Starting out as a seasonal settlement, Timbuktu was in the kingdom of Mali when it became a permanent settlement early in the 12th century. After a shift in trading routes, the town flourished from the trade in salt, gold, ivory and slaves from several towns and states such as Begho of Bonoman, Sijilmassa, and other Saharan cities.[1] It became part of the Mali Empire early in the 14th century. By this time it had become a major centre of learning in the area. In the first half of the 15th century the Tuareg tribes took control of the city for a short period until the expanding Songhai Empire absorbed the city in 1468. The Moroccan army defeated the Songhai in 1591, and made Timbuktu, rather than Gao, their capital.
The invaders established a new ruling class, the Arma, who after 1612 became virtually independent of Morocco. However, the golden age of the city was over, in which it was a major learning and cultural center of the Mali empire, and it entered a long period of decline. Different tribes governed until the French took over in 1893, a situation that lasted until it became part of the current Republic of Mali in 1960. Presently, Timbuktu is impoverished and suffers from desertification.
In its Golden Age, the town's numerous Islamic scholars and extensive trading network made possible an important book trade: together with the campuses of the Sankore Madrasah, an Islamic university, this established Timbuktu as a scholarly centre in Africa. Several notable historic writers, such as Shabeni and Leo Africanus, have described Timbuktu. These stories fueled speculation in Europe, where the city's reputation shifted from being extremely rich to being mysterious. This reputation overshadows the town itself in modern times, to the point where it is best known in Western culture as an expression for a distant or outlandish place.
^Hunwick 2003, p. [page needed].
and 21 Related for: History of Timbuktu information
Starting out as a seasonal settlement, Timbuktu was in the kingdom of Mali when it became a permanent settlement early in the 12th century. After a shift...
Timbuktu (/ˌtɪmbʌkˈtuː/ TIM-buk-TOO; French: Tombouctou; Koyra Chiini: Tumbutu; Tuareg: ⵜⵏⵀⵗⵜ, romanized: Tin Bukt) is an ancient city in Mali, situated...
The Pashalik ofTimbuktu, also known as the Pashalik of Sudan, was a West African political entity that existed between the 16th and the 19th century....
Timbuktu Manuscripts (or Tombouctou Manuscripts) is a blanket term for the large number of historically significant manuscripts that have been preserved...
University ofTimbuktu (French: Université de Tombouctou) is a collective term for the teaching associated with three mosques in the city ofTimbuktu in what...
The historyof the Jews in Mali dates back to the 8th century CE. Today, around 1,000 descendants of Jews live in Mali, mostly in or near Timbuktu. The...
Timbuktu Chronicles is the collective name for a group of writings created in Timbuktu in the second half of the 17th century. They form a distinct genre...
Mali's history is dominated by its role in trans-Saharan trade, connecting West Africa and the Maghreb. The Malian city Timbuktu is exemplary of this:...
comprised the Malian regions ofTimbuktu, Kidal, Gao, as well as a part of Mopti Region, encompassing about 60 percent of Mali's total land area. Azawad...
University Press, ISBN 0-19-726222-8. Saad, Elias N. (1983), Social HistoryofTimbuktu: The Role of Muslim Scholars and Notables 1400–1900, Cambridge University...
University ofTimbuktu. It can be found all over the Sahel region of Africa. Malian architecture developed during the Ghana Empire, which founded most of Mali's...
155 B.A. Ogot (1992), p.315 Saad, Elias N. (2010). Social HistoryofTimbuktu: The Role of Muslim Scholars and Notables 1400–1900. Cambridge University...
334 Levtzion 1973, p. 75. "The University of Sankore, Timbuktu". 7 June 2003. "Mansa Musa". African History Restored. 2008. Archived from the original...
Saad, Elias. "Social historyofTimbuktu: 1400–1900. The role of Muslim scholars and notables. (Ann Arbor, Michigan: University of Michigan Press, 1980)...
Gao since the 11th century. Other important cities in the kingdom were Timbuktu and Djenné, where urban-centred trade flourished; they were conquered in...
Anthropological Publications, 1966) Saad, Elias N. (1983), Social HistoryofTimbuktu: The Role of Muslim Scholars and Notables 1400–1900, Cambridge University...
in the Malian part of the Sahara Desert, lying 243 km (151 mi) north ofTimbuktu on the caravan route to the salt-mining centre of Taoudenni. The village...
Elias N. (14 July 1983). Social HistoryofTimbuktu: The Role of Muslim Scholars and Notables 1400-1900 (Cambridge Historyof Science Cambridge Studies in...
Social HistoryofTimbuktu: The Role of Muslim Scholars and Notables, 1400-1900, New York: Cambridge University Press, pp. 171, 175, 186 The Invasion of Morocco...
in Mali and the capital of the Gao Region. The city is located on the River Niger, 320 km (200 mi) east-southeast ofTimbuktu on the left bank at the...
Africa, with a large collection of books and an educational center around the Sankhore Mosque in Timbuktu, the seat of the Songhai Empire. During this...
Global Information
Mali portal