HANNIBAL SMITH

TIMBUKTU Early (1300's) Located at the southern edge of the Sahara Desert and six miles north of the Niger River in the present-day nation of Mali, Timbuktu has been a centuries-old, significant city in West Africa.  In the 14th Century it became the commercial, religious and cultural center of the West African empires of Mali and Songhai.  With its population of traders, merchants and scholars, Timbuktu was known throughout western Africa and its fame extended to Europe and Asia. Timbuktu is best known for its famous Djinguereber Mosque and prestigious Sankore University, both of which were established in the early 1300s under the reign of the Mali Empire, most famous ruler, Mansa Musa.