Latest / Timbuktu: Africa's Forgotten Center of Knowledge — Fexingo History
The Timbuktu Gold Trade That Funded an Empire
Long before Timbuktu became a center of scholarship, it was a cornerstone of the trans-Saharan gold trade. In this episode, Lucas and Luna trace the flow of gold from the Bambuk and Bure fields through Timbuktu's markets to the mints of North Africa and Europe. They explore how Mali's Mansa Musa used gold to project power, how Songhai's Askia Dawud regulated the trade, and how the Moroccan invasion aimed to seize control of this wealth. Along the way, they discuss the silent barter system of Wangara traders, the role of salt as currency, and the impact of gold on…
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