How was ibn battuta important to west african history?
Ibn Battuta was a Muslim traveller in the 14th century AD. He was born in North Africa and travelled tens of thousands of miles, through the length and breadth of the Muslim world and beyond. His last voyage was to sub-Saharan Africa, to one of the flourishing civilizations of West Africa, the Empire of Mali. He remained there a while before returning back through the city of TImbuktu. Of course, one man travelling was hardly important to the West Africans themselves. However, Ibn Battuta wrote everything down in a chronicle of his travels known as the “Rihla.” In the absence of other records, Ibn Battuta provides to historians a glimpse into West African history they would otherwise be denied.
