How did Ibn Battuta describe the character of Sultan Muhammad ibn Tughluq?

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Engraving of Ibn Battuta in Egypt, standing on a decorated stone block with another man, overlooking ancient Egyptian columns and palm trees in the background. — Ibn Battuta Ibn Baṭṭūṭah (right) with an Egyptian man in Egypt.

Ibn Battuta described Sultan Muhammad ibn Tughluq as an extraordinary mixture of generosity and cruelty. In his account, the traveler portrayed the Sultan as a suspicious despot who ruled over India with an iron hand, indiscriminately affecting both high and low, Muslim and Hindu alike.1

Ibn Battuta’s portrait of the Sultan is considered an unusually fine piece of psychological insight, reflecting the author's own complex feelings of terror and sympathy while serving as the grand qadi of Delhi. Although the Sultan was known for his immense wealth and patronage of scholars, Ibn Battuta lived in constant fear for his life, witnessing many of his own friends fall victim to the ruler's unpredictable and harsh nature.1