CChronica Maps

Timbuktu: History, Former Names & Timeline

Caravan city on the southern edge of the Sahara and a centre of Islamic learning under Mali and Songhai, famous for gold and manuscripts.

Map showing Timbuktu in 1400Timbuktu
Border map for 1400. See the world in 1400.

Explore Timbuktu in the interactive map

Former names of Timbuktu

FromNameNote
1100Tombouctou

Timeline of Timbuktu

YearEvent
1324Mansa Musa of Mali makes his gold-laden pilgrimage to Mecca
1327The Djinguereber mosque is built
1468Sonni Ali of Songhai takes Timbuktu
1591A Moroccan army destroys the Songhai Empire

Who ruled Timbuktu

Derived from the border maps; each row runs until the next recorded border change.

PeriodState
500 BC–101 BCSaharan pastoral nomads
100 BC–699Unclaimed / no data
700–799Saharan Nomadic Tribes
800–899Unclaimed / no data
900–999Berbers
1000–1199Unclaimed / no data
1200–1299Berber Tribes
1300–1491Mali
1492–1649Songhai
1650–1782Morocco
1783–1814Segu
1815–1913Unclaimed / no data
1914–1944French West Africa
1945–todayMali

Nearby cities