Original: Ancient Romans such as Pliny ( N.H. 5.10 ) thought that the river near Timbuktu was part of the Nile River , a belief also held by Ibn Battuta , while early European explorers thought that it flowed west and joined the Senegal River .
Simplified: Ancient Romans thought that the river near Timbuktu was part of the Nile River and Ibn Battuta had the same opinion . Early 17th-century European explorers thought that it flowed west and joined the Sénégal River .