text: Leo Africanus: Description of Timbuktu from The Description of Africa (1526)
  El Hasan ben Muhammed el-Wazzan-ez-Zayyati was born in the Moorish city of Granada in
  1485, but was expelled along with his parents and thousands of other Muslims by Ferdinand
  and Isabella in 1492. Settling in Morocco, he studied in Fez, and as a teenager accompanied his
  uncle on diplomatic missions throughout North Africa and and to the Sub-Saharan kingdom
  of Ghana. Still a young man, he was captured by Christian pirates and presented as an
  exceptionally learned slave to the great Renaissance pope, Leo X. Leo freed him, baptised him
  under the name "Johannis Leo de Medici," and commissioned him to write in
  Italian the detailed survey of Africa which provided most of what Europeans knew about the
  continent for the next several centuries. At the time he visited the Ghanaian city of Timbuktu,
  it was somewhat past its peak, but still a thriving Islamic city famous for its learning.
  "Timbuktu" was to become a byword in Europe as the most inaccessible of cities, but
  at the time Leo visited, it was the center of a busy trade in African products and in books. Leo is
  said to have died in 1554 in Tunis, having reconverted to Islam.
  What evidence does he provide that suggests the importance of learning in Timbuktu?
  The name of this kingdom is a modern one, after a city which was built by a king named
  Mansa Suleyman in the year 610 of the hegira [1232 CE] around twelve miles from a branch of
  the Niger River. (1)
  The houses of Timbuktu are huts made of clay-covered wattles with thatched roofs. In the
  center of the city is a temple built of stone and mortar, built by an architect named Granata, (2) and in addition there is a large palace, constructed by the same architect, where the king lives.
  The shops of the artisans, the merchants, and especially weavers of cotton cloth are very
  numerous. Fabrics are also imported from Europe to Timbuktu, borne by Berber
  The women of the city maintain the custom of veiling their faces, except for the slaves who
  sell all the foodstuffs. The inhabitants are very rich, especially the strangers who have settled in
  the country; so much so that the current king (4) has given two of his daughters in marriage to
  two brothers, both businessmen, on account of their wealth. There are many wells containing
  sweet water in Timbuktu; and in addition, when the Niger is in flood canals deliver the water
  to the city. Grain and animals are abundant, so that the consumption of milk and butter is
  considerable. But salt is in very short supply because it is carried here from Tegaza, some 500
  miles from Timbuktu. I happened to be in this city at a time when a load of salt sold for eighty
  ducats. The king has a rich treasure of coins and gold ingots. One of these ingots weighs 970
  The royal court is magnificent and very well organized. When the king goes from one city to
  another with the people of his court, he rides a camel and the horses are led by hand by
  servants. If fighting becomes necessary, the servants mount the camels and all the soldiers
  mount on horseback. When someone wishes to speak to the king, he must kneel before him
  and bow down; but this is only required of those who have never before spoken to the king, or
  of ambassadors. The king has about 3,000 horsemen and infinity of foot-soldiers armed with
  bows made of wild fennel [?] which they use to shoot poisoned arrows. This king makes war
  only upon neighboring enemies and upon those who do not want to pay him tribute. When he
  has gained a victory, he has all of them--even the children--sold in the market at
  Only small, poor horses are born in this country. The merchants use them for their voyages
  and the courtiers to move about the city. But the good horses come from Barbary. They arrive
  in a caravan and, ten or twelve days later, they are led to the ruler, who takes as many as he
  likes and pays appropriately for them.
  The king is a declared enemy of the Jews. He will not allow any to live in the city. If he hears it
  said that a Berber merchant frequents them or does business with them, he confiscates his
  goods. There are in Timbuktu numerous judges, teachers and priests, all properly appointed by
  the king. He greatly honors learning. Many hand-written books imported from Barbary are also
  sold. There is more profit made from this commerce than from all other merchandise.
  Instead of coined money, pure gold nuggets are used; and for small purchases, cowrie shells
  which have been carried from Persia, (6) and of which 400 equal a ducat. Six and two-thirds of
  their ducats equal one Roman gold ounce. (7)
  The people of Timbuktu are of a peaceful nature. They have a custom of almost continuously
  walking about the city in the evening (except for those that sell gold), between 10 PM and 1 AM,
  playing musical instruments and dancing. The citizens have at their service many slaves, both
  men and women.
  The city is very much endangered by fire. At the time when I was there on my second voyage,
  (8) half the city burned in the space of five hours. But the wind was violent and the inhabitants of
  the other half of the city began to move their belongings for fear that the other half would
  There are no gardens or orchards in the area surrounding Timbuktu.
  Translated by Paul Brians
  (1) Mansa Suleyman reigned 1336-1359. The city was in fact probably founded in the 11th
  century by Tuaregs, but became the chief city of the king of Mali in 1324.
  (2) Ishak es Sahili el-Gharnati, brought to Tinbuktu by Mansa Suleyman.
  (3) By camel caravan across the Sahara Desert from NorthAfrica.
  (4) 'Omar ben Mohammed Naddi, not in fact the king, but representative of the ruler of the
  kingdom of Songhai.
  (5) Such fabulous nuggets are commonly mentioned by Arab writers about Africa, but their size
  is probably grossly exaggerated.
  (6) Cowrie shells, widely used for money in West Africa, sometimes came in fact from even
  farther away, from the Maladive Islands of Southeast Asia.
  (7) A Sudanese gold ducat would weigh .15 oz.
  (8) Probably in 1512.
  This is an excerpt from Reading About the World, Volume 2, edited by Paul Brians, Michael Blair, Douglas Hughes, Michael Neville, Roger Schlesinger, Alice Spitzer, and Susan Swan and published by HarperCollinsCustomBooks. The reader was created for use in the World Civilization course at Washington State University, but material on this page may be used for educational purposes by permission of the editor-in-chief:
  Department of English
  Washington State University
  This text is part of the Internet Medieval Sourcebook. The Sourcebook is a collection
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  Paul Halsall, May 2023