Ibn Battuta: A Concise Life

Journey through the medieval Muslim world and beyond with Ibn Battuta, the greatest traveller of his time.

Ibn Battuta (1304–1368/9 CE) was no ordinary traveller. His insatiable desire to explore took him further than any other man in medieval times. But did you know that along the way he served sultans, sailed angry seas and even soared above mountains on the back of a bird?

In this short biography you will discover how Ibn Battuta’s travels took him to nearly every part of the Muslim world at the time. Between 1325 CE when he set off from Morocco and 1354 CE when he finally returned home, he had visited about forty modern countries and travelled roughly 75,000 miles, going on foot, camel, horse, wagon, boat and even sled.