For historians, anthropologists, and anyone interested in Africa’s deep past, al-Sa‘di’s work challenges colonial narratives that dismissed West Africa as “historyless.” It reveals a world of universities, Islamic jurisprudence, trans-Saharan commerce, and complex statecraft—centuries before European contact.
A version of this scholarly work is available via Modules.oc4d.org . Muhammad Shareef’s Translation (1990): tarikh al-sudan english translation pdf
In the study of West African history, few documents are as pivotal as the Tarikh al-Sudan (The History of the Sudan). Written in Arabic in the mid-17th century by the scholar Abd al-Rahman al-Sa‘di, this text serves as one of the primary windows into the history of the Songhai Empire and the trans-Saharan trade networks. For centuries, the text remained the domain of Arabic-literate elites and later, French colonial scholars. However, the availability of the English translation—most notably the scholarly work of John O. Hunwick—and its subsequent dissemination in digital formats like PDF, has democratized access to this crucial history, allowing a global audience to engage with the intellectual heritage of Timbuktu. Written in Arabic in the mid-17th century by
: This volume contains 30 chapters of the Tarikh al-Sudan , focusing on the history of Songhai until 1613. It is widely considered the standard English text for researchers. : Various snippets
: Various snippets, such as the " List of the Princes of Songhai ," are available as digital ebooks based on earlier French translations. Digital Access and PDF Versions
A full translation by Shaykh Muhammad Shareef bin Farid is reportedly being finalized and may be available through the Sankore Institute Original Arabic/French:
If you need the real, scholarly English translation, here are the legitimate pathways: