Timbuktu is a city in the Western African nation of Mali.  It has a long history as a trading outpost, linking African, Arab, and Jewish traders.  Timbuktu was established by the nomadic Tuareg around the 10th century.  In the 11th century permanent settlements popped up in Tinbuktu.  In these settlements Islam and literature was introduced. 

"Timbuktu's long-lasting contribution to Islamic and world civilization is scholarship. Timbuktu is assumed to have had one of the first universities in the world. Local scholars and collectors still boast an impressive collection of ancient Greek texts from that era.  By the 14th century, important books were written and copied in Timbuktu, establishing the city as the centre of a significant written tradition in Africa."