Ibn Battuta: The Greatest Traveler of the Middle Ages

伊本·白图泰：中世纪最伟大的旅行家

In 1325, a 21-year-old legal scholar named Ibn Battuta left his home in Tangier, Morocco, for a pilgrimage to Mecca. What was meant to be a 16-month trip turned into a 29-year odyssey. By the time he stopped, he had covered 75,000 miles (120,000 km), far surpassing Marco Polo.

1325年，一位21岁的法学学者伊本·白图泰离开了他位于摩洛哥切向尔的家，前往麦加朝圣。原本计划为期16个月的旅程最终演变成了长达29年的远征。当他停下脚步时，他的足迹已遍布7.5万英里（12万公里），远超马可·波罗。

The Scope of His Travels | 他的旅行范围 Battuta traveled through the equivalent of 44 modern countries. He crossed the Sahara Desert to the Mali Empire, sailed the Red Sea, explored the Swahili Coast of East Africa, and traversed the Middle East and Central Asia. His status as a Qadi (Islamic judge) allowed him to find work and hospitality in almost every Muslim land he visited.

白图泰走过了相当于现代44个国家的土地。他横跨撒哈拉沙漠到达马里帝国，航行红海，探索了东非的斯瓦希里海岸，并穿过了中东和中亚。他作为“卡迪”（伊斯兰法官）的身份，使他能在他访问的几乎每一片穆斯林土地上找到工作和款待。

Adventure in the East | 东方冒险 His most ambitious journey took him to India, where he served as a judge for the Sultan of Delhi for eight years. Later, he survived shipwrecks and pirate attacks to reach the Maldives, Southeast Asia, and eventually Quanzhou and Hangzhou in China. He was amazed by China’s scale, its porcelain, and its massive silk production.

他最宏大的旅程是前往印度，在那里他为德里苏丹担任了八年的法官。后来，他历经海难和海盗袭击，抵达了马尔代夫、东南亚，并最终到达了中国的泉州和杭州。中国庞大的规模、精美的瓷器和巨大的丝绸产量令他惊叹不已。

Legacy: The Rihla | 遗产：《游记》 Returning to Morocco in 1354, he dictated his stories to a scribe. The result was the Rihla (The Travels). Unlike Marco Polo, who focused on trade, Battuta provided deep insights into 14th-century social customs, religion, and the diverse roles of women across different cultures. He died in 1368, leaving behind a vivid map of the medieval world.

1354年回到摩洛哥后，他将自己的故事口述给了一名记录员。其成果便是《游记》（Rihla）。与专注于贸易的马可·波罗不同，白图泰对14世纪的社会习俗、宗教以及女性在不同文化中的多样角色提供了深刻的见解。他于1368年去世，留下了一幅生动的中世纪世界地图。