Question

Who was the Moroccan Traveller who visited India during the Sultanate?

• A. Marco Polo
• B. Al-Biruni
• C. Ibn Battutah
• D. Hiuen Tsang

Answer 1

Answer:

C. Ibn Battutah

Historical sources: Travellers and their travelogues

• Many foreign travellers came to India during the medieval period. Their travelogues help us to the socio-economic conditions of that period. Comprehend

• Babur Nama is the memoir of the Mughal emperor Babur.

• The travelogue of Al-Biruni, a traveller who reached India from Central Asia mentions that agriculture was the chief occupation of the people of medieval India.

• In the medieval period the officers were given land as wages. This system was known as Iqta during the Sultanate period and Jagirdari during the Mughal period.

• Weaving and other handicrafts were the major occupations in towns.

• The description of Vijayanagra was given by Nicolo Conti, the Italian traveller who visited India.

• Several traders from different parts of the world reached India in the medieval period. The foreigners who engaged in trade with India are Chinese, Arabs, Portuguese, Dutch, English and French. Cotton textiles were exported from Calicut & was called Calico in the European market.

• Ibn Battutah (Moroccan traveller who visited during the Sultanate period) and Ralph Fitch (English traveller during the Mughal period) gave descriptions about Indian towns.

• Description by Bernier, the French traveller, speaks about the workshops and the occupational groups.

• Tavernier, the French traveller, who visited India during the Mughal period describes the social life in India. Social and economic inequalities existed during the medieval period.