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
Pashalik of Timbuktu Pashalik of Timbuktu The Pashalik of Timbuktu was a West African political entity that existed between the 16th and the 19th century. By the end of the 16th century, Moroccan sultans were strengthened after the completion of the reunification of Morocco and the victory over the Portuguese at the Battle of the Three Kings, but their financial needs lead them to extend their realm southward to Saharan gold mines and Songhay territories. In 1577, a Moroccan expedition occupied Taghaza. In 1582, a first expedition to Timbuktu was defeated. In 1591, a Moroccan expeditionary force defeated the Songhay army at Tondibi