Ferrum College Professor of History, Dr. Richard Smith, will be featured on an episode of a new series that will debut this summer on The Discovery Channel. The show will be hosted by award-winning television personality Josh Bernstein, widely known for his popular adventure-archaeology series called “Digging for the Truth” on the History Channel. The episode featuring Dr. Smith, entitled “Africa’s El Dorado,” will focus on the history of the Saharan desert city of Timbuktu, which was the center of the gold trade between the 14th and 16th Century. Bernstein called on Dr. Smith because of his expertise on Saharan history during this time frame.

     Dr. Smith has taught at Ferrum College for 32 years and has received several distinctions, including the Forrest S. and Jean B. Williams Distinguished Teaching Professorship in the Humanities, and the Cheatham Fellowship for his research in preparation for publication of a work on premodern trade currently in press. He is one of only a handful of people in the world specializing in 16th and 17th Century Saharan history.

     In 2006, Dr. Smith wrote and published “Ahmad al-Mansur,” a biography of a Moroccan Sultan. Because of his knowledge about this period in history, the show’s producers contacted Dr. Smith to assist them in their investigation surrounding the history of the Sultan, who created a renegade army of mercenaries to attack the gold center of the ancient world. The producers flew Dr. Smith to Marrakech in Morocco for the filming of their hunt for the remaining gold. Once there, they visited the only two historical sights that might lead them to the gold: The El Badi Palace and the Saadian tombs.

     The Saadian tombs contain the tombs of Ahmad al-Mansur’s family and are still in good condition. The El Badi Palace, built by Ahmad al-Mansur, is now in ruins. The funding for El Badi, which means “marvelous” in Arabic, was one of the reasons for Al-Mansur’s attack on Timbuktu. This Versailles like ruin is extensive and should make for an interesting feature on the show. For more information or to schedule an interview with Dr. Smith, contact the Public Relations Department at 365-4300.

     Ferrum College is a four-year, private, co-educational, liberal arts college affiliated with the United Methodist Church. Ferrum offers a choice of nationally recognized bachelor’s degree programs at a cost well below the national average for private colleges. For more information on Ferrum, visit www.ferrum.edu.