8th century – 12th century
Adrār des Ifoghas, present-day Mali
Tādmekka was a major medieval trading city and political centre in the Adrār des Ifoghas. Existing by the ninth century, it served as a key stage between Gao, Ghadāmes, and Tripoli and as a storage centre for Maghribi merchandise. Ibāḍī merchants visited it for gold, while its rulers belonged to the Banū Tānmāk, a Sanhāja branch. Its capital, Zakrān or Akrām, was inhabited by Zanāta Ibāḍites.
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The Story
Tādmekka stood in the Adrār des Ifoghas and was the principal political centre of that massif. The city is identified with the ruins of Es-Sūk, approximately forty-five kilometres north of Kidal. Its position placed it on the central Saharan corridor linking Gao to Ghadāmes and Tripoli, with the region of Saghmāra and several deserts lying along the northern section of the route.
The city already existed in the ninth century and attracted Ibāḍī Berber merchants from Wargla, Djarīd, and Djabal Nafusa. They came to obtain gold brought from areas near Ghana. Tādmekka also stored goods arriving from the Maghrib, especially clothing carried by the Wargla route, although it lacked agricultural production and was described as less prosperous in cultivation than its commercial importance might suggest.
By the tenth century Tādmekka formed a state ruled by kings of the Banū Tānmāk, a Sanhāja branch. Its capital was called Zakrān by Yāqūt, a name the passage proposes correcting to Akrām or Agrām. The capital’s inhabitants were Zanāta rather than Sanhāja; they were Ibāḍī Muslims from the ninth century, whereas the Sanhāja of Tādmekka converted only in 1109–10.
8th century – 12th century
Adrār des Ifoghas, present-day Mali
Tādmekka was a major medieval trading city and political centre in the Adrār des Ifoghas. Existing by the ninth century, it served as a key stage between Gao, Ghadāmes, and Tripoli and as a storage centre for Maghribi merchandise. Ibāḍī merchants visited it for gold, while its rulers belonged to the Banū Tānmāk, a Sanhāja branch. Its capital, Zakrān or Akrām, was inhabited by Zanāta Ibāḍites.
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The Story
Tādmekka stood in the Adrār des Ifoghas and was the principal political centre of that massif. The city is identified with the ruins of Es-Sūk, approximately forty-five kilometres north of Kidal. Its position placed it on the central Saharan corridor linking Gao to Ghadāmes and Tripoli, with the region of Saghmāra and several deserts lying along the northern section of the route.
The city already existed in the ninth century and attracted Ibāḍī Berber merchants from Wargla, Djarīd, and Djabal Nafusa. They came to obtain gold brought from areas near Ghana. Tādmekka also stored goods arriving from the Maghrib, especially clothing carried by the Wargla route, although it lacked agricultural production and was described as less prosperous in cultivation than its commercial importance might suggest.
By the tenth century Tādmekka formed a state ruled by kings of the Banū Tānmāk, a Sanhāja branch. Its capital was called Zakrān by Yāqūt, a name the passage proposes correcting to Akrām or Agrām. The capital’s inhabitants were Zanāta rather than Sanhāja; they were Ibāḍī Muslims from the ninth century, whereas the Sanhāja of Tādmekka converted only in 1109–10.
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