Timbuktu is 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.
The town is the capital of the
Timbuktu Region, one of the eight administrative regions of Mali. It had a population of 54,453 in the 2009 census.
Starting out as a seasonal settlement, 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. It became part of the
Mali Empire early in the
14th century. 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. A
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, during 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. Timbuktu was also renowned for being the living quarters of
Mansa Musa.
Like other important
Medieval West African towns such as
Djenné (Jenné-Jeno), Gao, and Dia,
Iron Age 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 9 kilometres (6 miles) southeast of the Timbuktu near the
Wadi el-Ahmar was excavated between 2008 and
2010 by archaeologists from
Yale University 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
Timbuktu is located on the southern edge of the Sahara Desert
15 km (9 mi) 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
8 km (5 mi) to the south of the town and is connected to an arm of the river by a 3 km (2 mi) 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 rivers in
Guinea and northern
Ivory Coast. The rainfall in these areas peaks in August but the flood water takes time to pass down the river system and through the
Inner Niger Delta. At
Koulikoro, 60 km (37 mi) downstream from
Bamako, the flood peaks in
September,[15] 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
- published: 20 Mar 2016
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