A Web-Based Model Curriculum for Middle And High School

World History

http:worldhistoryforusall.sdsu.edu

World History for Us All

Big Pictures

Medium-Sized Pictures

Smaller Pictures

World History for Us AllTeaching units organized by the “size of the picture” in time, space, and subject matter

The Afroeurasian Network and

Spread of Islam

The Trans-Saharan Network of Exchange

The Mali Empire

World History for Us AllTeaching units organized by the “size of the picture”

in time, space, and subject matter

Africa + Asia + Europe = Afroeurasia

A F R O E U R A S I A

The Travels of Ibn Battuta

Abu Abdallah Muhammad ibn Abdallah ibn Muhammad ibn Ibrahim al-Lawati al-Tanji, known as Ibn Battuta

• Sunni Muslim

• Arabic-speaking family of Berber origin

• Pilgrim

• Religious and legal scholar

• Sufi

• Traveler just for the h*** of it

•

TangierView of the Old City

A Lesson Circle of Tangier Boys Learning the Qur’an

James StanfieldNational GeographicDec. 1991

Ibn Battuta’s Travelsas described in his Rihla, or Book of Travels

1325-54

Tangier

Ibn Battuta as pilgrim

Tangier

Mecca

Mecca during the hajj (pilgrimage) season

Ibn Battuta aslegal scholar and

job seeker

He was a member of the ulama,

or Muslim learnedclass of scholars,

lawyers, andintellectuals.

Ibn Battuta often frequented colleges (madrasas), though we have no evidence

that he did much studying.

Mustansiriya CollegeBaghdad

College of Sultan HassanCairo

Ibn Battuta presenting himself

before SultanMuhammad ibn

Tughluq in Delhi.

Painting by Burt SilvermanNational GeographicDec. 1991

Qutb Minar

Ibn Battuta saw this

minaret in Delhi.

Ibn Battuta served for several

months as a judge in the

Maldive Islands.

Islamic Center, Male, Maldive IslandsEncyclopedia Britannica

Sufi Center of Baybars IICairo

Ibn Battuta as Sufi

Sufi shaykhs and dancersin India

Ibn Battuta traveled during the twilight of the Mongol Age.

.

Mongol KhanatesLater 13th - Early 14th Centuries

Stearns, Adas, Schwartz, and GilbertWorld Civilizations4th Ed.Pearson Longman

Mali

Merinids

European States

CityStates

Expanding Networks of Muslim Interaction in the 14th Century

Muslim Centr

al

Lands

Fez, MoroccoIbn Battuta wrote his Book of Travels (The Rihla) here in 1354-55 with help from Ibn Juzayy, a literary scholar

.

Karawiyyin Mosque

Karawiyyin Library

Al-Attarin College

The tomb of Ibn Battuta in Tangier

(by tradition)

Ibn Battuta Street in Tangier

Abridged English Edition ofthe Rihla, or Book of Travels

Arabic Edition

Ibn Battuta’s significance in world history

•He illustrates the beliefs, values, and way of life of an educated Muslim in the Middle Ages.•His travels illustrate the growth and extent of Islam as a major belief system.•His travels illustrate the growth and extent of long-distance networks of communication.•His text is a valuable source of knowledge about fourteenth-century Afroeurasia.•His text offers an opportunity for critical analysis.

The Rihla of Ibn BattutaCan we believe it?

• Most scholars agree that the Rihla is authentic.– Ibn Battuta and Ibn Juzayy actually wrote it in the 14th century. It is not a forgery, a hoax, or a fake.

• Most scholars agree that, on the whole, the Rihla is reliable.– It has “truth-value”: Ibn Battuta did not make up most of his experiences or tell a pack of lies.

But The Rihla presents numerous problems and puzzles.

• Not a journal compiled on the road. He wrote everything after he returned home.

• He sometimes gets the itinerary confused.

• He provides few clues to the chronology and sometimes makes it confusing.

• He sometimes copies from other writers.

• He claims to have visited a few places that he probably did not see.