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Secondary sourceArtifacttraditional site, date uncertain

Tomb of Ibn Battuta

traditional site, date uncertain

A small tomb in Tangier's old medina traditionally said to be Ibn Battuta's burial place, though the attribution is uncertain.

Traditionally said to be Ibn Battuta's own burial place in his home region of Tangier.

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Interior of a tomb: a rectangular stone tomb covered with a pale cream silk cloth embroidered with gold calligraphy, enclosed by a black wrought-iron railing with scroll patterns. Green tiled mosaic walls and a carved plaster frieze surround it, with a red rug on the floor.
Traditional tomb of Ibn Battuta, Tangier medina, Morocco.

About this source

What it is

This is a small tomb in the medina of Tangier, Morocco, traditionally identified as the burial place of Ibn Battuta. The exact date of the site is uncertain.

Why it matters

Little is known about Ibn Battuta's final years, and this tomb shows how later generations tried to fix a resting place for a man whose life was mostly spent travelling far from home. The uncertainty around the attribution is itself part of the story of how historical memory works.

  • Why might it be hard to be certain this is really Ibn Battuta's tomb?
  • What does the care taken in decorating the tomb (the cloth, tiles, and rug) tell you about how he is remembered?
  • Why do communities build or preserve monuments for people even when some facts about them are uncertain?

This artifact is part of the curated material that grounds the AI version of Ibn Battuta on Humy.ai — when students ask about related events, the AI can quote it and cite it.

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Scanned manuscript page in Arabic calligraphy on aged cream paper. The top has a line of black script with a decorative heading, and a red-ink title block in larger calligraphy reading the opening of the work. Below are about two dozen lines of brown-ink handwritten text in dense Arabic script, with a marginal note at the bottom left.Book

Primary source

The Rihla

Ibn Battuta · 1354-1356

Two facing pages of a handwritten Arabic manuscript on aged paper. The right page is written in dark ink in neat, flowing script; the left page is faded and more worn, with lines of script partly obscured. The pages show the text of the travel account.Book

Primary source

Manuscript of the Rihla by Ibn Juzayy

Ibn Juzayy · 14th century

Ruins of a stone fort on a dry, hazy hillside under a pale sky. Massive sloping stone walls with crenellated battlements stand on the left, and a long arched stone gallery with a flat roof runs across the right. Scrubby bushes and dry earth surround the site, with a distant city skyline on the horizon.Artifact

Secondary source

Tughlaqabad Fort

Ghiyath al-Din Tughluq · 1321

Photograph of an open handwritten Arabic manuscript with dense black ink script on cream pages, with some red-ink headings visible. The left page is in focus and the right page is angled and partly blurred.Book

Secondary source

Manuscript copy of the Rihla (1484)

Ibn Juzayy · 1484

Eight vertical panels of the Catalan Atlas side by side, showing an illuminated medieval world map with colored seas, decorated landmasses, compass roses, flags, rulers on thrones, and figures and animals.Painting

Primary source

Catalan Atlas

Cresques Abraham · c. 1375

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