observer.gm - Much of what we know about the Empire of Songhai comes from the writings of Islamic scholars both natives of the Empire and others from outside the Empire. Chief among these writers were Ibn Batuta, AlYacoubi, Leo Africanus, and the celebrated scholar Mahmud Kati. A Sarahuke born in Timbuktu in 1968 Mahmud Kati is said to have died at the ripe old age of 125 years, in 1593, few years after the invasion of Songhai by Morocco. Thus unlike many other writers on Songhai, Mahmud Kati lived through...» view full story