Lesson 2/24 min
Travellers of the medieval age
Ma Huan
- A Chinese Muslim traveller who came to Bengal with the Chinese naval voyages
- The books say he came in the time of Ghiyasuddin Azam Shah
- He wrote about Bengal's silk and trade in silver coins (as one book notes)
- One book calls him the greatest of the Chinese travellers
Watch out: The year of Ma Huan's visit to Bengal is disputed: 1405–1406 in one book, the 1413–15 voyage in Banglapedia, 1431 in some sources. Remember only ‘early 15th century’.
Ibn Battuta
- A traveller from Morocco
- Came to India in 1333 in Muhammad bin Tughluq's time and served some years as qazi (judge) in Delhi
- Came to Bengal in 1346, to Sonargaon, in the time of Sultan Fakhruddin Mubarak Shah
- Travel book: Kitab ur-Rehla (Rihla, the Safarnama)
- He described Bengal as ‘Dozakhpur Niyamat’: a hell full of bounties
Watch out: Some market books print 1342 for his arrival in India and 1345 for Bengal. The corrected years are 1333 for India and 1346 for Bengal. Another book prints 1345–1346 for Bengal.
At a glance
| Traveller | Country | Linked name |
|---|---|---|
| Megasthenes | Greece | Chandragupta Maurya; Indica |
| Fa-hien | China | Chandragupta II; Fo-kuo-ki |
| Hiuen Tsang | China | Harshavardhana; Shilabhadra; Nalanda |
| Ma Huan | China (Muslim) | Ghiyasuddin Azam Shah (as the books say) |
| Ibn Battuta | Morocco | Fakhruddin Mubarak Shah; Sonargaon; Kitab ur-Rehla |
Check yourself
In which year did Ibn Battuta come to Bengal?
At a glance
- 1
Ma Huan was a Chinese Muslim traveller; the books link him with Ghiyasuddin Azam Shah's time.
- 2
Ibn Battuta was a Moroccan traveller who came to India in 1333, in Muhammad bin Tughluq's time.
- 3
Ibn Battuta came to Sonargaon in 1346; the sultan was Fakhruddin Mubarak Shah.
- 4
Ibn Battuta's book is Kitab ur-Rehla; he called Bengal ‘Dozakhpur Niyamat’.