PART 2 CH5 Through The Eyes Of Travellers (Summary)

THEMES IN INDIAN HISTORY PART II

CH5 THROUGH THE EYES OF TRAVELLERS

SUMMARY

Al-Biruni and the Kitab-ul-Hind

1. Al-Biruni was born in 973, in Khwarizm in present day Uzbekistan. Khwarizm was an important centre of learning, and Al-Biruni received the best education available at the time. He was well versed in Syriac, Arabic, Persian, Hebrew and Sanskrit.

2. In 1017, when Sultan Mahmud of Ghazni invaded Khwarizm, he took several scholars and poets as hostage to his capital and Al-Biruni was one of them. In Ghazni , Al-Biruni developed an interest for India.

3. When the Punjab became a part of the Ghaznavid Empire, Al-Biruni came to India and spent years in the company of Brahmana priests and scholars, learning Sanskrit, and studying religious and philosophical texts.

4.He travelled widely in the Punjab and parts of northern India. He collected various  information and wrote a book called Kitab-ul-Hind.

5. Al-Biruni’s Kitab-ul-Hind, written in Arabic, is simple and lucid. It is divided into 80 chapters on subjects such as religion and philosophy, festivals, astronomy, alchemy, manners and customs, social life, weights and measures, iconography, laws and metrology.


6. Al-Biruni adopted a distinctive structure in each chapter, beginning with a question, following this up with a description based on Sanskrit traditions, and concluding the chapter with a comparison with other cultures.

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Problems or barriers obstructed Al-Biruni in understanding India

1. Al-Biruni, discussed several “barriers” that he felt obstructed in understanding India.

2. The first amongst these was language. According to him, Sanskrit was so different from Arabic and Persian that ideas and concepts could not be easily translated from one language into another.

3. The second barrier he identified was the difference in religious beliefs and practices.

4. The self-absorption and consequent insularity of the local population constituted the third barrier.

5.  He was aware of these problems so Al-Biruni depended almost exclusively on the works of Brahmanas, often citing passages from the Vedas, the Puranas, Bhagavad Gita, the works of Patanjali, the Manusmriti, etc., to provide an understanding of Indian society.

Al-Biruni and His description of the caste system

1. According to Al-Biruni the highest caste is the Brahmana, who were created from the head of Brahman. The next caste is the Kshatriya, who were created from the shoulders and hands of Brahman. After them the Vaishya, who were created from the thigh of Brahman. At last the Shudra, who were created from his feet.

2. As these classes differ from each other, they live together in the same towns and villages, mixed together in the same houses and lodgings.

3. Al-Biruni tried to explain the caste system by looking for parallels in other societies. He noted that in ancient Persia, four social categories were recognized a)knights and princes; b)monks, fire-priests c) lawyers, physicians, astronomers and other scientists; and d) peasants and artisans.

4. He attempted to suggest that social divisions were not unique to India. At the same time he pointed out that within Islam all men were considered equal, differing only in their observance of piety.

5. In spite of his acceptance of the Brahmanical description of the caste system, Al-Biruni disapproved of the notion of pollution. As we have seen, Al-Biruni’s description of the caste system was deeply influenced by his study of normative Sanskrit texts which laid down the rules governing the system from the point of view of the Brahmanas. 

Ibn Battuta and His book Rihla

I1. Ibn Battuta was a Moroccan traveler.  He was born in Tangier into one ofthe most respectable and educated families. Ibn Battuta considered experience gained through travels to be a more important source of knowledge than books.

  2. Before he come to India, he had made pilgrimage trips to Mecca, and had already travelled extensively in Syria, Iraq, Persia, Yemen, Oman and a few trading ports on the coast of East Africa.

  3. Ibn Battuta reached Sind in 1333. He had heard about Muhammad bin Tughlaq, the Sultan of Delhi. The Sultan was impressed by his scholarship, and appointed him the qazi or judge of Delhi. He remained in that position for several years, until he fell out of favour and was thrown into prison.

  4. Once the misunderstanding between him and the Sultan was cleared, he   was restored to imperial service, and was ordered in 1342 to proceed to China as the Sultan’s envoy to the Mongol ruler.

  5. With the new assignment, Ibn Battuta proceeded to the Malabar Coast       through central India. From Malabar he went to the Maldives. He took a   ship to Sumatra, and from there another ship for the Chinese port town of   Zaytun (now known as Quanzhou). He travelled extensively in China,   going as far as Beijing and returned home in 1347.

  6. Ibn Battuta’s book of travels, called Rihla, written in Arabic. His account is often compared with that of Marco Polo, who visited China (and also India) from his home base in Venice in the late thirteenth century.

      Why was travelling more insecure in the medieval period according to Ibn Battuta?

1.Ibn Battuta was attacked by bands of robbers several times. In fact he preferred travelling in a caravan along with companions, but this did not deter highway robbers.

2. While travelling from Multan to Delhi, his caravan was attacked and many of his fellow travellers lost their lives; those travellers, who survived, including Ibn Battuta, were severely wounded.

3.He suffered from home sick and in many places he was not welcomed by the people.

Ibn Battuta and the Excitement of the Unfamiliar

The coconut –

1. Coconut trees looked like date palms. It resembles a man’s head. Inside of it looks like a brain. Its fibre looks like human hair. Its fibre used for making rope which is used for pulling ships.

2.  The paan - 

Betel plant looked like grape plant. It is grown for the sake its leaves. People chew betel leaves with areca nut and lime.

3. Indian Cities

a. Ibn Battuta found cities in the subcontinent full of exciting opportunities , resources and skills. They were densely populated and prosperous, except for the occasional disruptions caused by wars and invasions.

b. Most cities had crowded streets and bright and colourful markets that were stacked with a wide variety of goods. Ibn Battuta described Delhi and Daulatabad as vast cities, with a great population, the largest in India.

c. The bazaars were not only places of economic transactions, but also the hub of social and cultural activities. Most bazaars had a mosque and a temple, and in some of them at least, spaces were marked for public performances by dancers, musicians and singers.

d. Ibn Battuta explains that towns derived a significant portion of their wealth through the appropriation of surplus from villages because of the fertility of the soil, which allowed farmers to cultivate two crops a year.

e. He also noted that the subcontinent was well integrated with inter-Asian networks of trade and commerce, with Indian manufactures being in great demand in both West Asia and Southeast Asia, fetching huge profits for artisans and merchants. Indian textiles, 

particularly cotton cloth, fine muslins, silks, brocade and satin, were in great demand.

4. A unique system of communication  

   

Almost all trade routes were well supplied with inns and guest houses. Ibn Battuta was also amazed by the efficiency of the postal system(by horse and human runners) which allowed merchants to not only send information and remit credit across long distances, but also to dispatch goods required at short notice.

5.   Use of slaves

   a) Slaves were openly sold in markets, like any other commodity, and were regularly exchanged as gifts. When Ibn Battuta reached Sind he purchased “horses, camels and slaves” as gifts for Sultan Muhammad bin Tughlaq.

   b) There was considerable differentiation among slaves. Some female slaves in the service of the Sultan   were experts in music and dance, and Ibn Battuta enjoyed their performance at the wedding of the Sultan’s sister.

   c) Female slaves were also employed by the Sultan to keep a watch on his nobles. They were generally used for domestic labour.

   d) Ibn Battuta found that men slaves were used for carrying rich women and men on palanquins or dola.

  e) The price of slaves, particularly female slaves required for domestic labour, was very low, and most families who could afford to do so kept at least one or two of them.

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