Through the Eyes of Travelers

Men and women have traveled for various reasons, many of them try to adapt to a new land, whereas some note their experiences. Unfortunately, there are practically no accounts of travel left by women, though it is known where they traveled.

Al-Biruni and The Kitab-Ul-Hind:

From Khwarizm to the Punjab:

⮚  Al-Biruni was born in 973, in Khwarizm in present-day Uzbekistan

⮚  He had immense knowledge in a variety of languages such as  Syriac, Arabic, Persian, Hebrew, and Sanskrit

⮚   Although he did not know Greek, he was familiar with the works of Plato and other Greek philosophers, having read them in Arabic translations

⮚  He was brought to Ghazni as a hostage when Khwarizm was invaded by Sultan Mahmud in 1017. It was here that he developed an interest in India

⮚  Al- Biruni was a part of Brahmana priests and scholars who learned Sanskrit and also studied religious contexts

⮚  He traveled widely in the Punjab and parts of northern India after Punjab became a part of the Ghaznavid empire

The Kitab-ul-Hind:

⮚   Kitab-ul-Hind was written in Arabic

⮚   It comprises 80 chapters 

⮚   Some of the subjects are social life, iconography, astronomy, religion and many more 

⮚   Al-Biruni, who wrote in Arabic, probably intended his work for people living along the frontiers of the subcontinent

⮚  The works on astronomy and medicines in Arabic were translated from Sanskrit, Prakrit, and pali texts

Ibn Battuta’s Rihla: 

• The book on travels written by Ibn Battuta in Arabic called Rihla gives a glimpse of life in the fourteenth century
• Before leaving for India in 1332-33, he traveled to Mecca, Syria, Iraq, Persia, Yemen, Oman, and a few trading ports on the coast of East Africa
• Muhammad bin Tughlaq’s reputation as a generous patron of art lured Ibn Battuta to Delhi, where he was appointed as Qazi or Judge of Delhi and later sent to China as Sultan’s envoy to Mongol ruler
• He visited the Malabar coast through Central India and then to Sri Lanka and the Maldives before heading to China
• His account is often compared to Marco Polo, who also visited China
• According to him, traveling was insecure. He himself was attacked while traveling from Multan to Delhi
• He also visited North Africa, West Asia, and parts of Central Asia (he may even have visited Russia)
• Rulers usually issued instructions for his stories to be recorded

François Bernier:

• He was a Frenchman who was a philosopher and a doctor. In search of opportunities, he came to the Mughals
• From 1656-1668, he was in India
• He was a physician to the son of Shah Jahan (Dara Shukoh)
• Comparing “East” and “West” his writings were presented to Louis XIV, who was the king of France. His other writings were in the form of letters.   Bernier described what he saw in India as a bleak situation in comparison to developments in Europe
• However, his assessment was not always accurate
• The works of Bernier were published in France in 1670-1671 and were translated into different languages, English, German, Italian and Dutch
• This was in contrast to the accounts in Arabic and Persian, which circulated as manuscripts and were generally not published before 1800

Conclusion

The knowledge of our history can be enriched by the percepts left by the travelers on description of societies or social life. Travelers who visited the various continents and subcontinents describe or record the life of people, everyday activities and common practices followed by the people. They also describe the king and their rule, administration and tax collection methods. Travelers also wrote about the position of women in society. Al-biruni, Francois Bernier and Ibn Battuta visited the Indian Subcontinent from 11 to 17 century. The books written by these travelers were Kitab-ul-HInd and Rihla describe the ruler and also mention many words such as Hindu, Antyaja, Ulaq, Daw, Camp towns etc. These are the type of people, type of post system, and types of towns where particular types of people live.