Ibn Batuta (1304-1377) Moroccan traveller who visited Bengal during the reign of Sultan fakhruddin mubarak shah (1338-1349) and left an account of his visit in his Rehla. He started on his travels in 1325 AD and during the next eight years explored northern Africa, Arabia, Persia, the Levant (the eastern part of the Mediterranean) and Constantinople before he reached Delhi in 1334 AD. Sultan muhammad bin tughlaq appointed him qazi of Delhi. He held this office for about eight years. Then the sultan sent him as an ambassador to China (1342). Shipwrecked on the way, he came to Bengal through the Maldives (1342), Sri Lanka (1345) and southern India. The purpose of his visit to Bengal was to meet Hazrat shah jalal (R) of Sylhet.

The first town of Bengal that Ibn Batuta entered in 1346 was Sudkawan (Chittagong). Then he went to Kamaru (kamarupa) to meet Shah Jalal (R). After a three-day halt in the hospice of the saint he went towards the town of Habank (Habiganj) on the bank of the Nahr ul-azraq (the blue river, ie, Surma). He sailed on this river for fifteen days and reached the town of Sunarkawan (sonargaon) where he boarded a Chinese junk bound for Java. His travels in Bangladesh seems to cover a period of less than two months (July-August 1346).

The narratives of Ibn Batuta cover various aspects of life in Bengal. He provides a geographical account of some important places he visited, such as Sudkawan, 'a vast city on the coast of the great sea', Habank 'one of the most glorious and beautiful cities', Sunarkawan, 'a very inaccessible city'. He has given accounts of some rivers he traversed, such as the Ganga (Padma), Jun (Jumna) and Nahr ul-azraq (Surma). The traveller was enamoured of the picturesque landscape, the greenery and beautiful fields, water-wheels, gardens and villages on both banks of the Surma, and comments that passing through villages and orchards was like going through a mart.

Ibn-Batuta provides some information on the political history beginning from the time of Sultan Nasiruddin Mahmud till the assumption of sovereignty by Fakhruddin Mubarak Shah and alauddin ali shah. His narratives include information on the life of Shaikh Shah Jalal (R), influence of sufi saints on both Muslims and non-Muslims, existence of slavery in Bengal, practice of magic and witchcraft by the people of Kamarupa, abundance of food grains and cheap prices of commodities of daily use. He refers to the brisk internal and external trade of this region. He noticed marketplaces on the banks of the rivers and innumerable boats carrying men and merchandise. He has mentioned the practice of beating drums from every boat on the river as a signal for identifying inland merchant boats and for detecting stranger boats as a safeguard against piracy. He also mentions the sea-borne trade-links of Sonargaon with China, Java and Maldives. In view of the abundance of the necessaries of life and its soothing scenery on one hand, and the wet atmosphere and oppressive vapour bath on the other, the traveller justifies the attitude of foreigners who call Bangladesh a dozakh-i-pur az n'imat, which means an inferno full of gifts. [Muazzam Hussain Khan]