The Ancient World - Arab Exploration

Dhow Sailing Vessel

The Arab world consists of many ethnic groups and regions. Turks, Palestinians, Egyptians, Iranians, Saudi Arabians, and select groups from Africa and India are included in this group of land and sea traders. In ancient times these diverse groups were sometimes united under one ruler, but this did not mean they cooperated with each other. It was not until they were unified under Islam in the seventh century A.D. that these people shared a common, long-term goal.

The Arabian Peninsula is a desert environment with few trees and little water. Traders traveled overland in caravans and through the Red Sea and Indian Ocean in ships called dhows. These double-ended ships had lateen sails and carvel construction. They were strong enough to withstand the seasonal monsoons, the storms that swept in from the Indian Ocean. The routes to India and China via the Moluccan Islands were controlled by the Arab fleets from the seventh century through the time of Vasco da Gama's Portuguese exploration of the India Ocean. This monopoly allowed the Arabs to control much of the commerce in silk, spices, and other exotic merchandise.

The invasion into Indian Ocean waters by the Portuguese marked the decline in Arab sea power.

Ibn Battuta

Ibn Battuta was originally an Islamic pilgrim planning a traditional visit to his religion's holy centers of Mecca and Medina. His travels began in 1325 at the age of twenty-two and at their conclusion in 1354 he had traveled over 75,000 miles, making him one of most traveled men of his age. Before retiring from his journeys he visited India, China, Sri Lanka, Sumatra, and the African interior as far south as the Niger River. He was kidnapped, shipwrecked, and a victim of piracy in his lifetime. Because he was merely a passenger aboard ships he was never an explorer in the true sense, but this did not make his accomplishment any less important.

See a map showing Ibn Battuta's Voyages.

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