French Tombouctou
Town (pop., 1998: 32,000), Mali, on the southern edge of the Sahara near the Niger River .
Founded с AD 1100 by Tuareg nomads, it became an important post on the trans-Saharan caravan routes in the 12th century. After it was incorporated within the Mali empire , probably in the late 13th century, it became a centre of Islamic culture (с 1400–1600). It reached its height as a commercial and cultural centre under Songhai rule с 1500, but it declined rapidly after passing to Morocco in the late 16th century. The French captured it in 1893. It became part of independent Mali in 1960.