Timbuktu- Journey From World Richest Nations, Voyaging To The Americas Before Columbus, To Poorest
How did the once great Timbuktu in the western African nation of Mali at the edge of the Sahara, recently one of the strongest economies of the world, an economy so powerful that in the 13th century when the leader of Timbuktu traveled on pilgrimage to Saudi Arabia, upon passing through Egypt the gold in possession of him and his entourage was so much it crashed the Egyptian money value, become one of the poorest Nations in the world today?
Pre-Colombian Travel To The Americas By Abubakar II Of Timbuktu
Timbuktu was founded by the Tuareg Imashagan in the 11th century. Timbuktu was not only a very rich Nation, being strategically at the epicenter of trade routes, at the junction of camel
Boats sailed by Mansa Mussa's uncle, Abu Bakar II to the Americas
traders and the Niger river. Giving it the nickname- the meeting place of the camel and the canoe. But it was also an epicenter for knowledge. Timbuktu in the 12th century had about the most Universities in any nation. Three colleges of higher learning and many libraries loaded with books. All elements for supremacy. In addition to these, Timbuktu was also a center for global trade and travel. Indeed it is popularly understood that Mansa Mussa’s Uncle, Abubakar II and possibly another royalty from Timbuktu traveled to the Americas several centuries before Columbus. Their travels, an important part of the ‘Pre-Colombian Africa-Americas contact’ theory arguments [2].
But as Rome fell, so also did Timbuktu fall.
See: NewsRescue- African Civilizations of ancient America
History Of Timbuktu
“..The historic town of Timbuktu is located at the precise point where the Niger flows northward into the southern edge of the desert. As a result of its unique geographical position, Timbuktu has been a natural meeting point of Songhai, Wangara,Fulani, Tuareg and Arabs. According to the inhabitants of Timbuku, gold came from the south, the salt from the north and the Divine knowledge, from Timbuktu. Timbuktu is referred to as the cross-road where “the camel met the canoe.” It is to this privilege position that the city owes much of its historical dynamism. From the 11th century and onward, Timbuktu became an important port where goods from West Africa
Olmec African head, evidence of African contact with the Americas
and North Africa were traded.
Goods coming the Mediterranean shores and salt were traded in Timbuktu for gold. The prosperity of the city attracted both black scholars, blacks merchants and Arabs traders from North Africa. Salt, books and gold were very much in demand at that time. Salt was came from Tegaza in the north, gold, from the immense gold mines of the Boure and Banbuk and books, were the refined work of the black scholars and scholars of the Sanhaja descent.
The Tuareg Messufa captured the salt mine of Tegaza and thus took control of the salt trade. The Messufa exported the salt to Timbuktu via camel caravans. This second factor helps us better understand how the so-called manuscripts of Timbuktu evolved, developed and expanded throughout the whole empire. Thus, the intellectual importance of Timbuktu and the reasons it flourished are not exclusively based upon “strategic position.”
It is important to convey that someone in a position of power was responsible for encouraging the attitude toward learning that prevailed in Timbuktu.As Dr. Molefi Asante has put it so conclusively in his book entitled, Classical Africa (page 134):
“The African love for knowledge, literature and learning although now filtered through the religion of Islam, never died. As it has been in the days of the early Egyptian Kingdom, so it was in the days of Askia Mohammed. In fact, Leo Africanus, a historian of the XVIth century wrote about Timbuktu:
There are many judges, doctors and clerics here, all receiving good salaries from King Askia Mohammed of the State of Songhay. He pays great respect to men of learning. There is a great demand for books, and more profit is made from the trade in books than from any other line of business.”
It is here in Timbuktu that African merchants from Djenne traded with the Tuareg and the
Timbuktu Library
Arabs from the north. The Tegaza mines are 1850 km from Timbuktu. It took six months to complete this journey. The merchants from Djenne were for the most part Marka, Wangara, Sarakole and Mandikapeople. These African merchants and the Tuareg were the first settlers of Timbuktu.
The first constructions in Timbuktu were designed by African architects from Djenne and later on by Muslim architects from North Africa. Trade and knowledge were at their height. It was at this time that the King of Sosso invaded the empire of Ghana, thus causing the exodus of the scholars of Walata to Timbuktu.
By the 12th century, Timbuktu became a celebrated center of Islamic learning and a commercial establishment. Timbuktu had three universities and 180 Quranic schools. These universities were the Sankore University, Jingaray Ber University and Sidi Yahya University. This was the golden age of Africa. Books were not only written in Timbuktu, but they were also imported and copied there. There was an advanced local book copying industry in the city. The universities and private libraries contained unparalleled scholarly works. The famous scholar of Timbuktu Ahmad Baba who was among those forcibly exiled in Morocco claimed that his library of 1600 books had been plundered, and that his library, according to him, was one of the smaller in the city…
The booming economy of Timbuktu attracted the attention of the Emperor of Mali, Mansa Mussa (1307-1332) also
Timbuktu Architecture
known as “Kan Kan Mussa.” He captured the city in 1325. As a Muslim, Mansa Mussa was impressed with the Islamic legacy of Timbuktu. On his return from Mecca, Mansa Mussa brought with him an Egyptian architect by the name of Abu Es Haq Es Saheli. The architect was paid 200kg of gold to built Jingaray Ber or, the Friday Prayers Mosque. Mansa Musa also built a royal palace (or Madugu) in Timbuktu, another Mosque in Djenné and a great mosque in Gao (1324-1325). Today only the foundation of the mosque built in Gao exists. That is why there is an urgent need to restore and protect the mosques that remain in Djenné and Timbuktu..
The Emperor also brought Arabs scholars to Timbuktu. To his great surprise, the Emperor has found that these scholars are underqualified compared to the black scholars of Timbuktu. Abd Arahman Atimmi had such a low level that he was obliged to migrate to Marrakech to complete his prerequisites so he can sit in the classes as a student.
Mansa Mussa’s pilgrimage to Mecca in 1324 had made Mali known worldwide. The great ruler took 60,000 porters with him. Each porter carried 3 kilograms of pure gold, that is, 180,000 kilograms or at least 180 tons of gold (Reference: Volume IV UNESCO General History of Africa, pages 197-200). He had so much gold with him that when he stopped in Egypt, the Egyptian currency lost its value and as result, the name of Mali and Timbuktu appeared on the 14th century world map.
A relative, Abu Bakar the II, decided to find a way by sea to go to Mecca. Abu Bakar II is said to be Mansa Musa’s uncle. In 1324 while visiting Cairo, Mansa Musa reported how he became the King of Mali. He explained that he
became King of Mali, his predecessor, Abu Bakar II (who belonged to the senior branch of the ruling family), decided to sail in order to discover what lies behind the Ocean, he had never come back .What Mansa Musa (who belongs to the Junior branch of the ruling family) said, then, was recorded by Ibn Amir Adjib, Governor of Cairo and Karafa.
Africans In The Americas 500 years Before Columbus
Abu Bakar and his maritime expedition left the shores of Senegal and sailed in the Atlantic Ocean. They encountered so much difficulties and challenges that they came back to Senegal. Abu Bakar reorganized his expedition, took enough provisions and a huge army with him. This expedition was never been seen again and where they might have reached and possibly settled is still unknown. Today, there is a strong historical evidence pointing to the possibility that this Malian prince was the first one to discover America. In Brazil for instance, there is a presence of the mandinka language, traditions and customs…[3]
Anthropologists have proven that the Mandinkos under Mansa Musa’s instructions explored many parts of North America via the Mississippi and other rivers systems. At Four Corners, Arizona, writings show that they even brought elephants from Africa to the area. [4]
Columbus and early Spanish and portuguese explorers were able to voyage across the Atlantic (a distance of 2400 Km’s) thanks to Muslim geographical and navigational information. In particular maps made by Muslim traders, including AL-MASUDI (871-957CE) in his book Akhbar az-zaman (History of the world) which is based on material gathered in Africa and Asia [5]
1339- The Mossi king invaded Timbuktu. The Mossi caused a lot of corruption, killing and destruction in the city.
1464- Soni Ali Ber conquers the city of Timbuktu. He came to Timbuktu as Emperor from Sokoto, in present-day Nigeria. He wanted to reestablish the presence of African culture in religion, education, and traditions throughout the empire. He was a reformer. He cleaned out the religious leaders in the institutions of learning and replaced them with intellectuals who understood the African traditions of the people.”( Asante, Classical Africa, page 126). As a result of this policy, many of the scholars fled to Walata which is the actual Mauritania. This is the reason why many of the manuscripts of Timbuktu are found in Mauritania. [3]
1493- Askia Mohammed, a Soni Ali general seizes power and recomforts the scholars, financially rehabilitated them and standing by them. In fact for all Islamic legal rulings on how to run the state, Askia Mohammed consulted the scholars. There are manuscripts in Timbuktu today where the answers to the questions of Askia are recorded. Under the Askia dynasty, Timbuktu prospered both intellectually and trade-wise until
1591- The Moroccan army under the leadership of Pasha Mahmud ibn Zarqun sacked the city of Timbuktu. The Moroccan army plundered the wealth of the city, burned the libraries, put to death many scholars who resisted them and deported many to Fes and Marrakech including the eminent scholar of Timbuktu, Ahmed Baba es Sudane meaning “Ahmed Baba, the black” as he preferred to be called.
The scholars of Timbuktu were righteous, devout and were not afraid of anything except GOD. It was in this context that when Pasha Mahmud tried to deceive the scholars by signing a treacherous treaty, the black eminent scholar and professor of Sidi Yahya University Mohammed Bagayogo objected and told the Pasha: ” I would rather have you cut my hand up to the shoulder than to bear a false testimony.” Hundreds of manuscripts left the city of Timbuktu under the Moroccan invasion to find their way to Fes and Marrakech.
Desert Elephants Dying
1893- France colonizes Timbuktu and Timbuktu remains under the French rule till Mali received her independence in 1960. This was a final blow for Timbuktu as the French completely disrupted what was left of a strong literacy and achievement culture, robbing all remaining books from Timbuktu’s great libraries and carting these away to France for their own use and development. To this day, many manuscripts originating from Timbuktu can be found in French museums and universities.
And this is pretty much how one of the greatest civilizations on earth was destroyed. Perhaps they were too intellectual and peace oriented to focus as much as they should have on military domination and defense, but Timbuktu is one of the most raped civilizations in recent times, and as colonization did to all African Nations, it left behind a failed state, with the new imposed culture and western rule system a complete debacle.
Dying Desert Elephants
Global Warming, drought and famine
2009- Global warming is the greatest new threat to Timbultu. This desert town is being hit very hard by the effects of this global disaster, brought on much thanks to so called developed Nations, at the top of this list- The US, a mere 2.5% the worlds population that contributes 40% Global warming, yet single-handedly stalled the Kyoto conference targets on controlling the climate for three decades. Today according to ‘Save the Elephants’, the worst drought in 26 years is threatening the existence of the “last desert elephants in West Africa,” the northernmost herds in the continent.
The animals, now numbering only about 350 to 450, have been called “the last elephants of Timbuktu,” said Jake Wall, a scientist with Save the Elephants. But they’re south of Timbuktu, Wall told CNN in a phone interview from Bamako, Mali. “We tend to refer to them as ‘the last Sahelian elephants.’ “
Each year, the elephants trek farther on the fringes of the Sahara to find water. They have the longest migration route of any in the continent, traveling “in a counterclockwise circle” of about 700 kilometers (435 miles), Save the Elephants said.
The images are signs of the crisis gripping the northwest African nation.
The U.N. Development Programme ranks Mali near the bottom of its Human Development Index. It cites a 56 percent poverty rate in the country, with nearly a third of the population unlikely to live past age 40, and an illiteracy rate of 77 percent. The World Food Programme says the majority of infant deaths in Mali are due to malnutrition. [6]
It is indeed a falure of all humankind that one of the highest literacies in the world can now rank so low. Indeed it is time we as humans make a collective effort to restore the damages our actions or lack of actions have done to undeserving societies. The rape and plunder of Timbuktu, their libraries, their economy, their culture and even their climate by all of us leaves one of the most embarrasing tales of the falure of the human society. Perhaps one day soon, so also will our great civilizations of today be robbed, lost and forgotten.
References:
Ref 4 COLUMBUS, FERDINAND The Life of Admiral Christopher Columbus,Rutgers Univ.Press, 1959, P.232
