Everything about Leo Africanus totally explained
Joannes Leo Africanus was the Latin name of Hasan ibn Muhammed al-Wazzan al-Fasi (
Granada 1488? –
1554?). Africanus was born in
Granada. His family left that city some time after the Christian conquest of the Muslim kingdom in
1492.
The family settled in
Fez, now in
Morocco, where Leo studied at the
University of Al Karaouine. As a young man he accompanied his uncle on a diplomatic mission in the
Maghreb, reaching as far as the city of
Timbuktu (c.
1510), then part of the
Songhai Empire. While still a young man, he was captured by European
pirates somewhere in the
Mediterranean (either on the island of
Djerba or
Crete), and sold into slavery. Presented to
Pope Leo X, he was
baptized in 1520 and freed. The Pope, recognizing his abilities, asked him to put together a survey of his knowledge of the continent of
Africa. For many years he was the only known source of information on
Sudan. Leo taught
Arabic in
Rome.
At the time he visited the city of
Timbuktu, it was somewhat past its peak, but still a thriving
Islamic city famous for its learning. Timbuktu was to become a byword in
Europe as the most inaccessible of cities, but at the time Leo visited, it was the center of a busy trade carried on by traders in
African products,
gold, printed
cottons and
slaves, and in Islamic books. Leo is said to have died in 1554 in
Tunis, having reconverted to
Islam.
Most of Leo's life is a mystery, and can only be gleaned from references in his book,
Cosmographia Dell’ Africa (Description of Africa).
In fiction
A fictionalized account of his life,
Leo Africanus, by
Amin Maalouf, fills in key gaps in the story and places Leo Africanus in all of the prominent events of his time.
Further Information
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