WORLD HISTORY

Detailed explanation-1: -The Niger River regularly flooded the plains between Timbuktu and Segu to the southwest, which provided fertile land for agriculture, beginning at least 3, 500 years ago. In particular, red-skinned African rice, along with other indigenous cereals and foodstuffs, was grown, and local deposits of copper exploited.

Detailed explanation-2: -Timbuktu sits near the Niger River, where North African’s savannas disappear into the sands of the Sahara, and part of its romantic image is that of a camel caravan trade route.

Detailed explanation-3: -Timbuktu’s location at the meeting point of desert and water made it an ideal trading centre. In the late 13th or early 14th century it was incorporated into the Mali empire. By the 14th century it was a flourishing centre for the trans-Saharan gold and salt trade, and it grew as a centre of Islamic culture.

Detailed explanation-4: -In 1960 it became part of the newly independent Republic of Mali. Timbuktu is now an administrative centre of Mali.