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The History of Sudan was written during the first half of the 17th century and describes the founding of Timbuktu and its growth as a center for learning and commerce.
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A history written by a citizen of Timbuktu
The author of the manuscript Tarikh al-Sudan (History of Sudan) Abd al-Rahman Ben Abdallah Ben Imran Ben Amir al-Saadi was born into an illustrious family of ulamas (scholars) from Timbuktu on 28 May 1594.
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He performed important religious functions in both Timbuktu and Djenné. He began writing his manuscript in around 1629 and completed it in March 1653. It focuses on the Islamization of medieval Sudan and its relationship with the Maghreb, Egypt, and Arabia.
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History of Sudan
Abd al-Rahman Ben Abdallah Ben Imran Ben Amir al-Saadi wrote: “Timbuktu and its foundation. The city was founded by the Maghcharen Tuareg in the late fifth century AH.
They came to these regions to graze their flocks: during the summer, they would camp on the banks of the Niger in the village of Amadagha; in the fall, they would set out for Araouane, where they would stay.
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This was the furthest they would go in the highland region. Finally, they chose the location that this exquisite, pure, delightful, illustrious city now occupies; blessed, bountiful, and beloved, it is my homeland.
They created a storehouse for their utensils and grain. Soon, this place became a crossroads for travelers passing through on their way there and back.
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They entrusted custody of their objects to a woman called Buktu, a word that, in the local language meant “old woman”, and it is from her that this blessed place took its name. ...a permanent settlement was established at this location... and soon it became a place for trade...
the people of Ouagadou went there in greater numbers to trade. ...It was not until the late 10th century that the prosperity of the city flourished definitively...
… under the reign of Askia Daoud, son of Emir Askia Elhaj Mohammed… As has been said previously, the first dynasty to reign in Timbuktu was that of the people of Melli (Mali) …”
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In short, early texts stress Timbuktu’s location near the Niger, describing it as a clean and attractive environment for the Imochar nomads in search of sources of water and animal feed; this proximity to the Niger River is also revealed by the oral tradition according to which in the Tamashek language “buktu” is thought to have meant “hole” and Timbuktu “place near hollows and ponds."
The water Buktu generously offered to travelers from both sides of the Sahara was an important life source in the desert; consequently, the first forms of socio-economic organization developed around a camp located at the crossroads of the western loop of the Niger and the southern limit of the Maghreb caravans, attracting camel drivers from the desert and boatmen from the river alike.
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This agro-pastoral vocation soon developed into trade: a simple Tuareg camp in the seventh century, three centuries later Timbuktu would become a crossroads in its own right, where countless traders, skilled artisans, and illustrious scholars came from all walks of life in search of their fortunes and knowledge. Timbuktu thus became a cosmopolitan center with a dense urban landscape.
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The city’s founding origins by Buktu and its intellectual peak linked in large part to the University of Sankore, funded by a generous woman who wanted to remain anonymous, allow us to better understand the openness of Timbuktu towards the rest of the world, its connections with the various neighboring empires and kingdoms, its legendary hospitality, and its culture of tolerance, peace, and dialog. Buktu symbolizes the mother, synonymous with love and acceptance of others in all their cultural diversity.
