Al-Bakri, in his Book of Routes and…
1055 CE
Al-Bakri, in his Book of Routes and Realms, completed in 1068, gives the only detailed description that we have for Aoudaghost.
Al-Bakri made use of earlier sources and it is likely that his description of Aoudaghost comes from the writings of Muhammad b. Yusuf al-Warraq (904-973) whose own account has not survived:
Then to Awdaghust which is a large town, populous and built on sandy ground, overlooked by a big mountain, completely barren and devoid of vegetation.
... there is one cathedral mosque and many smaller ones... Around the town are gardens with date palms.
Wheat is grown there by digging with hoes, and it is watered with buckets...Excellent cucumbers grow there, and there are a few small fig trees and some vines, as well as plantations of henna which produce a large crop... [there are] wells with sweet water.
Cattle and sheep are so numerous... Honey ... is abundant, brought from the land of the Sudan.
The people of Awdaghust enjoy extensive benefits and huge wealth.
The market there is at all times full of people... Their transactions are in gold, and they have no silver.
Most of the inhabitants ... are natives of Ifriqiya [Tunisia]... but there are also a few people from other countries... [They own] slaves so numerous that one person from among them might possess a thousand servants or more.
Al-Bakri also describes the capture of the town by the Almoravids which had occurred just a few years before he wrote his account: In the year 1054-5 'Abd Allah b. Yasin invaded the town of Aoudaghost, a flourishing locality, and a large town containing markets, numerous palms and henna trees....
This town used to be the residence of the King of the Sudan who was called Ghana before the Arabs entered (the city of) Ghana...
This (former) city was inhabited by Zenata together with Arabs who were always at loggerheads with each other.
...
The Almoravids violated its women and declared everything that they took there to be booty of the community.
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The Almoravids persecuted the people of Aoudaghost only because they recognized the authority of the ruler of Ghana.
It is unclear from this text how long prior to the arrival of the Almoravids the town had been part of the Ghana Empire.