Ibn Battuta lived for a time in Mecca and Medina, visited the last Mongol Khan of Iran and the Khan of the Golden Horde in Russia. He served for several years as a judge in Delhi.

His many voyages, covering over 70 000 miles, brought him to China, Sumatra, Ceylon, Arabia, Syria, Egypt, East Africa and Timbuktu. Accounts of those visits were recorded in the 'Rihlah'.