Timbuktu's site was chosen by Tuareg Imashagan tradesmen in the 11th century as a meeting point for its proximity to the Niger River. Located at the southern edge of the desert, Timbuktu was where "the camel met the canoe." Aside from Tuareg, other groups--including Songhai, Fulani, Wangara and Arabs--traded here, bartering the Sahara's wealth of salt for gold and slaves ferried up the river from the south.
In the 14th century, the growing settlement was incorporated into the Mali Empire. Mansa Musa, one of the wealthy emperors of Mali, ordered his Grenadan architect to erect Jengerebir, Timbuktu's most famous mosque, in 1325. The mosque still stands as a central feature of the city.
Next came the Songhai Empire in 1468, which, in addition to furthering Timbuktu's commercial growth, helped to transform the city into an important Islamic center of learning, much like Baghdad or Cairo in the east. Libraries, mosques, schools and even one of the world's first universities were filled with hand-copied scientific and religious texts. Timbuktu claimed three universities, including Sankore and Sidi Yahya, as well as 180 Quranic schools. Famous Muslim travelers like Leo Africanus and Ibn Battuta traveled to Timbuktu to gain from its wealth of intellectual resources in preparation for their Hajj to Mecca.
In the 16th century, Timbuktu's golden age faded with the destruction of the Songhai Empire and the advent of Portuguese trade along the West African coast. Desert routes became largely bypassed by the new maritime trade, isolating Timbuktu and turning it into a dusty backwater. The first European explorer to reach Timbuktu, Rene-Auguste Caille, arrived in 1828 to report a crumbling adobe city drowning in sand. However, despite the severe reduction in the city's political and commercial power, it continued to hold importance in Islamic scholarly circles.
Along with the rest of the country, Timbuktu was placed under French colonial rule in 1893 until Mali became independent in 1960. Since then, it has attracted increasing amounts of travelers for both its impressive mud-brick sites and its legendary name. With an ever-encroaching desert threatening to engulf and destroy the city, Timbuktu was placed on the List of World Heritage in Danger in 1990, after which UNESCO set up a conservation program to protect the city's world heritage sites.
