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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.
The Songhai Empire was a state located in the western part of the Sahel during the 15th and 16th centuries. At its peak, it was one of the largest African empires in history. The state is known by its historiographical name, derived from its largest ethnic group and ruling elite, the Songhai people .
By this time it had become a major centre of learning in the area. 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. The Moroccan army defeated the Songhai in 1591, and made Timbuktu, rather than Gao, their capital.
There were many kingdoms and empires in all regions of the continent of Africa throughout history. A kingdom is a state with a king or queen as its head. [1] An empire is a political unit made up of several territories, military outposts, and peoples, "usually created by conquest, and divided between a dominant centre and subordinate ...
The Tomb of Askia, a 17-meter pyramidal structure built by Askia Mohamed in 1495 in Gao, symbolizes the Songhai Empire's power and wealth from the 15th to 16th centuries. It exemplifies West African Sahel's monumental mud-building traditions, featuring two flat-roofed mosque buildings, the mosque cemetery, and an open-air assembly ground.
The Songhai Empire, c. 1500. The Songhai people are descended from fishermen on the Middle Niger River. They established their capital at Kukiya in the 9th century AD and at Gao in the 12th century. The Songhai speak a Nilo-Saharan language. [122] Sonni Ali, a Songhai, began his conquest by capturing Timbuktu in 1468 from the Tuareg.
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.
In 1591 AD, an invasion by Ahmad al-Mansur of Morocco led to the fall of the Songhai empire following the Battle of Tondibi, starting a long decline of the West African states. [ 23 ] [ 19 ] In 1594 many Sankoré scholars, including Ahmed Baba , were arrested by Moroccan troops on grounds of sedition and deported to Morocco along with their ...