Timbuktu’s Scientific Manuscript Heritage: The Reopening of an Ancient Vista?

Timbuktu’s intellectual heritage has attracted new-found interest afterthe preservation of the city’s manuscripts was declared as the first culturalproject of the New Partnership for Africa’s Development (NEPAD). The initiativecreated a space for researchers interested in studying the content of themanuscripts. This article maps a brief history of Timbuktu and providessome insight into its manuscript collections, before discussing the Timbuktuscientific heritage in light of contemporary debates on the history of sciencein Islamic societies. It is argued that the pre-modern Islamic legacy currentlybeing unearthed in Timbuktu emphasises the need for a clearer articulationof the relationship between science and religion in Muslim societies