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Timbuktu was still relatively unimportant and Battuta quickly moved on to Gao. At the time both Timbuktu and Gao formed part of the Mali Empire. A century and a half later, in around 1510, Leo Africanus visited Timbuktu. He gave a description of the town in his Descrittione dell'Africa which was published in 1550. [12]
The manuscripts, and other cultural heritage in Mali, were imperilled during the Mali War. 4,203 of Timbuktu's manuscripts were burned or stolen following between 2012 and 2013. Some 350,000 manuscripts were transported to safety, and 300,000 of them were still in Bamako in 2022.
The city is situated nine miles from the Niger River, making for good agricultural land. Its position near the edge of the Sahara Desert made it a hub for trans-Saharan trade routes. Timbuktu also acts as a midpoint between the regions of North, West, and Central Africa. Because of this, Timbuktu developed into a cultural melting pot.
During the 200 year period between 1301 and 1500 (the 14th and 15th century) the main civilizations and kingdoms in Africa were the Mali Empire, Kingdom of Kongo, Ife Empire, Benin Kingdom, Songhai Empire, Hausa City-states, Wolof Empire, Great Zimbabwe, Kingdom of Makuria, Kanem Empire,Ethiopian Empire, Kilwa Sultanate, Kingdom of Mapungubwe, Kingdom of Mutapa, and the Ajuran Sultanate.
The Mali Empire started in 1230 and was the largest empire in West Africa and profoundly influenced the culture of West Africa through the spread of its language, laws and customs. [15] Until the 19th century, Timbuktu remained important as an outpost at the southwestern fringe of the Muslim world and a hub of the trans-Saharan slave trade.
West African Muslim scholars, who were bilingual or multilingual [1] and constituted what is collectively a West African intelligentsia that shaped West African historiography, [3] composed the majority of West African manuscripts; most of the manuscripts were composed in the Ajami script and Arabic script. [1]
Timbuktu subsequently acquired a reputation for Islamic learning and scholarship within the Sahel and North Africa. [4] [7] According to African scholar Shamil Jeppie in The Meanings of Timbuktu: Timbuktu is a repository of history, a living archive which anybody with a concern for African history should be acquainted with.
Timbuktu, often referred to as the "City of 333 Saints," [1] is a historic city located in northern Mali. It was once a major center of Islamic scholarship and trade during the Mali Empire and the Songhai Empire. [2] Timbuktu is renowned for its historic mosques, ancient manuscripts, and vibrant cultural heritage.