Travellers to ndia - history

[History] Foreign travellers in ancient & medieval India
MOST IMPORTANT FOREIGN TRAVELLERS
 
NAME
COUNTRY
PERIOD
INFO
MEGASTHENES
GREECE
AFTER THE BATTLE BETWEEN CHANDRAGUPTA MAURYA AND SELUCAS(305 B.C-DEBATABLE).
Ø  Ambassador  of  Selucus I of Syria.
Ø  Came to court of Sandrokottes(Chandragupta maurya).
Ø  Described the social and administrative conditions under the  mauryas.
Ø  Wrote Indica.
Ø  In Indica we found  the royal palace Magadha made by wood.
Ø  7 division of Indian cast system.
PTOLEMY
GREECE
130 A.D
Ø  Wrote “the geography of India”-which describes  ancient Indian geography.
FA-HIEN
CHINA
399 A.D-412 A.D
Ø  Visited India during Chandragupta II(Vikramaditya).
Ø  Visited Lumbini, the birth place of  Buddha.
Ø  Journey described in his travelogoue as “Record of Buddhist Kingdoms”.
Ø  Wrote Fo-Kyo-Ki.
HIUEN TSANG
CHINA
629 A.D-645 A.D
Ø  Visited the court of Harshavardhana.
Ø  Came through Tashkent and Swat valley.
Ø  His book “Si-yu-ki or the  records of western world”.
AL BERUNI
MIDDLE ASIA
1000A.D-1025A.D
Ø  Came along with Mahmud of Ghajni.
Ø  First Muslim scholar to study India.
Ø  Known as founder of Indology.
Ø  Wrote Tarikh al Hind/kitab-ul-hind.
IBN BATUTA
MORROCCO
1333A.D
Ø  Was appointed a Qadi or judge, by Md. Bin Tughlaq.
Ø  Wrote Kitab-ul-rahla.
MARCOPOLO
ITALY
1288A.D-1292A.D
Ø  Visited Kakatiya state under Rudrmadevi(pandayas).
Ø  Well known European travellar who visited many eastern countries.
NICOLO CONTI
ITALIAN
1420-1421 A.D
Ø  Came during the rule of Devraya Iof Sangam dynasty of Vijayanagar empire.
Ø  Has given a graphic account of Vijayanagars capital.
ABDUL RAZZAK
PERSIAN
1442-1445 A.D
Ø  Ambassador of Shahrukh of Timurid dynasty.
Ø  Came during the rule of Devraya II of Sangam dynasty of Vijayanagar empire.
Ø  Given a brief account of the country side, in his Matla us saddin wa majuma ul Baharain.
AFNASY NIKITIN
RUSSIA
1469-1472 A.D
Ø  A Russian merchant who documented his Indian visit in a narrative”The journey beyond 3 seas”.
Ø  He had visited the Bahamani sultanate.
DOMINGO PAES
PORTUGAL
1520-1522A.D
Ø  Came during the rule of Krishnadevaraya(1509-1529) of Tuluv dynasty of Vijayanagar empire.
FERNAO NUNES
PORTUGAL
1535-1537 A.D
Ø  He was a chronicler and a horse trder.
Ø  Came during the rule of Achutya devaraya(1529-1542A.D) of Tuluv dynasty of Vijayanagar empire.
Ø  Informs us that a large number of kings paid tribute to him.
WILLIAM HAWKINS
BRITAIN
1609-1611A.D
Ø  He was an ambassador of King James I.
Ø  Visited the court of Jahangir.
 SIR THOMAS ROE
BRITAIN
1615A.D
Ø  He was the ambassador of King James I.
Ø  Arrived at Jahangirs court.
Ø  By 1618 he obtained 2 farmans confirming free trade.
(His Journal of the mission to the Mogul Empire, several times printed, has been re-edited, with an introduction
by W Foster, for the Hakluyt Society (1899). This is a valuable contribution to the history of India in the early 17th century. Of his correspondence)
PIETRO DELLA VALLE
ITALY
1623-1624A.D
Ø  Visited the  king of Vekatappa nayaka of  Keladi in India.
SIR WILLIAM NORRIS
BRITAIN
-
Ø  He was the companies  ambassador to the Mughal empire.
Ø  Visited during Auranjeebs reign.

OTHER FOREIGNER TRAVELERS (OF THE ANCIENT AND MEDIEVAL PERIOD)

NAME
PERIOD
Significant points(if any)
Unknown greek sailor
MID FIRST CENTURY
Ø  Wrote a book named “Periplus of the erethraean sea”.-describing
navigation and trading
opportunities from Roman
Egyptian ports like
Berenice along the coast
of the Red Sea, and
others along Northeast
Africa and the Indian
subcontinent
ST.THOMAS
14-15 A.D
Ø  An apostle who spread Christianity in Kerala.
CHENG-HI
1421-1431A.D
Ø  Came during the reign of Jalauddin(Bengal)
LUDVICO DE VORTHEMA
1502-1508 A.D
Ø  Italian merchant who visited India in 1502-1508 A.D left his memoirs in Egypt, India, Syria etc.
BARTOLOMIU-DIAS(PORTUGUESE)
1503-1508 A.D
Ø  Came in Deccan.
Ø  In 1488 he sailed around the tips of Africa the first European to have done so.
EDWARDO BARBOSA
1516-1518A.D
Ø  Came during the reign of Krishnadevaraya.
ANTHONY MONSERRATE
1578-1582A.D
Ø  Came during the reign of Akbar
RALPH FITCH
1585-1591A.D
Ø  Came during the reign of Akbar.
CAESAR FREIDRICK
16 TH CENTURY
Ø  Came to Vijayanagar.
JOHN LISCONTEN
16TH CENTURY
Ø  Came to Vijayanagar.
LAMA TARANATH
16TH CENTURY
Ø  Came to east India.
WILLIAM FITCH
1608-1612A.D
Ø  Came during Jahangir.
JOHN-JOURDIAN
1608-1617A.D
Ø  Came during Jahangir.
NICHOLAS DOWNTON
1608-1615A.D
Ø  Came during Jahangir.
NICHOLAS WITHINGTON
1612-1616A.D
Ø  Came during Jahangir.
THOMAS CORYET
1612-1617A.D
Ø  Came during Jahangir.
EDWARD TERRY
1616-1619A.D
Ø  Came during the rule of Jahangir.
PAUL CANNIN(BRITISH)
1615-1625
Ø  Came during the  rule of  Jahangir.
FRANSISCO PELASERT
1620-1627 A.D
Ø  Came during Jahangir.
PIETRA DELLAVALE
1622-1633A.D
Ø  Jahangir.
JOHN LAIT
1626-1633A.D
Ø  Came during Shahjahan..
PETER MUNDY
1630-1634A.D
Ø  Shahjahan.
MANUCCI
1656-1687A.D
Ø  Aurangjeeb.
BERNIER
1658-1668A.D
Ø  Aurangjeeb.
JEAN DE THEVENOT
1666-1668A.D
Ø  Aurangjeeb.
GEMELLI CARERI
1695-1699A.D
Ø  Came to Bijapur.

v  The list of the travelers is much more than the above mentioned ones but  significant ones has been mentioned.

v  Add in the list according to the need.