History of Timbuktu city in 1468. A Moroccan army defeated the Songhai in 1591, and made Timbuktu, rather than Gao, their capital. The invaders established a new ruling class, the Arma, who after 1612 became virtually independent of Morocco. However, the golden age of the city was over, during which it was a major learning and cultural center of the Mali empire, and it entered a long period of decline. Different tribes governed until the French took over in 1893, a situation that lasted until it became part of the current Republic of Mali in 1960. Presently, Timbuktu is impoverished and suffers from
Timbuktu Manuscripts an electronic database to catalogue the manuscripts held at the Institut des Hautes Études et de Recherche Islamique – Ahmad Baba (IHERI-AB); digitizing a large number of manuscripts held at the IHERIAB; facilitating scholarly and technical exchange with manuscript experts in Morocco and other countries; reviving IHERI-AB's journal "Sankoré"; and publishing the splendidly illustrated book, "The Hidden Treasures of Timbuktu: Rediscovering Africa's Literary Culture". Since the end of this project, the cooperation of Grand-Duché de Luxembourg has funded a new project called "Timbuktu Manuscripts". This project aims at protecting and promoting Timbuktu Manuscripts, for economic, social and cultural development of