"i then passed on to jerusalem, and on the road visited the tomb of jonas, and bethlehem the birth-place of jesus. but, as to the mosque of jerusalem, it is said, that there is not a greater upon the face of the earth and in sacredness, and privileges conferred, this place is third…from this place i set out for the maritime parts of syria, passing by the route of bawad between two " – from the travels of ibn batuta, by ibn batuta, written between 1325-1355, published in 1829 based on the passage above, why would it be surprising that ibn battuta was able to travel freely in the region outlined above as well as through parts of europe?
a) ibn battuta would not have spoken the language of the jewish people living in israel.
b) the crusades had ended immediately to this time period, creating tension between the islamic world and european christians.
c) the byzantine empire controlled all of the middle east and were opposed to anyone who did not practice christianity.
d) the bubonic plague had killed 1/3 of europe and asia, causing travel to slow dramatically in africa, europe, and asia before 1400.