What did Ibn Battuta see in Mosul and the Jazira?
North along the Tigris, Ibn Battuta recorded Mosul, Nisibin and Mardin — the towns of the Jazira between the two rivers.
4 passages from 1 book in the library
With two months before the Hajj caravan left Baghdad, Ibn Battuta went to see Mosul and Diyarbakir. He calls Mosul an ancient city of great fertility, with a citadel called Hadba, famed as impregnable, and a strong wall with towers joined to the ruler's residences. He notes the place of Jonah's standing, whose mosque's mihrab is said to have been his place of worship, and that the people go out every Thursday night to the rabat for worship. He found them noble, gentle in speech and fond of strangers; their leader Haidar hosted him.
Drawn from the classical sources below — in the scholars' own words.
The classical approach.
These passages are drawn from 1 book 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.
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"I returned to Baghdad, where I received all the sultan had ordered for me, and as there were over two months before the caravan's departure, I decided to travel to Mosul and Diyarbakir to explore those lands and return to Baghdad in time for the caravan to the noble Hijaz. I departed Baghdad for a place on the Dijail river, a tributary of the Tigris, which irrigates many villages. After two days, we stopped at a prosperous and spacious village called Harba, then traveled to a location on the Tigris' bank near a fortress called Al-Mashuq, built on the Tigris' banks. To the east of the fortress lies the city of Samarra,"
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"and transport it. We have already mentioned the spring, located between Kufa and Basra in this manor. We then traveled from these springs for two days and reached Mosul thereafter. The city of Mosul. Mosul is an ancient city of great fertility. Its citadel, known as Hadba, is of considerable significance and renowned for its impregnable nature. It is surrounded by a strongly built wall adorned with towers, connected to the residences of the sovereign."
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"There, clothes made from the well-known Angora wool are manufactured. Mardin has an illustrious fortress famed among its peers atop its mountain. Ibn Juzay stated, this fortress of Mardin is called the Bright One, which the Iraqi poet Safi al-Din Abd al-Aziz bin Saray al-Hilly referred to in his poem, abandon the spacious quarters of Hilla, and turn away from the Zawra, paws not in the crooked Mosul."
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"marking Jonah's standing place, and it is remarked that the mosque's mihrab, prayer niche, was once his place of worship. The people of Mosul go out every Thursday night to the rabat for worship. The residents of Mosul are known for their noble demeanor, gentle speech, virtue, and love for strangers, often extending care toward them. Their leader at the time I arrived was the noble and virtuous Sayyid Sharif ala al-Din ibn Shamz al-Din Muhammad, known as Haidar. He was among the generous nobility, hosting me at his residence and providing for me throughout my stay there, known for his charity and fame generosity. The sultan, Abu Sayyid, held him in high regard,"
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