Ancient Desert Cities of the Sahel and Sahara

The Sahelo-Saharan regions reveal significant evidence of urbanism in the sands. Although Timbuktu is the most famous, it was not the only Sahelo-Saharan city nor the quintessential city of West Africa. Chronicles predating its birth and development speak of important urban centers that served as fundamental commercial hubs along caravan routes. If a city is defined as a settlement with walls, public buildings, and a seat of political or religious power, then the medieval Saharan and Sahelian space contained many urban centers with royal palaces and mosques. A city also functions as a center—not only spatially but politically, as a capital, or economically, due to the presence of significant trade activity.