Latest / Timbuktu: Africa's Forgotten Center of Knowledge — Fexingo History
Timbuktu's Astronomical Instruments: Science on the Sahel
We often think of Timbuktu as a center of religious and legal scholarship, but its scholars also built a sophisticated tradition of astronomy. In this episode, Lucas and Luna explore how Sahelian astronomers like Muhammad al-Kaburi used instruments such as the astrolabe and quadrant to calculate time, predict eclipses, and determine the qibla. They discuss the practical needs that drove this science — prayer times, Ramadan, navigation — and how these tools traveled across the Sahara, blending knowledge from North Africa, the Mediterranean, and the Islamic world. We also look at one remarkable…
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