Ibn Battuta
Born in Tangier, he spent almost thirty years travelling through Africa, the Middle East, India and China, more than 100,000 km, and dictated his travels in Fez.
| Lived | 1304 – 1369 |
| Known as | Traveller |
| Birthplace or main place | Tangier |
| Places on the map | Fez, Delhi, Quanzhou, Kilwa |
TangierSee the world of Ibn Battuta in the interactive map
Who ruled these places in his lifetime
| Place | At birth (map of 1300) | At death (map of 1300) |
|---|---|---|
| Tangier | Morocco | same |
| Fez | Morocco | same |
| Delhi | Sultanate of Delhi | same |
| Quanzhou | Great Khanate | same |
| Kilwa | Islamic city-states | same |
From the border maps nearest to each date; borders are approximate.
Events in his lifetime
| Year | Event | Where |
|---|---|---|
| 1331 | Ibn Battuta visits | Kilwa |
| 1346 | Ibn Battuta visits Quanzhou | Quanzhou |
| 1357 | The Ispah rebellion begins and the port starts to decline | Quanzhou |
Further reading
Contemporaries
| Lived | Person | |
|---|---|---|
| 1304 – 1374 | Petrarch | Poet and humanist |
| c. 1315 – 1390 | Hafez | Poet |
| 1328 – 1398 | Zhu Yuanzhang (Hongwu Emperor) | Founder of the Ming dynasty |
| 1332 – 1406 | Ibn Khaldun | Historian |
| c. 1267 – 1337 | Giotto | Painter and architect |
| c. 1280 – 1337 | Mansa Musa | Emperor of Mali |
| 1336 – 1405 | Timur (Tamerlane) | Founder of the Timurid Empire |
| 1254 – 1324 | Marco Polo | Merchant and traveller |
| 1265 – 1321 | Dante Alighieri | Poet |
Last updated 9 November 2026. Sources: border data from historical-basemaps, land and rivers from Natural Earth; texts written for Chronica Maps from standard reference works. How we make the maps.