History of Timbuktu

The Mahalo Top 7

1. Official Site: Timbuktu Educational Foundation
2. BBC: Country Profile: Mali
3. Wikipedia: Timbuktu
4. History.com Classroom: Timbuktu, Mali: Intellectual and Spiritual Capital
5. The Lonely Planet: Timbuktu Travel Information
6. Saudi Aramco World: "Islamic Legacy of Timbuktu" (1995)
7. UNESCO: World Heritage Review

Timbuktu Current Structure

• U.S. Department of State: Background Note: Mali
• UNESCO: Country Profile: Mali
• CIA Factbook: Mali
• Wikipedia: Foreign relations of Mali and Human rights in Mali
• Afrique.net: Interactive Timbuktu map  

Timbuktu Current Events

• Google News: Mali
• The New York Times: "Timbuktu Hopes Ancient Texts Spark a Revival" (August 7, 2007)  
• International Herald Tribune: "Ancient writings bring new interest to Timbuktu" (August 6, 2007)
• Guardian Unlimited: "In fabled city at the end of the earth, a treasury of ancient manuscripts" (July 2, 2007)
• Slate Magazine: Timbuktu for the timid (2005)
• BBC News: Floods damage ancient Timbuktu (2003)

Timbuktu Background and Natural History

• PBS.org: Wonders of the African World: The Road to Timbuktu
• Timbuktu Educational Foundation: History of Timbuktu
• BBC News: Timbuktu - city of legends (2002)
• University of Calgary: The Islamic World to 1600: West Africa
• NPR Radio Expeditions: On the Edge, Timbuktu (2003)
• Natural History Magazine: Space, Time, and Timbuktu (2007)  
• National Geographic "Reclaiming the Ancient Manuscripts of Timbuktu" (2003)
• Virginia Museum of Fine Arts: Mali: Geography and History

Timbuktu Timeline

• History Channel
• Timbuktu Travel
• BBC Timeline: Mali

Periods in Timbuktu History

Trading Outpost

• Metropolitan Museum of Art: The Trans-Saharan Gold Trade (7th–14th century)
• Wikipedia: Tuareg

Ghana Empire (750-1076)

• Wikipedia: Ghana Empire
• Ghana.co.uk: Empire of Ancient Ghana
• Metropolitan Museum of Art: The Empires of the Western Sudan: Ghana Empire
• BBC World Service: Ancient Ghana
• PBS.org: The Road to Timbuktu: Empires of Ghana and Mali

Mali Empire (1235 to 1645)

• Wikipedia: Mali Empire
• Metropolitan Museum of Art: The Empires of the Western Sudan: Mali Empire
• ArchNet: Dictionary of Islamic Architecture: Mali
• BBC World Service: Mali
• WorldNet Virginia: The Mali Empire: History
• Smithsonian Museum: National Museum of African Art: Mali Empire and Djenne Figures
• Learner.org: Collapse: Mali and Songhai

Songhai Empire (1275-1591)

• Wikipedia: Songhai Empire
• Princeton Online: Mansa Musa and the Songhai Empire
• Metropolitan Museum of Art: The Empires of the Western Sudan: Songhai Empire
• Washington State University: Translated excerpt from Description of Timbuktu by Leo Africanus
• BBC World Service: Songhay

Morisco Invasion and Decline

• Wikipedia: Morisco and Scramble for Africa
• University of Houston: Digital History: Exploration 3: Timbuktu

Timbuktu Maps and Media

• Flickr: Timbuktu clusters
• Google Images: Timbuktu
• National Geographic: Sahara Salt Trade Camel Caravans gallery
• WorldHeritage.dk: Timbuktu stamps
• University of Texas at Austin: Historical Maps of Africa: Timbuktu, 1855
• YouTube: Tuareg Dance - Timbuktu, Mali (Time: 3:22)

Timbuktu Books and Research

• Library of Congress: Global Gateway: Islamic Manuscripts from Mali
• Library of Congress: Exhibitions: Ancient Manuscripts From the Desert Libraries of Timbuktu
• International Museum of Muslim Cultures: Legacy of Timbuktu: Wonders of the Written Word Exhibit
• PBS.org: Religion and Ethics: Timbuktu (2003)  
• Amazon.com: Books about Timbuktu History

History of Timbuktu Music and Culture

• University of Oslo: The Timbuktu Libraries and Timbuktu Manuscripts Project
• Tombouctou 2006: Guide to the Tombs of Muslim Saints in Timbuktu
• Central Oregon Community College "Epic of Sundjata"
• The Hindi: "Desert Rhythms" (2003)