Timbuktu Burned Its Own Libraries at Midnight
Early Modern Period

Timbuktu Burned Its Own Libraries at Midnight

The Moroccan army that conquered Timbuktu in 1591 came for gold—but the city's scholars were already feeding something far more valuable to the flames.

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TimbuktuWest AfricaEarly Modern Period16th CenturyIslamic ScholarshipSonghai EmpireMoroccoManuscriptsCultural DestructionAhmad Al-MansurIntellectual HistorySahel

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Timbuktu Burned Its Own Libraries at Midnight | Untold Archives