Foreign Travellers’ Accounts of Medieval India (Ibn Battuta, Al-Biruni, Marco Polo, Bernier, Tavernier)
Medieval History › Medieval Art, Architecture & Literature · Topic 9.3
Foreign visitors are a major source for medieval India. Al-Biruni's Kitab al-Hind (about 1030) studied Indian science and religion; Marco Polo noted Malabar's dress and king's jewels; Ibn Battuta, a qadi under Muhammad bin Tughlaq, described roads, products, sati and the court; Bernier and Tavernier, French visitors under Shah Jahan and Aurangzeb, wrote on court politics, wealth and the diamond trade.
5 min read · UPSC Prelims · History · Medieval Art, Architecture & Literature
At a Glance
- Al-Biruni Kitab al-Hind, about 1030
- Marco Polo Venetian; Malabar on the return voyage
- Ibn Battuta Rihla; Delhi under Muhammad bin Tughlaq
- Bernier French physician; Travels in the Mogul Empire
- Tavernier French gem merchant; six voyages
- Exam link UPSC Prelims, Medieval History: Medieval Art, Architecture & Literature
Where Does It Fit?
This is the last topic of the category on medieval art, architecture and literature, and of the medieval history subject. The previous topic covered Persian chronicles, and this one covers the outsiders’ view. Previous topic: Amir Khusrau; Barani, Afif, Isami Akbar Abul Fazl: Akbarnama and Ain-i-Akbari Memoirs Babur and Jahangir Poets Faizi, Utbi,…">Court Chronicles and Persian Literature (Ain-i-Akbari, Akbarnama, Tuzuk-i-Jahangiri). The earlier travellers are in Megasthenes, Indika Roman trade Periplus, Ptolemy, Pliny Alexandria Kosmas Indikopleustes, c. 550 Chinese Fa-hsien (5th c.), Hsuan Tsang…">Foreign Accounts of Ancient India.
Who Was Al-Biruni?
In short: Al-Biruni was the great scholar who wrote the first systematic study of Indian knowledge and customs.
Al-Biruni was born in 973 at Kath in Khwarazm and died in 1048 at Ghazni. After Mahmud of Ghazni invaded Khwarazm in 1017 he was taken to Ghazni, served as court astrologer and accompanied Mahmud’s campaigns in the subcontinent. He lived in India for several years in the early eleventh century, travelled widely, knew Sanskrit besides Persian and Arabic, and translated Patanjali’s Yoga Sutras into Arabic. His encyclopedic Kitab al-Hind (Tahqiq ma li-l-Hind), completed about 1030, covers nearly every aspect of Indian life and is the main basis of his reputation as an Indologist. A great admirer of Indian science, he noted the insular attitude of the Brahmans, whom he found unwilling to share knowledge with other castes and foreigners, a sign of India’s isolation from outside scientific currents.
What Did Marco Polo and Ibn Battuta Record?
| Traveller | Details |
|---|---|
| Marco Polo (c. 1254 to 1324) | Venetian merchant who served Kublai Khan for about 17 years and returned from Asia by sea around 1292, passing southern India; his book, dictated to Rustichello da Pisa as Il Milione, says that in Malabar men and women, including the king, wore only a loin-cloth, that tailoring was unknown, and that the king’s gold, gems and pearls were worth more than a city’s ransom; scholars debate how much of the account is first-hand |
| Ibn Battuta (1304 to 1368 or 1369) | Moroccan from Tangier who left in 1325 on a pilgrimage and travelled for decades; reached the Indus in September 1333 and then Delhi; Muhammad bin Tughlaq made him a qadi; he lived at the court for several years; his Rihla describes India’s fruits, flowers, herbs, products, roads and people, two crops a year and rice sown three times, Delhi as the largest city in the eastern Islamic world with Daulatabad equal to it, and the sati he witnessed with horror, noting that the sultan’s permission was needed |
Ibn Battuta saw no harmful after-effects of Tughlaq’s experiments in 1333, as in Medieval Indian Coinage (Sultanate Tanka, Mughal Rupee and Mohur), and his description of the dress of Malabar’s people adds to Marco Polo’s.
Who Were Bernier and Tavernier?
| Traveller | Details |
|---|---|
| François Bernier (1620 to 1688) | French physician who stayed about twelve years (1658 to 1670); personal doctor to Dara Shikoh and then at Aurangzeb’s court under the protection of Danishmand Khan; his Travels in the Mogul Empire mainly covers the time of Dara Shikoh and Aurangzeb; he argued there was no middle state in India and that merchants hid their wealth, claims treated as exaggerated in Rural Society Structure in Medieval India and The Middle Strata and Commercial Classes in Medieval India |
| Jean-Baptiste Tavernier (1605 to 1689) | French gem merchant who made six voyages to Persia and India between 1630 and 1668 and wrote Les Six Voyages (1676); described the Kollur diamond mines, Golconda and Shah Jahan’s court; his gemological observations are regarded as reliable; he bought the 116-carat Tavernier Blue in 1666 and sold it to Louis XIV in 1668 |
Others: Nikitin observed that people of the Deccan went barefoot; Ralph Fitch described Banaras and the people there; De Laet, Pelsaert and Monserrate wrote on the clothing, food and cities of Mughal India, as quoted in Standard of Living in Medieval India.
How Should These Accounts Be Used?
Travellers’ accounts are valuable because Persian court chronicles are concerned more with events at court than with ordinary life. Foreign visitors recorded prices, products, dress, food and city life, and their remarks are often corroborated, as with Babur’s and Fitch’s remarks on clothing. But they have limits: Marco Polo’s account has been debated for its first-hand reliability, Bernier’s views of Indian society are contradicted by modern research, and observers viewed India through their own preconceptions and brief encounters. As an analytical point, the best method is to cross-check such accounts against Persian chronicles and records, such as those in Court Chronicles and Persian Literature (Ain-i-Akbari, Akbarnama, Tuzuk-i-Jahangiri), and to treat them as supplements, not substitutes.
Why Is This Topic Important?
- Frequently asked Traveller, country and work
- Source criticism Bias and reliability
- Cross-subject Links medieval society to historiography
What Came Next?
This is the last topic of the Medieval History subject. The next subject in the series covers Ancient History. Next topic: see the Ancient History subject index.
Key People and Terms
- Kitab al-Hind Al-Biruni’s account of India
- Rihla Ibn Battuta’s travel book
- Il Milione Marco Polo’s book
- Qadi Judge
- Indologist Scholar of India
- Les Six Voyages Tavernier’s account
Exam Corner
Points to Remember
- Al-Biruni: Kitab al-Hind, about 1030.
- Ibn Battuta: qadi under Muhammad bin Tughlaq.
- Marco Polo: Venetian, Malabar dress.
- Bernier: doctor to Dara Shikoh.
- Tavernier: gem merchant, six voyages.
Do Not Confuse With
- Bernier and Tavernier Physician versus gem merchant
- Al-Biruni and Ibn Battuta Eleventh-century scholar versus fourteenth-century qadi
- Rihla and Kitab al-Hind Battuta’s travelogue versus Biruni’s study of India
Memory Hook
Biruni studies, Polo sails, Battuta judges, Bernier doctors, Tavernier trades gems.
Mains Angle
Questions on travellers ask what they reveal and how reliable they are. These points add depth.
- Evidence Daily life, prices, cities
- Bias Preconceptions and exaggeration
- Method Cross-checking with chronicles
A Question You May Face
An original practice question, not a past paper question.
“Assess the value of foreign travellers’ accounts as sources for medieval Indian history.”
How to Answer
- Who Biruni to Tavernier.
- What Dress, prices, courts, sati.
- Limits Bias, brief stay.
- Method Cross-check with Persian sources.
GS Relevance
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the Kitab al-Hind?
The Kitab al-Hind (Tahqiq ma li-l-Hind) is Al-Biruni's encyclopedic account of India, completed about 1030, covering religion, science and customs. It is the main basis of his reputation as an Indologist and a leading source for early medieval India.
Who was Ibn Battuta?
Ibn Battuta was a Moroccan traveller from Tangier who reached Delhi in the 1330s, where Muhammad bin Tughlaq made him a qadi. His Rihla describes the products, roads, cities and customs of the Delhi Sultanate, including sati.
What did Marco Polo say about southern India?
Marco Polo, the Venetian who served Kublai Khan, noted that in Malabar men and women wore only a loin-cloth, that tailors were unknown, and that the king's gold, gems and pearls were worth more than a city's ransom.
Who were Bernier and Tavernier?
Bernier was a French physician who lived in India from 1658 to 1670 and served Dara Shikoh and then Aurangzeb's court. Tavernier was a French gem merchant who made six voyages between 1630 and 1668 and wrote about diamonds and courts.
How reliable are travellers' accounts?
Travellers record details missing from court chronicles, such as prices, dress and city life, but they saw India through brief visits and their own prejudices. Bernier's views on the lack of a middle class, for instance, are not accepted by modern research.
PYQ Practice — Statement Analysis
1 Al-Biruni wrote the Kitab al-Hind.
It was completed about 1030.
2 Bernier was a French physician at the Mughal court.
He served Dara Shikoh and then Aurangzeb's court.
3 Tavernier was a Moroccan qadi at Delhi.
He was a French gem merchant; Ibn Battuta was the Moroccan qadi.
4 Marco Polo wrote the Rihla.
That is Ibn Battuta's work; Polo's book is Il Milione.
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