and leafy trees amongst
its houses. Its people draw their water from springs that gush
out from its hills; they are Persians of noble stock, and among
them is a body of Arabs of the Banu Saffaf. 139 It is these
latter who dive for pearls.
Account of the Pearl Fishery.™0 The pearl fishery is situated
between Slraf and al-Bahrain, in a calm channel like a great
river. When the month of April and the month of May come
round, large numbers of boats come to this place with divers
245 and merchants of Fars, | al-Bahrain and al-Qutaif. The diver,
when he makes ready to dive, puts over his face a covering
made of the shell of the ghailam, that is the tortoise, and
makes of this same shell a sort of thing like scissors which he
fastens on his nose, then ties a rope round his waist and sub-
merges. They differ in their endurance under water, some of
them being able to stay under water for an hour or two hours
or less. When the diver reaches the bottom of the sea he finds
the shells there, stuck in the sand among small stones, and
pulls them out by hand or cuts them loose with a knife that
he has for that purpose, and puts them in a leather bag slung
round his neck. When his breath becomes restricted he pulls
on the rope, and the man who is holding the rope on the

by name at that time, and the route from Khunj to Qais (Mustawfi, 176)
ran not to Charak, but to Huzu, identified by Le Strange with modern
Chiru. Indeed, no major town is known to have existed at this time on the
Lar coast (see the next note).
139 One section of the coastal region called Irahistan is called by the Arab
geographers Sif Bani'l-Saffaq; this was apparently the coast of Lar (Schwarz,
II, 75-6). The Banu'l-Saffaq (or Saffaf or Saffar) were Arabs from 'Oman,
long established on the coast of Fars (Bibl. Geog, Arab., I, 141).
140 This account is obviously at secondhand, since Ibn Battuta seems
never to have been in the region at the pearling season, and there is a
characteristic mixture of exact fact and exaggerations or misinformation in
his statement. His location of the pearl beds is so vague as to be unidentifi-
able, and was indeed probably as vague in his own mind. On the east shore
of the Gulf the principal pearl-fisheries at this time appear to have been in
the vicinity of Lar (or Laran) Island and at Kh6r Shlf (Aubin, JA (1953),
101), but the location of this place in turn is not precisely known. The term
khdr may, however, underlie Ibn Battuta's picture of 'a calm channel like a
great river'.
408
 PEARL FISHERIES

shore141 feels the movement and pulls him up to the boat.

The bag is then taken from him and the shells are opened.
Inside them are found pieces of flesh which are cut out with a
knife, and when they come into contact with the air they
solidify and turn into | pearls. All of these are collected, 246
whether small or large; the sultan takes his fifth and the re-
mainder are bought by the merchants who are there in the
boats. Most of them are creditors of the divers, and they take
the pearls in quittance of their debts, or so much of them as is
their due. 142
We then travelled from Siraf to the city of al-Bahrain, a
fine large city with gardens, trees and streams. 143 Water is
easy to get at there—one digs with one's hands [in the sand]
and there it is. The city has groves of date-palms, pomegran-
ates, and citrons, and cotton is grown there. It is exceedingly
hot there and very sandy, and the sand often encroaches on
some of its dwellings. There was formerly a road between al-
Bahrain and 'Oman, which has been overwhelmed by the
sands and become impassable, so that the city cannot be
reached from 'Oman except by sea. In its vicinity are two
large hills, one of which is called | Kusair, which lies to the 247
west of it, and the other called 'Owair, which is to the east of
it. There is a proverbial saying derived from them, 'Kusair
and 'Owair, and either is no good'. 144
141 This presumably means, from the context, 'on the surface', but the use
of the term sahil in this sense is not attested elsewhere.
142 The statements on the disposal of the pearls are entirely accurate. See,
on the industry and its processes, Ameen Rihani, Around the Coasts of
Arabia (London, 1930), 275-81; A. Villiers, 373 ff.
143 Al-Bahrain in old Arabic usage meant the coastal area on the Arabian
mainland now called al-Hasa, but Mustawfl (135) shows that already by this
time it was used for the island, properly called Uwal, and that its inhabi-
tants were already noted for piracy. The older usage still survived, however,
and may explain the apparent confusion implied in Ibn Battuta's statement
about the road to 'Oman. The underground water-bearing beds of eastern
Arabia discharge into the sea around al-Bahrain, and are also captured on
the islands.
144 Ibn Battuta gives both a most confused statement and an incorrect
version of a seamen's jingle: Kusair wa-'Uwair wa-thalith laisa flhi khair,
i.e. 'Kusair and 'Owair and a third one, in which [sc. in each of which] is no
good'. From the precise indications given by al-Mas'udi (Muruj al-Dhahab
[Prairies d'Or], trans. B. de Meynard (Paris, 1861), I, 240), who places them
in the vicinity of Hanjam Island, and Yaqut (Geogr, Diet., svv.), who de-
scribes them as 'two large hills which project prominently at the far end of
the Sea of 'Oman', it would appear that they are the group of islets called by
409
 SOUTHERN ARABIA, E. AFRICA, PERSIAN GULF

We then travelled to the city of al-Qutaif, a fine large city

with many date-palms, inhabited by different clans of Arabs
who are extremist Rafidis, and display their recusant
heresy openly, without fear of anyone. 145 Their mu'adhdhin
says in his call to prayer, after the two words of witness, 'I
witness that 'AH is the friend of God', and after the two
bidding formulas ['Come to prayer, come to salvation'] he
adds 'Come to the best of works.' 146 He also adds after the
final takbir ['God is most great'] 'Muhammad and 'AH are the
best of mankind; whoso opposes them has become an infidel.'
We went on from there to the city of Hajar, which is now
248 called al-Hasa. 147 | This is the place which has become pro-
verbial in the saying 'Like the carrier of dates to Hajar', since
there are such quantities of date-palms there as are not to be
found in any other place, and they even feed their beasts on
them. Its population are Arabs, mostly of the tribe of 'Abd
al-Qaisb. Afsa. 148
From there we travelled next to the city of al-Yamama,
also called Hajr, a fine and fertile city with running streams
and trees, inhabited by different clans of Arabs, most of
whom are of the Banu Hanifa, this being their land from of
old. 149 Their amir is Tufail b. Ghanim. I continued my jour-
ney from there in the company of this amir to make the
English seamen 'the Quoins' and in modern Arabic 'Salama and her
daughters', lying 4-6 miles north and north-west of Ra's Musandam
(Sailing Directions for the Persian Gulf, 81, views 2, 3). Mustawfi (166, 226)
even more strangely defines Kusair and 'Owair as 'hidden mountainous
reefs below sea-level', between al-Bahrain and either al-Basra or Qais
Island.
145 Usually pronounced al-Qatif, on the mainland, north-west of Bahrain
Island. The ruling family at this time was founded by a man of Quraish,
Jarwan al-Maliki, who seized it from its former QarmatI ('Carmathian')
rulers in 1305/6 and established a Shi'ite government in al-Hasa (Durar, I,
73-4). See also p. 401, n. 123.
146 These are standard Shi'ite formulas; see E.I.2, s.v. adhan.
147 Now called al-Hofhuf or al-Hufuf; for a description of the town and its
oasis see GJ (1924), LXIII, 189-207.
148 One of the major tribes of the north-eastern group called Rabi'a,
established in this area since the sixth century A.D. ; see E.I.2, s.v.
149 Formerly the chief town of Najd, the sand-buried ruins of which lie
58 miles south-east of the present capital al-Riyad, at 24° 07' N.t 47° 25' E.;
see H. St. J. Philby, The Heart of Arabia (London, 1922), II, 31-4. The Banu
Hanifa of al-Yamama are famous in Islamic history for their desperate
resistance to the Muslim forces in 633 (see E.I?, s.v. Abu Bakr). Little is
known of their later history in this area.
410
 PILGRIMAGE OF AL-MALIK AL-NASIR

Pilgrimage, that being in the year 32, and so came to Mecca

(God ennoble her).
In this same year al-Malik al-Nasir, sultan of Egypt (God's
mercy on him), came on pilgrimage with a number of his
amirs. This was the last Pilgrimage that he made, and he
lavished largesse on the inhabitants and sojourners in the
two noble sanctuaries [Mecca and al-Madlna]. | In this year 249
also al-Malik al-Nasir put to death Amir Ahmad, who is said
to have been his son, as well as the chief of his amirs, Bak-
tumur the cupbearer. 150
Anecdote. It was said that al-Malik al-Nasir made a present
of a slave-girl to Baktumur the cupbearer. When he was
about to approach her she said to him 'I am pregnant by
al-Malik al-Nasir,' so he kept away from her and she bore a
son whom he called Amir Ahmad. The boy grew up under his
care, gave evident signs of his noble origin, and was widely
known as al-Malik al-Nasir's son. In the course of this pil-
grimage, these two made a compact to assassinate al-Malik
al-Nasir, and that Amir Ahmad should succeed to the throne.
Baktumur carried with him standards, drums, [official] robes
and quantities of money. The report was divulged to al-
Malik al-Nasir, who sent for Amir Ahmad on a very hot day;
when he came into the king's presence there were some gob-
lets with drinks before him, and al-Malik | al-Nasir drank one 250
goblet and handed Amir Ahmad another goblet, which was
poisoned. As soon as he had drunk it, the king gave orders for
departure, to occupy the time, so the cortege set out and
before they reached the next station Amir Ahmad was dead.
Baktumur was greatly perturbed by his death, rent his
garments, and abstained from food and drink. The report of
this was brought to al-Malik al-Nasir, who came to him in
person, spoke kindly to him, and condoled with him, then
took a goblet which had been poisoned, handed it to him and
said to him T adjure you by my life to drink and cool the fire
150 Al-Malik al-Nasir's pilgrimage in 732 (the Festival in this year fell on
2 September 1332) is confirmed by the historical sources, together with the
deaths of Amir Ahmad and Baktumur during the journey back to Cairo
(see, e.g. Zettersteen, 186; and for Baktumur also vol. I, p. 53, n. 167, where
J 335 is to be corrected to 1333). Ibn Battuta's 'anecdote' is apparently a
popular version of the events, derived from hearsay, the main points of
which are, however, cautiously indicated in the more formal sources.
411
 SOUTHERN ARABIA, E, AFRICA, GULF
In So he it and on the spot, amd there
found in his of honour and
of money, and was the with
wMeh he of al-Malik al-Nlslr.

411
 ANATOLIA
BLACK
showing Ibn Battuta

Quniya ^' Jiakda

 CHAPTER VIII

Asia Minor
HEN the Pilgrimage ended, I went to Judda,1 with

W the intention of sailing to al-Yaman and India. But

that was not decreed for me; | I was unable to find «si
a companion2 and I stayed in Judda about forty days. There
was a ship there belonging to a man called 'Abdallah al-
Tunisi, who was intending to go to al-Qusair,3 in the govern-
ment of Qus, so I boarded it to see what state it was in, but it
did not please me and I disliked the idea of travelling by it.
This was an act of providence of God Most High, for the ship
sailed and when it was in the open sea it foundered at a place
called Ra's Abu Muhammad. 4 Its master and some merchants
escaped in a ship's boat6 after severe distress and were on the
point of death; [even] some of these perished, and all the rest
were drowned, including about seventy of the pilgrims who
were on it.
Some time later I sailed in a sumbuq for ' Aidhab but the
wind drove us back to a roadstead called Ra's Dawa'ir, 6 and
from there we travelled | by land with the Bujah. 7 We made 252
our way through a desert full of ostriches and gazelles and

1 Judda, now Jedda, see above, p. 360.

2 Rafiq, 'companion', seems to be used here in the Arabian sense of
'guide, conductor'.
3 As the nearest port to the Nile valley (five days' journey to Qus), al-
Qusair was throughout the mediaeval period and up to the nineteenth
century the principal Egyptian port on the Red Sea.
4 Ra's AbQ Muhammad appears to be no longer identifiable by that name.
6 Arabic 'ushari, a rowing boat for landing passengers, wares, etc., from
ships (see Kindermann, 64-5).
6 For ' Aidhab see vol. I, p. 68, n. 218, and for Ra's Dawa'ir, p. 362, n. 9,
above. But Marsa Durtir is about 190 miles south of the site of 'Aidhab, and
it seems more probable that on this occasion Ibn Battuta means Ra's
Rawaiya and its anchorage called Dukhana bay, about 100 miles south of
' Aidhab (see Red Sea Pilot, 135-6).
7 On the Bujah (Bejas) see vol. I, p. 69, n. 219, and p. 363 above.
413
 ASIA MINOR AND SOUTH RUSSIA

inhabited by Arabs of Juhaina and Banu Kahil, 8 who arc

subject to the Bujah, and reached a waterpoint called Mafrur
and another called al-Jadid. Since our provisions were ex-
hausted we purchased sheep from some of the Bujah whom
we found in the wilderness, and prepared a store of their
flesh. I saw in this wilderness an Arab boy who spoke to me
in Arabic and told me that the Bujah had captured him; he
declared that for a whole year he had eaten no meat and had
had no other food than camel's milk. Later on that meat that
we had bought ran out on us and we had no provisions left.
But I had with me about a load of dried dates [of the kinds
called] saihdni and barni? intended as presents to my friends,
so I distributed them to the company and we lived on them
for three nights' journey.
After a passage of nine days from Ra's Dawa'ir we reached
253' Aidhab. Some members of the caravan had gone ahead j to it,
and [on their indications] its people came out to meet us with
bread, dates, and water. We stayed there for some days, and
having hired camels went out in company with a party of
Arabs of Dughaim. After watering at a place called al-
Khubaib, we halted at Humaithira, 10 the site of the grave of
the saint of God Most High, Abu'l-Hasan al-Shadhili, being
granted thus the favour of visiting it a second time, and
sojourned for the night at his sanctuary. Thereafter we
reached the village of al-Atwani, which is on the bank of the
Nile opposite the city of Adfu in the upper Sa'id. 11 We
crossed the Nile to the city of Asna, thence to the city of
Armant, then to al-Aqsur, where we visited the [tomb of the]
shaikh Abu'l-Hajjaj al-Aqsuri for the second time, thence to
the city of Qus, thence to the city of Qina, where we visited
8 See above, p. 363, nn. 12, 14.
' Two species of dates which are highly esteemed in Arabia (see R. F.
Burton, Personal Narrative of a Pilgrimage to El-Medinah and Mecca
(London, 1855), II, 200; (1857), I, 384 and J. L. Burckhardt, Travels in
Arabia (London, 1829), II, 213), the barnl (birni) because it is regarded as a
specific against sickness, and the saihdni ('outcrier') because a palm of this
kind on one occasion saluted the Prophet and 'AH.
18 For liumaithira see vol. I, p. 68, n. 217. Al-Khubaib or al-Junaib is not
indicated by J. Bell (see his map of water-points in The Geography and
Geology of South-Eastern Egypt (Cairo, 1912), facing p. 26).
11 From al-Atwani to Cairo Ibn Battuta repeats in reverse order the
journey described in vol. I, pp. 60-8. Al-Atwani is a village two miles north
of Asna.
414
 JOURNEY TO ANATOLIA

[the tomb of] shaikh 'Abd al-Rahlm al-Qinawi a second

time, thence in succession to the cities of Hu, Akhmim,
Asyut, Manfalut, Manlawi, Ushmunain, | Munyat al-Qa'id, 254
all of which cities have been previously described by us.
Thence we came to Cairo, and after staying there for some
days I set out for Syria by the way of Balbais, 12 accompanied
by al-Hajj 'Abdallah b. Abu Bakr b. al-Farhan of Tuzar. He
continued to accompany me for many years, until we quitted
the land of India, when he died at Sandabur, as we shall relate
in due course. We then came to the city of Ghazza, thence to
the city of al-Khalil [Abraham] (upon whom be peace) and
renewed our visitation to his tomb, thence to Bait al-Maqdis
[Jerusalem], and thence in succession to the cities of al-
Ramla, 'Akka, Tarabulus, Jabala, where we visited again
[the tomb of] Ibrahlm b. Adham (God be pleased with him), and
al-Ladhiqiya, all of which places we have described previously.
From al-Ladhiqiya we embarked on a large vessel13 be-
longing to the Genoese, | the master of which was called 255
Martalamin, and made for the country of the Turks, known
as Bilad al-Rum. Why it is called after the Rum is because it
used to be their land in olden times, and from it came the
ancient Rum and the Yunanis [Greeks]. 14 Later on it was
conquered by the Muslims, but in it there are still large
numbers of Christians under the protection of the Muslims,
these latter being Turkmens. 15 We travelled on the sea for ten
nights with a favouring wind, and the Christians treated us
12 For his previous journey from. Cairo to Hebron and Jerusalem see
vol. I, pp. 71-7, Ramla and 'Akka pp. 82-3, Tripoli p. 88, Jabala and the
tomb of Ibrahlm ibn Adham p. 109, and Latakiya p. 113.
13 Arabic qurqura, used generally to denote a large merchant vessel, pro-
pelled by sails and with two or three decks (Kindermann, 79-81). The
Genoese were at this time at the apogee of their commercial activity and
power in the Levant (see Yule's Marco Polo, Intro., 41-51). The French
translators conjecture that Martalamin stands for Bartolomeo.
14 Rum is the traditional name for the Byzantine Greeks, but was applied
also to the Romans (presumably the 'ancient Rum' of this passage), as
Yunanl (sc. Ionian) was applied to the ancient Greeks (especially in the
term tibb yunanl, 'Greek medicine'); cf. Sa'id al-Andalusi, Tabaqdt al-
Umam, trans. Regis Blachere (Paris, 1935), 35, 57 ff., 83 ff.
15 Anatolia was gradually occupied by Turkish tribes from Central Asia
('Turkmens') after the defeat of the Emperor Romanus IV at Mala/gird in
1171 by the Seljuk sultan Alp Arslan; see A History of the Crusades (Phila-
delphia, 1955), I, ch. IV. For the term dhimma, here translated 'protection'
but in effect meaning 'government', see below, p. 425, n. 50.
415
 ASIA MINOR AND SOUTH RUSSIA

honourably and took no passage-money 16 from us. On the

tenth day we arrived at the city of al-'Alaya, which is the
beginning of the land of al-Rum. 17 This country called Bildd
al-Rum is one of the finest regions in the world; in it God has
brought together the good things dispersed through other
lands. Its inhabitants are the comeliest of men in form, the
cleanest in dress, the most delicious in food, and the kindliest
of God's creatures. This is why the saying goes 'Blessing in
256 Syria and kindliness in al-Rum', since what | is meant by the
phrase is the people of this land. Wherever we stopped in this
land, whether at hospice or private house, our neighbours
both men and women (who do not veil themselves) came to
ask after our needs. When we left them to continue our
journey, they bade us farewell as though they were our
relatives and our own kin, and you would see the women
weeping out of grief at our departure. One of their customs in
that country is that they bake bread on only one day each
week, making provision on that day for enough to keep them
for the rest of the week. Their men used to bring us warm
bread on the day it was baked, together with delicious viands
to go with it, as a special treat for us, and would say to us
The women have sent this to you and beg of you a prayer.'
All of the people of this land belong to the school of the
Imam Abu Hanifa (God be pleased with him) and are firmly
attached to the Sunna—there is not a Qadari, nor a Rafidi, nor
a Mu'tazili, nor a Khariji, nor any innovator amongst them. 18
16 The term used is naul, which has in Arabic the meaning of 'gift', but is
evidently used here in the technical sense of nolo, i.e. freight charge; cf.
F. B. Pegolotti, La Pratica della Mercatura, ed. A. Evans (Cambridge,
Mass., 1936), 16.
17 'Alaya (properly 'Ala'iyya), on a small rocky promontory on the eastern
rim of the Bay of Adalia, so called after the Seljuk sultan 'Ala al-DTn
Kaiqubad I, who captured it in 1220 and fortified it. From the Greek name
of his citadel, Kalon Oros, the port derived the name of Candelore, com-
monly used by the Mediterranean traders. See E.I. 2, s.v. Alanya; Seton
Lloyd and D. S. Rice, Alanya (Ala'iyya), (London, 1958).
18 The Hanafi rite and school of law has always predominated among the
Turks, and became the official rite in the Ottoman empire. The other groups
mentioned were heretics or dissenters from Sunnite 'orthodoxy': the
Qadarls as partisans of the doctrine of freewill, the Rafidis as partisans of
'AH (Shi'ites, see vol. I, p. 83, n. 62), the Mu'tazilites as rationalists in
dogmatics, and the Kharijites as self-righteous exclusivists, excommuni-
cating all Muslims who did not share their particular views. 'Innovator'
carried in Sunni Islam the implication of 'heretic'.
416
 AL- ALAYA

This is a virtue | by which God Most High has distinguished 25?

them, but they consume hashish and think nothing
wrong in that. 19
The city of al-'Alaya that we have mentioned is a large
place on the sea coast. It is inhabited by Turkmens, and is
visited by the merchants of Cairo, Alexandria, and Syria. It
has quantities of wood, which is exported from there to
Alexandria and Dimyat, and thence carried to the other
parts of Egypt. There is at the top of the town a magnificent
and formidable citadel, built by the illustrious sultan 'Ala
al-Din al-Rumi.20 I met in this city its qadl Jalal al-Din al-
Arzanjani; he went up to the citadel with me on a Friday,
when we performed the prayers there, and treated me with
generous hospitality. I was hospitably entertained there also
by Shams al-Din Ibn al-Rajihani, whose father 'Ala al-Din
died at Malli, in the Negrolands.21
Account of the Sultan of al-Alaya. On the Saturday the
qadi Jalal al-Din rode out with me | and we went to meet the 258
king of al-'Alaya, who is Yusuf Bak, son of Qararnan, 22 [the
term] bak meaning 'king'. His residence is at a distance of ten
miles from the city. We found him sitting on the shore, by
himself, on the top of a little hillock there, with the amirs and
viziers below him and the troops on his right and left. He has
his hair dyed black. After I saluted him, he asked me about
my arrival; I answered his questions and took leave of him,
and he sent me a present [of money].
From there I went on to the city of Antaliya23 (the city in
19 Hashish, literally 'dry grass', is the intoxicating conserve or drug made
from Indian hemp (cannabis indica) or from henbane (hyoscyamus niger).
The latter is commonly known in Turkey, Persia and India by the Persian
name bang, and is probably the variety meant here (see Hobson-Jobson,
s.v. Bhang). See also vol. Ill, p. [79 Ar.], n. 175.
20 The complex of fortifications on the upper part of the promontory was
reconstructed by Sultan 'Ala al-Din (see above, n. 17) on the foundations of
the Greek buildings; see Lloyd and Rice, plates III, X.
21 Malli, capital of the Negro kingdom on the Niger, was visited by Ibn
Battuta in 1352; see Selections, 323-31.
22 'Alaya was occupied by the Qaraman-oghlu, princes of Laranda (see
below, p. 432, n. 73), at the end of the thirteenth century. According to the
informant of Ibn Battu^a's contemporary al-'Omari, Yusuf was governor of
'Alaya on behalf of the Qaraman-oghlu, but no relationship is indicated
(Al-'Umarl'sBerichtuber Anatolien, ed. F. Taeschner (Leipzig, 1929), 23).
23 Antalya, in Turkish Adalya and in the mediaeval portolans Satalia, at
the head of the Gulf of Adalya, is the ancient Attaleia, and the city walls
417
 ASIA MINOR AND SOUTH RUSSIA
Syria is Antakiya, pronounced in the same way, but with a k
instead of an /). It is one of the finest of cities, enormous in
extent and bulk, [among] the most handsome of cities to be
seen anywhere, as well as the most populous and best
organized. Each section of its inhabitants live by themselves,
259 separated from | each other section. Thus the Christian mer-
chants reside in a part of it called al-Mlna24 and are encircled
by a wall, the gates of which are shut upon them [from
without] at night and during the Friday prayer-service; the
Rum [Greek Christians], who were its inhabitants in former
times, live by themselves in another part, also encircled by a
wall; the Jews in another part, with a wall round them; while
the king and his officers and mamluks live in a [separate]
township, which also is surrounded by a wall that encircles it
and separates it from the sections that we have mentioned.
The rest of the population, the Muslims, live in the main city,
which has a congregational mosque, a college, many bath-
houses, and vast bazaars most admirably organized. Around
it is a great wall which encircles both it and all the quarters
which we have mentioned. The city contains many orchards
and delicious fruits, [especially] the wonderful apricots j
260 called by them qamar al-dm, in whose kernel there is a sweet
almond. 25 This fruit is dried and exported to Egypt, where it
is regarded as a great luxury. In the city also there are
springs of excellent water, sweet and very cold in the summer-
time. We stayed in the college in this city, the shaikh of
which was Shihab al-Din al-Hamawi. One of their customs is
that a company of boys with beautiful voices recite every
day, after the afternoon prayer in the congregational mosque
and also in the college, the sura of Victory, the sura of
Sovereignty, and the sura 'Amma™
Account of the Young Akhis (Akhlyya}. The singular of
akhiyya is akhi, pronounced like the word akh ('brother') with
are of Roman construction. It was captured by the Seljuk sultan Kaikhus-
raw I in 1207, and later occupied by Turkmens under the princes of the
Teke-oghlu (see below, p. 421, n. 34).
24 'The Harbour', the traditional name in the Levant for the trading
quarter by the port. The 'Christian' merchants are those from the western
countries, outside the Byzantine Empire.
85 See vol. I, p. 91, n. 92; p. 117, n. 178.
26 Suras 48, 67, and 78 of the Qur'an.
418
 THE AKHIS

the possessive pronoun of the first person singular. 27 They

exist in all the lands of the Turkmens of al-Rum, | in every 261
district, city, and village. Nowhere in the world are there to
be found any to compare with them in solicitude for strangers,
and in ardour to serve food and satisfy wants, to restrain the
hands of the tyrannous, and to kill the agents of police28 and
those ruffians who join with them. An Akhi, in their idiom, is
a man whom the assembled members of his trade, together
with others of the young unmarried men and those who have
adopted the celibate life, choose to be their leader. That is
[what is called] al-futuwwa also.29 The Akhi builds a hospice
and furnishes it with rugs, lamps, and what other equipment
it requires. His associates work during the day to gain their
livelihood, and after the afternoon prayer they bring him
their collective earnings; with this they buy fruit, food, and
the other things needed for consumption in the hospice. If,
during that day, a traveller alights at the town, they give him
27 The guild organizations under leaders called Akhis were a special
feature in the social life of Anatolia in this century, and Ibn Battuta's
narrative is one of the principal sources of information about them. The
term Akhi appears to be an original Turkish word meaning 'generous', but
was readily associated with the Arabic akhi, 'my brother'. These corpora-
tions were in principle religious associations, but in the disturbed conditions
of the fourteenth century they frequently played a political role. After the
establishment of the Ottoman Empire the term Akhi survived only in a few
traditional names, notably that of Akhi Baba, the head of the tanners'
guild; see E.I.2 , s.v.
28 Arabic al-shurat. The police in the mediaeval Muslim cities were found
from the governor's guard (shurta), under command of a chief of police
(sahib al-shurta). In later times the singular shurtl became a term of abuse,
colloquially applied to a thief or pickpocket. Ibn Battuta probably means
the ill-regulated and venal squads by which the local chiefs attempted to
control (or hold to ransom) the townsmen in the cities that they had seized.
29 Futuwwa is an Arabic term meaning 'youthfulness', 'the quality of a
fata or young man'. Fata (pi. fityan) acquired, however, the sense of 'war-
rior, hero, generous man', and was adopted by the members of half-secret
(and sometimes subversive) clubs in the cities, with a graded series of
initiations. Under Sufi influence the term acquired a religious association,
and futuwwa organizations were set up under Sufi auspices; but in spite of
an attempt by a caliph, al-Nasir (1180-1225), to create a 'knightly' order
of futuwwa, they remained confined largely to artisan and other city
populations. Ibn Battuta occasionally uses fata as a kind of synonjon or
adjective to akhi (as in the title of this paragraph); in this translation the
combination is rendered by 'Young Akh!'. Strictly, however, the term akhi
was given only to initiates in the higher grades of the futuwwa. For litera-
ture on the moral teachings of the futuwwa see E.I., s.v., and F. Taeschner,
Der anatolische Dichter Nasiri und sein Futuvvetname (Leipzig, 1944).
L 419 T.O.I.B.-II
 ASIA MINOR AND SOUTH RUSSIA

lodging with them; what they have purchased serves for their
hospitality to him and he remains with them until his
departure. If no newcomer arrives, they assemble themselves
262 to partake of j the food, and after eating they sing and dance.
On the morrow they disperse to their occupations, and after
the afternoon prayer they bring their collective earnings to
their leader. The members are called fitydn, and their leader,
as we have said, is the Akhl. Nowhere in the world have I
seen men more chivalrous in conduct than they are. The
people of Shiraz and of Isfahan can compare with them in
their conduct, but these are more affectionate to the way-
farer and show him more honour and kindness.
On the day after that of our arrival in this city one of these
fitydn came to the shaikh Shihab al-Din al-Hamawi and spoke
with him in Turkish, which I did not understand at that
time. 30 He was wearing shabby clothes and had a felt bonnet
on his head. The shaikh said to me 'Do you know what this
man is saying?' 'No' said I, 'I do not know what he said.'
Then he said to me' He is inviting you to a meal with him,
263 you and your companions/ I was surprised at this, | but I said
to him 'Very well,' and when the man had gone I said to the
shaikh 'This is a poor man, and he has not the means to
entertain us and we do not like to impose a burden on him.'
Whereupon the shaikh burst out laughing and said to me' He
is one of the shaikhs of the Young Akhis. He is a cobbler, and
a man of generous disposition. His associates number about
two hundred men of different trades, who have elected him
as their leader and have built a hospice to entertain guests in,
and all that they earn by day they spend at night.'
So, after I had prayed the sunset prayer, the same man
came back for us and we went with him to the hospice. We
found it to be a fine building, carpeted with beautiful Rum!
rugs, and with a large number of lustres of 'Iraqi glass. In the
chamber there were five [candelabra of the kind called]
baisus', this resembles a column of brass, having three feet
and on top of it a kind of lamp, also of brass, in the centre of
which is a tube for the wick. It is filled with melted grease, |
30 There is a slight element of fanfaronnade in this statement, since Ibn
Battfita shows no evidence of ever having learned Turkish; cf. below,
p. 455, n. 157.
420
 PRACTICES OF THE AKHIS

and alongside it are vessels of brass also filled with grease, in 264
which are placed scissors for trimming the wicks. One of their
company is put in charge of them; he is called in their language
thejardji*1 Standing in rows in the chamber were a number
of young men wearing long cloaks, and with boots on their
feet. Each one of them had a knife about two cubits long
attached to a girdle round his waist, and on their heads were
white bonnets of wool with a piece of stuff about a cubit long
and two fingers broad attached to the peak of each bonnet. 32
When they take their places in the chamber, each one of
them removes his bonnet and puts it down in front of him,
but retains on his head another bonnet, an ornamental one,
of silk taffeta or some other fabric. 33 In the centre of their
hall was a sort of platform placed there for visitors. When
we had taken our places among them, they brought in a
great banquet, with fruits and sweetmeats, after which they
began their singing and dancing. Everything about them
filled us with admiration | and we were greatly astonished at 265
their generosity and innate nobility. We took leave of them at
the end of the night and left them in their hospice.
Account of the Sultan ofAntdliya. Its sultan is Khidr Bak, son
of Yunus Bak.34 When we arrived in the city we found him ill,
but we visited him in his residence, while he was on his sick-bed,
and he spoke to us in the most affable and agreeable manner,
and when we took leave of him he sent us a gift [of money].
We continued our journey to the town of Burdur, 35 which
31 I.e. chiraghjl, from Persian chiragk, 'lamp', with the Turkish suffix jf.
Baisus is the Persian paisuz (derived from pih — 'tallow'), about three feet
in height and with a platter some six inches in diameter at the top.
32 The cloth tube attached to the bonnet became, later on, a feature of the
uniform of the Ottoman janissaries.
33 Zard-khdna (from Persian zard, 'yellow') is not found as a name for any
known Persian textile, but appears to be a silk taffeta of local Turkish
make; cf. W. von Heyd, Histoire du Commerce du Levant au moy en-age
(Leipzig, 1885-6), II, 674; R. P. A. Dozy, Dictionnaire detaille des noms des
v&tements chezles Arabes (Amsterdam, 1845), 369, note.
34 This Turkmen dynasty of Adalia is commonly known as Teke-oghlu
(see E.I., s.v.), presumably from the Turkmen tribe of Teke (Tekke). They
were related to the neighbouring dynasty of Hamid-oghlu (see below, p. 423,
n. 40), Yunus being usually described as the brother of Dundar of the latter
family.
35 One hundred and sixty km. north of Antalya, the Greek Polydorion
(see V. Cuinet, La Turquie d'Asie (Paris, 1892), I, 803 ff.; Murray's Hand­
book for Travellers in Asia Minor, etc., ed. Sir Charles Wilson (London,
1895), 150).
421
 ASIA MINOR AND SOUTH RUSSIA

is a small town with many orchards and streams. It has a

castle with soaring walls on the top of a hill. We lodged in the
house of its khatib. The akhis came in a body and desired us to
lodge with them, but the khatib refused their request, so they
prepared a banquet for us in a garden belonging to one of
them and conducted us to it. It was marvellous what joy they
see showed at our presence, | what gratification and delight,
although they were ignorant of our language and we of theirs,
and there was no one to interpret between us. We stayed
with them one day and then took our leave.
We went on next from this town to the town of Sabarta, 36
a well-built township with fine bazaars and many orchards
and streams, and with a fortress on a steep hill. We reached it
in the evening and lodged with its qadi.
From there we travelled to the city of Akridur,37 a great
and populous city with fine bazaars and running streams,
fruit-trees and orchards. It has a lake of sweet water, on
which a vessel plies in two days to Aqshahr and Baqshahr
267 and other towns and villages. 38 We lodged | there in a college
opposite the main congregational mosque, and occupied by
the learned professor, the worthy pilgrim and sojourner [at
the Holy Cities] Muslih al-Dln. He had studied in Egypt and
Syria, and lived for a time in al-'Iraq; he was elegant in
speech and eloquent in expression, a prodigy among the rare
spirits of the age, and he received us with the utmost
generosity and lavishly supplied our needs. 39
Account of the Sultan of Akridur. Its sultan is Abu Ishaq
Bak, son of al-Dundar Bak, one of the great sultans of that
36 Isparta, the ancient Baris, 22 km. east of Burdur, first captured in 1203
by the Seljuks (whose historian declares it to surpass in water and climate
all the cities in Anatolia; Ibn Bibi, Histoire des Seljoucides de I'Asie Mineure
(Leiden, 1891), 62), and subsequently occupied by the Hamid-oghlu (see
below, n. 40).
37 Egerdir (Egridir), 30 km. north-east of Isparta, at the southern end of
the lake called after it. It was the capital of Dundar Bak (see below, n. 40),
who gave it the name of Falakabad (from his own title Falak al-Dln). See
E.I., s.v., and Murray's Handbook, 151.
38 Akshehir lies some 125 km. north-east of Egridir, and behind a range of
mountains (Sultan-dagh); Beyshehir is somewhat further to the south-east
and on the separate lake called by its name (Murray's Handbook, 132, 154).
Ibn Battuta may have meant that by crossing the lake to the north-east the
traveller reaches the most practicable roads to these cities.
39 Literally 'performed what was due to us in the most excellent manner'.
422
 AKRIDUR

land. 40 He lived in Egypt during his father's lifetime and

made the Pilgrimage. He is a man of upright conduct, and
makes a practice of attending the afternoon prayers in the
congregational mosque every day. When the 'asr prayers are
concluded, he sits with his back to the wall of the qibla ; the
Qur'an-readers take their seats in front of him on a high
wooden platform and recite the suras of Victory, Sovereignty
and 'Amma^ with beautiful voices, that work upon | men's 268
souls and at which hearts are humbled, skins creep, and eyes
fill with tears. After this he returns to his residence.
The month of Ramadan came round while we were in his
city. 42 On every night of the month he used to take his seat
on a rug laid on the floor, without any couch, and lean his
back against a large cushion. The jurist Muslih al-DIn would
sit alongside him, and I would sit alongside the former, and
next to us would be his officers of state and the amirs of the
court. Food would then be brought in, and the first dish with
which the fast was broken was tharid, served in a small
platter and topped with lentils soaked in butter and sugar.
They begin the meal with tharid as a source of blessing, and
say 'The Prophet (God bless and give him peace) preferred
it to every other dish, so we too begin with it because of the
Prophet's preference for it.' 43 After that the other dishes are
brought in, and this they do on all the nights of Ramadan.
On one day during this period the Sultan's son died, but
they observed no ceremonies other than the lamentations of 269
[entreaty for] the divine mercy, exactly as is done by the
people of Egypt and Syria, and in contrast to what we have
described above about the conduct of the Lurs when their

40 The third of the dynasty of the Hamid-oghlu, who made themselves

masters of the highlands of Pisidia about 1300. Hamid's son, Dundar, en-
titled Falak al-Din, had a considerable local reputation (the Egyptian
chancery called the dynasty Banu Dundar) but was in 1324 defeated and
killed by Timurtash, the son of Choban (see above, p. 339, n. 225). After the
flight of Timurtash, Abu Ishaq recovered the northern part of the princi-
pality, which continued through Ottoman times to be called Hamld-eli.
41 See above, n. 26.
42 i Ramadan 733 fell on 16 May 1333 (in 731, 8 June 1331).
43 Tharid is crumbled or broken bread, served with a seasoning of some
sort. There is a famous saying attributed to the Prophet concerning his
favourite wife 'A'isha: 'The superiority of 'A'isha over all other women is as
the superiority of tharid to all other food.'
423
 ASIA MINOR AND SOUTH RUSSIA

sultan's son died.44 After he was buried the sultan and the
students of religion continued for three days to go out to his
grave after the dawn prayers. On the day after his burial I
went out with the others, and the sultan, seeing me walking
on foot, sent me a horse with his apologies. When I reached
the college [on my return], I sent back the horse but he re-
returned it saying'I gave it as a gift, not as a loan,' and sent
me [also] a gift of clothing and money.
We left there for the city of Qul Hisar, 45 a small town sur-
rounded on every side by water in which there is a thick
growth of rushes. There is no way to reach it except by a path
270 like a bridge constructed | between the rushes and the water,
and broad enough only for one horseman. The city is on a
hill in the midst of the waters and is formidably protected and
impregnable. We lodged there in the hospice of one of the
Young Akhis.
Account of the Sultan of Qul Hisdr. Its sultan is Muhammad
Chalabi (chalabi in the language of the Rum means 'my lord')
who is the brother of the sultan Abu Ishaq, the king of
Akrldur.46 When we reached his city he was away from it,
but after we had stayed there for some days he arrived and
treated us generously, supplying us with horses and provi-
sions. We left by the way of Qara Aghaj (qara meaning
'black' and aghdj meaning 'wood'),47 which is a verdant plain
inhabited by Turkmens. The Sultan sent a number of horse-
271 men with us to escort us to the city of Ladhiq, because | this
plain is infested by a troop of brigands called al-Jarmiyan. 48
44 See above, p. 291.
45 Gul-Hisar, a castle on an islet in a small lake 90 km. south-west of
Burdur, connected by causeway with the shore (Murray's Handbook, 121).
46 Chelebi, of unknown origin, was a title applied to Sufi leaders in Anatolia
(see Ural-Altaische Jahrbiicher, Wiesbaden, 1955, 97~9)> as weU as to princes
and high officials.
47 Formerly 'Asi Kara-Aghach, now Garbi Kara-Agha9, a plateau region
whose chief town is Acipayam, 45 km. south-south-east of Denizli: see
F. Taeschner, Das anatolische Wegenetz nach Osmanischen Quellen (Leipzig,
1924), 170; A. Philippson, Reise und Forschungen in westlichen Kleinasien,
IV, 78; V, 126 and maps (in Petermanns Mitteilungen, Erganzungshefte,
180, 183, Gotha, 1914-15).
48 This reflects the attitude of the lesser princes towards Germiyan-
Khan, ruler of a principality centred on Kutahya. Thanks to the allegiance
of a powerful Oghuz tribe, the Chavuldur, Germiyan-Khan (d. c. 1330) and
his successor Muhammad were able to exercise an effective suzerainty over
their neighbours and even to exact tribute from them. Al-'Omari (30, 34-7)
424
 LADHIQ

They are said to be descendants of Yazid b. Mu'awiya and

they have a city called Kutahiya. God preserved us from
them, and we arrived at the city of Ladhiq, which is also
called Dun Ghuzluh, which means 'town of the swine'. 49
This is one of the most attractive and immense cities. In it
there are seven mosques for the observance of Friday
prayers, and it has splendid gardens, perennial streams, and
gushing springs. Its bazaars are very fine, and in them are
manufactured cotton fabrics edged with gold embroidery,
unequalled in their kind, and long-lived on account of the
excellence of their cotton and strength of their spun thread.
These fabrics are known from the name of the city [as
Iddhiqi]. Most of the artisans there are Greek women, for in it
there are many Greeks who are subject to the Muslims and
who pay dues to the sultan, including the jizya, 50 and other
taxes. The distinctive mark of the Greeks there j is their 272
[wearing of] tall pointed hats, some red and some white, and
the Greek women for their part wear capacious turbans.
The inhabitants of this city make no effort to stamp out
immorality—indeed, the same applies to the whole popula-
tion of these regions. 51 They buy beautiful Greek slave-girls
and put them out to prostitution, and each girl has to pay a
regular due to her master. I heard it said there that the girls
go into the bath-houses along with the men, and anyone who
wishes to indulge in depravity does so in the bath-house
and nobody tries to stop him. I was told that the qadi in

confirms their reputation as savage warriors; see also E.I., s.v. Germia-
noghlu, and P. Wittek, Das Furstentum Mentesche (Istanbul, 1934), 18-20.
49 The ruins of Ladhiq, the ancient Laodicaea-on-Lykos (whose Christian
inhabitants were reproved in Revelation iii) lie 5 km. north of Dcnizli
(Murray's Handbook, 103; Philippson, IV, 86 ff.). The alternative name
mentioned by Ibn Battuta is derived from Turkish dunuz, 'swine', with the
suffix -lu; it is not (as the French translators opine) a popular perversion of
devtiz-li, 'with flowing waters', but the latter (still in use) is a later 'improve-
ment' on the former. Its many streams and luxuriant gardens earned it the
name of 'the Damascus of Anatolia', and it was at one time chosen by the
Ilkhan Ghazan Khan for his summer residence (Letters of Rashld al-Dln,
183-4, where the name is spelled in the same way).
60 Jizya is the canonical poll-tax on Jews and Christians living under the
protection of a Muslim sovereign by virtue of an assumed 'covenant'
(dhimma; see E.I., s.v.). The legal rates were 48, 24, and 12 silver dirhams
for the rich, middling and poor respectively.
51 Reading, with MS. 2289, hddhihi'l-aqalim kulluhum.
425
 ASIA MINOR AND SOUTH RUSSIA

this city himself owns slave-girls [employed] in this way.

On our entry into this city, as we passed through one of the
bazaars, some men came down from their booths and seized
the bridles of our horses. Then certain other men quarrelled
with them for doing so, and the altercation between them
grew so hot that some of them drew knives. All this time we
273 had no idea what | they were saying, and we began to be
afraid of them, thinking that they were the Jarmiyan
[brigands] who infest the roads, and that this was their city,
and reckoning that they were out to rob us. At length God
sent us a man, a pilgrim, who knew Arabic, and I asked what
they wanted of us. He replied that they belonged to the
Fitydn, that those who had been the first to reach us were
the associates of the Young Akhi Sinan, while the others were
the associates of the Young Akhi Tuman, and that each party
wanted us to lodge with them. We were amazed at their
native generosity. Finally they came to an agreement to cast
lots, and that we should lodge first with the one whose lot was
drawn. The lot of Akhi Sinan won, and on learning of this he
came to meet us with a body of his associates. They greeted
us and we were lodged52 in a hospice of his, where we were
served with a variety of dishes. The Akhi then conducted us
to the bath and came in with us; he himself took over the
274 office | of serving me, while his associates undertook the ser-
vice of my companions, three or four of them waiting on each
one of the latter. Then, when we came out of the bath, they
served us a great banquet with sweetmeats and quantities of
fruit, and after we finished eating and the Qur'an-readers had
recited verses from the Exalted Book they began their singing
and dancing. They sent word about us to the sultan, and on
the following day he sent for us in the evening, and we went
to visit him and his son, as we shall relate shortly.
After this we returned to the hospice, and there we found53
the Akhi Tuman and his associates awaiting us. They con-
ducted us to their hospice and did as their confreres had done
in the matter of the food and the bath, but went one better
than they in that they gave us a good sprinkling with rose-
water when we came out of the bath. They then went with us
to the hospice, and they also, in their lavish hospitality with
52 Reading with MS. 2289 wa'unzilnd. 68 Reading with MS. 2289 alfaind.
426
 THE SULTAN OF LADHIQ

varieties of food, sweetmeats and fruit, | and in recitation of 275

the Qur'an after the end of the meal, followed by singing and
dancing, did just as their confreres had done or even better.
We stayed with them in their hospice for several days. 54
Account of the Sultan of Lddhiq. He is the sultan Yananj
Bak, and is one of the great sultans of the land of al-Rum. 55
When we took up our lodging in the hospice of Akhi Sinan,
as we have related above, he sent to us the learned preacher
and admonisher 'Ala al-Din al-Qastamunl, and sent in com-
pany with him a horse for each one of our number. This was
[still] in the month of Ramadan, and we went to visit him
and saluted him. It is the custom of the kings of this land to
make a show of humility to visiting scholars, and to give them
soft speech and trifling donations. So we prayed the sunset
prayer with him, and when his food was served broke our fast
in his presence, then took leave, and he sent us a little money.
Later on | his son Murad Bak sent an invitation to us. He was 276
living in a garden outside the city, this being in the season of
[ripening of] the fruit. He too sent horses, one for each of us,
as his father had done, so we went to his garden and stayed
that night with him. He had with him a doctor of the law to
act as interpreter between us, and we took our leave the next
morning.
The Feast of Fast-breaking56 overtook us in this city, so
we went out to the musalld ; the sultan also came out with his
troops, and the Young Akhis too, all of them fully armed.
The members of each trade carried flags, trumpets, drums
and fifes, all aiming to rival and outdo one another in mag-
nificence and in perfection of their weapons. Every group of
these artisans would come out with cattle, sheep, and loads of
bread, and after slaughtering the animals in the cemetery
give them away in alms, along with the bread. On coming out
they went first to the cemetery, and from there on to the
54 According to the Turkish Islam Ansiklopedisi, the traveller Evliya
Chelebi, passing through Denizli about 1650. found the tombs of Akhi
Sinan and Akhi Tuman still venerated.
65 Inanch Beg, son of 'AH Beg, the founder of the minor dynasty of
Denizli, was apparently related to the Germiyan family. He was succeeded
by his son Murad about 1335; cf. Ismail Hakki, Kitabeler (Istanbul, 1929),
198, and Aflaki (tr. Huart), II, 389.
5« See vol. I, p. 14, n. 27. The date was 15 June in 1333 (8 July in 1331).
For the musalld see vol. I, p. 13, n. 20.
427
 ASIA MINOR AND SOUTH RUSSIA

277 musattd. \ When we had prayed the festival prayer we went

in with the sultan to his residence, and the food was brought.
A separate table was set for the doctors of the law, the
shaikhs, and the Young Brethren, and another separately for
the poor and destitute; and no one, whether poor or rich, is
turned back from the sultan's door on that day.
We stayed in this town for some time in view of the dangers
of the road; then, as a caravan had been organized, we
travelled with them for a day and part of a night and reached
the castle of Tawas. 57 It is a large fortress, and it is said that
Suhaib (God be pleased with him), the Companion of the
Apostle of God (God bless and give him peace), was of its
folk.58 We made our overnight camp outside it, and next
morning, on coming to the gate, were interrogated by its
inhabitants from the top of the wall as to why and whence we
had come. We answered their questions, and at that moment
the commander of the castle, Ilyas Bak, came out with his
squadron of troops to explore the environs of the castle and
278 the road as a precaution against | the raiding of the herds by
robbers. When they completed the circuit of its neighbour-
hood, their animals came out, and this is their regular prac-
tice. We lodged in the hospice of a poor brother in the suburb
of this castle, and the commander sent us a hospitality-gift
and provisions.
From there we went on to Mughla,59 where we lodged in the
hospice of a shaikh there. He was a generous and worthy
man, who used to visit us frequently in his hospice, and never
came in without bringing food or fruit or sweetmeats. We met
in this city Ibrahim Bak, son of the sultan of the city of
Mllas, whom we shall mention presently, and he treated us
honourably and sent us robes.
We travelled next to the city of Mllas, 60 one of the finest
67 Tawas or Davas (in modern Turkish Tavas), in a steep valley 25 km.
south of Denizli; see Philippson, V, 119 ff., plate g. It is mentioned by al-
'Omari (38) as an emirate, later absorbed by Menteshe, and the amir is
there called 'Ali(y)azbeh( = Ilyas Bek); cf. Aflaki (tr. Huart), II. 331.
58 Suhaib's origin was disputed in his lifetime; he himself claimed to be an
Arab who had been captured by the Greeks as a child, but Muslim tradition
claims him as 'the firstfruits of the Greeks'.
69 Mugla, 75 km. south-west of Tavas; see Philippson, V, 53 ff., plate 3
For Ibrahim Beg see below, p. 429, n. 62, and Hakki, 150.
•° The ancient Mylasa, capital of Caria; see E.I., s.v.
428
 MILAS
and most extensive cities in the land of al-Rum, with quan-
tities of fruits, gardens, and waters. We lodged there in the
hospice of one of the Young Akhis, | who outdid by far all 279
that those before him had done in the way of generosity,
hospitality, taking us to the bath, and such other praise-
worthy and handsome acts. We met, too, in the city of MQas
a pious and aged man named Baba al-Shushtari, who, so they
said, was more than a hundred and fifty years old. 61 He was
still vigorous and active, of sound mind and unimpaired facul-
ties. He prayed for us and we were favoured with his blessing.
Account of the Sultan of Milds. He is the most honourable
sultan Shuja' al-Dln Urkhan Bak, son of al-Mantasha, 62 and
one of the best of princes, handsome in both figure and con-
duct. His intimates are the doctors of the law, who are highly
esteemed by him. At his court there is always a body of them,
including the jurist al-Khwarizmi, a man versed in the
sciences and of great merit. The sultan, | at the time of my 280
meeting with him, was displeased with al-Khwarizmi because
he had journeyed to Aya Suluq63 and had associated with its
sultan and accepted his gifts. Now this jurist begged of me to
speak to the sultan about him in a manner which would re-
move his resentment, so I praised him in the sultan's
presence, and continued to relate what I knew of his learning
and merit, until at length the sultan's ill-feeling against him
was dissipated. This sultan treated us generously and supplied
us with horses and provisions. His residence is in the city of
Barjin, 64 which is close to Milas, there being two miles be-
tween them. It is a new place, on a hill there, and has fine
buildings and mosques. He had built there a congregational
mosque, which was not yet completed. 65 It was in this town
61 The Turkish traveller Evliya Chelebi (seventeenth century) mentions
among other sanctuaries in Milas the mausoleum of Shaikh ShushtarL
62 On the principality of Menteshe see Wittek, Mentesche. Of this eponym
of the family, nothing is known; Orkhan Beg, son of Mas'ud, ruled from 1319
to before 1344, and in 1320 attacked Rhodes. He was succeeded by his son
Ibrahim (d. before 1360).
63 See below, p. 444.
84 Pechin in later Turkish texts, 5 km. south of Milas. The castle is de-
scribed by Wittek, Mentesche, 128; see also Hakki, plate 55.
85 The building inscription of this mosque is quoted by Evliya Chelebi
(see above, n. 61), with the date 7(3)2; Wittek, Mentesche, 135-7. A -H - 732
began 4 October 1331, and as the inscription probably gives the date of its
completion, Ibn Battuta's statement would indicate a date in 1331 for his visit.
429
 ASIA MINOR AND SOUTH RUSSIA

that we visited him, and we lodged in it at the hospice of the

Young Akhi 'AH.
281 We took our departure after the sultan's gift to us, as | we
have related above, making for the city of Quniya, 66 a great
city with fine buildings and abundant watercourses, streams,
gardens and fruits. The apricot called qamar al-din (which we
have described previously) grows there and is exported from
it too to Egypt and Syria. The streets of the city are ex-
ceedingly wide, and its bazaars admirably organized, with the
members of each craft in a separate part. It is said that this
city was founded by Alexander. It is now in the territories of
the sultan Badr al-Din Ibn Qaraman, whom we shall men-
tion presently, but the ruler of al-'Iraq has seized it at various
times, owing to its proximity to his territories in this region.
We lodged there in the hospice of its qadi, who is known as
Ibn Qalam Shah; he is one of the Fitydn, and his hospice is
among the largest of its kind. He has a large body of dis-
ciples, and they have a chain of affiliation in the Futuwwa
282 which goes back | to the Commander of the Faithful 'AH b.
Abu Talib (God be pleased with him). The [distinctive]
garment of the Futuwwa in their system is the trousers, just
as the sufis wear the patched robe [as their distinctive dress]. 67
The entertainment with which this qadi honoured us and his
hospitality to us were even greater and more handsome than
the entertainment of his predecessors, and he sent his son to
take us to the bath in his place.
In this city is the mausoleum of the shaikh and pious imam,
the pole Jalal al-Din, known as Mawldnd. 66 He was a saint of

66 At this point begins the divagation of Ibn Battuta's journey through

central and eastern Anatolia. Konya, the ancient Iconium, was the capital
of the Seljuk sultans of Rum until the extinction of the dynasty in 1307. For
their successors, the Qaramanoghlu, see below, p. 432, n. 73.
67 See p. 434, n. 82, below. The qadi Taj al-Din Ibn Qalam Shah is men-
tioned by Aflaki (tr. C. Huart, Les Saints des Derviches tourneurs, Paris,
1918-22, II, 423).
68 Jalal al-Din al-Rumi, the most famous of the Persian mystical poets,
d. in Konya 1273. See the edition and translation (with commentary) of his
Mathnawl (referred to below) by R. A. Nicholson (London, 1925-40), 8 vols.
and the same editor's Selected Poems from the Dlvdni Shamsl Tabriz
(Cambridge, 1898). Shamsl Tabriz is the sweetmeat-seller of Ibn Battuta's
story, and the Mevlevi fraternity, or 'dancing dervishes' (Ibn Battuta's
Jalallya) was instituted by Jalal al-Din in his memory.
430
 QUNIYA

high rank, and in the land of al-Rum there is a brotherhood

who claim affiliation to him and are called Jalallya, after his
name, in the same way that the Ahmadiya in al-'Iraq are
called [after Ahmad al-Rifa'l] and the Haidariya in Khurasan
[after Qutb al-Din Haidar]. 69 Over his mausoleum there is a
vast hospice in which food is served to all wayfarers.
Anecdote. 70 It is related that in early life Jalal al-Din was a
legist and professor, [ to whom students used to flock at his 283
college in Quniya. One day there came into the college a man
selling sweetmeats, who carried on his head a trayful of them,
cut up into pieces which he would sell for a copper apiece.
When he came into the lecture-hall the shaikh said to him
'Bring your tray here.' The sweet-seller took a piece of his
wares and gave it to the shaikh, the latter took it with his
hand and ate it, whereupon the sweet-seller went out without
offering anything to anyone other than the shaikh. The
shaikh, abandoning his lecture, went out to follow him up;
and the students, when he delayed to return and they had
waited a long time, went out to seek for him, but they could
not discover where he was living. Subsequently he came back
to them, after many years, but he had become demented and
would speak only in Persian rhymed couplets which no one
could understand. His disciples used to follow him and write
down that poetry as it issued from him, and they collected it
into a book called the Mathnawi. The inhabitants of that j
country greatly revere that book, meditate on its contents, 284
teach it and recite it in their hospices on Thursday nights. In
this city there is also the grave of the jurist Ahmad, who is
said to have been the teacher of this Jalal al-Din. 71
We travelled next to the city of al-Laranda, a fine town
with many watercourses and gardens. 72
69 For the Ahmadiya see above, p. 273, and for the Haidariya vol. Ill,
p. 79 (Arabic).
70 This is apparently a variant of the traditional story of the meeting of
Jalal al-Din with his spiritual director Shamsi Tabriz in 1244 (see above,
n. 68).
71 A pupil of Jalal al-Din's father Baha al-Din: Aflaki (see n. 67 above),
I, 31, 328. Ibn Battuta seems to have transferred some details relating to
his conversion to Jalal al-Din.
72 Now called Karaman (from the name of the ruling dynasty—see the
following note), 100 km. south-east of Konya: see Murray's Handbook,
157-8; £./., s.v.
431
 ASIA MINOR AND SOUTH RUSSIA

Account of the Sultan of al-Ldranda. Its sultan is the king

Badr al-Din b. Qaraman. It belonged formerly to his uterine
brother Musa, but he ceded it to al-Malik al-Nasir, who gave
him another place in exchange and sent an amir with troops
to govern it. Later on the sultan Badr al-Din captured it,
established it as the capital of his kingdom and consolidated
his power there. 73 1 met this sultan outside the city as he was
285 coming back from | hunting, and when I dismounted to him
he also dismounted from his horse, and on my saluting him he
came forward to meet me. It is the custom of the kings of this
country to dismount to a visitor if he dismounts to them.
They are pleased when he does so to them and redouble their
consideration for him, whereas if he salutes them while on
horseback this arouses their ill-will and displeasure, and
leads to the visitor's exclusion [from their bounty]. This
happened to me once with one of them, as I shall relate in due
course. After I had saluted him and we were again mounted,
he asked me about myself and my coming, and I entered the
city in his company. He gave orders to treat me with the
greatest hospitality and used to send quantities of food, fruit
and sweetmeats in silver platters, as well as candles, robes
and horses, and [altogether] he was most generous.
Our stay with him was not prolonged, and we left for the
286 city of Aqsara, | which is one of the most beautiful and sub-
stantial towns of al-Rum, surrounded by flowing streams
and gardens on every side. 74 The city is traversed by three
rivers and there is running water in its houses: it has many
trees and vines and there are numbers of gardens inside it.
There are manufactured there the rugs of sheep's wool called
after it, which have no equal in any country and are exported
73 The Qaraman-oghlu were the most powerful of the amirs of Asia Minor.
Originally Turkmen chiefs in Armenak, in the Cilician highlands, Qaraman's
son Badr al-Din Mahmud seized Konya on the fall of the Seljuks and sought
Egyptian protection against the Ilkhans of 'Iraq. He was succeeded by his
son Badr al-Din Ibrahlm, the sultan mentioned in this text, who abdicated
in 1333 in favour of his brother Khalil. There is no reference in the Egyptian
sources to an occupation of Laranda by Mamluk troops; for Ibrahim's
brother Musa see above, p. 357, n. 300.
74 Aksaray, 155 km. north-east of Laranda; see Murray's Handbook, 162,
where its luxuriant gardens and streams are noted. It is obviously mis-
placed here, as it lies on the direct route from Konya to Kayseri which runs
roughly parallel to the route Karaman-Nigde-Kayseri.
432
 JOURNEY TO QAISARIYA

from it to Syria, Egypt, al-Traq, India, China and the lands

of the Turks. 75 This city is subject to the king of al-Traq. We
lodged there in the hospice of the sharif Husain, the deputy
governor of the city for the amir Artana, Artana being the
lieutenant of the king of al-Traq in [all] the districts of al-
Rum that he has occupied. 76 This sharif is one of the Fitydn,
and is head of a numerous brotherhood. He entertained us
with unbounded consideration, and acted in the same manner
as those who preceded him.
We travelled next to the city of Nakda, which is one of | the 287
towns belonging to the king of al-Traq, a large and thickly-
populated city, part of which is in ruins. 77 It is traversed by a
river called the Black River, a large river over which there
are three bridges, one inside the city and two outside it.
There are norias on it, both inside and outside the city, to
water the gardens, and it has quantities of fruit. We lodged
in it at the hospice of the Young Akhi Jaruq, 78 who is the
governor of the city, and he entertained us according to the
custom of the Fitydn.
We stayed there three nights, and then went on from it to
the city of Qaisariya, which is also in the territories belonging
to the ruler of al-Traq, and one of the chief cities in this land. 79
In it are [quartered] the troops of the government of al-Traq
and [there resides] one of the Khatuns of the amir 'Ala al-
Dm Artana mentioned above. She is one of the most generous
and excellent of princesses, and is related to the king of
al-Traq | and called Aghd, which means 'great', as are all 288
76 The carpets made in this region were famous; cf. Yule's Marco Polo,
bk. I, ch. 2. As Konya was the exporting centre they are usually called by
its name, but Ibn Battuta's statement that Aksaray was the centre of their
production is confirmed by other contemporary sources; see G. Wiet,
'Tapis egyptienne' in Arabica (Leiden, 1959), VI/i, 19.
76 Ertena (Eretna), a Mongol officer under the Chobanid Timurtash (see
above, p. 339, n. 225), was appointed governor of Anatolia after the latter's
rebellion in 1327. On Abu Sa'id's death (1335), he recognized al-Malik al-
Xasir of Egypt as suzerain, but became independent in 1341, and founded a
line of princes of Sivas.
77 Nigde (Nigde), 70 km. south-east of Akseray, on the Kara Su (Black
River); Murray's Handbook, 164.
78 Or Jaruz.
79 Kayseri, no km. north-east of Nigde; Murray's Handbook, 50-2. It
was captured by the Mongols in 1244, and briefly held by the Egyptian
sultan Baibarsin 1277.
433
 ASIA MINOR AND SOUTH RUSSIA

those related to the sultan. 80 Her name is Taghi81 Khatun;

we were admitted to her presence and she rose to meet us,
greeted and spoke to us graciously, and ordered food to be
served. We ate the meal, and after we took leave she sent us a
horse with saddle and bridle, a robe of honour and some
money by one of her slave-boys, together with her apologies
[for not sending more].
We lodged in this city at the hospice of the Young Akhi
Amir 'All, who is a great amir and one of the chiefs of the
Akhis in this country. He is head of a brotherhood of his
disciples, which includes some of the leading men and notables
of the city, and his hospice is one of the most magnificent in
its furnishings and chandeliers, and in quantity of food served
and excellence of organization. The notables and others of his
289 associates assemble every night | in his company, and in
generosity towards the visitor far outdo all the generous
actions of the other brotherhoods. 82 It is one of the customs in
this land that in any part of it where there is no sultan, it is
the Akhi who acts as governor; it is he who gives horses and
robes to the visitor and shows hospitality to him in the
measure of his means, and his manner of command and pro-
hibition and riding out [with a retinue] is the same as that of
the princes.
We travelled next to the city of Siwas, which is in the
territories of the king of al-'Iraq and the largest of the cities
that he possesses in this country. 83 In it resides his amirs and
his functionaries. It is a city with fine buildings and wide
streets, and its markets are choked with people. There is
there a building resembling a college, which is called Ddr
al-Siydda.8* No person lodges in it except sharifs, whose
80 This use of agha is derived from Mongol aqa, 'elder, elder brother, chief,
adopted by the Turks as a title, and in Ottoman use became a military
term.
81 Probably to be read Togha, as the name is spelled with alifin MS. 2289.
82 In the former Seljuk territories the futuwwa organization appears to
have remained generally on the aristocratic basis established by the caliph
al-Nasir (see above, p. 419, n. 29), is contrast to the artisan or middle-class
Akhi organization previously described by Ibn Battuta.
83 Sivas, 175 km. north-east of Kayseri, the ancient Sebasteia; Murray's
Handbook, 42-3. For this and the following routes see Taeschner, Anatolische
Wegenetz, I, 182-3, 212 sqq.
84 Siyada is here a collective term for the Sayyids, i.e. the descendants
of Muhammad ( = sharifs, ashrdf), for whom and their Marshal (naqlb) see
434
 SIWAS

naqib lives in it; during their stay in it there is supplied to

them furnishing, food, | candles, etc., and when they leave 290
they are furnished with travelling provisions.
When we arrived in this city there came out to meet us the
associates of the Young Akhi Bichaqchi. (Bichaq means in
Turkish 'knife' and this name [bichaqchi] is its relative noun) , 85
They were a large company, some riding and some on foot.
Then after them we were met by the associates of the Young
Akhi Chalabi, who was one of the chiefs of the Akhis and
whose rank was higher than that of Akhi Bichaqchi. 86 These
invited us to lodge with them, but I could not accept their
invitation, owing to the priority of the former. We entered
the city in the company of both parties, who were boasting
against one another, and those who had met us first showed
the liveliest joy at our lodging with them. They showed in
due course the same munificence in the matters of food, bath,
and accommodation as their predecessors, and we stayed
with them for three nights, enjoying the most perfect
hospitality.
After this we were visited by | the qadi and a company of 291
students of religion, bringing with them horses from the amir
'Ala al-DIn Artana, the king of al-Traq's lieutenant in the
land of al-Rum, So we rode to visit him, and he came out to
the ante-chamber87 of his residence to greet us and bid us
welcome. He spoke in an educated Arabic speech, and ques-
tioned me about the two 'Iraqs, Isbahan, Shlraz, Kirman,88
the sultan Atabek, the countries of Syria and Egypt, and the
sultans of the Turkmens. His idea was that I would praise
those of them who had been generous and find fault with the

vol. I, p. 258, n. 50. The Ddr al-Siyada at Sivas was one of several founded
by Ghazan Khan (see above, p. 344). The endowments were dilapidated
after his death by the local notables and later restored by the vizier Rashid
al-Din (see above, p. 336, n. 215); Letters of Rashld al-Dln. 156 sq.
85 Presumably ='cutler', which would indicate an artisan corporation,
but the word also means 'one who uses his knife freely'.
86 For chelebi as a title see above, p. 424, n. 46. Ibn BattQta's phrase sug-
gests that his corporation was associated with the aristocratic futuwwa (see
above, n. 82). See also Taeschner, Der anatolische Dichter Xasiri und sein
Futuvvetname, 64.
87 Or 'entrance'.
88 The mention of Kirman here is explained by the fact that Hormuz is
included in the province of Kirman by all the Arab geographers.
M 435 T.O.I.B.-II
 ASIA MINOR AND SOUTH RUSSIA

miserly, but I did nothing of the kind, and, on the contrary,

praised them all. He was pleased with this conduct on my
part and commended me for it, and then had food served.
After we had eaten he said 'You will be my guest,' but the
Young Akhi Chalabi said to him 'They have not yet lodged
at my hospice, so let them stay with me and receive your
hospitality-gifts there.' The governor agreed, so we transferred
to his hospice and stayed there for six nights, enjoying his
292 hospitality and that | of the governor. After our visit the
governor sent a horse, a set of robes and some money, and
wrote to his deputies in the [other] towns to give us hospi-
tality and honourable treatment and to furnish us with
provisions.
We continued our journey to the city of Amasiya, a large
and fine city with streams and gardens, trees and abundance
of fruits.89 There are norias on its rivers to supply water to its
gardens and houses, and it has spacious streets and bazaars.
It belongs to the king of al-'Iraq. In its vicinity is the town-
ship of Sunusa; it too belongs to the king of al-'Iraq and in it
reside the descendants of the saint of God Most High, Abu'l-
' Abbas Ahmad al-Rifa'I. Among them are the shaikh 'Izz
al-Dm, who is now the head of the convent and the inheritor
293 of the prayer-rug | of al-Rifa'i, and his brothers the shaikh
'All, the shaikh Ibrahim, and the shaikh Yahya, [all] sons of
the shaikh Ahmad Kuchuk (kuchiik means 'the little'), son
of Taj al-Din al-Rifa'I. 90 We lodged in their hospice and found
them superior to all other men in merit.
We travelled next to the city of Kumish, in the territories
of the king of al-'Iraq, a populous city which is visited by
merchants from al-'Iraq and Syria, and in which there are
89 Amasya, 140 km. north-west of Sivas; 'it lies in a deep gorge . . . such a
wealth of gardens above and below the town that it was called by the
Seljuks the "Baghdad of Rom" ' (Murray's Handbook, 39).
90 Sonusa (Sunisa), 50 km. east of Amasya, at the northward bend of the
Yeshil Irmak; Murray's Handbook, 39. Ahmad Kuchuk was mentioned by
Ibn BattQta in connection with his visit to Umm 'Ubaida in 1327 (above,
p. 273, n. 10); he had presumably died in the interval, if his son 'Izz al-Din
was now head of the order. No other reference has been found to this branch
of the Rifa'i family, nor to their connection with Sunisa. Evliya Chelebi
mentions only a tomb of Shaikh Ahmad al-Rifa'i at Ladik, near Tokat, and
of an otherwise unknown 'fraternal cousin" of his, Shaikh Hazret-i Husain,
at Tokat. Ibn Battuta may have obtained this information from his meeting
with 'Izz al-Din at Izmir (see below, p. 445).
436
 ARZANJAN AND ARZ AL-RUM

silver-mines. 91 At a distance of two days' journey from it

there are lofty and steep mountains, which I did not go to.
We lodged there in the hospice of the Akhi Majd al-Din,
staying for three nights as his guest. He treated us in the same
way as his predecessors, and the deputy of the amir Artana
visited us and sent us a hospitality-gift and provisions.
After our departure from these parts we came to Arzanjan,
in the territories of | the ruler of al-'Iraq, a large and populous 294
city, most of whose inhabitants are Armenians. 92 The Mus-
lims there speak Turkish. It has well-organized bazaars, and
there are manufactured in it fine fabrics which are called by
its name.93 In it are mines of copper, 94 from which they make
utensils and the [lampstands called] baisus that we have
already described, which resemble the lampstands in our
country. 95 We lodged there in the hospice of the Young Akhi
Nizam al-Din; it is one of the finest hospices, and he too is
one of the best and chief of thefityan, and he showed us the
most perfect hospitality.
We left there for the city of Arz al-Rum, in the territories
of the king of al-'Iraq,96 a place of vast extent, but mostly
in ruins in consequence of a factional feud which broke out
between two groups of Turkmens there. It is traversed by
91 Gumu§ane (Gumush-khane, i.e. 'Silver House'), over 60 km. south of
Trabzon (Trebizond); Murray's Handbook, 203. It lies 260 km. east of
Sunusa, and could be reached only from Trebizond or from Baiburt, 70 km.
further east. To the north-east the Anatolian ranges begin with Kolat
Dagh. See also Yule's note in Marco Polo, I, 49, n. 3.
92 Erzinjan, on the Kara Su, one of the headwaters of the Euphrates, 80
km. south of Gumu§ane: Murray's Handbook, 249-50; E.I., s.v. This is in
the region called by Marco Polo 'Greater Armenia'.
93 According to Marco Polo (I, 45) 'the best buckram in the world'; cf.
also Pegolotti, 36. Yule, in his note to Marco Polo, concludes that 'buckram'
was a quilted material.
94 Not mentioned elsewhere, but the copper industry of Arzinjan has re-
mained celebrated up to modern times, the raw metal being imported from
Europe (Cuinet, I, 216).
95 See above, p. 421, n. 31.
96 Erzurum (Erzerum), 150 km. east of Erzinjan: Murray's Handbook,
204-6; E.I., s.v. Formerly called Qaliqala, the name Erzerum (Arzan al-
Rum, 'Byzantine Arzan') was given to it by the Armenians of Arzan who
moved to it after the destruction of Arzan by the Seljuks in 1049; the local
name is Karin. No other source mentions flowing streams in the city, but
only fountains fed from springs, and there are no vines at Erzerum itself
(Cuinet, I, 146; cf. Selections from Ibn Battuta, trans. (in Armenian) A.
Ajarian (Yerevan, 1940), 44).
437
 ASIA MINOR AND SOUTH RUSSIA
three rivers, and most of its houses have gardens in which
there are fruit trees and vines. We lodged there in the hospice
295 of the Young | Akhi Tuman, who is of great age, and reputed
to be more than a hundred and thirty years old. I saw him
going about on his feet, supported by a staff, with his faculties
unimpaired, and assiduous in praying at the stated times. He
had no complaint to make against himself except that he
could no longer sustain the fast [of Ramadan]. He himself
served us at the meal and his sons served us in the bath. We
intended to take leave of him on the day after our arrival, but
he was shocked by our proposal and refused it, saying 'If you
do so, you will show disrespect for me, for the shortest period
of hospitality is three nights.'
So we stayed with him for three nights and then left for the
city of Birgi, 97 where we arrived in the late afternoon. We
met one of its inhabitants and enquired of him for the hospice
of the Akhi there. He replied 'I will guide you to it/ so we
followed him and he conducted us to his own residence, in a
garden that he had, and put us up on the roof of his house,
296 overshadowed by trees, | for this was the season of extreme
heat. He brought us all kinds of fruit, and gave us excellent
hospitality and fodder for our beasts, and we spent that night
with him.
We had already learned that there was in this city an
eminent professor named Muhyi al-DIn. Our host for the
night, who was a student of religion, took us to the college,
and there was the professor just arriving, mounted on a
lively mule and wearing magnificent robes, open in front and
embroidered with gold, with his slaves and servants to right
and left of him and preceded by the students. When we saluted
him he bade us welcome, greeted us and spoke to us most
graciously, and, taking me by the hand, made me sit beside
him. Later on the qadl 'Izz al-DIn Firishta arrived \firishta
means 'angel' [in Persian], and this nickname was given
to him on account of his piety, purity of life, and virtue. He
97 At this point Ibn Battuta resumes his journey through south-eastern
Anatolia, interrupted above, on p. 430. Birgi lies to the north-east of
Odemish in the valley of the Cayster (Kiigiik Menderes), 105 km. north of
his last stop at Milas: Murray's Handbook, 91; Philippson, II, 68-9. The
name is derived from the Greek Pyrgion.
438
 BIRGI

took his seat on the right of the professor, who began to

lecture on the sciences, both fundamental | and accessory. 98 297
When he had finished his lecture, he went to a small chamber"
in the college, ordered it to be furnished, put me up in it, and
sent a superb meal.
Later on, after the sunset prayer, he sent an invitation to
me, and I went to him. I found him in a reception chamber in
a garden of his, where there was an ornamental pool into
which the water was flowing down from a white marble
basin edged with enamelled tiles. In front of him were a
number of the students, and his slaves and servants were
standing on either side of him, while he himself was sitting on
a dais covered with beautiful embroidered rugs. When I saw
him [in so stately a setting] I took him for a prince. He rose
up and came forward to welcome me, took me by the hand,
and made me sit beside him on the dais. Food was then
brought, and after we had eaten we returned to the college.
One of the students told me that all of the students who were
present at the professor's that night were regular attendants |
at his meal every night. This professor wrote to the sultan a 298
letter, composed in laudatory terms, to inform him about us.
The sultan was at the time living on a mountain thereabouts,
passing the summer there on account of the severe heat; this
mountain was cool, and it was his practice to pass the summer
there. 100
Account of the Sultan ofBirgi. He is the sultan Muhammad,
son of Aydln, 101 one of the best, most generous, and worthiest
of sultans. When the professor sent to inform him about me,
he despatched his deputy to me with an invitation to visit
him, but the professor advised me to wait until the sultan
98 The traditional division of the Muslim schoolmen between 'basic'
sciences, i.e. those which deal with the principles of law, theology, etc., and
the 'subsidiary' disciplines which deal with the application of these prin-
ciples to specific problems.
99 The term (duwaira) probably means a separate pavilion.
100 Tmolos, in Turkish Bos-dagh (2157 m.), the higher valleys of which
have often been inhabited as summer residences; see Philippson, 11,'plates 11,
12.
101 Founder of the house of Aydin (Aydin-oghlu), which gave its name to
the city formerly called Tralles, in the Maeander (Biiyuk Menderes) valley
(see Murray's Handbook, 101-2), and known to contemporaries as the king-
dom of Birgi. He died early in 1334; P Lemerle, L'Emirat d'Aydin (Paris,
1957)-
439
 ASIA MINOR AND SOUTH RUSSIA

sent for me again. He himself was at the time suffering from

a boil that had broken out on his foot, on account of which he
was unable to ride and had ceased to go to college. Later on
the sultan sent for me again. This gave great distress to the
professor and he said 'It is impossible for me to ride on horse-
back, although it was my intention to go with you in order to
299 reaffirm | to the sultan what is due to you.' He braced him-
self, however, wrapped his foot in bandages, and mounted,
without putting his foot in the stirrup. I and my companions
mounted also and we climbed up to the mountain by a road
that had been hewn [in its side] and evened out. We arrived
at the sultan's place just after noon, alighted by a stream of
water under the shade of walnut trees, and found the sultan
agitated and preoccupied on account of the flight from him of
his younger son Sulaiman to his father-in-law, the sultan
Urkhan Bak. 102 On hearing of our arrival he sent his two sons
Khidr Bak and 'Omar Bak to us. These saluted the doctor of
the law, and on his instructions to salute me also they did so,
and asked me about myself and my coming. After they had
gone, the sultan sent me a tent [of the kind] which is called by
them kharqa, and consists of wooden laths put together in the
300 shape of a cupola and covered with pieces of felt. 103 | The
upper part of it can be opened to admit light and air, like a
ventilation pipe, and can be closed when required. They also
brought rugs and furnished it. The doctor sat down, and I sat
down with him, together with his companions and my com-
panions, outside the tent under the shade of walnut trees. It
was very cold in that place, and on that night a horse of
mine died from the sharpness of the cold.
On the following morning the professor rode to visit the
sultan and spoke about me in terms dictated by his own
generous qualities. He then returned to me and told me about
this, and after a while the sultan sent to summon both of us.
On reaching his place of residence we found him standing up;
102 Sulaiman Shah, later sultan of Tira (see below, p. 444), d. 1349. This
Orkhan is the sultan of Menteshe (Milas): see above, p. 429, n. 62; see also
Wittek, Mentesche, 68; Lemerle, 35-6). For Khidr and 'Omar see below,
P- 445-
IDS Persian khargdh, used for the tents of the Turkmens; a fuller descrip-
tion is given by William of Rubruck (Contemporaries of Marco Polo, ed.
M. Komroff (London, 1928), 58-61).
440
 THE SULTAN OF BIRGI

we saluted him and sat down, the doctor on his right and I
next to the doctor. He enquired of me about myself and my
coming, and then questioned me about al-Hijaz, Egypt,
Syria, al-Yaman, the two 'Iraqs, and the lands of the
Persians. Food was then served, and we ate | and with- 301
drew. He sent presents of rice, flour, and butter in sheep's
stomachs, 104 this being a practice of the Turks. We continued
in this way for several days, being sent for every day to join
in his meal. One day he came to visit us after the noon
prayer; [on that occasion] the doctor sat in the place of
honour, with me on his left, and the sultan sat on his right—
this being due to the prestige enjoyed by doctors of the law
among the Turks. He asked me to write down for him a
number of hadiths, of the sayings of the Apostle of God (God
bless and give him peace),105 and when I had written them for
him and the doctor presented them to him in the same hour,
he commanded the latter to write an exposition of them for
him in the Turkish language. He then rose and went out, and
observing that our servants were cooking food for us under
the shade of the walnut trees without any spices or greens,
commanded that his store-keeper should be punished, and
sent spices and butter.
Our stay on this mountain lasted so long | that I began to 302
weary and wished to take my leave. Since the doctor also had
had enough of staying there he sent word to the sultan that I
desired to continue my journey. On the morning after, there-
fore, the sultan sent his deputy who spoke with the professor
in Turkish (which at that time I did not understand), 106 and
withdrew after the latter had answered his talk. The professor
said to me 'Do you know what he said?' I replied, 'I don't
know what he said.' 'Well' he said, 'the sultan sent to me to
ask me what he should give you, so I said to him "He has at
his disposal gold and silver and horses and slaves—let him
give whatever of these he likes".' So the deputy went off to
the sultan and then came back to us saying The sultan com-

104 Cf. Yule's Marco Polo, I, 262.

106 The ability to recite extempore a collection of relevant hadiths (i.e.
sayings of the Prophet) was regarded as one of the chief accomplishments
of the religious scholar ('aliwi) ; cf. above, p. 312.
106 See above, p. 420, n. 30.
441
 ASIA MINOR AND SOUTH RUSSIA

mands you both to remain here today, and to go down with

him tomorrow to his residence in the city/
Next morning he sent a fine horse from his own stud, and
went down to the city, and we with him. The population
came out to welcome him, with the above-mentioned qadi
303 and others among them, | and the sultan made his entry, we
being still with him. When he dismounted at the gate of his
residence, I made off with the professor towards the college,
but he called to us and bade us come into his palace with him.
On our arrival at the vestibule of the palace, we found about
twenty of his servants, of surpassingly beautiful appearance,
wearing robes of silk, with their hair parted and hanging
loose, and in colour of a resplendent whiteness tinged with
red. I said to the doctor 'What are these beautiful figures?'
and he replied 'These are Greek pages.' We climbed a long
flight of stairs with the sultan and came eventually into a fine
audience-hall, with an ornamental pool of water in the centre
and the figure of a lion in bronze at each corner of it, spouting
water from its mouth. 107 Round this hall there was a succes-
sion of benches covered with rugs, on one of which was the
304 sultan's cushion. When | we came up to this bench, the sultan
pushed away his cushion with his hand and sat down along-
side us on the rugs. The doctor sat on his right, the qadi next
to him, and I next to the qadi. The Qur'an-readers sat down
below the bench, for there are always Qur'an-readers in
attendance on him in his audiences, wherever he may be. The
servants then brought in gold and silver bowls filled with
sherbet [of raisins] 108 steeped in water, into which citron
juice had been squeezed, with small pieces of biscuit in it,
along with gold and silver spoons. At the same time they
brought some porcelain bowls containing the same beverage
and with wooden spoons, and any who felt scruples [about
using the gold and silver vessels] used the porcelain bowls and
wooden spoons. 109 1 made a speech of thanks to the sultan and
107 The lions, although a traditional palace decoration in Anatolia, had
sumably been taken over in this instance from a Byzantine fountain.
108 Julldb, literally 'rose-water', but applied to any kind of sherbet (see
Lane, ch. V, ad fin.); hence the English julep.
109 Muslim piety extended the Prophet's traditional reprobation of gold
rings and ornaments (cf. \V. Muir, The Life of Mahomet, 3rd ed. (London,
1894), 515) to the use of gold and silver vessels generally.
442
 THE SULTAX OF BIRGI

eulogized the doctor, sparing no efforts in doing so, and this

gave much pleasure and satisfaction to the sultan. |
Anecdote. While we were still sitting with the sultan there 303
came in an elderly man, wearing on his head a turban with a
tassel, who saluted him. The qadi and the doctor stood up as
he came in, and he sat down in front of the sultan, on the
bench, with the Qur'an-readers beneath him. I said to the
doctor 'Who is this shaikh?' He just laughed and said
nothing, but when I repeated the question he said to me This
man is a Jew, a physician. All of us need his services, and it
was for this reason that we acted as you saw in standing up
at his entry.' At this my old feeling of indignation flared up
anew,110 and I said to the Jew 'You God-damned son of a
God-damned father, how dare you sit up there above the
readers of the Qur'an, and you a Jew?' and went on berating
him in loud tones. The sultan was surprised and asked what I
was saying. The doctor told him, while the Jew grew angry
and left the chamber in the most crestfallen state. When we
took our leave, the doctor said to me 'Well done, | may God 306
bless you. Nobody but you would dare to speak to him in
that way, and you have let him know just what he is.'
Another anecdote. In the course of this audience the sultan
asked me this question: 'Have you ever seen a stone that fell
from the sky?' I replied, 'I have never seen one, nor ever
heard tell of one.' 'Well,' he said, 'a stone did fall from the sky
outside this town of ours,' and then called some men and told
them to bring the stone. They brought in a great black stone,
very hard and with a glitter in it—I reckoned its weight to
amount to a hundredweight. The sultan ordered the stone-
breakers to be summoned, and four of them came and on his
command to strike it they beat upon it as one man four times
with iron hammers, but made no impression on it. I was
astonished at this phenomenon, and he ordered it to be taken
back to its place.
110 The Arabic phrase, 'what just occurred and what was of old', is taken
from a well-known Tradition concerning the Prophet. The physicians of
Muslim rulers were very frequently Jews, whose wealth and influence were
deeply resented in Muslim religious circles (see A. S. Tritton, The Caliphs
and their non-Muslim Subjects London, 1930), 95. I 55 sqq.). Hence Ibn
Battuta's indignation at the physician's action in sitting 'above the
Qur'an-readers'.
443
 ASIA MINOR AND SOUTH RUSSIA

307 Two | days after our entry into the city with the sultan, he
gave a great banquet and invited the legists, shaikhs,
superior officers of the army, and notables among the
citizens. After they had eaten, the Qur'an-reciters recited the
Qur'an with beautiful modulations, and we returned to our
lodging in the college. Every night he used to send food, fruit,
sweetmeats and candles, and finally sent to me a hundred
mithqals of gold, 111 a thousand dirhams, a complete set of
garments, a horse, and a Greek slave called Mikha'il, and to
each of my companions a robe and some dirhams—all this
owing to the friendly offices of the professor Muhyi al-Dm,
God Most High reward him with good. He bade us farewell
and we left, having spent fourteen days with him on the
mountain and in the city.
We proceeded next to the city of Tira, 112 which is in the
territories of this sultan, a fine town with running streams,
308 gardens | and fruits. We lodged there in the hospice of the
Young Akhl Muhammad,113 a most saintly man, who fasts
continually and has a number of followers of his Way. He
treated us hospitably and gave us his blessing.
We went on to the city of Aya Suluq, a large and ancient
city venerated by the Greeks, in which there is a great church
built with huge stones, each measuring ten or less cubits in
length and most skilfully hewn. 114 The congregational mosque
in this city is one of the most magnificent mosques in the
world and unequalled in beauty. It was formerly a church of
the Greeks, greatly venerated among them, which they used
to visit from all parts, and when the Muslims captured the
city they made it a congregational mosque. 115 Its walls are of

111 The mithqdl is a measure for precious metals, equal to 4.25 grammes
(the standard weight of the gold dinar).
112 Tire, 30 km. south-west of Birgl.
113 Doubtfully identified with the 'amir' Muhammad b. Qalaman, founder
of a mosque in Tire in 1338 (Repertoire chron. d'dpigraphie arabe, XV, 117).
114 Aya Soluk (on modern Turkish maps Sel9uk), at the mouth of the
Cayster river, is Ephesus (the older Turkish name being derived from
Hagios Theologos); see Murray, 94 sqq., and Philippson, II, 87 sqq. The
church here described is apparently the Church of Mary (or of the Council),
built on the foundations of the ancient Musaion; see Forschungen in
Ephesos (Vienna, 1932), IV, pt. i.
115 The mention below of eleven domes shows that this was the Church of
St. John, which had six large domes over the main building and five over
444
 AYA SULUQ AND YAZMiR

marble | of different colours, and it is paved with white marble 309

and roofed with lead. It contains eleven domes, differing in
size, with a water pool in the centre of [the area under] each
dome. The city is traversed by the river, which has on either
side of it trees of different species, grapevines, and trellises
of jasmine, and it has fifteen gates.
The governor of this city is Khidr Bak, son of the sultan
Muhammad b. Ay din. 116 1 had already seen him at his father's
place in Birgi, and I met him again at this city, in its out-
skirts. I saluted him while on horseback, and this act on my
part displeased him and was the cause of depriving me of his
generosity. For it is their custom when a visitor dismounts to
them, to dismount (in turn) to him and to be pleased with his
action. He sent me nothing but a single robe of silk woven
with gold thread [of the kind] that they call nakh. 111 1 bought
in this city a Greek slavegirl, a virgin, for forty gold dinars.
We went on next to the city of Yazmir, | a large city on the 310
sea-coast, mostly in ruins, with a citadel adjoining its upper
end. 118 We lodged there in the hospice of the shaikh Ya'qub,
who belongs to the Ahmadiya brotherhood, 119 a pious and
worthy man. In the outskirts of the city we met the shaikh
'Izz al-Din b. Ahmad al-Rifa'i, who had with him Zada al-
Akhlati, one of the great shaikhs, together with a hundred
poor brethren, all of them demented. The governor had set
up tents for them and the shaikh Ya'qiib gave them a feast at
which I was present and so met with them.
The amir of this city is 'Omar Bak, son of the sultan
the narthex; see Forschungen in Ephesos (Vienna, 1951), IV, pt. 3. It was
replaced shortly afterwards by the mosque of 'Isa Beg, nephew of Khidr
Beg, and the church itself was reputedly destroyed by Timur in 1402.
118 He was the eldest son of Muhammad (see above, p. 439, n. 101). On
him and the general situation at Ephesus at this time see Lemerle, 28-34.
117 Nakh (nakhkh) is a Persian term for gold brocade, which passed into
the trading vocabulary of the Mediterranean area as nacchi, nac, etc.; cf.
Yule's Marco Polo, I, 65, n. 4.
118 A description of Smyrna (modern Turkish Izmir) at this period is
given by Lemerle, 40 sqq. The citadel mentioned in the text was the ancient
Acropolis on Mons Pagus, captured by Sultan Muhammad in 1317 from the
Genoese. The port and its citadel were invested by 'Omar Beg in 1327 and
captured in 1329; this probably accounts for the ruined condition of the
city.
119 I.e. the Rifa'Iya; see above, p. 273. For 'Izz al-Din Ahmad see above,
p. 436, n. 90.
445
 ASIA MINOR AND SOUTH RUSSIA

Muhammad b. Aydm mentioned above,120 and his residence

is in the citadel. At the time of our arrival there he was with
his father, but he returned after we had stayed in it for five
nights. He gave an example of his generous qualities in
coming to visit me in the hospice, and greeting me with
apologies [for his absence]. He sent an immense hospitality-
311 gift, and in addition gave me | a Greek slave, a dwarf121
named Niqula, and two robes of kamkhd, which are silken
fabrics manufactured at Baghdad, Tabriz, Naisabur, and in
China.122 The jurist who acts as his imam told me that the
amir had no other slave left than the slave that he gave me, on
account of his generosity—God have mercy on him. To the
shaikh 'Izz al-Dm also he gave123 three horses with their equip-
ment, several large silver vessels [of the kind] that they call
mishmba ['goblet'], filled with dirhams, garments of woollen
cloth,124 qudsT and kamkhd, and slavegirls and slaveboys.
This amir was a generous and pious prince, and continually
engaged in jihad [against the Christians]. He had war-galleys
with which he used to make raids on the environs of Con-
stantinople the Great and to seize prisoners and booty, then
after spending it all in gifts and largesse he would go out
again to the jihad. Eventually his pressure became so galling
to the Greeks that they appealed to the Pope, who ordered
312 the Christians | of Genoa and France to attack him, and
attack him they did. 125 The Pope sent an army from Rome,
120 'Omar (in old Turkish Umur) Beg was governor of Smyrna from about
1327, and succeeded his father as sultan of Birgi. One of the oldest Anatolian
Turkish epics is devoted to his exploits and death (Le Destan d' Umur Pacha,
ed. I. Melikoff-Sayar (Paris, 1954)).
121 Or 'not yet fullgrown' (literally 'five spans tall'), probably one of the
children captured by 'Omar in his raid on Chios about the beginning of 1330.
122 Kamkha was apparently a gold (or silver) brocade made with metal
thread on different foundations, called by Pegolotti cammocca and in
modern India kincob. The first element in the term is the Chinese kin, 'gold'.
See Hobson-Jobson, s.v. Kincob; Pope, III, 2006; and Cordier's note in
Yule's Marco Polo, II, 238.
123 MS. 2289 reads 'The shaikh 'Izz al-Din also gave me'.
124 Arabic milf, generally read as milaff, but apparently derived from the
name of Amalfi, one of the earliest Italian cities to engage in the Levant
trade. Quasi is 'Jerusalem stuff', but of what kind is not known.
125 'Omar's first expedition to the Dardanelles was made in conjunction
with a son of Sarukhan (see below, p. 447, n. 129) in 1332 (probably, there-
fore, after Ibn Battuta's visit). Subsequently, more or less in alliance with
Byzantium, he harassed the Latin possessions in Greece, and so exposed
himself to counterattack.
446
 OMAR BAR

and [the combined forces] made an assault on the city by

night with a large number of galleys, capturing the harbour
and the town. The amir 'Omar came down from the citadel to
engage them, but died a martyr's death together with a great
number of his men. 126 The Christians established themselves
in the town, but could not capture the citadel because of its
impregnability.
We continued our journey from this city to the city of
Maghnisiya, 127 where we lodged on the evening of the Day of
'Arafa128 in the hospice of one of the fityan. It is a large and
fine city on a mountain slope, and its plain abounds in rivers,
springs, gardens and fruits. |
Account of the Sultan of Maghnisiya. Its sultan is called 313
Saru-khan,129 and when we arrived in this town we found him
at the mausoleum of his son, who had died some months
before. He and the boy's mother spent the eve of the festival
and the following morning at the tomb. The boy had been
embalmed and placed in a coffin of wood with a lid of tinned
iron; the coffin was raised on high trestles in a domed cham-
ber without a roof, so that its odour should escape, and after
this the dome would be roofed in and the boy's coffin placed
where it could be seen on ground level, and his garments laid
upon it. This same practice I have seen done by other kings
also. 130 We saluted him in this place, prayed with him the
festival prayers, and returned to the college.
The slaveboy who belonged to me took our horses and
125 The port and its castle were captured in a surprise attack by Venetian,
Rhodian and Papal vessels in 1344. 'Omar was unable to recapture the
castle, and was killed in an attack on it in May 1348: see Lemerle, 218 sqq.;
A. S. Atiya, The Crusade in the Later Middle Ages (London, 1938), 290-7.
Ibn Battuta presumably heard of this event during his return journey
through Syria in 1348.
127 Magnesia ad Sipylum, in modern Turkish Manisa, 35 km. north-east of
Smyrna (Murray's Handbook, 80; Philippson, II, 23, plate 8).
128 I.e. of the Mecca Pilgrimage, preceding the Feast of Sacrifice on loth
Dhu'l-Hijja (see vol. I, pp. 243-6). In 731 this fell on 13 September 1331; in
733 on 21 August 1333.
129 Chief of a Turkmen tribe, who captured Magnesia from the Catalans
about 1313 and occupied the greater part of Lydia; d. 1345 and was suc-
ceeded by his direct descendants until the Ottoman conquest in 1391
(see E.I., s.v.).
130 This appears to be an Islamized modification of an old Siberian prac-
tice of placing the bodies of the dead in trees to desiccate; see J. Hastings
(ed.) t Encyclopaedia of Religion and Ethics (Edinburgh, 1912), IV, 421.
447
 ASIA MINOR AND SOUTH RUSSIA

went to water them, in company with a slave of one of my

companions. He was absent for a long time, and by the
3M afternoon no trace of them had appeared. | There was
in this town [at the time] the excellent jurist and pro-
fessor Muslih al-Dm, and he rode with me to the sultan.
We informed him of the event, but although he sent in
search of them they were not found. While all the in-
habitants were occupied with their feast, they made for a
city belonging to the infidels on the sea-coast, called Fuja, a
day's journey distant from Maghnisiya. These infidels are in a
strongly fortified town, and every year they send a gift to the
sultan of Maghnisiya, so he is content with this gift from them
[and leaves them alone] because of the strength of their
town. 131 In the afternoon [of the next day] the fugitives were
brought in, along with the horses, by some Turks, who said
that the pair of them had passed by them the previous
evening, and that they, becoming suspicious about them, had
used pressure on them until they confessed their design of
escaping.
We continued our journey from Maghnisiya and spent one
315 night with a body of [ Turkmens who had encamped in a
pasturage of theirs, but we could not obtain from them any-
thing with which to feed our animals that night. Our party
spent that night standing guard by turns, for fear of being
robbed. When the turn of the jurist 'Afif al-Din al-Tuzari
came round, I heard him reciting the sura of the Cow132 and
said to him 'When you want to go to sleep let me know, so
that I may see who is keeping guard.' I then went to sleep
and he woke me only at dawn, by which time the robbers had
gone off with a horse of mine—the one that 'Afif al-Dm had
been riding—saddle, bridle, and all. It was a good horse, too,
which I had bought at Ay a Suluq.
We set off again in the morning, and came to the city of
Barghama, a city in ruins, with a great and formidable fort-
131 Eski Foja, the ancient Phocaea, at the western edge of the promon-
tory, 60 km. west of Manisa (Murray's Handbook, 89; Philippson, II, 3-4,
plates 2, 3), was at this time possessed by the Genoese family of Zaccaria,
who controlled the alum mines there and the mastic trade of Chios. They
built a new port, closer to the mines, on the northern edge of the promon-
tory, called 'New Phocaea' (Yeni Foja), and this is probably the place to
which Ibn Battuta refers: see Heyd, index; Lemerle, 51 sqq.
138 The long second sura of the Qur'an.
448
 BARGHAMA AND BALI KASRl

ress on top of a hill. 133 It is related that the philosopher

Aflatun [Plato] was an inhabitant of this city, and his house
is known by his name to the present day. 134 We lodged there
in the hospice j of a poor brother of the Ahmadlya, but after- 3»s
wards one of the chief men of the city came and took us over
to his residence, where he entertained us right royally.
Account of the Sultan of Barghama. Its sultan is named
Yakhshi Khan. 135 Khan in their language means 'sultan', and
Yakhshi means 'excellent'. When we arrived he was away in
a summer camp, but he was informed of our coming and sent
a hospitality gift and a robe of qudsi.
We now hired a man to guide us on the road, and travelled
over steep and rugged mountains until we came to the city of
Ball Kasri,136 a fine and populous city with pleasant bazaars,
but it has no mosque for congregational Friday prayers. They
proposed to build a congregational mosque outside the town |
and adjoining it, but after building its walls they left it 317
without a roof, and now they pray in it and hold the Friday
service under the shade of the trees. We lodged in this city at
the hospice of the Young Akhi Sinan, one of their eminent
men, and were visited by its qadi and khatib, the legist Musa.
Account of the Sultan of Ball Kasri. He is named Dumur
Khan, and is a worthless person. 137 It was his father who built
this city, and during the reign of this son of his it acquired a
large population of good-for-nothings, for 'Like king like
people'. I visited him and he sent me a silk robe. I bought in
this city a Greek slavegirl named Marghalita.
We went on next day to the city of Bursa, a great and im-
133 Bergama, the ancient Pergamon, 60 km. north of Manisa: Murray's
Handbook, 85 sqq.; Philippson I, 87 sqq., plate i.
134 As the French translators point out, Plato's name has been substituted
in error for Galen.
135 The dynasty is known as Qarasi, from its founder Qara-'lsa, who
occupied Pergamon about 1306. His son Yakhshi-Khan is mentioned in
both Greek and Latin sources as a notable corsair: see £./., s.v.; Wittek,
Mentesche, 21; Lemerle, 96.
136 Balikesir, 80 km. north-east of Bergama: Murray's Handbook, 61 ;
Philippson, III, 1-9. The region was famous for its silk products: 'Oman,
43. For the route from Bergama to Brusa via Balikesir, see Taeschner,
Anatolische Wegenetz, I, 161.
137 Demir-Khan is variously called the brother or the son of Yakhshi-
Khan, and his principality is called Aklra by the contemporary source of
al-'Omarl (43). It was annexed by the Ottomans about 1345.
449
 ASIA MINOR AND SOUTH RUSSIA
318 portant city | with fine bazaars and wide streets, surrounded
on all sides by gardens and running springs. 138 In its outskirts
there is a river of exceedingly hot water which flows into a
large pond; beside this have been built two [bath] houses,
one for men and the other for women. Sick persons seek a
cure in this hot pool and come to it from the most distant
parts of the country. There is a hospice there for visitors, in
which they are given lodging and food for the period of their
stay, that is three days, and which was built by one of the
kings of the Turkmens. 139
We lodged in this city at the hospice of the Young Akhi
Shams al-Dm, one of the leaders of ihefitydn, and happened
to be staying with him on the day of 'Ashura'. 140 He made a
great feast to which he invited the principal officers of the
army and leading citizens during the night, and when they
had broken their fast the Qur'an-readers recited with beauti-
319 ful voices. The jurist and preacher Majd al-Din | al-Qunawi
attended the gathering, and delivered an eloquent homily
and exhortation, after which they began to sing and dance. It
was a truly sublime night. This homiletic preacher is a man of
saintly life; he fasts continually, and breaks his fast only
every three days, he eats nothing but [what he has earned] by
the labour of his hand, and he is reputed never to have eaten
food [offered to him by] any person. He has no dwelling
place, nor possessions other than clothes enough to cover his
nakedness, and he sleeps only in the cemetery. He delivers
homilies at assemblies and warns [men of the torments of hell
fire, with such eloquence] that a number of persons repent at
his hands in every assembly. I sought him out after this night
but could not find him; even when I went to the cemetery I
did not find him, and it was reported that he used to repair to
it only when everyone else was asleep.
138 Bursa (Brusa), 120 km. north-east of Balikesir. It was captured from
the Byzantine Greeks by Orkhan in 1326, just before the death of his father
'Othman; for descriptions see Murray's Handbook, Constantinople, Brusa,
and the Troad (London, 1900), 130-1—for its hot springs and baths, still
famed—and A. Gabriel, Une capitate turque, Brousse (Paris, 1958).
139 I.e. before the Ottoman conquest in 1326.
140 The tenth day of Muharram, commonly observed as a fast day; see
E.I. 2, s.v. In 732 the date was 13 October 1331; in 734, 21 September 1333.
Akhi Shams al-Dm has been identified with the father of Akhi IHasan,
noted in the Ottoman chronicles as the spiritual advisor of Sultan Orkhan;
450
 BURSA

Anecdote. When we were attending [the celebration of] the

night of 'Ashura' in the hospice of Shams al-DIn, Majd al-Dm
delivered a homily there at the end of the night, and one of
the poor brethren gave a loud cry | and fainted. They poured 320
rose-water over him, but he showed no signs of life, nor did he
when they repeated the treatment. Those present expressed
different opinions about him, some saying that he was dead,
others that he had fainted. The preacher finished his dis-
course, the Qur'an-readers recited, we prayed the dawn
prayer, and the sun rose; then they investigated the man's
condition and found that he had quitted the world—God's
mercy on him—so they busied themselves with washing him
and wrapping him in his shroud. I was among those who
attended his funeral prayers and burial.
This poor brother was called 'the shrieker', and they re-
lated that he used to engage in devotional exercises in a cave
in those parts on a mountain. When he heard that the
preacher Majd al-Din was to preach [anywhere] he would go
there to attend his sermon, but without accepting food from
anyone. During Majd al-Din's discourse he would cry out and
faint; then after a time he would revive, perform his ablutions
and pray | two bowings. But on hearing the preacher again, 321
he would cry out, [and go on] doing this several times in the
course of the night. He was called 'the shrieker' for this
reason. He was mutilated in the arm and the leg and unable
to do any work, but he had [at first] a mother who procured
food for him by her spinning, and when she died he lived on
wild plants.
I met in this city the pious shaikh 'Abdallah al-Misri, the
traveller, and a man of saintly life. He journeyed through the
earth, but he never went into China nor the island of Ceylon,
nor the Maghrib, nor al-Andalus, nor the Negrolands, so that
I have outdone him by visiting these regions.
Account of the Sultan ofBursd. Its sultan is Ikhtiyar al-Din
Urkhan Bak, son of the sultan 'Othman Chuq (chuq in
Turkish means 'the little'). 141 This sultan is the greatest of

see F. Taeschner, 'Beitrage zur Geschichte der Achis in Anatolien' in Islamica

(Leipzig, 1931). IV. 25» «• 3-
141 Orkhan (reigned 1326-59), second sultan of the Ottoman ('Othmanli)
dynasty, so named after its first sultan. 'Othman. The Turkish suffix -jik
N 451 T.O.I.B.—H
 ASIA MINOR AND SOUTH RUSSIA
3« the kings of the Turkmens and the richest in wealth, | lands
and military forces. 142 Of fortresses he possesses nearly a
hundred, and for most of his time he is continually engaged in
making the round of them, staying in each fortress for some
days to put it into good order and examine its condition. It is
said that he has never stayed for a whole month in any one
town. He also fights with the infidels continually and keeps
them under siege. It was his father who captured the city of
Bursa from the hands of the Greeks, and his tomb is in its
mosque, which was formerly a church of the Christians. 143 It
is told that he besieged the city of Yaznik for about twenty
years, but died before it was taken. 144 Then this son of his
[Urkhan] whom we have mentioned besieged it for twelve
years before capturing it; it was there that I met him and he
sent me a large sum of money.
We continued our journey to the city of Yaznik, and spent
a night before reaching it at a village called Kurluh, 145 in the
323 hospice of one of | the Young Akhis. From this village we
travelled for a whole day through [countryside with] flowing
rivers bordered with pomegranates, both sweet and acid,
and eventually came to a rushy lake, at a distance of eight
miles from Yaznik. 146 This city is surrounded on all sides
by the lake, and cannot be entered except by one road like
a dyke, that can be traversed by only one horseman at a

is said to have been added to his name in order to distinguish him from the
caliph 'Othman (see vol. I, p. 180, n. 91); another suggestion is that it was
derived from the town of 'Othmanjiq (Osmanjik), on the Kizil Irmak river,
west of Amasya; see E.I., s.vv. and 'Othmandjik.
142 The contemporary sources of al-'Omari (22, 42) give him 25,000 or
40,000 cavalry troops, but are critical of their military qualities. His
territories at this time extended to Eskishehir in the south-east.
143 Traditionally placed in the church of St. Elias (Murray's Constan­
tinople, etc,, 126), but some Turkish sources assert that 'Othman was buried
in Sogut, 60 km. south-east of Iznik, the original centre of the dynasty
(Murray's Handbook for A sia Minor, 15).
144 This is apparently a confusion with the capture of Brusa (above,
n. 138). Iznik (Nicaea) was captured by Orkhan in March 1331 (Lemerle,
54, n. 6; G. G. Arnakis, Oi Protoi Othomanoi (Athens, 1947), 187, n. 155).
148 So vocalized in MS. 2289; not identified on modern maps.
146 See Murray's Constantinople, etc., 133-5, for the fertility of the plain
and its swamps. The Arabic text that follows is in some disorder and has
been slightly rearranged.
452
 YAZNIK

time. 147 It is for this reason that it held out so long, but it is
now in a mouldering condition and uninhabited except for a
few men in the sultan's service. 148 In it lives also his wife
Bayalun Khatun, who is in command of them, a pious and
excellent woman. 149
The city is surrounded by four walls with a moat between
every two of them, 150 and can be entered only over wooden
drawbridges that they raise up when they wish to do so.
Inside it there are orchards, homesteads, land and cultivated
fields, and every man has his homestead, his field and
orchard, all together. Its drinking water | is obtained from 324
shallow wells inside the town, and it has all sorts of fruits.
Walnuts and chestnuts are exceedingly plentiful and very
cheap with them; they call the chestnut qastana and the
walnut qauz. 151 In it grow also 'virgin' grapes,152 the like of
which I have never seen elsewhere, of the utmost sweetness,
large in size, clear in colour, and thin-skinned, with only one
stone to each grape.
We were given lodging in this city by the jurist and imam,
the pilgrim and sojourner [in the Holy Cities] 'Ala al-Din al-
Sultanyuki, a worthy and generous man. I never went to
147 This statement is puzzling, since the city was built on the eastern edge
of the lake (Ascania, now Iznik Golii). The outer wall was protected by a
ditch, and the entrance in the south wall (the Yenishehir gate) is approached
by a causeway; this may perhaps account for Ibn Battuta's repetition of his
earlier description of Giil-Hisar (above, p. 424), but he may possibly have
found the city flooded by the rise of the river.
148 According to the early Turkish sources the majority of the inhabitants
of Nicaea left the city after Orkhan's conquest; O. Turan, 'L'lslamisation
dans la Turquie du Moyen Age' in Studia Islamica (Paris, 1959), X, 152.
149 As will be seen below (p. 488), the name Bayalun is given by Ibn
Battuta to one of the wives of Sultan Muhammad Ozbek also. Although the
reading is apparently attested by all MSS. it may possibly be an error for
Nilufar, the correct name of Orkhan's wife (the difference in Arabic script
being minimal); see E.I., s.v. Nilufar Khatun.
150 These details are dubious; the city had only an outer and an inner wall,
with a ditch protecting the latter, but the defences may have been tem-
porarily strengthened during the siege.
151 Literally 'they call the qastal qastana with an n, and thejawz the qawz
with a q'. The Greek kastana passed into Arabic in the form qastal (qastall).
Qoz is ordinary Turkish for 'walnut'.
162 'Adhdrd or 'adharl, so called because they resemble the fingers of
young girls. The term is commonly applied to the white grapes of Ta'if,
near Mecca, but also to dark grapes (from the practice of dyeing girls'
fingers with henna).
453
 ASIA MINOR AND SOUTH RUSSIA

visit him but he served up food. He was of handsome ap-

pearance and still more handsome character. He went with
me to the Khatun mentioned above, and she treated me
honourably, gave me hospitality, and sent gifts. Some days
after our arrival the sultan Urkhan Bak whom we have men-
325 tioned came to this city. I stayed in it about | forty days, on
account of the illness of a horse of mine, but when I became
impatient at the delay I left it behind and set out with three
of my companions, and a slavegirl and two slaveboys. We had
no one with us who could speak Turkish and translate for us.
We had a translator previously but he left us in this city.
After our departure from it we spent the night at a village
called Makaja153 with a legist there who treated us well and
gave us hospitality. On continuing our journey from this
village we were preceded by a Turkish woman on a horse, and
accompanied by a servant, who was making for the city of
Yanija,164 while we followed her up. She came to a great river
which is called Saqari, as though it took its name from Saqar
(God preserve us from it). 155 She went right on to ford the
river, but when she was in the middle of it the horse nearly
sank with her and threw her off its back. The servant who
326 was with her tried | to rescue her, but the river carried
them both away. There were some men on the opposite
bank who threw themselves in and swam after them; they
brought out the woman with a spark of life still in her, but
the man had perished—God's mercy on him. These men told
us that the ford was below that place, so we went down to it.
It consists of four balks of wood, tied together with ropes,
on which they place the horses' saddles and the baggage; it is
pulled over by men from the opposite bank, with the pas-
sengers riding on it, while the horses are led across swimming,
and that was how we crossed.
We came the same night to Kawiya, 156 where we lodged in
the hospice of one of the Akhls. We spoke to him in Arabic,
153 Mekece, about 30 km. east of Iznik.
164 I.e. Tarakli, 20 km. south-east of Geyve; see Taeschner, Anatolische
Wegenetz, I, 193, n. 4.
188 The Sakarya river. Saqar (apparently meaning 'vehement heat') is one
of the names of Hell in the Qur'an (sura liv. 48).
186 Geyve, 50 km. east of Iznik (also called T.orbali); Murray's Constanti­
nople, etc., 121. Ibn Battuta indicates his spelling of the name by adding 'on
the pattern of the feminine participle from kayy (i.e. "cauterization")'.
454
 JOURNEY TO YAXIJA

and he did not understand us; he spoke to us in Turkish, and

we did not understand him. Then he said 'Call the doctor of
the law, for he knows Arabic/ | so the legist came and spoke 327
to us in Persian. We addressed him in Arabic, but he did not
understand us, and said to the Young Brother Ishdn 'arabi
kuhnd miquwan waman 'arabt naw middnam. Ishdn means
'these men', kuhnd means 'old', miquwan 'they say', naw
'new', and middnam 'I know'. 157 What the legist intended by
this statement was to shield himself from disgrace, when they
thought that he knew the Arabic language, although he did
not know it. So he said to them These men speak the ancient
Arabic speech and I know only the new Arabic.' However,
the Young Brother thought that matters really were as the
man of law said, and this did us good service with him. He
showed us the utmost respect, saying 'These men must be
honourably treated because they speak the ancient Arabic
language, which was the language of the Prophet (God bless
and give him peace) and of his Companions.' I did not under-
stand what the legist said at that time, but I retained the 328
sound of his words in my memory, and when I learned the
Persian language I understood its meaning.
We spent the night in the hospice, and the Young Brother
sent a guide with us to Yanija, a large and fine township. 158
We searched there for the Akhi's hospice, and found one of
the demented poor brothers. When I said to him 'Is this the
Akhi's hospice?' he replied na'am [yes] and I was filled with
joy at this, [thinking] that I had found someone who under-
stood Arabic. But when I tested him further the secret came
to light, that he knew nothing at all of Arabic except the
word na'am. We lodged in the hospice, and one of the students
brought us food, since the Akhi was away. We became on
friendly terms with this student, and although he knew no
Arabic he offered his services and spoke to the deputy
157 This passage again betrays Ibn Battuta's use of the North African
colloquial form na'rafior 'I know', and a second time below in lam nafham,
'I did not understand'. The faculty of memorizing phrases in a foreign
language is not uncommon among Arabs; a parallel case is quoted by
Yaqut (Irshdd al-Artb, ed. D. S. Margoliouth (London, 1907), I, 173). But it
is a little surprising that the doctor of the law should speak to the Turk in
Persian.
168 See above, n. 154. The full name of the place was Tarakli-Yenijesi;
Murray's Handbook, 14.
455
 ASIA MINOR AND SOUTH RUSSIA

[governor] of the town, who supplied us with one of his

mounted men.
329 This man went with us to Kainuk, | which is a small town
inhabited by infidel Greeks under the government of the
Muslims.159 There is only one household of Muslims in the
place, and they are the governors of the Greeks, the town
being in the territories of the Sultan Urkhan Bak. We lodged
in the house of an old woman, an infidel; this was the season
of snow and rain, 160 so we gave her some money and spent
that night in her house. This town has no trees or grape-
vines nor is anything cultivated there but saffron, and this
old woman brought us a great quantity of saffron, thinking
we were merchants and would buy it from her.
In the morning when we mounted our horses, the horseman
whom the Young Brother had sent with us from Kainuk
came to us and sent with us another horseman to conduct us
to the city of Muturnl. There had been a heavy fall of snow
during the night, which obliterated the road, so that the
horseman went ahead of us and we followed in his tracks
330 until | we reached about midday a village of Turkmens. They
brought food, of which we ate, and the horseman spoke with
them, whereupon one of them rode on with us. He led us over
steep slopes and mountains, and by a watercourse which we
crossed again and again, more than thirty times. When we
got clear of this, the [Turkmen] horseman said to us 'Give me
some money/ but we replied 'When we reach the town we
shall give you all that you want/ He was not satisfied with
our answer, or else did not understand us, for he took a bow
belonging to one of my companions and went off a little way,
then returned and gave the bow back to us. I gave him some
money then, and he took it and decamped, leaving us with no
idea which way to go, and with no road visible to us. We
made an effort to find traces of the road under the snow and
to follow it, until about sunset we came to a hill where the
track was shown by a great quantity of stones. I was afraid |
189 Goyniik, 25 km. east of Tarakli; Murray's Handbook, 14.
160 Shita', which in classical Arabic means 'winter', is often used in North
African for 'rain' (certainly for 'winter', however, on p. 459, 1. 32 below).
For the next phrase, MS. 2289 reads 'and she treated us well' (ahsanat
'ilaina. For the use of ahsana 'ild in the sense of 'give money to', cf. p. 459,
1.14 below)
456
 ADVENTURE IN THE SNOW

that both I and my companions would perish, as I expected 331

more snow to fall in the night, and the place was uninhabited;
if we dismounted we were doomed, and if we continued on
through the night we should not know which way to go. I had
a good horse, however, a thoroughbred, so I planned a way of
escape, saying to myself, 'If I reach safety, perhaps I may
contrive some means to save my companions,' and it hap-
pened so. I commended them to God Most High and set out. 161
Now the people of that country build over their graves
wooden chambers, which anyone who sees them would take
to be habitations, but finds to be graves. I saw a large number
of these, but after the hour of the night prayer I came to
some houses and said 'O God, grant that they be inhabited.'
I found that they were inhabited, and God Most High guided
me to the gate of a certain building. I saw by it an old man
and spoke to him in Arabic; he replied to me in Turkish | and 332
signed to me to enter. I told him about my companions, but
he did not understand me. It happened by the providential
goodness of God that that building was a hospice of some poor
brethren, and that the man standing by the gate was its
shaikh. When the brethren inside the hospice heard me
speaking with the shaikh, one of them came out; he was a
man with whom I had an acquaintance, and when he greeted
me I told him the tale of my companions, and advised him to
go with the brethren to rescue them. They did so and went
with me to rejoin my companions, and we came back together
to the hospice, praising God Most High for our safety. This
was on the eve of Friday, and the inhabitants of the village
assembled and occupied the night with liturgies to God Most
High. Each one of them brought what food he could, and our
distress was relieved.
We rode on at dawn and reached the city of Muturni162 at
the hour of the congregational prayer. | On alighting at the 333
hospice of one of the Young Akhis we found a company of
travellers already there, and no stabling [available] for our
animals. So we prayed the Friday prayer in some anxiety, on
account of the quantities of snow, the cold, and the lack of
stabling. Then we met one of the inhabitants who had made
161 Two MSS. read 'set out in the dark' (saraitu).
162 Mudurnu or Mudurlu, 35 km. east of Goynuk; Murray's Handbook, 14.
457
 ASIA MIXOR AND SOUTH RUSSIA

the Pilgrimage and who greeted us, knowing Arabic. I was

heartily glad to see him and asked him to direct us to some
place where we could hire stabling for the animals. He replied
'To tether them inside any place of habitation could not be
managed, because the doors of the houses in this town are
small, and horses could not be got through them; but I shall
guide you to a covered arcade in the bazaar, where travellers
and those who come to do business in the bazaar tie up their
horses.' So he guided us to the place and we tethered our
horses in it, and one of my companions settled himself in an
empty shop alongside it, to guard the animals. |
334 Anecdote. There was a strange thing happened to us
[there]. I sent one of the servants to buy chopped straw for
the beasts, and one of them to buy ghee. Number one came
back with the straw, but number two came back empty-
handed and laughing. We asked him what he was laughing at,
and he replied 'We stopped at a stall in the bazaar and asked
him for samn [ghee]. He signed to us to wait, and spoke to a
boy with him, to whom we then gave the money. He was
away for a long time, and came back with some straw. We
took it from him and said "We want samn," whereupon he
said "This is samn".' It came to light that they say samn for
chopped straw in Turkish, and ghee is called by them
rughan. 163
When we met in with this pilgrim who knew Arabic, we
besought him to travel with us to Qastamuniya, which is ten
days' journey from this town. I presented him with an
335 Egyptian robe, | one of my own, gave him also ready money,
which he left to meet the expenses of his family, assigned him
an animal to ride, and promised him a good reward. When he
set out with us it became evident from his conduct that he
was a man of substantial wealth, who had made loans to a
number of persons, but of mean ambitions, base character,
and evil actions. We used to give him money for our expenses
and he would take what bread was left over and trade it for
spices, vegetables and salt, and appropriate the money that
he got by selling these. I was told too that he used to steal
some of the money for our expenses as well. We had to put up
148 Semen in Persian and Turkish means 'clover'. Rawghan also is a
Persian word, colloquially pronounced rughan in Turkish.
458
 BULI

with him because of our difficulties through not knowing

Turkish, but the thing went so far that we openly accused
him and would say to him at the end of the day 'Well, Hajji,
how much of the expense-money have you stolen today?' He
would reply 'So much,' and we would laugh at him and make
the best of it.
One of his base actions was that, when a horse of ours died
at one of the halts of our journey, he did the job of | skinning 336
it with his own hands and sold the hide. Another occurred
when we lodged for the night with a sister of his in a village.
She brought us food and fruit, namely pears,164 apples,
apricots and peaches, all of them dried and [then] cooked in
water until they soften, when they are eaten and their juice
drunk. We wanted to pay her, but when he learned of this he
said 'Don't give her anything, but give that amount to me.'
So we gave the money to him to satisfy him, but we also gave
her something secretly, in such a way that he did not know
of it.
We came next to the city of Bull. 165 When we were nearly
there, we came upon a river which seemed, to all appearances,
a small one, but when some of my companions got into the
stream, they found it exceedingly fast and impetuous. They
all crossed it, however, except for a young slavegirl whom
they were afraid to take across. | Since my horse was a better 337
one than theirs, I mounted her behind me and started to cross
the river. But when I was in the middle of it, my horse
stumbled with me and the girl fell off. My companions got her
out with a spark of life still in her, and I for my part came out
safely.
On entering the city, we sought out the hospice of one of
the Young Akhis. One of their customs is to keep a fire always
alight in their hospices during the winter. At each angle of
the hospice they put a fireplace, and they make vents for
them by which the smoke rises, so that it does not incom-
mode [those in] the hospice. They call these [chimneys]
bakhdri, the singular being bakhin.
164 Ijjas in classical Arabic means 'plums', but in Maghribine usage
•pears' (adopted also by the French translators).
"5 Bolu, 45 km. north-east of Mudurnu, on the northern side of the Bolu
Su, a tributary of the Filyos (Filiyas) river; Murray's Handbook, 5.
459
 ASIA MINOR AND SOUTH RUSSIA

Ibn Juzayy remarks: [The poet] Safi al-Din 'Abd al-'Aziz

b. Saraya al-Hilli166 showed an excellent skill in the use of
concealed allusion in his verse, which was recalled to my mind
by the mention of the bakhiri:
Since you left it, our chimney-place in the morning light
Stands cold, with the ashes strewn over the dusty grate. |
338 If you wish to revive it as 'father of flame' tonight,
Let your mules, as 'carriers of firewood', return to our gate. 167
(To return}. When we entered the hospice we found the fire
alight, so I took off my clothes, put on others, and warmed
myself at the fire; and the Akhi not only brought food and
fruit but lavished them. What an excellent body of men these
are, how nobleminded, how unselfish and full of compassion
for the stranger, how kindly affectionate to the visitor, how
magnanimous in their solicitude for him! The coming of a
stranger to them is exactly as if he were coming to the dearest
of his own kin.
We passed that night in an agreeable way, and having re-
sumed our journey in the morning, came to the city of
339 Garadai Bull.168 | It is a large and fine city situated in a plain,
with spacious streets and bazaars, one of the coldest towns in
the world, and divided into separate quarters, each inhabited
by a particular community, the members of which are not
mixed with those of any other.
Account of its Sultan. He is the sultan Shah Bak, one of the
middling class of sultans in this country, 169 a man of good
figure and conduct, of fine character, but not liberal. We
prayed the Friday prayers in this city and lodged in a hospice
there. I met in it the khatib, who was the Hanbali jurist
Shams al-Din al-Dimashqi; he had been resident in it for
many years and had children there. He is the religious adviser
166 A celebrated contemporary poet; see above, p. 353, n. 286.
167 The allusions are to sura cxi of the Qur'an, in which Muhammad's
uncle is called Abu Lahab, 'father of flame', and his wife satirized as a
'carrier of firewood'; see vol. I, p. 209, n. 92.
168 Gerede, 37 km. east of Bolu, the ancient Crateia; Murray's Handbook,
6. A little to the east of this town Ibn Battuta leaves the main Anatolian
highway to make for the Black Sea coast.
199 Little is known of this principality. Al-'Omari (22) calls the sultan
Shahin (probably an error for Shah Bak), and puts his army at about 5,000
horse. Gerede was occupied by the Ottomans in 1354.
460
 JOURNEY TO QASTAMUNIYA

and khatib of this sultan and enjoys great authority with

him. This jurist came into my room in the hospice and in-
formed us that the sultan had come to visit us. So I thanked
him for | his action and went out to welcome the sultan. After 340
I had saluted him he sat down and asked me about myself
and my journey, and whom I had met of sultans; I answered
all his questions, and after a short stay he went away and
sent a horse with its saddle and a robe.
We left there for the city of Burlu, a small town on a hill,
with a valley below it, and a citadel on the top of a steep
eminence. 170 We lodged there in a fine college whose professor
and students were known to the hajji who travelled with us.
He would attend the instruction along with them, for in spite
of everything he was a student of religion, a Hanafi by rite.
On invitation from the amir of this town, who was 'AH Bak,
son of the esteemed sultan Sulaiman Padshah, the king of
Qastamuniya (whom we shall mention later171), we went up
to visit him in the citadel. He greeted us, bade us welcome,
treated us with courtesy, and asked me about my journeys
and myself; | when I answered him on these matters, he bade 341
me sit beside him. His qadl and secretary, the pilgrim172
'Ala al-Din Muhammad, one of the most distinguished of
secretaries, was in attendance. Food was served, and after
we had eaten, the Qur'an-readers recited with voices to draw
tears and with wonderful modulations, and we withdrew.
We continued our journey next day to the city of Qasta-
muniya, 173 one of the largest and finest of cities, where com-
modities are abundant and prices low. We lodged there in the
hospice of a shaikh called al-Utrush ['the deaf'], 174 because of
his hardness of hearing, and I witnessed an astonishing thing
in connection with him, namely that one of the students would
write for him with his finger in the air, or sometimes on the
170 On modern Turkish maps Safranbolu, 65 km. north-east of Bolu; in
old Turkish texts Za'faran Burlu (so called from the cultivation of saffron
in the district: Murray's Handbook, 6, under Zafaranboli; cf. Taeschner,
Anatolische Wegenetz, I, 219-20).
171 See below, p. 463, n. 179.
172 The French editors note that in two MSS. the term 'pilgrim' is re-
placed by 'chamberlain' (al-hajib).
173 Kastamonu, 90 km. east of Safranbolu (therefore at least two days'
journey): Murray's Handbook, 6-7; E.I., s.v. Kastamunl.
1W In MS. 2289 vocalized al-Atrash.
461
 ASIA MINOR AND SOUTH RUSSIA

ground, and he would understand what he meant and reply.

Long stories were told to him in this way, and he would
grasp them.
342 We stayed in this city | about forty days. We used to buy a
quarter of fat mutton for two dirhams and bread for two
dirhams—this would satisfy our needs for a day, and there
were ten of us. We would buy sweetmeats made of honey for
two dirhams, and they would be enough for us all, and wal-
nuts for a dirham or chestnuts at the same price, and after all
of us had eaten of them there would be some left over. We
used to buy a load of firewood for a single dirham, and this in
the season of extreme cold. I have never in any country seen
a city where prices were lower than there.
I met there the shaikh, the learned imam, the mufti and
professor Taj al-Din al-Sultanyuki, one of the great scholars.
He had studied in the two 'Iraqs and Tabriz, where he made
his home for a time, and also in Damascus, and had so-
journed long ago at the two Holy Cities. I met there also the
scholar and professor Sadr al-Din Sulaiman al-Fanikl, of the
people of Fanlka in the land of al-Rum, 175 who gave me hos-
343 pitality in his college, which is in the horse-market,176 and
the aged and pious shaikh Dada Amir 'AH. I visited this man
in his hospice, in the vicinity of the horse-market, and found
him lying on his back. One of his servants assisted him to sit
up and one of them raised his eyelids from his eyes; on
opening them he addressed me in pure Arabic, saying 'You
are heartily welcome.' I asked him his age and he said 'I was
an associate of the caliph al-Mustansir billah, and at his death
I was thirty years old, and my age now is one hundred and
sixty three years'. 177 1 asked him to invoke a blessing on me;
he did so, and I withdrew.
Account of the Sultan of Qastamuniya. He is the esteemed
sultan Sulaiman Padshah, a man of great age, more than
344 seventy years old, with a fine face and long beard, 178 | a
178 Finike, on the south coast, to the south-west of Antalya.
176 Kastamonu was famous for its breed of fast geldings (gelding is for-
bidden in Islam, but these were 'Greek' horses), valued at up to a thousand
dinars each ('Omari, 23).
177 Since al-Mustansir Billah, the penultimate caliph of Baghdad, died in
A.H. 640 (5 December 1242), the shaikh's age could not have been more than
123 (lunar) years.
178 Two MSS. read 'long side-lock'.
462
 THE SULTAN OF QASTAMUXIYA

stately and venerable figure. 179 Students of religion and de-

votees have entry to his private circle. I visited him in his
audience-hall, and he bade me sit beside him and asked me
about myself and my journey, and about the Holy Sanc-
tuaries, Egypt and Syria. When I answered his questions, he
commanded me to be lodged near him and gave me on the
same day a thoroughbred horse, parchment-coloured, and a
robe, besides assigning me money for my expenses and forage.
Later on he ordered for me [an assignment of] wheat and
barley, which was delivered to me180 from a village dependent
on the city, and half a day's journey from it, but I could not
find anyone to buy it because of the cheapness of prices, so I
gave it to the haj ji who was in our company.
It is the custom of this sultan to take his seat in his
audience-hall every day after the afternoon prayer; food is
brought in and the doors are opened, and no one, whether
townsman or nomad, stranger or traveller, is prevented from
partaking. He also sits during the early part | of the day in 345
private session; his son comes, kisses his hands, and with-
draws to an audience-chamber of his own, and the officers of
state come and eat in his presence, and then retire. It is his
custom also on Fridays to ride to the mosque, which is at
some distance from his residence. This mosque is a wooden
building of three stories; the sultan, the officers of state, the
qadl and the jurists, and the chief officers of the army pray
in the lowest story; 'Afandl,' 181 who is the Sultan's brother,
together with his entourage and attendants, and some of the
townspeople, pray in the middle story; and the sultan's son
and heir (he is his youngest son, and is called al-Jawad),182
with his retinue, slaves and attendants, and the rest of the
179 Shuja' al-Din Sulaiman, son of Timur-Jandar, feudatory of Aflani
(north-east of Safranbolu), seized Kastamonu from its hereditary Seljuk
governors, the Chupanids, in 1310 or 1320, and established there his own
dynasty, the Jandar-oghlu or Isfandiyarids. He captured also Burlu and
Sinope, and appointed his sons 'All (above, p. 461) and Ibrahim (below,
p. 465) as their governors. In the other contemporary sources he is always
styled 'Sulaiman Pasha'.
180 The complement li clearly indicates that the verb is to be read nuffidha ;
cf. vol. Ill, p. 436 (Arabic).
181 One of the earliest examples of the use among Turks of this Greek
honorific (afthtntes).
183 Otherwise unknown. Sulaiman was succeeded on his death (about
1339) by Ibrahim.
463
 ASIA MINOR AND SOUTH RUSSIA

population, pray in the top story. The Qur'an-rcadcrs as-

semble and sit in a circle in front of the mihrdb, and along
with them sit the khatib and the qadi. The sultan has his
place in line with the mihrdb. They recite the Sitra of The
346 Cave' with beautiful intonations, | and repeat the verses183
in a marvellous arrangement. When they finish the recital of
this, the khatib mounts the mimbar and delivers the address.
He then prays, and after finishing this prayer they perform
further additional prayers. The reader184 now recites one-
tenth of the Qur'an in the sultan's presence, after which the
sultan and his suite withdraw. The reader proceeds to recite
before the sultan's brother; he also withdraws with his
attendants at the end of this recital, and the reader then
recites before the sultan's son. When he finishes this recital,
the mu'arrif stands up (he is the remembrancer185), and
praises the sultan in Turkish verse, and praises also his son,
calling down blessings on both, and retires. The king's son
proceeds to his father's residence, after first kissing his
uncle's hand on his way (his uncle in the meantime standing
to await him), after which they enter the sultan's presence to-
gether; his brother advances, kisses his hand, and sits down
in front of him, then his son comes forward, kisses his hand
347 and withdraws to | his own hall, where he takes his seat with
his own suite. When the hour of afternoon prayer arrives
they all pray it together; the sultan's brother then kisses his
hand and leaves him, and does not return to him until the
following Friday. As for his son, he presents himself every
morning, as we have related.
We travelled on thereafter from this city and lodged in a
large hospice at a certain village—one of the finest hospices
that I saw in that country. It was built by a great amir called
Fakhr al-DIn, who repented before God Most High of his
sins.186 He assigned to his son the control of the [income of
188 This is the literal translation, but the meaning may be that they trill
or give a choral rendering of the verses.
184 One MS. reads 'the qadi'.
185 His function is described in a later passage (below, p. 473).
188 This can hardly be other than the madrasa founded at Tashkoprii (40
km. east-north-east of Kastamonu; Murray's Handbook, 7) by the Chupanid
amir of Kastamonu, Mu?affar al-Dm Yuluq Arslan (d. 1304/5), and re-
endowed by Sulaiman Padshah in 1329; the inscription recording this is
464
 SANUB

the] hospice and the supervision of the poor brethren who

resided in it, and all the revenues derived from the village are
constituted an endowment for it. Alongside the hospice he
built a bath-house ad majorem Dei gloriam, which may be
entered by every wayfarer without any obligation of pay-
ment, and he built also a bazaar in the village and made it an
endowment for the congregational mosque. From the endow-
ments of this hospice he assigned to every poor brother who
should come from | the two Holy Cities or from Syria, Egypt, 348
the two 'Iraqs, Khurasan, and other parts, a complete set of
clothing and one hundred dirhams on the day of his arrival,
three hundred dirhams on the day of his departure, and
maintenance for the days of his stay, consisting of meat, rice
cooked in ghee, and sweetmeats. To each poor brother from
the land of al-Rum he assigned ten dirhams and hospitality
for three days.
After leaving this hospice we spent a second night in a
hospice on a lofty mountain without any habitations. 187 It
was established by one of the Young Akhis called Nizam al-
Din, an inhabitant of Qastamuniya, and he gave it as endow-
ment a village, the revenue from which was to be spent for
the maintenance of wayfarers in this hospice.
We continued our journey from this hospice to the city of
Sanub,188 a superb city which combines fortification with
beautification. It is encompassed by sea on all sides except
one, namely the east, 189 and it has | on that side a single gate- 349
way through which no one may enter except by permission of
its governor; he is Ibrahim Bak, son of the sultan Sulaiman
Padshah whom we have mentioned. 190 When permission for
us had been obtained from him, we entered the town and
lodged in the hospice of 'Izz al-Din Akhi Chalabi, which is
outside the Sea-Gate. From there one can climb up to a

reproduced in Repertoire chron. d'epigraphie arabe, XIV, no. 5573. 'Fakhr

al-Din1 is probably a slip of memory.
187 For the route over the Changal Dagh between TashkSprii and Sinop
see Murray's Handbook, u.
188 Sinope, in modern Turkish Sinop, 95 km. north-east of Tashkupro;
Murray's Handbook, 2.
189 Erroneously for the west, as often in mediaeval descriptions.
190 Above, p. 463, n. 179.
465
 ASIA MINOR AND SOUTH RUSSIA

mountain projecting into the sea, 191 like Mma at Sabta

[Ceuta], 192 on which there are orchards, cultivated fields and
streams, most of its fruits being figs and grapes. It is an
inaccessible mountain that cannot be taken by escalade. On
it there are eleven villages inhabited by Greek infidels under
the government of the Muslims, and on top of it is a hermi-
tage called after al-Khidr and Ilyas (on both of them be
peace), 193 which is never without a resident devotee. Beside
it is a spring of water, and prayer made in it is answered.
At the foot of this mountain is the tomb of the pious saint,
350 the Companion Bilal | al-Habashi,194 over which there is a
hospice at which food is supplied to wayfarers.
The congregational mosque in the city of Sanub is one of
the most beautiful mosques. In the centre of it is a pool of
water, over which is a cupola supported by four pilasters,
each pilaster accompanied by two marble pillars, and on top
of the cupola is a rostrum to which one ascends by a wooden
staircase. This was constructed by the sultan Barwana, son
of the sultan 'Ala al-Dm al-Rumi, and he used to perform the
Friday prayer on top of this cupola. He was succeeded as
sultan by his son Ghazi Chalabi, and on his death the above-
mentioned sultan Sulaiman took possession of the city. 195
This Ghazl Chalabi was a brave and audacious man, en-
dowed by God with a special gift of endurance under water
191 Boz Tepe, a projecting bluff about 6 km. in length, joined to the land
by a low and narrow peninsula, on which the city was situated; see the plan
and old print in M. I. Maksimova, Antichnye Goroda Yugo-vostochnago
Prechernomor'a (Moskva-Leningrad, 1956), 32-3.
192 Jabal Mina commands the eastern end of the peninsula upon which
the city of Ceuta was built.
183 For al-Khidr, see vol. I, p. 123, n. 203. Ilyas is Elijah, in Greek Elias,
and frequently identified with al-Khidr, especially on hill-top sites; see
E.I., s.vv., also above, p. 401, and F. W. Hasluck, Christianity and Islam
under the Sultans (Oxford, 1929), I, 319 sqq.
194 See vol. I, p. 139, n. 239, for the presumed tomb of Bilal at Damascus.
198 The complex of errors in this statement is noted by the French editors.
Perwana ('chamberlain') was the designation of the dynasty of princes of
Sinope under suzerainty of the Mongol Ilkhans of Persia (Sinope being a
valuable outpost for protection of the trade-route via Trebizond to Tabriz).
The dynasty was established about 1260 by a relative by marriage of the
Seljuk sultans of Rum, and ousted in 1301 by Ghazi Chelebi, son of the
Seljuk sultan Mas'ud II (d. 1304). In 1322 the city was captured by Sulai-
man. To add to the confusion, one of al-'Omari's sources (23) states that
Ghazi Chelebi was governor of Sinope under Sulaiman's successor Ibrahim
(c. 1340-2).
466
 GHAZI CHALABI

and power of swimming. He used to make expeditions in war

galleys to fight the Greeks, 196 and when the fleets met and
everybody was occupied with the fighting he would dive
under | the water, carrying in his hand an iron tool with 351
which to hole the enemy's galleys, and they would know
nothing of what had befallen them until the foundering [of
their ships] took them unawares. On one occasion a fleet of
galleys belonging to the enemy made a surprise attack on the
harbour of Sanub, and he holed them and captured all the
men who were on board. 197 He possessed indeed a talent that
was unmatched, but they relate that he used to consume an
excessive quantity of hashish,™* and it was because of this
that he died. He went out one day hunting (to which he was
passionately addicted) and pursued a gazelle, which led him
on among some trees; he spurred his horse on too hard and
was intercepted by a tree, which struck and crushed in his
head. So he died, 199 and the sultan Sulaiman seized the town
and placed his son Ibrahim in it [as governor]. It is said that
he too consumes as much as his predecessor did, but the
people of all the districts of al-Rum show no disapproval of
consuming it. Indeed, I passed one day by the gate of the
congregational mosque in Sanub, outside of which there are
benches | where the inhabitants sit, and I saw several of the 352
superior officers of the army with an orderly of theirs in front
of them holding in his hand a bag filled with something re-
sembling henna. One of them took a spoonful of it and ate it,
as I was looking at him; I had no idea what there was in the
bag, but I enquired of the person who was with me, and he
told me that it was hashish. We were hospitably entertained
in this city by its qadl, as well as by the governor's deputy in
it a nd the local professor; his name was Ibn 'Abd al-Razzaq. 200
196 i^is probably refers to his exploits against the Genoese at Kaff a;
Heyd, I, 551.
197 The episode presumably referred to is somewhat differently presented
in the Genoese sources, which relate that in 1324 'Zarabi' treacherously
attacked a flotilla of ten Guelph ships while their leaders were being enter-
tained by him in the city; Jacobus de Voragine 'lacopo da Voragine anonimi
Giorgio Stella', Annali Genovesi (Geneva, 1941), I, 174-6.
198 See above, p. 417, n. 19.
199 As indicated above in nn. 195, 197, it would appear that Ghazi
Chelebi survived Sulaiman's occupation for at least twenty years.
200 The text appears to imply the identity Of the three functionaries, but
the next paragraph refers to 'the sultan's deputy' separately.
o 467 T.O.I.B.—ii
 ASIA MINOR AND SOUTH RUSSIA
Anecdote. When we entered this city, its people observed
that we performed the prayers with our arms hanging down.
They are Hanafls, who know nothing of the rite of Malik nor
of his manner of prayer, the preferred practice according to
his school being to let the arms hang down. 201 Now some of
353 them were accustomed to see | the Rafidis in the Hijaz and
al-'Iraq praying with their arms hanging down, so they sus-
pected us of following their doctrine, and interrogated us on
the point. We told them that we belonged to the school of
Malik, but they remained unconvinced by our statement.
The suspicion became so firmly fixed in their minds that the
sultan's deputy sent us a hare, and instructed one of his ser-
vants to remain with us in order to see what we should do
with it. We slaughtered it ritually, cooked it and ate it, and
the servant returned to him and informed him accordingly.
Consequently the suspicion was removed from us and they
sent us the [usual] hospitality-gifts, for the Rafidis do not eat
the hare. 202
Four days after our arrival at Sanub, the mother of the
amir Ibrahim died there, and I went out in her funeral pro-
cession. Her son went out on foot and with bare head, and so
354 also did the amirs and mamluks, | with their robes inside
out. 203 As for the qadl, the khatib, and the jurists, they too
reversed their robes, but they did not bare their heads, and
covered them instead with kerchiefs of black wool, in place of
turbans. They continued to serve food for forty days, this
being the period of mourning in their usage.
Our stay in this city lasted for about forty days, while we
were awaiting an occasion to travel by sea to the city of al-
Qiram.204 We then hired a vessel belonging to the Greeks and
remained eleven days [more] waiting for a favourable wind.
At length we began the voyage, but when we were out in the
open sea, after three nights, a storm blew up against us and
201 Instead of bending them upwards from the elbow at the first invoca-
tion, as in the Hanafi rite (see 'Prayer' in T. P. Hughes's Dictionary of
Islam (London 1885, reprint 1935)).
202 The Shi'ites adopted the Mosaic prohibition of the hare (Leviticus,
xi, 6).
208 See above, p. 291, n. 69.
204 For the trade between Sinope and the Crimea see Heyd, I, 298; G. I.
Bratianu, Recherches sur le commerce genois dans la Mer Noire au XIII*
siecle (Paris, 1929), 172.
468
 VOYAGE TO THE CRIMEA

we were in sore straits, with destruction visibly before our

eyes. I was in the cabin, 205 along with a man from the
Maghrib named Abu Bakr, and I bade him go up on deck to
observe the state of the sea. He did so and came back to me
in the cabin saying | to me 'I commend you to God.' The 355
storm raged against us with unparalleled fury, then the wind
changed and drove us back nearly to the very city of Saniib
from which we had started. One of its merchants wanted to
go down to its harbour, but I prevented the master of the
ship from disembarking him.206 Afterwards the wind fell,
and we resumed our journey, but when we were in the open
sea a storm blew up [again] and the same thing happened to
us as before; then eventually the wind became favourable
and we saw the mountains on the mainland.
We made for a harbour called Karsh,207 intending to put
in there, but some persons who were on the mountain made
signs to us not to enter, so, fearing that we might run into
danger and thinking that there were galleys208 of the enemy
in the port, we turned back along the coast. As we approached
the land, I said to the master of the ship 'I wish to descend
here' so he put me ashore. I saw a church so we made to-
wards it. In it I found a monk, and on one of | the walls of the 356
church I saw the figure of an Arab man wearing a turban,
girt with a sword, and carrying a spear in his hand, and in
front of him a lamp, which was alight. I said to the monk
'What is this figure?' and when he replied 'This is the figure
of the prophet 'AH' 209 1 was filled with astonishment. We spent
the night in that church, and cooked some fowls, but we
could not eat them because they were among the provisions
that we had taken with us on the ship, and everything that
had been on board was impregnated with the smell of the
sea.
208 Arabic tarima, apparently of Persian origin, meaning a shed or portico.
208 MS. 2289 reads 'the master of the ship prevented him from bringing
this about (?)'.
207 Kerch, on the strait of Yeni-kale, at the entrance to the Sea of Azov,
in classical times called the 'Cimmerian Bosphorus' and hence Vospro in the
Italian portolans. It became a metropolitan see in 1332 (Heyd, II, 184-5).
208 Ajfan, sing.jafn, a North African term meaning 'galley' in general, but
here obviously implying 'war-galleys'; cf. p. 402, n. 125.
209 This looks like a natural confusion with Elias, the Greek genitive of
which is Elia.
469
 ASIA MINOR AND SOUTH RUSSIA

This place where we landed was in the wilderness known as

Dasht-i Qifjaq (dasht in the language of the Turks means
'wilderness'). 210 This wilderness is green and grassy, with no
trees nor hills, high or low, nor narrow pass nor firewood.
What they use for burning is animal dung (which they call
tazak), 211 and you can see even their men of rank gathering
357 it up and putting it in the skirts of their robes. There is no
means of travelling in this desert except in waggons, and it
extends for six months' journey, three of them in the terri-
tories of the sultan Muhammad Uzbak, and three in those of
other princes. On the day after our arrival at this roadstead,
one of the merchants in our company went to some of the
tribesmen known as Qifjaq who inhabit this desert and pro-
fess the Christian religion, and hired from them a waggon
drawn by horses. 212 We rode in this, and came to the city of
al-Kafa, which is a great city along the sea coast inhabited
by Christians, most of them Genoese, who have a governor
called al-Damdir. 213 We lodged there in the mosque of the
Muslims.
Anecdote. When we alighted at this mosque and stayed in
358 it for an hour or so, we heard the sounds | of clappers214 on
every side, and never having heard them before I was
alarmed at this and bade my companions ascend the minaret
and chant the Qur'an and praises to God, and recite the call
210 Dasht is the Persian equivalent of the Arabic sahra', i.e. desert, wilder-
ness, open country. After the occupation of South Russia by the Qipchaq
(=Comans), this name became current among Arabic geographers for the
Russian steppes: see E.I., s.v. Kip£ak; W. Barthold, Histoive des Turcs
d'Asie Centrale (Paris, 1945), 90.
211 The ordinary Turkish term.
212 Many Comans were converted to Christianity hi South Russia: E.I.,
s.v. KipCak; cf. Bratianu, 210.
213 Kaffa, the ancient Theodosia (modern Feodosia), was rebuilt by the
Genoese in the thirteenth century as their trading centre in the Crimea
(Heyd, II, 157 sqq.), destroyed by the Mongols in 1308, and later rebuilt
(B. Spuler, Die Goldene Horde (Leipzig, 1943), 84). That al-Damdir conceals
the name Demetrio (as suggested by the French translators) is uncertain in
the absence of evidence, nor can it be said what Ibn Battuta meant by the
'governor' (amir) of the Genoese. There is an eighteenth-century 'view' of
Kaffa in Bratianu, plate IV.
214 Ndqus, plural nawaqls, is strictly the term for the wooden clappers or
church-gongs (called in Greek semantra) used by the Greek churches, but
here must mean the bells of the Latin churches. Muslims held the ringing of
bells in the greatest abhorrence, and a Prophetic Tradition says, 'The angels
will not enter any house in which bells are rung.'
470
 AL-KAFA AND AL-QIRAM

to prayer. They did so, when suddenly a man came in

wearing breastplate and weapons and saluted us. We asked
him what was his business, and he told us that he was the
qadi of the Muslims there, and said 'When I heard the
chanting and the call to prayer, I feared for your safety and
came as you see.' Then he went away, but no evil befell us.
On the following day the governor215 came to visit us and
prepared a banquet, which we ate in his residence. We made
a circuit of the city and found it provided with fine bazaars,
but all the inhabitants are infidels. We went down to its
port, where we saw a wonderful harbour with about two
hundred vessels in it, both ships of war and trading vessels,
small and large, for it is one of the world's celebrated ports.
We then hired | a waggon and travelled to the city of al- 359
Qiram,216 a large and fine city in the territories of the illus-
trious sultan Muhammad Uzbak Khan. There is an amir who
governs it on his behalf, named Tuluk-tumur. One of the
subordinates of this amir, who had accompanied us on our
journey, informed him of our arrival, and he sent me a horse
by the hand of his imam, Sa'd al-Din. We lodged in a hospice,
whose shaikh, Zada al-Khurasani, welcomed us and treated
us honourably and generously. He is held in great veneration
among them; I saw many persons come to salute him, of the
rank of qadi, khatib, doctor of law, etc. This shaikh Zada told
me that outside this city there was a Christian monk living
in a monastery, who devoted himself to ascetic exercises and
used frequently to fast, and that he eventually reached | the 360
point of being able to fast for forty days at a stretch, after
which he would break his fast with a single bean; also that he
had the faculty of revealing secret things. He desired me to
go with him to visit the man, but I refused, although after-
815 Two MSS. read 'the Akhl', but the existence of a Muslim qadi does not
necessarily imply the presence of a resident Muslim colony at this time,
which is, indeed, implicitly denied in the following sentence.
216 Al-Qiram (from which the name Crimea is derived), later called Stary
Krim, 42 km. west of Feodosia, in mediaeval texts Solgat; see Heyd, II,
174 sqq. The Crimea was included in the empire of the so-called 'Golden
Horde', the apanage of Chingiz Khan's eldest son Juchi and his descendants,
called by the Arabs the Khanate of Qipchaq. Sultan (Muhammad) Ozbeg
(reigned 1312-41) was one of the most powerful Khans of its ruling group,
the Blue Horde; but the governor of the Crimea exercised a largely in-
dependent authority; see Spuler, Die Goldene Horde, 75-99, and for the
Crimea, 314.
47 I
 ASIA MINOR AND SOUTH RUSSIA

wards I regretted not having seen him and found out the
truth of what was said about him.
I met in this city its chief qacjli, Shams al-Din al-Sayili,217
who is the qadi of the Hanafis, and the qadi of the Shaft'is,
who is named Khidr, as well as the jurist and professor 'Ala
al-Din al-Asi, 218 the khatib of the Shafi'Is, Abu Bakr (it is he
who pronounces the khutba in the congregational mosque
that al-Malik al-Nasir (God's mercy on him) erected in this
city), 219 the pious shaikh and sage Muzaffar al-Din (he was a
Greek who embraced Islam and became a sincere Muslim),
and the pious and ascetic shaikh Muzhir al-Din, who was a
highly respected doctor of law. The amir Tuluktumur was ill,
but we visited him and he received us honourably and made
361 gifts to us. He was on the point of setting out for the city | of
al-Sara, the capital of the sultan Muhammad "Qzbak, so I
planned to travel in his company and bought some waggons
for that purpose.
Account of the waggons in which one journeys in this country.
These people call a waggon 'araba. zzo They are waggons with
four large wheels, some of them drawn by two horses, and
some drawn by more than two, and they are drawn also by
oxen and camels, according to the weight or lightness of the
waggon. The man who services the waggon rides on one of the
horses that draw it, which has a saddle on it, and carries in
his hand a whip with which he urges them to go and a large
stick by which he brings them back to the right direction
when they turn aside from it. There is placed upon the wag-
gon a kind of cupola made of wooden laths tied together with
thin strips of hide; this is light to carry, and covered with
362 felt | or blanket-cloth, and in it there are grilled windows.
The person who is inside the tent can see [other] persons
817 1 cannot place this appellative.
218 I.e. the Ossete (see below, p. 516, n. 349); one MS. reads Abl ( = Awi).
219 A mosque was built in Qrim with the aid of the Egyptian sultan
Baibars in 1288, but the chief mosque at this time was that built by order
of Ozbeg Khan in 1314: see V. D. Smirnov in the Zapiski of the Oriental
Section of the Russian Archaeological Society (St. Petersburg, 1887), I,
280-1. It appears, however, that the name of the sultan of Egypt was
mentioned in the khutba at this mosque; Spuler, Die Goldene Horde, 255.
220 This was a new word, recently introduced by the Qipchaqs, although
not necessarily of Turkish derivation. Ibn Battuta, naturally, does not
observe the method of harnessing; see E.I.*, s.v.
472
 WAGGONS OF THE TURKS

without their seeing him, and he can employ himself in it as

he likes, sleeping or eating or reading or writing, while he is
still journeying. Those of the waggons that carry the bag-
gage, the provisions and the chests of eatables are covered
with a sort of tent much as we have described, with a lock on
it.221 When I decided to make the journey, I prepared for my
own conveyance a waggon covered with felt, taking with me
in it a slavegirl of mine, another small waggon for my
associate 'Afif al-Dln al-Tuzari, and for the rest of my com-
panions a large waggon drawn by three camels, one of which
was ridden by the conductor of the waggon.
We set out in company with the amir Tuluktumur, his
brother 'Isa, and his two sons Qutludumur and Sarubak.
With him also travelled on this journey his imam Sa'd al-
Din, the khatib Abu Bakr, the qadi | Shams al-Din, the jurist 363
Sharaf al-Dln Musa, and the remembrancer 'Ala al-Din. The
office of this remembrancer is to take his place in front of the
amir in his audience hall, and when the qadi comes in he rises
up for him and says in a loud voice 'Bismillah, our lord and
master, the qadi of qadis and magistrates, the elucidator of
cases and rules of law, bismillah.' When a respected jurist or
man of consequence comes in, he says, 'Bismillah, our lord
so-and-so al-Din, bismillah' whereupon those who are present
prepare for the entry of the visitor, rise up to salute him, and
make room for him in the chamber.
The habit of the Turks is to organize the journey through
this desert in the same way as that of the pilgrims [to Mecca]
on the Hijaz road. They set out after the dawn prayer and
halt in the mid-forenoon, then set out again after noon and
halt in the evening. When they halt they loose the horses,
camels and oxen | from the waggons and drive them out to 364
pasture at liberty, night and day. No one, whether sultan or
any other, gives forage to his beast, for the peculiar property
of this desert is that its herbage takes the place of barley for
animals; this property belongs to no other land, and for that
reason there are large numbers of animals in it. Their animals
[pasture] without keepers or guards; this is due to the
221 A fuller description of the waggons, the manner of carrying the huts
upon them, and the chests is given by William of Rubruck (Komroff,
58-61).
473
 ASIA MINOR AND SOUTH RUSSIA

severity of their laws against theft. Their law in this matter

is that any person found in possession of a stolen horse is
obliged to restore it to its owner and to give him along with it
nine like it; if he cannot do that, his sons are taken instead,
and if he has no sons he is slaughtered just as a sheep is
slaughtered. 222
These Turks do not eat bread nor any solid food, but they
prepare a dish made from a thing in their country like millet,
365 which they call dugi.™ \ They put water over a fire; when it
boils they pour into it some of this dugi, and if they have any
meat they cut it in small pieces and cook it along with the
dugi. Then every man is given his portion in a dish, and they
pour over it curdled milk and sup it. [Sometimes] they sup
with it mares' milk, which they call qumizz. 22* They are
powerful and hardy men, with good constitutions. At certain
times they make use of a dish that they call burkhdni. 225 It is
a paste which they cut into very small pieces, making a hole
in the middle of each, and put into a pot; when they are
cooked, they pour over them curdled milk and sup them.
They have also a fermented drink which they make from the
grain of the dugi mentioned above. They regard the eating of
sweetmeats as a disgrace. [To give an instance of this] I went
one day to the audience of the sultan Uzbak during [the
see month of] Ramadan. There was served horse-flesh (this is | the
meat that they most often eat) and sheep's flesh, and rishtd 226
which is a kind of macaroni cooked and supped with milk. I
brought for him that night a plate of sweetmeats made by one
of my companions, and when I presented them before him he
touched them with his finger and put it to his mouth, and
that was all he did. The amir Tuluktumur told me of one of
the high-ranking mamluks of this sultan, who had between
sons and sons' sons about forty descendants, that the sultan
222 Qf Yule's Marco Polo, I, 266, and V. A. Riasanovsky, Fundamental
Principles of Mongol Law (Tientsin, 1937), 35-6-
223 Dugu in Ottoman Turkish is pounded rice; the term probably there-
fore means pounded millet or spelt. For 'millet' Ibn Battuta uses the Berber
word anil.
224 The well-known curdled milk of the Tatars and Turks; for details of its
preparation and varieties see Spuler, Die Goldene Horde, 429 sqq.
225 Not otherwise known; the Persian and Turkish buranl is made with
egg-plant or spinach and yoghurt.
226 Persian for 'spun thread', hence 'macaroni', etc.
474
 FOOD AND DRINK OF THE TURKS

said to him one day 'Eat sweetmeats, and I free you all/ but
he refused, saying 'If you were to kill me I would not eat
them.'
When we moved out of the city of al-Qiram we halted at
the hospice of the amir Tuluktumur, at a place known as
Sajijan, and he sent for me to present myself before him. So
I rode to him (for I had a horse ready for me to ride, which
was led by the conductor of the waggon, and when I wanted to
ride it I did so), came to the hospice, and found that the amir
had prepared there a great banquet, including bread. 227) 367
They then brought in a white liquid in small bowls and those
present drank of it. The shaikh Muzaffar al-Din was next to
the amir in the order of sitting and I was next to him, so I
said to him 'What is this?' He replied This is duhn juice.' I
did not understand what he meant, so I tasted it and finding
a bitter taste in it left it alone. When I went out I made en-
quiry about it and they said 'It is nabidh [a fermented drink]
which they make from dugi grain.' These people are Hanafis
and nabidh is permissible according to their doctrine. They
call this nabidh which is made from dugi by the name of
buza. 228 What the shaikh Muzaffar al-Din said to me was
[meant to be] 'dukhn juice' [i.e. millet juice], but since his
[Arabic] speech was mispronounced, as commonly among
foreigners, I thought he was saying 'duhn juice' [i.e. oil juice].
After travelling eighteen stations from the city of al-
Qiram we reached a great [expanse of] water, through which
we continued to ford for a whole day. 229 When a large num-
ber | of beasts and waggons have to pass through this water, 368
it becomes very muddy and more difficult, so the amir,
thinking of my comfort, sent me on ahead of him with one of
his subordinates, and wrote a letter for me to the governor of
Azaq, informing him that I was proposing to proceed to the
king and urging him to treat me honourably. We con-
227 As Ibn Battuta has noted above, bread was a rarity among the Tatars.
228 Buza is millet beer, improved in later times by malting. Although
'wine' (khamr) is forbidden in the Qur'an (sura v. 90), some jurists of the
Hanafi school held nabidh (properly 'date juice, more or less fermented') to
be permitted; see E.I., s.v.
229 I take this to be the estuary of the Miuss river, west of Taganrog. See
the map to ch. XII in E. D. Clarke, Travels in Various Countries of Europe,
Asia and Africa (London, 1810), pt. I; inserted in ch. XV of the American
editions, 1811, 1813.
475
 ASIA MINOR AND SOUTH RUSSIA

tinued our journey until we came to a second [expanse of]

water, which we took half a day to ford, and after travelling
for three nights more we arrived at the city of Azaq. 230
This city is on the seacoast, with fine buildings, and visited
by the Genoese and others with merchandise. One of the
Fitydn there is Akhi Bichaqchi; he is one of the important
personages and supplies food to wayfarers. When the letter
of the amir Tuluktumur was delivered to the governor of
Azaq, who was Muhammad Khwaja al-Khwarizmi, 231 he
came out to meet me, accompanied by the qacji and students
369 of religion, and had | food sent out as well. After saluting
him, we halted at a certain place, where we ate; we then came
to the city, and encamped outside it in the vicinity of a
hermitage there called after al-Khidr and Ilyas (on both be
peace).232 A shaikh, one of the inhabitants of Azaq, named
Rajab al-Nahr Malaki—a name derived from a village in
al'Iraq233—came out and entertained us with fine hospitality
in a hospice of his.
Two days after our arrival the amir Tuluktumur arrived;
the governor Muhammad went out to meet him, accompanied
by the qadi and students of religion, and the citizens made
preparations to receive him with banquets and gifts. 234 They
erected three pavilions next one another, one of them of parti-
coloured silk, a marvellous thing, and the other two of linen,
and put up round them a sardcha [i.e. cloth enclosure], which
is what is called among us dfrdg,*35 with an antechamber out-
side it in the shape of a burj among us. 236 When the amir dis-
230 NOW Azof, called by the mediaeval merchants Tana, 30 km. west of
Rostov, and on the southern bank of the estuary of the Don (which was
presumably the second river forded). It was the starting point for caravans
to the Volga and beyond; H. Yule (ed.), Cathay and the Way Thither
(London, Hakluyt Society, 1918), III, 146 sqq.
231 He is mentioned as governor of Tana in a Venetian report of the same
period; Heyd, II, 183-4.
282 See above, p. 466, n. 193.
233 Nahr al-Malik, about 20 miles south of Baghdad, on the old 'King's
Canal' from Falluja to the Tigris.
234 The term diyafat implies more than 'banquets'. By custom or regula-
tion, the population was frequently required to furnish food and other gifts
and necessaries to governors and emissaries on their passage (cf. below,
p. 499), and these were also euphemistically called 'hospitality-gifts'.
238 A Berber term, used in Morocco for the royal enclosure.
238 The 'shape' meant by Ibn Ba^tuta is not at all clear, since burj is any
kind of tower, whether for military defence or private residenceor pigeon-loft.
476
 CEREMONIES AT AZAQ

mounted pieces of silk were spread before him | to walk on, 370
and one of his acts of generosity and benevolence was that he
made me precede him, in order that the governor should see
the high esteem that he had for me.
We then came to the first tent, the one that had been pre-
pared for his [public] sitting. At the place of honour in it there
was a wooden settee for him to sit on, large and inlaid with
woods of different colours,237 and with a beautiful cushion on
it. The amir made me walk ahead of him and bade the shaikh
Mu?affar al-Din also go on ahead, then he himself came up
and sat between us, all [three] of us being on the cushion. His
qadi, his khatib, and the qadi and students of religion of this
city sat on the left on magnificent rugs, and the two sons of
the amir Tuluktumur, his brother, the governor Muhammad
and his sons stood in respectful attendance. The servants then
brought in the dishes, consisting of the flesh of horses, etc.,
and also brought mares' milk. Afterwards they brought the
buza, and when the meal was finished the Qur'an-readers
recited with beautiful voices. A pulpit was then set up | and 371
the preacher mounted it, the Qur'an-readers sitting in front
of him, and he delivered an eloquent address and prayed for
blessings on the sultan, the amir, and all those present, saying
that [first] in Arabic and then translating it for them in
Turkish. During the intervals of this [ceremony], the Qur'an-
readers would start again to recite verses from the Qur'an in
a wonderful harmony then they began to sing, singing [first]
in Arabic (this they call qaul) and then in Persian and Turkish
(this they call mulamma'} , 238 Afterwards more food was
served, and they continued in this fashion until the evening,
and every time that I made a move to leave the amir
stopped me. They then brought a robe for the amir and robes
for his sons and his brother, for the shaikh Muzaffar al-DIn
837 Ibn Battuta uses the term murassa' to indicate almost any kind of
decoration, by gold, jewels, or inlay. The French translators have 'inrrusted
with gold', which is certainly the correct interpretation in some passages
(cf. p. 485, 1. 23), but in relation to a wooden object it seems more likely
to mean 'inlay-work', as the technical term for which the Arabic tarsi'
passed into the languages of Europe ('intarsia').
838 Qaul in Arabic means 'speech', but is glossed in Persian dictionaries as
'a kind of song'. Mulamma', meaning a brindled or piebald horse, was
applied to poetry composed of alternate verses or strophes in Persian and
Turkish.
477
 ASIA MINOR AND SOUTH RUSSIA

and for me, after which they presented ten horses to the
amir, six horses to his brother and his sons, one horse to each
notable in his suite and one horse to me.
The horses in this country are exceedingly numerous and
372 their price is negligible. A good horse costs fifty | or sixty of
their dirhams, which equals one dinar of our money or there-
abouts. These are the horses known in Egypt as akadish,™
and it is from [the raising of] them that they make their
living, horses in their country being like sheep in ours, or
even more numerous, so that a single Turk will possess
thousands of them. It is the custom of the Turks who live in
this country and who raise horses to attach a piece of felt, a
span in length, to a thin rod, a cubit in length, for every
thousand horses [possessed by each man]. These rods are put
on the waggons in which their women ride, each being fixed
to a corner of the waggon, and I have seen some of them who
have ten pieces [of felt] and some with less than that.
These horses are exported to India [in droves], each one
numbering six thousand or more or less. Each trader has one
or two hundred horses or less or more. For every fifty of them
373 he hires | a drover, who looks after them and their pasturage,
like sheep; and this man is called by them alqashi.™ He rides
on one of them, carrying in his hand a long stick with a rope
on it, and when he wishes to catch any horse among them he
gets opposite to it241 on the horse that he is riding, throws the
rope over its neck and draws it to him, mounts it and sets the
other free to pasture. When they reach the land of Sind with
their horses, they feed them with forage, because the vegeta-
tion of the land of Sind does not take the place of barley, and
the greater part of the horses die or are stolen. They are taxed
on them in the land of Sind [at the rate of] seven silver dinars
a horse, at a place called Shashnaqar,242 and pay a further tax
at Multan, the capital of the land of Sind. In former times
they paid in duty the quarter of what they imported, but the
king of India, the Sultan Muhammad, abolished this [prac-
239 I.e. horses with no pedigree or of mixed breed.
240 Eastern Turkish (Uighur) ulaqchi, 'groom', 'stable-boy' (Radloff,
Worterbuch, I, 1680). The word is not vocalised in the Arabic text.
241 Probably rather 'gets alongside it'.
242 Probably Hashtnagar, 16 miles north-west of Peshawar; see vol. Ill,
p. go (Arabic).
478
 TURKISH HORSES

tice] and ordered that there should be exacted from the

Muslim traders | the zakdt2*3 and from the infidel traders the 374
tenth. In spite of this, there remains a handsome profit for
the traders in these horses, for they sell the cheapest of them
in the land of India for a hundred silver dinars (the exchange
value of which in Moroccan gold is twenty-five dinars), and
often sell them for twice or three times as much. The good
horses are worth five hundred [silver] dinars or more. The
people of India do not buy them for [their qualities in] run-
ning or racing, because they themselves wear coats of mail in
battle and they cover their horses with armour, and what
they prize in these horses is strength and length of pace. The
horses that they want for racing are brought to them from
al-Yaman, 'Oman and Fars, and each of these horses is sold
at from one to four thousand dinars. 244
When the amir Tuluktumur set out from this city [Azaq],
I stayed behind for three days, until the governor Muhammad
Khwaja provided me with the equipment for my journey. | 1375
then set out for the city of al-Machar, a large town, one of the
finest of the cities of the Turks, on a great river, and pos-
sessed of gardens and fruits in abundance. 245 We lodged in it
at the hospice of the pious shaikh and aged devotee Muham-
mad al-Bata'ihi, from the bataih [marsh-lands] of al-'Iraq,
who was the delegate of the shaikh Ahmad al-Rifa'i (God
be pleased with him). In his hospice were about seventy poor
brethren, Arabs, Persians, Turks and Greeks, some married
and some single, whose livelihood came solely from alms. The
people of that country have a firm belief in the [virtues of the]
poor brethren, and come to the hospice every night bringing
horses, cattle, and sheep. The sultan and the khatuns also
come to visit the shaikh and to obtain blessing by him, and
they are lavish with their charity and donate large sums—
especially the women, for they bestow alms profusely | and 376
seek to do all manner of good works.
243 The annual canonical tax (properly 'alms-tax') on the property of
Muslims, generally calculated at 2j per cent of total possessions. On
animals of different kinds the calculation is a more complicated one, the
normal for horses being 5 per cent of the total value (see Hughes's Dictionary
of Islam, s.v.).
244 See above, p. 382 and n. 69.
245 Identified with Burgomadzhary, on the Kuma river, at 44° 50' N.,
44° 27' E.; see Yule's Marco Polo, II, 491.
479
 ASIA MINOR AND SOUTH RUSSIA

We prayed the Friday prayers in the city of al-Machar,

and when the prayers were over the preacher 'Izz al-Din246
ascended the mimbar. He was one of the jurists and eminent
doctors of Bukhara, and had a company of students and
Qur'an-readers who would recite in front of him. He de-
livered a homily and exhortation in the presence of the gover-
nor and principal personages of the city, then the shaikh
Muhammad al-Bata'ihi rose and said 'The learned preacher
is about to set out and we wish to furnish him with means for
his journey.' He then took off a robe of goats' hair that he
was wearing, saying This is for him from me,' and of those
present some took off a robe, some gave a horse, and some gave
money, and from all this a large provision was collected for him.
In the qaisdriya^1 of this city I saw a Jew who saluted me
and spoke to me in Arabic. I asked him what country he
came from and he told me that he was from the land of al-
377 Andalus and had come from it over | land, without travelling
by sea, but by way of Constantinople the Great, the land of
al-Rum and the land of the Jarkas, and stated that it was
four months since he had left al-Andalus.248 The travelling
merchants who have experience of this matter assured me of
the truth of his statement.
I witnessed in this country a remarkable thing, namely the
respect in which women are held by them, indeed they are
higher in dignity than the men. As for the wives of the
amirs, the first occasion on which I saw them was when, on
my departure from al-Qiram, I saw the khatun, the wife of
the amir Saltiya, in a waggon of hers. The entire waggon was
covered with rich blue woollen cloth, the windows and doors
of the tent were open, and there were in attendance on her
four girls of excelling beauty and exquisitely dressed. Behind
her were a number of waggons in which were girls belonging
to her suite. When she came near the encampment of the
amir, she descended from the waggon to the ground and with
378 her alighted | about thirty of the girls to cany her train. Her
248 One MS. reads 'Majd al-Din'.
247 I.e., main bazaar; see vol. I, p. 97, n. 115.
248 The Jarkas are the Circassians (Cherkess), who inhabited the lands at
the eastern end of the Black Sea and the Kuban territory. Presumably the
merchant followed the regular route to Trebizond and then turned north-
eastwards. One MS., however, has al-Rus for al-Rum.
480
 TURKISH WOMEN

robes were furnished with loops of which each girl would take
one, and altogether they would lift the skirts clear of the
ground on every side. She walked thus in a stately manner
until she reached the amir, when he rose before her, saluted
her, and sat her beside him, while her maidens stood around
her. Skins of qumizz were brought and she, having poured
some of it into a bowl, went down on her knees before the
amir and handed the bowl to him. After he had drunk, she
poured out for his brother, and the amir poured out for her.
The food was then served and she ate with him, he gave her a
robe and she withdrew. Such is the style of the wives of the
amirs, and we shall describe [that of] the wives of the king
later on. As for the wives of the traders and the commonalty,
I have seen them, when one of them would be in a waggon,
being drawn by horses, and in attendance on her three or four
girls to carry her train, | wearing on her head a bughtaq, which 379
is a conical headdress decorated with precious stones and sur-
mounted by peacock feathers.249 The windows of the tent
would be open and her face would be visible, for the women-
folk of the Turks do not veil themselves. One such woman
will come [to the bazaar] in this style, accompanied by her
male slaves with sheep and milk, and will sell them for spice-
wares. Sometimes one of the women will be in the company
of her husband and anyone seeing him would take him to be
one of her servants ; he wears no garments other than a sheep-
skin cloak and on his head a high cap to match it, which they

We made preparations to travel from the city of al-

Machar to the sultan's camp, which was four days' march
from al-Machar at a place called Bish Dagh. 251 Bisk in their
language means 'five' and dagh means 'Mountain'. In these
Five Mountains there is a hot spring | in which the Turks 380
bathe, and they claim that anyone who bathes in it will not
be attacked by disease. 252 We set out for the site of the
249 A kind of golden headdress, ornamented with jewels, to which was
attached a train reaching to the ground (Dozy, s.v.). It is described in
detail by William of Rubruck, by the name of botta (Komroff, 69).
2so Persian kuldh, 'cap'.
851 Called in Russian P'atigorsk (a literal translation of the Turkish
name), in the sub-Caucasian region, and still noted for its sulphur springs.
252 The term is used particularly of skin diseases.
481
 ASIA MINOR AND SOUTH RUSSIA

mahalla and reached it on the first day of Ramadan, 253 but

found that the mahalla had left, so we returned to the place
from which we started, because the mahalla was encamping
in its vicinity. I set up my tent on a low hill thereabouts,
fixed my flag in front of the tent, and drew up my horses and
waggons behind. Then the mahalla came up—they call it the
urdu25*—and we saw a vast city on the move with its in-
habitants, with mosques and bazaars in it, the smoke of the
kitchens rising in the air (for they cook while on the march),
and horse-drawn waggons transporting the people. On
reaching the camping place they took down the tents from
the waggons and set them on the ground, for they are light to
381 carry, and so likewise they did with the mosques | and shops.
The sultan's khatuns passed by us, each one separately with
her retinue. The fourth of them (she was the daughter of the
amir 'Isa, and we shall speak of her presently), as she passed,
saw the tent on top of the hill with the flag in front of it as the
sign of a new arrival, so she sent pages and girls who saluted
me and conveyed her salutations to me, while she halted to
wait for them. I sent her a gift by one of my companions and
the remembrancer of the amir Tuluktumur. She accepted it
as a token of blessing, and gave orders that I should be taken
under her protection, then went on. [Afterwards] the sultan
came up and encamped separately in his mahalla.
Account of the exalted Sultan Muhammad Vzbak Khan. 2™
His name is Muhammad Ozbak, and Khan in their language
means 'sultan'. This sultan is mighty in sovereignty, ex-
asa ceedingly | powerful, great in dignity, lofty in station, victor
over the enemies of God, the people of Constantinople the
Great, and diligent in the jihad against them. His territories
are vast and his cities great; they include al-Kafa, al-Qiram,
al-Machar, Azaq, Surdaq and Khwarizm, and his capital is
al-Sara. 256 He is one of the seven kings who are the great and

253 In 732, 27 May 1332; in 734, 6 May 1334.

254 Turkish ordu, 'residence of a [nomadic] prince': Kashghari, I, 112, 5;
distinct from yurt, 'apanage of a prince': Juwaini, History of the World-Con­
queror, trans. J. A. Boyle (Manchester, 1958), I, 42-3. The ordu included all
the individual mahallas or camps described above. To William of Rubruck
also, the horda of Batu 'seemed like a mighty city' (Komroff, 98).
255 See above, p. 471, n. 216.
268 For Surdaq see p. 499, and for al-Sara p. 515 below.
482
 SULTAN MUHAMMAD UZBAK

mighty kings of the world, to wit: our Master, the Commander

of the Faithful, the Shadow of God on His earth, the Imam
of the victorious company who shall never cease to defend
the Truth till the advent of the Hour, may God aid his cause
and magnify his victory [i.e. the sultan of Morocco], the sul-
tan of Egypt and Syria, the sultan of the two 'Iraqs, this
sultan t)zbak, the sultan of the land of Turkistan and the
lands beyond the river [Oxus], the sultan of India, and the
sultan of China. This sultan when he is on the march, travels
in a separate mahalla, accompanied by his mamluks and
his officers of state, and each one of | his khatuns travels 383
separately in her own mahalla. When he wishes to be with
any one of them, he sends to her to inform her of this, and
she prepares to receive him.
He observes, in his [public] sittings, his journeys, and his
affairs in general, a marvellous and magnificent ceremonial.
It is his custom to sit every Friday, after the prayers, in a
pavilion, magnificently decorated, called the Gold Pavilion.
It is constructed of wooden rods covered with plaques of
gold, and in the centre of it is a wooden couch covered with
plaques of silver gilt, its legs being of pure silver and their
bases encrusted with precious stones. 257 The sultan sits on the
throne, having on his right hand the khatun Taitughli and
next to her the khatun Kabak, and on his left the khatun
Bayalun and next to her the khatun Urduja. Below the
throne, to his right, stands the sultan's son Tina Bak, and to
his left his second son Jam Bak, and in front of him sits his
daughter It Kujujuk. As each of the khatuns comes in the
sultan rises before her, | and takes her by the hand until she 384
mounts to the couch. As for Taitughli, who is the queen and
the one of them most favoured by him, he advances to the
entrance of the pavilion to meet her, salutes her, takes her by
the hand, and only after she has mounted to the couch and
taken her seat does the sultan himself sit down. All this is
done in full view of those present, without any use of veils.
Afterwards the great amirs come and their chairs are placed
for them to right and left, each man of them, as he comes to
the sultan's audience, being accompanied by a page carrying
267 A somewhat similar account of an audience is given by William of
Rubruck (Komrofl, 99).
P 483 T.O.I.B.-H
 ASIA MINOR AND SOUTH RUSSIA

his chair. In front of the sultan stand the scions of the royal
house,258 i.e. his nephews, brothers, and relatives, and parallel
to them, at the entrance to the pavilion, stand the sons of
the great amirs, with the senior officers of the troops standing
behind them. Then the [rest of the] people are admitted to
make their salute, in their degrees of precedence and three at
385 a time, and after saluting | they retire and sit at a distance.
After the hour of afternoon prayer the queen-khatun with-
draws, whereupon the rest of them also withdraw and
follow her to her mahalla. When she has entered it, each of
them retires to her own mahalla, riding in her waggon, each
one accompanied by about fifty girls, mounted on horses.
In front of the waggon there are about twenty elderly
women259 riding on horses between the pages and the waggon.
Behind the whole cortege there are about a hundred young
mamluks, and in front of the pages about a hundred adult
mamluks on horseback and an equal number on foot carrying
staves in their hands and swords girt on their waists, who
walk between the horsemen and the pages. Such is the cere-
monial of each of the khatuns both on her withdrawal and on
her arrival.
My camping place was in the mahalla, in the vicinity of the
sultan's son Jani Bak, of whom an account will be given later.
386 On the morrow of | the day of my arrival I made my entrance
to the sultan after the afternoon prayer.260 He had assembled
the shaikhs, qadis, jurists, sharifs and poor brethren and pre-
pared a great banquet, and we broke our fast in his presence.
The sayyid and sharif, the Marshal of the Sharifs,261 Ibn
'Abd al-Hamid, and the qadi Hamza spoke favourably about
me and made recommendations to the sultan to show honour
to me. These Turks do not know the practice of giving
hospitable lodging to the visitor or of supplying him with
money for his needs. What they do is to send him sheep and
horses for slaughtering and skins of qumizz, and this is their
258 Literally 'the sons of the kings'.
259 Literally 'retired women* (qawa'id), above child-bearing age or widows,
but distinguished in a later passage (p. 512) from 'aged women'.
zeo jror the favour shown by Ozbeg Khan to 'Saracen faqirs', see William
of Adam, 'De modo Sarracenos extirpandi' in Recueil des historiens des
Croisades, Documents armeniens (Paris, 1906), II, 530.
261 For the office and its holders see vol. I, p. 258 n 50
484
 THE SULTAN'S KHATUXS
[manner of] honourable treatment. Some days after this I
prayed the afternoon prayer in the sultan's company and
when I was about to withdraw he bade me be seated. They
brought in dishes of the various soups, like that made from
dugt, then roasted fleshmeats, both of sheep and of horses. It
was on that night that I presented to the sultan | a plate of 387
sweetmeats, when he did no more than touch it with his
finger and put that to his mouth. 262
Account of the Khdtiins and their Ceremonial. Each of the
khatuns rides in a waggon, the tent that she occupies being
distinguished by a cupola of silver ornamented with gold or
of wood encrusted with precious stones. The horses that draw
her waggon are caparisoned with cloths of silk gilt, and the
conductor of the waggon who rides on one of the horses is a
page boy called ^asM. 263 The khatun, as she sits in her wag-
gon, has on her right hand an elderly woman called ulu
khatun, which means 'lady vizier', and on her left another
elderly woman called kujuk khatun, which means 'lady cham-
berlain'. 264 In front of her are six young slavegirls called
'girls', of surpassing beauty and the utmost perfection, and
behind her two more like them265 on whom she leans. On | the 388
khatun's head is a bughtdq which resembles a small 'crown'
decorated with jewels and surmounted by peacock feathers, 266
and she wears robes of silk encrusted with jewels, like the
mantles worn by the Greeks. On the head of the lady vizier
and the lady chamberlain is a silk veil embroidered with gold
and jewels at the edges, and on the head of each of the girls is
a kuld, which is like an aqruf,267 with a circlet of gold en-
crusted with jewels round the upper end, and peacock feathers
above this, and each one wears a robe of silk gilt, which is
called nakh.*** In front of (the waggon of) the khatun are ten
262 See above, p. 474.
263 Qoshi, from Qipchaq *qoshchi, 'slave, man-servant, page', derived from
middle Turkish qosh, 'tent, herd' (W. Radloff, Worterbuch, II, 646). The word
passed into old Russian as koshchey.
264 Literally 'great lady' and 'little lady'.
265 This translation, like that of the French translators (see their note ad
loc.), combines two readings.
286 See above, p. 481, n. 249. 'Crown' (taj), in Arabic usage, denotes a
headdress like a conical turban.
287 Kula for Persian kulah, 'cap'. Aqriifor itqriifis a Maghribine term for a
high conical headdress (Dozy, s.v.).
268 See above, p. 445.
485
 ASIA MINOR AND SOUTH RUSSIA

or fifteen pages, 269 Greeks and Indians, who are dressed in

robes of silk gilt, encrusted with jewels, and each of whom
carries in his hand a mace of gold or silver, or maybe of wood
veneered with them. Behind the khatun's waggon there are
about a hundred waggons, in each of which there are four |
389 slavegirls, fullgrown and young, wearing robes of silk and
with the kula on their heads. Behind these waggons [again]
are about three hundred waggons, drawn by camels and oxen,
carrying the khatun's chests, moneys, robes, furnishings and
food. With each waggon is a slaveboy who has the care of it
and is married to one of the slavegirls that we have men-
tioned, for it is the custom that none of the slaves may set
foot among the girls except one who has a wife among their
number. Every khatun enjoys the honour of this style, and
we shall now describe each one of them separately.
Account of the Principal Khatun. The principal khatun is
the queen, the mother of the sultan's two sons Jani Bak and
Tina Bak, of whom we shall speak later. She is not the
mother of his daughter It Kujujuk; her mother was the queen
390 before this one. This khatun's name is Taitughli270 | and she
is the favourite of this sultan, with whom he spends most of
his nights. The people hold her in great honour because of his
honouring her; otherwise, she is the most close-fisted of the
khatuns. I was told for a fact by one in whom I have confi-
dence, a person well acquainted with matters relating to this
queen, that the sultan is enamoured of her because of a
peculiar property in her, namely that he finds her every night
just like a virgin. Another person related to me that she is of
the lineage of that queen on whose account, it is said, the
kingdom was withdrawn from Solomon (on whom be peace), 271
and whom, when his kingdom was restored to him, he
249 Presumably in this instance 'eunuchs', but the term fata is applied
almost indiscriminately to 'page' and 'eunuch'.
270 This name is spelled out by Ibn Battu^a, following his usual custom
with proper names, but seems to stand for Tai-Dula; see P. Pelliot, Notes
sur I'histoire de la Horde d'Or {Paris, 1950), 101-5.
271 This alludes to the legendary development of Qur'an, xxxviii. 34: 'And
verily We tried Sulaiman and put upon his throne a [phantom] body, there-
after he repented.' One of his wives, deceived by a demon, is said to have
given the latter Solomon's magic ring, by virtue of which he occupied
Solomon's throne for forty days: see E.I., s.v. Sulaiman; D. Sidersky, Les
Origines des legendes musulmanes (Paris, 1933) 120-1
486
 THE KHATUX TAITUGHLI

commanded to be placed in an uninhabited desert, so she was

deposited in the desert of Qifjaq. [He related also] that
the vagina of this khatun has a conformation like a ring,
and likewise all of those who are descendants | of the 391
woman mentioned. I never met, whether in the desert of
Qifjaq or elsewhere, any person who said that he had seen a
woman formed in this way, or heard tell of one other than
this khatun—except, however, that one of the inhabitants of
China told me that in China there is a class of women with
this conformation. But nothing like that ever came into my
hands nor have I learned what truth there is in it.
On the day after my meeting with the sultan, I visited this
khatun. She was sitting in the midst of ten elderly women,
who seemed to be attendants waiting on her, and in front of
her were about fifty young slavegirls, whom the Turks call
'girls' and before whom there were gold and silver salvers
filled with cherries which they were cleaning. In front of the
khatun also there was a golden tray filled with cherries, and
she was cleaning them. We saluted her, and among my com-
panions there was a Qur'an-reader who recited the Qur'an
according to the method of the Egyptians, | in a pleasing 392
manner and agreeable voice, and he gave a recitation. She
then ordered qumizz to be served, and it was brought in light
and elegant wooden bowls, whereupon she took a bowl in her
hand and offered it to me. This is the highest of honours in
their estimation. I had never drunk qumizz before, but there
was nothing for me to do but to accept it. I tasted it and
[finding] it disagreeable passed it on to one of my com-
panions. She asked me many questions concerning our
journey, and after answering her we withdrew. We went to
visit her first because of the great position she has with the king.
Account of the second Khatun, who comes after the Queen. Her
name is Kabak Khatun, kabak in Turkish meaning 'bran'. 272
She is the daughter of the amir Naghatay, and her father is
still living, [but] suffering from gout, and I | saw him. On the 393
day following our visit to the queen we visited this khatun,
and found her sitting on a divan, reading in the Holy Book.
In front of her were about ten elderly women and about
272 See C. Brockelmann, Mittelturkischer Wortschatz (Budapest-Leipzig,
1928), 100 (kabak).
487
 ASIA MINOR AND SOUTH RUSSIA

twenty girls embroidering pieces of cloth. We saluted her,

and she gave us gracious salutations and speech. Our Qur'an-
reader recited and she commended his recital, then ordered
qumizz, and when it was brought she offered me a bowl with
her own hand, just as the queen had done and we took leave
of her.
Account of the third Khatun. Her name is Bayalun,273 and
she is the daughter of the king of Constantinople the Great,
the Sultan Takfur. 274 When we visited this khatun, she was
sitting on ah inlaid couch with silver legs; before her were |
394 about a hundred slavegirls, Greek, Turkish and Nubian, some
standing and some sitting, and pages275 were [standing] be-
hind her and chamberlains in front of her, men of the Greeks.
She asked about us and our journey hither and the distance
of our native lands, and she wept in pity and compassion and
wiped her face with a handkerchief that lay before her. She
then called for food, which was brought, and we ate before
her, while she looked on at us. When we made to withdraw,
she said 'Do not stay away from us, but come to us and in-
form us of your needs.' She showed herself to be of a generous
nature, and sent after us food, a great quantity of bread,
ghee, sheep, money, a fine robe, three horses of good breed
and ten of ordinary stock. It was with this khatun that my
journey to Constantinople the Great was made, as we shall
relate below, j
395 Account of the fourth Khatun. Her name is Urdu j a. Urdu in
their language means mahalla, and she was so called because
of her birth in the mahalla. 276 She is the daughter of the great
amir 'Isa Bak, amir al-ulus, which means 'amir of amirs'. 277
He was still alive at the time of my journey, and married to
273 This is a Turkish name, probably the feminine of bayan, 'rich' (Pelliot,
83-5), presumably given to the Greek princess after the name of Ozbeg
Khan's mother. The marriage of a daughter of the Emperor to the Khan is
confirmed by a letter of Gregory Akindynos, dated 1341: Lemerle, 265.
274 The traditional Arabic title of the Byzantine emperor, said to be
derived from Armenian tagavor.
278 See above, n. 269.
278 This etymology is questioned by Pelliot (32, n. i).
277 Ulus is the Mongol term for a major tribe, i.e. an association of clans
and lineages under a superior chief; see B. Vladimirtsov, Le regime social des
Mongols (Paris, 1948), 124 sqq., where he translates it by 'peuple-patri-
moine'.
488
OTHER KHATUNS AND DAUGHTER OF THE SULTAN

the sultan's daughter It Kujujuk. This khatun is one of the

most virtuous, most amiable in manners, and most sym-
pathetic of princesses, and it was she who sent to [enquire
about] me when she noticed my flag on the hill during the
passage of the mahalla, as we have previously related. We
visited her and she showed us a beauty of character and
generosity of spirit that cannot be surpassed. She ordered
food to be served, then when we had eaten in her presence she
called for qumizz, and our companions drank. She asked
about us and we answered her questions. We visited also her
sister, the wife of the amir 'All b. Arzaq (Arzan). 278 1
Account of the Daughter of the exalted Sultan Uzbak. Her 396
name is It Kujujuk, which means 'little dog', for it means
'dog' and kujujuk means 'little'. 279 We have mentioned above
that the Turks give names by chance of omens, as do the
Arabs. We went to visit this khatun, the sultan's daughter,
who was in a separate mahalla about six miles from that of
her father. She gave orders to summon the jurists, the qadis,
the sayyid and sharif Ibn 'Abd al-Hamid, the body of students
of religion, the shaikhs and poor brethren. Her husband, the
amir 'Isa, whose daughter was the sultan's wife, was present,
and sat with her on the same rug. He was suffering from gout,
and was unable for this reason to go about on his feet or to
ride a horse, and so used to ride only in a waggon. When he
wished to present himself before the sultan, his servants
lifted him down and carried him into the audience-hall. | In 397
the same state too, I saw the amir Naghatay, who was the
father of the second khatun, and this disease is widespread
among the Turks. By this khatun, the sultan's daughter, we
were shown such generosity and good qualities as we had seen
in no other, and she loaded us with surpassing favours—
may God reward her with good.
Account of the Sultan's two Sons. They are uterine brothers,
the mother of both being the queen Taitughll, whom we have
mentioned above. The elder is named Tina Bak, bak meaning
'amir' and tina meaning 'body', so that he is called, as it
278 The last name is uncertain.
279 It is common Turkish for 'dog', and kuchuk in middle Turkish had the
special meaning of 'little dog' (confused by Ibn Battuta with kichik, 'little'),
jak being the common Turkish diminutive suffix.
489
 ASIA MINOR AND SOUTH RUSSIA

were, 'amir of the body'. 280 His brother is named Jani Bak,
and as yam means 'spirit' he is called as it were, 'amir of the
spirit.' Each one of them has his own separate mahalla. Tina
398 Bak was one of the most beautiful of God's creatures | in
form, and his father had designated him [to succeed him] in
the kingship, and gave him the preference and superior
honour. But God willed otherwise, for when his father died he
ruled for a brief space and was then killed for certain dis-
graceful things that happened to him, and his brother Jani
Bak, who was better and worthier than he, succeeded to the
rule.281 The sayyid and sharif Ibn 'Abd al-Hamid was the
tutor who had supervised the education of Jani Bak, and he
himself, as well as the qadi Hamza, the imam Badr al-Din
al-Qiwami, the imam and professor of Qur'an-reading
Husam al-Dm al-Bukhari and other persons, advised me on
my arrival to make my residence in the mahalla of the above-
mentioned Jani Bak because of his superior merit, and I
did so.
Account of my journey to the city of Bulghar. 28Z 1 had heard
of the city of Bulghar and desired to go to it, to see for myself
what they tell of the extreme shortness of the night there,
and the shortness of the day, too, in the opposite season. 283
399 Between it and the sultan's camp | was a ten nights' journey,
so I requested him to furnish me with a guide to it, and he
sent with me a man who escorted me there and brought me
back again. I reached it during [the month of] Ramadan,
and when we had prayed the sunset prayer we broke our fast;
280 Ibn Battuta was evidently misled, since his interpretation would re-
quire Tani (from Persian tan, 'body') instead of Tina. Pelliot (96-8) has
shown that the prince's name was Tlnl (tint), from Turkish tin, 'spirit',
the name being thus the equivalent in Turkish of the Persian name of his
brother Jani Beg (from Persian, jdn, 'spirit').
281 In 1341/2.
282 The ruins of the city of Bulghar lie 'near the village Bolgarskoye, or
Uspenskoye, in the Spassk district, 115 km. south of Kazan and at 7 km.
from the left bank of the Volga' (V. Minorsky, Hudud al-'Alam (London,
1937), 461). It was the capital of the Volga Bulgars (who had been converted
to Islam by the tenth century), and although captured by the Mongols in
1237, remained a commercial centre throughout this period.
283 This was a frequent theme of Arabic and Persian geographical lore;
see J. Markwart, 'Ein arabischer Bericht uber die arktischen (uralischen)
Lander aus dem 10. Jahrhundert' in Ungarische Jahrbucher (Berlin-Leipzig,
1924), IV, 261-334.
490
 BULGHAR AND THE LAND OF DARKNESS

the call to the night prayer was made during our eating of
this meal, and by the time that we had prayed that and had
prayed also the tardwlh prayers, the 'even' and the 'odd', the
dawn broke. 284 So too the daytime becomes as short there in
the season of its brevity. I stayed there three days. 285
Account of the Land of Darkness. I had intended to enter
the Land of Darkness, which is reached from Bulghar after a
journey of forty days. 286 But I renounced this project in view
of the immense effort and expense that it required and the
small profit to be got from it. The journey to it can be made
only in small waggons drawn by large dogs, for in that J
desert there is ice, so that neither the foot of man nor the 400
hoof of beast has a firm hold on it, whereas the dogs have
claws and so their feet remain firm on the ice. No one can
go into this desert except merchants with great resources,
each of whom will have a hundred waggons or thereabouts
loaded with his food, drink, and firewood, for there are no
trees in it, nor stones, nor habitations. The guide in that land
is the dog that had already made the journey in it many
times, and its price is as high as a thousand dinars or so. The
waggon is fastened to its neck, and three other dogs are yoked
with it; it is the leader and all the other dogs follow it with
the waggons and stop when it stops. This dog is never beaten
nor berated by its owner, who, when food is prepared, feeds
the dogs first before the humans, otherwise the dog is angered
and escapes, leaving its owner to perish. When the travellers
have completed forty stages in this desert they alight \ at the 401
Darkness. Each one of them leaves thereabouts the goods
that he has brought and they return to their usual camping-
ground. Next day they go back to seek their goods, and they
find alongside them skins of sable, minever, and ermine. If
284 For the tardwlh prayers in Ramadan, and the 'even' and 'odd', see
vol. I, p. 239.
285 S. Janicsek ('Ibn Ba^tuta's Journey to Bulghar: is it a Fabrication?' in
JRAS (1929), 791-800), has shown that this narrative is draun from
literary sources. The distance from Majar to Bulghar is 800 miles, an
impossible journey to make twice within one month.
288 Markwart has shown (Ungarische Jahrbiicher (1924), IV, 288-301)
that Ibn Battuta has put together here the traditional reports on the
land of the Yughra, the northern trans-Ural steppes, twenty days' journey
from Bulghar, and the legendary 'Land of Darkness' beyond it. Cf. also
Yule's Matco Polo, II, 484-6.
491
 ASIA MINOR AND SOUTH RUSSIA

the owner of the goods is satisfied with what he has found

alongside his goods he takes it, but if it does not satisfy
him he leaves it, and then they add more skins, and some-
times they (I mean the people of the Darkness) take away
their goods and leave those of the merchant. This is their
method of selling and buying, and those who go to those
parts do not know who it is who do this trading with
them, whether they are of the jinn or of men, for they never
see anyone. 287
Ermine is of the best of the varieties of furs. One mantle of
this fur is valued in the land of India at a thousand dinars
(which are worth two hundred and fifty in our gold). It is
exceedingly white [and comes] from the skin of a small
402 animal of the length | of a span, and with a large tail which
they leave in the mantle in its natural state. Sable is less
valuable; a mantle made from it is worth four hundred
dinars or less. A special property of these skins is that lice do
not enter into them. The amirs and dignitaries of China use a
single skin, attached to their fur mantles round the neck, and
so do the merchants of Fars and the two 'Iraqs. 288
I returned from the city of Bulghar with the amir whom
the sultan had sent to accompany me, and found the sultan's
mahalla by the place known as Bish Dagh on the twenty-
eighth of Ramadan. I attended in his company the festival
prayers, and the day of the festival happened to be a
Friday. 289
Account of their ceremonial on the Festival. On the morning
of the day of the festival the sultan rode out on horseback
among his huge bodies of troops, and each khatun rode in her
403 waggon, accompanied by ] her troops. The sultan's daughter
rode with a crown on her head, since she is the queen in
287 This passage on dumb trade with the fur-trappers agrees almost
literally with that of the contemporary geographer Abu'1-Fida (Taqwim
al-Bulddn, ed. M. Reinaud (Paris, 1840), I, 284; quoted also by al-Qal-
qashandi, 421-2).
288 For the fur trade of the Arabs through Bulghar see Bruno Schier,
\Vege und Formen des altesten Pelzhandels in Europe (Frankfurt, 1951),
21-45; and for the skins J. Klein, Der sibirische Pelzhandel (Bonn, 1906),
10-13,63-7.
289 By jbn Battuta's dating this should be i Shawwal 734, but this fell
on a Sunday, 5 June 1334. The only year between 731 and 734 in which
i Shawwal fell on a Friday was in 732, viz. Friday, 26 June 1332.
492
 FESTIVAL CEREMONIES

reality, having inherited the kingdom from her mother. 290

The sultan's sons rode, each one with his troops. The Grand
Qadi Shihab al-Din al-Sayili had come to attend the festi-
val, having with him a body of legists and shaikhs, and they
rode, as did also the qadi Hamza, the imam Badr al-Din al-
Qiwami, and the sharif Ibn 'Abd al-Hamid. These doctors of
the law rode in the procession with Tina Bak, the designated
heir of the sultan, accompanied by drums and standards. The
qadi Shihab al-Din then led them in the [festival] prayers and
delivered a most excellent khutba.
The sultan mounted [again] and [rode until he] arrived at
a wooden pavilion, which is called by them a kushk, 291 in
which he took his seat, accompanied by his khatuns. A
second pavilion was erected beside it, in which sat his heir
and daughter, the lady of the crown. | Two [other] pavilions 404
were erected beside these two, to right and left of them, in
which were the sons and relatives of the sultan. Chairs (which
they call sandaltya) 292 were placed for the amirs and the
scions of the royal house to the right and left of the [Sultan's]
pavilion, and each one of them sat on his own chair. Then
archery butts were set up, a special butt for each amir
tumdn. An amir tumdn in their usage is a commander under
whose orders there ride ten thousand [horsemen], 293 and
there were present seventeen of such amirs, leading one
hundred and seventy thousand, yet the sultan's army is
even larger than this. There was set up for each amir a kind
of pulpit and he sat on this while his soldiers engaged in
archery exercises before him. They continued thus for a time,
after which robes of honour were brought; each amir was
invested with a robe, and as he put it on he would come to the
bottom of the sultan's pavilion and do homage. His manner
290 Her mother was presumably the earlier wife of Ozbeg Khan, called in
a Russian chronicle Baalin (? Bayalun), who died in 1323 (Pelliot, 84), but
it is difficult to understand what Ibn Battuta means by saying that this
daughter 'inherited the kingship' from her.
291 Persian kilshak, kushk, whence our 'kiosk'.
292 Persian sandall, 'chair, throne, bench', said to be so called because
made of sandal wood.
298 Turkish tiimen, 'ten thousand'. For commanders of tiimens in the
army of Chingiz Khan see W. Barthold, Turkestan down to the Mongol
Invasion (London, 1928), 386. Ibn Battuta's figure of seventeen of these in
Ozbeg's army seems exaggerated.
493
 ASIA MINOR AND SOUTH RUSSIA

of doing homage is to touch the ground with his right knee

405 and to extend his leg | underneath it,294 while the other leg
remains upright. After this a horse is brought, saddled and
bridled, and its hoof is lifted; the amir kisses this, then leads
it himself to his chair and there mounts it and remains in his
station with his troops. Each amir among them performs the
same act.
The sultan then descends from the pavilion and mounts a
horse, having on his right his son, the heir designate, and next
to him his daughter, the queen It Kujujuk, and on his left
his second son. In front of him are the four khatuns in wag-
gons covered with silk fabrics gilded, and the horses that
draw them are also caparisoned with silk gilded. The whole
body of amirs, great and small, scions of the royal house,
viziers, chamberlains and officers of state alight and walk on
foot in front of the sultan until he comes to the witdq, which
is an a/rag.295 At this place there has been erected a huge
bdrka, a bdrka in their language being a large tent298 sup-
406 ported by four | wooden columns covered with plaques of
silver coated with gold, each column having at its top a
capital of silver gilt that gleams and flashes. This bdrka, seen
from a distance, looks like a hummock. To right and left of
it are awnings of cotton and linen cloth, and the whole of this
is carpeted with silken rugs. In the centre of the bdrka is set
up an immense couch which they call the takht™ made of
inlaid wood, the planks of which are covered with a large rug.
In the centre of this immense couch is a cushion, on which sit
the sultan and the principal khatun. To the sultan's right is
a cushion, on which his daughter It Kujujuk took her seat,
and with her the khatun Urduj a, and to his left a cushion on
which the khatun Bayalun took her seat, and with her the
khatun Kabak. To the right of the couch was placed a chair,
on which sat Tina Bak, the sultan's son, and to the left of it a
407 chair, on which sat Jani Bak, his second son. | Other chairs
were placed to right and left on which sat the scions of the

284 Two MSS. read 'upon the ground' (alaiha), but this reading is cor-
rected in the margin of MS. 2289.
296 Turkish utaq, 'tent'. For the dfrdg see p. 476.
296 Persian Bargdh, bargah, 'audience hall, tribunal'.
297 Persian for 'throne'.
494
 FESTIVAL CEREMONIES

royal house and the great amirs, then after them the lesser
amirs such as [those called] amir hazara, who are those who
lead a thousand men. 298
The food was then brought in on tables of gold and silver,
each table being carried by four men or more. Their food
consists of boiled horse-meat and mutton, and a table is set
down in front of each amir. The bawarji, i.e. the carver of the
meat,299 comes, wearing silken robes on top of which is tied a
silken apron, and carrying in his belt a number of knives in
their sheathes. For each amir there is a bdwarji, and when the
table is presented he sits down in front of his amir; a small
platter of gold or silver is brought, in which there is salt dis-
solved in water, and the bdwarjl cuts the meat up into small
pieces. They have in this matter a special art of cutting up
the meat together with the bones, for the Turks do not eat
any meat unless the bones are mixed with it. j
After this, drinking-vessels of gold and silver are brought. 408
The beverage they make most use of is fermented liquor of
honey, since, being of the Hanafite school of law, they hold
fermented liquor to be lawful. 300 When the sultan wishes to
drink, his daughter takes the bowl in her hand, pays homage
with her leg, and then presents the bowl to him. When he has
drunk she takes another bowl and presents it to the chief
khatun, who drinks from it, after which she presents it to the
other khatuns in their order of precedence. The sultan's heir
then takes the bowl, pays homage, and presents it to his
father, then, when he has drunk, presents it to the khatuns
and to his sister after them, paying homage to them all. The
second son then rises, takes the bowl and gives it to his
brother to drink paying homage to him. Thereafter the great
amirs rise, and each one of them gives the cup to the sultan's
heir and pays homage to him, after which the [other] mem-
ber of the royal house rise and each one of them gives the cup
to this second son, paying homage to him. The lesser amirs
298 Persian hazdr, 'thousand'.
199 Mongol boo'urchin, 'army cook', an office regarded by Chingiz Khan
as of special importance; see also Barthold, Turkestan, 382; Spuler, Die
Mongolen in Iran, 273.
300 See above, p. 475, n. 228. On the drink called hydromel, see M. Canard,
'Relation du Voyage d'lbn Fadlan', in Annales de I'lnstitut d'Etudes
Orientales (Algiers, 1958), XVI, 89, n. 180.
495
 ASIA MINOR AND SOUTH RUSSIA

then rise and give the sons of the kings to drink. During all
409 this [ceremony], they sing | [songs resembling the] chants
sung by oarsmen.
A large pavilion had been erected also alongside the mosque
for the qadl, the khatib, the sharif, and all the other legists
and shaikhs, including myself. We were brought tables of
gold and silver, each one carried by four of the leading men of
the Turks, for no one is employed in the sultan's presence on
that day except the principal men, and he commands them
to take up such of the tables as he wishes [and carry them] to
whomsoever he wishes. There were some of the legists who
ate and some who abstained from eating [out of scruples at
doing so] on tables of silver and gold. 301 To the limit of vision
both right and left I saw waggons laden with skins of qumizz,
and in due course the sultan ordered them to be distributed
among those present. They brought one waggon to me, but I
gave it to my Turkish neighbours.
After this we went into the mosque to await the Friday
prayers. The sultan was late in coming, and some said that he
410 would not come because | drunkenness had got the better of
him, and others said that he would not fail to attend the
Friday service. When it was well past the time he arrived,
swaying, and greeted the sayyid Sharif, smiled to him, and
kept addressing him as Ata, which means 'father' in the
Turkish language. We then prayed the Friday prayers and the
people withdrew to their residences. The sultan went back to
the bdrka and continued as before until the afternoon prayers,
when all those present withdrew, [except that] his khatuns
and his daughter remained with the king that night.
After this, when the festival had ended, we set out in com-
pany with the sultan and the mahalla and came to the city of
al-Hajj Tarkhan. Tarkhan in their usage means 'a place
exempted from taxes'. The person after whom this city is
named was a Turkish pilgrim, a saintly man, who made his
residence at its site and for whom the sultan gave exemption
4" to that place.302 1 So it became a village, then grew in size and
301 See above, p. 442, n. 109.
302 This is a popular derivation. Tarkhan (tdrkan), well known as a
Turkish sovereign title, here represents Mongol darqan, meaning a person or
place exempt from taxation. The name al-Hajj Tarkhan appears also on the
496
 AL-HAJJ TARKHAN

became a city, and it is one of the finest of cities, with great

bazaars, built on the river Itil, which is one of the great rivers
of the world. 303 It is there that the sultan resides until the
cold grows severe and this river freezes over, as well as the
waters connected with it. The sultan gives orders to the
people of that land, and they bring thousands of loads of
straw, which they spread over the ice congealed upon the
river. Straw is not eaten by the animals in those parts, be-
cause it is injurious to them, and the same applies in the land
of India; they eat nothing but green herbage, because of the
fertility of the country. The inhabitants travel in waggons
over this river and the adjacent waters for a space of three
days' journey, and sometimes caravans cross over it at the
end of the winter season and perish by drowning.
When we reached the city of al-Hajj Tarkhan, the khatun
Bayalun, the daughter of the king of the Greeks, begged | of
the sultan to permit her to visit her father, that she might
give birth to her child at the latter's residence, and then
return to him. When he gave her permission I too begged of
him to allow me to go in her company to see Constantinople
the Great for myself. He forbade me, out of fear for my safety,
but I solicited him tactfully and said to him Tt is under your
protection and patronage that I shall visit it, so I shall have
nothing to fear from anyone.' He then gave me permission,
and when we took leave of him he presented me with 1500
dinars, a robe, and a large number of horses, and each of the
khatuns gave me ingots of silver (which they call sawm, the
singular being sawma).30* The sultan's daughter gave me
more than they did, along with a robe and a horse, and alto-

coins of the Golden Horde, but is apparently derived from Astarkhan,

whether from the name of a particular Khazar ruler or as a title connected
with the As (Ossetes): cf. Markwart, Ungarische Jahrbiicher (1924), IV,
271; Minorsky, 451.
803 Atil or Itil is the traditional name in Arabic geography for the Volga,
or rather for the Kama above Kazan and then the Volga from the point of
their junction; Minorsky, 216.
804 These were small bars of silver, called by Pegolotti sommo, and denned
by him (21-2) as weighing eight and a half ounces of Genoa and worth five
gold florins; see also Yule, Cathay and the Way Thither, III, 148-9. Sawm
is the Old Bulgar som (itself derived from Old Turkish sdn, 'number'), which
passed into general use through the role of the Volga Bulgars in mediaeval
trade, and is still used in some Eastern Turkish languages for 'rouble'.
497
 ASIA MINOR AND SOUTH RUSSIA

gether I had a large collection of horses, robes, and furs of

miniver and sable.
Account of my journey to Constantinople. We set out on the
413 tenth of Shawwal305 | in the company of the khatun Bayalun
and under her protection. The sultan came out to escort her
for one stage, then returned, he and the queen and his heir
designate; the other khatuns travelled in her company for a
second stage and then they returned. The amir Baidara, with
five thousand of his troops, travelled along with her, and the
khatun's own troops numbered about five hundred, some two
hundred of whom were slaves and Greeks in attendance on
her, and the remainder Turks. She had with her about two
hundred slavegirls, most of them Greeks, and about four
hundred waggons with about two thousand horses to draw
them and for riding, as well as some three hundred oxen and
two hundred camels to draw them. She also had ten Greek
pages with her, and the same number of Indian pages, whose
leader in chief was named Sumbul the Indian; the leader of
the Greeks was named Mikha'fl (the Turks used to call him
414 Lu'lu'), and was a man of | great bravery. She left most of her
slavegirls and of her baggage in the sultan's mahalla, since
she had set out with the intention [only] of paying a visit and
of giving birth to her child.
We made for the city of Ukak,306 a city of middling size,
with fine buildings and abundant commodities, and extremely
cold. Between it and al-Sara, the sultan's capital, it is ten
nights' march, and one day's march from this city are the
mountains of the Rus, who are Christians; they have red
hair, blue eyes, and ugly faces, and are treacherous folk. 307
In their country are silver mines, and from it are imported the
sawm, that is, the ingots of silver with which selling and
308 In 732 (see above, n. 289) this fell on 5 July 1332.
308 It is pointed out in Yule's Marco Polo (II, 488) that this Ukak is not
the well-known mediaeval town of that name situated on the Volga about
six miles below Saratov, but a small place mentioned in the portolans as
Locachi or Locaq, on the Sea of Azof.
307 Ibn Battuta's statement no doubt reflects the information given to
him by the Turks, and refers to the real Russians (as distinct from the earlier
Scandinavian Rus or Varangians). The silver mines mentioned below are
'certain mines of argentiferous lead-ore near the river Miuss (see above,
p. 475, n. 229). ... It was these mines which furnished the ancient Russian
rubles or ingots' (Yule's Marco Polo, II, 488).
498
 JOURNEY TO CONSTANTINOPLE

buying are done in this land, each sawma weighing five ounces.
Next we came, after ten nights' journey from this city, to
the city of Surdaq, which is | one of the cities of the Qifjaq 415
desert, situated on the sea-coast. 308 Its port is one of the
greatest and finest of harbours. Outside it are orchards and
streams, and it is inhabited by Turks and a number of Greeks
under their dominion. These Greeks are artisans, and most of
their houses are built of wood. This city was formerly a big
one, but most of it was laid in ruins in consequence of a feud
that broke out between the Greeks and the Turks. The Greeks
got the upper hand [at first], but the Turks received assis-
tance from their fellows, killed the Greeks remorselessly, and
drove most of them out [of the city], but some of them remain
to this day as a subject community. 309 At every halting-place
in this land there was brought to the khatun a hospitality-
gift of horses, sheep, cattle, dugi, qumizz, and cows' and
sheep's milk. In these regions travelling is done in the fore-
noon and in the evening, and every amir would accompany
the khatun with his troops right to the limit of his territories, |
to show her honour, not out of fear for her safety, for those 416
regions are quite secure.
We came to the town known by the name of Baba Saltuq. 310
Bdbd in their language has exactly the same meaning as
among the Berbers [i.e. 'father'], but they pronounce the b
more emphatically. They relate that this Saltuq was an
ecstatic devotee, although things are told of him which are
308 Surdaq or Soldaia, now Sudak, in the Crimea, was, until the rise of
Kaffa (see above, p. 470, n. 213), the principal trading port on the northern
coast of the Black Sea: see Heyd, I, 298-301; Yule's Marco Polo, I, 2-4. It
seems improbable that the party should have made a detour through the
Crimea, and presumably Ibn Battuta, if he visited Surdaq, did so during his
previous stay in the Crimea (above, pp. 470-2).
soi -phis apparently relates to the seizure of Sughdaq by a force sent by
Ozbeg Khan in 1322, during and after which the churches were closed or
destroyed; seeE.I., s.v. Sughdak.
310 According to a Turkish tradition, the saint Sari Saltiq joined a group
of Turkmens who settled under Seljuk leadership in the Dobruja after 1260,
and died there after 1300; see P. Wittek, 'Yazijioghlu 'All on the Christian
Turks of the Dobruja' in BSOAS (London, 1952), XIV/3, esp. 648-9, 658.
His tomb is shown in the town of Babadagh (see E.I2., s.v.), in the northern
Dobruja. Since, however, he is said to have lived for a time in the steppes
(dasht; see above, p. 470, n. 210), it is probable that the place called after
him was in Southern Russia, somewhere near the lower Dnieper, and about
1200 km. from Astrakhan.
q 499 T.O.I.B -II
 ASIA MINOR AND SOUTH RUSSIA

reproved by the Divine Law. This town is the last of the

towns possessed by the Turks, and between it and the be-
ginning of the territory of the Greeks is [a journey of]
eighteen days through an uninhabited waste, for eight days
of which there is no water. A provision of water is laid in for
this stage, and carried in large and small skins on the wag-
gons. Since our entry into it was in the cold weather, we had
no need of much water, and the Turks carry milk in large
417 skins, mix it with cooked dugi, and drink that, | so that they
feel no thirst.
At this city we made our preparations for [the crossing of]
the waste. As I needed more horses I went to the khatun and
told her of my need. I used to make my salutations to her
every morning and evening, and whenever a hospitality-gift
was brought to her, she would send me two or three horses
and some sheep. I made a practice of sparing the horses
instead of slaughtering them; the slaves and attendants who
were with me used to eat with our Turkish associates, and in
this way I collected about fifty horses. The khatun ordered
that I should be given fifteen horses and bade her steward,
the Greek Saruja,311 choose them fat among the horses in-
tended for the kitchen. She said to me 'Don't be afraid, if you
need others we shall give you more.' We entered the waste-
land in the middle of [the month of] Dhu'l-Qa'da, our journey
from the day that we left the sultan until the beginning of the
waste having taken twenty-nine312 days, and our halt [at
418 Baba Saltuq] five days. We marched through this | waste for
eighteen days, in the forenoons and evenings, and met with
nothing but good, praise be to God.
Thereafter we came to the fortress of Mahtuli, at the begin-
ning of the territory of the Greeks. 313 The Greeks had been
311 This is probably a Turkish name (? saruja, 'yellowish').
312 The text reads 'nineteen', but a comparison of the precise dates given
for the start of the journey and the beginning of this stage shows that
'ishri must be read for 'ashara.
313 To define in detail the route followed on this journey is impossible;
since Ibn Battuta was travelling in a large party, his information, except on
the point of times, was probably never very clear and had become confused
in his memory. The frontier city of the empire at this time was Diampolis,
otherwise Kavuli (now Jamboli), at the southward bend of the Tunja
(Tontzos) river in Bulgaria. The number of days taken from 'Baba Saltuq'
would indicate a distance of about 800 km., which corresponds very well to
the distance from the lower Dnieper to Jamboli.
500
 ENTRY IXTO GREEK TERRITORY

informed of the journey of this khatun to their land, and

there came to join her at this castle the Greek Kifali Niqula,314
with a great body of troops and a large hospitality-gift, as
well as the khatuns and nurses from the palace of her father,
the king of Constantinople. From Mahtuli to Constantinople
it is a journey of twenty-two days, sixteen of them to the
channel and six from there to Constantinople. From this
castle travelling is done on horses and mules only, and the
waggons are left behind there because of the roughness of the
country and the mountains. The above-mentioned Kifali had
brought a large number of mules, six of which the khatun
sent to me. | She also recommended to the care of the gover- 419
nor of the fortress those of my companions and of my slaves
whom I left behind with the waggons and baggage, and he
assigned them a house. The amir Baidara turned back with
his troops, and none but her own people travelled on with the
khatun. She left her mosque behind at this castle and the
prescription of the call to prayer was discontinued. Wines
were brought to her as part of her hospitality-gift, and she
would drink them, and [not only so but even] swine, and one
of her personal attendants told me that she ate them. No one
was left with her who observed the [Muslim] prayers except
a certain Turk, who used to pray with us. Inner sentiments
concealed [hitherto] suffered a change through our entry into
the land of infidelity, but the khatun charged the amir
Kifali to treat me honourably, and on one occasion he beat
one of his mamluks when he laughed at our prayer.
We came next to the castle of Maslama ibn 'Abd al-Malik, 315
which is at the foot of a mountain beside a tumultuous river
called Istaflll. 316 Nothing is left of this fortress | except its 430
ruins, but alongside it is a large village. We continued our
314 Kifali is a transliteration of Greek kephate, 'head, chief, and Niqula is
the common Arabic form of Nicholas. The term is apparently used here in
the sense of 'governor'.
316 Maslama, son of the caliph 'Abd al-Malik (685-705), was the com-
mander of the Arab expedition which besieged Constantinople in 716-17.
This episode was greatly expanded by legendary accretions in later sources
(see M. Canard, 'Les Expeditions des Arabes contre Constantinople', in
JA (Paris, 1926), 61 sqq., esp. 80-102), but no other reference is known to a
fortress built by Maslama so far north of the city.
316 This apparently renders the Greek name Astelephos, which is re-
corded, however, only as the name of a river on the coast of Pontus.
501
 ASIA MINOR AND SOUTH RUSSIA

journey for two days and came to the channel, on the bank of
which there is a large village. We found a rising tide on it and
waited until the ebb set in, when we forded it, its breadth
being about two miles. After marching four miles through
sands, we came to the second channel and forded it, its
breadth being about three miles. We then marched about
two miles among rocks and sand and reached the third
channel. The tide had begun to rise, so we had trouble in
[fording] it, its breadth being one mile. The breadth of the
entire channel, therefore, including both water and dry land,
is twelve miles, and in the rainy season the whole of it be-
comes water and cannot be forded except in boats.
On the bank of this third channel is the city of al-Fanika, 317
which is small but pretty and strongly fortified, and its
churches and houses are beautiful. It is traversed by running
421 streams | and surrounded by orchards, and in it grapes, pears,
apples and quinces are preserved from one year to the next.
We halted in this city for three nights, the khatun staying in
one of her father's castles there.
After this her uterine brother, whose name was Kifali
Qaras, 318 arrived with five thousand horsemen, bristling with
arms. When they were about to meet the khatun, this
brother of hers, dressed in white robes, rode on a grey horse
and carried over his head a parasol ornamented with jewels.
On his right hand he placed five sons of kings, and on his left
the same number, all dressed in white also, and with parasols
embroidered in gold over their heads. In front of him he
posted a hundred foot-soldiers and a hundred horsemen,
clad in long coats of mail covering both themselves and their
horses, each one of whom led a horse saddled and armoured,
carrying the arms of a horseman, namely a jewelled helmet, a
422 breastplate, a quiver, a bow and a sword, j and held in his
hand a lance with a pennant at the point of its head. Most of
these lances were covered with plaques of gold and silver,
317 The 'channel' is evidently a tidal river or estuary, and naturally sug-
gests the mouths of the Danube, although this involves a serious misplacing,
especially if, as seems probable, Fanika stands for Agathonike, where the
main road from Diampolis crossed the river Tunja (Tontzos), at or near the
modern Kizil Agach.
318 Qaras is certainly no Greek name, and it looks as if Ibn Battuta had
got the prince's name mixed up with the Golden Horn (Chrysokeras). The
use of kephaU as a title is also peculiar.
502
 RECEPTION OF THE KHATUN

and those led horses were the riding beasts of the sultan's
son. He divided his horsemen into squadrons, two hundred
horsemen in each squadron. Over them was an amir, who had
preceding him ten horsemen bristling with arms, each of them
leading a horse, and behind him ten particoloured standards
carried by ten horsemen, and ten kettledrums slung over the
shoulders of ten horsemen, who were accompanied by six
others sounding trumpets and bugles and surndydt, which are
[the same as] ghaitas.319 The khatun rode out with her mam-
luks, her slavegirls, pages and attendants, about five hundred,
wearing robes of silk embroidered with gold and jewels. She
herself was wearing a mantle [of the fabric] called nakh™ (it
is called | also nastj) embroidered with jewels, with a crown 423
set with precious stones on her head, and her horse was
covered with a saddle-cloth of silk embroidered in gold. On
its forelegs and hindlegs were anklets of gold and round its
neck were necklaces set with precious stones, and the saddle-
frame was covered with gold ornamented with jewels. Their
meeting took place on a flat piece of ground about a mile from
the town. Her brother dismounted to her, because he was
younger than she, and kissed her stirrup and she kissed his
head. The amirs and the scions of the royal house also dis-
mounted and they all kissed her stirrup, after which she set
out in company with her brother.
On the next day we came to a large city on the seacoast, 321
whose name I do not remember now, provided with streams
and trees, and we encamped in its outskirts. The khatun's
brother, the heir to the throne, arrived in magnificent style
with a vast army of ten thousand mailed men. On his head he
wore a crown, and on | his right hand he had about twenty 424
of the scions of the royal house, with the like number on his
left. He had disposed his horsemen exactly according to his
brother's disposition, but the display was more magnificent
and the concourse more numerous. His sister went out to
meet him in the same array as before, and both dismounted
together. A silken tent was brought and they both went into
it, so I do not know how they greeted each other.
319 See above, p. 343, n. 242.
320 See above, p. 445, n. 117. Nasij means 'woven stuff'.
321 Most probably Selymbria or Rhegium.
503
 ASIA MINOR AND SOUTH RUSSIA

We camped at a distance of ten miles from Constantinople,

and on the following day its population, men, women and
children, came out riding or on foot in their finest array and
richest apparel. At dawn the drums, trumpets and fifes were
sounded, the troops mounted, and the sultan and his wife,
the mother of this khatun, came out with the officers of state
and the courtiers. Over the king's head there was a canopy,
carried by a number of horsemen and men on foot, who held
in their hands long staves, each surmounted by something
425 like a ball of | leather with which they hoisted the canopy. In
the middle of the canopy was a sort of pavilion supported by
horsemen with staves. When the sultan drew near, the troops
became entangled with one another and there was much dust.
I was unable to make my way in among them, so I kept with
the khatun's baggage and party, fearing for my life. I was
told, however, that when the khatun approached her parents,
she dismounted and kissed the ground before them, and then
kissed the two hoofs of their horses, and the principal men of
her suite did the same.
Our entry into Constantinople the Great was made about
noon or a little later, and they beat their church-gongs until
the very skies shook with the mingling of their sounds. When
we reached the first of the gates of the king's palace we found
it guarded by about a hundred men, who had an officer of
theirs with them on top of a platform, and I heard them
426 saying Sardkinu, Sardkinu, \ which means 'Muslims'. 322 They
would not let us enter, and when the members of the khatun's
party told them that we had come in her suite they answered
They cannot enter except by permission,' so we stayed by the
gate. One of the khatun's party sent a messenger to tell her
of this while she was still with her father. She told him about
us, whereupon he gave orders to admit us and assigned us a
house near the residence of the khatun. He wrote also on our
behalf an order that we should not be molested wheresoever
we might go in the city, and this order was proclaimed in the
bazaars. We remained indoors for three nights, during which
hospitality-gifts were sent to us of flour, bread, sheep, fowls,
ghee, fruit, fish, money and rugs, and on the fourth day we
had audience of the sultan. |
3M The Arabic transcription correctly renders the Greek sarakenoi, 'Saracens'.
504
 THE SULTAN OF CONSTANTINOPLE

Account of the sultan of Constantinople. His name is Takfur, 427

son of the sultan Jirjis. 323 His father the sultan Jirjis was still
in the bond of life, but had renounced the world and had
become a monk, devoting himself to religious exercises in the
churches, and had resigned the kingship to his son. We shall
speak of him later. On the fourth day from our arrival at
Constantinople, the khatun sent her page Sumbul the Indian
to me, and he took my hand and led me into the palace. 324
We passed through four gateways, each of which had por-
ticoes in which were footsoldiers with their weapons, their
officer being on a carpeted platform. When we reached the
fifth gateway the page Sumbul left me, and going inside
returned with four Greek pages, who searched me to see
that I had no knife on my person. The officer said to me
'This is a custom of theirs; | every person who enters the 428
king's presence, be he noble or commoner, foreigner or
native, must be searched.' The same practice is observed in
the land of India.
Then, after they had searched me, the man in charge of the
gate rose, took me by the hand, and opened the door. Four
of the men surrounded me, two holding my sleeves and two
behind me, and brought me into a large audience-hall, whose
walls were of mosaic work, in which were pictured figures of
creatures, both animate and inanimate.325 In the centre of it
was a water-channel with trees on either side of it, and men
were standing to right and left, silent, not one of them
speaking. In the midst of the hall there were three men
standing, to whom those four men delivered me. These took
hold of my garments as the others had done and so on a signal
from another man led me forward. One of them was a Jew and
he said to me in Arabic, 'Don't be afraid, | for this is their 429
custom that they use with every visitor.326 I am the inter-
323 Takfur is the designation in Arabic, not the name, of the Greek
emperor (see above, p. 488, n. 274). For Jirjis see below, p. 512 and n. 342.
The reigning emperor was Andronicus III, who was the grandson of his
predecessor Andronicus II (abdicated 1328).
321 The palace of the Palaeologi was the Blachernae, near the north-
'western angle of the city, an annexe of which is still known in Turkish as
takfursavoy.
326 As is well known, Muslim piety disapproved the representation of
.•living creatures.
828 See Constantinus Porphyrogenitus, De Cerimoniis, Bonn, 1829,568, 584.
505
 ASIA MINOR AND SOUTH RUSSIA

preter and I am originally from Syria.' So I asked him how I

should salute, and he told me to say al-saldmu 'alaikum.
I came then to a great pavilion; the sultan was there on his
throne, with his wife, the mother of this khatun, before him,
and at the foot of the throne were the khatun and her
brothers. To the right of him were six men, to his left four,
and behind him four, everyone of them armed. He signed to
me, before I had saluted and reached him, to sit down for a
moment, so that my apprehension might be calmed, and I
did so. Then I approached him and saluted him, and he
signed to me to sit down, but I did not do so. He questioned
me about Jerusalem, the Sacred Rock, [the Church called] al-
Qumama,327 the cradle of Jesus, and Bethlehem, and about
the city of al-Khalil (peace be upon him) [Hebron], then
about Damascus, Cairo, al-'Iraq and the land of al-Rum, and
4301 answered him on | all of his questions, the Jew interpreting
between us. He was pleased with my replies and said to his
sons 'Honour this man and ensure his safety.' He then be-
stowed on me a robe of honour and ordered for me a horse
with saddle and bridle, and a parasol of the kind that the
king has carried above his head, that being a sign of protec-
tion. I asked him to designate someone to ride about the city
with me every day, that I might see its wonders and curious
sights and tell of them in my own country, and he designated
such a guide for me. It is one of the customs among them that
anyone who wears the king's robe of honour and rides on his
horse is paraded through the city bazaars with trumpets,
fifes and drums, so that the people may see him. This is most
frequently done with the Turks who come from the terri-
tories of the sultan Uzbak, so that they may not be molested;
so they paraded me through the bazaars. |
«i Account of the City. It is enormous in magnitude and
divided into two parts, between which there is a great river,
in which there is a flow and ebb of tide,328 just as in the wadi
of Sala in the country of the Maghrib. In former times there
was a bridge over it, built [of stone], but the bridge has fallen
into ruin and nowadays it is crossed in boats. The name of this
327 I.e. the Church of the Holy Sepulchre (see vol. I, p. 80, n. 43).
*28 The Golden Horn, which Ibn Battuta compares to the estuary of the
Bou Regreg, on the Atlantic coast of Morocco, between the towns of Sala
and Rabat.
506
 Environs of St. Sophia
Palace „ ^ (AfterManao)
1 St. Sophia V ^
Blachema
2 Atrium
St. Sophia 3 Patriarchate buildings
4 basilica
Hippodrome]] 5 Augusteum
6 Chalke
Ui
o 7 Chapel of Christ

CON STANTIN OPLE

 ASIA MINOR AND SOUTH RUSSIA

river is Absumi.329 One of the two parts of the city is called

Astanbul;330 it is on the eastern bank of the river and in-
cludes the places of residence of the sultan, his officers of
state, and the rest of the population. Its bazaars and streets
are spacious and paved with flagstones, and the members of
each craft have a separate place, no others sharing it with
them. Each bazaar has gates which are closed upon it at
432 night, and the majority of the artisans and sellers | in them
are women. The city is at the foot of a hill that projects about
nine miles into the sea, and its breadth is the same or more.
On top of the hill is a small citadel and the sultan's palace. 331
This hill is surrounded by the city wall, which is a formidable
one and cannot be taken by assault on the side of the sea.
Within the wall are about thirteen inhabited villages. The
principal church too is in the midst of this section of the city.
As for the other section of it, it is called al-Ghalata, 332 and
lies on the western bank of the river, somewhat like Ribat
al-Fath in its proximity to the river. This section is reserved
for the Christians of the Franks dwelling there. They are of
different kinds, including Genoese, Venetians, men of Rome
and people of France, and they are under the government of
the King of Constantinople, who appoints over them [as his
433 lieutenant] one of their number j whom they approve, and him
they call the Qums. 3SS They are required to pay a tax every
year to the king of Constantinople, but they often rebel
329 Apparently a deformation of Greek potamos, 'river'. It is doubtful
whether a bridge had in fact existed over the Golden Horn; see R. Janin,
'Les Fonts byzantins de la Corne d'Or', Ann. Inst. de Phil, et d'Hist.
Orientates et Slaves (Brussels, 1949), IX, 247-53.
330 The name Istanbul is used already by Yaqut (c. 1220) and in several
Arabic and Persian texts of the XIVth century; in some contexts it seems
to be derived from the usage of the Italian merchants. (So too I have
heard Mediterranean seamen speak of 'Cospoli'.) Various theories of the
origin of the name are discussed by D. J. Georgacas 'The Names of Constan-
tinople' in Trans. American Philological Association (Lancaster, Pa., 1947),
LXXVIII, 366-7; see also Islam Ansiklopedisi, s.v. Istanbul, coll. 1143-4.
331 This apparently refers to the complex of walls which protected the
palace, including the towers of Anemas and Isaac Angelus on its northern
side. For the following account of the city cf. J. Ebersolt, Constantinople
byzantine et les voyageurs du Levant (Paris, 1919).
332 Still known by this name, and correctly described as the quarter of the
Italian and French merchants, although it was strictly a Genoese colony:
Heyd, I, 454 sqq., 482 sqq.
333 I.e. comes, 'count'. The chief Genoese officer was, however, called
Podestat, and I suspect that the term rendered by Ibn Bat^uta is 'consul'.
508
 DESCRIPTION OF CONSTANTINOPLE

against his authority and then he makes war on them until

the Pope restores peace between them. They are all men of
commerce, and their port is one of the greatest of ports; I
saw in it about a hundred galleys, such as merchant vessels
and other large ships, and as for the small ships they were too
numerous to be counted. The bazaars in this section are good,
but overlaid with all kinds of filth, and traversed by a small,
dirty and filth-laden stream. Their churches too are dirty and
mean.
Account of the Great Church. I can describe only its exterior;
as for its interior I did not see it. It is called in their language
Aya Sufiyd, and the story goes that it was an erection of
Asaf the son of Barakhya', who was | the son of the maternal 434
aunt of Solomon (on whom be peace).334 It is one of the great-
est churches of the Greeks; around it is a wall which encircles
it so that it looks like a city [in itself]. Its gates are thirteen in
number, and it has a sacred enclosure, which is about a mile
long and closed by a great gate. 335 No one is prevented from
entering the enclosure, and in fact I went into it with the
king's father, who will be mentioned later; it is like an
audience-hall, paved with marble and traversed by a water-
channel which issues from the church. This [flows between]
two walls about a cubit high, constructed in marble inlaid
with pieces of different colours and cut with the most skilful
art, and trees are planted in rows on both sides of the channel.
From the gate of the church to the gate of this hall there is a
lofty pergola made of wood, covered with grape-vines and at
the foot with jasmine and scented herbs. Outside the gate of
this hall is a large wooden pavilion containing platforms, on
which the guardians of this gate sit, | and to the right of the 435
pavilions are benches and booths, mostly of wood, in which
sit their qadis and the recorders of their bureaux. 336 In the
334 The famous church of Hagia Sophia needs no description. Asaf b.
Barakhya' was, in Jewish and Muslim legend, the vizier of Solomon, but I
have found no other reference to this story.
335 This estimate of the open space round St Sophia is evidently exag-
gerated. The section of it which resembled an audience-hall is probably the
Atrium, to the west of the main entrance to the church, and in which there
was a fountain, although the water-channel and the pergola do not seem to
be attested elsewhere.
386 The buildings of the Patriarchate extended along the south side of the
church and the Atrium, and offer a more probable location for the 'bazaar'
509
 ASIA MINOR AND SOUTH RUSSIA

middle of the booths is a wooden pavilion, to which one

ascends by a flight of wooden steps; in this pavilion is a great
chair swathed in woollen cloth on which their qadi sits. We
shall speak of him later. To the left of the pavilion which is at
the gate of this hall is the bazaar of the druggists. The canal
that we have described divides into two branches, one of
which passes through the bazaar of the druggists and the
other through the bazaar where the judges and the scribes sit.
At the door of the church there are porticoes where the
attendants sit who sweep its paths, light its lamps and close
its doors. They allow no person to enter it until he prostrates
himself to the huge cross at their place, which they claim to
436 be a relic of the wood on which | the double of Jesus (on
whom be peace) was crucified. 337 This is over the door of the
church, set in a golden frame about ten cubits in height,
across which they have placed a similar golden frame so that
it forms a cross. This door is covered with plaques of silver
and gold, and its two rings are of pure gold. I was told that
the number of monks and priests in this church runs into
thousands, and that some of them are descendants of the
Apostles, also that inside it is another church exclusively for
women, containing more than a thousand virgins consecrated
to religious devotions, and a still greater number of aged and
widowed women. It is the custom of the king, his officers of
state, and the rest of the inhabitants to come to visit this
church every morning, and the Pope comes to it once in the
year. When he is at a distance of four nights' journey from
the town the king goes out to meet him and dismounts before
437 him; | when he enters the city, the king walks on foot in front
of him, and comes to salute him every morning and evening
during the whole period of his stay in Constantinople until he
departs. 338

and pavilion of the judges and scribes than the Basilica, a porticoed building
opposite the Atrium (as suggested by M. Izzeddin, 'Ibn Battouta et la
Topographic byzantine* in Actes du VI. Congres Internationale des Etudes
byzantines (Paris, 1951), II, 195).
337 See vol. I, p. 80, n. 43.
388 All these details, like many of those in the following paragraph, are
evidently dragoman's inventions, but the popularity of the monastic life
among the higher classes in fourteenth-century Byzantium is a fact; see
R. Guilland, Etudes byzantines (Paris, 1959), ch. 2.
510
 MONASTERIES IN CONSTANTINOPLE

Account of the monasteries in Constantinople. A mdnistdr

(which is pronounced like mdristdn [i.e. 'hospital'], only with
the n and the r interchanged) is among them what a zdwiya is
among Muslims. There are a great many of such monasteries
in the city; among them is a monastery founded by the father
of the king of Constantinople, the king George, (we shall
mention him later), outside Astanbul and opposite al-Ghalata,
and two monasteries outside the great Church, to the right as
one enters it. 339 These two are inside a garden traversed by a
stream of water, one of them for men, and the other for
women. In | each of them there is a church, and round them 438
[in the interior] run the cells for the male and female devotees.
Each of them has been endowed with pious foundations to
supply clothing and maintenance for the devotees, and they
were built by one of the kings. There are also two monasteries
on the left as one enters the great church, similar to the
former two and encircled by cells, one of them inhabited by
blind men and the other by aged men, sixty years old or
thereabouts, who are unable to work. 340 Each one of them
receives clothing and maintenance from the endowments
affected to that purpose. Inside each of these monasteries is a
little building designed for the ascetic retreat of the king who
built it, for most of these kings on reaching the age of sixty
or seventy build a monastery and put on cilices, which are
garments made of hair, invest their sons with the kingship,
and occupy themselves with devotions | until their death. 439
They display great magnificence in building these monas-
teries, constructing them of marble and mosaic work, and
they are very numerous in this city.
I went into a monastery with the Greek whom the king had
designated to accompany me on my rides. It was traversed by
a stream, and in it was a church containing about five hun-
dred virgins wearing cilices, and with their heads shaved and
covered with felt bonnets. They were of exceeding beauty and
showed the traces of their austerities. A boy was sitting on a
pulpit reading the gospel to them in the most beautiful voice
339 Probably the Patriarchate and the Chapel of Our Saviour (on which
see C. Mango, The Brazen House (Copenhagen, 1959)' I49sqq.).
340 Identified by Izzedin (see above, n. 336) with two of the xenodochia
known to have existed in this quarter.
 ASIA MINOR AND SOUTH RUSSIA

that I have ever heard; round him were eight other boys on
pulpits accompanied by their priest, and when this boy
finished another boy began. The Greek said to me, These
girls are kings' daughters who have given themselves to the
service of this church, and the boys who are reading also [are
440 kings' sons].' They have another church of their own | outside
that church. I went with him also into a church inside a
garden and we found in it about five hundred virgins or more,
with a boy on a pulpit reading to them and a number of other
boys on pulpits, just like the former. The Greek said to me
'These are the daughters of viziers and amirs, who engage in
devotional exercises in this church.' In his company I entered
churches in which were virgin daughters of the principal men
of the city, and churches in which were aged and elderly
women,341 and churches where there were monks, numbering
a hundred men or more or less in each church. Most of the
inhabitants of this city are monks, devotees, and priests, and
its churches are numerous beyond computation. The men of
the city, both soldiers and others, small and great, carry over
their heads huge parasols, both in winter and summer, and the
women wear voluminous turbans. |
441 Account of the King Jirjis, who became a Monk. 3*2 This king
invested his son with the kingdom, consecrated himself to
the service of God, and built a monastery (as we have related)
outside the city, on the bank [of its river]. I was out one day
with the Greek appointed to ride with me when we chanced
to meet this king, walking on foot, wearing hair-cloth gar-
ments, and with a felt bonnet on his head. He had a long white
beard and a fine face, which bore traces of his austerities;
before and behind him was a body of monks, and he had a
pastoral staff in his hand and a rosary on his neck. When the
Greek saw him he dismounted and said to me, 'Dismount, for
this is the king's father.' When the Greek saluted him the
king asked about me, then stopped and said to the Greek
(who knew the Arabic tongue), 'Say to this Saracen (meaning
341 See above, p. 484, n. 259.
342 By no possible chronology can Ibn Battflta have visited Constanti-
nople before the death of Andronicus II on 12/13 February 1332. Since,
moreover, the monastic name of the ex-Emperor was Antonius, it is evident
that he either misunderstood or was misled by his guide as to the identity of
the monk 'George'.
512
 THE EX-KING OF CONSTANTINOPLE

Muslim) "I clasp the hand that has entered Jerusalem and
the foot | that has walked within the Dome of the Rock and 442
the great Church called Qumama, and Bethlehem",' and [so
saying] he put his hand upon my feet and passed it over his
face. I was amazed at their belief in the merits of one who,
though not of their religion, had entered these places. He
then took me by the hand and as I walked with him asked
me about Jerusalem and the Christians living there, and
questioned me at length. I entered with him into the enclosure
of the church which we have described. When he approached
the great door, there came out a number of priests and monks
to salute him, for he is one of their great men in the monastic
life, and when he saw them he let go my hand. I said to him 'I
should like to go into the church with you' but he said to the
interpreter 'Tell him that every one who enters it must needs
prostrate himself before the great cross, | for this is a rule laid 443
down by the ancients and it cannot be contravened.' So I left
him and he entered alone and I did not see him again.
Account of the Qadi of Constantinople. After leaving this
king who had become a monk, I went into the bazaar of the
scribes, where I was noticed by the qadi, who sent one of his
assistants to question the Greek who was with me. The
Greek told him that I was a Muslim student of religion, and
when the man returned to the qadi and reported this to him,
he sent one of his associates for me. They call the qadi al-
NajshiKifali*™ so this man said to me 'Al-Najshi Kifali in-
vites you,' and I went up to him in the pavilion that I have
described above. I found him to be an old man with a fine
face and hair, wearing the robe of the monks, which is of
black woollen cloth, and with about ten of the scribes in
front of him writing. He rose to meet me, his associates rising
also, and said, 'You are the king's guest, and we are bound
to honour you.' He asked me about Jerusalem, | Damascus 444
and Cairo, and spoke with me for a long time. A great crowd
gathered round him, and he said to me 'You must come to my
343 Najshl is obviously a corruption of some term, but it is difficult to
relate it to any Greek word. The most probable explanation is that the
word is to be read bakhshi, used in Mongolian and Turkish for a scribe or
ecclesiastic (see Yule's Marco Polo, I, 314), the Arabic letters of which are
the same as those of najshl, and which could have been used by the inter-
preter to indicate his office.
513
 ASIA MINOR AND SOUTH RUSSIA

house that I may entertain you as my guest,' but after taking

leave of him I never met him again.
Account of my departure from Constantinople. When it be-
came clear to the Turks who were in the khatun's company
that she professed her father's religion and wished to remain
with him, they asked her permission to return to their own
country. She gave them permission and made them rich
presents, and sent with them to escort them to their country
an amir called Saruja the Little with five hundred horsemen.
She sent for me and gave me three hundred dinars in their
gold coinage (they call this al-barbara, and it is not good
money),344 two thousand Venetian dirhams, a length of
445 woollen cloth of the work of the girls (this is the best | kind of
such cloth), ten robes of silk, linen, and wool, and two horses,
this being the gift of her father. She commended me to
Saruja and I bade her farewell and left, having spent one
month and six days in their city. 345
We set out in company with Saruja, who continued to treat
me honourably, and arrived at length at the frontier of their
territory, where we had left our associates and our waggons.
We then rode in the waggons and entered the desert; Saruja
went on with us to the city of Baba Saltuq,346 where he re-
mained as a guest for three nights and then returned to his
own country. This was in the depth of winter, and I used to
put on three fur coats and two pairs of trousers, one of them
quilted, and on my feet I had woollen boots, with a pair of
boots quilted with linen cloth on top of them, and on top of
these again a pair of boots of [the kind called] al-burghdli,
which is horse-skin lined with bear-skin. 347 1 used to perform
446 my ablutions with hot water close to | the fire, but not a drop
of water fell without being frozen on the instant. When I
washed my face, the water would run down my beard and
freeze, then I would shake it and there would fall from it a
344 Barbara is a transcription of hyperpyra, plural of hyperpyron, the
Byzantine gold 'dinar', the debasement of which began in the reign of
Andronicus; see A. Andreades in Byzantion (Liege, 1924), I, 10, n. 2, and
T. Bertele in Ace. deiLincei, Attidei Convegni, 12 (Rome, 1957), P- 2 53-
345 About 24 October 1332.
348 See above, p. 499, n. 310.
347 Burghall is the narrator's or his copyists' error for bulgharl, i.e. leather
from Bulghar. Cf. with this passage Ibn Fadlan, tr. M. Canard, p. 64.
514
 JOURNEY TO AL-SARA

kind of snow. The moisture that dripped from the nose would
freeze on the moustache. I was unable to mount a horse be-
cause of the quantity of clothes I had on, so that my associates
had to help me into the saddle.
After this I arrived at the city of al-Hajj Tarkhan, where
we had parted from the sultan t5zbak. We found that he had
moved and had settled at the capital of his kingdom, so we
travelled [to it] for three nights on the river I til [Volga] and
its joining waters, which were frozen over. Whenever we
needed water we used to cut out pieces of ice, put the ice in a
cauldron until it turned into water, and then use this for
drinking and cooking. [On the fourth day] we reached the
city of al-Sara, | known also as Sara Baraka, which is the 447
capital of the sultan tDzbak. 348 We had an audience of the
sultan; he asked us how our journey had gone and about
the king of the Greeks and his city, and after we had answered
him he gave orders for our lodging and for the issue to us of
[what was needed for] our maintenance.
The city of al-Sara is one of the finest of cities, of boundless
size, situated in a plain, choked with the throng of its in-
habitants, and possessing good bazaars and broad streets.
We rode out one day with one of its principal men, intending
to make a circuit of the city and find out its extent. Our
lodging place was at one end of it and we set out from it in the
early morning, and it was after midday when we reached the
other end.. We then prayed the noon prayer and ate some
food, and we did not get back to our lodging until the hour of
the sunset prayer. One day we went on foot across the breadth
of the town, going and returning, in half a day, this too
through a continuous line of houses, among which there were
no ruins and no gardens. The city has | thirteen mosques for 448
the holding of Friday prayers, one of them being for the

348 Ozbeg Khan had shortly before this removed the capital from [Old]
Sarai (situated near the modern village of Selitrennoe, 74 miles above
Astrakhan), to a town, probably founded by Berke Khan (1255-67), and
now called 'New Sarai', at the site of the modern town of Tsarev, 225 miles
above Astrakhan. The ruins of the city cover an area of over twenty square
miles and extend for a distance of more than 40 miles: see Spuler, Die
Goldene Horde, 266-9; F. Balodis, 'Alt-Serai und Neu-Serai, die Haupt-
stadte der Goldenen Horde' in Latvijas Universities Raksti (A eta Univer-
sitatis Latviensis) (Riga, 1926), XIII, 3-82.
R 515 T.O.I.B.-H
 ASIA MINOR AND SOUTH RUSSIA
Shafi'ites; as for the other mosques, they are exceedingly
numerous. There are various groups of people among its in-
habitants; these include the Mughals, who are the dwellers
in this country and its sultans, and some of whom are Mus-
lims, then the As, who are Muslims, 349 the Qifjaq,350 the
Jarkas, 351 the Rus, and the Rum—[all of] these are Christians.
Each group lives in a separate quarter with its own bazaars.
Merchants and strangers from the two 'Iraqs, Egypt, Syria
and elsewhere, live in a quarter which is surrounded by a wall
for the protection of the properties of the merchants. The
sultan's palace in it is called Altun Task, altun meaning 'gold',
and task 'head'.352
The qadi of this capital city is Badr al-Din al-A'raj, one of
449 the best of qadis. There too, among the professors | of the
Shafi'ites, is the worthy jurist and imam Sadr al-Din Sulai-
man al-Lakzi,353 a man of distinction, and of the Malikites
Shams al-Din al-Misri, a man whose rectitude is regarded
with some suspicion, also the hospice of the pious pilgrim
Nizam al-Din, who entertained us in it and showed us
honour, and the hospice of the learned imam Nu'man al-Dm
al-Khwarizmi, whom I met in it, one of the eminent shaikhs
and a man of fine character, generous in soul, of exceeding
humility but also of exceeding severity towards the posses-
sors of this world's goods. The sultan t)zbak comes to visit
him every Friday, but the shaikh will not go out to meet him
nor rise before him. The sultan sits in front of him, addresses
him in the most courteous manner and humbles himself to him,
whereas the shaikh's conduct is the opposite of this.364 But
in his dealings with poor brethren, with the needy and with
wayfaring visitors, his demeanour is the antithesis of that
which he adopts towards the sultan, for he humbles himself |
450 to them, speaks to them in the kindest way, and shows them
honour. He received me honourably (God reward him well)
849 The Ossetes, formerly known as the Alan (£./.*, s.v. Alan).
880 See above, p. 470, nn. 210, 212. 8S1 See above, p. 480, n. 248.
852 Ibn Battuta has confused task, 'stone' with bash, 'head'. Altun, for
Turkish altin, is correctly glossed as 'gold'.
853 The Lakz were a tribe in the region of Daghestan. Their name, in the
form of Lazgi, was later applied to the mountaineers of Daghestan generally
(Minorsky, 455).
354 Cf. p. 484, n. 260.
516
PREPARATIONS FOR THE JOURNEY TO KHWARIZM

and presented me with a Turkish slaveboy. I was witness too

to an example of his endowment with blessed power.
A miraculous grace of his. I had intended to set out from
al-Sara to Khwarizm, but he forbade me to do so, saying to
me 'Stay here for some days, and then you may continue
your journey.' I still hankered to go, however, and finding a
large caravan that was making ready to set out and that
included some merchants with whom I was acquainted, I made
an agreement to travel in their company. When I told him of
this he said to me 'You have no alternative to staying here.'
Nevertheless I determined to set out, when a slaveboy of
mine escaped and I had to stay because of him. This is an
evident instance of miraculous grace. Three days later one of
my associates found the fugitive slave in the city of al-Hajj
Tarkhan and brought him to me, whereupon I set out for
Khwarizm. Between Khwarizm and the capital city of al-
Sara is a desert | of forty days' march, in which horses cannot 451
travel owing to lack of fodder, and only camels are employed
to draw the waggons.

517
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ZETTERSTEEN, K. V. (ed.). Beitrage zur Geschichte der Mam-
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527
 APPENDIX
A Provisional Chronology of Ibn Battuta's Travels
in Asia Minor and Russia
Ever since the publication of Defremery and Sanguinetti's
edition of the Rihla of Ibn Battuta—already a century ago—
it has been realized that the narrative of his travels in Asia
Minor and South Russia involves a number of serious incon­
sistencies, if not indeed impossibilities. Some of them were
indicated by the translators themselves in their Avertisse-
ment to volume II; others, relating more particularly to the
itineraries in Asia Minor and the steppes, were pointed out by
P. Wittek in various articles; and the journey to and from
Bulghar (pp. 490-1 in this volume) has been shown to be a
complete fiction by St. Janicsek (JRAS, 1929, 791-800).
Since, however, no critical investigation has been made as
yet of this section of the Rihla, the following notes may be
regarded as a preliminary survey of the problem.
I. CHRONOLOGY
The most important initial task is to establish as far as
possible an exact chronology for this part of the Travels. The
chronology furnished by Ibn Battuta himself, as follows, is
clearly an impossible one:
II. 248: Attended the Pilgrimage of A.H. 732 (2 Sept. 1332)
261: i Ramadan [733] at Egridir1 (16 May 1333)
312:9 Dhu'1-Hij ja [733] at Manisa (21 August 1333)
319: 'Ashura [734] at Bursa (21 Sept. 1333)
380: i Ramadan [734] at Bishdagh (6 May 1334)
412:10 Shawwal [734] left for Constantinople (5 June 1334)
417: Mid-Dhu'1-Qa'da [734] at Baba Saltuq (15 July 1334)
From this point no dates are cited during the whole journey
to and from Constantinople, and through Turkestan and
Afghanistan, until:
III. 92: i Muharram 734, crossing of Indus river (12 Sept. 1333).
1 Place-names in Turkey are spelled in their present Turkish forms.
528
 APPENDIX

There can be no doubt that the entire journey through

Asia Minor to India took three years, and the attempt must
therefore be made to correlate Ibn Battuta's statements
with external evidence wherever possible. The most obvious
instance is furnished by his reported interview with the ex-
Emperor at Constantinople (p. 512). It was already pointed
out by Defremery and Sanguinetti (Avertissement au 2.' vol.,
p. XII) that this can refer only to Andronicus II, who died
12-13 February 1332. As we shall see, however, this date is
of no assistance whatever, since it cannot be fitted into any
consistent chronological scheme.
The first step is to determine whether there is any support­
ing evidence for either the first date in the above list, that of
Ibn Battuta's presence at the Pilgrimage of 1332, or for the
last date, that of his arrival on the Indus river. So far as I
am aware, no event that he relates during the narrative of his
experiences in India certainly supports or negates the dating
of his arrival on I Muharram 734 (12 Sept. 1333). But some­
what earlier, after recounting his interview with the
Chagatay-khan Tarmashirin, he adds (III. 39) that 'about
two years' after his arrival in India the news was received of
the revolt in the eastern provinces against Tarmashirin.
Barthold, after reviewing the evidence, has dated this revolt
'circa 734'.2 This would agree with the dating of the interview
to the spring of 733 (1333), whereas on a chronology beginning
with the Pilgrimage of 732 it would fall in the spring of 735
(1335), and the news of the revolt would have arrived in 736
or 737-3 Ibn Battuta's date of 734 may also be confirmed
by his meeting with Shaikh 'Ala ud-DIn Mawj-Darya at
Ajodhan, if Mahdi Husain's correction of the narrative is
justified.4
To return to the first date, the Pilgrimage of 732, Ibn
Battuta appears to validate it by recounting the Pilgrimage
z Enc. of Islam, s.v. Caghatai-khan.
3 B. Spuler gives 1337 as the date of the revolt in Die Mongolen in Iran1
(375. n- 5! 37**, n - 5), but in his survey, Die Mongolenzeit (Handbuch d.
Orientalistik, 1953, P- 5°) dates the reign of Tarmashirin 1326-1334. Ibn
!Hajar, al-Durar al-Kdmina, i, 516-17, estimates the length of Tarmashirin's
reign as six years, and places his death in 735/1334-5.
4 The Rehla of Ibn Battu\a, Baroda 1953, p. 20, n. 4. Mawj-Darya was
the grandson of Shaikh Farid ud-Dm, and died in 734/ I 335-
529
 APPENDIX

of al-Malik al-Nasir in that year, and his subsequent execu­

tion of Baktumur and the Amir Ahmad (p. 411). The state­
ments are in their main lines correct, 6 but this in no way con­
firms Ibn Baftuta's own presence on that occasion. For Ibn
Battuta, as is well known to all those who have read the
Rihla, often relates historical events at secondhand, even
when they occurred long after the period of their context and
when Ibn Battuta himself was at the time in far distant lands.
For example, after describing his interview with 'Omar Beg
of Izmir, he adds an account of the death of ' Omar after the
capture of Izmir by the knights of St. John, in a battle which
occurred in 1348, many years later (pp. 446-7). The more
striking fact is that for the Pilgrimages of 727, 728 and 729
he mentions the names of many other pilgrims and accurately
gives the precise day of the 'Standing' at 'Arafat (pp. 356-8),
but for the Pilgrimages of 730 and 732 gives no other names
and notes only historical incidents of common knowledge.
It must be repeated, however, that this in itself proves
nothing, for it is abundantly evident that the presence or
absence, accuracy or inaccuracy, of his general historical
statements bears little or no relation to the veracity of his
travel-narrative.
A more positive line of approach is to take the period of
three years for the journey from Mecca to India, accept
Muharram 734 for its conclusion, work out a provisional
chronology from Muharram 731, and discover how far such a
chronology can be supported by external evidence.
II. 251-267 (pp. 413-22): Journey via Egypt and Latakieh to
'Alaya and Egridir, Muliarram-Sha'ban 731 (Oct. 1330-
June 1331)
269 (p. 423): i Ramadan 731 at Egridir (8 June 1331)
276 (p. 427): i Shawwal 731 at Denizli (8 July 1331)
('Season of fruit-ripening')
295-307 (pp. 438-44): About 21 days at Birgi during great
heat (August 1331)
312 (p. 447): 9 Dhu'l-Hijja 731 at Manisa (13 Sept. 1331)
318 (p. 450): 10 Muharram 732 at Bursa (13 Oct. 1331)
325 (p. 454): Left Iznik after 40 days (end of Safar 732 = end
of Nov. 1331).
8 Cf. Zetterst^en, p. 186, and note 150 ad loc.
530
 APPENDIX
(329 [P- 456]: Road to Mudurnu obliterated by snow)
334. 342, 354 (PP. 458, 462, 468): About three months to
embarkation at Sanub
380 (p. 482): i Ramadan 732 at Bishdagh (27 May 1332)
402 (p. 492): i Shawwal on a Friday (26 June 1332)
412 (p. 498): 10 Shawwal 732, departure from Astrakhan
(5 July 1332)
417 (p. 500): Mid-Dhu'1-Qa'da 732 at Baba Saltuq (9
August 1332) 6
417, 418 (pp. 500-1): 40 days to arrival at Constantinople
(18 Sept. 1332)
445 (p. 514): After 36 days departure from Constantinople
(24 Oct. 1332) and journey through the steppe in winter.
446 (p. 515): Arrival and short stay in Saray (early January
1333)
451 (P- 5 1?) : Journey to Khwarizm in 40 days
III. 8: Two or three weeks there (February 1333)
19:18 days to Bukhara (mid-March 1333)
(III. 20: Pond at Bukhara frozen over)
39:54 days in camp of Tarmashlrin (beginning of May 1333)
83: About 40 days at Qunduz 'to await the hot weather' (to
end of June, 1333)
85 sqq.: Crossing of Hindu Rush and journey through
Kabul
92: i Muharram 734, crossing of Indus river (12 Sept.
1333)-
So far as I have been able to discover as yet, only three
details are mentioned in the course of this journey which can
be checked to some extent against external evidence.
(1) Ibn Battuta states (p. 429) that the mosque at BarjIn
(Pechin) was in course of construction but not yet completed.
The building inscription of this mosque is quoted by Evliya
Chelebi with the date 7(3)2. 7 Since the inscription presumably
gives the date of completion, not of starting to build, and 732
began on 4 October 1331, this would agree with the dating of
Ibn Battuta's stay at Pechin in July 1331.
(2) Ibn Battuta was given a young slave by 'Omar Beg
6 See note 312 ad loc. That this was 'in the cold season' could not possibly
apply as a general rule to any month of Dhu'l-Qa'da during the relevant
period of years.
7 See note 65 ad loc.
s 531 T.O.I.B.-II
 APPENDIX
at Izmir, and was told that this was the last in his possession
(p. 446). It can be reasonably conjectured that this slave was
one of the children captured in 'Omar's raid on Chios, dated
by P. Lemerle in 1330 (L'Emirat d'Aydin, Paris 1957, 60),
since 'Omar's later strained relations with his father and his
absence on expeditions in 1332 (and 1333?) would seem to
exclude a later date. On the other hand, the chronology of
'Omar's expeditions is still too tentative to serve as a firm
foundation.
(3) Ibn Battuta describes Iznik (Nicaea) as in a ruinous
condition and depopulated (p. 453). The city was captured
by Orkhan in March i33i, 8 and in November of that year
would still be in the condition described. It very soon began
to be repopulated, however, if the arguments of H. A.
Gibbons carry any weight.9
Although each of these details is hardly conclusive by itself,
the concordance of all three for the year 731/1331 constitutes
a reasonable presumption for this dating. At all events, (i) by
itself makes a date later than 732/1332 unlikely, and (3)
by itself makes a date earlier than 731/1331 impossible.

II. THE JOURNEY TO CONSTANTINOPLE

If this chronology is accepted, it is obvious that the journey
to Constantinople acquires at least a prima facie confirma­
tion; it not only fits easily into the chronology, but is re­
quired to account for the six months' interval between mid­
summer on the Volga and the journey to Bukhara in the
following winter. The only really discordant statement is
that the month of Dhu'l-Qa'da fell in 'the cold weather' (p.
500), but nothing can be built upon this (see n. 6 above). The
other problems are relatively minor. Although I have been
unable to check the fact directly, it appears that the marriage
of a Greek princess to Uzbeg Khan is confirmed by Greek
sources, 10 and the name Bayalun, given to her by Ibn
Battuta, is explained by B. Spuler as apparently a frequent
8 See notes 144 and 148 ad loc.
9 H. A. Gibbons, The Foundation of the Ottoman Empire, Oxford 1916,
61-3; cf. also G. G. Arnakis, Oiprdtoi othomanoi, Athens 1947,187-9.
10 See p. 488, note 273.
532
 APPENDIX

name (or title?) for the wife of a Khan. 11 The somewhat hazy
and confused geographical details of the journey are easily
enough explained by the facts of the situation, that Ibn
Battuta was travelling in strange territory and in a large
company, which precluded any need to familiarize himself
with routes and names. (It is obvious that Ibn Battuta had
very little knowledge of geography per se.} As for the inter­
view with the ex-Emperor Andronicus II, the fact that he
calls the person whom he met Jirjis (p. 512) is enough to
rouse the suspicion that this person was not the ex-Emperor
(whose monastic name was Antonios). Either, having been
informed of the ex-Emperor's abdication and adoption of the
monastic life, he misunderstood what was said to him, or else
his guide misled him on this point as completely as on several
other features of religious practice and organization at Con­
stantinople.

III. THE DIVAGATIONS

The most puzzling feature of Ibn Batata's Rihla as a whole
is the existence of a number of what are obviously divagations.
By this term I mean the interruption of a journey along some
well-defined route at a certain point, and the insertion of a
more or less lengthy excursion into a neighbouring district,
ending abruptly with the resumption of the original journey
from the point at which it was broken off. Such divagations
occur: in the first volume, in the intercalation of a tour
through Syria into a normal three-weeks' journey from Cairo
to Damascus (cf. Vol. I, pp. 71, 117); in the second volume,
in the intercalation of a journey through Konya and Sivas
to Erzurum between his stay at Milas in July 1331 and at
Birgi in August 1331 (pp. 430-8), as well as the journey to
Bulghar (pp. 490-2); and in the third volume, in the inter­
calation of a journey through the cities of Khurasan between
his stop at Balkh and arrival at Qunduz (III. 63-82 Ar.). In
all these instances it seems impossible to bring the divaga­
tions within the chronological framework required by the
narrative.
Yet these facts do not of themselves prove the divagations
11 Die Goldene Horde, Leipzig 1943, p. 85, 0.4.
533
 APPENDIX

to be outright fabrications. The tour through Syria is evi­

dently a conflation of two (or even three) journeys, a fact
which partly explains its geographical irregularity. 12 The
tour through Khurasan is highly suspect, and it contains no
personal details except in regard to the stay at Nishapur.
The tour from Konya to Erzurum, on the contrary, is a mass
of personal experiences, with the names of his hosts, akhts
and other, and accounts of his meetings with Badr al-Dm
ibn Qaraman and other dignitaries. There are few means,
unfortunately, of identifying any of these persons (in com­
parison with those available for the first volume), except for
the Qaraman prince and the Mongol viceroy Eretna (Artana).
Since, however, the former, Badr al-Din Ibrahim, abdicated
in 1333, the tour in itself does not conflict with the overall
dating of this part of his travels. At the same time, it is
clearly impossible to fit a journey of not less than 1300 km.
each way between Konya and Erzurum, with stays of about
three days in each town, into the chronology proposed in § i
above, and still less to fit it into the chronology at the point
where it occurs in Ibn Battuta's narrative.
The impasse that seems to result is, however, not quite
insoluble. Accepting the starting-point of the journey from
Judda at the end of Muharram 731 (mid-November 1330),
the journey to Cairo would occupy 40-45 days, i.e. to the end
of December 1330. Allowing even sixty or more days for the
journey to Latakieh and the voyage to 'Alaya and Antalya,
this would bring him to the end of February or early March
1331, i.e. about the end of Jumada I. From Antalya to
Egridir is only 212 km., but he was at Egridir at the beginning
of Ramadan (June 8). There are thus three months to be
accounted for. In the next place, there was no reason for Ibn
Battuta to go to Egridir if his objective was Denizli; the
direct route to the latter lay via Gol Hisar (on a small lake
90 km. south-west of Burdur), and the journey to Burdur,
Isparta and Egridir was a considerable detour. But these
were on the route from Antalya to Konya. It is a not very
revolutionary suggestion that Ibn Battuta misplaced the
beginning of his 'divagation'. That, even so, he can have gone
12 See § IV below.
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all the way to Erzurum I still find difficult to credit, but

within three months he could certainly have travelled through
Egridir to Konya and thence via Laranda (Karaman) and
Nigde to Kayseri (or even Sivas) and back to Egridir through
Aksaray.

IV. THE SYRIAN JOURNEY OF 730

There is still another consideration, however, which bears
upon this journey. Up to this point in the argument, it has
been accepted that the initial chronological datum is Ibn
Battuta's presence at the Pilgrimage of 730/1330. But this
fact also appears to be doubtful. As has already been noted
in para. I above, he gives no personal details regarding the
Pilgrimage of that year, but related only a historical event
of common knowledge, namely the conflict between the amir
of Mecca, 'Utaifa, and the Egyptian detachment, which
resulted in the death of the amir jandar Aldamur and his son
(pp. 358-9). That Ibn Battuta did not relate this incident
from personal observation is indicated, not only by the
trifling error of calling Aldamur 'Aydamur', but by other
details of greater significance. One of these is that he goes on
to relate the consequent action of al-Malik al-Nasir in sending
a detachment under a commander, unnamed, and the subse­
quent events at Mecca. This detachment, commanded by
Aytamush, arrived in Mecca only some three months later,
when Ibn Battuta was certainly not in the city. 13
A more convincing detail is that Ibn Battuta was evidently
ignorant of the real cause of the conflict, although it was one
which would certainly have interested him personally. On
two occasions he relates with some emphasis his friendship
with the leader of the 'Iraqi caravan, called in his text
Muhammad al-Hawih (I, 404 [p. 249]; II, 148-9 [p. 355]).
This man was an active agent on behalf of the Ilkhan Abu
Sa'Id, and Ibn Battuta himself relates that during the
Pilgrimage of 729 the name of Abu Sa'Id was included in the
khutba after that of al-Malik al-Nasir (p. 358; in I, 404 [p.
248], he dates this with less probability in 728). These facts
do not appear to be related in other available sources, but
"Seep. 359, n. 312.
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they tie up with an isolated notice of al-Maqrlzi (Suluk, ed.

Ziada, II, 323-4) that the conflict in 730 arose out of secret
orders sent by al-Malik al-Nasir to 'Utaifa to kill the leader
of the 'Iraqi caravan, 'a man of Tabriz called Muhammad
al-Hajfj' (who is evidently identical with Ibn Battuta's
Muhammad al-Hawih), but the plan miscarried. 14 Had Ibn
Battuta been in Mecca at the time, he would surely have
known something of this, nor can I imagine that he would
have omitted to say something about the elephant which
accompanied the 'Iraqi pilgrims through all the ceremonies
at Mecca in that year.15
If Ibn Battuta was not in Mecca at this time, where was he?
I confess that I have not been able to complete the drastic
recasting of the chronology of the earlier journeys, necessi­
tated by placing his journey in Anatolia two years earlier
than his own dating, since the task calls for an intricate cross­
checking of all his data relating to places and persons. But as
regards the antecedents of his journey to Anatolia, it can be
argued with some assurance that he spent some time in
Syria in the latter months of 730.
As pointed out in a note to the translation of vol. I (p. 81,
n. 48), the journey there described through northern Syria
could not have been made in 726, since Ibn Battuta left Cairo
in the middle of Sha'ban and arrived in Damascus on 7
Ramadan. Although he does not mention another visit to
Aleppo before 749/1348, there are not a few indications that
some part of the journey there described was in fact made
about the last months of 730 or beginning of 731. (i) In a
casual statement about a certain Mansur b. Shakl (I, 291
[p. 182]), not otherwise identified, he speaks of a visit to
Aleppo after the Pilgrimage of 726, but in a manner that can
hardly refer to his visit in 749.
(2) A more substantial proof is given by his mention of
Arghun as governor of Aleppo (I, 156 [p. 100]). As pointed
out in note 129 ad loc., Arghun left Cairo to take up his post
at Aleppo only on 8 December 1326, and died in office there
on 30 December 1330. Ibn Battuta's visit must therefore
have occurred between these two dates.
14 See p. 359, note 310.
« Wiistenfeld, Chroniken der Stadt Mekka, II, 280-1; IV, 250.
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(3) In the description of his journey through Syria in vol.

I, Ibn Battuta goes to Latakiya/row Aleppo (p. 113). Against
this is to be set his passing through Jabala, where he visited
the tomb of Ibrahim b. Ad'ham, but even in his earlier
description he places Jabala between Aleppo and Latakiya.
(4) Another curious detail also tends to confirm a stay
in Syria just before his journey to Anatolia. In IV, 345-6,
Ibn Battuta relates that he had left a wife of his, who was
pregnant, in Damascus, and had learned, 'when in India', that
she had given birth to a male child. If this child was born in
726 or 727, the statement would be totally absurd, since he
was certainly in communication with Damascus during the
following Pilgrimage seasons at least. But if he left the wife
pregnant at Damascus in 730, it is entirely intelligible that he
should not have received news of her until he reached India.
There is, consequently, every possibility that the period of
Ibn Battuta's journey in Asia Minor could be appreciably
lengthened beyond the calculations at the end of the pre­
ceding paragraph. But, in conclusion, it must be emphasized
again that these reconstructions of Ibn Battuta's journeys
are at this stage to be regarded as purely tentative, and none
of the proposed datings can be accepted as final until a fuller
investigation has been completed.

537