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Manuscripts at the Ahmed Baba Centre, Timbuktu
Manuscripts at the Ahmed Baba Centre, Timbuktu. UNESCO Bureau of Mali, CC BY-SA 3.0 igo
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Manuscripts at the Ahmed Baba Centre, Timbuktu. Photo: UNESCO Bureau of Mali, CC BY-SA 3.0 igo (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/igo/), via Wikimedia Commons: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Timbuktu-139085.jpg
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Timbuktu manuscripts

Timbuktu, Mali, Manuscripts from the late 1200s on

lost

4,203 burned or stolen in 2012–13; returns began Aug 2025

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The record

Worth knowing

  • Timbuktu manuscripts, worth knowing: A rescue worker told HMML she showed photos of the 1,400 metal boxes used to carry Timbuktu manuscripts out.

    secondaryhmml.org
    Cite
    Timbuktu manuscripts, worth knowing: A rescue worker told HMML she showed photos of the 1,400 metal boxes used to carry Timbuktu manuscripts out.
Source: https://hmml.org/stories/a-decade-in-mali/
Evidence tier: secondary
Last checked: 2026-11-11
WorldLibs: https://worldlibs.pages.dev/libraries/timbuktu/#f-1utn0qo
    Dispute#

  • Timbuktu manuscripts, worth knowing: HMML counts more than 200,000 manuscripts from some 36 libraries in Timbuktu. Other figures on this site run higher, so treat the number as approximate.

    secondaryhmml.org
    Cite
    Timbuktu manuscripts, worth knowing: HMML counts more than 200,000 manuscripts from some 36 libraries in Timbuktu. Other figures on this site run higher, so treat the number as approximate.
Source: https://hmml.org/stories/where-were-working-mali/
Evidence tier: secondary
Last checked: 2026-11-11
WorldLibs: https://worldlibs.pages.dev/libraries/timbuktu/#f-0c8qp97
    Dispute#

  • Timbuktu manuscripts, worth knowing: Libraries that stayed in Timbuktu were hidden by their owners, as families had done when the Moroccans invaded in the late sixteenth century and the French in the nineteenth.

    secondaryhmml.org
    Cite
    Timbuktu manuscripts, worth knowing: Libraries that stayed in Timbuktu were hidden by their owners, as families had done when the Moroccans invaded in the late sixteenth century and the French in the nineteenth.
Source: https://hmml.org/stories/where-were-working-mali/
Evidence tier: secondary
Last checked: 2026-11-11
WorldLibs: https://worldlibs.pages.dev/libraries/timbuktu/#f-1j83k73
    Dispute#

  • Timbuktu manuscripts, worth knowing: The Mamma Haidara Family Library is one of the largest private manuscript collections in Timbuktu. Some of its documents date to the 13th century.

    secondaryhmml.org
    Cite
    Timbuktu manuscripts, worth knowing: The Mamma Haidara Family Library is one of the largest private manuscript collections in Timbuktu. Some of its documents date to the 13th century.
Source: https://hmml.org/stories/hmml-digitizes-timbuktus-historic-manuscript-collections/
Evidence tier: secondary
Last checked: 2026-11-11
WorldLibs: https://worldlibs.pages.dev/libraries/timbuktu/#f-0d3cjgl
    Dispute#

Built

  • Timbuktu manuscripts, built: manuscript dates late 13th to early 20th century

    wikipediaen.wikipedia.org
    Cite
    Timbuktu manuscripts, built: manuscript dates late 13th to early 20th century
Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Timbuktu_Manuscripts
Evidence tier: wikipedia
Last checked: 2026-11-11
WorldLibs: https://worldlibs.pages.dev/libraries/timbuktu/#f-1t1oa8n
    Dispute#

Volumes

  • Timbuktu manuscripts, volumes: Total unknown; ~350,000 evacuated to safety, 300,000 still in Bamako in 2022

    wikipediaen.wikipedia.org
    Cite
    Timbuktu manuscripts, volumes: Total unknown; ~350,000 evacuated to safety, 300,000 still in Bamako in 2022
Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Timbuktu_Manuscripts
Evidence tier: wikipedia
Last checked: 2026-11-11
WorldLibs: https://worldlibs.pages.dev/libraries/timbuktu/#f-0qsk721
    Dispute#

Collection

  • Timbuktu manuscripts, collection: Manuscript subjects span art, medicine, philosophy, science and copies of the Quran — the best-known set of West African manuscripts

    wikipediaen.wikipedia.org
    Cite
    Timbuktu manuscripts, collection: Manuscript subjects span art, medicine, philosophy, science and copies of the Quran — the best-known set of West African manuscripts
Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Timbuktu_Manuscripts
Evidence tier: wikipedia
Last checked: 2026-11-11
WorldLibs: https://worldlibs.pages.dev/libraries/timbuktu/#f-1rq8b5u
    Dispute#

  • Timbuktu manuscripts, collection: 2012–13 evacuation: curator Abdel Kader Haidara and Stephanie Diakité organized the smuggling of ~350,000 manuscripts to Bamako; 300,000 still there in 2022

    wikipediaen.wikipedia.org
    Cite
    Timbuktu manuscripts, collection: 2012–13 evacuation: curator Abdel Kader Haidara and Stephanie Diakité organized the smuggling of ~350,000 manuscripts to Bamako; 300,000 still there in 2022
Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Timbuktu_Manuscripts
Evidence tier: wikipedia
Last checked: 2026-11-11
WorldLibs: https://worldlibs.pages.dev/libraries/timbuktu/#f-1guedc1
    Dispute#

Status today

  • Timbuktu manuscripts, status today: 4,203 manuscripts burned or stolen at Ahmed Baba Institute 2012-2013; ~90% of city's manuscripts saved

    primarywhc.unesco.org
    Cite
    Timbuktu manuscripts, status today: 4,203 manuscripts burned or stolen at Ahmed Baba Institute 2012-2013; ~90% of city's manuscripts saved
Source: https://whc.unesco.org/en/news/1228
Evidence tier: primary
Last checked: 2026-11-11
WorldLibs: https://worldlibs.pages.dev/libraries/timbuktu/#f-1ikc0n5
    Dispute#

What happened here

  1. 2013Timbuktu manuscripts, damaged, 2013: Manuscripts burned or stolen 2012-2013 (4,203 at Ahmed Baba Institute); attributed to Ansar Dine/jihadists, rest evacuated to Bamako

    primarywhc.unesco.org
    Cite
    Timbuktu manuscripts, damaged, 2013: Manuscripts burned or stolen 2012-2013 (4,203 at Ahmed Baba Institute); attributed to Ansar Dine/jihadists, rest evacuated to Bamako
Source: https://whc.unesco.org/en/news/1228
Evidence tier: primary
Last checked: 2026-11-11
WorldLibs: https://worldlibs.pages.dev/libraries/timbuktu/#e-1iomvfo
    Dispute#

  2. 2025Timbuktu manuscripts, reopened, 2025: Evacuated manuscripts begin returning from Bamako (Aug 2025)

    secondarytaipeitimes.com
    Cite
    Timbuktu manuscripts, reopened, 2025: Evacuated manuscripts begin returning from Bamako (Aug 2025)
Source: https://www.taipeitimes.com/News/world/archives/2025/08/16/2003842158
Evidence tier: secondary
Last checked: 2026-11-11
WorldLibs: https://worldlibs.pages.dev/libraries/timbuktu/#e-0wei3du
    Dispute#

Photographs

Restoring a Timbuktu manuscript
Restoring a Timbuktu manuscript. Mark Fischer, CC BY-SA 2.0
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Restoring a Timbuktu manuscript. Photo: Mark Fischer, CC BY-SA 2.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0/), via Wikimedia Commons: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Timbuktu_Manuscript_(48522180467).jpg
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Manuscripts conserved at SAVAMA-DCI, Timbuktu
Manuscripts conserved at SAVAMA-DCI, Timbuktu. Lazare Eloundou, CC BY-SA 3.0 igo
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Manuscripts conserved at SAVAMA-DCI, Timbuktu. Photo: Lazare Eloundou, CC BY-SA 3.0 igo (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/igo/), via Wikimedia Commons: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Timbuktu-139078.jpg
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Open manuscript in a Timbuktu library
Open manuscript in a Timbuktu library. UNESCO Bureau of Mali, CC BY-SA 3.0 igo
Use this photo
Open manuscript in a Timbuktu library. Photo: UNESCO Bureau of Mali, CC BY-SA 3.0 igo (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/igo/), via Wikimedia Commons: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Timbuktu-139075.jpg
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CEDRHAB manuscript research centre, Timbuktu
CEDRHAB manuscript research centre, Timbuktu. upyernoz from Haverford, USA, CC BY 2.0
Use this photo
CEDRHAB manuscript research centre, Timbuktu. Photo: upyernoz from Haverford, USA, CC BY 2.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0/), via Wikimedia Commons: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:CEDRHAB_Timbuktu.jpg
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The mud-brick wall and minaret of the Djinguereber Mosque in Timbuktu, with people standing along its side.
The mud-brick wall and minaret of the Djinguereber Mosque in Timbuktu, with people standing along its side.. upyernoz, CC BY 2.0
Use this photo
The mud-brick wall and minaret of the Djinguereber Mosque in Timbuktu, with people standing along its side.. Photo: upyernoz, CC BY 2.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0/), via Wikimedia Commons: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Djinguereber_Mosque,_Timbuktu.jpg
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The Sankore Mosque in Timbuktu seen from its courtyard, with its conical mud-brick minaret and crenellated walls.
The Sankore Mosque in Timbuktu seen from its courtyard, with its conical mud-brick minaret and crenellated walls.. Ousmane Garba Kounta, CC BY-SA 4.0
Use this photo
The Sankore Mosque in Timbuktu seen from its courtyard, with its conical mud-brick minaret and crenellated walls.. Photo: Ousmane Garba Kounta, CC BY-SA 4.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/), via Wikimedia Commons: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Mosqu%C3%A9e_Sankor%C3%A9.jpg
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