Latest / Timbuktu: Africa's Forgotten Center of Knowledge — Fexingo History
The Timbuktu Scholar Who Studied the Stars
In this episode, Lucas and Luna explore the remarkable astronomical tradition of Timbuktu. Long before telescopes, scholars like Ahmad al-Takruri and others at the Sankore madrasa were calculating planetary movements, predicting eclipses, and debating the nature of the cosmos. Drawing on manuscript evidence such as the “Mir’at al-‘Alam” (Mirror of the Universe) by Muhammad al-Wangari, we uncover a sophisticated scientific culture that blended Islamic astronomy with local observation. We discuss the instruments they used, the debates they had about astrology versus astronomy, and how this…
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