ibn Battuta
A young Muslim scholar from Morocco who had set out to the Islamic world.
tropics
Equatorial region between the Tropic of Cancer and the Tropic of Capricorn. It is characterized by generally warm or hot temperatures year-round, though much variation exists due to altitude and other factors.
monsoon
Rainy and dry seasons due to alternating winds in Southeastern Asia.
Delhi Sultanate
Centralized Indian empire of varying extent created by Muslim invaders.
Mali
Empire in West Africa founded by an indigenous African dynasty that had earlier adopted Islam through the peaceful influence of Muslim merchants and scholars.
Mansa Kankan Musa
Ruler of Mali (r. 1312-1337). His pilgrimage through Egypt to Mecca in 1324-1325 established the empire's reputation for wealth in the Mediterranean world.
Gujarat
Region of western India famous for trade and manufacturing; the inhabitants are called Gujarati. Captured by Ala-ud-din's forces in 1298.
dhow
Characteristic cargo and passenger ship of the Arabian Sea.
Swahili Coast
East African shores of the Indian Ocean between the Horn of Africa and the Zambezi River; from the Arabic sawahil, meaning 'shores.'
Great Zimbabwe
City, now in ruins (in the modern African country of Zimbabwe), whose many stone structures were built between about 1250 and 1450, when it was a trading center and the capital of a large state.
Aden
Port city in the modern south Arabian country of Yemen. It has been a major trading center in the Indian Ocean since ancient times. Monsoon winds brought enough rainfall to supply drinking water to a large population and to grow grain for export.
Malacca
Port city in the modern Southeast Asian country of Malaysia, founded about 1400 as a trading center on the Strait of Malacca. Also spelled Melaka.
Urdu
A Persian-influenced literary form of Hindi written in Arabic characters.
Timbuktu
City on the Niger River in the modern country of Mali. It was founded by the Tuareg as a seasonal camp sometime after 1000. As part of the Mali empire, Timbuktu became a major major terminus of the trans-Saharan trade and a center of Islamic learning.