Takedda

Takedda was a town and kingdom west of the Aïr Mountains, known for the copper worked in the surrounding country. Its position in the Ighazer plain placed it among the caravan routes crossing the central Sahara. Copper and salt gave merchants valuable goods to exchange with lands farther south, while the town's water supplied passing caravans on their long journeys.

In 1353 the traveller Ibn Battuta visited Takedda on his journey home from Mali. He described a prosperous town whose merchants maintained connections across the desert, and observed the working and trade of copper. In the fifteenth century Takedda declined as the growing centre of Agadez drew influence toward Aïr. The ruins at Azelik preserve traces of the settlement and its metalworking.