truly learned individual and expert in his field. The members of this scholar's club similar to the modern concept of tenured professors. Those who did not leave Timbuktu remained to teach or counsel the leading people of the region on important legal and religious matters. The scholars would receive questions from the region's kings or governors, and distribute them to the third level students as research assignments. After discussing the findings among themselves, the scholars would issue a fatwa on the best way to deal with the problem at hand. Scholars of Sankoré The African civilizations had a rich history in literature and the arts, long before their contact with the Arabian and Western worlds. The scholars employed at the Sankoré university were of the highest quality, "astounding even the most learned men of Islam". As such, many scholars were later inducted as professors at universities in Morocco and Egypt. Scholars were accomplished in multiple disciplines and employed to not only teach the students at the university, but to spread the madrasa's influence to other parts of the Islamic world. Under the direction of Askia Daoud, ruler of the Songhai empire from 1549 to 1583, the university grew to encompass 180 facilities and house 25,000 students. Each facility was led by one Ulema, for a total of 180 scholars. Notable Scholars Some significant scholars include Abu Abdallah, Ag Mohammed ibn Utman, Ag Mohammed Ibn Al-Mukhtar An-Nawahi. Most came from wealthy and religious families that were members of the Sufi Qadiriyya. The most influential scholar was Ahmad Bamba who served as the final chancellor of Sankoré Madrasa. His life is a brilliant example of the range and depth of West African intellectual activity before colonialism. He was the author of over forty books, with nearly each one constituting of a different theme. He was also one of the first citizens to protest the Moroccan conquest of Timbuktu in 1591. Eventually, he, along with his peer scholars, was imprisoned and exiled to Morocco. This led to the loss of his personal collection of 1600 books, which was one of the richest libraries of his day. Religious Pilgrimage Apart from their time working in their theoretical studies and the preservation of knowledge, the scholars of Timbuktu were extremely pious. Many embarked on the Hajj, the religious pilgrimage to Mecca, and used this opportunity to hold discussions with scholars from other parts of the