Ibn Battuta Crosses the Sahara

In 1352, the Moroccan scholar and traveller Ibn Battuta crossed the Sahara Desert to reach the empire of Mali, then one of the largest and wealthiest states in the world. His account of the journey, and of the court of Mansa Suleyman, is among the most important eyewitness sources for medieval West Africa. Much of what is known about daily life, etiquette and government in Mali at this period comes from his narrative.

Ibn Battuta was born in Tangier in 1304 and left home in about 1325 to make the pilgrimage to Mecca. He never really stopped. Over roughly three decades he traveled through North Africa, the Middle East, Persia, East Africa, Anatolia, Central and South Asia, and probably China. He served as a judge in several Muslim courts, including Delhi. By the early 1350s he had returned to Morocco, but he set out again, this time to the south, where the gold-rich kingdom of Mali was known across the Islamic world. Mali's fame had been boosted decades earlier by the lavish pilgrimage of Mansa Musa in 1324 to 1325.

Ibn Battuta joined a caravan from the Moroccan region of Sijilmasa, crossing the desert by way of salt-mining settlements such as Taghaza, where he noted that buildings were made from blocks of salt. Caravans like his carried salt, cloth and other goods south, and returned with gold, ivory and enslaved people. The route was hard, with long stretches between wells, and he described the oppressive conditions. He then continued into the Mali Empire, reaching the capital region around the Niger River.

He stayed in Mali for several months, during the reign of Mansa Suleyman, who ruled from about 1341 to 1360. Ibn Battuta described court ceremonies, the deference shown to the ruler, and the presence of Muslim scholars and judges. He praised the safety of the country and the Malians' devotion to prayer and study of the Quran, but he also criticized some customs, such as the relatively open interaction between men and women and what he saw as insufficient clothing. He complained about the meagre hospitality he first received from the ruler, though he later got a more generous gift. His mix of admiration and disapproval gives his account a candid tone.

After leaving Mali, he traveled through Timbuktu and the Sahara again, and returned to Morocco by early 1354. At the request of the Marinid sultan, he dictated his travels to the writer Ibn Juzayy. Historians treat the account with care, as some passages may rely on earlier writers or be exaggerated, but his description of Mali is generally regarded as valuable and broadly credible. It remains a key source on the Mali Empire at its height.