The Adventures of Ibn Battuta - Book Report/Review Example

Book Review: The Adventures of Ibn Battuta Described as the Marco Polo of the Muslim world, Ibn Battuta is renowned for his travels during the MiddleAges that brought him as far as China. His journeys, which began during his pilgrimage to Mecca was an interesting event because it offered a view of the world from an Islamic perspective. This affair was detailed in the book, The Adventures of Ibn Battuta: a Muslim traveler of the Fourteenth Century (2004), written by Ross Dunn. Overview The Adventures of Ibn Battuta is a comprehensive chronicle of Ibn Battuta’s travel. It provided a vivid narrative of the traveler, who, in his journeys and personal observations, have collected and recorded vast knowledge on the institutions, governments, locations, personalities not just of the Islamic world but also other countries during the fourteenth century. A primary source of the book was the rihla or a book of travels, originally commissioned by Sultan Abu ‘Inan, the Marinid ruler of Morocco back in 1356. This book of travels was a collaboration between Ibn Battuta, himself, and Ibn Juzayy, an Andalusian literary scholar. Dunn got hold of several versions and translations of this rihla the most important of which were those in French copies since numerous manuscripts from Morocco was transferred to France after the French occupation of Algeria. Dunn also cited an extensive body of literature on Ibn Battuta’s travels in encyclopedia entries, popular summaries and critical commentaries. Hence, the book is a chronicle of Ibn Battuta’s adventures based on the traveler’s own writings and Dunn’s own observations and interpretations of his sources. The Traveler and His Travels What is interesting about Dunn’s approach to his account on Ibn Battuta’s exploits is that he did not merely translate his writings. Instead, he integrated a dimension in the book that explored the traveler’s personality. What this means is that the book is not only about what has been seen in the travels but how the marvels, the personalities and the experience was for Ibn Battuta. All of the diverse adventures and magnificent locals were united in one coherent narrative because of the focus on Ibn Battuta as well. For Dunn, he is not merely a tool by which the world in the fourteenth century unfolded. Ibn Battuta was a subject coequal with his travels in the way the book explored its concerns. In this regard, a good portion of the book was devoted to his life, his upbringing and perspectives. Dunn achieved this objective not through a historical investigation of his life in Morocco before his travels but on the autobiographical dimension of his own rihla. According to Dunn, in order to understand and, hence, depict, Ibn Battuta’s character, his aspirations, his social attitudes and prejudices, his personal relations with other people, and, finally, the way he “fits” into the fourteenth-century Muslim society and culture, he had to rely on Ibn Battuta’s own writings (6). This is the reason why Dunn often felt compelled to emphasize the traveler’s reaction and observation to people, events and places, including his appreciation, criticisms and annoyances. Fidelity As the reader begins the Journey with Dunn, he will be immediately arrested by the fact that there is very little difference in the way the narrative was presented from that of the primary source. This is especially the case for those who have read the rihla as narrated by Ibn Battuta and his young literary collaborator or its modern copies. The facts and points are the same except that most of which were told in Dunn’s words. One is actually tempted to say that the author was merely paraphrasing. At this stage, there were very few referencing made to the author’s sources. This is the reason why some scholars might conclude, during the early stages of the book, that there is really nothing new provided, just a mere rehash of what was already written. This impression will change, however, as the narrative picked up its pace and Dunn was able to assert his own perspectives. For me, this was what happened when I was halfway through the third chapter. In retrospect, what Dunn wrote in the initial chapters of his book was some form of a backgrounder to establish and clarify important points. I think that this is very important for readers who never knew about Ibn Battuta. In the context of this dimension to Dunn’s book, I believe such approach was taken as some conscious attempt at fidelity. The author took pains not to dilute or temper Ibn Battuta’s facts, his message and his personality. He did this by changing the traveler’s accounts very little. But, in order, to make his own work authoritative, he used other sources to clear, corroborate and clarify ambiguous facts. This is consonance to what was previously cited as an objective to cite and emphasize every little detail in the rihla because those are the only ways by which Dunn could effectively characterize Ibn Battuta and his point of view. Points of Interest For those who plan to read The Adventures of Ibn Battuta, there are two important events that could prove to be interesting both from the scholarly and the humanist perspectives. The first of these was Ibn Battuta’s trip to Mecca. This is a major event in all of the scholar’s travels. It was the first ultimate goal oh his global journey. And it was also the first time that Ibn Battuta will do the pilgrimage to the holy city. The journey from Morocco to Mecca could, hence, be likened to a child’s eyes – full of wonder and curiosity and full of potent recollection and honest observation as well. For instance, there was the politics involved in the Cairo and Damascus caravan. Then, there were his descriptions of important places that they passed en route. For example, Ibn Battuta found northern Hijaz as a fearsome wilderness (67). Then, there was his story about the thirst, flashflood, epidemic, attacks, and the violent desert wind, samum (67). For a reader with enough imagination, the pilgrimage appears to be a tale straight out of the Arabian Nights. It was really a formula of a tale, wherein no enchantment could be had without the heroes experiencing hardships. This was capped with the descriptions of marvelous places found at the end of the pilgrimage like Medina, “the most bountiful of the little islands of fertility,” and the various mosques that dot the city and the trails that eventually led to the Mecca (68). What made this stage of the journey additionally important is its religious significance. A second interesting episode for me in the entire narrative was when Ibn Battuta was sent as an envoy to China. His entourage was shipwrecked and he found himself out of employment. Out of all the challenges and travails during this period he still pursued with grim determination his purpose of reaching the country, though in a private capacity, and see for himself a different world. For me, this action by Ibn Battuta spoke of particular Muslim worldview that is quite unknown to most us. The desire to be acquainted with a different culture and different perspective was a commendable trait. It must be recalled that most of Ibn Battuta’s journeys were confined to Muslim lands, but the Chinese interlude was slightly different. His actions and observations during this period is, for me, quite crucial to the significance of book. This was highlighted by Dunn’s comprehensive discourse on China during the period, including the political, economic and military dynamics especially in its relations to neighboring countries like India and its policies towards foreigners like the Muslims. It contextualized Ibn Battuta’s experience during his visit. Conclusion Dunn’s account of Ibn Battuta’s travels established the scholar’s status as a celebrated traveler not just in the Muslim world but also globally whose achievement is comparable to those of Marco Polo’s. What is more important, however, is that through Ibn Battuta, Dunn was able to offer deep insights on the various locales of the fourteenth century Islamic world. Egypt, North Africa, the Middle East, Central Asia, China and even Spain – they were all described with interesting observations and perspectives. The book was able to depict a world that is different than most of us know during the period. Instead of knights and medieval European intrigue, Ibn Battuta offered a tale of Islamic adventure, Islamic culture and values, as well as a worldview that can be considered cosmopolitan by modern canons. Bibliography Dunn, Ross, The adventures of Ibn Battuta, a Muslim traveler of the fourteenth century. Berkeley: University of California Press, 2004. Print Read More