Timbuktu

Date 1510

The many rivers in Songhai provide plenty of fish to feed the population. Agriculture in the area is also prosperous. Songhai is rich in corn, cattle, milk and butter. There is, however, a scarcity of salt and you had the foresight to purchase salt in Taghaza, about 500 miles north of here. You prepare to enter the city to see what your salt will bring in trade.

In the bazaar, you meet a 25 year old man named El Hasan ben Muhammed el-Wazzan-ez-Zayyati. He tells you his impressions of Timbuktu. Hasan is visiting Timbuktu with his uncle, who is on a diplomatic mission. Hasan does not know that in eight years he will be captured by Christian pirates off the coast of Tunisia and sent as a slave to the court of the Pope in Rome. There he will earn his freedom, and, under the name Leo Africanus, write of his African travels in a book called The History and Description of Africa. For many years, this book will become the main reference for Europeans interested in Africa. You are later reminded of Hasan's observations when you read his description of Timbuktu. .

Other links:

Leo Africanus : Of the Kingdom of Tombuto
Shabeni's Description of Timbuktu
Timbuktu : A Poem
Timbuctoo the Mysterious

Your Challenege

After your discussion with Hasan, you return to trading and successfully bargain a profit of 5 dinars in gold from the sale of your salt. Your bargaining has been overheard by a senior advisor to Askia Muhammed. His responsibilities include convincing great Islamic scholars to join the university. He is impressed by your persuasive abilities and offers you 15 dinars if you will write a letter to a famous scholar in North Africa named Malik Ali Muhammed and successfully convince him to work in Timbuktu. He reminds you to state a clear position, describe the points in support of your proposal using evidence from your (and Hasan's) observations, and anticipate and address his concerns and counter-arguments.

Good Luck!