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Timbuktu 8
Timbuktu ( ; ; Koyra Chiini: ; ) is an ancient city in Mali, situated north of the Niger River. It is the capital of the Tombouctou Region, one of the eight administrative regions of Mali, having a population of 32,460 in the 2018 census. Archaeological evidence suggests prehistoric settlements in the region, predating the city's Islamic scholarly and trade prominence in the medieval period. Timbuktu began as a seasonal settlement and became permanent early in the 12th century. After a shift in trading routes, particularly after the visit by Mansa Musa around 1325, Timbuktu flourished, due to its strategic location, from the trade in salt, gold, and ivory. It gradually expanded as an important Islamic city on the Saharan trade route and attracted many scholars and traders before it became part of the Mali Empire early in the 14th century. In the first half of the 15th century, the Tuareg people took control for a short period, until the expanding Songhai Empire absorbed it i ...
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Tamashek Language
Tamashek or Tamasheq is a variety of Tuareg languages, Tuareg, a Berber languages, Berber macro-language widely spoken by nomadic tribes across North and West Africa in Algeria, Mali, Niger, and Burkina Faso. Tamasheq is one of the three main varieties of Tuareg, the others being Air Tamajeq language, Tamajaq and Tamahaq language, Tamahaq. Tamashek is spoken mostly in Mali, especially in its central region including Timbuktu, Kidal, and Gao. It is also spoken by a sizeable population in Burkina Faso where it is spoken by 187,000 people as of 2021. As of 2022, approximately 900,000 people speak Tamashek, with the majority of speakers residing in Mali with approximately 590,000 speakers. The livelihood of the Tuareg people has been under threat in the last century, due to climate change and a series of political conflicts, notably the Tuareg rebellion (1990–1995), Arab-Tuareg rebellion of 1990–1995 in Mali which resulted in ethnic cleansing of the Tuareg in the form of reprisa ...
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Koyra Chiini
Koyra Chiini (, figuratively "town language"), or Western Songhay, is a member of the Songhay languages spoken in Mali by about 200,000 people (in 1999) along the Niger River in Timbuktu and upriver from it in the towns of Diré, Tonka, Goundam and Niafunké as well as in the Saharan town of Araouane to its north. In this area, Koyra Chiini is the dominant language and the ''lingua franca'', although minorities speaking Hassaniya Arabic, Tamasheq and Fulfulde are found. Djenné Chiini , the dialect spoken in Djenné, is mutually comprehensible, but has noticeable differences, in particular two extra vowels ( and ) and syntactic differences related to focalisation. East of Timbuktu, Koyra Chiini gives way relatively abruptly to another Songhay language, Koyraboro Senni. Unlike most Songhai languages, Koyra Chiini has no phonemic tones and has subject–verb–object word order rather than subject–object–verb. It has changed the original Songhay ''z'' to ''j''. Pho ...
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Saadian Invasion Of The Songhai Empire
The Moroccan invasion of the Songhai Empire began with an expedition sent in 1590 by Sultan Ahmad al-Mansur of the Saadian dynasty, which ruled over Morocco at the time. The Saadian army, led by Judar Pasha, arrived in the Niger valley region (in present-day Mali) in 1591 and won its first and most decisive victory against the forces of Askia Ishaq II at the Battle of Tondibi and occupied the capital of Gao shortly after. After this victory, however, the Moroccans struggled to have their authority accepted in the region and continued to wage a protracted war with the remnants of the defeated Songhai Empire. The Saadians did achieve their aim of controlling the Trans-Saharan trade routes, which secured a supply of gold and slaves. In the long term the Pashalik of Timbuktu, a small state centered on Timbuktu and controlled by the Arma people, continued to rule a territory stretching roughly from Gao to Djenné and nominally recognized the authority of the Saadian dynasty and ...
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Saadi Dynasty
The Saadi Sultanate (), also known as the Sharifian Sultanate (), was a state which ruled present-day Morocco and parts of Northwest Africa in the 16th and 17th centuries. It was led by the Saadi dynasty, an Arab Sharifism, Sharifian dynasty. The dynasty's rise to power started in 1510, when Abu Abdallah al-Qaim, Muhammad al-Qa'im was declared leader of the tribes of the Sous valley in southern Morocco in their resistance against the Kingdom of Portugal, Portuguese who occupied Agadir and other coastal cities. Al-Qai'm's son, Ahmad al-Araj, secured control of Marrakesh by 1525 and, after a period of rivalry, his brother Mohammed ash-Sheikh, Muhammad al-Shaykh captured Agadir from the Portuguese and eventually captured Fez, Morocco, Fez from the Wattasid dynasty, Wattasids, securing control over nearly all of Morocco. After Muhammad al-Shaykh's assassination by the Ottoman Empire, Ottomans in 1557 his son Abdallah al-Ghalib enjoyed a relatively peaceful reign. His successors, ho ...
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Songhai Empire
The Songhai Empire was a state located in the western part of the Sahel during the 15th and 16th centuries. At its peak, it was one of the largest African empires in history. The state is known by its historiographical name, derived from its largest ethnic group and ruling elite, the Songhai people. Sonni Ali established Gao as the empire's capital, although a Songhai state had existed in and around Gao since the 11th century. Other important cities in the kingdom were Timbuktu and Djenné, where urban-centred trade flourished; they were conquered in 1468 and 1475, respectively. Initially, the Songhai Empire was ruled by the Sonni dynasty (–1493), but it was later replaced by the Askia dynasty (1493–1591). During the second half of the 13th century, Gao and the surrounding region had grown into an important trading center and attracted the interest of the expanding Mali Empire. Mali conquered Gao near the end of the 13th century. Gao remained under Malian command until the la ...
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Tuareg People
The Tuareg people (; also spelled Twareg or Touareg; Endonym and exonym, endonym, depending on Tuareg languages#Subclassification, variety: ''Imuhaɣ'', ''Imušaɣ'', ''Imašeɣăn'' or ''Imajeɣăn'') are a large Berbers, Berber ethnic group, traditionally nomadic pastoralism, pastoralists, who principally inhabit the Sahara in a vast area stretching from far southwestern Libya to southern Algeria, Niger, Mali, Burkina Faso, and as far as northern Nigeria, with small communities in Chad and Sudan known as the ''Kinnin''. The Tuareg speak Tuareg languages, languages of the same name, also known as ''Tamasheq'', which belong to the Berber languages, Berber branch of the Afroasiatic family. They are a semi-nomadic people who mostly practice Islam, and are descended from the indigenous Berber communities of Northern Africa, whose ancestry has been described as a mosaic of local North Africa, Northern African (Taforalt), Middle Eastern, Genetic history of Europe, European (Early Eu ...
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Sahara
The Sahara (, ) is a desert spanning across North Africa. With an area of , it is the largest hot desert in the world and the list of deserts by area, third-largest desert overall, smaller only than the deserts of Antarctica and the northern Arctic. The name "Sahara" is derived from , a broken plural form of ( ), meaning "desert". The desert covers much of North Africa, excluding the fertile region on the Mediterranean Sea coast, the Atlas Mountains of the Maghreb, and the Nile, Nile Valley in Egypt and the Sudan. It stretches from the Red Sea in the east and the Mediterranean in the north to the Atlantic Ocean in the west, where the landscape gradually changes from desert to coastal plains. To the south it is bounded by the Sahel, a belt of Tropical and subtropical grasslands, savannas, and shrublands, semi-arid tropical savanna around the Niger River valley and the Sudan (region), Sudan region of sub-Saharan Africa. The Sahara can be divided into several regions, including ...
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Islam
Islam is an Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic monotheistic religion based on the Quran, and the teachings of Muhammad. Adherents of Islam are called Muslims, who are estimated to number Islam by country, 2 billion worldwide and are the world's Major religious groups, second-largest religious population after Christians. Muslims believe that Islam is the complete and universal version of a Fitra, primordial faith that was revealed many times through earlier Prophets and messengers in Islam, prophets and messengers, including Adam in Islam, Adam, Noah in Islam, Noah, Abraham in Islam, Abraham, Moses in Islam, Moses, and Jesus in Islam, Jesus. Muslims consider the Quran to be the verbatim word of God in Islam, God and the unaltered, final revelation. Alongside the Quran, Muslims also believe in previous Islamic holy books, revelations, such as the Torah in Islam, Tawrat (the Torah), the Zabur (Psalms), and the Gospel in Islam, Injil (Gospel). They believe that Muhammad in Islam ...
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Ivory
Ivory is a hard, white material from the tusks (traditionally from elephants) and Tooth, teeth of animals, that consists mainly of dentine, one of the physical structures of teeth and tusks. The chemical structure of the teeth and tusks of mammals is the same, regardless of the species of origin, but ivory contains structures of mineralised collagen. The trade in certain teeth and tusks other than elephant is well established and widespread; therefore, "ivory" can correctly be used to describe any mammalian teeth or tusks of commercial interest which are large enough to be carved or scrimshawed. Besides natural ivory, ivory can also be produced synthetically, hence (unlike natural ivory) not requiring the retrieval of the material from animals. Tagua nuts can also be carved like ivory. The trade of finished goods of ivory products has its origins in the Indus Valley. Ivory is a main product that is seen in abundance and was used for trading in Harappan civilization. Finished iv ...
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Mansa Musa
Mansa Musa (reigned ) was the ninth '' Mansa'' of the Mali Empire, which reached its territorial peak during his reign. Musa's reign is often regarded as the zenith of Mali's power and prestige, although he features less in Mandinka oral traditions than his predecessors. He was exceptionally wealthy to an extent that he was described as being inconceivably rich by contemporaries; ''Time'' magazine reported: "There's really no way to put an accurate number on his wealth." It is known from local manuscripts and travellers' accounts that Mansa Musa's wealth came principally from the Mali Empire's control and taxing of the trade in salt from northern regions and especially from gold panned and mined in Bambuk and Bure to the south. Over a very long period Mali had amassed a large reserve of gold. Mali is also believed to have been involved in the trade in many goods such as ivory, slaves, spices, silks, and ceramics. However, presently little is known about the extent or mechan ...
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Ulama
In Islam, the ''ulama'' ( ; also spelled ''ulema''; ; singular ; feminine singular , plural ) are scholars of Islamic doctrine and law. They are considered the guardians, transmitters, and interpreters of religious knowledge in Islam. "Ulama" may refer broadly to the educated class of such religious scholars, including Theology, theologians, Religious law, canon lawyers (muftis), judges (qadis), professors, and high state religious officials. Alternatively, "ulama" may refer specifically to those holding governmental positions in an Islamic state. By longstanding tradition, ulama are educated in religious institutions (''madrasas''). The Quran and sunnah (authentic hadith) are the scriptural sources of Sharia, traditional Islamic law. Traditional way of education Students of Islamic doctrine do not seek out a specific educational institution, but rather seek to join renowned teachers. By tradition, a scholar who has completed their studies is approved by their teacher. At ...
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Regions Of Mali
Since 2016, Mali has been divided into ten regions and one district, capital district. A reorganization of the country from eight to nineteen regions was passed into law in 2012, but of the new regions, only Taoudénit Region, Taoudénit (partitioned from Tombouctou Region) and Ménaka Region, Ménaka (formerly Ménaka Cercle in Gao Region) have begun to be implemented. Each of the regions bears the name of its capital. The regions are divided into 56 Cercles of Mali, cercles. The cercles and the capital district are divided into 703 Communes of Mali, communes. In 2023, Mali has added nine new regions to its administrative structure, bringing the total to 19 regions plus the district of Bamako. This reorganization aims to improve governance and bring public services closer to local populations. This initiative continues the decentralization efforts that began with the creation of the Taoudénit and Ménaka regions in 2016. The nineteen regions in turn are subdivided into 159 Cerc ...
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