| DATES |
AT
TIMBUKTU |
ELSEWHERE
IN THE WORLD |
| 400
B.C.E. |
Berber
middlemen establish early trans-Saharan trade between West
Sudan and North Africa.. |
In
404 B.C.E. , the Great Peleponnesian War ends, with
Sparta defeating Athens. |
| 100
B.C.E. |
Trans-Saharan
trade expands with growing use of camels in place of horses
and donkeys.
|
Around
100 B.C.E. , the "Silk Road" begins to carry goods
between China and Europe. |
| 400
C.E. |
The
Kingdom of Ghana, the first major trans-Saharan state in
West Africa, is founded. |
|
| 800 |
Beginning
of the diffusion of Islam to West Africa from Morocco and
Central Maghreb.
|
In
800, Charlemagne is crowned Emperor of the Holy Roman
Empire by the Pope. |
| 1000 |
c.
1000 Ghana at the height of its power in West Sudan,
stretching from the Atlantic Ocean to Timbuktu. Islam accepted
as a state religion in important towns of the empire.
|
The
Japanese warrior class, the Samurai, rises c. 1000.
|
| 1100 |
c.
1100 Timbuktu settled as a summer camp of the Tuareg
nomads. Timbuktu eventually becomes a permanent place of
residence and a market—the meeting place of those who
travel by water on the Niger and those who travel across
the sands of the Sahara. |
In
1086, William the Conqueror orders the Domesday Book,
a remarkably thorough survey of land ownership in England
that helps him appraise his new domain. In 1099,
the Crusaders capture Jerusalem from the Muslims in the
First Crusade. |
| 1250 |
Sundiata
becomes king of the small state of Kangaba and founds
early Mali. Begins conquering land to build empire.
|
In
1215, the Magna Charter (Great Charter) is signed,
limiting the power of the British monarchy. That same
year, Genghis Khan overruns northern China, one of his
first steps in building his vast Mongol empire. |
| c.
1300 |
Timbuktu
has become an important trading center, its communications
extending from the West Coast to the Mediterranean Sea.
Guinea gold is exported to Europe via the caravans starting
from Timbuktu.
|
|
| 1312 |
Mansa
Moussa becomes king of Mali, which continues to expand in
west and central Sudan, and develops new techniques of literacy
and trade adopted from Islam. |
In
1315, The Swiss defeat imperial forces at Morgarten
to confirm independence.
|
| 1324 |
Mansa Moussa stays at Timbuktu with his famous caravan of
great wealth. He founds a mosque in the city. Dies in 1337
after expanding Mali far across both western and central
regions of West Africa. |
In
1325, The Aztecs establish a capital at Tenochtitlan,
beginning their domination of central and southern Mexico.
In 1326, Ottoman Turks sweep through Anatolia, initiating
the creation of their vast empires. |
| 1336 |
Timbuktu becomes part of the Mali Empire, now at the height
of its power, and starts its own era of prosperity. |
In
1337, The Hundred Years' War between France and England
begins. |
| c.
1375 |
Rise of Songhay power at the expense of Mali. |
In
1382, the Chinese conquer Yunan to complete national
unity. The Kongo Kingdom in Zaire, Central Africa is founded
c. 1380s. |
| c.
1400 |
Tuaregs gain control of the city from the declining Mali
Empire. Mali-Songhay wars begin.
|
The
Kingdom if Great Zimbabwe in southern Africa flourishes
c. 1400. |
| 1468 |
Songhay conquers Tuaregs and gains control of Timbuktu.
|
In
1453, Ottoman Turks capture Constantinople, marking
the end of the Byzantine Empire. |
| 1493 |
Songhay
expansion. Askia dynasty founded by al-Hajji Muhamed. Songhay
dominates the central Sudan. Under Askia the Great, Timbuktu
reaches its height as a center of trade and Muslim scholarship.
Mali continues to decline.
|
In
1492, Christopher Columbus, seeking a passage to
China and the Indies, instead lands at the Bahamas, Cuba,
and Hispaniola (the island that now includes Haiti and the
Dominican Republic). |
| 1526 |
Leo
Africanus visits Timbuktu, in a mission from the Sherif
of Fez, and describes the city.
|
In
1521, Hernan Cortez captures the Aztec capital, completing
the conquest of Mexico for the crown of Spain. |
| 1546 |
Songhay
defeats Mali. |
|
| 1591 |
Moroccan
Army expedition to Timbuktu. Timbuktu becomes part of the
Moroccan Empire. Songhay Empire in ruins. |
|
| c.1600 |
Timbuktu
starts to decline. |
In
1600, the East India Company is founded in London. |
| 1650 |
c.
1650, Tuaregs assume control of the city for more than
200 years. |
In
1657, the Great Fire of Edo breaks out in Tokyo.
In 1666, the Great Fire of London breaks out. |
| 1824 |
After
of a variety of attempts by Europeans to reach the city,
the Geographical Society of Paris offers prize, valued at
10,000 francs, to the first person to return to Europe with
a firsthand account of Timbuktu.
|
War
of 1812, between Britain and the U.S. ends in 1814.
|
| 1828 |
Frenchman Réné Caillié enters the city
in disguise, and returns to Europe with an account of the
decline of the city, which had begun over two centuries
previously. |
In
1830, the Polish revolt against Russian rule; Greece
declares independence from Turkey; and the July revolution
begins in Paris. |
| 1884-5 |
Congress of imperialist powers at Berlin partitions Africa.
French gain West and Central Sudan. |
In
1884, the French empire in Indo-China is established. |
| 1893 |
French
Army enters Timbuktu. French colonial rule begins. |
In
1895, defeated in Sino-Japanese War, China is forced
to accept independence of Korea. |
| 1960 |
Republic
of Mali gains independence. Timbuktu returns to Mali rule
after five and a half centuries. |
In
1960, the former Belgian Congo (Zaire) gains independence. |
| 1988 |
Timbuktu
is inscribed on the World Heritage List. Two years later
the city is inscribed on the World Heritage List in Danger. |
In
1990, Nelson Mandela is released from prison, after
serving 27 years. In that same year, Boris Yeltsin
is elected president of the Russian Federation. |
