Timbuktu Chronicles 1493-1599, Ta'rikh al Fattash

by Christopher Wise

Some five hundred years ago, the Askiya Muhammad founded the Songhay Dynasty of the Askiyas, which flourished for more than a century in Sahelian West Africa. The Askiya Muhammad administered his kingdom from Gao, Mali, although many of his most loyal followers were located in Timbuktu, Mali. The Timbuktu based scribe al hajj Mahmud Kati was a close friend of the Askiya Muhammad, who accompanied the famous Songhay leader during his pilgrimage to Mecca. The Tarikh al fattash is an eyewitness account of the rise and fall of the Songhay Empire, told from Kati's perspective as a key participant in many of the most important events in the era of the Askiyas. Wise's The Timbuktu Chronicles, 1493-1599 is a translation of the Octave Houdas and Maurice Delafosse s rendition of the Tarikh al fattash , which was compiled from three versions of the text that surfaced in the early twentieth century, and that were edited by Houdas and Delafosse in 1913. It includes a new introduction by Wise, as well as the original introduction and scholarly notes of Houdas and Delafosse. Although long valued as the most important historical document of the medieval period, Kati's chronicle is also a literary achievement that is comparable to the writings of figures like Chaucer, Rabelais, and Montaigne. Wise's introduction and study questions accompanying this translation provide contextualizing information for the non-specialist. The Tarikh al fattash is essential reading for all students of African literature and history.

Genres: History, Africa

348 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2011

Reviews

[Milton · Rating 5 out of 5]

I just completed the Tarikh al Fattash, a history of the Songhai empire written by Al Hajjj Mahmud Kati over 500 years ago. It is very refreshing to read the history of a people written by those people without the second guessing and slight insults usually injected by those writing from outside the culture. Much of Cheikh Diop's information for his book Precolonial Black Africa was referenced from this book and the Tarikh al Sudan. The Fattash is a must read for anyone contemplating writing sword and soul based on the Sahelian Empires.

[Azu Rikka · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5☆
Beautiful book, accessible translation.
It includes dream visions, prophesies, conversations with jinns.
It contains scholarly muslim traditions of Timbuktu and the ancient belief of the griots (singer of oral traditions) and sorcerers of West Africa.
I somehow expected a bit more of a clinical, historical account, so I was a bit disappointed. The other things I was disappointed about was the actual life that was described. It showed a society that is using Islam as their guide, but their teachings are already very flawed (i.e. only boys go to school, they have eunuchs, they gift slaves instead of freeing them, their rulers are kings...)
Whenever I had heard of the Songhai empire, I pictured a society that could be labeled "good". Now I think of religious fanatics that indulge their whims on the backs of slaves, the poor and women. The same as today.

[Teejay]

Excellent account in a more realistic and reasonable manner