Mali is the landlocked West African country home to Timbuktu, a historic center of Islamic scholarship.
Timbuktu grew near the southern edge of the Sahara, close to the Niger River’s inland delta and important trans-Saharan trade routes. During the Mali and Songhai empires, the city became famous for commerce in gold, salt, and other goods, as well as for schools and libraries devoted to Islamic learning. The Sankore madrasa and collections of historic manuscripts remain closely associated with its scholarly legacy.
Mali is one of Africa’s largest countries and stretches from the Sahara in the north to more fertile regions near the Niger and Senegal rivers. Bamako is the capital. Timbuktu is sometimes described as being directly on the Niger River, but the city lies several kilometres north of the river’s main channel and was connected to it through seasonal waterways. Its fame reflects both trade and intellectual history.