Curricular Resources > 2007 Volume II > Unit 11 (07.02.11) > Section 8

Voyages in World History Before 1500

CONTENTS OF CURRICULUM UNIT 07.02.11

Unit Guide

Traveling with Ibn Battuta and the Plague through the Islamic World, China, Europe, and Mexico, 1325-1350

Brad Magrey

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Annotated Bibliography

Abercrombie, Thomas J. "Ibn Battuta, Prince of Travelers," National Geographic. National Geographic Society, December, 1991.

A brief but fine overview of the scholar's travels, this article features a clear and excellent map, as well as great pictures of the area. Best of all is a time-lapse photograph of Hajjis circling the Kaaba

Anglin, Jay Pascal, and William J. Hamblin. World History to 1648. New York: Harper Collins Publishers, Inc., 1993.

Very concise summaries and timelines of world civilizations. Information is often superficial, but it's easy to find information about major places, events, and governments very quickly.

Azzam, Abd al-Rahman. Ibn Battuta in the Valley of Doom. London: Hood Hood Books, 1996.

This children's book is an entertaining source to show the travails of travel by caravan. Using it in conjunction with quotes from the Rihla also offers good material for the discussion of writer's craft.

Bierhorst, John. The Mythology of Mexico and Central America. New York: William Morrow and Company, Inc., 1990.

Although I don't directly use material from this book, it is a good of mythology in the Americas and could help students understand the Aztecs.

Dunn, Ross E. The Adventures of Ibn Battuta. Berkeley: University of California Press, 1986.

This book provides an excellent look at the Muslim world in the early fourteenth century, but for quotes from the Rihla other sources are needed.

Durkee, Noura. The Amazing Adventures of Ibn Battuta. Cambridge: Hood Hood Books, 1995.

I used the last few pages relating to Ibn Battuta's travels in China.

Gibb, H. A. R. The Travels of Ibn Battuta, Vol I. New Delhi, India: Munshiram Manoharlal Publishers Pvt. Ltd., 2004.

This book covers Ibn Battuta's first Mecca visit, but not his later travels to China and Damascus.

Gibb, H. A. R. The Travels of Ibn Battuta Vols. I - III. New Delhi, India: Munshiram Manoharlal Publishers Pvt. Ltd., 1999.

This book contains the previously cited volume and it may be hard to find. Quotes were taken from the other two Gibb sources.

Gibb, H. A. R. The Travels of Ibn Battuta, Vol. IV. London: The Hakluyt Society, 1994.

C. F. Beckingham completed this last volume of Ibn Battuta's travels after Gibb's death.

Hansen, Valerie, and Kenneth Curtis. Voyages in World History. Boston: Houghton Mifflin, forthcoming 2009.

This book offers further information on the time period, particularly Kennewick Man and Ibn Battuta.

Mackintosh-Smith, Tim. Travels with a Tangerine. New York: Random House, 2001.

I did not directly use any of the material in this book, but it is a witty, entertaining look at the Muslim world, comparing what Ibn Battuta saw to the world today.

Miller, Mary Ellen. The Art of Mesoamerica. London: Thames and Hudson, 1986.

This is a good collection of artwork, architectural diagrams, and maps of Tenochtitlan and other Aztec cities.

Rumford, James. Traveling Man: The Journey of Ibn Battuta, 1325-1354. Boston: Houghton-Mifflin Co., 2001.

The incredible illustrations in this children's book bring Ibn Battuta to life, though one could question the accuracy of the text. The text is more a series of vignettes of his travel years than a chronological retelling of the Rihla.

Stuart, George e., and Gene S. Stuart, Discovering Man's Past in the Americas. National Geographic Society, 1969.

This book offers concise information about Tenochtitlan, but no useful illustrations.

Websites

http://www.bookrags.com/Yuan_Dynasty. This is another brief history of the Yuan Dynasty.

http://www.britishcouncil.org/learnenglish-central-history-mecca-deaths.htm. Brief summaries of four Mecca stampedes in the 1990's, including the one in 1990 which killed 1,425 pilgrims.

http://www.common-place.org/vol-03/no-04/mexico city/. Although much of this site deals with Tenochtitlan after the arrival of the Spanish, it offers an intriguing examination of the Aztec society.

http://www.delange.org/TemMayor/TemMayor.htm. Great photographs of artifacts of Tenochtitlan.

http://www.differentworld.com/mexico/areas/mexico-city/guide-zocalo.htm. This site shows modern day Mexico City atop the ruins of Tenochtitlan.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tenochtitlan. This is an easy-to-read site with a lot of information which would interest students in middle school. Still, some editing is necessary.

http://www.famsi.org/research/pohl/pohl_aztec6.html. Though I discovered this site when this unit was nearly completed, The Foundation for the Advancement of Mesoamerica Studies site is maybe the best single site, containing great illustrations.

http://www.freewebs.com/graham7760/thedarkages.htm. Interesting information about what we know and don't know about sailing ships in the dark ages.

http://geography.about.com/library/blank/blxmiddleeast.htm. This is the blank map of the Middle East for use during

http://historymedren.about.com/library/weekly/aapmaps4.htm. This site has a good colored map and a brief description of the routes by which Black Death spread through Europe.

http://historymedren.about.com/od/theblackdeath/a/death_defined.htm. This site, with many links to specific topics, is a good overview of the Black Plague. The site can be very graphic; you might want to extract information from it rather than let students freely search the site.

http://www.humanities-interactive.org/splendors/ex048_08e.html. Black and white map of Tenochtitlan for coloring.

http://www.insecta-inspecta.com/fleas/bdeath. This site gives Black Death information written to be easily understood by middle school students.

http://www.kyrene.org/schools/brisas/sunda/arthistory/china.htm. A brief but useful summary of Chinese art.

http://www.medieval-life.net/black-death.htm. A brief overview of life in the middle ages.

http://www.mexicocity.com.mx/history1.html. This offers a brief history of Tenochtitlan.

http://milnet.com/mid-east-news/Religious-Differences-Sunnivs-Shiite.html. The extremely pro-Us military site is not remotely objective; it does, nevertheless, explain the Sunni/Shiite conflict well, and it explains how the Mideast countries break down politically.

http://www.mnh.si.edu/arctic/html/kennewick_man.html. This site offers basic information and photographs of Kennewick man.

http://www.mnsu.edu/emuseum/prehistory/china/later_imperial_china/yuan.html. This is a concise, easily readable summary of the Yuan Dynasty.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/onthisday/hi/dates/stories/september/19/newsid_4252000/4252078.stm. Here is a good BBC summary of the 1985 earthquake which devastated Mexico City.

http://novaonline.nv.cc.va.us/eli/evans/his135/EXAMS/map_printable.html. Use this site to obtain blank maps of the world for pre- and post-tests.

http://www.orientalarchitecture.com/beijing/azureindex.htm. This site offers a wide range of Chinese architectural photos.

http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/sultan/archeology2.html. This site gives information about the excavation of a Yuan wreck found off the coast of South Korea.

http://www.state.gov/r/pa/ei/bgn/18902.htm. This U.S. Department of State seventeen page summary has all you need to know about modern China for the unit.

http://www.thejadetrade.com/ian/p8d.html. This is a brief summary of the Yuan and all dynasties are available on this site.

http://the-orb.net/textbooks/muhlberger/14c_religion.html. This is an interesting summary of religious conflicts in England in the fourteenth century. Some of the information can be tied into the plague years.

http://www.travelchinaguide.com/intro/history/yuan/index.htm. Information about religions, social structures, economy, and culture of China during the Yuan Dynasty is contained at the site.

http://www.ummah.net/hajj/glance/index.html. This site has a diagram and a three-page description of the Hajj rituals, but it doesn't explain what several of the words mean.

http://www.wsu.edu/~dee/CIVAMRCA/AZTECS.HTM. This site discussed the Aztec culture and its relationships with other Mesoamericans. It's useful and fascinating, but offers few details about life in Tenochtitlan.

http://z.about.com/d/geography/1/0/Q/K/china.jpg. This blank map of China is for use on day

Documentaries (All are available at amazon.com)

The Aztec Empire. DVD. The History Channel. A&E Television Networks, Documentary AAE-73120, 1997.

This film contains good and relevant coverage of Tenochtitlan and modern excavation of the temple. Students should find the film absorbing, but parts are gory and irrelevant to the teaching unit.

Inside Mecca. Dir. Anisa Mehdi. DVD. National Geographic Video, 2003.

This film offers a fascinating look at three modern Muslims (an Indonesian businessman, an African radio announcer, and an American woman of Irish ancestry) and their experiences participating in the Hajj at Mecca. This film seems safe and non-judgmental. IT certainly conveys a feeling of what it must be like to participate.

Islam - Empire of Faith. Prod and dir. Robert Gardner, Writ. Jonathan Grupper. DVD. Gardner Films, Inc., 2000.

The film supplies a broad overview of Islam, both historically and today. Parts are usable, but this two hour and forty minute movie covers many topics irrelevant to the lessons.

The Scourge of the Black Death. DVD. The History Channel, A & E Home Video, 2005.

This is a good, if simplistic, history of the fourteenth century plague, particularly in England, with a tie in to modern outbreaks of Ebola. Editing is needed for middle school due to nudity in some period paintings and details about sexual promiscuity.

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