About this story
Hundreds of thousands of manuscripts survive from Timbuktu's golden age, covering everything from astronomy to algebra to medicine. This episode explores what they tell us about a scientific tradition rarely taught in world history classes.
ManuscriptsAstronomyTimbuktu
Transcript preview
Narrator: Long before universities as we know them, Timbuktu's scholars filled libraries with manuscripts on every subject imaginable.
Narrator: Astronomers tracked lunar cycles to set the Islamic calendar with remarkable precision.
Narrator: Some manuscripts even debate the ethics of the slave trade, centuries ahead of their time.
Chapters
Author
FA
Fatima Hassan
Sudan
Historian focused on Nile Valley civilisations.
Languages available
🌍 English🇸🇳 French
