Editing: Jack Rackam. Wagadou and Mema became junior partners in the realm and part of the imperial nucleus. The post of a farba was very prestigious, and his descendants could inherit it with the mansa's approval. [119], It would be the Mandinka themselves that would cause the final destruction of the empire. He ruled the nation for nearly 25 years until his death in 1337 and is . The Keitas retreated to the town of Kangaba, where they became provincial chiefs. Musa not only gave to the cities he passed on the way to Mecca, including Cairo and Medina, but also traded gold for souvenirs. [48], Parallel to this debate, many scholars have argued that the Mali Empire may not have had a permanent "capital" in the sense that the word is used today, and historically was used in the Mediterranean world. [50] Such impermanent capitals are a historically widespread phenomenon, having occurred in other parts of Africa such as Ethiopia, as well as outside Africa, such as in the Holy Roman Empire.[51]. While in Cairo, Mansa Musa met with the Sultan of Egypt, and his caravan spent and gave away so much gold that the overall value of gold decreased in Egypt for the next 12 years. In 1645, the Bamana attacked Manden, seizing both banks of the Niger right up to Niani. [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. . Arab writers from the time said that he travelled with an entourage of tens of thousands of people and dozens of camels, each carrying 136 kilograms (300 pounds) of gold. [98], The wealth of the Mali Empire did not come from direct control of gold-producing regions, but rather trade and tribute. [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. Mansa Ms, whose empire was one of the largest in the world at that time, is reported to have observed that it would take a year to travel from one end of his empire to the other. Trade was Mali's form of income, and wealth. Web. After the reigns of two more emperors, Musa Keita became mansa in c. 1312. [102], The Songhai settlement effectively shook off Mali's authority in 1375. [137], Copper was also a valued commodity in imperial Mali. Ibn Battuta had written that in Taghaza there were no trees and there is only sand and the salt mines. 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]. When you reach out to him or her, you will need the page title, URL, and the date you accessed the resource. Mansa Musa came from his country with 80 loads of gold dust (tibr), each load weighing three qintars. [57], Modern oral traditions also related that the Mandinka kingdoms of Mali or Manden had already existed several centuries before Sundiata's unification as a small state just to the south of the Sonink empire of Wagadou, better known as the Ghana Empire. Alternate titles: Kankan Ms, Mansa Musa, Mousa, Musa. [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]. [26][17] Ibn Khaldun said that he "was an upright man and a great king, and tales of his justice are still told."[101]. His elaborate pilgrimage to the Muslim holy city of Mecca in 1324 introduced him to rulers in the Middle East and in Europe. His reign came with huge physical, economic and intellectual development in the Mali Empire. 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. He could read and write Arabic and took an interest in the scholarly city of Timbuktu, which he peaceably annexed in 1324. This is one of the main factors to the fall of the kingdom. [28] The Tarikh al-fattash claims that Musa accidentally killed Kanku at some point prior to his hajj. Despite this disunity in the realm, the realm remained under Mandinka control into the mid-17th century. Mansa Souleyman Keita died in 1360 and was succeeded by his son, Camba Keita. Ms Is hajj left a lasting impression of Malis splendour on both the Islamic and European worlds. The only real requirement was that the mansa knew he could trust this individual to safeguard imperial interests. The empire he founded became one of the richest in the world, and his descendants included one of the richest individuals to ever live, Mansa Musa. He attempted to make Islam the faith of the nobility,[93] but kept to the imperial tradition of not forcing it on the populace. Kankan Musa, better known as Mansa Musa probably took power in approximately 1312, although an earlier date is possible. The mansa also made a successful hajj, kept up correspondence with Morocco and Egypt and built an earthen platform at Kangaba called the Camanbolon where he held court with provincial governors and deposited the holy books he brought back from Hedjaz. The third great account is that of Ibn Khaldun, who wrote in the early 15th century. At Taghaza, for example, salt was exchanged; at Takedda, copper. However, many believe Mansa Musa's wealth outdoes that of all modern billionaires. [83] This term was used interchangeably with dinar, though it is unclear if coined currency was used in the empire. From 1389 onwards Mali gained a host of mansas of obscure origins. Available from http://incompetech.com. 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. [27] The date of Musa's birth is unknown, but he still appeared to be a young man in 1324. A manuscript page from Timbuktu showing a table of astronomical information. Therefore, Arabic visitors may have assigned the "capital" label merely to whatever major city the mansa was based out of at the time of their visit. Musa was a very successful military leader. According to the records of Ibn Battuta,[138][139] copper which traded in bars was mined from Takedda in the north and traded in the south for gold. [71] However, Ibn Khaldun also reports that Musa sent an envoy to congratulate Abu al-Hasan Ali for his conquest of Tlemcen, which took place in May 1337, but by the time Abu al-Hasan sent an envoy in response, Musa had died and Suleyman was on the throne, suggesting Musa died in 1337. In approximately 1140 the Sosso kingdom of Kaniaga, a former vassal of Wagadou, began conquering the lands of its old rulers. [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. Constant civil war between leaders led to a weakened state. World History Encyclopedia. Upon his return in 1324, Ms Is pious pilgrimage inspired him to commission two enormous mosques in Timbuktu and Gao. 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? Mansa Ms, either the grandson or the grandnephew of Sundiata, the founder of his dynasty, came to the throne in 1307. Sakura was able to stabilize the political situation in Mali. [99] Mosques were built in Gao and Timbuktu along with impressive palaces also built in Timbuktu. As a result of steady tax revenue and stable government beginning in the last quarter of the 13th century, the Mali Empire was able to project its power throughout its own extensive domain and beyond. [39], The identity of the capital city of the Mali Empire is a matter of dispute among historians. He brought back with him descendants of Mohammed, Islamic scholars, and architect Abu Es Haq es Saheli, who went on to create the Djinguereber mosque. 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]. 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. Like the Great Mosque, a contemporaneous and grandiose structure in Timbuktu, the Hall was built of cut stone. [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. [84] Then an enslaved court official, Sakura, seized power. His reign is associated with numerous construction projects, including part of Djinguereber Mosque in Timbuktu. Under his leadership, Mali conquered new territories and trade with North Africa increased. The people of the south needed salt for their diet, but it was extremely rare. The value of the salt was chiefly determined by the transport costs. He never took the field again after Kirina, but his generals continued to expand the frontier, especially in the west where they reached the Gambia River and the marches of Tekrur. His name was Mansa Musa, and he was a devout Muslim. Imperial Mali is best known through three primary sources: the first is the account of Shihab al-'Umari, written in about 1340 by a geographer-administrator in Mamluk Egypt. [9] Upon Leo Africanus's visit at the beginning of the 16th century, his descriptions of the territorial domains of Mali showed that it was still a kingdom of considerable size. It spanned 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. [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". [41] Given the grandeur of his subsequent hajj, it is likely that Musa spent much of his early reign preparing for it. Log in, Click to share on Twitter (Opens in new window), Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window). The earliest document mentioning the mosque is Abd al-Sadi's Tarikh al-Sudan, which gives the early history, presumably from the oral tradition as it existed in the mid seventeenth century. He was the son of Niani's faama, Nare Fa (also known as Maghan Kon Fatta meaning the handsome prince). In the event of conquest, farins took control of the area until a suitable native ruler could be found. He ruled between 707-732/737 according to the Islamic calendar (AH), which translates to 1307-1332/1337 CE. The "Qur'an" had a great importance to Mansa Musa as it states "God loves the charitable" (Document D). Gold, copper, and salt were a major source of income in the 12th century and the empire happened to be blessed with it, even more as it expanded. When he did finally bow, he said he was doing so for God alone. During most of his journey, Ibn Battuta travelled with a retinue that included servants, most of whom carried goods for trade. The Gbara or Great Assembly would serve as the Mandinka deliberative body until the collapse of the empire in 1645. Mansa Musa was an important ruler of the golden age of the Malink kingdom, based on the upper Niger River in Mali, West Africa. The buildings were constructed from slabs of salt and roofed with camel skins. Mansa Musa was immensely wealthy (whether he can be regarded as personally wealthy or wealthy because he controlled the gold mines of Mali is, of course, a . ", "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. 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. [63] Both of these accounts may be true, as Mali's control of Gao may have been weak, requiring powerful mansas to reassert their authority periodically.[64]. The lands of Bambougou, Jalo (Fouta Djallon), and Kaabu were added into Mali by Fakoli Koroma (Nkrumah in Ghana, Kurumah in the Gambia, Colley in Casamance, Senegal),[70] Fran Kamara (Camara) and Tiramakhan Traore (Tarawelley in the Gambia),[77] respectively Among the many different ethnic groups surrounding Manden were Pulaar speaking groups in Macina, Tekrur and Fouta Djallon. The next great unit of exchange in the Mali Empire was salt. [90][91] His reign is considered the golden age of Mali. It is implausible that Abu Bakr was Musa's father, due to the amount of time between Sunjata's reign and Musa's. [43] In 1324, while in Cairo, Musa said that he had conquered 24 cities and their surrounding districts.[44]. [98] Musa's hajj, and especially his gold, caught the attention of both the Islamic and Christian worlds. [36][37][38], According to the Tarikh al-Fattash, Musa had a wife named Inari Konte. Yet native sources seem to pay him little attention. The mansa could also replace a farba if he got out of control, as in the case of Diafunu. Different oral traditions conflict with each other, as well as Ibn Khaldun, about the transfer of power following Sunjata's death. In 1324, while staying in Cairo during his hajj, Mansa Musa, the ruler of the Mali Empire, told an Egyptian official whom he had befriended that he had come to rule when his predecessor led a fleet in an attempt to cross the Atlantic Ocean and never returned. [60] Other scholars whom Musa brought to Mali included Maliki jurists. He ruled oppressively and nearly bankrupted Mali with his lavish spending. Mansa Musa ruled the Malian empire from 1312-1337 CE. No single Keita ever ruled Manden after Mahmud Keita IV's death, resulting in the end of the Mali Empire. We all know of Mansa Musa, possibly the richest man to ever exist. He had first-hand information from several sources, and from a second-hand source, he learned of the visit of Mansa Musa. [102] It seems quite possible that an exodus of the inhabitants took place at this juncture and the importance of the city was not revived until the rise of the Songhai empire. [citation needed]. He recruited scholars from the wider Muslim world to travel to Mali, such as the Andalusian poet Abu Ishaq al-Sahili, and helped establish Timbuktu as a center of Islamic learning. His skillful administration left his empire well-off at the time of his death, but eventually, the empire fell apart. They write new content and verify and edit content received from contributors. The Bamana, likewise, vowed not to advance farther upstream than Niamina. Ms I is widely considered the wealthiest man in history. The voyage is often incorrectly attributed to a Mansa Abu Bakr II, but no such mansa ever reigned. In 1481, Fula raids against Mali's Tekrur provinces began. [71] The tiny kingdom of Niani was one of several in the Kri area of Manden. A dknsi performed the same function except with slave troops called sofa ("guardian of the horse") and under the command of a farimba ("great brave man"). The exact date of Musa's accession is debated. jeli), also known as griots, includes relatively little information about Musa compared to some other parts of the history of Mali. [60] In return for their submission, they became "farbas", a combination of the Mandinka words "farin" and "ba" (great farin). [g] Faga Leye was the son of Abu Bakr, a brother of Sunjata, the first mansa of the Mali Empire. At its peak, Mali was the largest empire in West Africa, widely . He is also called Hidji Mansa . Your email address will not be published. [132], The Mali Empire flourished because of its trade above all else. "Mansa Musa Family Tree | Empire of Mali." Several 21st century historians have firmly rejected Niani as a capital candidate based on a lack of archaeological evidence of significant trade activity, clearly described by Arab visitors, particularly during the 14th century, Mali's golden age. [62] According to one account given by Ibn Khaldun, Musa's general Saghmanja conquered Gao. Still, by the time of Mansa Musa Keita II's death in 1387, Mali was financially solvent and in control of all of its previous conquests short of Gao and Dyolof. He sought closer ties with the rest of the Muslim world, particularly the Mamluk and Marinid Sultanates. By the time of his death in 1337, Mali had control over Taghazza, a salt-producing area in the north, which further strengthened its treasury. Extensive archaeological digs have shown that the area was an important trade and manufacturing center in the 15th century, but no firm evidence of royal residence has come to light.