The history of science fascinates me for many reasons. The most signficant being that it is a brazen example of the cumulative efforts of men and women separated by time & space but united through their ideas. Perhaps it is best described by the saying Isaac Newton popularised; "to be standing on the shoulders of giants". Today, I would like to briefly look at the history of neurology and see how (and why) many eponymous diseases and signs have obtained their names.
Duchenne de Boulogne
We start with Duchenne de Boulogne, a French neurologist in the 1800s, whose understanding of electrophysiology, neural pathways, diagnostic techniques have arguably made him a father of the speciality and one of the 19th century's original clinicians.
Born in Calais in 1805, he studied medicine in Paris and became a physician in 1831. At Paris, he was taught by the likes of Cruveilhier, Dupuytren, Velpeau, and Laennec (inventor of the stethoscope). He remained in Calais as a practitioner of general medicine until his wife died of puerperal fever in 1844. He returned to Paris to initiate his pioneering studies on electrical stimulation of muscles.
He pioneered the use of deep tissue biopsy using a trochar he constructed, and described an array of myopathies that bear his name today. This includes Duchenne's muscular dystrophy, Erb-Duchenne palsy amongst others.
Duchenne (right) and his patient, an "old toothless man, with a thin face, whose features, without being absolutely ugly, approached ordinary triviality".
Over the course of his career, he worked with Armand Trousseau, Pierre Rayer, and Jean-Martin Charcot - all of whom he described as his closest friends. Duchenne was a shy yet hard-working physician. Despite his contributions, he was never given any hospital appointments or academic chair, likely due to his modesty and speech difficulties when presenting at conferences. Most of his work would not have been published without the help of his friends, Trousseau and Charcot.
Duchenne died in Paris in 1875.
Duchenne had many students throughout his career passing down his methodology and theoretical knowledge, as was common for physicians in training the next generation. Perhaps his most famous student was Jean-Martin Charcot, the "founder of modern neurology" who has at least 15 eponymous medical diseases and signs named after him, and perhaps the bane of medical students worldwide. He will be covered in detail next time.
Ebrahim Al-Arrayedh (in Arabic: إبراهيم العريّض, born 8 March 1908 – died May 2002) was a Bahraini writer and poet, and is generally considered to be one of Bahrain's greatest poets and one of the leaders of the Bahraini literary movement in the 20th century. In this article, we'll try to see why he is regarded as such.
Biography:
Arrayedh was born in Bombay, India to his Bahraini parents on 8 March 1908. In 1922, he visited Bahrain for the first time at age 14, where he started his education at the country's first school, the Hidaya al-Khalifa school though he did not permanently reside in the island. He returned to Bombay in 1926 and enrolled at a local school where he earned his high school diploma. It was at this school that Al-Arrayedh studied Farsi and the English language, alongside Urdu, and had expressed a deep interest in Urdu literature. He later studied Urdu literature at the Aligarh Muslim University.
In 1927, Al-Arrayedh returned to Bahrain and was appointed as an English teacher in the Hidaya al-Khalifa school, a position he held for four years. He later became the deputy director of the Jafari school though he was forced to quit his job over disputes with the British colonial authorities. After this, he served as a treasurer in the State Customs Service. In 1937, he moved on to become the head of a translation department in a Bahraini company, which did not last as a result of the outbreak of World War II. In 1943, he traveled to Delhi and worked at a radio station. He later returned to Bahrain where he worked for the Bahrain Petroleum Company until 1967, when he retired.
Poetry and honours:
Since the age of 18, Al-Arrayedh began writing poetry, with his first set of poems being published in Baghdad in 1931. Since he was a multi-linguist, he translated the works of poets between Persian, Hindi, Urdu, English, and Arabic. His poems were popular in Iraq, Syria and Egypt; such that the American University of Beirut asked him to deliver lectures on Arab literature, which he had agreed to. Ebrahim published another collection of poems, The Dolls, in 1946. This was followed by another three compilations, two poetic dramas, four critical studies of Arabic poetry, one poetry collection in Urdu and another in English. He translated Al Khayami's Rubayat from Persian into Arabic in 1966. Throughout his life, Al-Arrayedh lectured widely and travelled extensively to participate in conferences and debates in the field of poetry
He was awarded the Shaikh Isa bin Salman Al Khalifa Order - First Class, by the Bahraini government. He was also a noted reformer setting up a school, and was appointed head of the Constitutional Council by the emir Sheikh Isa Bin Salman Al-Khalifa. In short, Ebrahim was responsible for developing Bahrain's constitution in the early 1970s prior to independence from the United Kingdom. He served as Bahrain's ambassador-at-large (which is a diplomat of the highest rank or a minister who is accredited to represent his country internationally) in 1974 and later as ambassador extraordinary plenipotentiary at the Ministry of Foreign Affair, a position he held until his death in 2002.
Ebrahim al-Arrayedh in his later years
Death and legacy:
Ebrahim died in May 2002 at the age of 94, after suffering breathing problems. He was buried in the Manama graveyard, next to his late daughter Layla Al-Arrayedh who died the preceding year.
Following his death, the King Hamad bin Isa Al-Khalifa, named one of the Kingdom’s most geographically important roads after him — opposite the Bahrain Financial Harbour. In 2006, his old house, in Gudaibiya, in the capital city of Manama, was turned into a cultural centre, the Ebrahim Al-Arrayedh Poetry House, open to tourists and as a meeting place for poets.
In 2008, the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation held an exhibition in Al-Arrayedh's honour in its headquarters in Paris, France.
Notable works:
(In Arabic, couldn't find a decent translation.)
(A larger collection of his poems can be found here)
The parachute patent, made by Jeanne's husband, Andre Gamerin
Jeanne Geneviève Labrosse was a French woman who lived from 1775 to 1847. Why is she important, you might ask? She was the first woman to jump from a balloon with a parachute, from an altitude of 900 meters.
Why on earth would she jump? Well, she did marry André-Jacques Garnerin, a hydrogen balloonist and inventor of the frameless parachute!
Though she started flying on a balloon on her own in 1798, she is most famous for being, on October 12, 1799, the first woman to make a parachute descent (in the gondola), from an altitude of 900 meters.
She was one of the earliest women to fly in a balloon but keep in mind, she wasn't the first; Élisabeth Thible had made a free flight in 1784, and Citoyenne Henri had flown with Garnerin on July 8, 1798, four months earlier to Jeanne's attempt in 1798.
On October 11, 1802, she filed a patent application on behalf of her husband for:
"a device called a parachute, intended to slow the fall of the basket after the balloon bursts. Its vital organs are a cap of cloth supporting the basket and a circle of wood beneath and outside of the parachute and used to hold it open while climbing: it must perform its task at the moment of separation from the balloon, by maintaining a column of air."
Marie Curie was a Polish-born physicist and chemist and one of the most famous scientists of her time. Together with her husband Pierre, she was awarded the Nobel Prize in 1903, and she went on to win another in 1911.
Early Life:
Marie Curie was born in Warsaw in modern-day Poland on Nov. 7, 1867. Her parents were borth teachers, and she was the youngest of five children. As a child Curie took after her father, Ladislas, a math and physics instructor. She had a bright and curious mind and excelled at school. But tragedy struck early, and when she was only 11, Curie lost her mother, Bronsitwa, to tuberculosis.
A top student in her secondary school, Curie could not attend the men-only University of Warsaw. She instead continued her education in Warsaw's "floating university," a set of underground, informal classes held in secret. Both Curie and her sister Bronya dreamed of going abroad to earn an official degree, but they lacked the financial resources to pay for more schooling. Undeterred, Curie worked out a deal with her sister. She would work to support Bronya while she was in school and Bronya would return the favor after she completed her studies.
For roughly five years, Curie worked as a tutor and a governess. She used her spare time to study, reading about physics, chemistry and math. In 1891, Curie finally made her way to Paris where she enrolled at the Sorbonne in Paris. She threw herself into her studies, but this dedication had a personal cost. With little money, Curie survived on buttered bread and tea, and her health sometimes suffered because of her poor diet.
Curie completed her master's degree in physics in 1893 and earned another degree in mathematics the following year. Around this time, she received a commission to do a study on different types of steel and their magnetic properties. Curie needed a lab to work in, and a colleague introduced her to French physicist Pierre Curie. A romance developed between the brilliant pair, and they became a scientific dynamic duo.
Scientific research:
The Curies worked together investigating radioactivity, building on the work of the German physicist Roentgen and the French physicist Becquerel. In July 1898, the Curies announced the discovery of a new chemical element, polonium. At the end of the year, they announced the discovery of another, radium. The Curies, along with Becquerel, were awarded the Nobel Prize for Physics in 1903.
Pierre, Irene and Marie Curie
Pierre's life was cut short in 1906 when he was knocked down and killed by a carriage. Marie took over his teaching post, becoming the first woman to teach at the Sorbonne, and devoted herself to continuing the work that they had begun together. She received a second Nobel Prize, for Chemistry, in 1911.
The Curie's research was crucial in the development of x-rays in surgery. During World War One Curie helped to equip ambulances with x-ray equipment, which she herself drove to the front lines. The International Red Cross made her head of its radiological service and she held training courses for medical orderlies and doctors in the new techniques.
Despite her success, Marie continued to face great opposition from male scientists in France, and she never received significant financial benefits from her work. By the late 1920s her health was beginning to deteriorate. She died on 4 July 1934 from leukaemia, caused by exposure to high-energy radiation from her research. The Curies' eldest daughter Irene was herself a scientist and winner of the Nobel Prize for Chemistry
Who was Gamal Abdel Nasser Hussein? A colonel in the Egyptian army in the early 20th century.
Why is he notable? Because he led the 1952 Egyptian Revolution that overthrew the Muhammed Ali (not the boxer!) dynasty and by doing so, drastically changed the Middle Eastern political scene forever.
He was an Arab Nationalist and believed in Pan-Arabism (that is, the unification of Arab states into a single country). During his terms in office, he oversaw the outbreak of the Suez Crisis, the Six-Day war and the "War of Attrition".
He co-founded the Non-Aligned Movement (group of states which are not aligned formally with or against any major power bloc) alongside Yugoslavia's Tito Indonesia's Sukarno, Ghana's Kwame Nkrumah and India's Jawaharlal Nehru.
He was also the president of the short-lived United Arab Republic (a union with Syria that lasted from 1958-1961).
Life, the Revolution and Egyptian Presidency:
Gamar Abdel Nasser was born in Bakos, Alexandria, Egypt, on the 15th of January, 1918. He was educated at the Cairo Military Academy and eventually became an instructor at the institution. During the Second World War Nasser developed republican views. He secretly recruited cadets and young officers into what became known as the Free Officers Movement.
Egypt's first president, Najeeb (l) next to Nasser (dated 1950)
The failed 1948 Palestine campaign reinforced Nasser's view that the government of King Farouk I was inefficient and corrupt. In 1952 General Mohammed Najeeb and Colonel Nasser forced Farouk to abdicate. After the Egyptian Revolution Najeeb became commander-in-chief, prime minister and president of the republic whereas Nasser held the post of Minister of the Interior. In April 1954 Nasser replaced Najeeb as prime minister. Seven months later he also became president of Egypt.
Over the next few months Nasser made it clear he was in favour of liberating Palestine from the Israelis. He also began buying fighter aircraft, bombers and tanks from the Soviet Union and Czechoslovakia. Nasser redistributed land in Egypt and began plans to industrialize the country. He also began the building of the Aswan Dam. Nasser was convinced that this would extend arable lands in Egypt and would help the industrialization process. He also advocated Arab independence and reminded the British government that the agreement allowing to keep soldiers at Suez expired in 1956.
The Suez Crisis
President Dwight Eisenhower became concerned about the close relationship developing between Egypt and the Soviet Union.
In July 1956 Eisenhower cancelled a promised grant of 56 million dollars towards the building of the Aswan Dam. Nasser was furious and on 26th July he announced he intended to nationalize the Suez Canal.
The shareowners, the majority of whom were from Britain and France, were promised compensation. Nasser argued that the revenues from the Suez Canal would help to finance the Aswan Dam. Anthony Eden, the British prime minister, feared that Nasser intended to form an Arab Alliance that would cut off oil supplies to Europe. Secret negotiations took place between Britain, France and Israel and it was agreed to make a joint attack on Egypt.
On 29th October 1956, the Israeli Army invaded Egypt. Two days later British and French bombed Egyptian airfields. British and French troops landed at Port Said at the northern end of the Suez Canal on 5th November. By this time the Israelis had captured the Sinai peninsula.
Location of the Suez Canal
President Dwight Eisenhower and his secretary of state, John Foster Dulles, grew increasingly concerned about these developments and at the United Nations the representatives from the United States and the Soviet Union demanded a cease-fire. When it was clear the rest of the world were opposed to the attack on Egypt, and on the 7th November the governments of Britain, France and Israel agreed to withdraw. They were then replaced by UN troops who policed the Egyptian frontier. Nasser now blocked the Suez Canal.
The United Arab Republic:
He also used his new status to urge Arab nations to reduce oil exports to Western Europe. As a result petrol rationing had to be introduced in several countries and two months after the invasion Anthony Eden resigned from office. Nasser was now acknowledged as leader of the Arab world. Egypt now joined with Syria to form the United Arab Republic.
Despite the economic difficulties, what truly produced the demise of the UAR was Nasser's inability to find a suitable political system for the new regime. Given his socialist agenda in Egypt, the Ba'ath should have been his natural ally, but Nasser was hesitant to share power. Though Amer allowed some liberalization of the economy in order to appease Syrian businessmen, his decision to rig the elections of the National Union (the single party which replaced the Ba'ath), with the help of Colonel Abdul Hamid Sarraj (a Syrian army official and Nasser sympathizer), sent Ba'ath leaders into a frenzy. The Ba'ath won only five percent of the seats on the higher committees, while the more traditional conservative parties “won” a significant majority.
Nasser signing the Syria-Egypt union pact alongside Shukri al-Quwatli
Sarraj was appointed head of the National Union in Syria, and by the spring of 1960 had replaced Amer as the chair of the Syrian Executive Council. Under Sarraj Syria was ruled by a brutal security force designed to suppress all opposition to the regime. The immense increases in public sector control were accompanied by a push for centralization. Nasser abolished regional governments in favor of one central authority, which operated from Damascus February through May and Cairo the rest of the year. As a part of this centralization, Sarraj was relocated to Cairo, where he found himself with little real power. On September 15, 1961 Sarraj returned to Syria and resigned his post on September 26. Without any close allies to watch over Syria, Nasser was blind to the growing unrest of the military.
On September 28 a group of officers staged a coup and declared Syria's independence from the UAR. Though the coup leaders were willing to renegotiate a union under terms they felt would put Syria on an equal footing with Egypt, Nasser refused such a compromise. He initially considered sending troops to overthrow the new regime, but chose not to once he was informed that the last of his allies in Syria had been defeated.In speeches that followed the coup, Nasser declared he would never give up his goal of an ultimate Arab union, though he would never again achieve such a tangible victory toward this goa.
In March 1958 Yemen and the United Arab Republic formed the United Arab States. Nasser also encouraged Arab nationalism and revolution took place in Iraq.
The Six-Day War:
In early 1967, Soviet premier Alexei Kosygin sent Nasser a warning through Sadat, who was visiting Moscow, that Israel was about to carry out a large-scale assault against Syria. More warnings followed in the next few months, and King Hussein, aware of the intelligence situation, cautioned Nasser in April not to be dragged into a war.
That same month, pressure on him to act by Syria, Saudi Arabia, and the PLO, as well as the general Arab populace, mounted after an aerial battle between Syria and Israel resulted in the downing of six Syrian planes. Convinced that Israel was determined to attack Syria, he asked UN Secretary-General U Thant to withdraw UNEF forces from Sinai.
On 23 May, Egyptian troops moved into Sharm el-Sheikh and Nasser ordered the Straits of Tiran closed to Israeli shipping. On 27 May he stated "Our basic objective will be the destruction of Israel. The Arab people want to fight."After the blockade, he gave a speech to the United Nations General Assembly on 29 May saying, "the issue was not UNEF or closing the Strait of Tiran; the issue is the rights of the Palestinian people."This was the same message delivered a week earlier during a visit to an air base in the Sinai.
The speeches signaled that Nasser believed war was inevitable. King Hussein arrived in Cairo on 30 May and committed Jordan to the United Arab Command—an alliance which also included Egypt and Syria— under the command of Egyptian general Muhammad Sidqi. Amer anticipated an Israeli attack and advocated Egypt launch a preemptive strike. He was backed by former Syrian prime minister Amin al-Hafiz.
Due to assurances, however, from the American administration and the USSR that Israel would not attack, Nasser refused Amer's suggestion, insisting that Egyptian forces in the Sinai should only act defensively. In addition, he questioned the Egyptian military's readiness since the air force lacked pilots, the army reserve lacked training, and Nasser doubted the competence of Amer's hand-picked officers. Simultaneously, Egypt was facing a financial crisis leading him to believe that the country could not afford a war that would last even a few days. Nonetheless, Nasser eventually began changing positions from avoiding war to giving speeches claiming war was inevitable.
On the morning of 5 June, the Israeli Air Force (IAF) struck Egyptian air fields, destroying much of the Egyptian Air Force. Before the day ended, Israeli armor had cut through Egyptian defense lines, capturing the town of el-Arish.
According to Sadat, it was only when they captured el-Qantarah el-Sharqiyya, cutting off the Egyptian garrison at Sharm el-Sheikh, that Nasser became aware of the gravity of the situation.
Conquest of Sinai during 7-8 June
After hearing of the attack, he rushed to the army headquarters to inquire about the military situation. It was here that the simmering conflict between Nasser and Amer came into the open when, according to present officers, they burst into "a non-stop shouting match." Nasser accused Amer of giving unsatisfactory answers to his questions, while Amer asked Nasser for more time to launch a counterattack against the Israelis.
The Supreme Executive Committee, set up by Nasser to oversee the conduct of the war, attributed the repeated Egyptian defeats to the Nasser-Amer rivalry and to Amer's overall incompetence.
Despite the extent of Israel's quick military gains, for the first four days the general population in the Arab states believed the fabrications of Arab radio stations which claimed an Arab victory was near. On 8 June, Nasser appeared on television to inform Egypt's citizens of their country's defeat
Nasser status was undermined by the heavy losses suffered during the Six-Day War. He resigned on 9th June 1967 but following large demonstrations supporting him he reversed this decision. Gamar Abdel Nasser remained in office until dying of a heart attack in 1970. He was replaced by his friend Anwar Sadat.
Death:
On 28 September 1970, at the conclusion of the summit and hours after escorting Emir Sabah III of Kuwait, Nasser suffered a heart attack. He was immediately transported to his house and was pronounced dead soon after. His wife Tahia, Heikal and Sadat were present, the last reading the Qur'an at his deathbed.
Nasser with Yasser Arafat and Faisal of KSA, a day prior to his death
Following the announcement of Nasser's death, Egypt and the Arab world were in a state of shock. It was not publicly known at the time that he had previously suffered two heart attacks. According to his doctor al-Sawi Habibi, Nasser's likely cause of death was arteriosclerosis, varicose veins, and complications from long standing diabetes. Nasser was a heavy smoker and there was also a history of heart disease in his family; two of his brothers died in their fifties from the same condition.
His funeral procession through Cairo, on 1 October, was attended by at least five million mourners. The 10-kilometre (6.2 mi) procession to his burial site began at the RCC headquarters with MiG-21 jet fighters flying overhead. His flag-draped coffin was attached to a gun carriage pulled by six horses and led by a column of cavalrymen.
All Arab heads of state attended; King Hussein of Jordan and PLO leader Yasser Arafat cried openly while Muammar Gaddafi of Libya reportedly fainted twice. Although no major Western dignitaries were present, Soviet Premier Alexei Kosygin showed up.
Anwar Sadat would later succeed him as Egypt's president. The era of Nasserism was over.
Legacy:
Nasser's legacy is much debated today. To his sympathizers, he was a leader who reformed his country and re-established Arab pride both inside and outside of it. They testify that under him, Egyptians enjoyed unprecedented access to housing, education, health services, and nourishment as well as other forms of social welfare.
A young Muammer Qadaffi with Nasser, in 1969
Nasser is credited for severely curtailing British influence in Egypt, elevating it to upper world circles, and reforming the country's economy through agrarian reform, major modernization projects such as Helwan and the Aswan High Dam, and various nationalization schemes.
While Nasser was president, Egypt experienced a cultural boom, particularly in theater, film, literature, and music. Nasser's Egypt dominated the Arab world in these fields, producing singers such as Umm Kulthum and Mohammed Abdel Wahab, literary figures such as Naguib Mahfouz and Tawfiq el-Hakim, and producing over 100 films a year compared to just more than a dozen in recent years.
Time magazine stated that despite his mistakes and shortcoming, Nasser "imparted a sense of personal worth and national pride that they [Egypt and the Arabs] had not known for 400 years. This alone may have been enough to balance his flaws and failures." Until the present day, he serves as an iconic figure throughout the Arab world.
Kicking off a new series of blog posts where, once a month, I designate the month in honour of a certain historical figure. Feel free to nominate a notable historical figure at the comment section below and the next month (July 2012) will be dedicated in his or her honour. As the title says, this month is dedicated to the adventure spirit of summer and I do not think anyone else manages to manifest it like Ibn Battuta, the 14th century world renown Morrocan traveler who journeyed for more than 75,000 miles, a record unbeaten until the time of the Steam Age.
Ibn Battuta traveled over a 30 year period, between 1325 and 1354 AD, through North Africa, the Horn of Africa, West Africa, Southern Europe and Eastern Europe in the West, and to the Middle East, South Asia, Central Asia, Southeast Asia and China in the East. He is generally considered to have been one of the greatest travelers of all time.
Ibn Battuta was born in Tangier, Morocco on the 25th of February, 1304. He grew up a normal life in Morocco, he was to be an Islamic scholar as his family were. In 1325 AD, he set off for hajj (a pilgrimage to Mecca) and he would never set foot into Morocco for another 24 years.
His journey was an overland one, traveling across the sultanates of Abdal Wadid and Hafsid of North Africa and to Tunis. He joined a nearby pilgrim caravan to reduce the chances of being robbed by desert raiders. In the nearby town of Sfax (present day Tunisia), he married a local woman , the first of many during his travels.
A 13th century painting of a typical Haj caravan (by Yahya ibn Mahmud)
By early 1326, he arrived in Mamluk Alexandria where he stayed for many weeks to explore the sites. He then headed inland to Cairo. From there, he tried to venture to Mecca via the Red Sea port of Aydhab but a local revolt prevented him. He decided to travel to Damascus (also Mamluk controlled) and spend Ramadan there. After doing so, he traveled to Medina and then onwards to Mecca. Once fulfilling the Haj, he had the choice of returning home but he declined to. He would then travel onwards to the Khanate of Ilkhanate.
He proceeded to travel first to the city of Najaf in November, 1326, visiting the mausoleum of Ali ibn Abi Talib, the Prophet's son in law. He then traveled on to Esfahan and Shiraz in Persia before venturing to Baghdad in June 1327. He would later travel to Tabriz (meeting the Mongol ruler of Ilkhanate there) before traveling to Mosul, Cizre and Mardin in present day Turkey and Iraq.
He would later go on to travel to the Byzantine Empire, China, parts of India, the Somali coast, Europe and the Sahara.
His Journeys:
For convenience , it would seem better to list the places he ventured to in a list rather than go on in endless paragraphs about each trip.
If you're not in the habit of reading long lists, then this map would do you good
Arab Maghreb:
Tangier
Fes
Marrakech
Tlemcen (Tilimsan)
Miliana
Algiers
Djurdjura Mountains
Béjaïa
Constantine - Named as Qusantînah.
Annaba - Also called Bona.
Tunis - At that time, Abu Yahya (son of Abu Zajaria) was the sultan of Tunis.
Sousse - Also called Susah.
Sfax
Gabès
Tripoli
Arabian Middle East
Cairo
Alexandria
A map of Iraq and Persia from Ibn Battuta's book Rihla
Damietta
Jerusalem
Bethlehem
Hebron
Damascus
Latakia
Egypt
Syria
Medina - Visited the tomb of Prophet Muhammad.
Jeddah
Mecca - Performed the Hajj pilgrimage to Mecca.
Rabigh - City north of Jeddah on the Red Sea.
Oman
Dhofar
Hajr (modern-day Riyadh)
Bahrain
Al-Hasa
Strait of Hormuz
Yemen
Qatif
Spain
Granada
Valencia
Byzantine Empire and Eastern Europe
Konya
Antalya
Bulgaria
Azov
Kazan
Volga River
Constantinople
Central Asia
Khwarezm and Khorasan (now Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, Balochistan (region) and Afghanistan)
Bukhara and Samarqand
Pashtun areas of eastern Afghanistan and northern Pakistan (Pashtunistan)
South Asia
North India
Sindh
Multan
Delhi
Present day Uttar Pradesh
Present day Gujarat
Maharashtra
Kozhikode
Malabar
Bengal (now Bangladesh and West Bengal)
Brahmaputra River in Bangladesh visited the area on his way from China.
Meghna River near Dhaka
Sylhet met Sufi Shaikh Hazrat Shah Jalal.
Maldives
Sri Lanka - Known to the Arabs of his time as Serendip. Battuta visited the Jaffna kingdom and Adam's Peak.
Travels in China and SE Asia
China
Quanzhou - as he called in his book the city of donkeys
Hangzhou — Ibn Battuta referred to this city in his book as "Madinat Alkhansa" مدينة الخنساء. He also mentioned that it was the largest city in the world at that time; it took him three days to walk across the city.
Beijing - Ibn Battuta mentioned in his journey to Beijing how neat the city was.
Southeast Asia
Burma (Myanmar)
Sumatra Indonesia
Malay Peninsula Malaysia
Philippines - Ibn Battuta visited the Kingdom of Sultan Tawalisi, Tawi-Tawi, the country's southernmost province.
Swahili Coast
Kilwa
Mombasa
Mali Empire and West Africa
Timbuktu
Gao
Takedda
Oualata (Walata)
It is worth mentioning that Ibn Battuta wrote a book about his travels, calling it Rihla (Arabic الرحلة ) which translates into "The Journey". If you're interested in finding out more information or would like to read more in depth about Ibn Battuta, I'd recommend you get his book (if you can read Arabic, that's bonus points!). It's fair to say that Ibn Battuta has been one of the greatest explorers in human history, having traveled farther than his near-contemporary Marco Polo did. A tip that Ibn Battuta gave to travelers he encountered was to (paraphrasing)
"Ride a donkey whenever you have the chance to"
Remember to add your nomination for July's History Figure of the Month in the comment section below!
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