A 15th-century Malian proverb provides the backdrop for this course: “Salt comes from the north, gold from the south, but the word of God and the treasures of wisdom are only to be found in Timbuktu.” Timbuktu is a city in Mali, in West Africa, that was founded 800 years ago. It was the home of the first university in black Africa. In the early 1500s the Spanish explorer Leo Africanus described Timbuktu as a learned, cultured and peaceful place where books were the main industry, where one literally walked on “gold.” Lured by this promise of riches, European explorers tried for centuries to find Timbuktu. In this class we will review the history of Timbuktu in the context of the Mali Empire, the impact of the gold and salt trade on Timbuktu, and the emergence of early astronomers/scholars in this fabled city.
Course Code
500799