  (, ), or simply ibn battuta () (february 25, 1304 â 1368 or 1369), was a moroccan explorer of berber descent. he is known for his extensive travels, accounts of which were published in the rihla (lit. "journey"). over a period of thirty years, ibn battuta visited most of the known islamic world as well as many non-muslim lands. his journeys included trips to north africa, the horn of africa, west africa and eastern europe, and to the middle east, south asia, central asia, southeast asia and china. ibn battuta is generally considered one of the greatest travellers of all time. after outlining the extensive route of ibn battuta's journey, nehru notes: "this is a record of travel which is rare enough today with our many conveniences.... in any event, ibn battuta must be amongst the great travellers of all time." ==early life and first hajj==  all that is known about ibn battuta's life comes from the autobiographical information included in the account of his travels. ibn battuta was born into a family of islamic legal scholars in tangier, morocco, on february 25, 1304, during the reign of the marinid dynasty. he claimed descent from the berber tribe known as the lawata.;  as a young man he would have studied at a sunni maliki madh'hab, (islamic jurisprudence school), the dominant form of education in north africa at that time. in june 132
1304_births 1369_deaths 14th-century_Moroccan_people 14th-century_explorers 14th-century_geographers 14th-century_scholars 14th_century_in_Africa Berber_scholars Explorers_of_Africa Explorers_of_Arabia Explorers_of_Asia Explorers_of_India Geographers_of_medieval_Islam Islamic_studies_scholars Malikis Marinid_dynasty Medieval_Islamic_travel_writers Medieval_travel_writers Moroccan_explorers Moroccan_travel_writers Moroccan_writers People_from_Tangier Pilgrimage_accounts Travelers