The Timbuktu Scholar Who Defied a Plague

Timbuktu: Africa's Forgotten Center of Knowledge — Fexingo History · Jun 12, 2026 · 7m · transcript

When the Black Death reached West Africa in the mid-14th century, Timbuktu's scholars faced a crisis that tested their faith and knowledge. This episode follows the story of Mahmud al-Kati, a jurist and historian who survived the outbreak and later documented its impact in his chronicle Tarikh al-Fattash. We explore how Timbuktu's medical tradition, rooted in Galenic and Islamic humoral theory, was augmented by local herbal remedies like balanites and acacia. The plague killed perhaps a third of the city's population, but it also spurred innovations in quarantine and public…