WORLD HISTORY

Detailed explanation-1: -Timbuktu, French Tombouctou, city in the western African country of Mali, historically important as a trading post on the trans-Saharan caravan route and as a centre of Islamic culture (c. 1400–1600). It is located on the southern edge of the Sahara, about 8 miles (13 km) north of the Niger River.

Detailed explanation-2: -Timbuktu is a city in Mali, in West Africa, that was founded 1, 800 years ago.

Detailed explanation-3: -Timbuktu was a center of Islamic scholarship under several African empires, home to a 25, 000-student university and other madrassas that served as wellsprings for the spread of Islam throughout Africa from the 13th to 16th centuries.

Detailed explanation-4: -Timbuktu had been an important trans-Saharan trade route. Goods coming from Mediterranean shores and salt from central Sahara were exchanged in Timbuktu for gold. The prosperity of Timbuktu attracted both African scholars and Arab traders from North Africa.

Detailed explanation-5: -After a shift in trading routes, particularly after the visit by Mansa Musa around 1325, Timbuktu flourished from the trade in salt, gold, ivory and slaves. It gradually expanded as an important Islamic city on the Saharan trade route and attracted many scholars and traders.