Timbuktu

Home of the prestigious Koranic Sankore University and other madrasas, Timbuktu was an intellectual and spiritual capital and a center for the propagation of Islam throughout Africa in the 15th and 16th centuries. Its three great mosques, Djingareyber, Sankore, and Sidi Yahia, recall Timbuktu’s golden age. Although continuously restored, these monuments are today under threat from desertification.

Title Timbuktu
Artist(s) Unrecorded artist
Dates 11th–16th century
Places Africa / West Africa / Mali
Period, Culture, Style Mali Empire
Artwork Type Architecture / Historic City
Material Adobe
Technique

Cite this page as: UNESCO, "Timbuktu," in Smarthistory, May 27, 2021, accessed May 20, 2025, https://smarthistory.org/timbuktu/.