Largest university in the world<\/h3>\n
Rapid economic growth in the 13th and 14th centuries due to trade in mainly salt<\/a>, gold and ivory turned the legendary city into one of the greatest academic centres in the world. In the city\u2019s golden age in the 15th and 16th centuries it became a magnet for scholars of religion, the arts, mathematics and the sciences.<\/p>\n A contemporary of Oxford and the Sorbonne, the level of learning at Timbuktu\u2019s Sankor\u00e9 University was superior to that of all other Islamic centres in the world. More than\u00a025,000 students studied in Timbuktu, making it the largest university city in the world at the time.<\/p> Priceless written record of African history<\/strong><\/p>\n Timbuktu housed one of the largest libraries of manuscripts since Egypt\u2019s famous library in Alexandria<\/a>, that was burnt down.<\/p>\n An active trade in books between Timbuktu and other parts of the Islamic world led to the writing of thousands of manuscripts. During the cities golden age, books became the most valuable commodity above all other trade goods.\u00a0Timbuktu housed\u00a0more than\u00a0700,000 manuscripts, forming a priceless written record of African history.<\/p>\n About\u00a020,000 manuscripts are preserved by the Ahmed Baba Institute, built in 2009 to protect the fragile literary artifacts.<\/p>\n Many of the books also reside in some of the local families\u2019 private libraries. Among the families with manuscript collections, it\u2019s traditional for one family member from each generation to swear publicly that he will protect the library for as long as he lives.<\/p>\n![\"timbuktu-mosque-africa-University-of-Sankor\u00e9\"](\"https:\/\/albertonrecord.co.za\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/35\/2016\/05\/timbuktu-mosque-africa-University-of-Sankor\u00e9-520x370.jpg\")
<\/a>One of the largest libraries in Africa<\/h3>\n
![\"42-19833401-660x440\"](\"https:\/\/albertonrecord.co.za\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/35\/2016\/05\/42-19833401-660x440-520x400.jpg\")
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