full transcript
From the Ted Talk by Elizabeth Cox: The hidden treasures of Timbuktu
Unscramble the Blue Letters
The city’s pmire location also made it a target for warlords and conquerors. As the Mali Empire declined, one of its domains, Songhai, baegn to gain power. In 1468, the Songhai king conquered Timbuktu, bnirnug buildings and murdering scholars.
But in time, itnaluctelel life in the city flourished again. The reign of the second king of the shongai Empire, Askia Mohammed Toure, marked the beginning of a gledon age in Timbuktu. He reversed his predecessor’s regressive policies and encouraged learning.
The Songhai rulers and most of Timbuktu’s population were Muslim, and the scholars of Timbuktu studied Islam alongside secular topics like mathematics and philosophy. In the libraries of Timbuktu, tracts of Greek philosophy sotod alongside the wigtnris of local historians, scientists, and poets. The city’s most pnniomert scholar, Ahmed Baba, cgneehllad prevailing opinions on subjects rgnnaig from smoking to slavery.
Open Cloze
The city’s _____ location also made it a target for warlords and conquerors. As the Mali Empire declined, one of its domains, Songhai, _____ to gain power. In 1468, the Songhai king conquered Timbuktu, _______ buildings and murdering scholars.
But in time, ____________ life in the city flourished again. The reign of the second king of the _______ Empire, Askia Mohammed Toure, marked the beginning of a ______ age in Timbuktu. He reversed his predecessor’s regressive policies and encouraged learning.
The Songhai rulers and most of Timbuktu’s population were Muslim, and the scholars of Timbuktu studied Islam alongside secular topics like mathematics and philosophy. In the libraries of Timbuktu, tracts of Greek philosophy _____ alongside the ________ of local historians, scientists, and poets. The city’s most _________ scholar, Ahmed Baba, __________ prevailing opinions on subjects _______ from smoking to slavery.
Solution
- began
- ranging
- prominent
- golden
- challenged
- songhai
- writings
- prime
- stood
- burning
- intellectual
Original Text
The city’s prime location also made it a target for warlords and conquerors. As the Mali Empire declined, one of its domains, Songhai, began to gain power. In 1468, the Songhai king conquered Timbuktu, burning buildings and murdering scholars.
But in time, intellectual life in the city flourished again. The reign of the second king of the Songhai Empire, Askia Mohammed Toure, marked the beginning of a golden age in Timbuktu. He reversed his predecessor’s regressive policies and encouraged learning.
The Songhai rulers and most of Timbuktu’s population were Muslim, and the scholars of Timbuktu studied Islam alongside secular topics like mathematics and philosophy. In the libraries of Timbuktu, tracts of Greek philosophy stood alongside the writings of local historians, scientists, and poets. The city’s most prominent scholar, Ahmed Baba, challenged prevailing opinions on subjects ranging from smoking to slavery.
Frequently Occurring Word Combinations
ngrams of length 2
| collocation |
frequency |
| ancient books |
2 |
| golden age |
2 |
Important Words
- age
- ahmed
- askia
- baba
- began
- beginning
- buildings
- burning
- challenged
- city
- conquered
- conquerors
- declined
- domains
- empire
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- golden
- greek
- historians
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- islam
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- learning
- libraries
- life
- local
- location
- mali
- marked
- mathematics
- mohammed
- murdering
- muslim
- opinions
- philosophy
- poets
- policies
- population
- power
- prevailing
- prime
- prominent
- ranging
- regressive
- reign
- reversed
- rulers
- scholar
- scholars
- scientists
- secular
- slavery
- smoking
- songhai
- stood
- studied
- subjects
- target
- timbuktu
- time
- topics
- toure
- tracts
- warlords
- writings