The golden age of Timbuktu

As part of the “Region-Heroes” Training Program, the founding, development and Golden Age of the city of Timbuktu, which in the 13th and 14th centuries occupied an exceptional place in world history as a center of knowledge and commerce, were studied in depth. In the first part of the program, the historical origins of Timbuktu, its urbanization process and its intellectual role within the Islamic world were presented in detail. The Djingareyber, Sankoré and Sidi Yahya mosques were examined both architecturally and scientifically; It was emphasized that these buildings, gradually going beyond their religious function, were transformed into vast educational complexes, thus acquiring the status of a true university and making the city one of the main centers of knowledge of Islamic civilization. The presentation also returned to the rise of Timbuktu under the Mali Empire, then to the cultural and political power it reached during the Songhai Empire. Thanks to its strategic position at the crossroads of trans-Saharan trade routes, the city became a center of trade where gold, salt, books and various products circulated; it established itself as a privileged meeting place for merchants, scholars and travelers from different regions of the continent. This in-depth historical part was presented by Doctoral Student Daoudé AG Hamma and Mr. Robio Jomoh. The second part of the event was dedicated to Ahmad Bābā al-Timbuktī, one of the greatest scholars of Timbuktu. In Mr. Gouru Sidibé's presentation, the scholar's life, his intellectual heritage and his universe of thought were examined in detail: his training from his youth, his educational activities, his works, his contributions to fiqh, tafsîr and social thought. His exile in Morocco, a period during which he nevertheless cont