Chapter VI – The Last Glance
The summer of 1333 was particularly hot and long, even by the standards of Timbuktu. The water level of the Joliba [1] was one of the lowest in recent memory and the realm was on the brink of a serious drought. The heat was even noticeable in the usually cool study of Mukhtar, where the old scholar had lived the past years. His body had continuously gotten weaker, but his mind had stayed astute as always. While leaving his chamber had already been a rare effort in the last months, even now he could have quoted entire chapters of Aristotle or Ibn Arabi from his mind. Now however, he was bound to his bed and convinced he had not much time left. “Do want some water?”, he heard Mukhter, the crown price, say. Lost in his thoughts he only nodded.
***
Now an adult the young crown prince had become the scholar's closest associate. Not only did the two men share a name, they seemed to share a mind. Gifted with an even higher intellect than his father, he lacked almost all of his vices. No cruelty whatsoever, no selfish desire for wealth. Yet still Mukhtar was afraid the young man wasn’t suited to become a ruler. While he possibly was one of the brightest minds in the known world, he lacked dedication. He could just disappear in his thoughts for a few days. Also he clearly was not strong willed or decisive. He could argue for an entire hour over which dinner he preferred. By the time he decided, his brother would already have eaten all of it, Mukhtar thought.
Abu, as Abubakari usually had his name shortened, was quite the opposite. A strong, quick-tempered rascal of mediocre intellect, the old scholar hadn’t really appreciated his presence in Timbuktu. Fortunately, he had gotten close to a shipwright Ouali had brought in from Andalusia. In the end, he married his daughter and went to the West with his new family, nominally overseeing the development of Malian vessels for river and sea travel. This marriage, however made him widely unpopular with the nobility and the influential clans. Subsequently, Prince Mukhter could not proceed with his initial plan to succeed his namesake in Timbuktu and have his brother take the throne.
***
While the fleet project Abu was overseeing may have been revolutionary south of the desert, it only had a minor impact on the reforms. By now, the Mande nobility considered themselves equal to the great dynasties of the Muslim world and their land kept evolving rapidly. It all really began after Ouali went on the Hajj in 1317. With thousands of men and hundreds of camels in his caravan he had traversed the great desert and taken the locals by shock due to his wealth. The resulting expenditure was a lot even by Ouali's standards, but he deliberately choose his appearance for propagandist reasons: Tales about his power, wealth and generosity spread and put Mali on the maps of Muslim states as a power equal to the mightiest of them.
Among the fame he spread were also the books and ideas of Mukhtar. Especially the “Treatise on Islam, conversion and peaceful coexistence” made quite a few eyebrows rise. Conservatives demonized it and called for the head of the author, while the most progressive scholars called it the biggest theological revelation since Ibn Arabi. Before he even reached Makkah, the book was one of the most important talking points in the local Madrasahs.
All along the way through the Maghreb, Egypt and Arabia proper Ouali and his emissaries actively recruited local talent. Promising Individuals, for example Administrators, scholars of all kinds, architects, shipwrights and especially water experts were targeted and lured into joining the caravan either by the desire to get to know Mukhtar, the perspective of a state actively supporting their studies or simply gold.
Ouali even went further. He sent emissaries to most of the important Muslim courts further spreading the word and clandestinely recruiting talent. They traveled to Andalusia, Anatolia, the Levant, Oman and Jemen. Some even went all the way to India. These emissaries were the apex alumni of the Timbuktuan academy. Aged around 25 to 30, they were perfect in Arabic, had knowledge of theology and science alike and excessive diplomatic and rhetoric training. Training and supporting them had cost a fortune but the gold of Bambuk had paid for it and the results were staggering. Within a few years, Mali was semi-legendary among the educated classes of the Muslim world and a steady influx of further talent would result, putting a growing number of specialists at the disposal of Ouali.
***
Both incoming theologians and Sufis and scientists reinforced the Academy of Timbuktu further, increasing the discourse and broaden the ideas available in the realm. By 1333 it had turned into one of the most prominent places of learning in the entire Muslim world. However, with the influx of different people new challenges arose. Confessional differences rivalries between the Sunni majority and the few Shia and Ibadi scholars occasionally arose and sometimes conservative elements criticized the liberal manners in wide parts of the realm.
However, these liberal manners were a huge part of the success Islam had in the region. Allowing some syncretic elements through the mystic tendencies of the Oualiyya eased former pagans into the religion for example. In effect, the Oualiyya more and more equaled Islam in the realm. And already had it spread beyond its borders: It had a sizable number of followers among the independent Songhai clans and some preachers were going south into the forests. Islamisation had been rapid and most of the Northern and Western provinces were dominated by Muslims already. Major pagan inlets were only still present in the Western coastal provinces and the rainforests south of Niani.
***
With the spread of literacy the demand of paper increased and its own industry slowly established itself on the outskirts of Timbuktu. In result to falling price due to increased production, paper became more affordable. Already written communication was the sole form of administrative communication and also become steadily more poular with the upper classes and the merchants. The written form of Maninka became the lingua franca of the realm.
In general it was also the upper class to benefit from the economic policies: Both the new currency and the messenger system helped them the most. Also they received most of the tax breaks and the new education options were primarily open to them.
In contrast, many of the rural peasants were not off any better. Quite the contrary, tensions started to spring up because of the growing inequality. The elite's way of life – including the members of the Gbara – kept diverging more and more from the rural peasant’s. It did not help this matter that most of the arriving specialists were used in the centers of the realm. For example, most water experts were deployed in the Macina region [2]. While their presence and innovations boosted the agricultural output of the region, many other regions stayed backwaters. Where the knowledge of specialists was deployed however, it had the power to transform the local economy. Where geological factors allowed it, caverns were dug out and water was stored during the rainy season only to use it for irrigation later. This greatly increased the arable land along the Niger and especially the Macina region. The population grew and with it the labor force – and as well the tax base. In many ways the axis from Niani to Timbuktu and Gao became the center of the realm.
To counter the inequality at least partly, Mukhtar had implemented a policy to train apprentices from all regions of the realm. Aim was to have them spread technology to their home once regions they had learned their craft. It was a slow process at best and not adapt to combat short-term inequalities, but better than nothing.
***
The maybe most underdeveloped region were the Western provinces. Yet especially the course of the Bakoye was considered strategically important. It connected the West to the Eastern core of the realm. To strengthen control over the region Ouali and Mukhtar had realized that it needed a center of sorts to attract loyal subjects from the East. Abu, while generally not considered the brightest fish in the pond, had become really fond of all things involving ships and water and proposed a naval academy. In the end, this idea had seemed rather good to Mukhtar and Ouali. However, the far west was still almost was a blank sheet in terms of infrastructure. There were no cities comparable to the Timbuku or Gao on the coastline, so Ouali finally decided they had to build one from scratch. This new city was set to be founded on an Island near the mouth of the Senegal. The island was chosen for two reasons: first, it was easily defended in case the West would ever rise again and secondly, the entire life of the residents should be centered around water in order to generate a tradition of seafaring.
So in 1320 the island was settled by around 3000 hand-picked men from all around the realm and their families. The settlement itself was built under the guidance of Egyptian architect as-Sahili, while Abubakari nominally oversaw the entire project. His father-in-law, an Andalusian shipwright by the name of Sa’ad al-Ahmer, would be in charge of the shipyard.
By 1333 the growing city known as Ndar in local Wolof had already developed to a local center of commerce and education. Building and using ships, however had proven much more tedious. Soon as-Sahili, al-Ahmer and Abu had realized that every single craft had to be taught from scratch first. At first the carpenters had no idea how to sow planks for a hull and finally, even after a ship was built, there were no sailors to sail it. Another issue was the shortage of trees in the region. While the city was located perfectly for communication and general strategic purposes, it did not have enough timber for a steady production. All these issues made the project lag behind other measures, while not yielding any major gains...
This naval experiment, Mukhtar concluded, might very well be the weakest part of the grand reform scheme.
"Your water", the crown prince said as he came back. Mukhtar thankfully drank some and then said: "I have to write. One more letter to your father"
Not long after he wrote the last word, the tireless scholar closed his eyes – to never open them again.