Timbuktu

(noun)

A historical and still-inhabited city in the West African nation of Mali, situated 20 km (12 mi) north of the River Niger on the southern edge of the Sahara Desert. In its Golden Age, the town's numerous Islamic scholars and extensive trading network enabled an important book trade. Together with the campuses of the Sankore Madrasah, an Islamic university, this established the city as a scholarly center in Africa.

Related Terms

Examples of Timbuktu in the following topics:

  • Songhai

    • Other important cities in the empire were Timbuktu and Djenné, conquered in 1468 and 1475 respectively, where urban-centered trade flourished.
    • Around thirty years later, Sonni Sulayman Dama attacked Mema, the Mali province west of Timbuktu, paving the way for his successor, Sonni Ali, to turn his country into one of the greatest empires sub-Saharan Africa has ever seen.
    • On the one hand, the invasion of Timbuktu destroyed the city; Ali was described as an intolerant tyrant who conducted a repressive policy against the scholars of Timbuktu, especially those of the Sankore region who were associated with the Tuareg.
    • He is thus often presented as a powerful politician and great military commander and under his reign, Djenné and Timbuktu became great centers of learning.
    • At its peak, the Songhai city of Timbuktu became a thriving cultural and commercial center where Arab, Italian, and Jewish merchants all gathered for trade.

  • Mali

    • He embarked on a large building program, raising mosques and madrasas in Timbuktu and Gao.
    • Timbuktu became a permanent settlement early in the 12th century.
    • After a shift in trading routes, Timbuktu flourished from the trade in salt, gold, ivory, and slaves.
    • Together with the campuses of the Sankore Madrasah, an Islamic university, this established Timbuktu as a scholarly center in Africa.

  • Architecture of Djenne

    • Much of the trans-Saharan trade in goods that moved in and out of Timbuktu passed through Djenné.
    • Between the fourteenth and seventeenth centuries, Djenné and Timbuktu were both important trading posts in a long distance trade network.

  • Spread of Islam

    • In Africa it spread along three routes—across the Sahara via trading towns such as Timbuktu, up the Nile Valley through the Sudan up to Uganda, and across the Red Sea and down East Africa through settlements such as Mombasa and Zanzibar.