Foreign travellers who visited India have played an incredibly important role in Indian history. Here is the List of Foreign travellers who came to India. From ancient times to the present day, people from all over the world have come to explore and experience this incredible country’s culture and customs. This has had a lasting impact on our nation that can still be seen today.
These travellers were scholars, artists and people of various professions who had the opportunity to observe India in great detail under different rulers during multiple time periods. Thus, their accounts provide us with a detailed history of India and its culture. They also spread the knowledge of Indian customs to different parts of the country which has helped shape our understanding today.
Name
Nationality
Under which ruler
Work/Remark
Deimaches, 320-273 B.C.E
Greek
Bindusara
Sent by Antiochus I (son of Seleucus Nikator)
Megasthenes, 302-298 B.C.E
Greek
Chandragupta Maurya
wrote Indica
Ptolemy, 130 A.D
Greek
wrote Geography of India
Fa-Hien, 405-411 A.D
Chinese
Chandragupta II Vikramaditya
wrote Fo-Kyo-Ki, Records of Buddhist kingdoms
Hiuen-Tsang, 630-645 A.D
Chinese
Harshvardhan
wrote Si-Yu-Ki
I-Tsing, 671-695 A.D
Chinese
in connection with Buddhism
Al Samudi, 957 A.D
Arab
wrote Muruj-ul-Zehab
Al-Beruni, 1024-1030 A.D
Afghani
Mahmud Ghazni, Chandela Dynasty
wrote Kitab-ul-Hind
Marco-Polo, 1292-1294 A.D
Venice
Pandya Dynasty
wrote The book of Sir Marco Polo
Ibn Batuta, 1333-1347 A.D
Morocco
Bin Tughlaq
wrote Rehla/Rihla
Nicolo Conti, 1420-1421 A.D
Italy
Devraya I of Sangama Dynasty of Vijaynagar empire
Given a graphic account of Vijaynagar’s capital
Abdul Razak, 1443-1444 A.D
Persian
Devraya II of Vijaynagar empire
wrote Matla-us-Sadain
Duarte Barbosa, 1500-1516 A.D
Portugese
During Vijaynagar empire
wrote Book of Duarte Barbosa
William Hawkins, 1608-1611 A.D
British
Jahangir reign
Ambassador of James I of England
Thomas Roe, 1612-1619 A.D
British
Jahangir reign
For factory setup at Surat
Jean Baptiste Travernier, 1638-1663 A.D
France
Shahjahan and Aurangzeb reign
Visited 6 times
Francois Berrier, 1656-1717 A.D
France
Aurangzeb court
wrote Travels in the Mughal Empire
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