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Foreign Travellers in Ancient and Medieval India

Last updated on December 17, 2022 by ClearIAS Team

Many travellers from Greece, the Arab world, Western Asia, and China visited India during the ancient and medieval periods. What were their main motives? What did they write about? Read the article to know more about the foreign travellers who visited India during the ancient and medieval periods.

Many travellers from Greece, the Arab world, Western Asia, and China visited India during the ancient and mediaeval periods.

These travellers left numerous records of the things they saw. These foreign visitors had no loyalty to any of the local kings, thus their stories are impartial and provide firsthand information on the subjects they discussed.

According to Herodotus, who lived in the fifth century BC, the Indus River valley in central and eastern Pakistan was the farthest eastern point in the known world.

The Greek geographer Herodotus ( 5th century BC) refers to India as “the Indus country” in addition to using the term Hindus, the Old Persian name for the Indus river and its inhabitants, and the associated satrapy of Sindh of the Achaemenid Empire.

Table of Contents

Major travellers

Major travellers who visited India are:

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Megasthenes

302 to 298 B.C.

He was the ambassador of Seleucus.
He travelled to India when Chandragupta Maurya was in power.
Chandragupta was referred to as Sandrocottus by the Greeks.
He was also the author of the novel “Indica.”
Megasthenes is referred to be the “Father of Indian History” since he was the first to depict ancient India.

Abdur Razzak

1443 A.D. – 1444 A.D.
An Islamic scholar and philosopher named Abdur Razzak paid a visit to India while Dev Raya II, the most illustrious ruler of the Sangama dynasty, was in power.
The people of Calicut, whom he described as having bad hygiene and practicing polyandry, did not impress him.
Since the Vijayanagar King had called him to his dominion, his time in Calicut was brief.
Razzak passed through Mangalore before arriving in Vijayanagara.
1024–1030 A.D.
After travelling to India, he wrote a book about Indian culture.
He wrote Kitab-ul-hind or Tahqiq-i-Hind after investigating the Hindu religion that is widely practiced in India (History of India).
He became fully knowledgeable about India.
He studied Sanskrit, Indian philosophy, and the nation’s socioeconomic situation since he was fascinated by Indian culture.
He occasionally drew parallels between Sufi doctrine and Indian philosophy, as well as that of Socrates , Pythagoras, Plato, Aristotle, Galen, and others.
His book provides an account of Indian history based on his investigation and observations made between 1017 and 1030.
Since Al Masudi was the first Arab author to combine history and scientific geography in his works, he was known as the “Herodotus of the Arabs.”
Masudi was a prolific author who is thought to have produced 34 works in total.
He visited Malacca, the contemporary capital of Malaysia, as well as Sri Lanka and Indonesia.
He cites strong trade between Malacca and India’s east coast.
Al-Masudi believes that the Atlantic and Indian Oceans are connected and refers to the Atlantic Ocean as the Dark-Green Sea.
405 to 411 A.D.
He was a Chinese Buddhist monk.
He travelled to India during the rule of Vikramaditya (Chandragupta II).
He gained notoriety for visiting Lumbini.
His travel journal, ” Record of Buddhist Kingdoms,” details his adventure.

Hiuen Tsang

630 to 645 AD.
During the time of King Harsha Vardhan, a Chinese Buddhist monk by the name of Hiuen Tsang, popularly known as Xuanzang, travelled from China to India to collect Buddhist texts.
He studied in Nalanda, a prestigious institution in the Indian state of Bihar, for almost five years. Hiuen Tsang studied logic, grammar, Sanskrit, and the Yogacara style of Buddhism when he was in Nalanda.
He wrote “The Records of the Western World,” or Si-yu-ki.

Ibn Battuta

1333 to 1347.
Ibn Battuta, a Moroccan nomad who travelled the world in the 13th century, left his home at the age of 21.
In Mohammad Bin Tughlaq’s royal court, Ibn Battuta came.
They set ship from the Gujarati port of Khambhat for Calicut, now called Kozhikode, where they were invited guests of the ruling Zamorin.
One of the ships of the Ibn Battuta expedition perished in a storm that happened close to Calicut, but the second ship continued without difficulty and was seized a few months later by a local Sumatran ruler.
He travelled around Southern India for a while under Jamal-ud-protection.
The poem Rihla was written by Ibn Battuta.
1292 and 1294.
Marco Polo, a Venetian trader and explorer, travelled from Europe to Asia .
He joined the Tanjore-area Tamil Pandya kingdom.
He travelled across Southern India while Rudramma Devi of the Kakatiya Dynasty was in power.One of India’s few queens was Rudramadevi, who ruled from 1261 to 1295 CE.

Nicolo Conti

1420 to 1421.
Italian explorer and merchant Niccolo Conti travelled to India in the year 1420, perhaps after Deva Raya II assumed the throne of the Vijayanagara state.
Niccolo visited Sonargaon and Chittagong (in modern-day Bangladesh), then travelled by land to Arakan (now Rakhine State, Burma).
The southernmost point that Conti ventured to was Ceylon. He made several stops, notably in Cochin and Calicut, along the Malabar Coast of India (Kozhikode).
Before travelling to the southern coast of the Arabian Peninsula and the city of Aden, he returned to Cambay.
He arrived in India in 518 CE along with the monks “Hui Zheng,” “Fa Li,” and “Zheng Fouze” while the Buddhist Empress Hu of the “Northern Wei Dynasty” was in power.
Sung Yun, a native of Dunhuang, a city in China.
They departed from the Wei capital of Luoyang in 518 and returned in the winter of 522 bearing 117 Mahayana Buddhist scriptures.
Fortunately, many important details of their journey have been recorded in Yang Xianzhi’s Loyang Jielanji and other works.
He visited the Swat region of northern India and created the Gandhara dynasty story there.

Afanasy Russian Nikitin

1442-1443 AD
A Russian businessman named Nikitin spent more than two years in India, travelling to various locations, getting to know the people there, and methodically documenting everything he saw.
The merchant’s notes were assembled into a document called a “Journey,” which is more akin to a trip journal.
This literature accurately reflected the nature and political structure of India, as well as its traditions, way of life, and customs.
1615 A.D. – 1619 A.D
Englishman Sir Thomas Roe served as a diplomat.
He visited India in 1615, during Jahangir’s rule. He went to Surat to look for security for an English company.
He left behind a priceless contribution to Indian history with his “ Journal of the Mission to the Mughal Empire .”

Domingo Paes

1520-1522 A.D.
Numerous Portuguese traders and tourists visited Vijayanagara when Goa was taken over in 1510 and became the seat of the Portuguese Estado da India.
These visitors published in-depth reports of Bisnaga’s beauty.
Domingos Paes’ is most noteworthy, written between 1520 and 1522.
Paes’ description, published during Krishnadeva’s reign and mostly based on close observation, fully explains the yearly royal Durga festival and the so-called feudal Malankara system of Vijayanagara’s military organisation.

Fernao Nunes

1535-1537 A.D.
A Portuguese horse dealer named Fernao Nuniz wrote his account of India sometime between 1536 and 1537.
He was at Vijaynagara’s capital under the rule of Achyutaraya, and he might have been present for Krishnadevaraya’s earlier battles.
This visitor was very interested in the history of Vijayanagara, particularly the building of the city, the subsequent rule of three dynasties, and the battles they fought against the Deccan sultans and Orissan Rayas.
Additionally, his observations offer insight into the Mahanavami celebration, where he admires the extravagant gems worn by the courtly women and the hundreds of women serving the monarch.

Francois Bernier

1656 A.D. – 1668A.D.
He was a French traveller and doctor.
He spent the years 1656 to 1668 in India.
In the course of rule of Shah Jahan he visited India.
He served Prince Dara Shikoh as a doctor before joining Aurangzeb’s court.
The rules of Aurangzeb and Dara Shikoh are mostly discussed in the book.

Jean Baptiste Tavernier

1638-1663 A.D.
French traveller who visited India 6 times during the reign of Shahjahan and Aurangzeb.

William Hawkins

1608-1611 A.D.
A representative of King James I of England.
Arrived in India during the rule of the great Mughal Emperor Jahangir along with William Finch.

Contributions of Foreign Travellers

The accounts of these travellers covered a variety of topics. The stories that have survived cover a wide range of topics.
Others are interested in religious issues, architectural issues, and monuments, while some are preoccupied with legal difficulties.
Visitors to India accurately portrayed Indian culture in their writings.
Particularly in mediaeval and ancient India, foreign travel reports are crucial to understanding Indian history.
Their tour’s narrative was able to shed light on a number of topics, including government and regional customs.
Understanding what other people think of our country is helpful. It helps us recognise where our nation is lacking.
Understanding how people lived in our country is useful.
Their writings offer details on the ports along the coast of India, the trade centres within India, the trade routes connecting the trade centres and ports, the distance between the centres, a list of the commodities that can be traded, the annual volume of trade, rates, ship types, and other information.

Visitors who want to learn about one of the world’s ancient civilizations have long considered India to be a dream destination. India has drawn several adventurous travellers who have fallen in love with its customs and colours from the beginning of time. These foreign travellors had no allegiance to the local tyrants; as a result, their testimonials are unbiased and offer specific information on the subjects they covered.

Article Written By : Atheena Fathima Riyas

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Reader Interactions

June 13, 2023 at 5:28 pm

Very nice this is helpful ☺️

August 24, 2023 at 9:29 pm

Al masudi write book muruj ul zehab. But you don’t mentioned it. If you can’t make good notes which are actual useful for aspirants then don’t make it please. Might be some of them rely on your info which is incomplete makes there selection possibility less than other competitor’s respectively.

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Foreign Travellers who visited India

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Ancient History Notes for UPSC

Table of Contents

Foreign Travellers in India

List of foreign travellers in india, contributions of foreign travellers to india, foreign travellers in india upsc pyqs.

Foreign Travellers in India FAQs

Prelims: History of India

Mains: The salient aspects of Art Forms, literature and Architecture from ancient to modern times.

India, with its rich cultural heritage , vast geography, and ancient civilizations, has long captivated the imagination of foreign travellers and explorers. From ancient Greek scholars to mediaeval Arab merchants and early modern Europeans , these voyagers travelled the vast subcontinent, leaving behind a wealth of accounts that provided invaluable insights into the country's past.

Traveller narratives offer a glimpse into the rich cultural traditions, the complex socio-economic structure, and the magnificence of powerful empires. Penned by pioneering figures like Megasthenes, Al-Beruni, Marco Polo, and Bernier , their seminal works have become invaluable repositories , preserving insights into India's history while enhancing India’s reputation internationally.

India mesmerised foreign travellers for ages - ancient Greeks, medieval Arabs like Al-Beruni , and Europeans like Marco Polo and Sir Thomas Roe . They describe India in a lively way, showing its grandness with its rich kings, and different cultures, and how it's always changing when seen from outside perspectives.

Reasons behind Foreigner’s Visits

Foreign travellers visited the Indian subcontinent for various reasons, including-

Religious pursuits : Buddhist scholars like Hiuen Tsang from China sought to study the origins and practices of Buddhism in India.
Trade and commerce : India's thriving trade networks and markets attracted merchants from various regions seeking business opportunities.
Cultural exchange : India's rich heritage in arts, philosophy, and traditions piqued the curiosity of foreign travellers interested in cultural immersion.
Political missions : Emissaries like Megasthenes were sent on diplomatic missions to establish political and economic ties with Indian kingdoms.
Scientific learning : India's advances in astronomy, mathematics, and medicine drew scholars eager to learn from its intellectual traditions.
Historical documentation : Travellers like Ptolemy aimed to chronicle and record observations about ancient Indian society, geography, and history.

Foreign Travellers during Ancient India

Megasthenes, a Greek ethnographer and ambassador, visited the court of Chandragupta Maurya as an envoy of Seleucus Nicator.
He wrote the famous work 'Indika' which provides valuable information about the Mauryan empire , its administration, society, geography, and culture.
He is often hailed as the “ Father of Indian History .”
He was a Greek ambassador to the court of Bindusara , son of Chandragupta Maurya.
His accounts corroborate and supplement Megasthenes' descriptions of ancient India.
Fa-Hien was a Chinese Buddhist monk and one of the earliest Chinese travellers to India. He travelled to India during the rule of Chandragupta II (Vikramaditya).
His travelogue 'A Record of the Buddhist Kingdoms' provides insights into ancient India's religious and social life during the Gupta period .

Foreign Travellers during Medieval India

Hsüan-Tsang , also known as Xuanzang, was a Chinese Buddhist monk who travelled to India during the reign of Harshavardhana .
His memoir ' Great Tang Records on the Western Regions' provides insights into the religious, political and cultural life of India during this period.
During his sixteen-year pilgrimage, he traversed the Silk Road and parts of South Asia.
At Nalanda , he translated Buddhist scriptures, engaged in scholarly pursuits and contributed to the exchange of knowledge between China and India.
I-Tsing, a 7th -century Chinese traveller, visited India during the Chalukya and Pallava rule in the Deccan region.
His primary purpose was to study and gain knowledge about Buddhist teachings , philosophy, and monastic life in India, which was considered the origin of Buddhism.
His accounts offer rich insights into Buddhist practices like monastic rules and monks' daily routines in India.
He was a Persian scholar, mathematician, and polymath who accompanied Mahmud of Ghazni 's expeditions to India between 1024-1030 AD.
He is considered the " Father of Indology " for his pioneering and insightful study of Indian history, culture, and sciences.
In his seminal work “ Tahqiq-i-Hind ”, he covered a wide range of topics related to Indian civilisation, including religion, philosophy, literature, science, astronomy, mathematics, geography, chronology, and social customs.
He translated several Indian works into Arabic, including the Brahmasiddhanta , a Sanskrit text on astronomy and mathematics.
Al-Masudi, an Arab historian and traveller, visited parts of India and the Indian Ocean islands.
His book ' Meadows of Gold ' contains descriptions of Indian society, religions, and maritime activities.
His travels and writings provide valuable insights into the cultural and geographical aspects of India and its maritime connections with other regions.
Marco Polo, a Venetian explorer, visited the Indian subcontinent during 1292-1294 CE on his journey to Kublai Khan's court in China.
He visited Southern India during the reigns of Rudramma Devi of the Kakatiyas and Pandyan ruler Madverman.
Observations: The thriving trade, industries, and economic activities in southern India during the late 13th century.
Ibn Battuta , the famed Moroccan traveller, arrived in Delhi during Muhammad bin Tughluq 's reign in 1333 CE
He served for some time as a judge in the Delhi court.
Battuta's travelogue 'Rihla' offers a vivid firsthand account of life in Delhi. His narratives unveil the grandeur of the court, the Sultan's peculiarities, and insights into administration, law and order, and socio-cultural aspects under Tughluq's rule .
The Rihla sheds light on taxation policies, currency regulations, public projects, and more. It also captures details of daily lives, festivals, customs, and religious practices across the Sultanate territories he traversed, providing an invaluable peek into 14th-century India.
Nicolo Conti, a Venetian merchant and explorer, spent around 25 years travelling in the Indian Ocean region during the 15th century.
He reached the Vijayanagar Empire around 1420 CE and spent several years there. He witnessed the reigns of Deva Raya I and Deva Raya II.
His detailed accounts describe Vijayanagar's grandeur, providing insights into the empire's social customs, religious practices, caste system , Hindu festivals, and the practice of Sati.
Abdur Razzaq, a Persian ambassador sent by Shah Rukh of the Timurid Empire, visited Calicut in 1442 CE during the Zamorin's reign .
In his memoir " The Journey of Abdur Razzaq ," he vividly described Calicut's prosperous port, bustling markets, vibrant spice and textile trade, and the presence of foreign merchants.
His account offers insights into the Zamorin's court, and administration, and is a valuable primary source on medieval India's maritime commercial history.
Nikitin was a Russian merchant who visited India and wrote the famous ' The Travels of Athanasius Nikitin ' describing his experiences.
Nikitin's writings offer insights into the political conditions, trade activities, social customs, and religious practices prevalent in parts of India during the 15th century.
Barbosa, a Portuguese traveller, spent around 16 years in India, primarily in the regions of Kerala and the Vijayanagara Empire, from the late 15th to early 16th century.
He provided detailed descriptions of the intricate caste system prevalent in Indian society, highlighting the various castes, their occupations, and social hierarchies.
He wrote extensively about the prosperous Vijayanagara Empire, Calicut, Cochin and Goa, highlighting their economic importance and cultural diversity.
Domingo Paes was a Portuguese traveller who visited the Vijayanagara Empire between 1520-1522 AD during the reign of Krishnadeva Raya .
Paes's account describes the grandeur, wealth and power of the Vijayanagar Empire under Krishnadeva Raya. He marvelled at the extensive territory, efficient administration, prosperous trade, and formidable military of the empire.
Fernão Nuniz was a Portuguese traveller and horse trader who visited the Vijayanagara Empire in the early 16th century, around 1535-1537 CE, during the reign of Achyuta Deva Raya .
His accounts provide valuable insights into Hindu religious practices, temples, festivities like Diwali and Holi, the caste system, and cultural aspects of that era.
He mentioned that the women were experts in astrology, wrestling and soothsaying.
He was a French gem merchant, traveller and pioneer of trade with India in the 17th century.
He made six arduous journeys to India between 1638 and 1668, travelling extensively across the Mughal Empire under the reigns of Shahjahan and Aurangzeb .
His observations shed light on the decline of the Mughal empire towards the end, the challenges faced and increasing Persian/Central Asian influences.
He also elaborately discussed diamonds and diamond mines in India.
François Bernier was a French physician and traveller who spent around 12 years (1658-1669) in India, primarily in the court of the Mughal emperor Aurangzeb .
Bernier's compelling first-hand observations and critiques in 'Travels in the Mogul Empire' provide one of the most comprehensive contemporary European accounts of life, society and politics in India during the later Mughal period.

Since the beginning of time, travellers from all over the world have visited India. This is a list of notable foreign visitors to India, along with information about their visits.

Foreign travellers have made significant contributions to our understanding and knowledge of India's history, culture, and society through their detailed accounts and observations.

Documentation of historical events and dynasties : Travellers like Megasthenes , Hiuen Tsang , and Ibn Battuta chronicled India's political landscapes, administrations, and historical events across dynasties like the Mauryas and Mughals .
Insights into socio-cultural practices : Their accounts illuminated India's diverse social customs, religious festivals, art, architecture, and daily life across regions, highlighting the country's rich cultural traditions.
Trade and commerce : Merchant travellers like Niccolò de' Conti , Athanasius Nikitin , and Jean-Baptiste Tavernier documented India's trade routes, commercial activities, and economic conditions.
Religious and philosophical exchanges : Buddhist travelers like Fa-Hien , Hiuen Tsang facilitated religious-philosophical exchanges, documenting Buddhist institutions and teachings in India.
Architectural marvels : Travelers' vivid accounts of India's architectural marvels like temples, forts, and palaces, aided historical preservation efforts.
Comparative perspectives : Foreign travellers' accounts offer cross-cultural perspectives, revealing how outsiders perceived Indian society, culture, and governance, highlighting differences.

Limitations of their Assessment

For example, Niccolo Manucci portrayed Indian customs and practices in a negative light, describing them as "barbarous" and "uncivilised."
Language obstacles: Misunderstandings and distorted portrayals due to limited grasp of local languages.
Thomas Roe focused his observations primarily on the mughal imperial court and the nobility.
For example, Barbosa categorized the Indian population into only four castes, failing to capture the complex hierarchies and sub-divisions within the system.

Question 1: Persian literary sources of medieval India reflect the spirit of the age. Comment. ( UPSC Mains 2020 )

Question 2: Assess the importance of the accounts of the Chinese and Arab travellers in the reconstruction of the history of India. ( UPSC Mains 2018 )

Question 3: According to the Portuguese writer Nuniz, the women in the Vijayanagara Empire were experts in which of the following areas?

Soothsaying

Select the correct answer using the code given below. ( UPSC Prelims 2021 )

1, 2 and 3 only
1, 3 and 4 only
2 and 4 only
1, 2, 3 and 4

Answer: (d)

Question 4: Which one of the following foreign travellers elaborately discussed about diamonds and diamond mines in India? ( UPSC Prelims 2018)

Francois Bernier
Jean-Baptiste Tavernier
Jean de Thevenot
Abbe Barthelemy Carre

Answer: (b)

Question 5: The Chinese traveller Yuan Chwang (Hiuen Tsang) who visited India recorded the general conditions and culture of India at that time. In this context, which of the following statements is/are correct?

The roads and river routes were completely immune from robbery.
As regards punishment for offences, ordeals by fire, water and poison were the instruments for determining the innocence or guilt of a person.
The tradesmen had to pay duties at ferries and barrier stations.

Select the correct answer using the codes given below. ( UPSC Prelims 2013 )

2 and 3 only
1 and 3 only

Foreign Travellers in India FAQs

Q1. Who is considered as the father of Indological study?

Ans. Al-Biruni, the 11th-century Persian scholar, is considered the father of Indological studies.

Q2. Who wrote the famous book “Rihla”?

Ans. Ibn Battuta, the renowned 14th-century Moroccan traveller, authored the celebrated book "Rihla" chronicling his extensive travels.

Q3. Name the foreign travellers who visited the Vijayanagara Empire.

Ans. Notable foreign travellers who visited the Vijayanagara Empire include Niccolò de' Conti, Domingo Paes, Fernão Nunes, and Persian ambassador Abdur Razzaq Mashhadi.

List of Foreign Travellers in Indian History

Foreign travelers such as Megasthenes and Hiuen Tsang in ancient times, and Ibn Battuta and Vasco da Gama in medieval and early modern periods, have left significant imprints on India's history.

Table of Contents

Foreign travelers such as Megasthenes and Hiuen Tsang in ancient times, and Ibn Battuta and Vasco da Gama in medieval and early modern periods, have left significant imprints on India’s history. These explorers, hailing from Greece to Morocco and beyond, documented their experiences, contributing crucial insights into India’s culture, trade, and society. Their accounts remain valuable sources for understanding the historical dynamics of the Indian subcontinent.

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Foreign Travellers in Ancient India

Foreign travelers in ancient India, such as Megasthenes and Faxian, played crucial roles in shaping historical narratives.

Megasthenes , a Greek ambassador in the 4th century BCE, provided insights into the Mauryan Empire’s court under Chandragupta Maurya.
Faxian , a Chinese pilgrim in the 5th century CE, documented Gupta dynasty details and contributed to Buddhist knowledge.
These early observers, alongside others like Hiuen Tsang, established enduring connections between India and the global community, leaving invaluable records that illuminate ancient Indian society, culture, and political landscapes. Their writings remain pivotal in understanding the historical dynamics of the Indian subcontinent.

Foreign Travellers in Medieval India

Medieval India attracted an array of foreign travelers who left significant accounts of their experiences.

Ibn Battuta , a Moroccan explorer in the 14th century, documented the Delhi Sultanate’s political and cultural milieu during Muhammad bin Tughlaq’s reign.
Marco Polo , the Italian merchant, offered insights into the economic history of Southern India during the Kakatiya and Pandyan rule.
Jean-Baptiste Tavernier , a French gem merchant, traversed India during the 17th century, providing details on the Mughal Empire’s flourishing trade.
These travelers contributed diverse perspectives, enriching our understanding of medieval Indian society, commerce, and governance through their valuable writings, which continue to be historical references.

List of Foreign Travellers in India

Brief about foreign travellers in india.

Megasthenes (302-298 B.C.): A Greek ethnographer and ambassador, Megasthenes visited the court of Chandragupta Maurya as an envoy of Seleucus Nicator. His work, “Indika,” offers a comprehensive description of ancient India, including insights into the geography with mentions of major rivers like the Sindhu and Ganga. Megasthenes is often hailed as the “Father of Indian History.”

Deimachos (320-273 B.C.): Sent by Antiochus I, Deimachos, a Greek ambassador, visited Bindusāra or Amitraghāta, Chandragupta Maurya’s successor. His accounts provide valuable information about the contemporary society and political landscape of the Mauryan Empire.

Ptolemy (130 A.D.): The Greek geographer, Ptolemy, authored “The Geography of India,” offering insights into ancient Indian geography. His work remains a significant reference for understanding the geographical knowledge of the time.

Faxian (AD 405-411): A Chinese Buddhist pilgrim, Faxian walked to India during the days of Chandragupta Vikramaditya. His travelogue, “Record of Buddhist Kingdom,” details the Gupta dynasty and provides valuable information about the social and economic aspects of the era.

Xuanzang (630 AD): A Chinese traveler, Xuanzang spent 15 years in India during the reign of Harsha Vardhana. His extensive work, ‘Si-Yu-Ki’ or ‘The Records of the Western World,’ delves into the caste system and other aspects of Indian society.

I-TSING (671-695 AD): A Chinese traveler, I-Tsing visited India in connection with Buddhism. His works include biographies of many important monks, contributing significantly to the understanding of Buddhism in India.

Al Samudi (AD 957): An Arab traveler, Al Samudi provided an account of India’s political, economic, and religious history in his book ‘Muruj-ul-Zehab.’

Al-Beruni (1024-1030 A.D.): A Persian scholar who accompanied Mahmud of Ghazni to India, Al-Beruni is considered the Father of Indology. His seminal work, ‘Tahqiq-i-Hind,’ represents one of the earliest studies of India by a Muslim scholar.

Marco Polo (1292-94): The Italian explorer Marco Polo visited Southern India during the reigns of Rudramma Devi of the Kakatiyas and Pandyan ruler Madverman, Kulshekhara (1272-1311). His book, “The Book of Sir Marco Polo,” offers invaluable insights into the economic history of India.

Ibn Battuta (1333 to 1342): A Moroccan traveler, Ibn Battuta visited India during the reign of Muhammad-Bin-Tughlaq. Appointed as a judge by Tughlaq, his book ‘The Travels’ details the administrative reforms of Delhi Sultan Muhammad bin Tughluq in his travelogue “Rehla.”

Shihabuddin al-Umari (1348 A.D.): Hailing from Damascus, al-Umari vividly documented India in his book “Masalik albsar fi-mamalik al-amsar.”

Nicolo Conti (1420-1421 A.D.): The Venetian traveler Nicolo Conti’s graphic account during the rule of Devraya I of the Sangam Dynasty of Vijayanagar Empire includes details about Vijayanagara’s capital.

Abdur Razzaq (1443-1444 A.D.): A Persian traveler and ambassador of Shahrukh from the Timurid dynasty, Abdur Razzaq stayed in India during the rule of Devraya II of Vijayanagar. His book, ‘Matla-us-Sadain wa Majma-ul-Bahrain,’ describes life in Calicut under the Zamorin and the ancient city of Vijayanagara at Hampi.

Athanasius Nikitin (1470-1474 A.D.): A Russian merchant who visited South India, Nikitin’s narrative, “The Journey Beyond Three Seas,” details the condition of the Bahmani kingdom under Muhammad III (1463-82).

Duarte Barbosa (AD 1500): A Portuguese voyager who stayed in India for 16 years, mostly in Kerala and the Vijayanagara dynasty, Barbosa studied Malayalam and wrote about caste culture and social life in his book ‘Book of Duarte Barbosa.’

Domingo Paes (1520-1522 A.D.): A Portuguese traveler who visited the court of Krishnadeva Raya of the Tuluv dynasty of the Vijayanagar Empire.

Fernao Nuniz (1535-1537 A.D.): A Portuguese merchant who wrote a history of the Vijayanagar Empire, detailing events from its earliest times.

John Hughen Von Linschotten (1583 A.D.): A Dutch traveler who provided a valuable account of the social and economic life of South India.

William Hawkins (AD1608 to 1611): An English ambassador sent by Britain’s King James I to the Mughal palace of Emperor Jahangir, Hawkins led the first English East India Company expedition to India in 1609.

Thomas Coryat (1612-1617 AD): An English traveler during the reign of Jahangir.

Pal Canning (1615-1625): An English traveler who visited during the reign of Jahangir.

Sir Thomas Roe (1615-1619 A.D.): The ambassador of James I, king of England, who visited during the reign of Jahangir. His “Journal of the Mission to the Mughal Empire” is a treasured contribution to the history of India.

Edward Terry (1616 A.D.): An ambassador of Thomas Roe, Terry described Indian social behavior, particularly in Gujarat.

Pietra Della Velle (1622-1660 AD): An Italian traveler during the reign of Jahangir.

Francisco Palsaer (1620-1627 A.D.): A Dutch traveler who stayed at Agra, providing a vivid account of trade in various cities.

John Fryer (1627-1681 AD): An English traveler during the reign of Shah Jahan, offering a vivid account of Surat and Bombay.

Peter Mundy (1630-34 A.D.): An Italian traveler during the reign of Shah Jahan, providing valuable information about the living standards of common people in the Mughal Empire.

John Albert de Mandesto (1638 A.D.): A German traveler during the reign of Shah Jahan.

Jean Baptiste Tavernier (1638-1663 A.D.): A French traveler who visited India six times during the reigns of Shah Jahan and Aurangzeb.

Nicolao Manucci (1653-1708 A.D.): An Italian traveler who served at the court of Dara Shikoh.

Francois Bernier (1656-1717 A.D.): A French physician and philosopher who visited India during the reign of Shah Jahan and wrote ”

Foreign Travellers in Indian History UPSC

Throughout Indian history, foreign travelers have left indelible imprints on its narrative. From Megasthenes, the Greek envoy in 4th-century BCE Mauryan court, to Ibn Battuta’s Moroccan accounts during the Delhi Sultanate, these observers contributed diverse perspectives. Marco Polo’s Italian lens captured Southern India’s richness, while Jean-Baptiste Tavernier’s French expeditions documented Mughal opulence.

The detailed records of the Chinese pilgrims Faxian and Xuanzang shed light on ancient Buddhist sites. European explorers like the Portuguese Duarte Barbosa and English ambassador Sir Thomas Roe enriched historical archives. These foreign voices collectively weave a global tapestry, unraveling India’s societal, cultural, and political intricacies over the ages.

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Foreign Travellers in Indian History FAQs

Who was the foreign traveller during the mughal period.

Francisco Pelsaert, a Dutch traveler, explored India during Jahangir's rule from 1620-1627. Father Anthony Monserate visited in Akbar's reign from 1578-1582. Niccolo Manucci, an Italian traveler, documented his experiences during Aurangzeb's era.

Who were the travelers in medieval India?

Prominent medieval Indian travelers include Ibn Battuta, Marco Polo, Jean-Baptiste Tavernier, and Niccolò Manucci. They traversed the subcontinent, leaving valuable accounts of its diverse cultures, societies, and economies.

Who was the foreign Traveller during Chandragupta reign?

Fa - Hien is the famous Chinese pilgrim who visited India during the reign of Chandragupta II.

Who was the prince of Travellers in ancient India?

Hiuen Tsang (630-645 A.D.) was a Chinese Buddhist monk and traveler who visited India during the reign of King Harshavardhana. He was known as the "prince of pilgrims".

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The Famous Foreign Travelers Who Visited Ancient India

India has always been the dream destination for people who want to explore one of the earliest civilizations in the world. Since time immemorial, India has received several keen travelers who came here and fell in love with its traditions and colors. While the British travelers were actually the hidden form of imperialists, the earlier travelers came to India for the sake of attaining knowledge, learning, and customs. These travelers documented their experiences of the country and became the earliest chroniclers of history. In fact, most of what we know of ancient India today is through the accounts of these travelers. Here is the list of foreign travelers who visited India and explored its varied cultural terrain:

1. Hiuen Tsang from China (630-645 A.D.)

One of the earliest and the most celebrated travelers to India, Hiuen Tsang came from China to India in search of Buddhist belief and practice. He has been described as the "prince of pilgrims” and his accounts carry a lot of information on the political, social and religious set up of India. Hiuen Tsang visited Kashmir, Punjab and proceeded to Kapilavastu, Bodh-Gaya, Sarnath, and Kusinagara. He studied at the University of Nalanda and traveled through the Deccan, Orissa, and Bengal. Since he stayed in India for 14 long years, his accounts reflect what ancient India must have been once.

2. Al Beruni from Persia (1024-1030 A.D.)

Al Beruni was an Islamic scholar who was "commissioned" by Mahmud of Ghazni to write his monumental commentary on Indian philosophy and culture Kitab fi tahqiq ma li'l-hind. In the words of the historians today, "His observations on Indian conditions, systems of knowledge, social norms, religion ... are probably the most incisive made by any visitor to India." Born in Uzbekistan, this traveler remained in India for thirteen long years to understand its culture and literature.

3. Ibn Batuta from Morocco (1333-1347 A.D.)

It is unbelievable that a person could have traveled so much in times where no traveling paraphernalia was available. Meet Ibn Battuta who had a passion for travel unparalleled in history, inimitable by any individual. It is hard to believe that Ibn Battuta journeyed more than 75,000 miles (121,000 km), a figure unsurpassed by any individual explorer until the coming of the Steam Age some 450 years later. He was the only medieval traveler who is known to have visited the lands of every Muslim ruler of his time. His journeys include trips to North Africa, West Africa, Southern Europe, and Eastern Europe in the West, Middle East, South Asia, Central Asia, Southeast Asia, and China in the East, a distance surpassing threefold his near-contemporary Marco Polo.

30 Historical Places in India

4. Marco Polo from Italy (b.1254-d.1324)

Marco Polo , the Venetian traveler, is perhaps the most celebrated traveler even till today. He is said to have visited South India twice, in 1288 and 1292, where he saw a tomb of St. Thomas "at a certain little town” which he does not name. Many historians accept these dates and visits without question and identify the little town that he speaks of with Mylapore .

5. Abdur Razzak from Persia (1443-1444 A.D.)

One of the earliest mentions of the Vijaynagar empire in India comes through Abdul Razzak, the Persian traveler who visited it around 1440. His accounts of the Hampi marketplace, its architecture and grandeur have left a lot of corpus of history for later historians to work on. Abdur Razzak was the ambassador of the Shahrukh of the Timurid Dynasty.

6. Megasthenes from Greece (302-298 B.C.)

Megasthenes was a Greek historian who came to India in the fourth century B.C. as an ambassador of Seleucus Nicator. He lived in the court of Chandragupta Maurya for about five years (302-298 B.C.). His experience of India is written in his book entitled "INDIKA”. Through his accounts, we come to know everything that he had seen in India- its geography, government, religion, and society.

Must Read: Oldest Languages in the World Still in Use

7. Fa Hien from China (405-411 A.D.)

Fa-Hien was the first Chinese monk to travel to India in search of great Buddhist scriptures. At the age of sixty-five, he traveled, mostly on foot, from Central China taking the southern route through Shenshen, Dunhuang, Khotan, and then over the Himalayas, to Gandhara and Peshawar.

8. Nicolo Conti from Italy (1420-1421 A.D.)

Nicolo De Conti' (fl. 1419-1444) was a Venetian explorer and writer who visited the west coast of India to Ely and struck inland to Vijayanagar, the capital of the principal Hindu state of the Deccan. Of this city, Conti gives an elaborate description and one of the most interesting portions of his narrative. From Vijayanagar and the Tungabudhra he traveled to Maliapur near Madras, present-day Chennai

9. Afanasy Nikitin from Russia (1469-1472)

Nikitin, the Russian merchant, spent more than two years in India traveling to different cities, getting acquainted with local residents and carefully describing everything he saw. The notes of the merchant were compiled in the form of a so-called "Journey," which is more like a traveler’s log. This work accurately described the nature and political organization of India as well as its traditions, lifestyle, and customs.

10. Domingo Paes from Portugal (1520-1522 A.D.)

After the conquest of Goa in 1510 and its rise as the capital of the Portuguese Estado da India, several Portuguese travelers and traders visited Vijayanagara and wrote detailed reports about the glory of Bisnaga of Vijayanagara. Most valuable is that of Domingos Paes written in c. 1520-22. The report of Paes, who visited Vijayanagara during Krishnadeva's reign, is based primarily on careful observation as he describes in detail the so-called feudal nayankara system of Vijayanagara's military organization and the annual royal Durga festival.

11. Fernao Nunes from Portugal (1535-1537 A.D.)

Fernao Nuniz, a Portuguese horse-trader, composed his account of India around 1536-37. He was in the capital of Vijaynagara, during the reign of Achyutaraya and may have been present at earlier battles fought by Krishnadevaraya. This visitor was particularly interested in the history of Vijayanagara, especially the foundation of the city, the subsequent careers of three dynasties of rulers, and the battles that they fought with the Deccan sultans and Orissan Rayas. His accounts also give an insight into the Mahanavami festival, where he notes admiringly the extravagant jewels worn by the courtly women, as well as the thousands of women in the king’s service.

12. Vasco De Gama (1497–99, 1502–03, 1524)

Vasco De Gama was the first Portuguese or in fact the first European to reach India. He is an important traveler to India whose history is closely intermeshed with that of Goa. After sailing down the western coast of Africa and rounding the Cape of Good Hope, his expedition made numerous stops in Africa before reaching the trading post of Calicut, India, in May 1498. For his second journey, Da Gama arrived in Goa with the task of combating the growing corruption that had tainted the Portuguese government in India.

The question arises as to whether we had any travelers in the past who left their domestic hearth and left to travel abroad? The answer would be very few. Even if they are, there accounts and narratives don’t add much to our travel corpus today. The reason was that India had not been much of a traveling nation like Persia, Britain, Italy and many more. Indians considered themselves to be a satisfied lot with their country and rarely went across the borders. However, with the growing trend of tourism, today Indians are making a lot of travel journeys and planning trips, thereby becoming the observers rather than the subjects of narratives. Let us travel, explore and know the world and write it down in our words forming our own travel diaries.

* This is a List of Important Foreign travelers or Envoys in Indian history which is very important for examinations like UPSC, State Services, SSC, etc. Please let us know if you want any corrections or any addition to this list in the comments below.

Frequently Asked Questions About Ancient travelers in India

A. Fa-Hien or Faxian (AD 399 – 413) was the first Chinese traveler to visit India. He was a monk and he traveled in search of great Buddhist scriptures.

A. Megasthenes, ambassador of Seleucus Nikator was the first foreign traveler to India. He visited India during the supremacy of Chandragupta Maurya.

A. Two principal Chinese travelers who traveled to India lived here for many years and returned to China sharing their learnings were Faxian (often spelled in Indian history books as Fa-Hian

A. Fa-Hien or Faxian visited India during the reign of the Gupta emperor Chandragupta Maurya

A. Italian traveler Marco Polo (1254-1324) is called as Prince of medieval Travellers. He was a European traveler. He has recorded all his travel experiences in India, observations related to geography & economic history of India in the book named The Book of Ser Marco Polo, the Venetian.

A. Abbe J.A. Dubois (Jean-Antoine Dubois) commented, at the beginning of the 19th century, "a Hindu woman can go anywhere alone even in the most crowded places."

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which was the travel of Megasthenes?

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LIST OF FOREIGN TRAVELLERS TO INDIA

Megasthenes (302-298 B.C.)

Greek ethnographer & ambassador.
Ambassador of Seleucus Nicator, who visited in the court of Chandragupta Maurya.
Described India in his book Indika.
Megasthenes also describes about India's two major rivers Sindhu and Ganga....
First person to describe ancient India, and for that reason he has been called "The Father of Indian history”

Deimachos (320-273 BC)

Greek Ambassador
Come as ambassador to Bindusāra or Amitraghāta, the son and successor of Chandragupta Maurya.
Provided important information about the contemporary society and polity.
He was sent by Antiochus I (the son of Seleucus Nikator).

Ptolemy (130 A.D.)

From Greece
Wrote “the geography of India”-which describes ancient Indian geography.

Faxian ( AD 405-411)

The Chinese wayfarer arrived in India on foot during the days of Chandragupta Vikramaditya.
The first Buddhist pilgrim to visit India, Faxian has given valuable details about the Gupta dynasty, and the social and economic spheres.
He is known for his visit to Lumbini.
His voyage is described in his travelogue “Record of Buddhist Kingdom”
'Foguoji' is one of his famous books.

Xuanzang (630 AD)

The Chinese traveller visited India in and stayed on for 15 years.
He visited India during the supremacy of Harsha Vardhana.
He studied about the caste system of the days and wrote the book 'Si-Yu-Ki.'/ ‘THE RECORDS OF WESTERN WORLD’

I-TSING (671-695 AD)

He was a Chinese traveller.
Visited India in connection with Buddhism.
His work include biographies many important monks.

Al Samudi (AD 957)

Arab traveller
Has given account of India in his book ‘Muruj- ul-Zehab’
The book discusses India's political, economic and religious history.

Al-beruni (1024-1030 A.D.)

Persian scholar.
He came to India along with Mahmud of Ghazni.
He was the first muslim scholar to study India.
He wrote the book 'Tahqiq-i-Hind'.
Considered the Father of Indology.

Marco Polo (1292-94)

Italian mercantile trader-explorer.
He visited Southern India during the reign of Rudramma Devi of the Kakatiyas.
Visited South India also during the reign of Pandyan ruler of Madurai, Madverman, Kulshekhara (1272-1311)
His work “The Book of Sir Marco Polo” which gives an invaluable account of the economic history of India.

Ibn Battuta (1333 to 1342)

Moroccan traveller.
Visited India during the reign of Muhammad-Bin-Tughlaq.
Appointed as judge by Tughlaq.
His book 'The Travels' details about the much-mocked administrative reforms of Delhi Sultan Muhammad bin Tughluq.
His book “ Rehla” (the travelogue)

Shihabuddin al-Umari (1348 A.D.)

Came from Damascus
He gives a vivid account of India in his book “ Masalik albsar fi-mamalik al-amsar”

Nicolo Conti (1420-1421 A.D.)

Venetian traveler
Came during the rule of Devraya I of Sangam Dynasty of Vijayanagar empire.
Given a graphic account of Vijayanagara’s capital.

Abdur Razzaq (1443-1444 A.D.)

Persian traveller, Ambassador of Shahrukh of Timurid dynasty.
Came during the rule of Devraya II of Vijaynagar Empire.
Stayed in India at the palace of the Zamorin of Kozhikode, Calicut
His book entitled 'Matla-us-Sadain wa Majma-ul-Bahrain' described the life and events in Calicut under the Zamorin and also of the Ancient City of Vijayanagara at Hampi.

Athanasius Nikitin (1470- 1474 A.D.)

Russian merchant
Visited South India
Describes the condition of the Bahmani kingdom under Muhammad III (1463-82).
His narrative “The journey beyond 3 seas”

Duarte Barbosa (AD 1500 )

Portuguese voyager
Stayed in India for 16 years, most of the time in Kerala and in Vijayanagara dynasty.
Barbosa studied Malayalam and has written about the caste culture that prevailed here as also about the social life.
He wrote the 'Book of Duarte Barbosa.'

Domingo Paes (1520-1522 A.D.)

Portuguese traveler.
Visited the court of Krishnadeva Raya of Tuluv dynasty of Vijayanagar empire. Fernao Nuniz (1535-1537 A.D.)
Portuguese merchant.
Visited during the rule of Achyutdeva Raya of Tuluv dynasty of Vijayanagar Empire.
Wrote history of the empire from its earliest times.

John Hughen Von Linschotten (1583 A.D.)

Dutch traveler
Given a valuable account of the social and economic life of South India.

William Hawkins (AD1608 to 1611)

Britain's King James I had sent Hawkins as ambassador to the Mughal palace of Emperor Jahangeer.
Captain William Hawkins led the first expedition of the English East India Company to India in 1609.
He did not succeed in getting Jahangir’s permission to start a factory.

Thomas Coryat (1612-1617 AD)

English traveller
Under Reign: Jahangir

Pal Canning(1615-1625)

Visited under the reign of Jahangir

Sir Thomas Roe (1615-1619 A.D.)

Ambassador of James I, king of England.
Visited during the reign of Jahangir,the great Mughal Emperor.
He came to seek protection for an English factory at Surat.
His “Journal of the Mission to the Mughal Empire” is a treasured contribution to the history of India.

Edward Terry (1616 A.D.)

Ambassador of Thomas Roe.
Describe about Indian social (Gujarat) behaviour.

Pietra Della Velle (1622-1660 AD)

Italian Traveller
Under Reign (Ruler or Dynasty): Jahangir

Franciso Palsaer (1620-1627 A.D.)

Dutch traveller stayed at Agra.
Gave a vivid account of the flourishing trade at Surat, Ahmadabad, Broach, Cambay, Lahore, Multan etc.

John Fryer (1627-1681 AD)

English Traveller
Reign (Ruler or Dynasty): Shahjahan
Given a vivid account of Surat and Bombay

Peter Mundy (1630-34 A.D.)

Italian traveler
Visited during the reign of the Mughal Emperor, Shahjahan.
Gives valuable information about the living standard of the common people in the Mughal Empire.

John Albert de Mandesto (1638 A.D.)

German traveler

Jeen Baptiste Tavernier (1638-1663 A.D.)

French traveler
Visited India 6 times in the reign of Shahjahan and Aurangzeb.

Nicolao Manucci (1653-1708 A.D.)

Got service at the court of Dara Shikoh

Francois Bernier (1656- 1717 A.D.)

French physician and Philosopher.
He visited India during the reign of Shah Jahan.
Danishamand Khan, a noble of Aurangzeb was his patron.
‘Travels in the Mughal Empire’ was written by Francois Bernier.
The book mainly talks about the rules of Dara Shikoh and Aurangzeb.

Jean de Thevenot (1666 A.D.)

Given an account of cities like Ahmadabad, Cambay, Aurangabad and Golconda.

Gemelli Careri (1695 A.D.)

Italian traveler who landed at Daman.

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List Of Foreign Travellers Who Visited India in History

Updated on
Jul 9, 2024

India’s history has been profoundly impacted by foreign travellers like Megasthenes and Hiuen Tsang during ancient times , as well as Ibn Battuta and Vasco da Gama in the Middle Ages and Early Modern Era. These travellers, who came from Greece to Morocco and other places, wrote about their travels and gave important new perspectives on Indian society, trade, and culture. Their narratives continue to be important resources for comprehending the Indian subcontinent’s historical dynamics.

Table of Contents

1 Foreign Travelers in Ancient India
2 Foreign Travellers in Medieval India
3 List Of Foreign Travellers in India
4 Foreign Travelers in Indian History: UPSC

Foreign Travelers in Ancient India

The historical traditions of ancient India were significantly shaped by foreign travellers like Faxian and Megasthenes.

During Chandragupta Maurya’s reign, the Mauryan Empire’s court was explained by Megasthenes , a Greek ambassador from 4th century BCE.
Chinese traveller Faxian , made contributions to Buddhist study and recorded information of the Gupta era in the 5th century CE.
Along with others such as Hiuen Tsang , these early observers forged lasting ties between India and the world at large, leaving behind priceless documents that shed light on ancient Indian politics, society, and culture. Understanding the historical dynamics of the Indian subcontinent still heavily relies on their writings.

Also Read: List of World Organisations for UPSC, Bank Exams, AFCAT and More

Foreign Travellers in Medieval India

Many foreign travellers were drawn to medieval India , and many of them left behind meaningful records of their experiences.

During the reign of Muhammad bin Tughlaq, the Delhi Sultanate’s political and cultural landscape was recorded by the Moroccan explorer Ibn Battuta in the 14th century.
The Italian trader Marco Polo provided insights into Southern India’s economic history throughout the Kakatiya and Pandyan eras.
During the 17th century, French gem merchant Jean-Baptiste Tavernier travelled throughout India and recorded information about the thriving trade of the Mughal Empire.
By sharing their many points of view, these travellers enhanced our comprehension of medieval Indian society, trade, and administration through their insightful writings, which are still used as historical resources.

List Of Foreign Travellers in India

Foreign travelers in indian history: upsc.

The history of India has been profoundly influenced by foreign visitors throughout. These witnesses offer a variety of viewpoints, from the Greek envoy Megasthenes at the Mauryan court of the 4th century BCE to the Moroccan narratives of Ibn Battuta under the Delhi Sultanate. The wealth of Southern India was chronicled by Marco Polo’s Italian camera, while the Mughal grandeur was documented by Jean-Baptiste Tavernier’s French travels.

The meticulous documentation of the Chinese travellers Faxian and Xuanzang illuminated historical Buddhist locations. Historical records were enhanced by European explorers such as the Portuguese Duarte Barbosa and the English envoy Sir Thomas Roe. Together, these foreign voices unravel the complex political, cultural, and societal complexities of India over time, creating a global tapestry.

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Passion turned profession perfectly defines me. With an affection for writing, I've transformed my zeal into a fulfilling career where each word I craft, amazes me. Writing isn't just a skill; it's my lifeline, allowing me to heal and forge deeper connections with others. The journey of words is something that keeps me alive.

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Important Foreign Envoys Who Visited Ancient India

Foreign Travellers in Indian History - UPSC Notes

The envoy is an ambassador of a respective country. India is a land of beautiful culture and tradition. This draws many foreigners from different countries to our land. A great number of foreign travellers have visited India and appreciated the beauty of our country in different ways- poetry, books, travelogue. Megasthenes, ambassador of Seleucus Nikator was the first foreign traveller to India. India has witnessed the visit of great foreign envoys like Al-Masudi, Fa-Hien, Hiuen-Tsang, Marco Polo and Abdul Razak, etc. Read on to get the list of important foreign travellers in Indian history for the IAS Exam .

Aspirants reading about foreign travellers in Indian History can also read other important History articles:

Important Foreign Travellers to India

To analyze the trend of history questions asked in UPSC Prelims, you can check the links below:

Ancient History Questions in UPSC Prelims
Medieval History Questions in UPSC Prelims
Modern History Questions in UPSC Prelims
Art and Culture Questions in UPSC Prelims

Questions from the account of foreign travellers have been asked in the UPSC exam. Aspirants can get the previous years’ History Questions in UPSC Mains GS 1 , for reference.

Also, refer to Frequently Asked Questions on IAS Exam at the linked article.

Frequently Asked Questions on Foreign Travellers in Indian History

Q 1. what role did the foreign travellers play in the history of india, q 2. who were the famous foreign travellers of ancient india.

Ans. Few of the most popular foreign travellers of ancient India include:

Ibn Battuta
Hiuen Tsang

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List of Foreign Travellers in Medieval India- Al Beruni, Ibn Batuta

India is known as the world’s spiritual leader. In ancient times, India’s educational system was superior to all other countries. Perhaps this is why so many international visitors come to India to learn about the Indian educational system. We have included information on foreign travelers who arrived in India during the Medieval Period on this page. The Indian Subcontinent is home to some of the world’s oldest civilizations. In ancient times, the Indian civilization drew many travelers and academics. We have compiled a List of Foreign Travellers in Medieval India , which would be extremely useful for candidates studying for various competitive tests.

List of Foreign Travellers in Medieval India

1. al beruni from persia (1024-1030 a.d.).

Al Beruni was an Islamic philosopher “appointed” by Mahmud of Ghazni to compose Kitab fi tahqiq ma li’l-hind, a vast commentary on Indian philosophy and culture. “His insights on Indian realities, institutions of knowledge, social conventions, religion… are possibly the most penetrating made by any traveler to India,” historians say today. This tourist, born in Uzbekistan, spent thirteen years in India studying its culture and literature.

2. Ibn Batuta from Morocco (1333-1347 A.D.)

Incredibly, someone could have traveled that far in a period when there was no such thing as travel gear. Meet Ibn Battuta, a man with a desire for travel that was unrivaled in history and unrivaled by any human. It’s hard to think that Ibn Battuta traveled over 75,000 miles (121,000 kilometers), a distance unmatched by any other explorer until the Steam Age arrived 450 years later. He was the only medieval traveler reported to have visited the domains of all of his time’s Muslim rulers. In the West, he traveled to North Africa, Southern Europe, West Africa, and Eastern Europe; in the East, he traveled to the Middle East, South Asia, Central Asia, Southeast Asia, and China, covering three times the distance of his near-contemporary Marco Polo.

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3. Marco Polo from Italy (1288-1292 AD)

Marco Polo, the Venetian traveler, is possibly the most famous traveler. In 1288 and 1292, he is reported to have gone South India twice, seeing a tomb of St. Thomas “in a certain small-town” that he does not name. Many historians believe that these dates and travels are accurate and that the little hamlet he mentions is Mylapore.

4. Abdur Razzak from Persia (1443-1444 A.D.)

Abdul Razzak, a Persian explorer who visited Vijaynagar in 1440, is one of the first references of the Vijaynagar empire in India. His descriptions of the Hampi markets, their architecture, and their magnificence have left a large body of history for future historians to investigate. Abdur Razzak was the Shahrukh of the Timurid Dynasty’s diplomat.

5. Nicolo Conti from Italy (1420-1421 A.D.)

Nicolo De Conti’ was a Venetian adventurer and writer who traveled to Ely on the west coast of India and then interior to Vijayanagar, the seat of the Deccan’s main Hindu state. Conti offers a detailed account of this city, which is one of the most intriguing parts of his story. He went to Maliapur near Madras, existing Chennai, from Vijayanagar and the Tungabudhra.

6. Afanasy Nikitin from Russia (1442-1443 AD)

Nikitin, a Russian trader, spent more than two years in India, visiting several places, getting to know the locals, and meticulously recording all he observed. The merchant’s notes were collected in the form of a “Journey,” which would be more akin to a traveler’s log. The nature and political organization of India, including its traditions, lifestyle, and customs, were properly represented in this text.

7. Thomas Roe from England (1615 A.D. – 1619 A.D)

Sir Thomas Roe was a diplomat from England. In 1615, he traveled to India under the reign of Jahangir. He traveled to Surat to seek security for an English enterprise. His “Journal of the Mission to the Mughal Empire” is a priceless addition to India’s history.

8. Domingo Paes from Portugal (1520-1522 A.D.)

Following the capture of Goa in 1510 and its ascension to the capital of the Portuguese Estado da India, numerous Portuguese traders and tourists visited Vijayanagara and published comprehensive accounts of Bisnaga’s splendor. The most significant is Domingos Paes’, which was composed between 1520 and 1522. Paes’ account, written during Krishnadeva’s reign and based mostly on close observation, explains in full the so-called feudal Malankara system of Vijayanagara’s military structure as well as the yearly royal Durga celebration.

9. Fernao Nunes from Portugal (1535-1537 A.D.)

Around 1536-37, a Portuguese horse-trader named Fernao Nuniz wrote his description of India. During the reign of Achyutaraya, he was at Vijaynagara’s capital, and he may have been there for Krishnadevaraya’s earlier fights. This visitor was extremely interested in Vijayanagara’s history, specifically the city’s founding, the following careers of three ruler dynasties, and the conflicts they waged against the Deccan sultans and Orissan Rayas. His descriptions also provide insight into the Mahanavami celebration, where he admires the lavish jewels worn by the courtly women and the hundreds of women serving the monarch.

10. Francois Bernier from France(1656 A.D. – 1668A.D.)

He was a physician and wanderer from France. From 1656 to 1668, he lived in India. During Shah Jahan’s reign, he traveled to India. He worked as a physician for Prince Dara Shikoh and eventually joined Aurangzeb’s court. The book mostly discusses Dara Shikoh and Aurangzeb’s regulations.

The above list of Foreign Travellers in Medieval India is very important for many competitive examinations to be held in India. So aspirants need to remember it wisely. I hope that this writing has given you enough information. On the Oliveboard website, you may find more articles like this.

FAQ’s

Marco Polo (1254-1324), an Italian traveler, is known as the Prince of Medieval Travellers. He was a tourist in Europe. In the book “The Book of Ser Marco Polo”, the Venetian, has written all of his journey experiences in India, as well as insights about India’s geography and economic history.

India is known as the world’s spiritual leader. In ancient times, India’s educational system was superior to that of all other countries. Perhaps this is why so many international visitors come to India to learn about the Indian educational system.

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Important foreign travellers in Indian history

Ancient India has hosted many foreign travellers. It was through the records and writings of these travellers, the world first heard about India and her people. Many of those travellers have documented the culture and lifestyle prevailing in the various parts of India then. The most prominent of the travellers are listed in this article. Megasthanese Megasthanese was the first important foreign traveller to reach India. He came here in about 305 BC, as a representative to Selucus, the then army general of Alexander the Great. He lived for many days at Pataliputra and visited various parts of India. He observed that the climate in India was good and the soil was very fertile. He wrote the book Indica about his experiences in the country. He remarks about the caste system and the various sports in the land in his book.

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The article explores the accounts of European travellers of sixteenth and seventeenth centuries in the context of images and representations of India. During these two centuries, about hundred travellers came to India from Europe and wrote accounts of their experiences. As travel writing had developed into a very popular genre in the early modern Europe, some of these accounts were published many times, translated into important European languages and read extensively. Some of them were also included in the popular anthologies and collections of travel writings. These travel accounts, therefore, became the first means to represent the 'reality' of India. This study is directly concerned with these early European representations and narrative constructions and problematizes them in relation to the 'reality' of India. KEY WORDS Travel Writing, Colonial India, European Imperialism, Early Modern Period, Orientalism

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India, since ancient times, had been a place of attraction for the foreign travellers because it has been one of the civilized parts of the Earth, not only in Socio-economic spheres and political structure but also in art and learning as well. In Asia, it was regarded as the center of flourishing of knowledge. Not only that her natural phenomenon, religious believe the Indian achieved tremendous glories in the field of science and technology, art and literature, were really strange for her neighbours and far reaching countries like Europe.

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Chronicles of travellers who visited ancient India

Every voyage is inspired by a natural human longing of people to see and explore a new world. Travellers in ancient days used to get information about new places from merchant groups. What such visitors recorded later revealed to us details of our ancient history.

Megasthenes

The Greek ambassador had travelled to Kerala in BC 302, during the times of Chandragupta Maurya and was the first to tell the world about such a place. The historian-diplomat had spent some nine years in India. The world knew about India from his reputed work 'Indica,' in which he records Kerala as 'Cherme.' Megasthenes also describes about India's two major rivers Sindhu and Ganga.

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Nagaland lures travellers with unique scenery, culture

The Chinese wayfarer arrived in India on foot during the days of Chandragupta Vikramaditya, supposedly in AD 405-411. The first Buddhist pilgrim to visit India, Faxian has given valuable details about the Gupta dynasty, and the social and economic spheres. He wrote a lot, and 'Foguoji' is one of his famous books.

The Italian mercantile trader-explorer travelled around the world in the 13th century and arrived in India between 1292-94. He has written about the political and economic history of India, especially of the southern region in his book 'The Travels of Marco Polo.'

Iranian scholar Abu Rayhan Muhammad ibn Ahmad Al Biruni arrived in India along with conqueror Mahmud Ghazni who invaded India. He lived in India from AD 1024 to 1030, visited most parts of the country, and wrote about what he saw and felt in 'Taqeeq-e-Hind.'

Duarte Barbosa

The Portuguese voyager arrived in India in AD 1500 and stayed on for 16 years, most of the time in Kerala and in Vijayanagara dynasty. Barbosa studied Malayalam and has written about the caste culture that prevailed here as also about the social life. He wrote the 'Book of Duarte Barbosa.'

The Arab traveller came to India in AD 957. He had detailed about the India he saw in his book 'Murjal Sahab.' The book discusses India's political, economic and religious history.

The Chinese traveller visited India in 630 AD and stayed on for 15 years. He studied about the caste system of the days and wrote the book 'Si-Yu-Ki.'

Ibn Battuta

Moroccan traveller Abu Abdullah Muhammad Ibn Battuta was in India from 1333 to 1342. His book 'The Travels' details about the much-mocked administrative reforms of Delhi Sultan Muhammad bin Tughluq.

Abdur Razzaq

Iranian voyager Abdur Razzaq came to India in 1443. During his year-long stay he spent time in Kerala also. He is believed to have stayed at the palace of the Zamorin of Kozhikode. He has written about the ports of Kerala and also about the Vijayanagara kingdom.

William Hawkins

Britain's King James I had sent Hawkins as ambassador to the Mughal palace of Emperor Jahangeer. He stayed in India from AS 1608 to 1611 and studied history of the days. His writings detail those days.

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List of foreign travellers who visited the Vijayanagara Empire

From Ancient to Modern Indian History, Indian subcontinent encounter by foreign travellers and some of them left valuable accounts of their travels. These foreign accounts gave us a valuable objective document that will help us to understand the social-political-economic condition of a particular era. These travellers account cannot be understood without knowing their perception of writing. Here, we are giving the list of famous travellers who visited India during reign of different rulers of Vijayanagar Empire.

Foreign Travellers visited Vijayanagar Kingdom

1. Abu Abdullah/lbn Batuta

He was from Morocco, who travel thirty years of his life from North Africa, West Africa, Southern Europe and Eastern Europe in the West, to the Middle East, Indian subcontinent, Central Asia, Southeast Asia and East China. He left an account of Harihara I’s reign in his book Rehla ( Tuhfat-un- Nuzzar fi Gharaib UL-Amsar WA Ajaib-UL-Assar).

2. Nicolo de Conti

Source: m2.paperblog.com

He was Italian merchant, scholar, and a traveller who visited the Vijaynagar Kingdom during the time of Dev Raya II. He left an account in the Travels of Nicolo Conti.

3. Abdur Razzaq

Source: upload.wikimedia.org

He was a Persian, Timurid chronicler and a scholar who visited the Vijaynagar Kingdom at the time of Dev Raya II as an ambassador of Shah Rukh, the Timurid dynasty ruler of Persia. He gives an account of the reign of Devaraya II in his Matla as Sadain Wa Majma ul Bahrain .

4. Athanasius Nikitin

Source: russiapedia.rt.com

He was a first Russian traveller and merchant who visited India. He described the conditions of the Bahamani kingdom under Muhammad III in his Voyage to India.

5. Ludvico de Vorthema

Source: www.loc.gov

He was Italian merchant and traveller who visited India and left his memoirs in Travels in Egypt, India, Syria, etc. He was the first Christian to make the holy pilgrimage to Mecca.

6. Duarte Barbosa

Source: s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com

He was Portuguese Writer, scrivener and explorer who had given a vivid account of Vijaynagara governance under Krishna Deva Raya in his book i.e. An Account of Countries Bordering the Indian Ocean and their Inhabitants.

7. Dominigo Paes

He was Portuguese merchant, writer and explorer who visited India and gave most detailed accounts of all historic descriptions of ancient city Hampi which was governed by Vijaynagar Empire under Krishna Deva Raya .

8. Fernao Nuniz

Source: ak.jogurucdn.com

He was Portuguese traveller, chronicler and horse trader who visited India during reign of Achyutaraya and who spent three years in Vijayanagara. He gave detailed account on the history of Vijaynagar especially the foundation of the city, the subsequent careers of three dynasties of rulers, and the battles that they fought with the Deccan sultans and Orissan Rayas. He also mentions cultural aspects of the empire and admire the jewels worn of women as well as how women were appointed in the King's service.

9. Marco Polo

Source: www.biography.com

List of Foreign Travellers visited Vijayanagar Kingdom

In the above detail list of foreign travellers who visited Vijaynagar Kingdom and some of them left their account on that basis the socio-cultural and political conditions can also be understandable.

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Historical Travelers to India

Much of our knowledge of ancient and medieval Indian history comes from the accounts of foreigners who as pilgrims, travellers and traders crossed the seas and difficult land routes to reach India. In their writings on their observations and experiences of a country new and strange to them, they left valuable contributions to the historical understanding of early Indian society. As outsiders, they found worthy of mention facets and facts about the country that native writers missed or often simply took for granted and hence ignored. They acted, often unwittingly, as agents of civilization contact and exchange, bringing with them new ideas, skills and technologies, and returning, in turn, armed with new knowledge as the harbingers of cultural and intellectual change.

Greeks Travellers:

The Greeks who accompanied Alexander the Great in his Indian campaign, or travelled thereafter, recorded their encounters of this ‘mystical, magical’ land. Although much of their works were lost, the details percolated into subsequent Greek literature. The most notable of the Greek travellers was Megasthenes.

Megasthenes (BC 350 – 290):

The account of India is written by Megasthenes in Indika (Indica) is justly held to be almost invaluable, for the light which it throws upon the obscurity of early Indian history. Though, unfortunately, not extant in its original form, it has nevertheless been partially preserved by means of epitomes and quotations to be found scattered up and down the writings of various ancient authors.

Chinese Travelers:

Chinese pilgrims played a key role in the exchanges between ancient India and ancient China. They introduced new texts and doctrines to the Chinese clergy, carried Buddhist paraphernalia for the performance of rituals and ceremonies, and provided detailed accounts of their spiritual journeys to India. Records of Indian society and its virtuous rulers, accounts of the flourishing monastic institutions, and stories about the magical and miraculous prowess of the Buddha and his disciples often accompanied the descriptions of the pilgrimage sites in their travel records.

Fa Hien or Faxian (AD 399 – 413):

Fa-Hien was the first Chinese monk to travel to India in search of great Buddhist scriptures. At the age of sixty-five, he travelled, mostly on foot, from Central China taking the southern route through Shenshen, Dunhuang, Khotan, and then over the Himalayas, to Gandhara and Peshawar.

Fa-Hien was about 77 years old when he reached back home. In AD 414 he recorded his travels in ‘Record of Buddhist Countries’ today known as the ‘Travels of Fa-Hien’. It is an excellent geographic account of his journey along the Silk Route and the first comprehensive eyewitness account of the history and customs of Central Asia and India. His account includes the description of local Buddhist monasteries, the approximate number of Buddhist monks in the region, the teachings and rituals practiced by them, and the Buddhist legends associated with some of these sites.

Hsuan-Tsang or Xuanzang (AD 629-645):

Born around AD 600, Hsuan-Tsang was ordained at the age of twenty. Like other Chinese pilgrims, one of Hsuan-Tsang’s primary reasons to undertake the arduous journey to India was to visit its sacred Buddhist sites. Dissatisfied with the translations of Indian Buddhist texts available in China, he also wanted to procure original works and learn the doctrines directly from Indian teachers.

In 629 A.D, at the age of twenty six, he commenced his journey across the Tarim basin via the northern route, Turfan, Kucha, Tashkent, Samarkand, Bactria, then over the Hindu Kush to India.

In the 14 years he remained in India, he stayed in Kashmir for two years, in Punjab for about a year and a half, at Nalanda for five years, in Magadha for two years, with the remaining years in the Deccan and South India.

Similar to Fa-Hien, Hsuan-Tsang narrated the Buddhist legends and miracles associated with the sites he visited and the Buddhist relics he saw. He explained the geography and climate, the measurement system, and the concept of time in India. He also narrated in detail the existing caste system, the educational requirements for the Brahmins, the teaching of Buddhist doctrines, the legal and economic practices, the social and cultural norms, the urban life and architecture, the eating habits of the natives, and the natural and manufactured products of India.

The success of Hsuan-Tsang’s mission is evident not only from the 657 Buddhist texts he brought back with him, but also from the quality of translations he undertook.

Islamic Travellers:

The Muslims, who came to India as travellers, merchants and writers in the early medieval age and those who learnt from them, had likewise developed a deep sense of respect for its wisdom and science, so much that they, despite their radically different religious culture did not criticize idolatry and polytheism but looked at them with benign curiosity and took a romantic view of Indian priests and saints. At the same time they learnt from India astronomy, mathematics and medicine, among other sciences.

Al Beruni (AD 973 – 1048):

Born near modern Khiva in Uzbekistan, Al Beruni was conversant with Turkish, Persian, Sanskrit, Hebrew, Syriac (Armenian) and Arabic in which he wrote, and excelled in astronomy, mathematics, chronology, physics, medicine, mineralogy and history.

He accompanied Mahmud of Ghazni to India and stayed on for thirteen years, observing, questioning and studying. The result was his monumental commentary on Indian philosophy and culture — Kitab fi tahqiq ma li’l-hind. Not for nearly 800 years would any other writer match Al-Beruni’s profound understanding of almost all aspects of Indian life.

He read the major Indian religious and astronomical texts and highlighted parts of the Gita, the Upanishads, Patanjali, Puranas, the Vedas, the scientific texts by Nagarjuna, Aryabhata, etc. Al-Beruni also recorded some of the more egregious plundering by Mahmud of Ghazni, especially at Mathura and Somnath. For obvious reasons he didn’t explicitly denounce it though his text betrays a definite sense of lament. He wrote that Mahmud “utterly ruined the prosperity of the country, created a hatred of Muslims among the locals, and caused the Hindu sciences to retreat far away from those parts of the country conquered by us to places where our hands cannot yet reach”.

Ibn Battuta (AD 1304–1368):

Abu Abdullah Muhammad Ibn Battuta was born at Tangier, Morocco in AD 1304. Starting out on a simple Hajj (pilgrimage to Mecca) at the age of twenty-five, Ibn Battuta wound up touring almost the entire Muslim world, from West Africa and Spain to China, India and the Maldives, a journey that spanned nearly thirty years. On his return to Morocco at the court of Sultan Abu ‘Inan, Ibn Battuta dictated lengthy and pungent accounts of his journeys to Ibn Juzay which are known as the Rihla (literally, The Journey).

On account of the Rihla, Ibn Battuta is considered one of the greatest travellers of all time. He travelled more than 75,000 miles (121,000 km), a figure unlikely to have been surpassed by any traveller until the coming of the Steam Age some 450 years later.

Ibn Battuta’s exact path through Afghanistan and the Hindu Kush is uncertain because he does not make it clear where along the Indus he came out. The Delhi Sultanate was a new addition to Dar al-Islam, and Sultan Muhammad bin Tughluq had resolved to import as many Muslim scholars and other functionaries as possible to consolidate his rule. On the strength of his years of study while in Mecca, Ibn Battuta was employed as a qazi (judge) by the sultan.

Ibn Battuta devotes numerous pages to the lineage of the royal family, the history of the country, the details of a variety of elaborately choreographed court rituals, the wars and revolts preoccupying the sultan, his extensive gifts to religious and political men and his ceremonies entering and leaving the capital.

Tughlaq was erratic even by the standards of the time, and Ibn Battuta veered between living the high life of a trusted subordinate, and being under suspicion for a variety of treasons against the government. It took him years to reach his next intended destination, China, via Maldives, Ceylon (Sri Lanka) and Calicut.

Al Masudi, an Arab writer, visited India in the 9th century A.D. during the reign of Mihira Bhoja of Kanauj. His account gives information about the history of north India during that period.

Abdur Razzaq was a Persian who was sent by Shah Rukh as ambassador to the Zamorin of Calicut. In April 1443, Abdur Razzaq visited Vijayanagar during the reign of Devaraya II. He was overawed with the size and grandeur of the city of Vijayanagar. He wrote, “The city is such that eye has not seen nor ear heard of any place resembling it upon the whole earth”. His narrative supplies valuable information on the topography, administration and social life of Vijayanagar at that time.

European Travellers:

Prior to Marco Polo’s travel to India in the 13th century, Western ideas about Asia consisted of a whole tradition of myths and fables. It was only when travellers beginning with Marco Polo returned to Europe with factual reports of their explorations that a new dimension of realism entered medieval conceptions of the fabulous East.

By the 15th and 16th centuries more and more European travellers began to arrive in India for trade. They had heard of the great wealth in the East and wanted to cut out the Arab ‘middlemen’ with whom they had been doing business. The Portuguese were the first to find a direct trade route to India, arriving at the end of the 15th century. They were quickly followed by the English, who in addition to trade opportunities, found the prospect of travel and the ‘exotic’ unknown, very attractive. Travelogues, or travel diaries, were written by men wanting to capture all that they had seen that was new and strange to them

Marco Polo (AD 1292):

On his way from China to Persia, Marco Polo arrived on the Coromandel Coast of India in AD 1292 in a typical merchant ship with over sixty cabins and up to 300 crewmen. He entered the kingdom of the Tamil Pandyas near modern day Tanjore, where, according to custom, ‘the king and his barons and everyone else sat on the earth.’ He asked the king why they “do not seat themselves more honourably”. The king replied, “To sit on the earth is honourable enough, because we are made from the earth and to the earth we must return”. Marco Polo documented this episode in his famous book, The Travels, along with a rich social portrait of India.

Marco Polo described the place as “the richest and most splendid province in the world”, one that, together with Ceylon (Sri Lanka), produces “most of the pearls and gems that are to be found in the world”. He wrote that the climate was so hot that all men and women wear nothing but a loincloth, including the king — except his is studded with rubies, sapphires, emeralds and other gems. Merchants and traders abounded, the king took pride in not holding himself above the law of the land and people travelled the highways safely with their valuables in the cool of the night.

Vasco Da Gama (AD 1460 – 1524):

Vasco da Gama was a Portuguese explorer who discovered an ocean route from Portugal to the East. He sailed from Lisbon, Portugal, on July 8, 1497. At the time many people thought that da Gama’s trip would be impossible because it was assumed that the Indian Ocean was not connected to any other seas.

Da Gama rounded Africa’s Cape of Good Hope on November 22, and after many conflicts with Muslim traders who did not want interference in their profitable trade routes, da Gama reached Calicut on May 20, 1498.

At first, da Gama and his trading were well-received, but this did not last for long. Da Gama left India on August 29, 1498, after he was told to pay a large tax and leave all of his trading goods. On his return to Portugal, he was treated as a hero and rewarded by the king.

King Manuel I of Portugal sent Vasco da Gama, now an Admiral, on his second expedition to India (1502-1503). On this trip da Gama took 20 armed ships (anticipating problems from Muslim traders). On this voyage, da Gama killed hundreds of Muslims, often brutally, in order to demonstrate his power. After King Manuel’s death, King John III sent da Gama to India as a Portuguese viceroy, which turned out to be his final expedition. He died of an illness in India on December 24, 1524; his remains were returned to Portugal for burial.

Other European Travelers:

Francois Bernier , a Frenchman, arrived in India during the reign of Shah Jahan and worked as a court physician to the Emperor for 8 years. He observed proceedings in the Mughal court first hand, taking note of its ‘multinational’ community and attitude of religious tolerance. His accounts also capture the historical infighting between Shah Jahan’s four sons, all eager to take the throne after their father. This led to a brutal war which Bernier witnessed and writes of in his key work, ‘Travels in the Mogul Empire, A.D. 1656 –1668.’

Afonso de Albuquerque (14??-1515) was a Portuguese soldier and explorer who sailed from Europe around Africa to the Indian Ocean. He was appointed the Viceroy of India by King Emmanuel in 1509. He forcibly destroyed the Indian city of Calicut in January, 1510, and claimed Goa for Portugal in March, 1510.

Afanasii Nikitin (1466 – 1472), a merchant from the Russian city of Tver traveled through Persia to India and spent more than 18 months in the country. He left behind a detailed account of his stay in India and his experience of the famed Silk Road.

Other Travelers:

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Famous Foreign Travellers in Indian History

In government exams like SSC, Banking, Railways, etc we find many questions from the History general awareness section. this is a very broad section and sometimes questions are very factual. Here in this post we will cover the General awareness section comprehensively so that students can learn and after getting the questions from this section, be able to solve the questions correctly. This article, will provide a complete list of Foreign Travelers from Ancient India.

Foreign Travellers: An Introduction

India has always been a dream destination for those looking to explore one of the world’s oldest civilizations.
Since ancient times, India has welcomed some enthusiastic travellers who came here and fell in love with its traditions and colors. British travellers were imperialist undercovers, but early travellers came to India in search of knowledge, learning, and customs.
These travellers documented their experiences in the land and became part of history’s earliest chronicles. Most of what we now know about ancient India comes from these travellers’ stories. Here is a list of foreign travellers who have visited India and explored its diverse cultural landscape.

List of Travellers: Ancient India

Hiuen tsang (china).

One of India’s earliest and most famous travellers, Hiuen Tsang came to India from China in pursuit of his Buddhist beliefs and practices. He is called the “Pilgrim Prince” and his account contains much information about the political, social, and religious realities of India. Hiuen Tsang visited Kashmir, Punjab, Kapilavastu, Bodhgaya, Sarnath, and Kushinagar in India. He studied at Nalanda University and travelled to Deccan, Orissa, and Bengal also. In India, he stayed for 14 years, his description reflects what ancient India must have been like.

Al Biruni (Persia)

Al Biruni was an Islamic scholar who was commissioned by Mahmud of Ghazni to write Kitab fi tahqiq ma li`l-hind, a monumental commentary on Indian philosophy and culture. As per modern scholars, His observations of the Indian situation, systems of knowledge, social norms, and religion are perhaps the most penetrating, ever made by a visitor to India.

Ibn Battuta (Morocco)

To understand the world incredibly, people could travel so much in a time before travel gear. Meet Ibn Battuta, whose passion for travel is unparalleled in history. It’s hard to believe that Ibn Battuta travelled over 75,000 miles (121,000 km), a feat unmatched by any explorer until the dawn of the Steam Age some 450 years later. He was the only medieval traveller known to have visited the lands of all Muslim rulers of the time. His travels included voyages to North Africa, West Africa, Southern Europe, Eastern Europe in the west, Middle East, South Asia, Central Asia, Southeast Asia, and China in the east, the distances roughly 3 times comparable to those of contemporary Marco Polo.

Marco Polo ( Italy)

The Venetian traveller Marco Polo is still the most famous today. He is said to have visited South India on two occasions, in 1288 and 1292, where he saw the tomb of St. Thomas in “a certain little town,” which he does not name. Many historians accept these dates and visits without question, identifying the small town in which he speaks with Myrapole.

Megasthenes (Greece)

Megasthenes was a 4th century BC Greek historian. He came to India as an ambassador of the Seleucus Nicator. He lived in the court of Chandragupta for about five years (302-298 BC). His experience in India is documented in the book INDIKA . Through his reports, we learn everything he saw in India – its geography, government, religion, and society.

Abdur Razzaq (Persia)

One of the earliest references to the Vijayanagara Empire in India comes from the Persian traveller Abdur Razzaq, who visited the Vijayanagara Empire around 1440. His description of Hampi’s markets, its architecture, and its splendour has left much to be desired by later historians. Abdur Razzaq was the ambassador of the Timurid emperor Shahrukh.

Fa Hien (China)

Fa-Hien is considered the first Chinese monk to travel to India in search of the great Buddhist scriptures. At the age of 65, he travelled mainly on foot from central China via the southern route through Shenzhen, Dunhuang, Khotan, and across the Himalayas to Gandhara and Peshawar.

Niccolo Conti (Italy)

Niccolo de Conti was a Venetian explorer and writer who travelled the west coast of India to Erie and inland to Vijayanagara, the capital of the most important Deccan Hindu state. Conti gives a detailed description of this city and he shows one of the most interesting parts of his story. From Vijayanagara and Tungabhadra he travelled to Mariapur near Madras, present-day Chennai.

Afanasy Nikitin (Russia)

Nikitin, a Russian merchant, said that in India he spent more than two years, travelling to different cities, got to know the inhabitants, and carefully described everything he saw. The merchant’s notes are organized in the form of so-called “journeys”, similar to his travel diary. The work accurately portrays the nature and political organization of India, as well as its traditions, way of life, and customs.

Domingo Paes (Portugal)

After Goa was conquered in 1510 and became the capital of Portugal’s Estado da India, several Portuguese travellers and merchants visited Vijayanagara and wrote detailed accounts of the glory of Vijayanagara’s Visnaga. The most valuable is by Domingos Paes, written in c. 1520-22. Paes’s account of his visit to Vijayanagara during the reign of Krishnadevaraya, is largely a careful observation, as it describes in detail the so-called feudal Malankara system of Vijayanagara’s military organization and the annual royal Durga festival.

Fernao Nunes (Portugal)

Fernao Nuniz, a Portuguese horse trader, wrote about India around 1537. He may have been in the capital of Vijayanagara during Achutaraya’s reign and participated in Krishnadevaraya’s earlier battles. This visitor was particularly interested in the history of Vijayanagara, especially the founding of the city, his subsequent career in the three ruling dynasties, and the battles between Deccan Sultan and Olisanraya. His description also gives a glimpse into the Mahanavami festival. It admires the extravagant jewels worn by the ladies of the court and the thousands of women who serve the king.

Vasco Da Gama (Portugal)

Vasco De Gama was the first Portuguese or the first European to reach India. He was an important traveller to India, whose history is closely intertwined with that of Goa. After sailing the west coast of Africa and rounding the Cape of Good Hope, his expedition arrived at the Indian trading post of Calicut in May 1498 after numerous stops in Africa. Da Gama arrived in Goa on his second trip, tasked with fighting the spread of corruption that had tainted the Portuguese government in India.

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Historian Rana Safvi Talks About Her Love For India’s Lesser-Known Monuments And Their Stories

A firm believer in the Ganga Jamuni Tehzeeb (syncretic culture), Rana Safvi, 67, has been researching and documenting India’s rich cultural heritage, sharing her knowledge through books, articles, blogs, podcasts, and videos. She holds a master’s degree in medieval history from the Centre for Advanced Studies, Department of History, Aligarh Muslim University. She has written many books so far and translated a few on India's culture, history, and monuments.

In 2011, she started the Twitter forum #shair, which was responsible for popularizing Urdu online. It's a unique platform that is still going strong, with over 30,000 members, said Safvi.

Here is an interview with the woman who refuses to let age come in the way of her explorations. “In my case, my love for monuments is the reason that I am willing to climb every mountain and swim every ocean during my explorations,” says Safvi.

In "A Saint, A Folk Tale and Other Stories," (2021) you have focused on lesser-known monuments of India. Why did you think it was necessary to uphold these lesser-known monuments?

India is a vast country with an ancient history. The most important contemporary sources for ancient history are archaeological sites related to the Indus Valley Civilization, rock-cut caves and temples, and the edicts of Asoka, etc. Built heritage is thus essential in supplementing written sources. Some monuments are less visible than others, but that does not mean they are less important than our history and heritage sources. We all know about the Taj Mahal but not the Aahukhana (deer park) in Burhanpur, where Mumtaz Mahal was given her first temporary burial before her coffin was moved to Agra. Burhanpur was the capital of a Mughal subah and a significant city, as it was the entrance point to the Deccan. It has several important monuments, which I have described.

Monuments are also repositories of oral and community history which is something I have tried to capture in the stories in my book.

Please tell us how you shortlisted the monuments and gathered information about them. How long did it take you to complete this book?

From 2016 to 2019, I traveled extensively to places off the beaten track in India. I used to make a note of "must visit" places and then plan accordingly. I tried to be as efficient as possible by mapping locations within one state and then visiting them. I would conduct my academic research beforehand so that I knew all the places I must visit in a particular area and the important elements of each monument. I took help from the gazetteers published by the ASI in the 19th and 20th centuries.

Once my travels were over, it took me a year to do my academic research and finish the book.

Do you photograph the monuments you visit? How difficult or easy is it to photograph them?

View this post on Instagram A post shared by Rana Safvi (@ranasafvi)

For me photography is a hobby. I use an iPhone as well as a DSLR to record my visits.

I take extensive photographs of each monument I visit. As I write about them much later, the photographs are an important resource for me to compare with written information. I also take videos describing my feelings at that moment to capture them on paper and retain the freshness of a first look.

There are specific difficulties in terms of physical limitations to access every nook and corner, given that I am 67 years old, but I try not to let that come in the way of my explorations. In my case, my love for monuments is the reason that I am willing to climb every mountain and swim in every ocean during my explorations.

There have been occasions when I have been stopped from photographing a monument, especially if it is an encroached monument that the current owners want to hide. I have stood my ground and refused to budge unless government authorities specifically forbid photography.

Are we, as a nation, negligent of our architectural heritage? Why are many of our ancient monuments in a decrepit state?

The ones under private ownership are mostly well looked after, but their character is changed in certain cases. It is the unlisted monuments that are suffering. A group of 15th-century tombs in Delhi’s Zamarudpur area are completely encroached upon, with one being used as a cattle shed and collection point for ragpickers, another for drying clothes, and the others being walled up. Only through persistence on my part could I photograph and document them.

Any anecdotes that you would like to share about the time you were researching and writing this book?

The Lomas Rishi cave built into a gigantic boulder at Barabar

One of my most memorable moments was in Barabar Caves in Bihar . Barabar Caves are the earliest example of built heritage, with the appearance of the ogee arch on the Lomas Rishi cave. The Barabar group of granite hills was excavated on the orders of Emperor Asoka for the Ajivikas, an ascetic sect in the 3rd century BCE. The surface finish of the caves is unbelievable—I could see myself reflected in the walls. But that was not all. My ASI (Archaeological Survey of India) guide asked me to close my eyes when we entered the small, pitch-dark antechamber. Even though open eyes wouldn't have made a difference in the darkness, it allowed me to internalize the experience. Then he started chanting, "Buddham Sharanam Gachhami." I could feel the sound reverberating off the cave walls. I can't describe my feelings—I can only say that I was transported to a different world.

Among other things, the Ganga Jamuni Tehzeeb is your area of expertise. Can you tell us what that means? Why is it important? Has modern life affected this refined lifestyle?

From childhood, if one phrase stands out in my mind from my history lessons, it is "unity in diversity." This diversity came from years of migration to the fertile plains of India by people from different countries in Asia. The unity emerged from the coming together of various ethnic, cultural, and religious communities, resulting in "The Wonder that is India."

This concept of cultural pluralism is what is called "secular" in India. Indian secularism does not conform to the Western definition but implies respect for all religions, celebration of religious tolerance, and equality for all faiths. The way we refer to it as "sickular" shows how we misunderstand our own ancient traditions and ethos.

This is the unique syncretic culture of India called Ganga Jamuni Tehzeeb. In today’s world, where polarisation is growing and people doubt this, for me, it’s a lived reality.

We still eat gujiyas on Holi and play with colors, light lamps and eat sweets on Diwali, embrace and eat sewai on Eid, and hang a star on Christmas. This is our common heritage and cultural identity. The rest of the praying, fasting, etc., that goes on in our homes is our religious identity and should be kept private and personal, separate from our public life.

This is what I keep trying to promote through my writings, podcasts and videos. This is what we must all try to preserve.

You have been presenting the many sides of Delhi through your books. What is it that attracts you to Delhi?

Delhi was home to many dynasties, each leaving its own stamp. A romantic version has it that there were seven cities in Delhi. The absolute diversity and richness of the monuments here attracted me to become their chronicler and tell their stories. For me, monuments aren’t just bricks and stones but spaces where people lived, breathed, loved, betrayed, and died. That’s the story that compelled me to document them.

How would you like your readers to see your various books focused on monuments — as travel books, or as history books?

My books are a unique combination of both. I give the reader a glimpse into the past of each monument and city that I describe, recounting its history from contemporary and secondary sources and bringing it to the present, with exact instructions on how to reach there and what considerations to keep in mind while visiting.

Apart from Delhi, and excluding the monuments mentioned in your book on lesser-known monuments, have you written about other cities or historical places?

I used to write a fortnightly column for The Hindu from 2017 to 2019 titled "Where Stones Speak." A Saint, A Folk Tale and Other Stories result from those articles. Of course, I have included many new places and added much more information than an 800-word column could contain. I have also curated an app called Audio Odigos for Resbird. This was under the Monument Mitra scheme of the ASI, where I curated 12 historical monuments.

Apart from Delhi, which other historical city would you like to explore and write about?

The two cities that I would love to explore and write in detail about are Champaner in Gujarat and Gaur/Pandua in West Bengal.

If you were asked to rank the three best monuments in India (known or lesser-known) according to your choice, what would they be? Why?

Fatehpur Sikri is made up of red sandstone

My favourite is Fatehpur Sikri in Agra , followed by Firoz Shah Kotla in Delhi and Burhanpur in Madhya Pradesh. Fatehpur Sikri was the first place where I truly engaged with a historical monument. I was in my early teens, and I fell in love with the red stones. That love affair continues to this day and, hopefully, for the rest of my life.

Firoz Shah Kotla is not only a unique fort with an Ashokan pillar and a Tughlaq-era structure, but it is also home to jinn-saints whom people visit to make supplications. The mix of old and new fascinates me, and that place has a unique character.

And Burhanpur because it reminds me of life and death; there are many tombs there, representing dreams that died and things that could have been. It was a place where I shed a tear for the state of preservation of important relics. Burhanpur is a treasure house for those who love architecture, history, and heritage. But in its current state of preservation, I fear for it.

If you had to choose three favourites from A Saint, A Folk Tale and Other Stories , which ones would you choose?

That is difficult, but it would be the title story set in Thaneswar, along with The Kalinjar Fort and Burhanpur (once again).

Thaneswar (about 160 km north-west of Delhi) fascinated me with its play on words and how meanings change over the years. It reminded me of the story of Sheikh Chilli that I heard as a child, with its underlying message about the importance of simplicity in life. When I went there, I wasn’t disappointed. There was a sense of serenity that was precious.

The Kalinjar Fort (located in the Bundelkhand region of Uttar Pradesh) is majestic, and its ruins are impressive, but it is the two Shiva statues carved on the rocks that are breathtaking. While one is easily accessible, the other is quite hard to reach, and not many attempt it. I defied my physical abilities to do so, and though I suffered from aches and pains afterward, I would not have given up that opportunity and am ready to do it again.

I have already explained my fascination with Burhanpur. The people there have such a sense of loss for what could have been theirs had the Taj Mahal been built in Burhanpur instead of Agra.

Note : This interview has been republished and is from an earlier date.

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Francois Bernier

Jean Baptiste Tavernier

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Foreign Travellers who visited India

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IMPORTANT EXAMS

The Famous Foreign Travelers Who Visited Ancient India

1. Hiuen Tsang from China (630-645 A.D.)

2. Al Beruni from Persia (1024-1030 A.D.)

3. Ibn Batuta from Morocco (1333-1347 A.D.)

4. Marco Polo from Italy (b.1254-d.1324)

5. Abdur Razzak from Persia (1443-1444 A.D.)

6. Megasthenes from Greece (302-298 B.C.)

7. Fa Hien from China (405-411 A.D.)

8. Nicolo Conti from Italy (1420-1421 A.D.)

9. Afanasy Nikitin from Russia (1469-1472)

10. Domingo Paes from Portugal (1520-1522 A.D.)

11. Fernao Nunes from Portugal (1535-1537 A.D.)

12. Vasco De Gama (1497–99, 1502–03, 1524)

Frequently Asked Questions About Ancient travelers in India

LIST OF FOREIGN TRAVELLERS TO INDIA

Megasthenes (302-298 B.C.)

Deimachos (320-273 BC)

Ptolemy (130 A.D.)

Faxian ( AD 405-411)

Xuanzang (630 AD)

I-TSING (671-695 AD)

Al Samudi (AD 957)

Al-beruni (1024-1030 A.D.)

Marco Polo (1292-94)

Ibn Battuta (1333 to 1342)

Shihabuddin al-Umari (1348 A.D.)

Nicolo Conti (1420-1421 A.D.)

Abdur Razzaq (1443-1444 A.D.)

Athanasius Nikitin (1470- 1474 A.D.)

Duarte Barbosa (AD 1500 )

Domingo Paes (1520-1522 A.D.)

John Hughen Von Linschotten (1583 A.D.)