Via one of the royal ladies of his court, Musa transformed Sankore from an informal madrasah into an Islamic university. [23] Numbered individuals reigned as mansa; the numbers indicate the order in which they reigned. Ibn Battuta had written that in Taghaza there were no trees and there is only sand and the salt mines. [93] Mansa Maghan Keita I spent wastefully and was the first lacklustre emperor since Khalifa Keita. [71] The tiny kingdom of Niani was one of several in the Kri area of Manden. The last son of Maghan Keita I, Tenin Maghan Keita (also known as Kita Tenin Maghan Keita for the province he once governed) was crowned Mansa Maghan Keita II in 1387. More than sixty years after the reign of Sundiata Keita, one of his descendants rose to become the King of Mali. [93] Sandaki Keita should not however be taken to be this person's name but a title. [93] Only at the state or province level was there any palpable interference from the central authority in Niani. But the Mali Empire built by his predecessors was too strong for even his misrule and it passed intact to Musa's brother, Souleyman Keita in 1341. A very large number of families that make up the Mandinka community were born in Manding. [49] It has been suggested that the name given in the Arabic sources for the capital of Mali is derived the Manding word "bambi", meaning "dais", and as such refers to the "seat of government" in general rather than being the name of a specific city. [70] Manden was split in half with the Dodougou territory to the northeast and the Kri territory to the southwest. The family tree of Mansa Musa. Three bowmen supporting one spearman was the ratio in Kaabu and the Gambia by the mid-16th century. Candice Goucher, Charles LeGuin, and Linda Walton. It is not known if this was an attempt to correct the depreciation of gold in the area due to his spending,[7] or if he had simply run out of the funds needed for the return trip. [13][12] In the Manding languages, the modern descendants of the language spoken at the core of the Mali Empire, Manden or Manding is the name of the region corresponding to the heartland of the Mali Empire. UsefulCharts, . Mansa Musa even built the Great Mosque of Djenn, one of the most famous mosques in Mali, to recognize his pilgrimage. Mansa Musa (died 1337), king of the Mali empire in West Africa, is known mostly for his fabulous pilgrimage to Mecca and for his promotion of unity and prosperity within Mali. Mansa Musa Family Tree | Empire of Mali. [77] Alternatively, it is possible that the four-year reign Ibn Khaldun credits Maghan with actually referred to his ruling Mali while Musa was away on the hajj, and he only reigned briefly in his own right. and transl. An army was required to guard the borders to protect its flourishing trade. Mans third spouse tells court he was a despot, Woman describes treatment in Aguanga torture trial, Social worker: Children in torture case appeared happy, healthy, Calif. torture trial airs family horror stories, Polygamist who tortured his family is sentenced to 7 life terms, Aguanga man to serve seven life sentences, Emerging from a notorious hell of abuse to counsel others, Laura Cowan, Mansa Musa Muhummed: Sex, Torture, Beatings In Muslim Cult, Former Polygamy Wife Speaks Out On Justice By Any Means. Accounts of how many people and how much gold he spent vary. [102] The text of Ibn Khaldun says "Gao, at this time is devastated". [70] The mansa lost control of Jalo during this period. [8] Suleyman's death marked the end of Mali's Golden Age and the beginning of a slow decline. The Royal Kingdoms of Ghana, Mali, and Songhay: Life in Medieval Africa By Patricia McKissack, Fredrick McKissack Page 60, "The richest person who ever lived had unimaginable wealth. The Sankor University was capable of housing 25,000 students and had one of the largest libraries in the world with roughly 1,000,000 manuscripts.[100][101]. [27] His list does not necessarily accurately reflect the actual organization of the Mali Empire,[28] and the identification of the listed provinces is controversial. The Manding languages were spoken in the empire. [60] The anglicised version of this name, Sunjata, is also popular. In addition, the moral and religious principles he had taught his subjects endured after his death. In search of a status discourse for Mande". According to Ibn Battuta who visited Mali in the mid-14th century, one camel load of salt sold at Walata for 810 mithqals of gold, but in Mali proper it realised 2030 ducats and sometimes even 40. [105][106] Three years later, Oualata also fell into their hands. Any interactives on this page can only be played while you are visiting our website. 1312 is the most widely accepted by modern historians. The growing trade in Mali's western provinces with Portugal witnessed the exchange of envoys between the two nations. Returning with the combined armies of Mema, Wagadou and all the rebellious Mandinka city-states, Maghan Sundiata led a revolt against the Kaniaga Kingdom around 1234. Timbuktu became a major Islamic university center during the 14th century due to Mansa Musas developments. National Geographic Society is a 501 (c)(3) organization. [88], Mansa Musa is renowned for his wealth and generosity. Ibn Khaldun in Levtzion and Hopkins, eds. From the Mamma Haidara Commemorative Library, Timbuktu. Musa is reported to have reigned for 25 years, and different lines of evidence suggest he died either. In 1203, the Sosso king Soumaoro of the Kant clan came to power and reportedly terrorised much of Manden stealing women and goods from both Dodougou and Kri. Muhummed's three wivesMarva Barfield, Laura Cowan, and Adrienne Easterwere also sexually assaulted, beaten, and imprisoned; Barfield participated in the children's abuse at Muhummed's instruction, and Cowan has also been accused of participating in the abuse. Still, throne names do not usually indicate blood relations. The empire was founded by Sundiata Keita (c. 1214 c. 1255) and became renowned for the wealth of its rulers, especially Mansa Musa (Musa Keita). Gao had already been captured by Musa's general, and Musa quickly regained Timbuktu, built a rampart and stone fort, and placed a standing army to protect the city from future invaders.[70]. After the reigns of two more emperors, Musa Keita became mansa in c. 1312. Traveling from his capital of Niani on the upper Niger River to Walata (Oualta, Mauritania) and on to Tuat (now in Algeria) before making his way to Cairo, Mansa Ms was accompanied by an impressive caravan consisting of 60,000 men including a personal retinue of 12,000 enslaved persons, all clad in brocade and Persian silk. Under his reign, Mali conquered the neighbouring kingdom of Songhai. [27] The date of Musa's birth is unknown, but he still appeared to be a young man in 1324. [40] In fact, there is a conspicuous absence of archaeological samples of any kind from Niani dated to the late 13th through early 15th centuries, suggesting that Niani may have been uninhabited during the heyday of the Mali Empire. The Gbara or Great Assembly would serve as the Mandinka deliberative body until the collapse of the empire in 1645. [33] Some modern historians have cast doubt on Musa's version of events, suggesting he may have deposed his predecessor and devised the story about the voyage to explain how he took power. World History Foundation is a non-profit organization registered in Canada. [79] Some oral traditions agree with Ibn Khaldun in indicating that a son of Sunjata, named Yerelinkon in oral tradition and Wali in Arabic, took power as Sunjata's successor. Mansa Musa returned from Mecca with several Islamic scholars, including direct descendants of the prophet Muhammad and an Andalusian poet and architect by the name of Abu Es Haq es Saheli, who is . The city's water supply was a leading cause to its successes in trade. Let us know if you have suggestions to improve this article (requires login). Who would native Malians have considered their greatest ruler? The entire nation was mobilised, with each clan obligated to provide a quota of fighting-age men. Like two mansolu (rulers of Mali) before him, Ms I undertook the hajj as an act of devotion in line with Islamic tradition. At the height of its power, Mali had at least 400 cities, and the interior of the Niger Delta was very densely populated. This can be interpreted as either "Musa son of Abu Bakr" or "Musa descendant of Abu Bakr." In 1324 Musa embarked on a hajj, a religious pilgrimage to Mecca, traveling with an entourage that included 8,000 courtiers, 12,000 servants and 100 camel loads of . 05 Mar 2023. The Gao mosque was built of burnt bricks, which had not, until then, been used as a material for building in West Africa. This region straddles the border between what is now southern Mali and northeastern Guinea. Khalifa would shoot arrows at his subjects, so he was overthrown and killed. Heusch, Luc de: "The Symbolic Mechanisms of Sacred Kingship: Rediscovering Frazer". The Mali Empire expanded through conquest or annexation. As a result of this the empire fell. [89] This claim is often sourced to an article in CelebrityNetWorth,[89] which claims that Musa's wealth was the equivalent of US$400 billion. These conflicts also interrupted trade. [86] Fajigi is remembered as having traveled to Mecca to retrieve ceremonial objects known as boliw, which feature in Mand traditional religion. In addition, Mansa Ms had a baggage train of 80 camels, each carrying 300 pounds of gold. [d], Musa's father was named Faga Leye[12] and his mother may have been named Kanku. [20] For the later period of the Mali Empire, the major written primary sources are Portuguese accounts of the coastal provinces of Mali and neighboring societies.[21]. His descendants migrated to the land of Mali and established the Mandinka clan of Keita. Mansa Musa (Musa I of Mali) was the ruler of the kingdom of Mali from 1312 C.E. [43] In 1324, while in Cairo, Musa said that he had conquered 24 cities and their surrounding districts.[44]. Hamana (or Amana), southwest of Joma, became the southern sphere, with its capital at Kouroussa in modern Guinea. All of them agree that he took a very large group of people; the mansa kept a personal guard of some 500 men,[94] and he gave out so many alms and bought so many things that the value of gold in Egypt and Arabia depreciated for twelve years. 24 June, 2022. However, from 1507 onwards neighboring states such as Diara, Great Fulo and the Songhai Empire chipped away at the outer borders of Mali. Yet native sources seem to pay him little attention. After the loyalty or at least the capitulation of an area was assured, it was allowed to select its own dyamani-tigui. Oral tradition states that he had three sons who fought over Manden's remains. Kankoro-sigui Mari Djata, who had no relation to the Keita clan, essentially ran the empire in Musa Keita II's stead. Text on this page is printable and can be used according to our Terms of Service. Under Mansa Ms, Timbuktu grew to be a very important commercial city having caravan connections with Egypt and with all other important trade centres in North Africa. . The most common measure for gold within the realm was the ambiguous mithqal (4.5grams of gold). [136] One particular source of salt in the Mali Empire was salt-mining sites located in Taghaza. [67] News of the Malian empire's city of wealth even traveled across the Mediterranean to southern Europe, where traders from Venice, Granada, and Genoa soon added Timbuktu to their maps to trade manufactured goods for gold.[68]. Mansa Ms, either the grandson or the grandnephew of Sundiata, the founder of his dynasty, came to the throne in 1307. The Mali Empire (Manding: Mand or Manden; Arabic: , romanized: Ml) was an empire in West Africa from c. 1226 to 1670. He belonged to the Keita Dynasty and came to power after Abu-Bakra-Keita II left on an expedition to explore the Atlantic Ocean, leaving Musa as his deputy and never returned. [81] He went on the hajj during the reign of Mamluk sultan Baibars (12601277). [42] Among these preparations would likely have been raids to capture and enslave people from neighboring lands, as Musa's entourage would include many thousands of enslaved people; the historian Michael Gomez estimates that Mali may have captured over 6,000 people per year for this purpose. https://www.worldhistory.org/video/2147/mansa-musa-family-tree--empire-of-mali/. Updates? Salt was as valuable, if not more valuable, than gold in sub-Saharan Africa. [18], In the Songhai language, rulers of Mali such as Musa were known as the Mali-koi, koi being a title that conveyed authority over a region: in other words, the "ruler of Mali". This style is characterised by the use of mudbricks and an adobe plaster, with large wooden-log support beams that jut out from the wall face for large buildings such as mosques or palaces. The history of the Mandinka started in Manding region. From at least the beginning of the 11th century, Mandinka kings known as faamas ruled Manden from Ka-ba in the name of the Ghanas.[68]. Many houses were built by hand and during the hot weather some houses would melt so they had to be very secure, The dating of the original Great Mosque's construction is obscure (the current structure, built under French Colonial Rule, dates from 1907). Despite the faama of Niani's wishes to respect the prophecy and put Sundiata on the throne, the son from his first wife Sassouma Brt was crowned instead. Umari also describes the empire as being south of Marrakesh and almost entirely inhabited except for few places. King Mansa Musa is famous for his Hajj journey, during which he stopped off in Egypt and gave out so much gold that the Egyptian economy was ruined for years to come. Musa I (known more commonly as Mansa Musa) was the tenth Mansa (a Mandinka word for "emperor") of the Mali Empire. [32] When he did not return, Musa was crowned as mansa himself, marking a transfer of the line of succession from the descendants of Sunjata to the descendants of his brother Abu Bakr. [45], Many oral histories point to a town called Dakajalan as the original home of the Keita clan and Sundiata's childhood home and base of operations during the war against the Soso. [59] Those not living in the mountains formed small city-states such as Toron, Ka-Ba and Niani. ), mansa (emperor) of the West African empire of Mali from 1307 (or 1312). He also states that Djata or "Jatah" means "lion". The northern commercial towns of Oualata and Audaghost were also conquered and became part of the new state's northern border. Musa took out large loans from money lenders in Cairo before beginning his journey home. If no button appears, you cannot download or save the media. Only sofa were equipped by the state, using bows and poisoned arrows. [95] Musa himself further promoted the appearance of having vast, inexhaustible wealth by spreading rumors that gold grew like a plant in his kingdom. This was due to the tax on trade in and out of the empire, along with all the gold Mansa Musa had. [51] Musa made a major point of showing off his nation's wealth. Mali is the Fula form of the word. Mali's wealth in gold did not primarily come from direct rule of gold-producing regions, but rather from tribute and trade with the regions where gold was found. What did Ms I do when he returned to Mali? The World History Encyclopedia logo is a registered trademark. Sundiata, according to the oral traditions, did not walk until he was seven years old. [142][143] Numerous sources attest that the inland waterways of West Africa saw extensive use of war canoes and vessels used for war transport where permitted by the environment. Omissions? By 1350, the empire covered approximately 478,819 square miles (1,240,140km2). When Musa departed Mali for the hajj, he left his son Muhammad to rule in his absence. Musa expanded the borders of the Mali Empire, in particular incorporating the cities of Gao and Timbuktu into its territory. [40], Various sources cite several other cities as capitals of the Mali Empire, some in competition with the Niani hypothesis and others addressing different time periods. At both Gao and Timbuktu, a Songhai city almost rivalling Gao in importance, Mansa Ms commissioned Ab Isq al-Sil, a Granada poet and architect who had travelled with him from Mecca, to build mosques. by Spanish cartographers, shows West Africa dominated by a depiction of Mansa Musa sitting on a throne, holding a nugget of gold in one hand and a golden staff in the other. He is also called Hidji Mansa . Stride, G. T., & C. Ifeka: "Peoples and Empires of West Africa: West Africa in History 10001800". [108] Alvise Cadamosto, a Venetian explorer, recorded that the Mali Empire was the most powerful entity on the coast in 1454. [83] He is criticized for being unfaithful to tradition, and some of the jeliw regard Musa as having wasted Mali's wealth. [122] Their forces marched as far north as Kangaba, where the mansa was obliged to make a peace with them, promising not to attack downstream of Mali. [29] Al-Umari, who visited Cairo shortly after Musa's pilgrimage to Mecca, noted that it was "a lavish display of power, wealth, and unprecedented by its size and pageantry". By the 6th century AD, the lucrative trans-Saharan trade in gold, salt and slaves had begun, facilitating the rise of West Africa's great empires. One of the greatest caravans to ever cross the Sahara was led by Mansa Musa, the legendary ruler of the vast West African empire of Mali. On the return from Takedda to Morocco, his caravan transported 600 female servants, suggesting that indentured servitude was a substantial part of the commercial activity of the empire.[134]. He left Kanku Musa, a grandson of Sunjata's brother Mande Bori, in charge during his absence. Mansa Musa's pilgrimage to Mecca happened between 1324 and 1325. While every effort has been made to follow citation style rules, there may be some discrepancies. Mansa Musa ruled over the Mali empire in the 14th Century, and his incredible access to gold made him arguably . Mansa Musa, one of the wealthiest people who ever lived - Jessica Smith TED-Ed 7.1M views 7 years ago The history of Nigeria explained in 6 minutes (3,000 Years of Nigerian history) Epimetheus. The kingdom of Mali reached its greatest extent around the same time, a bustling, wealthy kingdom thanks to Mansa Musas expansion and administration.Mansa Musa died in 1337 and was succeeded by his sons. The empire taxed every ounce of gold, copper and salt that entered its borders. The Mandinka went on to form the powerful and rich Mali Empire, which produced the richest Black man who ever lived, King Mansa Musa. While spears and bows were the mainstay of the infantry, swords and lances of local or foreign manufacture were the choice weapons of the cavalry. [145] Another common weapon of Mandekalu warriors was the poison javelin used in skirmishes. The other characteristic of this era is the gradual loss of its northern and eastern possessions to the rising Songhai Empire and the movement of the Mali's economic focus from the trans-Saharan trade routes to the burgeoning commerce along the coast. Musa made his pilgrimage between 1324 and 1325 spanning 2,700 miles. As founded by Mari Djata, it was composed of the "three freely allied states" of Mali, Mema and Wagadou plus the Twelve Doors of Mali.[60]. Duties of the farba included reporting on the activities of the territory, collecting taxes and ensuring the native administration didn't contradict orders from Niani. Mansa Musa brought architects and scholars from across the Islamic world into his kingdom, and the reputation of the Mali kingdom grew. [93], Following Musa Keita III's death, his brother Gbr Keita became emperor in the mid-15th century. [115], Mali's fortunes seem to have improved in the second half of the 16th century. Then, in 1630, the Bamana of Djenn declared their version of holy war on all Muslim powers in present-day Mali. Included in al-Qalqashandi's quotation of al-'Umari, but not in any manuscript of al-'Umari's text itself, which only list thirteen provinces despite saying there are fourteen. Ms Is pilgrimage caravan to Mecca in 1324 comprised some 60,000 people and an immeasurable amount of gold. [16], Al-Yafii gave Musa's name as Musa ibn Abi Bakr ibn Abi al-Aswad (Arabic: , romanized:Ms ibn Ab Bakr ibn Ab al-Aswad),[17] and Ibn Hajar gave Musa's name as Musa ibn Abi Bakr Salim al-Takruri. Thank you for your help! Mansa Musa was a smart, powerful, competent Islamic autocrat who ruled over and expanded the Malian empire. Afterward, he put himself and his kingdom, West Africa's Mali, on the map, literally. [132], The Mali Empire flourished because of its trade above all else. At its peak, Mali was the largest empire in West Africa, widely influencing the culture of the region through the spread of its language, laws and customs. Mansa Mari Djata, later named Sundiata Keita, saw the conquest of several key locals in the Mali Empire. Forty years after the reign of Mansa Musa Keita I, the Mali Empire still controlled some 1,100,000 square kilometres (420,000sqmi) of land throughout Western Africa.[103][9]. [84][85] However, some aspects of Musa appear to have been incorporated into a figure in Mand oral tradition known as Fajigi, which translates as "father of hope". Mansa Fadima Musa Keita, or Mansa Musa Keita II, began the process of reversing his brother's excesses. Available from http://incompetech.com. [61], According to the Tarikh al-Sudan, the cities of Gao and Timbuktu submitted to Musa's rule as he traveled through on his return to Mali. His equipment furnishings were carried by 12.000 private slave women (Wasaif) wearing gown and brocade (dibaj) and Yemeni silk []. Most West African canoes were of single-log construction, carved and dug out from one massive tree trunk.[144]. During this period, there was an advanced level of urban living in the major centers of Mali. Mansa Musa's reign itself was 25 years long. En route, he spent time in Cairo, where his lavish gift-giving is said to have noticeably affected the value of gold in Egypt and garnered the attention of the wider Muslim world. Well after his death, Mansa Musa remained engrained in the imagination of the world as a symbol of fabulous wealth. This is one of the main factors to the fall of the kingdom. [126], The Kouroukan Fouga also put in place social and economic reforms including prohibitions on the maltreatment of prisoners and slaves, installing documents between clans which clearly stated who could say what about whom. . The organization and smooth administration of a purely African empire, the founding of the University of Sankore, the expansion of trade in Timbuktu, the architectural innovations in Gao, Timbuktu, and Niani and, indeed, throughout the whole of Mali and in the subsequent Songhai empire are all testimony to Mansa Mss superior administrative gifts. harvnb error: no target: CITEREFKi-ZerboNiane (, sfn error: no target: CITEREFLevztionHopkins2000 (. This led to inflation throughout the kingdom. Malink, also known as Mande, Mali, or Melle, was founded around 1200 CE, and under Mansa Musa's reign . [17] Whether Mali originated as the name of a town or region, the name was subsequently applied to the entire empire ruled from Mali. [78] Nehemia Levtzion regarded 1337 as the most likely date,[72] which has been accepted by other scholars. In this lesson, students read one recent blog post about Musa I of Mali's wealth, followed by two historical documents from the fourteenth-century, to answer the question: Was Mansa Musa the richest person ever? Al-Umari reported that Mali had fourteen provinces. ", "Recherches sur l'Empire du Mali au Moyen Age", "Towards a New Study of the So-Called Trkh al-fattsh", World History Encyclopedia Mansa Musa I, History Channel: Mansa Moussa: Pilgrimage of Gold, Caravans of Gold, Fragments in Time: Art, Culture, and Exchange across Medieval Saharan Africa, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Mansa_Musa&oldid=1142573327, Short description is different from Wikidata, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License 3.0, Mansa Musa was portrayed in two games in the, Mansa Musa was portrayed in the episode ", This page was last edited on 3 March 2023, at 05:05. Mansa Musa was very wealthy and religious man who went on his Hajj for religious reasons and to also help people from his empire make the holy trip to Mecca for the god Allah. [125] Farin was a general term for northern commander at the time. However, the legendary oral tradition that surrounds Keita suggests that he never turned away from his native religion. Islamic studies flourished thereafter. Sundjata is credited with at least the initial organisation of the Manding military. [122] They targeted Moroccan pashas still in Timbuktu and the mansas of Manden.

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