title: The Production of Knowledge and Preservation of Self-identity: William of Rubruck and Ibn Battuta in Contact with Mongols
abstract: Abstract The chapter discusses the perceptions and constructions of Asia in the Mongol period, focusing on two travellers going eastward in the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries: William of Rubruck and Ibn Battuta. By reconstructing the context and motivations for their voyages, the author traces European and Arab perceptions of East Asia and Inner Asia as they emerge from two key travel reports. Particular attention is given to the scope and limit of their curiosities, exploring similarities 
journal: Palgrave series in Asia and Pacific studies