Why this matters now
Matching travellers to their period and the ruler they visited is a classic prelims question — and their accounts are key historical sources.
Megasthenes
Chandragupta Maurya
Hiuen Tsang
Harsha
Al-Biruni
Mahmud of Ghazni
Ibn Battuta
Muhammad bin Tughlaq
Greek and Chinese travellers
- Megasthenes — Greek envoy at Chandragupta Maurya’s court; wrote the Indica;
- Fa-Hien (Faxian) — Chinese pilgrim during Chandragupta II (Gupta);
- Hiuen Tsang (Xuanzang) — during Harshavardhana; studied at Nalanda;
- I-tsing (Yijing) — later Chinese pilgrim.
Arab and Persian travellers
- Al-Biruni — Persian scholar with Mahmud of Ghazni; wrote the Kitab-ul-Hind;
- Ibn Battuta — Moroccan traveller during Muhammad bin Tughlaq (Delhi Sultanate); wrote the Rehla;
- Abdur Razzaq — Persian envoy to Vijayanagara.
European travellers
- Marco Polo (Venetian) — visited south India;
- Nicolo Conti, Domingo Paes, Nuniz — to Vijayanagara;
- Mughal-era: Bernier, Tavernier, Manucci, Thomas Roe (English envoy to Jahangir).
UPSC angle
Match traveller→ruler/period: Megasthenes (Chandragupta Maurya), Fa-Hien (Chandragupta II), Hiuen Tsang (Harsha), Al-Biruni (Ghazni), Ibn Battuta (M.b. Tughlaq), Abdur Razzaq/Paes (Vijayanagara), Bernier (Mughal).
Frequently asked questions
Who was Megasthenes?
A Greek envoy at Chandragupta Maurya’s court who wrote the Indica.
Which traveller visited during Harshavardhana’s reign?
The Chinese pilgrim Hiuen Tsang (Xuanzang).
Who wrote the Kitab-ul-Hind?
Al-Biruni, who came to India with Mahmud of Ghazni.
Who was Ibn Battuta?
A Moroccan traveller who visited during Muhammad bin Tughlaq’s reign and wrote the Rehla.