When they left Mecca, many pilgrims joined the “Iraq caravan,” an enormous camel caravan that traveled from Mecca to Baghdad, from which city the pilgrims would disperse to points across the Islamic world. As Ibn Battuta’s account makes clear, this caravan was not so much a collection of pilgrims as it was a traveling city. As you read the description of the caravan, think about the factors that contributed to its size. Why were so many people traveling the road from Mecca to Baghdad? Why did they choose to travel in a large group? What made it possible for poor Muslims to make this journey?

On the 17th of November I left Mecca with the commander of the Iraq caravan, who hired for me at his own expense the half of a camel-litter as far as Baghdad, and took me under his protection. After the farewell ceremony of circumambulation [of the Ka’ba] we moved out to the Bottom of Marr with an innumerable host of pilgrims from Iraq, Khurásán, Fárs and other eastern lands, so many that the earth surged with them like the sea and their march resembled the movement of a high-piled cloud. Any person who left a caravan for a moment and had no mark to guide him to his place could not find it again because of the multitude of people. With this caravan there were many draught-camels for supplying the poorer pilgrims with water, and other camels to carry the provisions issued as alms and the medicines, potions, and sugar required for any who fell ill. Whenever the caravan halted food was cooked in great brass cauldrons, and from these the needs of the poorer pilgrims and those who had no provisions were supplied. A number of spare camels accompanied it to carry those who were unable to walk. All those measures were due to the benefactions and generosity of the sultan [of Iraq] Abu Sa’id. Besides this the caravan included busy bazaars and many commodities and all sorts of food and fruit. They used to march during the night and light torches in front of the files of camels and litters, so that you saw the country gleaming with light and the darkness turned into day.

Source: Sir E. Denison Ross and Eileen Power, eds., Ibn Battuta: Travels in Asia and Africa, 1325–1354 (New York: Robert McBride and Co., 1929), p. 78.

Questions to Consider