Through the Eyes of Travellers Perception Of Society Tenth to Seventeeth Century

What struck travelers as unusual? Ibn Battuta

Coconut and paaan

Chronology of Ibn Battuta

Gone to Mecca, Syria, Iraq, Persia, Yemen, Oman and a few trading poets

Central Asia

Sind (1333)_

Delhi

China

Malabar

Maldives

Sri Lanka

Malabar Coast

Maldives

Bengal Assam

Sumatra

How did travelers highlight as a crucial difference between European and Indian?

Treatment of women

What feature of Mughal state’s infrastructure amazed Ibn Battuta?

Efficient Postal System

What were trade routes supplied with?

Inns and Guest House

Do we have accounts of travel by women?

NO

Even though they travelled

Greatest gate in Delhi

Baduan gate

What is dola?

Palaquins used to carry

How many slaves could a family keep?

one or two

What were female slaves used for?

Domestic Work

Sometimes used for Music and Dance (Sultan’s sisters wedding)

Employed by kings to keep a watch on nobles

What were slaves generally used for?

Domestic labour

What did Muhammad Bin Tughlaq give to preacher named Nasiruddin?

100,000 coins and 200 slaves

How were merchants organized?

Into their owen caste-cum occupational bodies

Where did merchants sell their product?

Served patrons

Served ordinary people in crowded markets

What were the halls in Karkhanas?

One hall has embroiders superintenteded by a master

2nd one has goldsmith

3rd one has painters

4th has varnishers

5th had joiners, turners, tailors and shoe makers

6th had manufacturers of silk, brocade and fine muslins

No one aspires for improvement in condition of life

Where does gold and silver get swallowed up?

Hindustan

What did Bernier say about artists?

Had no incentive to improve quality of their manfactures since profits were appropriated by state

Conceded that precious metals such as gold and silver were in India

Prosperous merchant community engaged in long distance exchange

What was the actually economy contrary to Marx?

Big zamindars

Big Peasant who hired labour and engaged in commodity production

Smaller peasant who could barely produce for their subsistence

Landless Labourers

How did Bernier describe Indian society?

Very rich and powerful ruling class subjugate undifferentiated masses of impoverished masses

How did Abdur Razzaq describe Calicut?

“a people the likes of whom I had never imagined”, describing them as “a strange nation

How are people buried in Delhi according to Ibn Battuta?

Fine cemetery with domes over them.

Had arch if no domes

The sow flowers such as tuberose, jasmine, wild rose, wild rose

Flowers blosson in all seasons

What did most cities have?

Crowded streets and bright and colorful markets

What was the Rampart round delhi for?

Breadth was 11 cubits

Horses for night sentry and gate keepers

Houses for storing edibles, magazines, ammunition, ballistas and siege machines

Who were ramparts made of?

Stone in bottom and bricks on top

Has windows which open to city

Who were cities exciting for according to Ibn Battuta?

Those who had drive, resources and skills

How many times have Bernier’s works been translated?

8 times in French

3 times in English

How long did the wooden idol last?

Al Biruni

216,432

How, then, could wood have lasted such a length of time, and particularly in a place where the air and the soil are rather wet? God knows best

What was considered refreshing in India according to Bernier?

Lemonade and Dahi

Carried in linen bag with small iron hook used for suspending and draining dahi

How did Al Biruni describe sanskrit?

Like Arabic

Has a lot of words for the same subject

What languages were Bernier’s work converted in?

English, Dutch, German and Italian

What did Bernier carry with him?

Two Turkoman horses

Powerful Persian Camel

Driver

Groom for horses

Cook

Servant to go with a flask of water in hand ahead of horse

Tent of moderate size

Carpet

A portable bed made of four strong by light canes

A pillow

A mattress

Round leather table cloths

Napkins of dyed cloth

Three small bags with culinary utensils, placesd in large bag

Provisions

Linen

Wearing apparel for master and servants

Rice

Sweet biscuits flabored with anise

Limes and sugar

Which Indians travelled to Europe?

Shaikh Itisamuddin and Mirza Abu Talib

Tried to change European views on India

Who wrote in forms of letters?

Francois Bernier

Order of travels to India

Al Biruni (1017)

Marco Polo

Ibn Battuta (1332-33)

Abdur Razzaq Samarqandi (South India, 1440s)

Afanasil Nikitich Nikitin (Russia, 1466-72)

Jesuit Roberto Nobili

Duarte Barbosa (1518)

Seyid Ali Reis (Turkey)

Antonio Monserrate (Spain)

Mahmud Wali Balkhi (became sort of sanyasi, 1620s, from Balkh)

Peter Mundy

Jean Baptise Tavernier (1656-68, 12 years)

Francois Bernier

Shaikh Ali Hazin (Was disgusted, expected red carped, North India, 1740s)

Who followed the footsteps of Ibn Battuta?

Razzaq Samarqandi

Mahmud Walk Balkhi

Shaikh Ali Hazin

How long did Multan to Delhi take and Daulatabad to Delhi?

40 days

How long did Sind to Delhi take?

50 Days

What were Ibn Battuta’s travels for?

He was really curious

How long did Gawlior to Delhi take?

10 days

Ibn Battua’s travel itinerary

May have visited Russia

Mecca, Syria, Iraq, Persia, Yemen, Oman, trading ports on the coast of East Africa

Central Asia

Delhi

China

Malabar coast through central India

Maldives

Sri Lanka

Malabar Coast

Maldives

China

Bengal ASsam

Sumatra

Zaytun

Who considered experience more important then bookd?

Ibn Battuta

How was Kitab-ul- Hind written?

Written in Arabic

Began with a question, followed with description based on Sanskritic traditions

Concluded with comparison with other cultures

Geometric structure owed to mathematical orinetation

Precise and Predictable

Who did Al-Biruni write for?

People living along frontiers of the subcontinent

What did al-biruni translate?

Patanjli’s work in Arabic

Euclid’s work in sanskirt

Why is Metrology?

Science of measurment

How was Bernier’s account different?

Getting reprinted many times

What traditions was the Kitab ul hind based on?

Sanskritic traditions

Where was Al-Biruni born?

973 in Khwarizm Uzbekistan

What languages did Al-Biruni know?

Syriac, Arabic, Persian, Hebrew and Sanskrit

Received best education

Did not know Greek

Read Arabic version of Plato

When did Mahmud invade Khwarizm?

1017

When and where did Al-Biruni die?

Ghazni at the age of 70

What textile material were exported from India according to Ibn Batuta?

cotton cloth, fine muslins, silks, brocade and satin,

Some muslin was so fine that it could only be worn by nobles or very rich

What was the postal used for according to Ibn Batutua?

send information and

remit credit across long distances,

but also to dispatch goods required at short notice.

Where did Al-Biruni travel?

Punjab and parts of northern India

Sahara desert to river volga

Where did the word Hindu come from?

Persian 6-5th century to refer to east of Sindhu

Arabs called it al-Hind and later the people Hindi

Turks referred to people living east of Undus and Hindu and their land Hindustan and their language Hindavi

Had religious connotation much later

What language was the Kitab-ul-Hind(Al Biruni) and Rihla (Ibn Battuta)?

Written in Arabic

Were travel logs

How long was the Kitab-ul-Hind?

80 chapters

What was the structure of the Kitab-ul-Hind?

Covered religion and philosophy, festivals, astronomy, alchemy, manners and customs, social life, weights and measures, iconography, laws and metrology

Began with a question and followed it up with a description based of Sanskritic traditions and concluded with comparison with other cultures

What was Ibn Battuta’s book?

Rihla in Arabic

Who was Ibn Battuta?

Moroccan traveler

Tangier family

Expertise in Sharia law

Described everything that impressed and excited him

When did Ibn Battuta arrive in India?

1332-33

Reached Sind in 1333

Multan and Uch

Where had Ibn Battuta travelled too?

Mecca, Syria, Iraq, Persia, Yemen, Oman and East Africa

Why did Ibn Batutta come to Delhi?

Heard about Muhammad bin Tughlaq was a generous patron

Where did Ibn Bauta travel?

China, Maldives, Malabar, Sri Lanka, and Assam

What position was Ibn Battuata given?

Qazi or judge of Delhi until he fell out of favor and was thrown in prison

How many years was Ibn Battuta quazi of Maldives?

18 months

Who settled in India?

Italian doctor Manucci

Who was Marco Polo?

From Venice

Who was disgusted by India?

Shaikh Ali Hazin who expected red carpet treatment

Who became a sanyasi?

Mahmud Balki

When did the Portuguese arrive in India?

1500

Who was Jesuit Ronberto Nobili?

Portuguese

Translated Indian texts into European language

Who was Duarte Barbosa?

Portuguese

Wrote on trade and society of South India

Who was Jean-Bapitise Tavernier?

French

Travelled to India at least six times

Who was Francois Bernier?

French doctor, political philosopher and historian.

In India for twelve years (1656-1668)

Physician to Prince Dara Sukoh eldest son of Shah Jahan

Intellectual with Danishmand Khan, an Armenian noble

Who did Francois Bernier dedicate his writing to?

Louis the fourteenth

Presented it as Bleak

What were the three barriers according to al biruni?

Sanskrit was so different from Arabic and Persian and concepts could not be easily translates

Difference in religious beliefs and practices

Self-absorption and insularity of the local community.

Who work did Al Biruni rely on?

Brahmanas

What were the four social categories in Persia?

Knights and princes,

monks and fire-priests and lawyers,

Physicians, astronomers and other scientists

Peasants and artisans

What did Al-Biruni say on the caste system?

Social divisions were not unique to India

All men were equal in Islam differing in their observance of piety

Disapproved of the notion of pollution (contrary to laws on nature). Impure things strive to be pure

If not life on earth would have been impossible

Social pollution was contrary to laws of nature

Who were antyaja?

Born outside the system, were expected to provide inexpensive labor

Subjected to social oppression but included in economic networks

What did the coconut look like?

A man’s head two eyes and a mouth

Inside looks like brain

Fibers look like hair

Look like date palms

used to sew up ships and make cables

What was coir used for?

Sewing ships and making cables

What are betel grown for?

No fruit only used for leaves

Looks like grapevine

Supposed to eat areca nut then put some chalk on the betel and eat it too

Masticate it

What was the largest city according to Ibn Battuta?

Delhi it also was know for its great population

Daulatabad was no less

How many gates does delhi have?

28

What is the greatest Darwaza?

Baduan darwaza

Where is the grain market in Delhi?

Mandwi darwaza

Where is the orchard in Delhi?

Gul darwana

What were bazaars?

Places of economic, social and cultural activities.

Had a Mosque and a temple

Places for dancers musicians and singers

How did towns get a significant portion of there wealth?

Surplus from villages

Agriculture according to Ibn Batutta?

Highly productive, can grow two crops

What is Tarababad in Daulatabad (Maharastra)?

Market for male and female singers

How long did the postal system take to reach from Delhi to Sind?

50 days

How does Ibn Battuta describe the post system?

Royal horses are stationed at a distance of every four miles (uluq)

The foot post has a three stations every mile (dawa)

Every third mile there is a well populated village

There are three pavilions in which people sit with girded loins

Carries a rod (two cubits, with copper bells at the top

Runs as fast as he can and the people of the pavilion hear him

What type of post was faster according to Ibn Battuta?

Foot post

often used to transport fruits of Khurasan

How described Calicut as populated with people “I never imagined and a strange nation’?

Abdur Razzaq

What did Abdur Razzaq like about Mangalore?

He saw a temple which filled him with admiration

How did Bernier intepret India?

Bleak

Preoccupied with comparing and contrasting with Europe

He wanted to influence policy-makers and intelligentsia

India was inferior and the inverse of Europe

There is no middle state in India

Oversimplified