Ancient Cities of Timbuktu and Uruk

• The city of Timbuktu was a center of learning in the 1300s and 1400s, when its prime location made it a target for warlords and conquerors.
• The city's scholars studied Islam alongside secular topics like mathematics and philosophy.
• In the 1500s, the golden age of Timbuktu came to an abrupt end when the Moroccan king captured the city. Moroccan forces imprisoned Ahmed Baba and other prominent scholars and confiscated their libraries.
• Timbuktu weathered a succession of conquests in the 1800s, but in 2012, civil war in Mali threatened the manuscripts, most of which were evacuated to nearby Bamako.
• The literary tradition of Timbuktu didn't die—it went underground. Some families built secret libraries in their homes, or buried the books in their gardens. Others stashed them in abandoned caves or holes in the desert.
• The priceless manuscripts of Timbuktu dispersed to villages throughout the surrounding area, where regular citizens guarded them for hundreds of years. As desertification and war impoverished the region, families held on to the ancient books even as they faced desperate poverty and near-starvation.
• Today, the struggle to protect the books continues. From the 1980s to the early 2000s,Timbuktu scholar Abdel Kader Haidara painstakingly retrieved hidden manuscripts from all over northern Mali and brought them back to Timbuktu. But in 2012, civil war in Mali once again threatened the manuscripts, most of which were evacuated to nearby Bamako.
• The region around the ancient city of Uruk was the birthplace of civilization and the home of the first writing system.
• The region was home to a number of ancient Mesopotamian civilizations, including the Sumerians, Akkadians, and Babylonians.
• The region was also the birthplace of the first king, Gilgamesh, and the first lawgiver, Hammurabi.
• The region was the site of many important battles and conquests, including the Battle of Uruk and the Battle of Qadesh.
• The region was eventually conquered by the Assyrians, Babylonians, and Persians.
• The region was eventually lost to the desert, and most of its ancient monuments were lost or destroyed.

Test your knowledge about the rich history of the ancient cities of Timbuktu and Uruk, including their roles as centers of learning, valuable manuscripts, and the impact of conquests and wars on their civilizations.