Latest / Timbuktu: Africa's Forgotten Center of Knowledge — Fexingo History / The Timbuktu Scholar Who Calculated the Moon's Orbit
Transcript
- Lucas: So, for episode 100, I wanted to look at something we haven't touched on much: the astronomical science that came out of Timbuktu. We've talked about law, theology, medicine — but the scholars there were also serious astronomers. Luna: Really? I mean, I know they studied the stars for calendars and prayer times, but serious astronomy? Lucas: Absolutely. One of the most impressive figures was Muhammad al-Wangari, a 17th-century scholar from a scholarly family. He wrote an enormous encyclopedia called Mir’at al-‘Alam — that's 'The Mirror of the World' — which included detailed calculations of planetary orbits, lunar phases, and even eclipses. Luna: Mir’at al-‘Alam — I love that title. So was this original research, or more of a compilation? Lucas: Both. Al-Wangari drew heavily on earlier Islamic astronomers like al-Zarqali from 11th-century Andalusia, and al-Battani from 9th-century Iraq. But he also synthesized their work with his own observations made from Timbuktu. He computed the length of the lunar month to within minutes of the modern value. Luna: That's incredible. How did they even make those measurements without telescopes? Lucas: They used astrolabes and quadrants — instruments that measured the altitude of stars above the horizon. Al-Wangari also relied on something called an ephemeris, a table of planetary positions calculated mathematically. These were standard tools in the Islamic world, but what's remarkable is that he had access to them in Timbuktu, which was a major center of the book trade. Luna: So these manuscripts were being copied and traded across the Sahara? Lucas: Exactly. Timbuktu's libraries — like the Fondo Kati, the Mamma Haidara Commemorative Library — they held works by astronomers from Baghdad, Damascus, Cairo. Al-Wangari himself owned a copy of al-Zarqali's Tables of Toledo, which he annotated. The scholarly network was truly trans-Saharan. Luna: And all of this was happening in the 1600s, while Europe was still figuring out heliocentrism? Lucas: Right. Al-Wangari was working in a Ptolemaic geocentric framework — most Islamic astronomers did until later — but his calculations were incredibly precise. For instance, he calculated the mean motion of the moon using a method from the 14th-century Syrian astronomer Ibn al-Shatir, who had corrected Ptolemy's lunar model. So they were building on a long tradition. Luna: Was there any connection between Timbuktu and the European scientific revolution? Lucas: Not directly that we know of. But the irony is that while Europe was rediscovering Greek science through Arabic translations, West African scholars were already engaging with those same texts — and adding their own insights. The difference is that European astronomy led to the telescope and Newton. In Timbuktu, the tradition remained textual and observational, but it was no less rigorous. Luna: So what happened to al-Wangari's work? Did it survive? Lucas: Parts of it. Mir’at al-‘Alam is a massive work — multiple volumes — and only fragments have been found in Timbuktu's libraries. The Tarikh al-Sudan mentions al-Wangari as a respected scholar, but his encyclopedia was never widely copied, possibly because it was so long. Still, the fact that any of it survived the Moroccan invasion and subsequent centuries is a miracle. Luna: It makes you wonder what else is still hidden in private collections. Lucas: Exactly. The Ahmed Baba Institute has over 18,000 manuscripts, but many families still hold their own archives. Al-Wangari's descendants might have copies. We know the Kunta scholars, who were a powerful clerical family, preserved many astronomical texts. So the potential for new discoveries is real. Luna: Speaking of preservation — I know we talk a lot on this show about how listener support helps us keep the podcast ad-free. It's a similar kind of long-term investment, isn't it? Protecting knowledge for the future. Lucas: Yeah, that's a good parallel. We deliberately don't run ads because we want these conversations to be as focused as a scholar's manuscript. If that matters to you, the link is buy me a coffee dot com slash fexingo. It's a small way to keep the library open, so to speak. Luna: And every bit helps. So back to the stars — did al-Wangari's work have any practical use beyond scholarship? Lucas: Absolutely. One of the main uses of astronomy in Timbuktu was for the Islamic calendar — determining the start of Ramadan, the timing of prayers. But also for navigation across the Sahara. Caravans used the stars to find their way, and al-Wangari's tables would have been invaluable. Plus, astrology was still widely practiced, and rulers consulted scholars for auspicious times. Luna: So astronomy was woven into daily life — not just an ivory-tower pursuit. Lucas: Exactly. And that's what makes Timbuktu's scientific heritage so remarkable. It wasn't isolated. It was connected to a global tradition of knowledge, from ancient Greece to the Islamic Golden Age, and it produced original thinkers like al-Wangari. We're only beginning to appreciate that legacy.