What did Ibn Battuta see in Crimea and the Golden Horde?
North of the Black Sea Ibn Battuta travelled with Sultan Uzbek's camp and recorded the steppe, its wagons and its winter.
8 passages from 2 books in the library
The passages here say little about Crimea itself. One names Sheikh Rajab al-Barkai, a Sufi elder originally from the city of Crimea in the Kipchak steppe, whom the king of India sent as envoy to the caliph with gifts, among them a ruby worth 50,000 dinars, asking to be made the caliph's deputy in India. Another records a custom shared by India and Sarai: after a banquet, a container shaped like a cradle with four woven legs is placed before each noble, jurist, sheikh and judge. The rest concern the Tatars elsewhere.
Drawn from the classical sources below — in the scholars' own words.
The classical approach.
These passages are drawn from 2 books by Ibn Battuta — part of the classical Sunni tradition that carries over a thousand years of reflection on the Qurʾān, the authentic Sunnah, and the consensus of the early community. Nothing below is a paraphrase. The words are the scholars' own, translated from the original Arabic manuscripts.
14th century · Tangier, Morocco
The Riḥlah — a 30-year, 75,000-mile journey across three continents, and the most important travel account of the pre-modern world.
More on Ibn Battuta →
· Provenance →
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"during the battle. This act contributed to the Muslims' triumph. triumph. They routed the Tatars in a fierce defeat, with many killed and others drowned by released waters. Subsequently, the Tatars never again attempted to conquer Islamic lands. Sheikh Mohammed Al-Arian, the aforementioned disciple, informed me that he witnessed this battle in his youth. We left Burj Bura, descended on the water known as Abyssia, and then traveled to the city of Kanauj, a large, well-built, fortified city with inexpensive prices and abundant sugar, transported to Delhi, encircled by a great wall previously mentioned. Sheikh"
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"appointed him as the commander of his horses. Later, he rose to become one of the major emirs, earning the title King Ghazi. I saw it written on a porch in the Multan Mosque, which he ordered built, that he fought the Tatars 29 times and defeated them, thus earning the title King Ghazi. When Qutbuddin came to power, he entrusted Tughluq with the city of Dipalpur, and its administration, with a kasra on the letter dal, and a fatha on the ba. He appointed his son, who is now the Sultan of India, as his horse commander. His son was known as Juna, with a fatha on the jimin nun, and when he assumed power, he took the name Muhammad"
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"Sultan Balaban had two sons. One was Khan Shahid, his heir, who governed on behalf of his father in Sindh and resided in Multan. He was killed in battle with the Tatars leaving behind Kikubad and Kikusra. Balaban's second son, named Nasruddin, governed in Lakhnadi and Bengal. After Khan Shahid's martyrdom, Sultan Balaban named his grandson Kikusra as his successor, bypassing his own son Nasruddin. Nasruddin also had a son living in Delhi with his grandfather, named Muzuddin, who later assumed the throne under remarkable circumstances while his father was still alive, as described."
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"As for those with designated roles, each person was given his share, and we will mention their customs in this regard. In the lands of India and Sarai, Central Asia, their custom is that after finishing the meal at a banquet, a container resembling a cradle with four woven legs is placed in front of each of the nobles, jurists, sheiks, and judges."
14th century · Tangier, Morocco
The Riḥlah — a 30-year, 75,000-mile journey across three continents, and the most important travel account of the pre-modern world.
More on Ibn Battuta →
· Provenance →
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"He released the army that had come with him from Herat and set his sights on the lands of Malik. The Tatars appointed one from among themselves to lead and they met him three days' travel from Malik, near Atrur. The battle raged and both sides showed endurance. Prince Qutub al-Zahra, his minister, launched an assault with 20,000 Muslims, to which the Tatars could not hold their ground and were defeated."
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"Prince Qutub al-Zahra, his minister, launched an assault with 20,000 Muslims, to which the Tatars could not hold their ground and were defeated. They sustained heavy losses and Khalil stayed in Malik for three days, then went on to root out the remaining Tatars, who submitted to him. He then ventured into the borders of Khotan and China, capturing the city of Karkarum and the city of Beshbalik."
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"arriving back at Kambat and staying there until he could sail again. The king of India also sent an envoy to the caliph, Sheikh Rajab al-Barkai, a Sufi elder originally from the city of Crimea, in the Kipchak steppe with gifts, including a ruby worth 50,000 dinars. He requested the caliph to appoint him as deputy in India and sinned, believing in the caliphate earnestly."
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"carpeted with wool and cotton, and outside, a large river flows past the Zawiyah Sufi Lodge on the banks of which grow trees, grapevines, and jasmine. The Zawiyah houses travelers, and during the Tatars' days of disbelief, they did not disrupt this blessed site, revering it for the miracles they witnessed there. At the time of our arrival, the overseer of the mausoleum and its adjoining parts was Amir Giyath al-Din Muhammad ibn Abd al-Qadir ibn Abd al-Aziz ibn Yusuf, the Caliph al-Mustansir Bi'allah al-Abbasi. Sultan Tarmashirin had appointed him after his arrival from Iraq, and he is currently with the King of India, where he will be mentioned later. In Samarkand,"
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