other · West Africa
Pashalik of Timbuktu
Origins
In 1591 an army sent by the Saadi Sultanate under Judar Pasha crossed the Sahara and defeated the Songhai Empire at Tondibi. The Moroccans occupied Gao, Timbuktu and Djenne and set up a government under a pasha, intended to send gold and slaves to Marrakesh.
Rule and society
Moroccan soldiers married local women, and their descendants, the Arma, became a ruling caste who elected the pashas from their own ranks after about 1612. Allegiance to Morocco faded after the mid-17th century. Timbuktu remained a centre of scholarship, and local historians wrote the Tarikh al-Sudan and other chronicles in this period.
Decline and legacy
The pashalik weakened in the 18th century under Tuareg raids and Bambara expansion, and the pashas became little more than town governors. Timbuktu came under the Massina Empire in the 1820s and 1830s. Arma families remain a distinct group in the Niger bend.
Lineage
On the connections map
Open the full map →Connections (2)
- Pashalik of Timbuktu was a province of Saadi Sultanate1591 CE – 1618 CE
- Pashalik of Timbuktu was conquered by Massina Empire1833 CE
Cite this page
- APA
- The Epoch Institute. (2026). Pashalik of Timbuktu. In The Epoch Institute States Register. https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/pashalik-of-timbuktu
- MLA
- “Pashalik of Timbuktu.” The Epoch Institute States Register, The Epoch Institute, 2026, https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/pashalik-of-timbuktu. Accessed .
- Chicago
- The Epoch Institute. “Pashalik of Timbuktu.” The Epoch Institute States Register. 2026. https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/pashalik-of-timbuktu.
- Harvard
- The Epoch Institute (2026) ‘Pashalik of Timbuktu’, The Epoch Institute States Register. Available at: https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/pashalik-of-timbuktu (Accessed: ).
Last reviewed October 2026Random state ↻