The Great Fire of Timbuktu: A Library Lost in Flames

Timbuktu: Africa's Forgotten Center of Knowledge — Fexingo History · Jun 25, 2026 · 6m · transcript

In 1591, Saadian forces from Morocco invaded the Songhai Empire and captured Timbuktu. But decades before the invasion, a devastating fire swept through the city's manuscript libraries, consuming countless volumes—including unique works of astronomy, medicine, and philosophy. This episode uncovers the story of that fire: when it happened, how it started, and what was lost. We explore the accounts of Timbuktu's chroniclers like al-Sadi and Mahmud Kati, and examine how the fire changed the course of scholarship in the city. What was the role of the Qadiriyya Sufi order in preserving…