Ibn Battuta in Black Africa

Abu Abdalla Ibn Battuta (1304-1354) was one of the greatest travelers of pre-modern times. He traveled to Black Africa twice. He reported about the wealthy multi-cultural trading centers at the African East coast such as Mombasa and Kilwa and the warm hospitality he experienced in Mogadishu. He also visited the court of Mansa Musa and neighboring states during its period of prosperity from mining and the Trans-Saharan trade. He wrote disapprovingly of sexual integration in families and of hostility towards the white man. Ibn Battutas description is a unique document of the high culture pride and independence of Black African states in the fourteenth century. This book is one of the most important documents about Black Africa written by a non-European medieval historian.