History of Timbuktu returning from a stay in the capital of the Mali Empire. Timbuktu was still relatively unimportant and Battuta quickly moved on to Gao. At the time both Timbuktu and Gao formed part of the Mali Empire. A century and a half later, in around 1510, Leo Africanus visited Timbuktu. He gave a description of the town in his "Descrittione dell'Africa" which was published in 1550. The original Italian was translated into a number of other languages and the book became widely known in Europe. The earliest surviving local documents are the 17th century chronicles, al-Sadi's "Tarikh al-Sudan" and Ibn al-Mukhtar's
Pashalik of Timbuktu and conquered Gao, Timbuktu and Djenné. The Pashalik of Timbuktu was then established and Timbuktu became its capital. Starting from 1618, the Pasha, who was then appointed by the Sultan of Morocco, became elected by the Armas. However, while governing the Pashalik as an independent republic, the Armas continued to recognize Moroccan sultans as their leaders. During the civil war that followed the death of Ahmad al-Mansur in Morocco, the Pashalik supported the legitimate Sultan, Zidan al-Nasir, and in 1670 they recognized the Alaouite sultans and pledged allegiance. By the middle of the eighteenth century, the pashalik was in total