Documents and archives
Ibn Battuta in Mogadishu and Zeila, 1331: what the Rihla says
The Moroccan traveller Ibn Battuta visited Zeila and Mogadishu in 1331 and described them in his Rihla (The Travels), dictated in 1355. He called Mogadishu an enormous town of merchants, described how young men met each ship and hosted the traders, and recorded the sultan, his qadi and his court. It is the most detailed written account of a Somali city before 1500.
The traveller and the book
Ibn Battuta (1304 to about 1369) was a scholar from Tangier in Morocco who travelled for almost thirty years across Africa and Asia. In 1355 he dictated his travels to the writer Ibn Juzayy, and the result is known as the Rihla ("The Journey") (The Rihla, Wikipedia).
In 1331 he sailed from Aden down the East African coast. He stopped at Zeila on the Gulf of Aden and then at Mogadishu, before going on to Mombasa and Kilwa (Ibn Battuta, Travels in Asia and Africa 1325 to 1354, trans. H. A. R. Gibb, 1929, Fordham Medieval Sourcebook).
What he wrote about Zeila
Ibn Battuta called Zeila "a large city with a great bazaar". He also wrote that it smelled strongly of fish and of the blood of camels slaughtered in the streets, and that he and his companions chose to sleep on their ship (Gibb translation, Fordham). He wrote that the land of the Berberah stretched for two months' journey from Zeila to Mogadishu, and that his ship sailed for fifteen days from Zeila to Mogadishu (Gibb 1929, Internet Archive).
What he wrote about Mogadishu
A city of merchants. He described Mogadishu as an "enormous town" whose people were merchants who owned many camels and slaughtered hundreds a day for food (Fordham).
Hosting traders. When a ship arrived, small boats called sumbuqs came out to meet it. Young men in each boat brought covered dishes of food and each chose a merchant, saying "This is my guest." The host lodged the merchant, and bought and sold on his behalf. A sale made without the host, or at too low a price, was not accepted (Fordham).
The qadi and the students. As a scholar, Ibn Battuta was taken to the qadi (judge) and lodged in the students' house. Food was brought three times a day for three days. On the fourth day, a Friday, the qadi and a wazir (minister) gave him a set of clothes (Fordham).
The sultan's court. He prayed at the main mosque behind the sultan's screen. He wrote that the people called their sultan "the Shaykh", that the sultan's name was Abu Bakr, that he was "of Berberah origin", and that "he talks in the Maqdishi language, though he knows Arabic" (Gibb 1929, Internet Archive). Later historians give his full name as Abu Bakr ibn Shaykh Umar (Gulf News). After prayers the Shaykh walked to his palace in sandals while everyone else went barefoot, under four silk canopies each topped with a golden bird (Fordham). When he first reached the palace, a palace servant brought out betel leaves and areca nuts as a welcome gift, and a wazir whose duty was to look after guests greeted him for the sultan (Gibb 1929, Internet Archive).
Why historians use it
The passage is the fullest description of a Somali city before 1500. It shows Mogadishu in the 14th century as a Muslim city with its own ruler, judges and scholars, trading by sea with Arabia, Egypt and India (AramcoWorld, The Traveler: Ibn Battuta). It is read with the inscriptions and mosques of the city, such as the Fakhr al-Din mosque of 1269, described on Islam in Somalia, and with other records on The Somali coast towns, 1331 to 1586.
Where to read it
- Gibb's English translation, the Mogadishu and Zeila passages: Fordham Medieval Sourcebook
- Gibb's 1929 selection, scanned in full (the Somali passages are on pages 110 to 111): Gibb 1929, Internet Archive
- The complete Hakluyt Society translation, volume III (for India and beyond): Internet Archive
- The full Hakluyt Society edition in a library: WorldCat
Related pages
Sources
- The Rihla, Wikipedia · en.wikipedia.org
- Ibn Battuta, Travels in Asia and Africa 1325 to 1354, trans. H. A. R. Gibb, 1929, Fordham Medieval Sourcebook · sourcebooks.web.fordham.edu
- Gibb 1929, Internet Archive · archive.org
- Gulf News · gulfnews.com
- AramcoWorld, The Traveler: Ibn Battuta · archive.aramcoworld.com
- Internet Archive · archive.org
- WorldCat · search.worldcat.org
Toosoo!
Calankii is made by Toosoo, which works for one united, prosperous Somalia.
Can you help with Ibn Battuta in Mogadishu and Zeila, 1331: what the Rihla says? Tell us what you can give.
I want to help with this
Where it happened
- Muqdisho (Mogadishu) and BanaadirMogadishu (Muqdisho) is Somalia's capital and makes up the Banadir region, with about 2.97 million people in 20 districts.
- Boorama (Borama) and AwdalAwdal is the far north-west region, on the borders with Djibouti and Ethiopia, with Borama (Boorama) as its capital and about 300,000 to 636,000 people.
Same era
- Laas Geel and Somali rock art: the first herders' paintings, about 5,000 years oldLaas Geel, Dhambalin, Karin Heegan and other Somali rock art sites: what the paintings show, how old they are, who found them, and the sources.
- Port of Mogadishu (Dekadda Muqdisho)Port of Mogadishu: from Sarapion to the 1930 Italian breakwater, banana exports, war damage, the 2014 Albayrak deal and revenue split, and who runs it now.
- The Land of Punt and the Somali coast: what the Egyptian records sayThe Land of Punt in Egyptian records from Sahure to Ramesses III, Hatshepsut's expedition, and the evidence on whether Punt lay on the Somali coast.
- The Somali ports in the Periplus, 1st century AD: Avalites, Malao, Mundus, Mosylon and OponeThe Somali coast in the 1st-century Periplus of the Erythraean Sea: each port, what it traded, where it was, and what archaeologists later found there.
- Opone and Ras Hafun (Xaafuun): an ancient Somali port, 1st century BC to 5th century ADRas Hafun (Xaafuun) and the ancient port of Opone: what the Periplus says, what excavations found, and how old the sites are.
- Aw Barkhadle (Sheikh Yusuf al-Kawneyn)Aw Barkhadle (Sheikh Yusuf al-Kawneyn), medieval scholar and saint: his teaching, the Somali names for Arabic letters, and his tomb near Hargeisa.
Keep reading
- Books about Somalis: every era, from the Periplus to todayA guide to books written about Somalis and Somalia across 2,000 years, by era and language, with free links to read them online.
- Books about Somalis before 1500: Greek, Arabic and Chinese writersThe oldest books that describe Somalis: the Periplus, al-Idrisi, Yaqut, Ibn Battuta, Zhao Rugua, Fei Xin and more, with free links.
- Books about Somalis, 1500 to 1884: the Futuh, Portuguese, Ottoman and European travellersBooks on Somalis from 1500 to 1884: Futuh al-Habasha, Duarte Barbosa, Portuguese chronicles, Seydi Ali Reis, Guillain, Burton, Speke and Révoil.
- Books about Somalis, 1884 to 1960: the colonial eraColonial-era books on Somalis, 1884 to 1960: Swayne, Robecchi Bricchetti, Jardine, Drake-Brockman, Cerulli, Trimingham, Laurence, Lewis.
- Books about Somalis, 1960 to 1990: history and research in the Republic yearsKey books on Somali history, society and politics published 1960 to 1990: Lewis, Andrzejewski, Touval, Hess, Laitin, Cassanelli, Samatar.
- Books about Somalis, 1991 to 2005: the fall of the state and new researchKey books on Somalis published 1991 to 2005: The Invention of Somalia, Unraveling Somalia, Black Hawk Down, Saints and Somalis, Economy Without State.