Timbuktu's Great Manuscript Hoarders: The Aqit Family Dynasty

Episode 164 dives into the Aqit family, the scholarly dynasty who built Timbuktu's intellectual legacy long before the Saadian invasion. We explore how Umar Aqit transformed Sankore from a local mosque into a world-class university, how his son Muhammad cultivated connections across the Sahara, and how later generations—including the legendary Ahmad Baba al-Timbukti—preserved their library through occupation and exile. The episode also examines the family's political savvy: aligning with the Songhai Empire under Askia Muhammad, then navigating the brutal rule of Judar Pasha's Arma. We touch on the 16th-century manuscript trade that brought works from Cairo, Fez, and Baghdad to Timbuktu's dusty lanes, and how the Aqit collection survived the 1591 sacking. Finally, we reveal how one modern descendant, Abdel Kader Haidara, used his family's smuggling traditions to rescue 350,000 manuscripts from jihadists in 2012. #Aqit #Timbuktu #Sankore #AhmadBaba #Manuscripts #SonghaiEmpire #AskiaMuhammad #JudarPasha #Saadian #AbdelKaderHaidara #Mali #WestAfrica #Sahara #IntellectualHistory #University #Jihadism #History #FexingoHistory Keep every episode free: buymeacoffee.com/fexingo