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II. THE GREAT ASKIA: A TALE OF TIMBUKTU
In the middle of the fifteenth century there was born on an island in the Niger, not far from Timbuktu, a baby boy with no special pretensions to greatness, who was to usurp a throne and found one of the famous dynasties of the western Sudan. His background is one of those thrilling chapters of medieval history which are easily forgotten in the rush of modern events in Africa.
In the seventh century of the Christian era the victorious Arabs, flushed with the passion of their new religion of Islam, spread across northern Africa. In the early years of the eighth century they carried out successful expeditions against the Mediterranean islands, in particular Sicily; then they pushed across to Spain. The Straits of Gibraltar ceased to be a barrier and became a bridge.
In the train of the Arabs came that rich culture and love of learning which has been the wonder of each succeeding age. Between the barbarism, or at best the superstitious ignorance,
