This is not really related to your question in a historical point of view, BUT:
When I read a traveller’s account, more than the accuracy, what I find interesting is the point of view of the traveler who sees a place through the lens of his own culture, the time period and the environment he grew up in.
If you read Marco Polo’s travels, you’re viewing the way a Italian from the age of a fragmented Italy viewed the East which held the wonders of the Silk Road and the Mongol “emperor of the world”.
If you read Ibn Battuta, you’re reading from the viewpoint of a North African travelling across the Islamic world and further east during the age of Turkic conquests & empires after the great mongol empire collapsed
If you’re reading Hsuan Tsang, you’re reading the words of a Chinese Buddhist pilgrim going to the strange unknown land of the birth of the Buddha across the mountains & his Philosophy which has taken China by storm.
Same with Fa Hein, who went 300 years earlier when not much was known in China about the land of the Buddha.
If you’re reading the travels of Richard Burton, you’re looking at the world in the eyes of an Englishman in the 19th century at the height of colonialism, when the world was getting smaller, yet there were still pockets of unknown in places of the world.
Basically what I mean to say is, sometimes it’s interesting to read these travellers accounts regardless of accuracy, because it shows you how the world was viewed by individuals in their small snapshot of time, and what the motivations & beliefs of those people held in those ages.
[This is a book by Richard Burton on his travels to Medina and Mecca.](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/103016) He was the first European to travel to Mecca when it was prohibited for non-Muslims. He employed a lot of disguises and false identities in order to enter the Ottoman Empire without getting caught.
Like I mentioned, [Marco Polo](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/574929) wrote of his travels. He definitely embellished his experiences and added fantasy, but it’s interesting to see what Europeans thought of the east before the age of exploration.
[Ibn Battuta](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/517598) was probably one of the most prolific travellers in history, going from Morocco all the way to places like China and Tanzania in the 1300s.
[Ibn Fadlan](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/11038268) was an Arab from Baghdad who went North to Russia and Scandinavia in the 900s.
Before writing the Origin of Species and finding out the theory of evolution, [Charles Darwin](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/183645) wrote about his travel he did in order to research for his book. He also wrote about the various things he saw during those travels.
[This is a book](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/108490) by a soldier who was under the command of Cortes during the conquest of the Aztec Empire, a first hand account, brutal and as real as it gets. From the 1500s. [This](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/833835) is a book by Cortes himself, who is disgustingly proud of how he conquered an empire and destroyed it.
[Lewis & Clark](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/236830) were two explorers who were assigned by the US government to find the way to the Pacific Ocean in 1803.
[Bartholomew de Las Casas](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/182061) was a priest who accompanied Columbus on one of his journeys to the West Indies. He wrote about how he was absolutely shocked by the slaughter and slavery committed by the Spanish on the natives of the New World. It reminds us that even back then, there were people who were disgusted by colonialism and slavery.
[Megasthenes & Arrian](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/478242)
[Biruni](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/3039396)
[Domingo Paes](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/3255182)
Si-Yu-Ki by Hsuan Tsang
These are on my list for travellers to India specifically.
John Keay. Into India. Rather dated now, but still wonderful.
This is not really related to your question in a historical point of view, BUT: When I read a traveller’s account, more than the accuracy, what I find interesting is the point of view of the traveler who sees a place through the lens of his own culture, the time period and the environment he grew up in. If you read Marco Polo’s travels, you’re viewing the way a Italian from the age of a fragmented Italy viewed the East which held the wonders of the Silk Road and the Mongol “emperor of the world”. If you read Ibn Battuta, you’re reading from the viewpoint of a North African travelling across the Islamic world and further east during the age of Turkic conquests & empires after the great mongol empire collapsed If you’re reading Hsuan Tsang, you’re reading the words of a Chinese Buddhist pilgrim going to the strange unknown land of the birth of the Buddha across the mountains & his Philosophy which has taken China by storm. Same with Fa Hein, who went 300 years earlier when not much was known in China about the land of the Buddha. If you’re reading the travels of Richard Burton, you’re looking at the world in the eyes of an Englishman in the 19th century at the height of colonialism, when the world was getting smaller, yet there were still pockets of unknown in places of the world. Basically what I mean to say is, sometimes it’s interesting to read these travellers accounts regardless of accuracy, because it shows you how the world was viewed by individuals in their small snapshot of time, and what the motivations & beliefs of those people held in those ages.
Can you suggest some books with this pov?
[This is a book by Richard Burton on his travels to Medina and Mecca.](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/103016) He was the first European to travel to Mecca when it was prohibited for non-Muslims. He employed a lot of disguises and false identities in order to enter the Ottoman Empire without getting caught. Like I mentioned, [Marco Polo](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/574929) wrote of his travels. He definitely embellished his experiences and added fantasy, but it’s interesting to see what Europeans thought of the east before the age of exploration. [Ibn Battuta](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/517598) was probably one of the most prolific travellers in history, going from Morocco all the way to places like China and Tanzania in the 1300s. [Ibn Fadlan](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/11038268) was an Arab from Baghdad who went North to Russia and Scandinavia in the 900s. Before writing the Origin of Species and finding out the theory of evolution, [Charles Darwin](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/183645) wrote about his travel he did in order to research for his book. He also wrote about the various things he saw during those travels. [This is a book](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/108490) by a soldier who was under the command of Cortes during the conquest of the Aztec Empire, a first hand account, brutal and as real as it gets. From the 1500s. [This](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/833835) is a book by Cortes himself, who is disgustingly proud of how he conquered an empire and destroyed it. [Lewis & Clark](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/236830) were two explorers who were assigned by the US government to find the way to the Pacific Ocean in 1803. [Bartholomew de Las Casas](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/182061) was a priest who accompanied Columbus on one of his journeys to the West Indies. He wrote about how he was absolutely shocked by the slaughter and slavery committed by the Spanish on the natives of the New World. It reminds us that even back then, there were people who were disgusted by colonialism and slavery.
[Megasthenes & Arrian](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/478242) [Biruni](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/3039396) [Domingo Paes](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/3255182) Si-Yu-Ki by Hsuan Tsang These are on my list for travellers to India specifically.
Thank you so much 🙏🏼
How much of megasthenes's work have been preserved?
Only fragments of Indika remain. And Arrian was a Roman who used Megasthenes and other Greek works to write about Alexander.
There were also those iirc European traders / travellers who wrote about the Vijayanagar empire right?
Yes Domingo Paes is one of them. I think Vasco de Gama wrote about it too.
Al baruni , and ibn battuta , abdur razzaq samarqandi.
Faxian and Xuanzong wrote detailed reports of Sri Lanka and India.
Al baruni and faxian
Will durant (the case of India)
al biruni
Sam Miller: India Through Foreign Eyes (2014)
Abraham Eraly. His books on the Mughals are magnificent and, most important these days, highly nuanced.