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Authors: Nayab Naseer
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to know
first hand was the akhi , the Turkish word for "generous" and
the Arabic word for "brother." The fraternal societies that adopted
the term clearly acknowledged both meanings. Ibn Battuta was
introduced to them in a bazaar in Ladhiq (Denizli). He recounts: As we passed through one of the bazaars, some men
came down from their booths and seized the bridles of our horses.
Then certain other men quarreled with them for doing so, and the
altercation between them grew so hot that some of them drew knives.
All this time we had no idea what they were saying [Ibn Battuta did
not speak Turkish], and we began to be afraid of them, thinking
that they were the [brigands] who infest the roads.... At length
Allah sent us a man, a pilgrim, who knew Arabic, and I asked what
they wanted of us. He replied that they belonged to the
fityan...and that each party wanted us to lodge with them. We were
amazed at their native generosity. Finally they came to an
agreement to cast lots, and that we should lodge first with the
group whose lot was drawn [and then with the other]. ”
Such societies were not unique to Anatolia.
They existed in various forms and by several names throughout dar-us-Islam . Their social function was to institutionalize
the sense of civic unity into a structure consistent with the
ideals of the Quran but not addressed by the waqf .
The years of wanderings in Anatolia did not
dilute Ibn Battuta’s goal of Delhi. Towards this end, he crossed
the Black Sea to Crimea. His vessel sailed into a storm so rough
that at one point one of his companions went topside to see what
was happening, and returned to croak, "Commend your soul to Allah!"
But Allah was merciful, and Ibn Battuta headed for the Mongol
Kipchak Khanate, which rimmed the northern shore of the Black
Sea.
The trade routes Ibn Battuta traversed north
of the Caspian were less busy than those across Afghanistan and
Iran. He made a lengthy side trip to Constantinople, traveling in
the company of Princess Bayalun, daughter of the Byzantine emperor
Andronicus, who had been married, for political and economic
reasons, to the Muslim Ozbeg Khan of the Golden Horde, as his third
wife. She was returning to Constantinople for the birth of her
child. Ibn Battuta struck up a conversation with her, and on
hearing his travels, she wept with pity and compassion.
Ibn Battuta did not stay long in
Constantinople. He took the fabled Silk Route to Samarkand, where
he spent fifty-four days with Tarmashirin, the Chagatay Khan sultan
who had recently converted to Islam and was interested in what a
worldly-wise qadi might tell him.
Ibn Battuta's exact path through Afghanistan
and the Hindu Kush is uncertain, but once he descended the hot and
sultry plains of India, he headed for Multan, the Delhi sultanate’s
westward customs outpost. He made plans to impress Sultan Muhammad
ibn Tughlaq sufficiently to win a sinecure — his first steady
job.
It was very important to make a good first
impression, for no one in Delhi knew anything about the new
arrival's background or lineage. By the time Ibn Battuta reached
Delhi, he knew the custom of the sultan was to reward every gift
with a much greater one.
Ibn Battuta struck a deal with a merchant who
offered to advance him a sizable stake of dinars, camels, and goods
in exchange for a fat cut of the proceeds when the sultan's reward
came. The merchant, clearly an early venture capitalist, also
turned out to be a fair-weather friend, for Ibn Battuta says, he
"made an enormous profit from me and became one of the principal
merchants. I met him many years later at Aleppo after the infidels
had robbed me of everything I possessed, but he gave me no
assistance."
Ibn Battuta's long stays in Baghdad and
Damascus studying law and discussing fiqh with fellow jurists
served him well in Delhi. The much impressed Muhammad ibn Tughlaq
appointed him qadi with the handsome compensation of twelve
thousand silver dinars per year, plus a signing bonus of
first hand was the akhi , the Turkish word for "generous" and
the Arabic word for "brother." The fraternal societies that adopted
the term clearly acknowledged both meanings. Ibn Battuta was
introduced to them in a bazaar in Ladhiq (Denizli). He recounts: As we passed through one of the bazaars, some men
came down from their booths and seized the bridles of our horses.
Then certain other men quarreled with them for doing so, and the
altercation between them grew so hot that some of them drew knives.
All this time we had no idea what they were saying [Ibn Battuta did
not speak Turkish], and we began to be afraid of them, thinking
that they were the [brigands] who infest the roads.... At length
Allah sent us a man, a pilgrim, who knew Arabic, and I asked what
they wanted of us. He replied that they belonged to the
fityan...and that each party wanted us to lodge with them. We were
amazed at their native generosity. Finally they came to an
agreement to cast lots, and that we should lodge first with the
group whose lot was drawn [and then with the other]. ”
Such societies were not unique to Anatolia.
They existed in various forms and by several names throughout dar-us-Islam . Their social function was to institutionalize
the sense of civic unity into a structure consistent with the
ideals of the Quran but not addressed by the waqf .
The years of wanderings in Anatolia did not
dilute Ibn Battuta’s goal of Delhi. Towards this end, he crossed
the Black Sea to Crimea. His vessel sailed into a storm so rough
that at one point one of his companions went topside to see what
was happening, and returned to croak, "Commend your soul to Allah!"
But Allah was merciful, and Ibn Battuta headed for the Mongol
Kipchak Khanate, which rimmed the northern shore of the Black
Sea.
The trade routes Ibn Battuta traversed north
of the Caspian were less busy than those across Afghanistan and
Iran. He made a lengthy side trip to Constantinople, traveling in
the company of Princess Bayalun, daughter of the Byzantine emperor
Andronicus, who had been married, for political and economic
reasons, to the Muslim Ozbeg Khan of the Golden Horde, as his third
wife. She was returning to Constantinople for the birth of her
child. Ibn Battuta struck up a conversation with her, and on
hearing his travels, she wept with pity and compassion.
Ibn Battuta did not stay long in
Constantinople. He took the fabled Silk Route to Samarkand, where
he spent fifty-four days with Tarmashirin, the Chagatay Khan sultan
who had recently converted to Islam and was interested in what a
worldly-wise qadi might tell him.
Ibn Battuta's exact path through Afghanistan
and the Hindu Kush is uncertain, but once he descended the hot and
sultry plains of India, he headed for Multan, the Delhi sultanate’s
westward customs outpost. He made plans to impress Sultan Muhammad
ibn Tughlaq sufficiently to win a sinecure — his first steady
job.
It was very important to make a good first
impression, for no one in Delhi knew anything about the new
arrival's background or lineage. By the time Ibn Battuta reached
Delhi, he knew the custom of the sultan was to reward every gift
with a much greater one.
Ibn Battuta struck a deal with a merchant who
offered to advance him a sizable stake of dinars, camels, and goods
in exchange for a fat cut of the proceeds when the sultan's reward
came. The merchant, clearly an early venture capitalist, also
turned out to be a fair-weather friend, for Ibn Battuta says, he
"made an enormous profit from me and became one of the principal
merchants. I met him many years later at Aleppo after the infidels
had robbed me of everything I possessed, but he gave me no
assistance."
Ibn Battuta's long stays in Baghdad and
Damascus studying law and discussing fiqh with fellow jurists
served him well in Delhi. The much impressed Muhammad ibn Tughlaq
appointed him qadi with the handsome compensation of twelve
thousand silver dinars per year, plus a signing bonus of
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