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An ancient manuscript in Timbuktu,
which grew wealthy during the
Middle Ages largely thanks to
its thriving trade in booksTimbuktu’s Djinguereber Mosque, founded
in 1327, is one of the madrassas (Islamic
colleges) forming the University of TimbuktuTimbuktu
Early 16th century
Lively university town thriving
on its flourishing trade in booksTimbuktu was founded around
AD 1100 as a trading centre for nomadic
Tuareg tribes in the south-western
Sahara. It developed into a major city of
Islamic learning in the 14th century,
when it formed a semi-autonomous part
of the Mali empire and, from 1468, of
the Songhai empire.
The great Moroccan traveller Ibn
Battuta visited in 1352, followed by the
Spanish-born Muslim Leo Africanus in
1510, when the Songhai emperor Askia
Mohammad I (reigned 1493–1528),
whose capital was at Gao to the east,
supported the scholars of Timbuktu and
nurtured the city to the peak of its
wealth and influence.
Africanus found it a very wealthy
city, conveniently placed on the southernedge of the Sahara but watered by the
river Niger (several miles to the south)
when in flood, as well as a large number
of wells. Many houses were, he thought,
built of chalk and roofed with reeds. He
noted that Timbuktu had few gardens
or orchards, though grain and meat were
abundant; otherwise it was reliant on
trade to feed and support its people.
The city was dominated by its great
mosques and the king’s magnificent
palace (built, thought Africanus, by
architects from Spain), guarded by
a permanent troop of 3,000 horsemen
and a larger force of foot soldiers and
archers. According to Africanus, the
people of Timbuktu were peaceful, and
noisily enjoyed the cool of the night,
dancing and playing music until late.
Traders arrived in large caravans of
camels and horses, and some of the
wealthiest settled here – the king’s two
daughters were both married to rich
merchants. There was no recognised
coinage; instead, nuggets of gold served,
with cowrie shells from Persia used forsmaller transactions. The greatest wealth
of the city came from the trade in books,
and from its university, based around
Sankore Mosque. By the late 15th
century, there were said to be 25,000
scholars among the city’s population of
over 100,000.ИЗП
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