Latest / Timbuktu: Africa's Forgotten Center of Knowledge — Fexingo History
The Timbuktu Scholar Who Called Out a Sultan
In 1498, a Timbuktu jurist named al-Maghili challenged the mighty Askia Muhammad of Songhai over his treatment of a captured rival. The resulting legal opinion, 'The Obligation of Princes,' became a landmark in Islamic political thought. We explore how this scholar from North Africa used Timbuktu's Sankore madrasa as a stage, why his ruling on just warfare still echoes, and what it reveals about the city's role as a crucible of intellectual independence. Along the way, we meet Timbuktu's qadis, the Kunta scholars who preserved al-Maghili's works, and the tensions…
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