Tuareg Confederations and Central Sahara Caravan Trade (c. 13th–19th centuries)

1. Timbuktu emerges as a Tuareg-founded caravan town

   Jan 1, 1100Labels: Timbuktu, Tuareg

   • Britannica 1911
   • Timbuktu
   • History Timbuktu

2. Mali-era expansion ties river markets to desert routes

   Jan 1, 1320Labels: Mali Empire, Timbuktu

   • History Timbuktu
   • Timbuktu
   • Mansa Musa

3. Mansa Musa’s pilgrimage publicizes trans-Saharan trade wealth

   Jan 1, 1324Labels: Mansa Musa, Hajj

   • Mansa Musa
   • Timbuktu

4. Ibn Battuta documents Taghaza’s salt trade system

   Jan 1, 1352Labels: Ibn Battuta, Taghaza

   • Taghaza
   • Ibn Battuta

5. Tuareg seize Timbuktu during Mali’s decline

   Jan 1, 1433Labels: Tuareg, Timbuktu

   • Britannica 1911
   • Timbuktu

6. Songhai conquest brings Timbuktu into an imperial tax network

   Jan 1, 1468Labels: Songhai, Timbuktu

   • Songhai
   • Britannica 1911
   • History Timbuktu

7. Taghaza’s salt output shifts as Saadians intervene

   Jan 1, 1586Labels: Taghaza, Saadians

   • Taghaza
   • Taoudenni

8. Taoudenni rises as Taghaza is abandoned

   Jan 1, 1591Labels: Taoudenni, Taghaza

   • Taghaza
   • Taoudenni

9. Moroccan invasion defeats Songhai at Tondibi

   Mar 13, 1591Labels: Battle of, Saadians

   • Tondibi
   • Morocco Songhai

10. Timbuktu becomes capital of the Pashalik of Timbuktu

    May 30, 1591Labels: Pashalik of, Morocco

    • Pashalik
    • History Timbuktu

11. Araouane serves as a key staging depot for caravans

    Jan 1, 1600Labels: Araouane, Caravan depot

    • Araouane
    • Timbuktu

12. Kel Ahaggar consolidates power over central Saharan routes

    Jan 1, 1750Labels: Kel Ahaggar, Amenokal

    • Kel Ahaggar
    • Kel Ahaggar EN

13. René Caillié reaches Timbuktu with a major caravan

    Apr 20, 1828Labels: Ren Cailli, Timbuktu

    • Cailli
    • Araouane
    • UK Archives

14. Heinrich Barth records Timbuktu’s later caravan-era conditions

    Jan 1, 1853Labels: Heinrich Barth, Timbuktu

    • Britannica
    • Timbuktu