The King Who Took Timbuktu: Sunni Ali (A Voices of Time Novel) (Series 36: The Kingdoms of Gold Book 3)
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The King Who Took Timbuktu: Sunni AliA Voices of Time NovelWest Africa, AD 1464–1492. A kingdom waits beside the Niger. A young king intends to turn it into an empire.When Sunni Ali takes the throne of Songhai, the great Mali Empire is fading, Tuareg riders hold influence over Timbuktu, and the cities of the Niger remain divided among competing powers.Ali sees opportunity.With swift cavalry across the plains and war canoes along the Niger, he begins a relentless campaign of expansion. Timbuktu falls. Djenné resists. Rivals gather beyond his borders. Before his reign is finished, the kingdom centered on Gao will become the foundation of one of the greatest empires in African history.But conquering a city is not the same as commanding its people.In Timbuktu, Ali encounters another kind of power: scholars, judges, manuscripts, and men determined to judge kings by standards no army can silence. His conflict with the city's learned families will follow him long after the fighting ends—and help determine how history remembers his name.Was Sunni Ali a brilliant strategist who forged an empire from a divided region?A ruthless conqueror feared by the people he ruled?A Muslim king caught between Islamic scholarship and older Songhai traditions?Or all of these at once?Told in an immersive first-person voice, The King Who Took Timbuktu: Sunni Ali follows a young warrior who learns to master horses, armies, and the great Niger River—only to discover that the one thing a king can never conquer is memory.Part of The Voices of Time, a sweeping historical-fiction collection bringing the people and turning points of world history to life, this novel is Book 3 of Series 36: The Kingdoms of Gold, exploring Mali, Songhai, and the great empires of medieval West Africa.Written for general readers, teens, families, classrooms, and homeschoolers, the book also includes homeschool-friendly study aids, including:an Author's Note separating history from historical fictiona Historical Timelinea Glossary of people, places, and termsSources and Methods with notes on historical uncertainty and the Author/AI collaborationa comprehensive Discussion Guide with historical context, research activities, and writing promptsEmpires can be conquered by armies. Memory cannot.Enter fifteenth-century West Africa and follow Sunni Ali along the Niger as he builds the empire that will become Songhai. Read more
