Timbuktu, the African Medieval Knowledge City: The Role of Knowledge Development Actors

The overwhelming majority of researches on knowledge cities have focused on the prevailing initiatives and perspectives in the developed Western countries. There seems to be little documentation of the experiences and ideas of other cultures in different places at different times in history. This paper seeks to draw attention to this gap by highlighting the experiences of knowledge city development actors of medieval Timbuktu, the mysterious city of scholars in the heart of Africa, the so-called Dark Continent, which was least associated with development of high level scholarship. The paper first reviews the current literature on knowledge cities from different perspectives, and explains the research methodology used in this study. Using the Human Activity Systems Model (Chapin and Brail, 1969), it analyzes the main findings on the key knowledge development actors: Their motivating values, their urban development activities and their roles in knowledge development in Timbuktu and its region of influence. Next the discussion of the findings follows; indicating the limitations and contributions, as well as their theoretical and practical implications. This is followed by a short conclusion.