Mansa Musa
-Jason

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Mansa Musa ruled of the Mali Empire in Central Africa between 1312 and 1337 CE.  Under his leadership, the Mali Empire grew to its largest territorial extent and became one of the richest and most learned centers of cultures in Africa.

Mansa Musa was the great-nephew of the founder of the Mali Empire, Sundiata Keita.  After Sundiata’s direct heirs died out, his brother Abu Bakr’s line was chosen as the next line of successors to the throne.  Musa ascended to the position of Mansa after the death of his uncle, Mansa Muhammad, either in 1307 or 1312 during an expedition to explore the Atlantic Ocean.

The Mali Empire sat astride some of the richest trade routes connecting east, west, north, and south Africa.  Salt mined in the Sahara was traded for ivory, gold, and slaves.  Overland camel caravans crisscrossed the harsh Sahara to move these goods to the towns and cities of the Berber kingdoms along the North African coast.  While this was a difficult journey, its was incredibly profitable and served as a major route for trade goods to move from Africa into Europe.

Musa was a devout Muslim ruler who successfully undertook the hajj (pilgrimage to Mecca) and prayed at the Kaaba between 1324 and 1325 CE.  His travels took him through Central Africa into Egypt before reaching the Arabian Peninsula.  He spent his early years as Mansa collecting the materials to conduct this epic journey.  According to some accounts, Musa’s entourage numbered around 60,000 people and hundreds of pack animals.  

One of his major stops was in Cairo, Egypt where Musa made shockwaves by refusing to bow to the Mamluk sultan, al-Nasir Muhammad.  Despite this initial mishap, the Mali king still made good impression on both the administration and common people; Musa was extremely generous to poor he encountered.  One of the key tenets of Islam is charity towards the poor, the sick, widowed, and orphaned.  Musa had brought so much wealth that when he distributed his gifts, he inadvertently damaged Egypt’s economy with the influx of so much gold.

Though display of enormous wealth did not tarnish Musa’s image was a devout Muslim, he and his party made a mistake.  Disaster nearly struck as Musa’s group was heading home: they been separated from their caravan, plagued by illness, and so they needed to sell their remaining luxury goods to cover the cost of their return.  Al-Nasir Muhammad had been impressed by Musa’s earlier generosity and reciprocated it. 

The Mali Empire grew to its greatest extent under Mansa Musa.  In his lifetime, the Mali Empire stretched from west Central Africa to the Atlantic Coast encompassing the modern-day countries of Senegal, southern Mauritania, Mali, northern Burkina Faso, western Niger, the Gambia, Guinea-Bissau, Guinea, the Ivory Coast and northern Ghana.  After returning from the hajj, Musa decided to conquer two of the major cities, Gao and Timbuktu, on the outskirts of his territory.  Gao had been the former capital of the defunct Ghana Empire and its acquisition secured Musa’s eastern flank.  

Timbuktu, north of the Niger River and bordering the Sahara Desert, was a node in extensive north-south trade network west of Mali.  Upon its incorporation into the empire, Timbuktu received extensive reconstruction and expansion.  The Sankore Madrasah, along with numerous mosques and other universities, were some of Musa’s most famous building projects in the city.  These helped to spread Islam throughout West Africa and turned Timbuktu into a center of learning, culture, and trade.

The natural resources that flowed from Musa’s trade routes joined his kingdom to courts far and wide.  The wealth generated by trade allowed Musa to employ artisans, scientists, philosophers, teachers, and architects to beautify his kingdom and expand Mali’s cultural influence.  Great people came to Niani, Timbuktu, and Gao from southern Spain, Egypt, Iraq, Syria, and North Africa under Musa’s patronage.     

Due to this influx of skill, Mali became a center of learning rivalling many of the cities bordering the Mediterranean Sea.  The universities that flourished under Musa housed hundreds of thousands of manuscripts.  In addition to this written wealth, Mali developed an architectural style all its own: it was a combination of Africa, Spanish, Egyptian, and Persian influences that had its own unique connotations.   

The date of Musa’s death is still disputed: it was either in 1332 or 1337.  After Musa’s death, the Mali Empire began its long decline and was eventually absorbed by later the kingdoms of Songhai, Berber, and Moroccan monarchs.