Centuries ago the world of traveling over sea was something un known to man. It was seen as crazy because only the bravest of brave did it. The reasons were because you put your life and health at risk. The possibilities of dying were too high, and most just didn’t travel over sea because of that simple fact.
Two of the most famous world travelers in the pre-modern period were Marco Polo and Ibn Battuta. Marco Polo and Ibn Battuta were both European Explorers who sailed along the sea and encountered new things, but while Marco Polo did it as a “merchant’ and focused on the social and economic practices of those he encountered; Ibn Battuta was focused more on himself and the ritual and purity of Islam in lands he visited.
Ibn Battuta was more focused on his religious beliefs when traveling while Marco Polo was not. Ibn Battuta in his journals, which were later looked at, were his accounts of how he took his trip to the hajj. In doing this he was focused on how this trip affected him and how he was changing. Ibn Battuta was a strong believer in the Islamic faith. Marco Polo was different from this because to begin, he wasn’t Muslim. Two, Marco polo had a different mindset than Ibn Battuta. While Ibn Battuta traveled as an “Insider” Marco Polo usually travelled and an “outsider”.
Ibn Battuta traveled to mostly Muslim ruled lands. So when he traveled he was familiar with the customs, and usually just blended in because he was like the people who occupied these lands. Marco Polo on the opposite end was usually always an “outsider”. Marco Polo was fluent in four different Asian languages and Italian. So, he was able to communicate with Chinese Emperors. From a cultural perspective he stayed an outsider because his customs and beliefs were not like the people who did occupy the lands he visited.
This actually worked in his favor, because unlike ibn Battuta he was able to observe and made him a lot more curious. One thing that was very similar about two is both Marco Polo and Ibn Battuta looked at others they met along their travels by their own standards. Both of their accounts show the diversity in Eurasian culture at the time.
Like I’ve stated before even though both of them had amazing thing happen along these journeys Marco Polo’s accounts were written for not himself and focused more on the social and economic practices of those he encountered, while Ibn Battuta focused on ritual and belief the purity of Islamic in lands he visited while focusing on himself.
So in conclusion. Both explorers left behind personal accounts which inspired other explorers to see for themselves. They gave a first hang opinion about what they went through during these explorations and while Ibn Battuta had different views than Marco Polo both amaze readers with miraculous happenings.
