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Geography & Travel
Djenné
Mali
Also known as: Dienné, Djénné, Jenne
Category:
Geography & Travel
- Also spelled:
- Jenne or Dienné
Djenné, ancient trading city and center of Muslim scholarship, southern Mali. It is situated on the Bani River and on floodlands between the Bani and Niger rivers, 220 miles (354 km) southwest of Timbuktu. The city, which sits on hillocks (small hills) known as toguère, becomes an island during the area’s seasonal flooding. There is some uncertainty surrounding the establishment of Djenné. It was likely founded sometime between the 8th and the 13th century. It is near the site of Djenné-Jeno, an ancient city dating as far back as 250 bce—one of the oldest known cities in sub-Saharan Africa—that had ...(100 of 460 words)