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THE

TRAVELS OF IBN JUBAYR

EDITED FROM

A MS. IN THE UNIVERSITY LIBRARY OF LEYDEN

BY

WILLIAM WRIGHT

SECOND EDITION REVISED BY

M. J. DE GOEJE

AND

 PRINTED FOR THE TRUSTEES OF THE

 "E. J. W. GIBB MEMORIAL".

LEYDEN: E. J. BRILL, IMPRIMERIE ORIENTALE.

LONDON: LUZAC & CO., 46, GREAT RUSSELL STREET.

1907

______________________________________

CONTENTS

Preface (Wright) – p. 13

Preface (De Goeje) – p. 23

Glossary – p. 25

Additions & Corrections – p. 52

Arabic Text

______________________________________

The following summary draws upon various sources, for example:

A brief biography of Ibn Jubayr from Salaam Knowledge

A Wikipedia article on Ibn Jubayr

A Muslim Heritage article on the Travels of Ibn Jubayr

An article on Ibn Jubayr's visit to Sicily

The Early life of Ibn Jubayr

Born in Valencia, then the seat of an Arab emirate and a thriving region of Moorish Spain, Abul Husayn Muhammad ibn Ahmad ibn Jubayr al-Kenani (1145 - 1217/1219 CE) was the son of a civil servant. He studied at Granada the Qur'an, hadith, law and literature, and later became secretary to the Almohad governor of that city. During this time he composed many poems.

Ibn Jubayr was the best-known travelogue writer of Spain. High secretary for the Emir of Granada in 1182, he was forced by such ruler, under threat, to drink seven cups of wine. Seized by remorse, the ruler then filled seven cups of gold which he gave him. To expiate his godless act, although forced upon him, Ibn Jubayr decided to perform the duty of Hajj to Mecca. He left Granada on 1183 accompanied by a physician from the city. He would return in 1185, having also visited parts of Iraq, Egypt and Syria. His book, the Rihlat ("Travels"), was one of the most important works of its kind in Arabic.

He gives a highly detailed and graphic description of the places he visited during his travels and "The Travels of Ibn Jubayr" has been translated into English by Roland Broadhurst. Differently from its contemporaries, Ibn Jubayr's account was not a mere collection of toponyms and descriptions of monuments, showing in-depth analysis qualities in the observation of geographical details as well as cultural, religious and political matters. Particularly interesting are his notes about the declining faith of his fellow Muslims in Palermo after the recent Norman conquest, and about the Muslim-influenced customs of King William II of Sicily.
 

The Travels of Ibn Jubayr

By sea from Ceuta to Alexandria

Ibn Jubayr boarded a Genoese ship on February 24, 1183 and set sail for Alexandria. He left Granada and crossed over the Strait of Gibraltar to Ceuta, which at that time was still a Muslim city. He passed the Balearic Islands and then across to the west coast of Sardinia. Whilst offshore he heard of the fate of 80 Muslim men, women and children who had been abducted from North Africa and were being sold into slavery. Between Sardinia and Sicily the ship ran into a severe storm. He said of the Italians and Muslims on board who had experience of the sea that "all agreed that they had never in their lives seen such a tempest." After the storm the ship went on past Sicily, Crete and then turned south and crossed over to the North African coast. He arrived in Alexandria on March 26, 1183.


In Egypt

Everywhere that Ibn Jubayr travelled in Egypt he was full of praise for the new Sunni ruler, Salah ud-Din Ayyubi. For example he says of him that: "There is no congregational or ordinary mosque, no mausoleum built over a grave, nor hospital, nor theological college, where the bounty of the Sultan does not extend to all who seek shelter or live in them." He points out that when the Nile does not flood enough, Saladin remits the land tax from the farmers. He also says that "such is his (Saladin's) justice, and the safety he has brought to his high-roads that men in his lands can go about their affairs by night and from its darkness apprehend no awe that should deter them." Ibn Jubayr is, on the other hand, very disparraging of the previous Shi'a dynasty of the Fatimids.


In Alexandria

Upon arrival at Alexandria Ibn Jubayr was angered by the customs officials who insisted on taking zakat from the pilgrims, regardless of whether they were obliged to pay it or not. Alexandria left strong impressions on Ibn Jubayr, especially its famed giant lighthouse, the Pharos, which at that time was still standing, and he was amazed by its size and splendour:

"One of the greatest wonders that we saw in this city was the lighthouse which Great and Glorious God had erected by the hands of those who were forced to such labour as 'a sign to those who take warning from examining the fate of others' [Qur'an XV, 75] and as a guide to voyagers, for without it they could not find the true course to Alexandria. It can be seen for more than seventy miles, and is of great antiquity. It is most strongly built in all directions and competes with the skies in height. Description of it falls short, the eyes fail to comprehend it, and words are inadequate, so vast is the spectacle."

Another glory of the city, Ibn Jubayr notes, are the colleges and hostels erected for students and pious men of other lands by Sultan Salah ud-Din al-Ayyubi. In those colleges students find lodging and tutors to teach them the sciences they desire, and also allowances to cover their needs. The care of the sultan also grants them baths, hospitals, and the appointment of doctors who can even come to visit them at their place of stay, and who would be answerable for their cure. One of the Sultan's other generous acts was that every day two thousand loves of bread were distributed to the poor. Also impressing Ibn Jubayr in that city was the number of mosques, estimated at between 8,000 and 12,000; often four or five of them in the same street. After a stay of 8 days he set off for Cairo.


In Cairo

He reached Cairo 3 days later. In the city he visited the cemetery at al-Qarafah, which contained the graves of many important figures in the history of Islam. He saw the construction of a bridge over the Nile, which would be high enough not to be submerged in the annual flooding of the river. He saw a spacious free hospital which was divided into 3 sections: one each for men, women and the insane. He saw the Pyramids and the Sphynx. He also saw a device that was used for measuring the height of the Nile flood.
 

The Holy Cities & Further Journeys

Ibn Jubayr then travelled to Jerusalem, Medina, Mecca, Damascus, Mosul, Acre and Baghdad, returning in 1185 by way of Sicily. His path was not without troubles, including a shipwreck. On both sea journeys, he travelled on Genoese ships.

In Sicily

En route back to Spain, in January 1185, he reached Sicily. Some of the most important descriptions of Norman Sicily (1071 - 1200 CE) come to us from Arab and Muslim sources. These are especially important in their objectivity because, unlike visitors from northern (Christian) Europe, those from Muslim regions brought to their observations a somewhat more sophisticated point of reference. They weren't easily impressed by the more superficial aspects of a wealthy kingdom. Most of the greatest literary and scientific achievements of the Middle Ages emanated first from the East (the Byzantine Empire) and subsequently from the Muslim Arabs. Sicily was fortunate to be touched by both of these flourishing cultures. Idrisi is the best known of the Arab geographer-poets to have visited Sicily, but Ibn Jubayr is equally distinguished. Ibn Jubayr was in Sicily, at the very late stages of his travels (December 1184 - January 1185 CE).

He described the volcanic Aeolian Islands:

"At the close of night a red flame appeared, throwing up tongues into the air. It was the celebrated volcano (Stromboli). We were told that a fiery blast of great violence bursts out from holes in the two mountains and makes the fire. Often a great stone is cast up and thrown into the air by the force of the blast and prevented thereby from falling and settling at the bottom. This is one of the most remarkable of stories, and it is true."

"As for the great mountain in the island, known as the Jabal al-Nar [Mountain of Fire], it also presents a singular feature in that some years a fire pours from it in the manner of the 'bursting of the dam.' It passes nothing it does not burn until, coming to the sea, it rides out on its surface and then subsides beneath it. Let us praise the Author of all things for His marvellous creations. There is no God but He."

His description of Palermo is a vivid one:

"It is the metropolis of the islands, combining the benefits of wealth and splendour, and having all that you could wish of beauty, real or apparent, and all the needs of subsistence, mature and fresh. It is an ancient and elegant city, magnificent and gracious, and seductive to look upon. Proudly set between its open spaces and plains filled with gardens, with broad roads and avenues, it dazzles the eyes with its perfection. It is a wonderful place, built in the Cordoba style, entirely from cut stone known as Kadhan [a soft limestone]. A river splits the town, and four springs gush in its suburbs ... The King roams through the gardens and courts for amusement and pleasure... The Christian women of this city follow the fashion of Muslim women, are fluent of speech, wrap their cloaks about them, and are veiled."

He also described the Martorana church, and specifically its bell tower (higher then than now), and the city of Messina as predominantly Greek Orthodox (rather than Catholic or Muslim). Ibn Jubayr recorded the story of the words of King William II to his subjects following an earthquake in 1169: "Let each of you pray to the God he adores; he who has faith in his God will feel peace in his heart."

Yet the subtle storm of religious intolerance was gathering force even in the days of Ibn Jubayr's visit, and by the time of the Vespers uprising a century later the Muslims of Sicily had converted to Christianity (usually Catholicism) or departed the island.

Ibn Jubayr's record is useful for establishing the continuity of the Palermitan cultural atmosphere over the centuries. It is, in effect, a link in a chain. Writing in 972, the geographer Ibn Hawkal (actually a merchant from Baghdad with a penchant for writing) described an Arab-Byzantine Sicily in the time long before Idrisi and Ibn Jubayr, and a Bal'harm (Palermo) just as prosperous as in the time of Ibn Jubayr a century later.


The Eternal Return

In April 1185 CE, Ibn Jubayr returned to Granada, more than two years after he left it; and praised God abundantly. Ibn Jubayr travelled to the East twice again (1189-1191 and 1217 CE), without leaving any account. He died in Alexandria in 1217, during the second of these trips.

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