Ibn Batuta (Google Books ⧉, Amazon ⧉, Bookshop ⧉)
by Ibn Batuta
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The Travels of Marco Polo
When the garrison of Dehli refused to open the gates to Aláuddin Khilji after the murder of his uncle, Firúz (1296), he loaded his mangonels with bags of gold and shot them into the fort, a measure which put an end to the opposition. Ibn Batuta, forty years later, describes Mahomed Tughlak as entering Dehli accompanied by elephants carrying small balistae (ra’ádát), from which gold and silver pieces were shot among the crowd. And the same king, when he had given the crazy and cruel order that the population of Dehli should evacuate the city and depart to Deogir, 900 miles distant, having found two men skulking behind, one of whom was paralytic and the other blind, caused the former to be shot from a mangonel. (I. B. III. 395, 315.)
The Travels of Marco Polo
Ibn Batuta:—“We arrived at the city of Khansá.... This city is the greatest I have ever seen on the surface of the earth. It is three days’ journey in length, so that a traveller passing through the city has to make his marches and his halts!... It is subdivided into six towns, each of which has a separate enclosure, while one great wall surrounds the whole,” (Cathay, p. 496 seqq.)
The Travels of Marco Polo
Ibn Batuta:—“Chinese ships only are used in navigating the sea of China.... There are three classes of these: (1) the Large, which are called Jonúk (sing. Junk); (2) the Middling, which are called Zao; and (3) the Small, called Kakam. Each of the greater ships has from twelve sails down to three. These are made of bamboo laths woven into a kind of mat; they are never lowered, and they are braced this way and that as the wind may blow. When these vessels anchor the sails are allowed to fly loose. Each ship has a crew of 1000 men, viz. 600 mariners and 400 soldiers, among whom are archers, target‐men, and cross‐bow men to shoot naphtha. Each large vessel is attended by three others, which are called respectively ‘The Half,’ ‘The Third,’ and ‘The Quarter.’ These vessels are built only at Zayton, in China, and at Sínkalán or Sín‐ul‐Sín (i.e. Canton). This is the way they are built. They construct two walls of timber, which they connect by very thick slabs of wood, clenching all fast this way and that with huge spikes, each of which is three cubits in length. When the two walls have been united by these slabs they apply the bottom planking, and then launch the hull before completing the construction. The timbers projecting from the sides towards the water serve the crew for going down to wash and for other needs. And to these projecting timbers are attached the oars, which are like masts in size, and need from 10 to 15 men to ply each of them. There are about 20 of these great oars, and the rowers at each oar stand in two ranks facing one another. The oars are provided with two strong cords or cables; each rank pulls at one of these and then lets go, whilst the other rank pulls on the opposite cable. These rowers have a pleasant chaunt at their work usually, singing Lá’ la! Lá’ la! The three tenders which we have mentioned above also use oars, and tow the great ships when required. “On each ship four decks are constructed; and there are cabins and public rooms for the merchants. Some of these cabins are provided with closets and other conveniences, and they have keys so that their tenants can lock them, and carry with them their wives or concubines. The crew in some of the cabins have their children, and they sow kitchen herbs, ginger, etc., in wooden buckets. The captain is a very great Don; and when he lands, the archers and negro‐slaves march before him with javelins, swords, drums, horns, and trumpets.” (IV. pp. 91 seqq. and 247 seqq. combined.)
The Travels of Marco Polo
Ibn Batuta tells a story of a friend of his, the Shaikh Sa’íd, superior of a convent at Mecca, who had been to India and got large presents at the court of Delhi…
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