The Timbuktu Scholar Who Rebuilt a Library from Memory

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

When the Saadian army sacked Timbuktu in 1591, they looted the city's libraries and scattered its scholars. But among the captives was a man who would rebuild Timbuktu's scholarly legacy from scratch. Ahmad Baba al-Timbukti, a renowned jurist from the Sankore quarter, was exiled to Marrakech where he taught and wrote for years before returning home. This episode follows his exile, his role in preserving Timbuktu's intellectual heritage, and how his students helped reconstitute the city's manuscript collections. We also explore a remarkable story: his fatwa on slavery that…