The hidden treasures of Timbuktu - Elizabeth Cox
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0:07 - 0:09On the edge of the vast Sahara desert,
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0:09 - 0:13citizens snuck out of the city of Timbuktu
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0:13 - 0:15and took to the wilderness.
-
0:15 - 0:20They buried chests in the desert sand,
hid them in caves, -
0:20 - 0:23and sealed them in secret rooms.
-
0:23 - 0:27Inside these chests was a treasure
more valuable than gold: -
0:27 - 0:30the city’s ancient books.
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0:30 - 0:34Founded around 1100 CE
in what is now Mali, -
0:34 - 0:39the city of Timbuktu started
out as an unremarkable trading post. -
0:39 - 0:42But its unique location
soon changed that. -
0:42 - 0:47Timbuktu marked the intersection
of two essential trade routes, -
0:47 - 0:50where caravans bringing
salt across the Sahara -
0:50 - 0:54met with traders bringing gold
from the African interior. -
0:54 - 0:58By the late 1300s, these trade routes
made Timbuktu rich, -
0:58 - 1:01and the city’s rulers,
the kings of the Mali Empire, -
1:01 - 1:05built monuments and academies
that drew scholars -
1:05 - 1:08from Egypt, Spain, and Morocco.
-
1:08 - 1:13The city’s prime location also made
it a target for warlords and conquerors. -
1:13 - 1:17As the Mali Empire declined,
one of its domains, Songhai, -
1:17 - 1:19began to gain power.
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1:19 - 1:23In 1468, the Songhai king
conquered Timbuktu, -
1:23 - 1:27burning buildings and murdering scholars.
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1:27 - 1:31But in time, intellectual life
in the city flourished again. -
1:31 - 1:34The reign of the second king
of the Songhai Empire, -
1:34 - 1:36Askia Mohammed Toure,
-
1:36 - 1:41marked the beginning of a golden age
in Timbuktu. -
1:41 - 1:43He reversed his predecessor’s
regressive policies -
1:43 - 1:46and encouraged learning.
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1:46 - 1:50The Songhai rulers and most of Timbuktu’s
population were Muslim, -
1:50 - 1:53and the scholars of Timbuktu
studied Islam -
1:53 - 1:57alongside secular topics
like mathematics and philosophy. -
1:57 - 1:59In the libraries of Timbuktu,
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1:59 - 2:03tracts of Greek philosophy stood
alongside the writings -
2:03 - 2:07of local historians, scientists,
and poets. -
2:07 - 2:10The city’s most prominent scholar,
Ahmed Baba, -
2:10 - 2:12challenged prevailing opinions
on subjects -
2:12 - 2:15ranging from smoking to slavery.
-
2:15 - 2:19Gold and salt trade had funded
the city’s transformation -
2:19 - 2:22into a center of learning.
-
2:22 - 2:24Now, the products
of that intellectual culture -
2:24 - 2:28became the most sought-after
commodity. -
2:28 - 2:29With paper from faraway Venice
-
2:29 - 2:32and vibrant ink from local plants
and minerals, -
2:32 - 2:36the scribes of Timbuktu produced
texts in both Arabic -
2:36 - 2:38and local languages.
-
2:38 - 2:43Written in calligraphy and decorated
with intricate geometric designs, -
2:43 - 2:49the books of Timbuktu were in demand
among the wealthiest members of society. -
2:49 - 2:53In 1591, the golden age
came to an abrupt end -
2:53 - 2:57when the Moroccan king
captured Timbuktu. -
2:57 - 3:01Moroccan forces imprisoned
Ahmed Baba and other prominent scholars -
3:01 - 3:04and confiscated their libraries.
-
3:04 - 3:09In the centuries that followed, the city
weathered a succession of conquests. -
3:09 - 3:13In the mid-1800s,
Sufi Jihadists occupied Timbuktu -
3:13 - 3:17and destroyed many non-religious
manuscripts. -
3:17 - 3:211894, French colonial forces seized
control of the city, -
3:21 - 3:25stealing even more manuscripts
and sending them to Europe. -
3:25 - 3:29French became the official language
taught in schools, -
3:29 - 3:31and new generations in Timbuktu
-
3:31 - 3:35couldn’t read the Arabic manuscripts
that remained. -
3:35 - 3:40Through it all, the literary tradition
of Timbuktu didn’t die— -
3:40 - 3:42it went underground.
-
3:42 - 3:45Some families built secret libraries
in their homes, -
3:45 - 3:48or buried the books in their gardens.
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3:48 - 3:53Others stashed them in abandoned caves
or holes in the desert. -
3:53 - 3:55The priceless manuscripts of Timbuktu
-
3:55 - 3:59dispersed to villages
throughout the surrounding area, -
3:59 - 4:04where regular citizens guarded
them for hundreds of years. -
4:04 - 4:07As desertification and war
impoverished the region, -
4:07 - 4:10families held on to the ancient books
-
4:10 - 4:14even as they faced desperate poverty
and near-starvation. -
4:14 - 4:19Even today, the struggle to protect
the books continues. -
4:19 - 4:22From the 1980s to the early 2000s,
-
4:22 - 4:28Timbuktu scholar Abdel Kader Haidara
painstakingly retrieved hidden manuscripts -
4:28 - 4:32from all over northern Mali
and brought them back to Timbuktu. -
4:32 - 4:38But in 2012, civil war in Mali
once again threatened the manuscripts, -
4:38 - 4:41most of which were evacuated
to nearby Bamako. -
4:41 - 4:43Their future remains uncertain,
-
4:43 - 4:48as they face both human
and environmental threats. -
4:48 - 4:51These books represent our best—
and often only— -
4:51 - 4:55sources on the pre-colonial history
of the region. -
4:55 - 4:58Many of them have never been
read by modern scholars, -
4:58 - 5:02and still more remain lost
or hidden in the desert. -
5:02 - 5:07At stake in the efforts to protect
them is the history they contain— -
5:07 - 5:12and the efforts of countless generations
to protect that history from being lost.
- Title:
- The hidden treasures of Timbuktu - Elizabeth Cox
- Speaker:
- Elizabeth Cox
- Description:
-
View full lesson: https://ed.ted.com/lessons/the-hidden-treasures-of-timbuktu-elizabeth-cox
On the edge of the vast Sahara desert, citizens snuck out of the city of Timbuktu and took to the wilderness. They buried chests in the desert sand, hid them in caves, and sealed them in secret rooms. Inside these chests was a treasure more valuable than gold: the city’s ancient books. Why were they hiding these priceless manuscripts? Elizabeth Cox digs into the literary tradition of Timbuktu.
Lesson by Elizabeth Cox, directed by Aim Creative Studios.
- Video Language:
- English
- Team:
- closed TED
- Project:
- TED-Ed
- Duration:
- 05:15
lauren mcalpine approved English subtitles for The hidden treasures of Timbuktu | ||
lauren mcalpine accepted English subtitles for The hidden treasures of Timbuktu | ||
lauren mcalpine edited English subtitles for The hidden treasures of Timbuktu | ||
Tara Ahmadinejad edited English subtitles for The hidden treasures of Timbuktu | ||
Tara Ahmadinejad edited English subtitles for The hidden treasures of Timbuktu |