Timbuktu's Astrolabe: The Sahel's Lost Science

In this episode of Timbuktu: Africa's Forgotten Center of Knowledge, we explore the sophisticated astronomical tradition of the Sahel. Lucas and Luna discuss a surviving brass astrolabe from 18th-century Timbuktu, now housed in the Institut Fondamental d'Afrique Noire in Dakar. They trace how scholars like al-Wangari adapted Islamic astronomical tools to the Sahara, using the stars for navigation, prayer times, and agricultural calendars. The conversation delves into the Sankore curriculum, which included mathematics and optics, and the controversy over whether Timbuktu's science was derivative or innovative. We also cover the role of the Kunta scholars in preserving manuscripts on astronomy, and the challenges of dating and attributing these artifacts today. Finally, the episode reflects on what the astrolabe tells us about intellectual exchange across the Sahara and the Sahel's place in global science. #TimbuktuAstronomy #SankoreMadrasa #AlWangari #Astrolabe #SahelScience #IslamicAstronomy #SaharanTrade #KuntaScholars #AhmadBaba #TarikhAlSudan #MaliEmpire #SonghaiEmpire #18thCentury #HistoryOfScience #FexingoHistory #WestAfrica #TimbuktuManuscripts #Navigation Keep every episode free: buymeacoffee.com/fexingo