[Script Info]
Title: 
[Events]
Format: Layer, Start, End, Style, Name, MarginL, MarginR, MarginV, Effect, Text
Dialogue: 0,0:00:07.02,0:00:09.48,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,On the edge of the vast Sahara desert,
Dialogue: 0,0:00:09.48,0:00:13.05,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,citizens snuck out of the city of Timbuktu
Dialogue: 0,0:00:13.05,0:00:15.45,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and took to the wilderness.
Dialogue: 0,0:00:15.45,0:00:19.75,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,They buried chests in the desert sand,\Nhid them in caves,
Dialogue: 0,0:00:19.75,0:00:22.60,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and sealed them in secret rooms.
Dialogue: 0,0:00:22.60,0:00:27.31,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Inside these chests was a treasure \Nmore valuable than gold:
Dialogue: 0,0:00:27.31,0:00:30.19,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,the city’s ancient books.
Dialogue: 0,0:00:30.19,0:00:34.19,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Founded around 1100 CE \Nin what is now Mali,
Dialogue: 0,0:00:34.19,0:00:38.90,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,the city of Timbuktu started \Nout as an unremarkable trading post.
Dialogue: 0,0:00:38.90,0:00:42.44,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,But its unique location \Nsoon changed that.
Dialogue: 0,0:00:42.44,0:00:46.89,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Timbuktu marked the intersection\Nof two essential trade routes,
Dialogue: 0,0:00:46.89,0:00:49.75,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,where caravans bringing \Nsalt across the Sahara
Dialogue: 0,0:00:49.75,0:00:53.57,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,met with traders bringing gold\Nfrom the African interior.
Dialogue: 0,0:00:53.57,0:00:58.29,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,By the late 1300s, these trade routes \Nmade Timbuktu rich,
Dialogue: 0,0:00:58.29,0:01:01.43,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and the city’s rulers, \Nthe kings of the Mali Empire,
Dialogue: 0,0:01:01.43,0:01:04.62,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,built monuments and academies\Nthat drew scholars
Dialogue: 0,0:01:04.62,0:01:07.81,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,from Egypt, Spain, and Morocco.
Dialogue: 0,0:01:07.81,0:01:12.86,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,The city’s prime location also made\Nit a target for warlords and conquerors.
Dialogue: 0,0:01:12.86,0:01:16.86,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,As the Mali Empire declined, \None of its domains, Songhai,
Dialogue: 0,0:01:16.86,0:01:18.56,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,began to gain power.
Dialogue: 0,0:01:18.56,0:01:23.06,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,In 1468, the Songhai king \Nconquered Timbuktu,
Dialogue: 0,0:01:23.06,0:01:26.91,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,burning buildings and murdering scholars.
Dialogue: 0,0:01:26.91,0:01:31.11,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,But in time, intellectual life \Nin the city flourished again.
Dialogue: 0,0:01:31.11,0:01:34.29,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,The reign of the second king \Nof the Songhai Empire,
Dialogue: 0,0:01:34.29,0:01:36.40,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Askia Mohammed Toure,
Dialogue: 0,0:01:36.40,0:01:40.56,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,marked the beginning of a golden age \Nin Timbuktu.
Dialogue: 0,0:01:40.56,0:01:43.45,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,He reversed his predecessor’s\Nregressive policies
Dialogue: 0,0:01:43.45,0:01:45.72,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and encouraged learning.
Dialogue: 0,0:01:45.72,0:01:50.27,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,The Songhai rulers and most of Timbuktu’s \Npopulation were Muslim,
Dialogue: 0,0:01:50.27,0:01:52.87,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and the scholars of Timbuktu \Nstudied Islam
Dialogue: 0,0:01:52.87,0:01:57.18,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,alongside secular topics \Nlike mathematics and philosophy.
Dialogue: 0,0:01:57.18,0:01:59.02,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,In the libraries of Timbuktu,
Dialogue: 0,0:01:59.02,0:02:02.70,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,tracts of Greek philosophy stood\Nalongside the writings
Dialogue: 0,0:02:02.70,0:02:06.70,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,of local historians, scientists,\Nand poets.
Dialogue: 0,0:02:06.70,0:02:09.74,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,The city’s most prominent scholar,\NAhmed Baba,
Dialogue: 0,0:02:09.74,0:02:12.10,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,challenged prevailing opinions\Non subjects
Dialogue: 0,0:02:12.10,0:02:15.16,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,ranging from smoking to slavery.
Dialogue: 0,0:02:15.16,0:02:19.16,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Gold and salt trade had funded\Nthe city’s transformation
Dialogue: 0,0:02:19.16,0:02:21.62,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,into a center of learning.
Dialogue: 0,0:02:21.62,0:02:24.40,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Now, the products \Nof that intellectual culture
Dialogue: 0,0:02:24.40,0:02:27.56,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,became the most sought-after \Ncommodity.
Dialogue: 0,0:02:27.56,0:02:29.50,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,With paper from faraway Venice
Dialogue: 0,0:02:29.50,0:02:32.50,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and vibrant ink from local plants\Nand minerals,
Dialogue: 0,0:02:32.50,0:02:36.28,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,the scribes of Timbuktu produced \Ntexts in both Arabic
Dialogue: 0,0:02:36.28,0:02:38.40,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and local languages.
Dialogue: 0,0:02:38.40,0:02:43.14,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Written in calligraphy and decorated\Nwith intricate geometric designs,
Dialogue: 0,0:02:43.14,0:02:49.07,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,the books of Timbuktu were in demand\Namong the wealthiest members of society.
Dialogue: 0,0:02:49.07,0:02:53.33,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,In 1591, the golden age \Ncame to an abrupt end
Dialogue: 0,0:02:53.33,0:02:56.89,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,when the Moroccan king \Ncaptured Timbuktu.
Dialogue: 0,0:02:56.89,0:03:01.14,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Moroccan forces imprisoned \NAhmed Baba and other prominent scholars
Dialogue: 0,0:03:01.14,0:03:03.85,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and confiscated their libraries.
Dialogue: 0,0:03:03.85,0:03:09.10,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,In the centuries that followed, the city \Nweathered a succession of conquests.
Dialogue: 0,0:03:09.10,0:03:13.10,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,In the mid-1800s, \NSufi Jihadists occupied Timbuktu
Dialogue: 0,0:03:13.10,0:03:16.67,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and destroyed many non-religious\Nmanuscripts.
Dialogue: 0,0:03:16.67,0:03:21.35,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,1894, French colonial forces seized\Ncontrol of the city,
Dialogue: 0,0:03:21.35,0:03:25.35,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,stealing even more manuscripts\Nand sending them to Europe.
Dialogue: 0,0:03:25.35,0:03:28.93,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,French became the official language\Ntaught in schools,
Dialogue: 0,0:03:28.93,0:03:30.81,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and new generations in Timbuktu
Dialogue: 0,0:03:30.81,0:03:34.81,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,couldn’t read the Arabic manuscripts \Nthat remained.
Dialogue: 0,0:03:34.81,0:03:39.64,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Through it all, the literary tradition\Nof Timbuktu didn’t die—
Dialogue: 0,0:03:39.64,0:03:42.28,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,it went underground.
Dialogue: 0,0:03:42.28,0:03:45.34,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Some families built secret libraries\Nin their homes,
Dialogue: 0,0:03:45.34,0:03:48.10,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,or buried the books in their gardens.
Dialogue: 0,0:03:48.10,0:03:52.52,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Others stashed them in abandoned caves \Nor holes in the desert.
Dialogue: 0,0:03:52.52,0:03:55.29,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,The priceless manuscripts of Timbuktu
Dialogue: 0,0:03:55.29,0:03:58.72,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,dispersed to villages \Nthroughout the surrounding area,
Dialogue: 0,0:03:58.72,0:04:03.75,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,where regular citizens guarded \Nthem for hundreds of years.
Dialogue: 0,0:04:03.75,0:04:07.14,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,As desertification and war \Nimpoverished the region,
Dialogue: 0,0:04:07.14,0:04:09.61,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,families held on to the ancient books
Dialogue: 0,0:04:09.61,0:04:14.19,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,even as they faced desperate poverty\Nand near-starvation.
Dialogue: 0,0:04:14.19,0:04:18.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Even today, the struggle to protect\Nthe books continues.
Dialogue: 0,0:04:18.99,0:04:22.09,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,From the 1980s to the early 2000s,
Dialogue: 0,0:04:22.09,0:04:27.80,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Timbuktu scholar Abdel Kader Haidara\Npainstakingly retrieved hidden manuscripts
Dialogue: 0,0:04:27.80,0:04:32.45,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,from all over northern Mali \Nand brought them back to Timbuktu.
Dialogue: 0,0:04:32.45,0:04:37.56,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,But in 2012, civil war in Mali \Nonce again threatened the manuscripts,
Dialogue: 0,0:04:37.56,0:04:41.40,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,most of which were evacuated\Nto nearby Bamako.
Dialogue: 0,0:04:41.40,0:04:43.37,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Their future remains uncertain,
Dialogue: 0,0:04:43.37,0:04:47.65,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,as they face both human \Nand environmental threats.
Dialogue: 0,0:04:47.65,0:04:51.48,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,These books represent our best—\Nand often only—
Dialogue: 0,0:04:51.48,0:04:55.02,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,sources on the pre-colonial history\Nof the region.
Dialogue: 0,0:04:55.02,0:04:58.19,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Many of them have never been \Nread by modern scholars,
Dialogue: 0,0:04:58.19,0:05:02.23,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and still more remain lost \Nor hidden in the desert.
Dialogue: 0,0:05:02.23,0:05:06.58,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,At stake in the efforts to protect\Nthem is the history they contain—
Dialogue: 0,0:05:06.58,0:05:12.12,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and the efforts of countless generations\Nto protect that history from being lost.