Ibn Battuta’s Account of the Delhi Sultanate Period
Medieval History › The Delhi Sultanate · Topic 2.14
Ibn Battuta of Tangier reached India in 1333, served Muhammad bin Tughlaq as a qadi at Delhi for several years and travelled widely. His account describes Delhi as the largest city in the eastern Islamic world, the fertile land and its crops, the roads and postal relay, the sultan's palace and gifts, the practice of sati and the strains of Tughlaq rule.
6 min read · UPSC Prelims · History · The Delhi Sultanate
At a Glance
- Traveller Ibn Battuta of Tangier, Morocco
- Arrival 1333, via the Indus
- Post held Qadi (judge) at Delhi
- Sultan Muhammad bin Tughlaq
- Book The Rihla, his travel account
- Exam link UPSC Prelims, Medieval History: The Delhi Sultanate
Where Does It Fit?
This is the fourteenth topic of the category on the Delhi Sultanate. The previous topic covered Amir Khusrau, a court insider, and this topic gives the view of a visiting outsider who also served the Tughlaq court. The next and last topic of the category covers the causes of the decline of the Sultanate. Previous topic: Amir Khusrau’s Contribution to Literature and Music.
Who Was Ibn Battuta and Why Did He Come to India?
In short: Ibn Battuta was a North African traveller and jurist who reached the Indus in 1333 and became a judge at the court of Muhammad bin Tughlaq in Delhi.
Ibn Battuta came from Tangier in North Africa and visited India in the fourteenth century. He reached the Indus on 12 September 1333, and the route he took into the subcontinent is uncertain. He went to Delhi and met Sultan Muhammad bin Tughlaq, who appointed him a qadi, partly because of his studies in Mecca. By different accounts he stayed six to eight years at the court. He travelled widely over India and left an interesting account of its products, fruits, flowers and herbs, the condition of roads and the life of the people. He found it hard to apply Islamic law beyond the court, and he moved between favour and suspicion of treason, and an attempt to leave was blocked by the sultan.
What Did He Say About the Land and Economy?
| Subject | What he reported |
|---|---|
| Soil and crops | The soil was so fertile that two crops were grown every year and rice was sown three times a year; sesame, indigo and cotton were also grown |
| Delhi | The largest city in the eastern part of the Islamic world |
| Daulatabad | Equalled Delhi in size, which indicated growth of trade between north and south |
| Roads and post | Royal roads with sarais; relay of horses or runners for the post, which brought fresh fruit from Khurasan and Ganga water to Daulatabad |
| Village industries | Oil pressing, jaggery, weaving and dyeing of cloth |
What Did He Say About the Court and Society?
He described the palace of Muhammad bin Tughlaq in detail. A visitor passed through three heavily guarded gates and entered the court of thousand pillars, a huge hall with polished wooden pillars where the sultan held public court. The sultan gave each noble two robes of honour a year, one for winter and one for summer, an estimated 2,00,000 robes a year, made in royal workshops. Gifts were also given on the sultan’s birthday, nauroz and the coronation day. Ibn Battuta recorded with horror a sati in which a woman burnt herself with her husband’s body to the beating of drums, and noted that the sultan’s permission was needed for it.
What Did He Observe About the Experiments of the Sultan?
Ibn Battuta arrived in 1333 and could not see any harmful after-effects of the sultan’s experiments, according to the standard account. This is useful for the exam because it shows that the capital shift and token currency, which later writers like Barani condemned, did not cause lasting damage in the places he saw. His own career also shows the sultan’s habit of appointing foreigners to office and sometimes turning against them.
In 1341 the sultan put him in charge of an embassy to the Yuan court of China. Bandits robbed him on the way, and he was kidnapped for a few days. The party sailed from Cambay to Calicut as guests of the Zamorin, where a ship sank in a storm and the other was seized by a king of Sumatra. He then stayed in southern India under the Nawayath sultan and left India after that sultanate fell.
How Should the Account Be Used?
As an analytical point, Ibn Battuta is a foreign observer with court access, so he gives details that court historians like Barani omit, such as roads, crops and the post, while his picture of the sultan is shaped by his own favours and fears. His account is one of the main sources for the Tughlaq period, with Barani, Afif, Isami and Khusrau, and it should be compared with Indian sources before being treated as complete.
Why Is This Topic Important?
- Source value One of the main foreign accounts of the Sultanate
- Details Gives economic and social facts not found in court chronicles
- Exam facts Visit date, post held and city sizes are common questions
What Came Next?
The next topic covers the causes of the decline of the Delhi Sultanate. Next topic: Causes for the Decline of the Delhi Sultanate.
Key People and Terms
- Rihla Ibn Battuta’s travel account
- Qadi Judge
- Court of thousand pillars Hall of public audience
- Nauroz Persian new year
- Relay post Horses and runners in towers
- Zamorin Ruler of Calicut
Exam Corner
Points to Remember
- Reached the Indus in 1333; from Tangier.
- Served Muhammad bin Tughlaq as a qadi.
- Called Delhi the largest city of the eastern Islamic world.
- Described the relay post.
- Sent as envoy to China in 1341.
Do Not Confuse With
- Ibn Battuta and Al-Biruni Fourteenth-century Moroccan versus eleventh-century Central Asian scholar
- Ibn Battuta and Marco Polo Muslim traveller in Delhi versus Venetian in Kerala
- Barani and Ibn Battuta Indian court historian versus foreign visitor
Memory Hook
Tangier to Delhi, qadi to the sultan, thousand pillars, relay runners.
Mains Angle
Questions on travellers’ accounts ask about their value as sources. These points add depth.
- Strength Eyewitness detail on roads, post and court
- Bias A foreign officeholder with personal stakes
- Use Compare with Barani and Khusrau
A Question You May Face
An original practice question, not a past paper question.
“Evaluate Ibn Battuta’s account as a source for the history of the Delhi Sultanate under Muhammad bin Tughlaq.”
How to Answer
- Visit 1333 and his post as qadi.
- Content Delhi, crops, post and court.
- Bias Foreign official’s viewpoint.
- Comparison Barani and others.
GS Relevance
Frequently Asked Questions
When did Ibn Battuta visit India?
Ibn Battuta reached the Indus on 12 September 1333 and then came to Delhi, where he served Muhammad bin Tughlaq. He stayed in India for several years, six to eight by different accounts, before he left from the south after the fall of the Nawayath sultanate.
What post did Ibn Battuta hold in Delhi?
Muhammad bin Tughlaq appointed him a qadi, or judge, partly because of his studies at Mecca. He found it hard to enforce Islamic law beyond the sultan's court and sometimes fell under suspicion of treason.
What did Ibn Battuta say about Delhi?
Ibn Battuta called Delhi the largest city in the eastern part of the Islamic world. He also said Daulatabad equalled Delhi in size, and he described the sultan's court of thousand pillars, reached through three guarded gates.
How did the Sultanate's post work, according to Ibn Battuta?
The post was carried by relays of horses or by runners posted every few kilometres in towers, who rang a bell as they ran. Fresh fruits from Khurasan and Ganga water for the sultan at Daulatabad reached him by this system.
What is the Rihla?
The Rihla is Ibn Battuta's account of his travels, including his years in India. It describes crops, roads, courts and customs, such as a sati ceremony, and is a major foreign source on the Tughlaq period.
PYQ Practice — Statement Analysis
1 Ibn Battuta came from Tangier in North Africa.
He visited India in the fourteenth century.
2 Ibn Battuta was appointed a qadi by Muhammad bin Tughlaq.
He served at Delhi.
3 Ibn Battuta visited India during the reign of Alauddin Khalji.
He came in 1333 under Muhammad bin Tughlaq.
4 Ibn Battuta described the postal relay system of the Sultanate.
He mentioned horses and runners.
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