Having joined a new caravan, Ibn Battutah travels over land and sea before arriving in Baghdad. He is far less impressed by this city than the others he has come to, as it seems to be on the decline and there is nothing stunningly beautiful about the city, save the Tigris river flowing through it, which he compares to “a necklace ranged between two breasts,” once again ascribing feminine traits to a city in his descriptions (75).  At this point Ibn Juzayy inserts a segment of a poem by Abu Tammam, which similarly laments the deterioration of Baghdad. While unimpressed by the city as a whole, Ibn Battutah is, however, greatly amazed by the bathhouses of the city, which have individual cubicles for privacy and provide their patrons with multiple towels in order to cover themselves properly. It’s clear from his tone that this is what he feels a bathhouse should be like, unlike the one in Egypt, where he was horrified by the way the patrons did not cover themselves. 

 

Ibn Battutah also lists the number of mosques within the city, and describes the Mustansiriyah College, and how teaching is carried out within it. He again speaks of the great men he encounters, this time the Sultan Abu Sa’id, who is of course also a man of great generosity and excellence. He breaks his account of Abu Sa’id’s charity towards a group of blind beggars to tell of the Sultan’s later life, how he killed the amir that had held power over him when he ascended to the throne at a young age, and his later death at the hands of one of his jealous wives. This section seemed a sharp contrast to the ones surrounding it, and I wondered whether it was inserted to give some more dramatic entertainment to the audience through a story of political and romantic intrigue. It is unclear when or from who Ibn Battutah heard this story, since he is recounting both his journey and the events of Abu Sa’id’s death after they happened, but it’s unlikely that Ibn Battutah was there himself when the fateful murders took place. So it is very likely that, even if he is getting this from another source, it may have already been dramatically embellished by the time it reached him.

Ibn Battutah then returns to the account of his journey, traveling along with the Sultan in his mahallah so that he can see all the ceremonials performed for him. He describes the musicians that play for him, the amirs, the standard-bearers, and the many soldiers that march with them, as well as the punishments they suffer for lagging behind their company. By doing this Ibn Battutah demonstrates the great power of the Sultan, to command so many, as well as a sort of equality in his treatment, as no one, whether they be of high or low rank, is exempt from being punished for wrongdoing. Ibn Battutah journeys with them for ten days, until they arrive in the city of Tabriz.