Name: Timbuktu’s ancient manuscripts return after years away
Uploaded: 2025-11-16T18:34:49.291Z
Duration: 1 min 59 s
Description: Thirteen years ago, when al-Qaida-connected fighters swept into the city, staff and local families smuggled tens of thousands of manuscripts south to Bamako for safety.

Thirteen years ago, when al-Qaida-connected fighters swept into the city, staff and local families smuggled tens of thousands of manuscripts south to Bamako for safety.

Timbuktu

Timbuktu’s ancient manuscripts, which were evacuated to Bamako thirteen years ago for protection during a period of conflict, have now been returned to the city. Staff at the Ahmed Baba Institute are digitizing and preserving these fragile documents, which include unique medical, legal, and historical records from West Africa.

The manuscripts, some of which remain in family libraries, are being carefully conserved to ensure their accessibility for future generations. Officials highlight the collection’s significance in challenging assumptions about the region’s scholarly history and emphasize ongoing efforts in digitization and training.

Timbuktu’s ancient manuscripts return after years away

In a room at the Ahmed Baba Institute in Timbuktu, staff photograph and scan fragile manuscripts page by page. Thirteen years ago, they had to be evacuated to Bamako for safety after Islamist insurgents took over the city. Now, after extensive digitization, most have been brought home. Among them are medical texts, legal rulings, and chronicles of West African empires. You have a lot of historical information about the area, like the Massena region, Mopti and its surroundings, and Timbuktu and its surroundings. So what we find in these ancient manuscripts cannot be found anywhere else. In display rooms and storage vaults, manuscripts sit open on tables and shelves. An official with a local non-profit dedicated to the safeguarding of the manuscripts says the collection reveals a depth of scholarship that challenges assumptions about the region's past. According to old documents, there were doctors here in Timbuktu who performed surgery to treat cataracts. The same manuscript also says that a doctor from Timbuktu saved the French throne. The crown prince was sick, and French doctors couldn't cure him. It was the doctor from Timbuktu who cured him. Many manuscripts remain in family libraries across Timbuktu, preserved in traditional wooden chests. As digitization, conservation and training continue, caretakers say the priority now is to secure this written record of West African history and ensure it remains accessible for the future.

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