Latest / Timbuktu: Africa's Forgotten Center of Knowledge — Fexingo History
Timbuktu's Lost Diplomatic Letters and Saharan Statecraft
Before the fall of Songhai, Timbuktu was not just a center of learning and trade — it was a hub of diplomacy that connected the Sahel to North Africa, the Ottoman Empire, and even Europe. In this episode, Lucas and Luna explore the lost art of Saharan statecraft through the diplomatic letters preserved in Timbuktu's manuscripts. They discuss the correspondence between Askia al-hajj Muhammad and the Ottoman sultan Bayezid II, the exchange of gifts and envoys with the Saadian sultan Ahmad al-Mansur, and the role of scholars like Ahmad Baba as mediators. They also touch on the famous letter…
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