Manuscripts found in Mali

Books were precious in medieval times. Stories and songs were transmitted orally. Paper or parchment was scarce, and books were hand copied. Read below of a great find.  (From the Huffington Post)

King Musa of Mali

For centuries, Timbuktu provided rest alongside the Niger River for travelers journeying across Africa. From the 12th - 16th Centuries, Mali was an intellectual haven for Islamic scholars. Manuscripts produced during that time have survived centuries of unprotected storage in Timbuktu, and only recently came to the attention of the world.  Michael Covitt was one of the first to recognize the value of these documents, not only as historical artifacts, but also as true Islamic manuscripts professing peaceful resolution of conflict and a world of tolerance, understanding and the dignity of mankind.

He increased awareness of the documents around the world, digitizing the manuscripts for scholars to study, and preserving the original documents in a proper, climate controlled environment. His documentary film, '333,' is a superb film about the region, the manuscripts, and the message of peace. 

"In a time when the teachings of Islam are being perverted and conflict appears to be the preferred action for many extremists, the Malian Manuscripts provide a better solution for mankind."-- Gen. Carlton W. Fulford, Jr., retired USMC. See more about the project to save the Malian Documents at: http://www.malianmanuscriptfoundation.org/

Mansa Musa, a legendary African monarch with incomparable wealth, was King of Mali when Mali was the world's wealtiest nation, controlling two-thirds of the earth's gold supply. In 1324, King Musa made a pilgrimage to Mecca, attended by sixty-thousand men including twelve thousand slaves, each carrying four-pound gold bars. They also boasted heralds dressed in silks, brandishing gold staffs four meters long, countless horses, plus eighty camels, each carrying between fifty and three hundred pounds of gold dust. The King donated so much gold to the needy that the Mediterranean gold market collapsed. His primary objective was to worship at the most sacred shrine of Islam, the Kaaba, and then to bring home as many religious scholars as possible to create a new center for Islamic scholarship in Timbuktu. He established one of the world's most prestigious universities of the time. A total of one-hundred-eighty different Koranic schools were organized under the authority of the University of Sankoré. 

From the 12th - 16th centuries, twenty-five-thousand students annually attended this distinguished university. Having received the best education available, many scholars settled in Mali, contributing their own manuscripts to the vast library taking form. Nearly one million manuscripts in all, covering every imaginable topic, would eventually find a home there.  

More to come about these incredible documents