Social life seen by foreign travellers (c. 10th to 17th centuries)
A travelogue is a book a traveller writes about places they visit. Between about 1000 and 1700 CE, visitors from Central Asia, North Africa and Europe wrote about India. They came as scholars, traders, soldiers, priests, doctors or just curious people.
Why travellers' accounts help historians
- They describe daily life that local writers thought too ordinary to write down, like food, clothes and markets.
- They compare India with their own land, so differences stand out.
- But they can also misunderstand, exaggerate or judge. So we check them against other sources.
Al-Biruni and the Kitab-ul-Hind (11th century)
Al-Biruni was born in 973 in Khwarizm (now in Uzbekistan). When Sultan Mahmud of Ghazni took Khwarizm, Al-Biruni was taken to Ghazni. There he learnt Sanskrit and read many Indian books on religion, astronomy and medicine.
His book
He wrote Kitab-ul-Hind in Arabic. It has 80 chapters on religion, festivals, customs, weights, laws and more. Each chapter starts with a question, then an explanation using Sanskrit sources, then a comparison with other cultures.
Three barriers
- Language: Sanskrit was very different from Arabic and Persian.
- Religious beliefs and practices were different.
- Self-absorption: local people kept to themselves and were not keen to share with outsiders.
On caste
He described the four varnas (Brahmana, Kshatriya, Vaishya, Shudra). He compared them with old Persian social classes, so he did not see caste as strange. But he did not accept the idea of pollution (that touch could make someone impure). He said nature itself keeps cleaning things, like the sun cleaning the air. He mostly used Brahmanical Sanskrit books, so his picture of caste was the ideal written in texts, not always the real life of people.
Ibn Battuta and the Rihla (14th century)
Ibn Battuta was born in Tangier, Morocco. He trained in Islamic law and loved travel more than books. He reached Sind in 1333. Sultan Muhammad bin Tughlaq made him the qazi (judge) of Delhi. Later he was sent as an envoy to China. His travel book in Arabic is called the Rihla.
New things he saw
- Coconut: he said its shell looks like a man's head.
- Paan: betel leaf eaten after meals.
Cities and trade
He found Indian cities crowded and rich, with full markets. Delhi was huge. Daulatabad was just as big. Markets were places of music and dance too. Cloth, especially fine cotton and silk, was sold far away, and the trade linked India with West and Southeast Asia.
The postal system
There were two kinds: the horse post (uluq), with horses changed every few miles, and the foot post (dawa), with runners changing every third of a mile. News from Sind reached Delhi in 5 days, a journey of 50 days by walking.
Slaves
He noted that slaves were openly sold in markets and given as gifts. Many slave women worked in homes; some were skilled musicians. Some slaves were spies for the Sultan.
Francois Bernier: a doctor comparing India and Europe (17th century)
Francois Bernier was a French doctor and thinker. He was in India from 1656 to 1668, close to the Mughal court. He was doctor to Prince Dara Shukoh and later worked with a noble. His book is Travels in the Mogul Empire.
His method: comparison
Bernier kept comparing India with Europe, especially France. Usually he made Europe look better. He wanted European kings to learn what to avoid.
The land question
Bernier said the Mughal king owned all the land. So, he argued, nobody could pass land to children, nobody cared to improve it, farming fell, and people became poor. He said India had only two groups: the very rich ruling class and the very poor.
This idea shaped the European view called oriental despotism (the East ruled by all-powerful kings over poor, weak subjects). But Mughal records show that land rights did exist and land was sold and passed on. So Bernier was not correct.
Towns and craftsmen
He called Mughal cities 'camp towns' that depended on the court. But he also said skilled craftsmen made excellent goods and that gold and silver flowed in from the world to pay for them. There was a big merchant group and a middle class of professionals like doctors and teachers.
Women
Bernier wrote about sati (a widow burnt with her husband) with shock and pity. But women's lives were more than that: many worked in farming, trade and crafts. Some rich women were traders and even went to court over disputes.
Reading travellers carefully
- What they saw depended on where they came from. Al-Biruni was a scholar, Ibn Battuta an adventurer, Bernier a European thinker.
- What they missed: most met rulers and rich people, not ordinary farmers.
- What we do: compare their words with court records, inscriptions and local books.
Key formulas and definitions
- Al-Biruni: born 973, Khwarizm; book Kitab-ul-Hind (Arabic), 11th century
- Ibn Battuta: from Tangier, Morocco; in India from 1333; book Rihla (Arabic)
- Francois Bernier: French doctor; in India 1656 to 1668; Travels in the Mogul Empire
- Uluq = horse post; dawa = foot post
- Oriental despotism = European idea that Asian kings ruled all-powerful over poor subjects
Worked examples
1. Why did Al-Biruni find it hard to understand India?
Step 1: he names three barriers. Step 2: language (Sanskrit very different from Arabic). Step 3: different religious ideas. Step 4: local people did not share easily with outsiders. So he learnt Sanskrit to cross the first barrier.
2. How fast was Ibn Battuta's postal system compared to walking?
Step 1: walking from Sind to Delhi took 50 days. Step 2: the horse post took 5 days. Step 3: 50 ÷ 5 = 10. So the post was about 10 times faster.
3. Why do historians say Bernier was wrong about land ownership?
Step 1: Bernier said the king owned all land. Step 2: Mughal records (like Ain-i Akbari and local papers) show peasants and zamindars had rights to land. Step 3: land was bought, sold and inherited. Step 4: so his idea was a one-sided comparison made to warn Europe.
4. How was Al-Biruni's view of caste different from the texts he read?
Step 1: Sanskrit texts said touch could pollute. Step 2: Al-Biruni accepted the four varnas as a social order, like old Persia. Step 3: but he rejected pollution, saying nature cleans all things. So he reported the texts but did not agree with everything.
Common mistakes
- Mixing up the order. Al-Biruni (11th) came first, then Ibn Battuta (14th), then Bernier (17th).
- Saying Ibn Battuta wrote Kitab-ul-Hind. That was Al-Biruni. Ibn Battuta wrote the Rihla.
- Believing Bernier fully. His claim that the king owned all land is not supported by Mughal records.
- Thinking travellers saw everyone. They mostly met rulers, nobles and traders, not ordinary villagers.