Timbuktu is a city in the western African country of Mali located on the southern edge of the Saharan Desert. It was founded in about 1100 CE as a seasonal nomad camp. Timbuktu translates as "the place of Buktu". Timbuktu is located about 20 kilometers north of the Niger River and is populated by Sudanese people. It became a trading center and caravan stop for the Sudanese Muslims who wanted to cross the Sahara route to Mecca during the Hajj. Timbuktu fell after the collapse of the empire in Mali and was then captured by the Songhai ruler Sonni Ali in 1468. Sonni Ali died in 1492, so his son took over and was very unsuccessful. In result Timbuktu came under the control of the Songhay Dynasty, entering the "golden ages" of Timbuktu where scholarship and trade flourished. In medieval Timbuktu there were examples of religious interactions, trade, and cultural exchange, such as Timbuktu emerging into a center of Islamic culture, products being imported and exports, and libraries and religious institutions being built. .
Timbuktu is a wonderful place to find different types of religion, its main religion being Islam. The expansion of Islam was mostly in sub-Saharan Africa but it also made a connection with the Muslim merchants. As religious interactions occurred as people began to convert from their old religion, which was mostly Muslim, to Islam. Timbuktu grew into a center of Islamic culture, mostly because of the Hajj Mansa Musa made. When Mansa Musa made his hajj to Mecca he built houses in Kiro and brought scholars and architects back. When Mansa Musa made the hajj he went from being Muslim to Islam. When he did this religion was exchanged with the people in the Mali Empire, including the city of Timbuktu. In 1400 CE- 1600 CE Timbuktu immersed into a religious and academic center of West Africa. This is also when Timbuktu entered a "golden age." Mansa Musa brought the religion of Islam back to Timbuktu also bringing back scholars and architects.
The classical civilization of Rome, Greece, and Africa used art for ceremonial purposes. The three classical civilizations used sculptures for prayer, murals for entertainment, and masks for ceremonial dances. In Rome the great sculptor Phidias carved a sculpture of Athena, looking like a warrior. H...
