Lesson 5: Trekking to Timbuktu: Timbuktu's Golden Age of Scholarship (Teacher Version)

NCSS.D2.His.1.6-8. Analyze connections among events and developments in broader historical contexts.

NCSS.D2.His.2.6-8. Classify series of historical events and developments as examples of change and/or continuity.

NCSS.D2.His.3.6-8. Use questions generated about individuals and groups to analyze why they, and the developments they shaped, are seen as historically significant.

NCSS.D2.His.4.6-8. Analyze multiple factors that influenced the perspectives of people during different historical eras.

NCSS.D2.His.5.6-8. Explain how and why perspectives of people have changed over time.

NCSS.D2.His.14.6-8. Explain multiple causes and effects of events and developments in the past.

NCSS.D2.His.15.6-8. Evaluate the relative influence of various causes of events and developments in the past. 

NCSS.D2.His.16.6-8. Organize applicable evidence into a coherent argument about the past.

Activity 1. The Songhai

In the 15th century, the leaders of a kingdom known as the Songhai (also spelled Songhay) began expanding their domain along the Niger River. Like the kingdoms of Ghana and Mali that flourished in the region in earlier centuries, Songhai grew powerful because of its control of local trade routes. Timbuktu would soon become the heart of the mighty Songhai Empire.

• Access Empires of the Western Sudan. Click on the map to enlarge it. Find Timbuktu. This empire is much larger than Ghana and Mali ever were.
• Go to Songhay. The sahel was the region between the Sahara Desert and the equatorial rain forest. Discuss with your students the ways in which Askia Muhammad strengthened the bonds of Islam in the West African communities. Note that while Islam was practiced in the cities, the majority of local natives were non-Muslims. What types of religious practices might they have pursued?

Activity 2. Universities and Libraries of Timbuktu

Although Songhai's early ruler was not interested in scholarship, his successor, known as Askia Mohamed, certainly was. The PBS NewsHour video below tells the story of the efforts undertaken to preserve the priceless manuscripts of Timbuktu. 

• Access Golden Age. Read the first five paragraphs. Why was Askia Mohamad a hero among the Islamic scholars in Timbuktu? What became a big industry in Timbuktu at this time? (Book/manuscript production) What types of courses were taught at Sankore? (A mihrab, referred to in paragraph 6, is a niche or part of the wall of a mosque that indicates the direction of Mecca.)
• Go to Sankore Mosque available through EDSITEment-reviewed resource African Studies WWW . How was the “university” at Sankore organized? How did it differ from a European university of the time? What was an imam? What was the primary focus of teaching at Sankore? Now visit Sankore. Who was Ahmed Baba? Why did the challenger to the throne of Songhai give up his pursuit of power?

Many manuscripts were written in the schools in Timbuktu, while others were imported from cities in Morocco and Egypt.

• Access Manuscripts. Where were most of the books produced? What subjects did the local scholars write about? How important were the private libraries? How many collections remain in the city (in the 21st century)? You can view photographs of some of the manuscripts at Manuscripts and Sacred Text.

Write an essay comparing and contrasting the curriculum of the university at Sankore with that of your own school.

Selected EDSITEment Websites

African Studies WWW

• Uncovering an African Scholarly Heritage

National Geographic Xpeditions

• Empires of the Western Sudan
• Golden Age
• Manuscripts
• Manuscripts
• Sacred Text
• Sankore
• Shabeni's description of Timbuktu
• Songhay
• Timbuktu: City of Legends
• Timbuktu Scholarly Heritage