Encyclopedia of Islam

Thousand and One Nights

  See  a

rabian

n

ights

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Timbuktu

Timbuktu is a West African city renowned as a 

“city of scholars” during medieval times. Its fame 

extended to Europe, where it became fabled as a 

city of mystery and wealth, due to its connections 

with the historic caravan trade in gold. In the 

19th century, Timbuktu became the destination 

of European explorers, who sought to confirm 

its glorious reputation. However, the small, pro-

vincial town they discovered largely disappointed 

them.

Located near the Niger River (in modern-day 

Mali) and along several important caravan trade 

routes, Timbuktu achieved its fame during the 

ascendancy of the Songhay dynasty (1468–1591). 

However, the city always maintained a degree 

of autonomy, perhaps developed during its early 

history as a self-governing town. From 1325, the 

empire of Mali ruled Timbuktu. Yet, the city’s 

inhabitants asserted their independence whenever 

possible, finally breaking free of Malian sover-

eignty in 1433. It may have been this penchant for 

independence that led the Songhay founder, Sunni 

Ali, to treat Timbuktu harshly after he conquered 

the city in 1468. However, later Songhay leaders 

showed more favor to Timbuktu, and it developed 

as a bustling commercial center and home for a 

renowned line of Maliki religious scholars.

The city’s golden age was brought to an abrupt 

end when Moroccan armies, sent by the sultan 

Ahmad al-Mansur (r. 1578–1603), brought down 

the Songhay dynasty in 1591. Once again, the 

autonomy of Timbuktu led to harsh treatment by 

the new conquerors, who rounded up the leading 

religious authorities and took them to Marrakesh 

in chains. Following this disaster, Timbuktu lost 

its centrality as a “city of scholars,” undoubtedly 

due to the decline of the caravan trade, which was 

also severely disrupted by the Moroccan invasion. 

In the following centuries, Timbuktu would be 

eclipsed by other cities as centers of West Afri-

can Islamic scholarship. Nevertheless, its love 

for autonomy remained, as seen in the rise of a 

resistance movement to the jihadist al-Hajj U

mar

t

al

, who attempted to control the city in 1862. A 

counter-

Jihad

, led by Timbuktu scholar Ahmad al-

Bakkai, laid siege to Umar’s capital at Hamdullahi, 

bringing an end to his state. However, the estab-

lishment of French colonial authority in 1894 

once again put Timbuktu under the authority of 

outside powers. Since the achievement of Mali’s 

independence in 1960, and with the caravan trade 

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