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Megasthenes (302-298 BC) : An ambassador of Selecus Nikator, who visited
the court of Chandragupta Maurya and wrote an interesting book ‘Indica’ in
which he gave a vivid account of Chandragupta Maurya’s reign.
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Fa-Hien (405-411 AD) : He came to India during the reign of Chandragupta
II Vikramaditya. He was the first Chinese pilgrim to visit India to collect
Buddhist texts and relics
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Hiuen-Tsang (630-645 AD) : He visited India during the reign of Harshavardhana.
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I-tsing (671-695 AD) : A Chinese traveller, he visited India in
connection with Buddhism.
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Al-Masudi (957 AD) : An Arab traveller, he has given an extensive
account of India in his work ‘Muruj-ul-Zehab’.
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Al-beruni (1024-1030 AD) : He came to India along with Mahmud of
Ghazni during one of his Indian raids. He travelled all over India and wrote
a book ‘Tahqiq-i-Hind’.
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Macro Polo (1292-1294 AD) : A Venetian traveller, visited South
India in 1294 A.D. His work ‘The Book of Sir Marco Polo’ gives an account of
the economic history of India.
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Ibn Batuta (1333-1347 AD) : A Morrish traveller, his book ‘Rehla’
(the Travelogue) throws a lot of light on the reign of Muhammad-bin-Tughlaq
and the geographical, economic and social conditions of that time.
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Shihabuddin al-Umari (1348 AD) : He came from Damascus and he
gives a vivid account of India in his book, ‘Masalik albsar fi-mamalik al-amsar’.
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Nicolo Conti (1420-1421 AD) : A Venetian traveller, gives a
comprehensive account of the Hindu kingdom of Vijaynagar.
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Abdur Razzaq (1443-1444 AD) : He was a Persian traveller, came to
India and stayed at the court of the Zamorin at Calicut. He has given a
vivid account of the Vijaynagar empire.
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Athanasius Nikitin (1470-1474 AD) : He was a Russian merchant,
describes the condition of the Bahmani kingdom under Muhammad III (1463-82).
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Durate Barbosa (1500-1516 AD) : He was a Portuguese traveller, has given
a valuable narrative of the government and the people of the Vijaynagar
empire.
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Dominigo Paes (1520-1522 AD) : He was Portuguese traveller, visited the
court of Krishnadeva Raya of the Vijaynagar Empire.
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Fernao Nuniz (1535-1537 AD) : A Portuguese merchant, He wrote the
history of the empire from its earliest times of the closing years of Achyutdeva Raya’s reign.
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John Hughen Von Linschotten (1583 AD) : He was a Dutch traveller, has
given a valuable account of the social and economic life of South India.
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William Hawkins (1608-1611 AD) : He was an English
ambassador of British King James I to the court of Jahangir (1609).
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Sir Thomas Roe (1615-1619 AD) : He was an
ambassador of James I, King of England, at the court of Jahangir, (the
Mughal Emperor).
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Fransciso Palsaert (1620-1627 AD) : He was a Dutch
traveller, stayed at Agra and gave a vivid account of flourishing trade at
Surat, Ahmedabad, Broach Cambay, Lahore, Multan, etc.
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Peter Mundy (1630-34 AD) : He was an Italian
traveller to the Mughal empire in the reign of Shahjahan, he gives valuable
information about the living standard of the common people in the Mughal
Empire.
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John Albert de Mandesto (1638 AD) : He was German
traveller, who reached Surat in 1638.
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Jeen Baptiste Travernier (1638-1663 AD) : He was a
French traveller, his account covers the reign of Shahjahan and Aurangzeb.
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Nicolao Manucci (1653-1708 AD) : He was an Italian traveller, got service at the court of Dara Shikoh.
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Francois Bernier (1656-1717 AD) : He was French
physician and philosopher. Danishamand Khan, a noble of Aurangzeb, was his
patron.
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Jean de Thevenot (1666 AD) : He was French traveller, has
given a good account of cities like Ahmedabad, Cambay, Aurangabad and
Goloconda.
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John Fryer (1672-1681 AD) : He was an English traveller, has given a vivid account of Surat and Bombay.
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Gemelli Careri (1693 AD) : He was an Italian traveller,
his remarks on the Mughal emperor’s military organisation and administration
are important.
