A Flourish in Culture

  Adrianna Siwady TSTR

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

With the establishment of a long-distance trade route, culture flourished in all the trade hubs of the Sahara. Ideas, art, literature, and many more things made their way across the Sand Roads. The destination that will be seen is the great city of Timbuktu.

In Timbuktu

The great city of Timbuktu has been regarded as a cultural city in the Trans-Saharan trade route. It is only fitting that research on this great city is conducted. The correct time period to start at is during the 15th century. When I set foot at Timbuktu, this city was part of the great Mali Empire. When I arrived at the gates I was just another face among the sea of people making their way into the city. Many were merchants with their camels loaded with goods, while others were carrying ancient manuscripts and other written items. I assumed that these people were great scholars that came to Timbuktu for the learning opportunities. I approached a scholar with beads of sweat on his forehead carrying an armful of scrolls, “Do you need any help?”, I offered, he then shook his head in agreement. He passed me a couple of the scrolls and I followed him. “So, where are you heading”, I asked. “I am heading to a madrasah on the history of the Islamic religion. There will be a couple more scholars heading there to listen to the lecture. After that we plan on preserving and making more copies of these scrolls.”  I attended the lecture with the scholar, and the experience was similar to college. But, an earlier version of the current way it was given. The lecture started with history of its founder, Muhammad the Prophet. The lecture's topics ranged from the Quran to the Five Pillars of Islam. After the lecture was done, the scholars distributed different manuscripts among smaller groups. I observed as these men carefully read the information, examined if the original copy was adequate for preserving or if another had to be made. Most of the manuscripts were in salvageable state, while others had to be copied down again. The process was time-consuming and they were not going to be done any time sooner. As the sun started to set in the horizon and the night started becoming colder, I said goodbye to the scholar and walked through the frigid night. The learning experience I received during the day was amazing, even though I was not fully engaged I got a lot out of it.

 

Manuscripts

The manuscripts written by the scholars that were attracted to the city of Timbuktu, are still studied in modern times and still being preserved. These manuscripts were made possible by the far-reaches of the Trans-Saharan trade route. Timbuktu was a place of learning, and the madrasahs hosted in this city are some of the oldest forms of universities in the world. The documents preserved during these madrasahs were the catalysts for teh information studied during the Renaissance. The topics preserved in these manuscripts covered topics such as: classical philosophy and history, Islamic history, mathematics and other subjects. In my opinion, the work done during these madrasahs is some of the most influential scholarly work done in history due to the impact it had on the human race.