translated from the abridged Arabic manuscript copies preserved in the Public Library of Cambridge. With notes, illustrative of the history, geography, botany, antiquities, &c. occurring throughout the work. By the Rev. Samuel Lee.
London, Printed for the Oriental Translation Fund Committee, 1829
First English publication of Ibn Batuta's travels. The first publication in English of the famed Travels of Ibn Batuta, and the first translation of the whole work rather than extracts. This work was translated by the linguist Samuel Lee (1783-1852) from several manuscripts bequeathed to the University of Cambridge by the Swiss traveller Johann Burckhardt (1784-1817).
Hailing from Tangier, the remarkable Arab traveller Abu Abdullah Muhammad Ibn Battuta (1304-68) set out as a young man on a pilgrimage to Mecca and continued his travels over forty years through the Islamic world. He went to Mecca three times, and travelled as far as India, China, Indonesia, and Sumatra. He ventured further than any other explorer in pre-modern history surpassing both Zheng and Marco Polo.
Ibn Battuta did not write a single line about his travels, instead he dictated his entire travelling history from memory to scholar Ibn Juzayy who wrote a single manuscript of the account, the title of which directly translates as 'A Masterpiece to Those Who Contemplate the Wonders of Cities and the Marvels of Travelling'.
One of the key charms of this account is the innocence Ibn Battuta exhibits despite being such a learned and travelled man. He repeatedly experiences what we would now describe as culture shock, especially when visiting newly converted Islamic regions and peoples. His orthodox background ill prepares him for the ways Islam has been incorporated into other cultures: in Turkey he is astounded as the freedom and rights of women, and often remarks on indigenous dress from the Maldives to Mali being far too revealing.
First edition; 4to, xviii, [2. errata leaf], 243, [1]; 16 (Report of... First General Meeting. Oriental Translation Fund) pp., original fine ribbed black cloth, original paper label (light wear), largely unopened, occasional very light spotting, a fine example.
Hailing from Tangier, the remarkable Arab traveller Abu Abdullah Muhammad Ibn Battuta (1304-68) set out as a young man on a pilgrimage to Mecca and continued his travels over forty years through the Islamic world. He went to Mecca three times, and travelled as far as India, China, Indonesia, and Sumatra. He ventured further than any other explorer in pre-modern history surpassing both Zheng and Marco Polo.
Ibn Battuta did not write a single line about his travels, instead he dictated his entire travelling history from memory to scholar Ibn Juzayy who wrote a single manuscript of the account, the title of which directly translates as 'A Masterpiece to Those Who Contemplate the Wonders of Cities and the Marvels of Travelling'.
One of the key charms of this account is the innocence Ibn Battuta exhibits despite being such a learned and travelled man. He repeatedly experiences what we would now describe as culture shock, especially when visiting newly converted Islamic regions and peoples. His orthodox background ill prepares him for the ways Islam has been incorporated into other cultures: in Turkey he is astounded as the freedom and rights of women, and often remarks on indigenous dress from the Maldives to Mali being far too revealing.
First edition; 4to, xviii, [2. errata leaf], 243, [1]; 16 (Report of... First General Meeting. Oriental Translation Fund) pp., original fine ribbed black cloth, original paper label (light wear), largely unopened, occasional very light spotting, a fine example.
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