Latest / Timbuktu: Africa's Forgotten Center of Knowledge — Fexingo History
The Great Inundation: Timbuktu's Flood of 1591
In 1591, just months after the Moroccan invasion shattered the Songhai Empire, Timbuktu faced a catastrophe of a different kind: a devastating flood of the Niger River that drowned entire neighborhoods, destroyed precious manuscripts, and reshaped the city's geography. This episode follows the account of al-Sa'di, the Tarikh al-Sudan chronicler who witnessed the disaster, tracing how the flood compounded the chaos of occupation, ruined the vital salt-gold trade, and forced scholars like Ahmad Baba to salvage what they could from waterlogged libraries. We explore the seasonal rhythms…
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