Scholarship
3 facts
c. 989 CE
University of Timbuktu Founded
The Sankore Madrasah in Timbuktu, one of the oldest universities in the world, was established as a major center of learning in West Africa.
1493
Askia Muhammad Expands Songhai Empire
Askia Muhammad I transformed the Songhai Empire into the largest empire in African history, with Timbuktu as its intellectual capital.
c. 1500 CE
Timbuktu Manuscripts Flourish
Hundreds of thousands of manuscripts were produced and collected in Timbuktu, covering subjects from astronomy to law, making it one of the great intellectual centers of the medieval world.