Timbuktu ( ; french: Tombouctou;
Koyra Chiini: ); tmh, label=
Tuareg
The Tuareg people (; also spelled Twareg or Touareg; endonym: ''Imuhaɣ/Imušaɣ/Imašeɣăn/Imajeɣăn'') are a large Berber ethnic group that principally inhabit the Sahara in a vast area stretching from far southwestern Libya to southern Alg ...
, script=Tfng, ⵜⵏⴱⴾⵜ, Tin Buqt a city in
Mali
Mali (; ), officially the Republic of Mali,, , ff, 𞤈𞤫𞤲𞥆𞤣𞤢𞥄𞤲𞤣𞤭 𞤃𞤢𞥄𞤤𞤭, Renndaandi Maali, italics=no, ar, جمهورية مالي, Jumhūriyyāt Mālī is a landlocked country in West Africa. Mali ...
, situated north of the
Niger River
The Niger River ( ; ) is the main river of West Africa, extending about . Its drainage basin is in area. Its source is in the Guinea Highlands in south-eastern Guinea near the Sierra Leone border. It runs in a crescent shape through ...
. The town is the capital of the
Tombouctou Region
Tombouctou Region ( Bambara: ߕߎߡߎߕߎ ߘߌߣߋߖߊ tr. Tumutu Dineja) is one of the administrative regions of Mali. For administrative purposes, the region is subdivided into five cercles.
The region is part of northern Mali that was separ ...
, one of the eight
administrative regions of Mali and one town of
Songhai people
The Songhai people (also Ayneha, Songhay or Sonrai)'' are an ethnolinguistic group in West Africa who speak the various Songhai languages. Their history and ''lingua franca'' is linked to the Songhai Empire which dominated the western Sahel i ...
. It had a population of 54,453 in the 2009 census.
Timbuktu began as a seasonal settlement and became a permanent settlement early in the 12th century. After a shift in trading routes, particularly after the visit by
Mansa Musa
Mansa Musa ( ar, منسا موسى, Mansā Mūsā; ) was the ninth ''mansa'' of the Mali Empire, which reached its territorial peak during his reign. Musa is known for his wealth and generosity. He has been subject to popular claims that he is ...
around 1325, Timbuktu flourished from the trade in salt, gold, ivory and slaves. It gradually expanded as an important
Islamic city on the
Saharan trade route and attracted many scholars and traders. It became part of the
Mali Empire early in the 14th century. In the first half of the 15th century, the
Tuareg people
The Tuareg people (; also spelled Twareg or Touareg; endonym: ''Imuhaɣ/Imušaɣ/Imašeɣăn/Imajeɣăn'') are a large Berber ethnic group that principally inhabit the Sahara in a vast area stretching from far southwestern Libya to southern Alg ...
took control of the city for a short period until the expanding
Songhai Empire
The Songhai Empire (also transliterated as Songhay) was a state that dominated the western Sahel/Sudan in the 15th and 16th century. At its peak, it was one of the largest states in African history. The state is known by its historiographical ...
absorbed the city in 1468. A
Moroccan army
defeated the Songhai in 1591 and made Timbuktu, rather than
Gao
Gao , or Gawgaw/Kawkaw, is a city in Mali and the capital of the Gao Region. The city is located on the River Niger, east-southeast of Timbuktu on the left bank at the junction with the Tilemsi valley.
For much of its history Gao was an impor ...
, their capital. The invaders established a new ruling class, the
Arma, who after 1612 became virtually independent of Morocco. The golden age of the city, as a major learning and cultural centre of the Mali Empire, was over 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
Republic of Mali
Mali (; ), officially the Republic of Mali,, , ff, 𞤈𞤫𞤲𞥆𞤣𞤢𞥄𞤲𞤣𞤭 𞤃𞤢𞥄𞤤𞤭, Renndaandi Maali, italics=no, ar, جمهورية مالي, Jumhūriyyāt Mālī is a landlocked country in West Africa. Mali ...
in 1960. Timbuktu is impoverished and suffers from
desertification.
In its Golden Age, the town's numerous
Islamic scholar
In Islam, the ''ulama'' (; ar, علماء ', singular ', "scholar", literally "the learned ones", also spelled ''ulema''; feminine: ''alimah'' ingularand ''aalimath'' lural are the guardians, transmitters, and interpreters of reli ...
s and extensive trading network supported an important book trade, together with the campuses of the
Sankore Madrasah
Sankoré Madrasa (also called the University of Sankoré, or Sankore Masjid) is one of three ancient centers of learning located in Timbuktu, Mali. It is believed to be established by Mansa Musa, who was the ruler of the Mali Empire, though the S ...
, an
Islamic university
The term "Islamic university" ( ar, الجامعة الإسلامية, ''Jami'ah Islamiyah''), sometimes called madrasah jāmiʿah ( ar, مدرسة جامعة), can be used to describe secular educational institutions that were founded by people ...
, this established Timbuktu as a scholarly centre in Africa. Several notable historic writers, such as Shabeni and
Leo Africanus
Joannes Leo Africanus (born al-Hasan Muhammad al-Wazzan, ar, الحسن محمد الوزان ; c. 1494 – c. 1554) was an Andalusian diplomat and author who is best known for his 1526 book '' Cosmographia et geographia de Affrica'', later ...
, wrote about the city. These stories fuelled speculation in Europe, where the city's reputation shifted from being extremely rich to being mysterious.
Toponymy
![Barth 1858 Timbuktu from terrace](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/aa/Barth_1858_Timbuktu_from_terrace.jpg)
Over the centuries, the spelling of Timbuktu has varied a great deal: from ''Tenbuch'' on the
Catalan Atlas (1375), to traveller
Antonio Malfante's ''Thambet'', used in a letter he wrote in 1447 and also adopted by
Alvise Cadamosto
Alvise Cadamosto or Alvise da Ca' da Mosto (, also known in Portuguese as ''Luís Cadamosto''; c. 1432 – 18 July 1488) was a Venetian explorer and slave trader, who was hired by the Portuguese prince Henry the Navigator and undertook two known ...
in his ''Voyages of Cadamosto'', to
Heinrich Barth
Johann Heinrich Barth (; ; 16 February 1821 – 25 November 1865) was a German explorer of Africa and scholar.
Barth is thought to be one of the greatest of the European explorers of Africa, as his scholarly preparation, ability to speak and wri ...
's ''Timbúktu'' and ''Timbu'ktu''. French spelling often appears in international reference as 'Tombouctou'. The German spelling 'Timbuktu' and its variant 'Timbucktu' have passed into English and the former has become widely used in recent years. Major English-language works have employed the spelling 'Timbuctoo', and this is considered the correct English form by scholars; 'Timbuctou' and 'Timbuctu' are sometimes used as well. The French continue to use the spelling 'Tombouctou', as they have for over a century; variants include 'Temboctou' (used by explorer René Caillié) and 'Tombouktou', but they are seldom seen. Variant spellings exist for other places as well, such as Jenne (Djenné) and Segu (Ségou).
As well as its spelling, Timbuktu's
toponymy
Toponymy, toponymics, or toponomastics is the study of ''toponyms'' ( proper names of places, also known as place names and geographic names), including their origins, meanings, usage and types. Toponym is the general term for a proper name of ...
is still open to discussion. At least four possible origins of the name of Timbuktu have been described:
*Songhay origin: both
Leo Africanus
Joannes Leo Africanus (born al-Hasan Muhammad al-Wazzan, ar, الحسن محمد الوزان ; c. 1494 – c. 1554) was an Andalusian diplomat and author who is best known for his 1526 book '' Cosmographia et geographia de Affrica'', later ...
and Heinrich Barth believed the name was derived from two
Songhay words:
Leo Africanus writes the Kingdom of Tombuto was named after a town of the same name, founded in 1213 or 1214 by ''
Mansa Mansa may refer to:
Places In India
* Mansa, Gujarat, a town in northern Gujarat, Western India; the capital of:
** Mansa, Gujarat Assembly constituency
** Mansa State, a princely state under the Mahi Kantha Agency in India
* Mansa district, ...
''
Suleyman. The word itself consisted of two parts: ''tin'' (wall) and ''butu'' (Wall of Butu). Africanus did not explain the meaning of this ''Butu''.
Heinrich Barth wrote: "The town was probably so called, because it was built originally in a hollow or cavity in the sand-hills. Tùmbutu means hole or womb in the Songhay language: if it were a Temáshight (
Tamashek
Tamashek or Tamasheq is a variety of Tuareg, a Berber macro-language widely spoken by nomadic tribes across North Africa in Algeria, Mali, Niger, and Burkina Faso. Tamasheq is one of the three main varieties of Tuareg, the others being Tamaja ...
) word, it would be written Timbuktu. The name is generally interpreted by Europeans as ''well'' of Buktu (also same word in
Persian
Persian may refer to:
* People and things from Iran, historically called ''Persia'' in the English language
** Persians, the majority ethnic group in Iran, not to be conflated with the Iranic peoples
** Persian language, an Iranian language of the ...
is bâkhtàr باختر = where the sun sets, West), but ''tin'' has nothing to do with ''well''."
*Berber origin: Malian historian Sekene Cissoko proposes a different
etymology
Etymology ()The New Oxford Dictionary of English (1998) – p. 633 "Etymology /ˌɛtɪˈmɒlədʒi/ the study of the class in words and the way their meanings have changed throughout time". is the study of the history of the Phonological chan ...
: the Tuareg founders of the city gave it a
Berber name, a word composed of two parts: ''tim'', the feminine form of ''in'' (place of) and ''bouctou'', a small dune. Hence, Timbuktu would mean "place covered by small dunes".
*Abd al-Sadi offers a third explanation in his 17th-century ''
Tarikh al-Sudan
The ''Tarikh al-Sudan'' ( ''Tārīkh as-Sūdān''; also ''Tarikh es-Sudan'', "History of the Sudan") is a West African chronicle written in Arabic in around 1655 by the chronicler of Timbuktu, al-Sa'di. It provides the single most important primary ...
'': "The Tuareg made it a depot for their belongings and provisions, and it grew into a crossroads for travelers coming and going. Looking after their belongings was a slave woman of theirs called Timbuktu, which in their language means
he one having a'lump'. The blessed spot where she encamped was named after her."
*The French
Orientalist René Basset forwarded another theory: the name derives from the
Zenaga root ''b-k-t'', meaning "to be distant" or "hidden", and the feminine possessive particle ''tin''. The meaning "hidden" could point to the city's location in a slight hollow.
The validity of these theories depends on the identity of the original founders of the city: as recently as 2000,
archaeological research has not found remains dating from the 11th/12th century within the limits of the modern city given the difficulty of excavating through
metres of sand that have buried the remains over the past centuries. Without
consensus, the etymology of Timbuktu remains unclear.
Prehistory
Like other important Medieval West African towns such as
Djenné (
Jenné-Jeno),
Gao
Gao , or Gawgaw/Kawkaw, is a city in Mali and the capital of the Gao Region. The city is located on the River Niger, east-southeast of Timbuktu on the left bank at the junction with the Tilemsi valley.
For much of its history Gao was an impor ...
, and
Dia,
Iron Age
The Iron Age is the final epoch of the three-age division of the prehistory and protohistory of humanity. It was preceded by the Stone Age (Paleolithic, Mesolithic, Neolithic) and the Bronze Age (Chalcolithic). The concept has been mostly appl ...
settlements have been discovered near Timbuktu that predate the traditional foundation date of the town. Although the accumulation of thick layers of sand has thwarted archaeological excavations in the town itself, some of the surrounding landscape is deflating and exposing pottery shards on the surface. A survey of the area by Susan and Roderick McIntosh in 1984 identified several Iron Age sites along the el-Ahmar, an ancient wadi system that passes a few kilometers to the east of the modern town.
An Iron Age
tell complex located southeast of the Timbuktu near the Wadi el-Ahmar was excavated between 2008 and 2010 by archaeologists from
Yale University
Yale University is a private research university in New Haven, Connecticut. Established in 1701 as the Collegiate School, it is the third-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and among the most prestigious in the wo ...
and the Mission Culturelle de Tombouctou. The results suggest that the site was first occupied during the 5th century BC, thrived throughout the second half of the 1st millennium AD and eventually collapsed sometime during the late 10th or early 11th-century AD.
History
![Tombouctou-La Place du Marché (AOF)](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/2/25/Tombouctou-La_Place_du_March%C3%A9_%28AOF%29.jpg)
Timbuktu was a regional trade center in medieval times, where caravans met to exchange salt from the Sahara Desert for gold, ivory, and slaves from the Sahel, which could be reached via the nearby Niger River. The population (2018 population 32,460) swelled from 10,000 in the 13th century to about 50,000 in the 16th century after the establishment of a major Islamic university (
University of Timbuktu
The University of Timbuktu is a collective term for the teaching associated with three mosques in the city of Timbuktu in what is now Mali: the mosques of Sankore, Djinguereber, and Sidi Yahya. It was an organized scholastic community that endure ...
), which attracted scholars from throughout the Muslim world.
The
Moroccans invaded the Songhai Empire in 1590 and, after the 1591
Battle of Tondibi
The Battle of Tondibi was the decisive confrontation in the 16th-century invasion of the Songhai Empire by the army of the Saadi dynasty in Morocco. Though vastly outnumbered, the Moroccan forces under Judar Pasha defeated the Songhai Askia ...
, occupied Timbuktu. In 1593 most of the university faculty was executed or exiled for disloyalty to the new rulers, and this, along with a decline in trade caused by increased competition from newly available trans-Atlantic sailing routes, caused the city to decline. The first European to reach Timbuktu,
Alexander Gordon Laing
Major Alexander Gordon Laing (27 December 179426 September 1826) was a Scottish explorer and the first European to reach Timbuktu, arriving there via the north-to-south route in August 1826. He was killed shortly after he departed Timbuktu, som ...
, did not arrive until 1826, and it was not until the 1890s that Timbuktu was formally incorporated into the French colony of Mali. Today, the city is still inhabited; however, the city is not as geopolitically relevant as it once was.
Geography
![A camel ride in the Sahara Desert](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/e/e1/A_camel_ride_in_the_Sahara_Desert.jpg)
Timbuktu is located on the southern edge of the
Sahara north of the main channel of the River Niger. The town is surrounded by sand dunes and the streets are covered in sand. The port of
Kabara is to the south of the town and is connected to an arm of the river by a canal. The canal had become heavily silted but in 2007 it was dredged as part of a Libyan financed project.
The annual flood of the Niger River is a result of the heavy rainfall in the headwaters of the Niger and
Bani
Bani may refer to:
Places Africa
*Bani Department, a department in the Séno Province of Burkina Faso
*Bani, Bani, Séno, Burkina Faso
* Bani, Bourzanga, Bam, Burkina Faso
*Bani, Gnagna, Burkina Faso
* Bani, The Gambia
*Bani River, a tributary ...
rivers in
Guinea
Guinea ( ),, fuf, 𞤘𞤭𞤲𞤫, italic=no, Gine, wo, Gine, nqo, ߖߌ߬ߣߍ߫, bm, Gine officially the Republic of Guinea (french: République de Guinée), is a coastal country in West Africa. It borders the Atlantic Ocean to the we ...
and northern
Ivory Coast
Ivory Coast, also known as Côte d'Ivoire, officially the Republic of Côte d'Ivoire, is a country on the southern coast of West Africa. Its capital is Yamoussoukro, in the centre of the country, while its largest city and economic centre is ...
. The rainfall in these areas peaks in August but the floodwater takes time to pass down the river system and through the
Inner Niger Delta
The Inner Niger Delta, also known as the Macina or Masina, is the inland delta of the Niger River. It is an area of fluvial wetlands, lakes and floodplains in the semi-arid Sahel area of central Mali, just south of the Sahara desert.
Location ...
. At
Koulikoro
Koulikoro (Bambara language, Bambara: ߞߎߟߌߞߏߙߏ tr. Kulikoro) is a town and Communes of mali, urban commune in Mali. The capital of the Koulikoro Region, Koulikoro is located on banks of the Niger River, downstream from Mali's capital Bam ...
, downstream from
Bamako
Bamako ( bm, ߓߡߊ߬ߞߐ߬ ''Bàmakɔ̌'', ff, 𞤄𞤢𞤥𞤢𞤳𞤮 ''Bamako'') is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Mali, with a 2009 population of 1,810,366 and an estimated 2022 population of 2.81 million. It is located on t ...
, the flood peaks in September, while in Timbuktu the flood lasts longer and usually reaches a maximum at the end of December.
In the past, the area flooded by the river was more extensive and in years with high rainfall, floodwater would reach the western outskirts of Timbuktu itself. A small navigable creek to the west of the town is shown on the maps published by
Heinrich Barth
Johann Heinrich Barth (; ; 16 February 1821 – 25 November 1865) was a German explorer of Africa and scholar.
Barth is thought to be one of the greatest of the European explorers of Africa, as his scholarly preparation, ability to speak and wri ...
in 1857 and
Félix Dubois
Albert Félix Dubois (16 September 1862 – 1 June 1945) was a French journalist, explorer and entrepreneur who is best known for his books about his travels in French West Africa.
Dubois was the son of a well-known chef who had written a nu ...
in 1896. Between 1917 and 1921, during the colonial period, the French used slave labour to dig a narrow canal linking Timbuktu with Kabara. Over the following decades this became silted and filled with sand, but in 2007 as part of the dredging project, the canal was re-excavated so that now when the River Niger floods, Timbuktu is again connected to Kabara.
The Malian government has promised to address problems with the design of the canal as it currently lacks footbridges and the steep, unstable banks make access to the water difficult.
Kabara can only function as a port in December to January when the river is in full flood. When the water levels are lower, boats dock at Korioumé which is linked to Timbuktu by of paved road.
Climate
Timbuktu features a
hot desert climate
The desert climate or arid climate (in the Köppen climate classification ''BWh'' and ''BWk''), is a dry climate sub-type in which there is a severe excess of evaporation over precipitation. The typically bald, rocky, or sandy surfaces in desert ...
(''BWh'') according to the
Köppen Climate Classification
The Köppen climate classification is one of the most widely used climate classification systems. It was first published by German-Russian climatologist Wladimir Köppen (1846–1940) in 1884, with several later modifications by Köppen, notabl ...
. The weather is extremely hot and dry throughout much of the year, with most of the city's rainfall occurring between June and September, due to the influence of the
Intertropical Convergence Zone (ITCZ). The degree of
diurnal temperature variation
In meteorology, diurnal temperature variation is the variation between a high air temperature and a low temperature that occurs during the same day.
Temperature lag
Temperature lag is an important factor in diurnal temperature variation: peak d ...
is higher in the dry season than the wet season. Average daily maximum temperatures in the hottest months of the year – April, May and June – exceed . Lowest temperatures occur during the mildest months of the year – December, January and February. However, average maximum temperatures do not drop below . These winter months are characterized by a dry, dusty
trade wind
The trade winds or easterlies are the permanent east-to-west prevailing winds that flow in the Earth's equatorial region. The trade winds blow mainly from the northeast in the Northern Hemisphere and from the southeast in the Southern Hemisph ...
blowing from the Saharan
Tibesti Region
Tibesti Region ( ar, مقاطعة تيبستي) is a region of Chad, located in far northwest of the country. Its capital is Bardaï. It was created in 2008 when the former Borkou-Ennedi-Tibesti Region was split into three, with the Tibesti Dep ...
southward to the
Gulf of Guinea
The Gulf of Guinea is the northeasternmost part of the tropical Atlantic Ocean from Cape Lopez in Gabon, north and west to Cape Palmas in Liberia. The intersection of the Equator and Prime Meridian (zero degrees latitude and longitude) is in ...
: picking up dust particles on their way, these winds limit visibility in what has been dubbed the '
Harmattan
The Harmattan is a season in West Africa that occurs between the end of November and the middle of March. It is characterized by the dry and dusty northeasterly trade wind, of the same name, which blows from the Sahara over West Africa into the ...
Haze'. Additionally, when the dust settles in the city, sand builds up and desertification looms.
Economy
Salt trade
![Bilma-Salzkarawane1](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/c4/Bilma-Salzkarawane1.jpg)
The wealth and very existence of Timbuktu depended on its position as the southern terminus of an important trans-Saharan trade route; nowadays, the only goods that are routinely transported across the desert are slabs of rock salt brought from the
Taoudenni ar, تودني
, nickname =
, settlement_type =
, total_type =
, motto =
, translit_lang1=
, translit_lang1_type=
, translit_lang1_info=
, translit_lang1_type1=
, translit_lang1_info1=
, transli ...
mining centre in the central Sahara north of Timbuktu. Until the second half of the 20th century most of the slabs were transported by large salt caravans or
azalai
The Azalai (Tamasheq, var. Azalay) is a semi-annual salt caravan route practiced by Tuareg traders in the Sahara desert between Timbuktu and the Taoudenni salt mine in Mali, or the act of traveling with a caravan along that route.
The other ...
, one leaving Timbuktu in early November and the other in late March.
The caravans of several thousand camels took three weeks each way, transporting food to the miners and returning with each camel loaded with four or five slabs of salt. The salt transport was largely controlled by the desert nomads of the Arabic-speaking Berabich (or Barabish) tribe. Although there are no roads, the slabs of salt are now usually transported from Taoudenni by truck. From Timbuktu the salt is transported by boat to other towns in Mali.
Between the 12th and 14th centuries, Timbuktu's population grew immensely due to an influx of
Bono
Paul David Hewson (born 10 May 1960), known by his stage name Bono (), is an Irish singer-songwriter, activist, and philanthropist. He is the lead vocalist and primary lyricist of the rock band U2.
Born and raised in Dublin, he attended M ...
,
Tuaregs
The Tuareg people (; also spelled Twareg or Touareg; endonym: ''Imuhaɣ/Imušaɣ/Imašeɣăn/Imajeɣăn'') are a large Berber ethnic group that principally inhabit the Sahara in a vast area stretching from far southwestern Libya to southern ...
,
Fulanis, and
Songhais seeking trade, security, or to study. By 1300, the population increased to 10,000 and continued increasing until it reached about 50,000 in the 1500s.
Agriculture
![Women pounding grain](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/f0/Women_pounding_grain.jpg)
There is insufficient rainfall in the Timbuktu region for purely rain-fed agriculture and crops are therefore irrigated using water from the River Niger. The main agricultural crop is rice. African floating rice (''
Oryza glaberrima
''Oryza glaberrima'', commonly known as African rice, is one of the two domesticated rice species. It was first domesticated and grown in West Africa around 3,000 years ago. In agriculture, it has largely been replaced by higher-yielding Asian r ...
'') has traditionally been grown in regions near the river that are inundated during the annual flood. Seed is sown at the beginning of the rainy season (June–July) so that when the flood water arrives plants are already in height.
The plants grow up to in height as the water level rises. The rice is harvested by canoe in December. The procedure is very precarious and the yields are low but the method has the advantage that little capital investment is required. A successful crop depends critically on the amount and timing of the rain in the wet season and the height of the flood. To a limited extent the arrival of the flood water can be controlled by the construction of small mud dikes that become submerged as the water rises.
Although floating rice is still cultivated in the
Timbuktu Cercle
Timbuktu Cercle is an administrative subdivision of the Tombouctou Region of Mali. It is the largest cercle by area in the whole of Mali. The capital lies at the city of Timbuktu. The cercle is divided into Rural and Urban Communes, and below thi ...
, most of the rice is now grown in three relatively large irrigated areas that lie to the south of the town: Daye (392 ha), Koriomé (550 ha) and Hamadja (623 ha).
Water is pumped from the river using ten large
Archimedes' screw
The Archimedes screw, also known as the Archimedean screw, hydrodynamic screw, water screw or Egyptian screw, is one of the earliest hydraulic machines. Using Archimedes screws as water pumps (Archimedes screw pump (ASP) or screw pump) dates back ...
s which were first installed in the 1990s. The irrigated areas are run as
cooperative
A cooperative (also known as co-operative, co-op, or coop) is "an autonomous association of persons united voluntarily to meet their common economic, social and cultural needs and aspirations through a jointly owned and democratically-control ...
s with approximately 2,100 families cultivating small plots.
Nearly all the rice produced is consumed by the families themselves. The yields are still relatively low and the farmers are being encouraged to change their agricultural practices.
Tourism
Most tourists visit Timbuktu between November and February when the air temperature is lower. In the 1980s, accommodation for tourists was provided by Hendrina Khan Hotel and two other small hotels: Hotel Bouctou and Hotel Azalaï.
Over the following decades the tourist numbers increased so that by 2006 there were seven small hotels and guest houses.
The town benefited by the revenue from the CFA 5000 tourist tax,
the sale of handicrafts and employment of local guides.
Attacks
Starting in 2008,
al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb
Al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb ( ar-at, تنظيم القاعدة في بلاد المغرب الإسلامي, Tanẓīm al-Qā'idah fī Bilād al-Maghrib al-Islāmī), or AQIM, is an Islamist militant organization (of al-Qaeda) that aims to o ...
began kidnapping groups of tourists in the Sahel region. In January 2009, four tourists were kidnapped near the
Mali–Niger border
The Mali–Niger border is 828 km (520 m) in length and runs from the tripoint with Burkina Faso in the west to the tripoint with Algeria in the east.
Description
Beginning at the tripoint with Burkina Faso, the border proceeds in an irregul ...
after attending a cultural festival at
Anderamboukané. One of these tourists was subsequently murdered. As a result of this and various other incidents a number of states including France, Britain and the US, began advising their citizens to avoid travelling far from Bamako. The number of tourists visiting Timbuktu dropped precipitously from around 6000 in 2009 to only 492 in the first four months of 2011.
Because of the security concerns, the Malian government moved the 2010
Festival in the Desert from
Essakane to the outskirts of Timbuktu. In November 2011, gunmen attacked tourists staying at a hotel in Timbuktu, killing one of them and
kidnapping three others. This was the first terrorist incident in Timbuktu itself.
On 1 April 2012, one day after the capture of
Gao
Gao , or Gawgaw/Kawkaw, is a city in Mali and the capital of the Gao Region. The city is located on the River Niger, east-southeast of Timbuktu on the left bank at the junction with the Tilemsi valley.
For much of its history Gao was an impor ...
, Timbuktu was captured from the Malian military by the
Tuareg rebels
The Tuareg people (; also spelled Twareg or Touareg; endonym: ''Imuhaɣ/Imušaɣ/Imašeɣăn/Imajeɣăn'') are a large Berber ethnic group that principally inhabit the Sahara in a vast area stretching from far southwestern Libya to southern Al ...
of the
MNLA and
Ansar Dine
Ansar Dine ( ar, أنصار الدين ''ʾAnṣār ad-Dīn'', also transliterated ''Ançar Deen''; meaning " helpers of the religion" (Islam) also known as Ansar al-Din (abbreviated as AAD) was a Salafi jihadist group led by Iyad Ag Ghaly. An ...
. Five days later, the MNLA declared the region independent of Mali as the nation of
Azawad
Azawad, or Azawagh (Tuareg: Azawaɣ, or Azawad; ar, أزواد) was a short-lived unrecognised state from 2012 to 2013. Azawagh (''Azawaɣ'') is the generic Tuareg Berber name of all Tuareg Berber areas, especially the northern half of Mali ...
.
The declared political entity was not recognized by any regional nations or the international community and it collapsed three months later on 12 July.
On 28 January 2013, French and Malian government troops began retaking Timbuktu from the Islamist rebels. The force of 1,000 French troops with 200 Malian soldiers retook Timbuktu without a fight. The Islamist groups had already fled north a few days earlier, having set fire to the
Ahmed Baba Institute
The Ahmed Baba Institute, officially the Ahmed Baba Institute of Higher Learning and Islamic Research, is a library and research centre in Timbuktu. The centre was founded in 1973, with financing primarily from Kuwait. It was named after 17th-cent ...
, which housed many important manuscripts. The building housing the Ahmed Baba Institute was funded by South Africa, and held 30,000 manuscripts. BBC World Service radio news reported on 29 January 2013 that approximately 28,000 of the manuscripts in the Institute had been removed to safety from the premises before the attack by the Islamist groups, and that the whereabouts of about 2,000 manuscripts remained unknown. It was intended to be a resource for Islamic research.
On 30 March 2013, jihadist rebels
infiltrated
Powder metallurgy (PM) is a term covering a wide range of ways in which materials or components are made from metal powders. PM processes can reduce or eliminate the need for subtractive processes in manufacturing, lowering material losses and ...
into Timbuktu nine days before a
suicide bombing on a Malian army checkpoint at the international airport, killing a soldier. Fighting lasted until 1 April, when French warplanes helped Malian ground forces chase the remaining rebels out of the city center.
Early accounts in the West
Tales of Timbuktu's fabulous wealth helped prompt European exploration of the west coast of Africa. Among the most famous descriptions of Timbuktu are those of
Leo Africanus
Joannes Leo Africanus (born al-Hasan Muhammad al-Wazzan, ar, الحسن محمد الوزان ; c. 1494 – c. 1554) was an Andalusian diplomat and author who is best known for his 1526 book '' Cosmographia et geographia de Affrica'', later ...
and Shabeni.
Leo Africanus
Perhaps most famous among the accounts written about Timbuktu is that by
Leo Africanus
Joannes Leo Africanus (born al-Hasan Muhammad al-Wazzan, ar, الحسن محمد الوزان ; c. 1494 – c. 1554) was an Andalusian diplomat and author who is best known for his 1526 book '' Cosmographia et geographia de Affrica'', later ...
, born El Hasan ben Muhammed el- Wazzan-ez-Zayyati in
Granada
Granada (,, DIN 31635, DIN: ; grc, Ἐλιβύργη, Elibýrgē; la, Illiberis or . ) is the capital city of the province of Granada, in the autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Andalusia, Spain. Granada is located at the fo ...
in 1485. His family was among the thousands of Muslims expelled by King Ferdinand and Queen Isabel after their
reconquest of Spain in 1492. They settled in
Morocco
Morocco (),, ) officially the Kingdom of Morocco, is the westernmost country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It overlooks the Mediterranean Sea to the north and the Atlantic Ocean to the west, and has land borders with Algeria to ...
, where he studied in
Fes
Fez or Fes (; ar, فاس, fās; zgh, ⴼⵉⵣⴰⵣ, fizaz; french: Fès) is a city in northern inland Morocco and the capital of the Fès-Meknès administrative region. It is the second largest city in Morocco, with a population of 1.11 mi ...
and accompanied his uncle on diplomatic missions throughout North Africa. During these travels, he visited Timbuktu. As a young man he was captured by pirates and presented as an exceptionally learned slave to
Pope Leo X
Pope Leo X ( it, Leone X; born Giovanni di Lorenzo de' Medici, 11 December 14751 December 1521) was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 9 March 1513 to his death in December 1521.
Born into the prominent political an ...
, who freed him,
baptized him under the name "Johannis Leo de Medici", and commissioned him to write, in Italian, a detailed survey of Africa. His accounts provided most of what Europeans
knew about the continent for the next several centuries. Describing Timbuktu when the
Songhai Empire
The Songhai Empire (also transliterated as Songhay) was a state that dominated the western Sahel/Sudan in the 15th and 16th century. At its peak, it was one of the largest states in African history. The state is known by its historiographical ...
was at its height, the English edition of his book includes the description:
According to Leo Africanus, there were abundant supplies of locally produced corn, cattle, milk and butter, though there were neither gardens nor orchards surrounding the city.
In another passage dedicated to describing the wealth of both the environment and the king, Africanus touches upon the rarity of one of Timbuktu's trade commodities: salt.
These descriptions and passages alike caught the attention of European explorers. Africanus also described the more mundane aspects of the city, such as the "cottages built of
chalk
Chalk is a soft, white, porous, sedimentary carbonate rock. It is a form of limestone composed of the mineral calcite and originally formed deep under the sea by the compression of microscopic plankton that had settled to the sea floor. Ch ...
, and covered with
thatch
Thatching is the craft of building a roof with dry vegetation such as straw, water reed, sedge (''Cladium mariscus''), rushes, heather, or palm branches, layering the vegetation so as to shed water away from the inner roof. Since the bulk of ...
" – although these went largely unheeded.
Shabeni
Roughly 250 years after Leo Africanus' visit to Timbuktu, the city had seen many rulers. The end of the 18th century saw the grip of the Moroccan rulers on the city wane, resulting in a period of unstable government by quickly changing tribes. During the rule of one of those tribes, the
Hausa
Hausa may refer to:
* Hausa people, an ethnic group of West Africa
* Hausa language, spoken in West Africa
* Hausa Kingdoms, a historical collection of Hausa city-states
* Hausa (horse) or Dongola horse, an African breed of riding horse
See also
...
, a 14-year-old child named Shabeni (or Shabeeny) from
Tetuan on the north coast of Morocco accompanied his father on a visit to Timbuktu.
Shabeni stayed in Timbuktu for three years before moving to a major city called
Housa
Houssa or Housa ( ar, هوسا), was the name given in western culture to a purportedly huge and magical city in the interior of Africa, on the banks of the Niger River, Niger.
Ezekiel Blomfield described the city thus:
"Another celebrated city i ...
several days' journey to the southeast. Two years later, he returned to Timbuktu to live there for another seven years – one of a population that was, even centuries after its peak and excluding slaves, double the size of the 21st-century town.
By the time Shabeni was 27, he was an established merchant in his hometown of Tetuan. He made a two-year pilgrimage to
Mecca
Mecca (; officially Makkah al-Mukarramah, commonly shortened to Makkah ()) is a city and administrative center of the Mecca Province of Saudi Arabia, and the Holiest sites in Islam, holiest city in Islam. It is inland from Jeddah on the Red ...
and thus became a
hajji
Hajji ( ar, الحجّي; sometimes spelled Hadji, Haji, Alhaji, Al-Hadj, Al-Haj or El-Hajj) is an honorific title which is given to a Muslim who has successfully completed the Hajj to Mecca. It is also often used to refer to an elder, since i ...
, Asseed El Hage Abd Salam Shabeeny. Returning from a trading voyage to
Hamburg
(male), (female) en, Hamburger(s),
Hamburgian(s)
, timezone1 = Central (CET)
, utc_offset1 = +1
, timezone1_DST = Central (CEST)
, utc_offset1_DST = +2
, postal ...
, he was captured by a ship manned by Englishmen but sailing under a Russian flag, whose captain claimed that his Imperial mistress (
Catherine the Great
, en, Catherine Alexeievna Romanova, link=yes
, house =
, father = Christian August, Prince of Anhalt-Zerbst
, mother = Joanna Elisabeth of Holstein-Gottorp
, birth_date =
, birth_name = Princess Sophie of Anhal ...
) was "at war with all Muselmen" (see
Russo-Turkish War (1787–1792)). He and the ship he had been sailing in were brought to
Ostend
Ostend ( nl, Oostende, ; french: link=no, Ostende ; german: link=no, Ostende ; vls, Ostende) is a coastal city and municipality, located in the province of West Flanders in the Flemish Region of Belgium. It comprises the boroughs of Mariakerk ...
in Belgium in December 1789 but the British consul managed to get him and the ship released. He set off again in the same ship, but the captain, who claimed to be afraid of his ship being captured again, set him ashore in
Dover. In England his story was recorded. Shabeeni gave an indication of the size of the city in the second half of the 18th century. In an earlier passage, he described an environment that was characterized by forest, as opposed to the modern arid surroundings.
Arts and culture
Cultural events
The best-known cultural event is the
Festival au Désert
The Festival au désert (Festival in the Desert) was an annual concert in Mali, showcasing traditional Tuareg music as well as music from around the world between 2001 and 2012. It was founded and directed by Manny Ansar, and attracted thousand ...
.
[ When the Tuareg rebellion ended in 1996 under the Konaré administration, 3,000 weapons were burned in a ceremony dubbed the Flame of Peace on 29 March 2007 – to commemorate the ceremony, a monument was built. The ]Festival au Désert
The Festival au désert (Festival in the Desert) was an annual concert in Mali, showcasing traditional Tuareg music as well as music from around the world between 2001 and 2012. It was founded and directed by Manny Ansar, and attracted thousand ...
, to celebrate the peace treaty
A peace treaty is an agreement between two or more hostile parties, usually countries or governments, which formally ends a state of war between the parties. It is different from an armistice
An armistice is a formal agreement of warring ...
, was held every January in the desert, 75 km from the city until 2010.
The week-long festival of Mawloud is held every January, and celebrates the birthday of Muhammed; the city's "most cherished manuscripts" are read publicly, and are a central part of this celebration. It was originally a Shi'ite festival from Persia and arriving in Timbuktu around 1600. The "most joyful occasion on Timbuktu's calendar", it combines "rituals of Sufi Islam with celebrating Timbuktu's rich literary traditions". It is a "period of feasting, singing, and dancing ... It culminated with an evening gathering of thousands of people in the large sandy square in front of the Sankor é Mosque and a public reading of some of the city's most treasured manuscripts."
World Heritage Site
During its twelfth session, in December 1988, the World Heritage Committee
The World Heritage Committee selects the sites to be listed as UNESCO World Heritage Sites, including the World Heritage List and the List of World Heritage in Danger, defines the use of the World Heritage Fund and allocates financial assistance ...
(WHC) selected parts of Timbuktu's historic centre for inscription on its World Heritage list
A World Heritage Site is a landmark or area with legal protection by an international convention administered by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). World Heritage Sites are designated by UNESCO for ...
. The selection was based on three criteria:[
*Criterion II: Timbuktu's holy places were vital to early ]Islamization
Islamization, Islamicization, or Islamification ( ar, أسلمة, translit=aslamāh), refers to the process through which a society shifts towards the religion of Islam and becomes largely Muslim. Societal Islamization has historically occur ...
in Africa.
*Criterion IV: Timbuktu's mosques show a cultural and scholarly Golden Age
The term Golden Age comes from Greek mythology, particularly the '' Works and Days'' of Hesiod, and is part of the description of temporal decline of the state of peoples through five Ages, Gold being the first and the one during which the G ...
during the Songhai Empire
The Songhai Empire (also transliterated as Songhay) was a state that dominated the western Sahel/Sudan in the 15th and 16th century. At its peak, it was one of the largest states in African history. The state is known by its historiographical ...
.
*Criterion V: The construction of the mosques, still mostly original, shows the use of traditional building techniques.
An earlier nomination in 1979 failed the following year as it lacked proper demarcation: the Malian government included the town of Timbuktu as a whole in the wish for inclusion. Close to a decade later, three mosques and 16 mausoleum
A mausoleum is an external free-standing building constructed as a monument enclosing the interment space or burial chamber of a deceased person or people. A mausoleum without the person's remains is called a cenotaph. A mausoleum may be consid ...
s or cemeteries were selected from the Old Town for World Heritage status: with this conclusion came the call for protection of the buildings' conditions, an exclusion of new construction works near the sites and measures against the encroaching sand.
Shortly afterwards, the monuments were placed on the List of World Heritage in Danger
The List of World Heritage in Danger is compiled by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) through the World Heritage Committee according to Article 11.4 of the World Heritage Convention,Full title: ''Conv ...
by the Malian government, as by the selection committee at the time of nomination.[ The first period on the Danger List lasted from 1990 until 2005, when a range of measures including restoration work and the compilation of an inventory warranted "its removal from the Danger List". In 2008 the WHC placed the protected area under increased scrutiny dubbed "reinforced monitoring", a measure made possible in 2007, as the impact of planned construction work was unclear. Special attention was given to the build of a ]cultural centre
A cultural center or cultural centre is an organization, building or complex that promotes culture and arts. Cultural centers can be neighborhood community arts organizations, private facilities, government-sponsored, or activist-run.
Asia
* Cen ...
.
During a session in June 2009, UNESCO
The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization is a specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) aimed at promoting world peace and security through international cooperation in education, arts, sciences and culture. It ...
decided to cease its increased monitoring program as it felt sufficient progress had been made to address the initial concerns. Following the takeover of Timbuktu by MNLA and the Islamist group Ansar Dine, it was returned to the List of World Heritage in Danger in 2012.
Attacks by radical Islamic groups
In May 2012, Ansar Dine
Ansar Dine ( ar, أنصار الدين ''ʾAnṣār ad-Dīn'', also transliterated ''Ançar Deen''; meaning " helpers of the religion" (Islam) also known as Ansar al-Din (abbreviated as AAD) was a Salafi jihadist group led by Iyad Ag Ghaly. An ...
destroyed a shrine in the city and in June 2012, in the aftermath of the Battle of Gao and Timbuktu, other shrines, including the mausoleum of Sidi Mahmoud, were destroyed when attacked with shovels and pickaxes by members of the same group.[ An Ansar Dine spokesman said that all shrines in the city, including the 13 remaining World Heritage sites, would be destroyed because they consider them to be examples of idolatry, a ]sin in Islam
Sin is an important concept in Islamic ethics that Muslims view as being anything that goes against the commands of God in Islam Allah (God) or breaching the laws and norms laid down by religion. Islam teaches that sin is an act and not a state ...
.[ These acts have been described as crimes against humanity and war crimes.][Guled Yusuf and Lucas Bento (31 July 2012)]
"The 'End Times' for Timbuktu?"
''The New York Times''. Retrieved 31 July 2012 After the destruction of the tombs, UNESCO created a special fund to safeguard Mali's World Heritage Sites, vowing to carry out reconstruction and rehabilitation projects once the security situation allows.
Education
Centre of learning
Timbuktu was a world centre of Islamic learning from the 13th to the 17th century, especially under the Mali Empire and Askia Mohammad I's rule. The Malian government and NGOs have been working to catalog and restore the remnants of this scholarly legacy: Timbuktu's manuscripts.
Timbuktu's rapid economic growth in the 13th and 14th centuries drew many scholars from nearby Walata
, settlement_type = Commune and town
, image_skyline = Oualata 03.jpg
, imagesize = 300px
, image_caption = View of the town looking in a southeasterly direction
, imag ...
(today in Mauritania), leading up to the city's golden age in the 15th and 16th centuries that proved fertile ground for scholarship of religions, arts and sciences. To the people of Timbuktu, literacy and books were symbols of wealth, power, and blessings and the acquisition of books became a primary concern for scholars. An active trade in books between Timbuktu and other parts of the Islamic world and emperor Askia Mohammed
Askia Muhammad I (b. 1443 – d. 1538), born Muhammad ibn Abi Bakr al-Turi or Muhammad Ture, was the first ruler of the Askia dynasty of the Songhai Empire, reigning from 1493 to 1528. He is also known as Askia the Great, and his name in modern ...
's strong support led to the writing of thousands of manuscript
A manuscript (abbreviated MS for singular and MSS for plural) was, traditionally, any document written by hand – or, once practical typewriters became available, typewritten – as opposed to mechanically printed or reproduced in ...
s.
Knowledge was gathered in a manner similar to the early, informal European Medieval university model. Lecturing was presented through a range of informal institutions called madrasahs
Madrasa (, also , ; Arabic: مدرسة , Plural, pl. , ) is the Arabs, Arabic word for any Educational institution, type of educational institution, secular or religious (of any religion), whether for elementary instruction or higher learning. T ...
. Nowadays known as the University of Timbuktu
The University of Timbuktu is a collective term for the teaching associated with three mosques in the city of Timbuktu in what is now Mali: the mosques of Sankore, Djinguereber, and Sidi Yahya. It was an organized scholastic community that endure ...
, three ''madrasahs'' facilitated 25,000 students: Djinguereber
The Djinguereber Mosque ( ar, مسجد دجينجيربر) in Timbuktu, Mali is a famous learning center of Mali built in 1327, and cited as Djingareyber or Djingarey Ber in various languages. Its design is accredited to Abu Ishaq Al Sahili ...
, Sidi Yahya Sidi Yahya may refer to:
People
*Arabic name of John the Baptist, who is a prophet in Islam.
*Sidi Yaya Keita, Malian footballer
Places
Morocco
*Sidi Yahya El Gharb, town in Kénitra Province
*Sidi Yahya Ou Youssef, commune in Khénifra Provin ...
and Sankore
Sankoré Madrasa (also called the University of Sankoré, or Sankore Masjid) is one of three ancient centers of learning located in Timbuktu, Mali. It is believed to be established by Mansa Musa, who was the ruler of the Mali Empire, though the S ...
.
These institutions were explicitly religious, as opposed to the more secular curricula of modern European universities and more similar to the medieval Europe model. However, where universities in the European sense started as associations of students and teachers, West-African education was patronized by families or lineages, with the Aqit and Bunu al-Qadi al-Hajj families being two of the most prominent in Timbuktu – these families also facilitated students in set-aside rooms in their housings. Although the basis of Islamic law
Sharia (; ar, شريعة, sharīʿa ) is a body of religious law that forms a part of the Islamic tradition. It is derived from the religious precepts of Islam and is based on the sacred scriptures of Islam, particularly the Quran and the ...
and its teaching were brought to Timbuktu from North Africa with the spread of Islam, Western African scholarship developed: Ahmad Baba al Massufi
Aḥmad Bābā al-Timbuktī (), full name Abū al-Abbās Aḥmad ibn Aḥmad ibn Aḥmad ibn Umar ibn Muhammad Aqit al-Takrūrī Al-Massufi al-Timbuktī (1556 – 1627 CE, 963 – 1036 H), was a Sanhaja Berber writer, scholar, and politi ...
is regarded as the city's greatest scholar.
Timbuktu served in this process as a distribution centre of scholars and scholarship. Its reliance on trade meant intensive movement of scholars between the city and its extensive network of trade partners. In 1468–1469 though, many scholars left for Walata when Sunni Ali's Songhay Empire absorbed Timbuktu. Then, in the 1591 Moroccan invasion of Timbuktu, scholars had to flee once more, or face imprisonment or murder.
This system of education survived until the late 19th century, while the 18th century saw the institution of itinerant Quranic school as a form of universal education, where scholars would travel throughout the region with their students, begging for food part of the day.[
Islamic education came under pressure after the French occupation, droughts in the 1970s and 1980s and by Mali's civil war in the early 1990s.][
]
Manuscripts and libraries
Hundreds of thousands of manuscripts were collected in Timbuktu over the course of centuries: some were written in the town itself, others – including exclusive copies of the Quran
The Quran (, ; Standard Arabic: , Classical Arabic, Quranic Arabic: , , 'the recitation'), also romanized Qur'an or Koran, is the central religious text of Islam, believed by Muslims to be a revelation in Islam, revelation from God in Islam, ...
for wealthy families – imported through the lively booktrade.
Hidden in cellars or buried, hid between the mosque's mud walls and safeguarded by their patrons, many of these manuscripts survived the city's decline. They now form the collection of several libraries in Timbuktu, holding up to 700,000 manuscripts: In late January 2013 it was reported that rebel forces destroyed many of the manuscripts before leaving the city. "On Friday morning, 25 January 2013, fifteen jihadis entered the restoration and conservation rooms on the ground floor of the Ahmed Baba Institute
The Ahmed Baba Institute, officially the Ahmed Baba Institute of Higher Learning and Islamic Research, is a library and research centre in Timbuktu. The centre was founded in 1973, with financing primarily from Kuwait. It was named after 17th-cent ...
in Sankoré ... The men swept 4,202 manuscripts off lab tables and shelves, and carried them into the tiled courtyard ... They doused the manuscripts in gasoline ... and tossed in a lit match. The brittle pages and their dry leather covers ... were consumed by the inferno." However, there was no malicious destruction of any library or collection as most of the manuscripts were safely hidden away. One librarian in particular, Abdel Kader Haidara, arranged to have 350,000 medieval manuscripts smuggled out of Timbuktu for safekeeping.
* Ahmed Baba Institute
The Ahmed Baba Institute, officially the Ahmed Baba Institute of Higher Learning and Islamic Research, is a library and research centre in Timbuktu. The centre was founded in 1973, with financing primarily from Kuwait. It was named after 17th-cent ...
* Mamma Haidara Library
* Fondo Kati
* Al-Wangari Library
* Mohamed Tahar Library
* Maigala Library
* Boularaf Collection
* Al Kounti Collections
These libraries are the largest among up to 60 private or public libraries that are estimated to exist in Timbuktu today, although some comprise little more than a row of books on a shelf or a bookchest. Under these circumstances, the manuscripts are vulnerable to damage and theft, as well as long term climate damage, despite Timbuktu's arid climate. Two Timbuktu Manuscripts Project
Timbuktu Manuscripts (or Tombouctou Manuscripts) is a blanket term for the large number of historically significant manuscripts that have been preserved for centuries in private households in Timbuktu, a city in northern Mali. The collections in ...
s funded by independent universities have aimed to preserve them.
During the occupation by Islamic extremists the citizens of the city embarked on a drive to save the "best written accounts of African History". Interviewed by ''Time'' magazine, the local residents claimed to have safeguarded the three hundred thousand manuscripts for generations. Many of these documents are still in the safe-keeping of the local residents, who are reluctant to give them over to the government-run Ahmed Baba Institute housed in a modern digitalization building built by the South African government in 2009. The institute houses only 10% of the manuscripts. It was later confirmed by Jean-Michel Djian to ''The New Yorker'' that "the great majority of the manuscripts, about fifty thousand, are actually housed in the thirty-two family libraries of the 'City of 333 Saints. He added, "Those are to this day protected." He also added that due to the massive efforts of one individual, two hundred thousand other manuscripts were successfully transported to safety. This effort was organized by Abdel Kader Haidara, then director of Mamma Haidara Library, using his own funds. Haidara purchased metal footlockers in which up to 300 manuscripts could be securely stored. Nearly 2,500 of these lockers were distributed to safe houses across the city. Many were later moved to Dreazen.
Language
Although French is Mali's official language
An official language is a language given supreme status in a particular country, state, or other jurisdiction. Typically the term "official language" does not refer to the language used by a people or country, but by its government (e.g. judiciary, ...
, today the large majority of Timbuktu's inhabitants speaks Koyra Chiini, a Songhay language that also functions as the lingua franca
A lingua franca (; ; for plurals see ), also known as a bridge language, common language, trade language, auxiliary language, vehicular language, or link language, is a language systematically used to make communication possible between groups ...
. Before the 1990–1994 Tuareg rebellion, both Hassaniya Arabic and Tamashek
Tamashek or Tamasheq is a variety of Tuareg, a Berber macro-language widely spoken by nomadic tribes across North Africa in Algeria, Mali, Niger, and Burkina Faso. Tamasheq is one of the three main varieties of Tuareg, the others being Tamaja ...
were represented by 10% each to an 80% dominance of the Koyra Chiini language. With Tamashek spoken by both Ikelan
The Ikelan (Éklan/Ikelan or Ibenheren in Tamasheq; Bouzou in Hausa; Bella in Songhai; singular Akli) are a caste within Tuareg society, who were at one time slaves or servile communities.
The Ikelan's situation is somewhat analogous to that of ...
and ethnic Tuaregs, its use declined with the expulsion of many Tuaregs following the rebellion, increasing the dominance of Koyra Chiini.
Arabic
Arabic (, ' ; , ' or ) is a Semitic languages, Semitic language spoken primarily across the Arab world.Semitic languages: an international handbook / edited by Stefan Weninger; in collaboration with Geoffrey Khan, Michael P. Streck, Janet C ...
, introduced together with Islam during the 11th century, has mainly been the language of scholars and religion, comparable to Latin
Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through the power of the ...
in Western Christianity
Western Christianity is one of two sub-divisions of Christianity ( Eastern Christianity being the other). Western Christianity is composed of the Latin Church and Western Protestantism, together with their offshoots such as the Old Catholic ...
. Although Bambara is spoken by the most numerous ethnic group in Mali, the Bambara people
The Bambara ( bm, ߓߡߊߣߊ߲, italics=no, ''Bamana'' or ''Banmana'') are a Mandé ethnic group native to much of West Africa, primarily southern Mali, Guinea, Burkina Faso and Senegal. They have been associated with the historic Bambara Emp ...
, it is mainly confined to the south of the country. With an improving infrastructure granting Timbuktu access to larger cities in Mali's South, use of Bambara was increasing in the city at least until Azawad independence.
Infrastructure
With no railroads in Mali except for the Dakar-Niger Railway up to Koulikoro
Koulikoro (Bambara language, Bambara: ߞߎߟߌߞߏߙߏ tr. Kulikoro) is a town and Communes of mali, urban commune in Mali. The capital of the Koulikoro Region, Koulikoro is located on banks of the Niger River, downstream from Mali's capital Bam ...
, access to Timbuktu is by road, boat or, since 1961, aircraft. With high water levels in the Niger from August to December, Compagnie Malienne de Navigation (COMANAV) passenger ferries operate a leg between Koulikoro and downstream Gao
Gao , or Gawgaw/Kawkaw, is a city in Mali and the capital of the Gao Region. The city is located on the River Niger, east-southeast of Timbuktu on the left bank at the junction with the Tilemsi valley.
For much of its history Gao was an impor ...
on a roughly weekly basis. Also requiring high water are ''pinasses'' (large motorized pirogues
A pirogue ( or ), also called a piragua or piraga, is any of various small boats, particularly dugouts and native canoes. The word is French and is derived from Spanish , which comes from the Carib '. Description
The term 'pirogue' does n ...
), either chartered or public, that travel up and down the river.
Both ferries and ''pinasses'' arrive at Korioumé, Timbuktu's port, which is linked to the city centre by an paved road running through Kabara. In 2007, access to Timbuktu's traditional port, Kabara, was restored by a Libya
Libya (; ar, ليبيا, Lībiyā), officially the State of Libya ( ar, دولة ليبيا, Dawlat Lībiyā), is a country in the Maghreb region in North Africa. It is bordered by the Mediterranean Sea to the north, Egypt to Egypt–Libya bo ...
n funded project that dredged the silted canal connecting Kabara to an arm of the Niger River. COMANAV ferries and ''pinasses'' are now able to reach the port when the river is in full flood.
Timbuktu is poorly connected to the Malian road network with only dirt roads to the neighbouring towns. Although the Niger River can be crossed by ferry at Korioumé, the roads south of the river are no better. However, a new paved road is under construction between Niono
Niono is a town and commune located in the Ségou Region of Mali. The commune has an area of approximately 491 square kilometers and includes the town and 20 of the surrounding villages. In the 2009 census it had a population of 91,554. The town ...
and Timbuktu running to the north of the Inland Niger Delta
The Inner Niger Delta, also known as the Macina or Masina, is the inland delta of the Niger River. It is an area of fluvial wetlands, lakes and floodplains in the semi-arid Sahel area of central Mali, just south of the Sahara desert.
Location ...
. The road will pass through Nampala
Nampalari is a rural commune in the Cercle of Niono in the Ségou Region of Mali. The commune has an area of 5,111 square kilometers and contains 22 villages. In the 2009 census it had a population of 11,052. The ''chef-lieu
An administrative ...
, Léré, Niafunké
Niafunké is a small town on the Niger River in central Mali. The town is the administrative center ('' chef-lieu'') of the commune of Soboundou in the Niafunké Cercle of the Tombouctou Region
Tombouctou Region ( Bambara: ߕߎߡߎߕߎ ߘ ...
, Tonka
Tonka is an American producer of toy trucks. The company is known for making steel toy models of construction type trucks and machinery. Maisto International, which makes diecast vehicles, acquired the rights to use the Tonka name in a line of ...
, Diré
Diré is a town and commune on the left bank of the Niger River in the Tombouctou Region of Mali. In the 2009 census the population of the commune was 22,365. The town is the administrative center of the Diré Cercle. There are several languag ...
and Goundam
Goundam is a commune and town in north central Mali, in the Tombouctou Region. It is the capital of Goundam Cercle, one of five subdivisions of the Region. In the 2009 census the commune had a population of 16,253. The main ethnic groups are So ...
. The completed section between Niono and the small village of Goma Coura was financed by the Millennium Challenge Corporation
The Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC) is a bilateral United States foreign aid agency established by the U.S. Congress in 2004. It is an independent agency separate from the State Department and USAID. It provides grants to countries that ...
. This new section will service the Alatona irrigation system development of the Office du Niger
The Office du Niger is a semi-autonomous government agency in Mali that administers a large irrigation scheme in the Ségou Region of the country. Water from the Niger River is diverted into a system of canals at the Markala dam downstream of S ...
. The section between Goma Coura and Timbuktu is being financed by the European Development Fund
Global Europe, officially the Neighbourhood, Development and International Cooperation Instrument (NDICI), is the financial arm of the Common Foreign and Security Policy of the European Union, which provides funding for the European Neighbourhoo ...
.[
]Timbuktu Airport
Timbuktu Airport is an airport in Timbuktu, Mali
Mali (; ), officially the Republic of Mali,, , ff, 𞤈𞤫𞤲𞥆𞤣𞤢𞥄𞤲𞤣𞤭 𞤃𞤢𞥄𞤤𞤭, Renndaandi Maali, italics=no, ar, جمهورية مالي, Jumhūriyyāt ...
was served by Air Mali, hosting flights to and from Bamako, Gao and Mopti.[ until the airline suspended operations in 2014. Presently, no airlines serve the airport. Its 6,923 ft (2,110 m) runway in a 07/25 runway orientation is both lighted and paved.
]
Notable people
* Ahmad Baba al-Timbukti
Aḥmad Bābā al-Timbuktī (), full name Abū al-Abbās Aḥmad ibn Aḥmad ibn Aḥmad ibn Umar ibn Muhammad Aqit al-Takrūrī Al-Massufi al-Timbuktī (1556 – 1627 CE, 963 – 1036 H), was a Sanhaja Berbers, Berber writer, scholar, an ...
(1556–1627), a Sanhaja Berber writer, scholar and political provocateur
* Abdul Rahman Ibrahima Sori
Abdul Rahman Ibrahima ibn Sori ( ar, عبد الرحمن ابراهيم سوري; 1762—July 6, 1829) was a prince and Amir (commander) from the Fouta Djallon region of Guinea, West Africa, who was captured and sold to slave trad ...
(1762—1829) a prince and Amir (commander) who was captured and sold to slave traders and transported to the United States in 1788.
* Mahamane Haidara (1910-1981) a politician who was elected to the French Senate in 1948.
* Souheil Ben-Barka
Souheil Ben-Barka (born 25 December 1942) is a Moroccan film director, screenwriter and film producer. He directed seven films between 1974 and 2002. His 1975 film '' La guerre du pétrole n'aura pas lieu'' was entered into the 9th Moscow Int ...
(born 1942) a Moroccan film director, screenwriter and film producer.
* Cissé Mariam Kaïdama Sidibé
Cissé Mariam Kaïdama Sidibé (4 January 1948 – 6 November 2021) was a Malian politician and the Prime Minister of Mali at the time of the 2012 Malian coup d'état. She was the first female prime minister in the country's history. She was ann ...
(1948–2021) a Malian politician, the first female prime minister of Mali.
* Alphadi
Alphadi (born Sidahmed Seidnaly 1 June 1957)[Nigerien
This article is about the demographic features of the population of Niger, including population density, ethnicity, education level, health of the populace, economic status, religious affiliations and other aspects of the population.
The largest ...]
fashion designer, known as the ''"Magician of the Desert".''
In popular culture
Because much of the gold in Europe in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries came from Timbuktu, the city has long been considered a mysterious, hidden place. This association remains with modern Europeans and North Americans: a 2006 survey of 150 young Britons
British people or Britons, also known colloquially as Brits, are the citizens of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, the British Overseas Territories, and the Crown dependencies.: British nationality law governs mod ...
found 34% did not believe the town existed, while the other 66% considered it "a mythical place". This perception has been acknowledged in literature describing African history and African-European relations. In popular Western culture, Timbuktu is also often considered a faraway place.
The origin of this mystification lies in the excitement brought to Europe by the legendary tales, especially those by Leo Africanus
Joannes Leo Africanus (born al-Hasan Muhammad al-Wazzan, ar, الحسن محمد الوزان ; c. 1494 – c. 1554) was an Andalusian diplomat and author who is best known for his 1526 book '' Cosmographia et geographia de Affrica'', later ...
in his ''Description of Africa''. Arabic sources focused mainly on more affluent cities in the Timbuktu region, such as Gao
Gao , or Gawgaw/Kawkaw, is a city in Mali and the capital of the Gao Region. The city is located on the River Niger, east-southeast of Timbuktu on the left bank at the junction with the Tilemsi valley.
For much of its history Gao was an impor ...
and Walata
, settlement_type = Commune and town
, image_skyline = Oualata 03.jpg
, imagesize = 300px
, image_caption = View of the town looking in a southeasterly direction
, imag ...
. In West Africa the city holds an image that has been compared to Europe's view on Athens
Athens ( ; el, Αθήνα, Athína ; grc, Ἀθῆναι, Athênai (pl.) ) is both the capital and largest city of Greece. With a population close to four million, it is also the seventh largest city in the European Union. Athens dominates ...
. As such, the picture of the city as the epitome of distance and mystery is a European one.
Down-to-earth-aspects in Africanus' descriptions were largely ignored and stories of great riches served as a catalyst
Catalysis () is the process of increasing the rate of a chemical reaction by adding a substance known as a catalyst (). Catalysts are not consumed in the reaction and remain unchanged after it. If the reaction is rapid and the catalyst recyc ...
for travellers to visit the inaccessible city – with prominent French explorer René Caillié
Auguste René Caillié (; 19 November 1799 – 17 May 1838) was a French explorer and the first European to return alive from the town of Timbuktu. Caillié had been preceded at Timbuktu by a British officer, Major Gordon Laing, who was murdere ...
characterising Timbuktu as "a mass of ill-looking houses built of earth". Now opened up, many travellers acknowledged the unfitting description of an "African El Dorado". This development shifted the city's reputation – from being fabled because of its gold to fabled because of its location and mystery. Being used in this sense since at least 1863, English dictionaries now cite Timbuktu as a metaphor
A metaphor is a figure of speech that, for rhetorical effect, directly refers to one thing by mentioning another. It may provide (or obscure) clarity or identify hidden similarities between two different ideas. Metaphors are often compared wit ...
for any faraway place.
Twin towns – sister cities
Timbuktu is twinned with:
* Chemnitz, Germany
* Hay-on-Wye
Hay-on-Wye ( cy, Y Gelli Gandryll), simply known locally as "Hay" ( cy, Y Gelli), is a market town and community in Powys, Wales; it was historically in the county of Brecknockshire. With over twenty bookshops, it is often described as "the to ...
, Wales (United Kingdom)
* Kairouan
Kairouan (, ), also spelled El Qayrawān or Kairwan ( ar, ٱلْقَيْرَوَان, al-Qayrawān , aeb, script=Latn, Qeirwān ), is the capital of the Kairouan Governorate in Tunisia and a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The city was founded by t ...
, Tunisia
* Marrakesh, Morocco
* Saintes, France
* Tempe, United States
See also
* List of cities in Mali
This list of cities in Mali tabulates all the largest communes in the country of Mali (including those in the north-eastern portion where the Mali Government no longer exercises de facto control). Besides the largest cities and towns (all urb ...
* History of Timbuktu
* Timbuktu Renaissance
The Brookings Institution, often stylized as simply Brookings, is an American research group founded in 1916. Located on Think Tank Row in Washington, D.C., the organization conducts research and education in the social sciences, primarily in ec ...
, an initiative to rebuild the city's economy through music and culture
Explanatory notes
Citations
Cited and general sources
* . Google books
Volume 1
Volume 2
Volume 3
, internet Archive
Volume 3
* . Google books
Volume 1
Volume 2
* .
* .
*
* . Also available fro
Gallica
* .
* . (paperback) First published in 1999 as .
* .
* .
* .
* .
* . A facsimile of Pory's English translation of 1600 together with an introduction and notes by the editor. Internet Archive
Volume 1
Volume 2
Volume 3
*
* . Link requires subscription to Aluka. Reissued by Anchor Books, New York in 1965.
* .
* .
* .
External links
Timbuktu – World History Encyclopedia
*
* Jeppie, Ahami
"A Timbuktu book collector between the Mediterranean and Sahel"
Video of a presentation given at the conference ''The southern shores of the Mediterranean and beyond: 1800 – to the present'' held at the University of Minnesota in April 2013.
* – contains video footage of Timbuktu's Iron Age occupation
Islamic Manuscripts from Mali, Library of Congress
– fuller presentation of the same manuscripts from the Mamma Haidara Commemorative Library
* Features interviews with Cynthia Schneider and Manny Ansar
Manny is a common nickname for people with the given name Manuel, Emanuele, Immanuel, Emmanuel, Herman, or Manfred.
People
* Manny Acosta (born 1981), Panamanian pitcher in the Mexican Baseball League
* Manny Acta (born 1969), Dominican Maj ...
, co-directors of the Timbuktu Renaissance, and Lazare Eloundou Assomo, director of UNESCO World Heritage
Timbuktu materials in the Aluka digital library
Timbuktu manuscripts: Africa's written history unveiled
''The UNESCO Courier'', 2007–5, pp. 7–9
Ancient chroniclers of West Africa's past; journeys of discovery through the 'country of the black people'
''The UNESCO Courier'', October 1959
Timbuktu on Global Heritage Network
– ''early warning and threat monitoring system for endangered cultural heritage sites''
Presentation showing images of Timbuktu
*
{{Authority control
Ancient cities
Communes of Tombouctou Region
Communities on the Niger River
History of the Sahara
Lost cities and towns
Mali Empire
Massina Empire
Regional capitals in Mali
Songhai Empire
World Heritage Sites in Mali
World Heritage Sites in Danger