Timbuktu's Secret Archive: The Fondo Kati Library

In 1618, a Spanish-Moroccan captive named Mahmud Kati completed a chronicle that would become one of the most precious documents of the Sahel—the Tarikh al-Fattash. This episode follows Kati's extraordinary life: born in Timbuktu around 1468, he studied at Sankore, performed the hajj twice, and served as a close advisor to Askia Muhammad, the great Songhai ruler. But his true legacy lies in the Fondo Kati, a private library of manuscripts he assembled and annotated, now preserved by his descendants in Timbuktu. We explore how Kati's family survived the Saadian conquest of 1591, the scattering of scholars, and the centuries of neglect that could have destroyed these fragile pages. We also look at the controversies surrounding the library—questions of authenticity and dating that have sparked scholarly debate. And we see how the Fondo Kati became a symbol of resilience during the 2012 occupation, when librarians risked everything to spirit thousands of manuscripts to safety. Join Lucas and Luna for a story of survival, scholarship, and the threads that bind a family to a city and its memory. #Timbuktu #FondoKati #MahmudKati #TarikhAlFattash #Sankore #AskiaMuhammad #SonghaiEmpire #SaadianConquest #Manuscripts #WestAfricanHistory #MaliEmpire #SahelScholarship #MedievalAfrica #Archives #Resilience #History #FexingoHistory #Podcast Keep every episode free: buymeacoffee.com/fexingo