Ibn Battuta

Muhammad ibn Abdullah ibn Battuta (1304-1386/69) was born in Tangier, in what is now Morocco, to a Muslim Berber Family. Well-educated and upper-class, Ibn Battuta was a member of a transitional urban elite that was relatively free to move about the Islamic world. His travels began in 1325, when he undertook the prescribed religious pilgrimage (or hajj) to Mecca and Medina; later, he would voyage to Africa's eastern coast, central Asia, and India. After a stay in Dehli, Ibn Battuta was sent by his patron on a diplomatic mission to the emperor of China. Upon his return to Morocco, Ibn Battuta's royal patron was amazed by the traveler's engrossing account of his experiences