Xᵉ siècle – XIIᵉ siècle
Niger River bend
Traduction non disponible · Original (anglais) · français indisponible
Tiraqqā was an important market town on the bend of the Niger during the eleventh and twelfth centuries, before Timbuktu rose to prominence. Traders from Ghana and Tadmekka met there, and al-Idrisi associated the town with Wangara. Its position made it a connecting centre for trade on both sides of the Niger bend, within the commercial world described for the western Sudan.
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Le récit
Tiraqqā occupied an important place in the commercial geography of the Niger bend. During the eleventh and twelfth centuries, before the rise of Timbuktu, it functioned as a market town where merchants from Ghana and Tadmekka met. The town therefore belonged to a wider circuit joining Saharan and Sudanese commercial zones.
The passage identifies Tiraqqā as a trading centre of the Wangara and presents it as linking both sides of the Niger bend. This role resembles that attributed to Dia, or Diāgha in Ibn Battuta’s account, another Wangara centre and an early stage in their southward expansion. Jenne later succeeded Dia as a long-term centre of Wangara commercial operations.
The name Tiraqqā also appears in a broader geographical ambiguity. Al-Idrisi treated it as one of the towns of Wangara, while Wangara could designate both a country and a community of Mande-speaking traders. The extract consequently preserves Tiraqqā as a historically significant market centre while leaving its precise modern identification unstated.
Xᵉ siècle – XIIᵉ siècle
Niger River bend
Traduction non disponible · Original (anglais) · français indisponible
Tiraqqā was an important market town on the bend of the Niger during the eleventh and twelfth centuries, before Timbuktu rose to prominence. Traders from Ghana and Tadmekka met there, and al-Idrisi associated the town with Wangara. Its position made it a connecting centre for trade on both sides of the Niger bend, within the commercial world described for the western Sudan.
Poursuivre l’exploration
Le récit
Tiraqqā occupied an important place in the commercial geography of the Niger bend. During the eleventh and twelfth centuries, before the rise of Timbuktu, it functioned as a market town where merchants from Ghana and Tadmekka met. The town therefore belonged to a wider circuit joining Saharan and Sudanese commercial zones.
The passage identifies Tiraqqā as a trading centre of the Wangara and presents it as linking both sides of the Niger bend. This role resembles that attributed to Dia, or Diāgha in Ibn Battuta’s account, another Wangara centre and an early stage in their southward expansion. Jenne later succeeded Dia as a long-term centre of Wangara commercial operations.
The name Tiraqqā also appears in a broader geographical ambiguity. Al-Idrisi treated it as one of the towns of Wangara, while Wangara could designate both a country and a community of Mande-speaking traders. The extract consequently preserves Tiraqqā as a historically significant market centre while leaving its precise modern identification unstated.
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