Timbuktu's Desert Diplomacy: Letters Across the Sahara

In the sixteenth century, Timbuktu wasn't just a center of scholarship and trade—it was a diplomatic crossroads where letters traveled thousands of miles across the Sahara. This episode follows the paper trail of the Songhai Empire's diplomatic correspondence, from the court of Askia Muhammad to the Saadian sultans of Morocco, revealing a world of alliances, espionage, and intrigue. We explore how Timbuktu's scholars, like Ahmad Baba al-Timbukti, served as intermediaries and advisors, their words carrying weight as far as Cairo and Istanbul. Through surviving letters, we piece together a network of communication that connected West Africa to the wider Muslim world, challenging the image of the Sahara as a barrier rather than a bridge. Join Lucas and Luna as they uncover the art of desert diplomacy and the fragile relationships that shaped the region's fate, long before the Saadian conquest of 1591. #Timbuktu #SonghaiEmpire #Sahara #Diplomacy #AhmadBaba #AskiaMuhammad #Saadian #Morocco #TarikhAlSudan #AfricanHistory #WestAfrica #PaperTrail #SixteenthCentury #MuslimWorld #Cairo #Istanbul #History #FexingoHistory Keep every episode free: buymeacoffee.com/fexingo