Center of trade, learning & religion Timbuktu Center of trade, learning & religion

Do Now: Verbally describe Timbuktu.

Timbuktu Built along the Niger River, at a cross section of trade routes from North and South Africa. Timbuktu served as an important city in the Mali, and later, Songhai kingdoms.

Timbuktu Timbuktu was the final stop for Saharan trade caravans transporting salt slabs before they returned north, and a center for the south-western gold markets. Traders from the Arabian Peninsula, Asia and Europe all exchanged goods in Timbuktu.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=alnez6dOUXU

The movement of people is responsible for spreading goods as well as ideas.

New ideas emerging in the fields of religion, medicine, math, and science from Europe, Asia and the Arabian Peninsula traveled to Timbuktu. The city became a center of cultural exchange and learning and attracted many Muslim scholars.

Through trade, Arabic ideas took root in western Africa. As Timbuktu attracted more Arab traders and scholars, more Arabic influences could be seen within the city.

Mix of architectural styles- Square Arab buildings intermingled with rounded buildings traditional of West Africa. Three dried mosques were in built in Timbuktu, including the Sankore Mosque.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3SI5NdNEosE

Major Cities Compare/Contrast… Timbuktu can be compared to Baghdad as well as Constantinople, the major trade and culture centers of the Islamic and Byzantine Empires. Constantinople Timbuktu Baghdad  

Location Economy Learning Religion Constantinople Timbuktu Baghdad Location Economy Learning Religion   Located along the Bosporus Sea on a Peninsula in modern day Turkey. Was the capital of the Byzantine Empire. Economy was based on taxing trade goods coming in from Europe, Asia & Africa. Learning was important, Byzantine scholars preserved the works of ancient Greeks and Romans. This helped spark the Renaissance movement. Eastern Greek Orthodox Christianity  An important church in Constantinople was the Hagia Sophia.  - Located along the Niger River, an important city for the kingdoms of Mali and Songhai in Western Africa. Economy was based on taxing trade goods (especially salt & gold). Learning was important; Timbuktu was a center of learning. Mansa Musa brought Arabian scholars to Mali to teach Islam, math, medicine, and science. - Islam An important mosque in Timbuktu is the Sankore mosque. Located along the Tigris river in modern day Iraq on the Arabian Peninsula in Asia. Was the capital of the Islamic caliphate. Economy was based on taxing trade goods from all corners of the empire (Asia, Africa, Europe). Learning was very important; the Caliphs created the House of Wisdom in Baghdad were scholars discussed and invented important ideas in math, medicine, astronomy, ect. Islam Baghdad was not the center of religion thought, Mecca was and still is the center of Islam on the Arabian Peninsula.