[15] He is also called Hidji Mansa Musa in oral tradition in reference to his hajj. Sarah Appleton, National Geographic Society. [93], Following Musa Keita III's death, his brother Gbr Keita became emperor in the mid-15th century. He is also called Hidji Mansa . We all know of Mansa Musa, possibly the richest man to ever exist. Intro music: "Lord of the Land" by Kevin MacLeod and licensed under Creative Commons Attribution license 4.0. Mansa Musa (Musa I of Mali) was the ruler of the kingdom of Mali from 1312 C.E. It is known from the Tarikh al-Sudan that Mali was still a sizeable state in the 15th century. [99] The gold Musa brought on his pilgrimage probably represented years of accumulated tribute that Musa would have spent much of his early reign gathering. The Songhai Empire had fallen to the Saadi Sultanate of Morocco eight years earlier, and Mahmud sought to take advantage of their defeat by trying to capture Jenne. [108] Alvise Cadamosto, a Venetian explorer, recorded that the Mali Empire was the most powerful entity on the coast in 1454. [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. Mansa Mari Djata, later named Sundiata Keita, saw the conquest of several key locals in the Mali Empire. Musa's reign is often regarded as the zenith of Mali's power and prestige. He made a pilgrimage to Mecca during the reign of Mamluk Sultan An-Nasir Muhammad (r. 12981308), but died on his voyage home. [40], Musa was a young man when he became mansa, possibly in his early twenties. 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). His religious devotion contributed to the spread of Islam across West Africa. 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. The army of the Mali Empire used of a wide variety of weapons depending largely on where the troops originated. However, the legendary oral tradition that surrounds Keita suggests that he never turned away from his native religion. He made his wealth and that of Mali known through a long and extravagant pilgrimage to Mecca in 1324, the 17th year of his reign as emperor of Mali. 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. [67] The Manden city-state of Ka-ba (present-day Kangaba) served as the capital and name of this province. A legend claims that Sunjata transformed into a hippopotamus. [5] In c. 1285 Sakoura, a former royal court slave, became emperor and was one of Mali's most powerful rulers, greatly expanding the empire's territory. 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. Our publication has been reviewed for educational use by Common Sense Education, Internet Scout (University of Wisconsin), Merlot (California State University), OER Commons and the School Library Journal. 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 . He did however, maintain contacts with Morocco, sending a giraffe to King Abu Hassan. Intro animation: Syawish Rehman. As a result of this the empire fell. Another testimony from Ibn Khaldun describes the grand pilgrimage of Mansa Musa consisting of 12,000 slaves: "He made a pilgrimage in 724/1324 []. This trend would continue into colonial times against Tukulor enemies from the west.[121]. Bowmen formed a large portion of the field army as well as the garrison. Lange, Dierk (1996), "The Almoravid expansion and the downfall of Ghana", Der Islam 73 (2): 313351. . In the 1450s, Portugal began sending raiding parties along the Gambian coast. The salt was dug from the ground and cut into thick slabs, two of which were loaded onto each camel where they would be taken south across the desert to Oualata and sold. That same year, Mahmud II sent another envoy to the Portuguese proposing alliance against the Fula. 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. This can be interpreted as either "Musa son of Abu Bakr" or "Musa descendant of Abu Bakr." [15] Leo Africanus said that the capital city was called Melli. The Twelve Doors of Mali were a coalition of conquered or allied territories, mostly within Manden, with sworn allegiance to Sundiata and his descendants. Longman, 1995. Ibn Battuta mentions that the value of salt increased fourfold when transported between Oualata and the Malian capital. Musa is known for his wealth and generosity. In 1542, the Songhai invaded the capital city but were unsuccessful in conquering the empire. [136] One particular source of salt in the Mali Empire was salt-mining sites located in Taghaza. [105][106] Three years later, Oualata also fell into their hands. His descendants migrated to the land of Mali and established the Mandinka clan of Keita. Mahmud Keita, possibly a grandchild or great-grandchild of Mansa Gao Keita, was crowned Mansa Maghan Keita III in 1390. The empire taxed every ounce of gold, copper and salt that entered its borders. Mansa Mahmud Keita II's rule was characterised by more losses to Mali's old possessions and increased contact between Mali and Portuguese explorers along the coast. Musa's name Kanku Musa means "Musa son of Kanku", but the genealogy may not be literal. Accounts of how many people and how much gold he spent vary. [66], Timbuktu soon became the center of trade, culture, and Islam; markets brought in merchants from Hausaland, Egypt, and other African kingdoms, a university was founded in the city (as well as in the Malian cities of Djenn and Sgou), and Islam was spread through the markets and university, making Timbuktu a new area for Islamic scholarship. At the height of its power, Mali had at least 400 cities, and the interior of the Niger Delta was very densely populated. King of Kings in the Mandinka language a reference to a great ruler in the Mali Empire of ancient Africa. 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. CREDITS: Chart/Narration: Matt Baker Research/Artwork: From Nothing Team Editing: Jack Rackam Intro animation: Syawish Rehman Intro music: "Lord of the Land" by Kevin MacLeod and licensed under Creative Commons Attribution license 4.0. Mama Maghan, mansa of Kangaba, campaigned against the Bamana in 1667 and laid siege to SegouKoro for a reported three years. However, Al-Nasir Muhammad returned Musa's earlier show of generosity with gifts of his own. Log in, Click to share on Twitter (Opens in new window), Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window). Via one of the royal ladies of his court, Musa transformed Sankore from an informal madrasah into an Islamic university. [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]. Some Rights Reserved (2009-2023) under Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike license unless otherwise noted. He is believed to be one of the richest individuals to have walked on this planet. Al-Umari said that before Musa's arrival, a mithqal of gold was worth 25 silver dirhams, but that it dropped to less than 22 dirhams afterward and did not go above that number for at least twelve years. [145] Another common weapon of Mandekalu warriors was the poison javelin used in skirmishes. Sandaki likely means High Counsellor or Supreme Counsellor, from san or sanon (meaning "high") and adegue (meaning counsellor). Mande bards in the region speak of the Dakajalan site, containing Sundiata's grave, as sacrosanct. Mansa Musa (1280-1337) Mansa Musa, fourteenth century emperor of the Mali Empire, is the medieval African ruler most known to the world outside Africa. World History Foundation is a non-profit organization registered in Canada. He brought a large entourage with him which impressed people everywhere they went. [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. The Sahelian and Saharan towns of the Mali Empire were organised as both staging posts in the long-distance caravan trade and trading centres for the various West African products. By 1180 it had even subjugated Wagadou forcing the Sonink to pay tribute. [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. [22], Genealogy of the mansas of the Mali Empire up to Magha II (d.c.1389), based on Levtzion's interpretation of Ibn Khaldun. Abu Bakr was the first and only mansa to inherit through the female line, which has been argued to be either a break from or a return to tradition. [93] He did not, however, hold the power of previous mansas because of the influence of his kankoro-sigui. [40] Seemingly contradictory reports written by Arab visitors, a lack of definitive archaeological evidence, and the diversity of oral traditions all contribute to this uncertainty. 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. 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. The Keitas retreated to the town of Kangaba, where they became provincial chiefs. Equipped with two quivers and a knife fastened to the back of their arm, Mandinka bowmen used barbed, iron-tipped arrows that were usually poisoned. The date of Mahmud's death and identity of his immediate successor are not recorded, and there is a gap of 65 years before another mansa's identity is recorded. Online articles in the 21st century have claimed that Mansa Musa was the richest person of all time. During Musa's 25-year-rule the Mali Empire more than tripled in size and had significant influence in several modern day countries including Mauritania, Senegal, Nigeria, Burkino Faso and Chad. CREDITS: Chart/Narration: Matt Baker. [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. 1312 is the most widely accepted by modern historians. [85] He went on the hajj during the reign of Mamluk sultan an-Nasir Muhammad (12981308) and was killed in Tajura on his way back to Mali. [119], It would be the Mandinka themselves that would cause the final destruction of the empire. 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. They founded the first village of the Manding, Kirikoroni, then Kirina, Siby, Kita. Embedded by Arienne King, published on 17 October 2020. Around 1610, Mahmud Keita IV died. That same year, after the Mandinka general known as Sagmandir put down yet another rebellion in Gao,[93] Mansa Musa came to Gao and accepted the capitulation of the King of Ghana and his nobles. The audio, illustrations, photos, and videos are credited beneath the media asset, except for promotional images, which generally link to another page that contains the media credit. 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. ", "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. In 1534, Mahmud III, the grandson of Mahmud II, received another Portuguese envoy to the Mali court by the name of Pero Fernandes. Well after his death, Mansa Musa remained engrained in the imagination of the world as a symbol of fabulous wealth. [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. [22] Oral tradition, as performed by the jeliw (sg. [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. 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. Musa not only gave to the cities he passed on the way to Mecca, including Cairo and Medina, but also traded gold for souvenirs. Available from http://incompetech.com. [136] While it was as good as gold in the north, it was even better in the south. [93] In 1514, the Denianke dynasty was established in Tekrour. 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 only real requirement was that the mansa knew he could trust this individual to safeguard imperial interests. This is one of the main factors to the fall of the kingdom. Mansa Ms, either the grandson or the grandnephew of Sundiata, the founder of his dynasty, came to the throne in 1307. Mansa Musa is potentially the richest person to ever live; as ruler of Mali from 1312 to 1337, he came into power after his brother, King Abu Bakr the Second, vanished on an oceanic voyage. He was the first African ruler to be widely known throughout Europe and the Middle East. The other account claims that Gao had been conquered during the reign of Mansa Sakura. Still, throne names do not usually indicate blood relations. 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. [75] It is possible that it was actually Musa's son Maghan who congratulated Abu al-Hasan, or Maghan who received Abu al-Hasan's envoy after Musa's death. And so the name Keita became a clan/family and began its reign.[70]. His leadership of Mali, a state which stretched across two thousand . Sundjata is credited with at least the initial organisation of the Manding military. Please check the original source(s) for copyright information. Sundiata Keita was a warrior-prince of the Keita dynasty who was called upon to free the local people from the rule of the king of the Sosso Empire, Soumaoro Kant. Please note that content linked from this page may have different licensing terms. "[42], Early European writers such as Maurice Delafosse believed that Niani, a city on what is now the border between Guinea and Mali, was the capital for most of the empire's history, and this notion has taken hold in the popular imagination. Ms Is hajj left a lasting impression of Malis splendour on both the Islamic and European worlds. [117], The swan song of the Mali Empire came in 1599, under the reign of Mansa Mahmud IV. Mansa Musa turned the kingdom of Mali into a sophisticated center of learning in the Islamic world.Mansa Musa came to power in 1312 C.E., after the previous king, Abu Bakr II, disappeared at sea. [56], In the 1960s, archaeological work at Niani village, reputed to be the capital of the Mali Empire, by Polish and Guinean archaeologists revealed the remains of a substantial town dating back as far as the 6th century. [51] Musa made a major point of showing off his nation's wealth. Barring any other difficulties, the dyamani-tigui would run the province by himself collecting taxes and procuring armies from the tribes under his command. [59], On his return journey, Musa met the Andalusian poet Abu Ishaq al-Sahili, whose eloquence and knowledge of jurisprudence impressed him, and whom he convinced to travel with him to Mali. 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. [81] The territory of the Mali Empire was at its height during the reigns of Musa and his brother Sulayman, and covered the Sudan-Sahel region of West Africa. This region straddles the border between what is now southern Mali and northeastern Guinea. Robert Smith, "The Canoe in West African History", harvnb error: no target: CITEREFBourgeois1987 (, Learn how and when to remove these template messages, Learn how and when to remove this template message, Kitab al-Masalik wa al-Mamalik (Book of Highways and Kingdoms) Ab Ubayd Al-Bakri, "The Empire of Mali, In Our Time BBC Radio 4", "Tracing History in Dia, in the Inland Niger Delta of Mali -Archaeology, Oral Traditions and Written Sources". Musa I ( Arabic: , romanized : Mans Ms, N'Ko: ; r. c. 1312 - c. 1337 [a]) was the ninth [4] mansa of the Mali Empire, which reached its territorial peak during his reign. The Malian and Moroccan armies fought at Jenne on 26 April, the last day of Ramadan, and the Moroccans were victorious thanks to their firearms and Bukar's support, but Mahmud was able to escape. "[96], Contemporary sources suggest that the mounts employed by this caravan were one hundred elephants, which carried those loads of gold, and several hundred camels, carrying the food, supplies and weaponries which were brought to the rear.[97]. [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. Ms I of Mali, Ms also spelled Musa or Mousa, also called Kankan Ms or Mansa Musa, (died 1332/37? In 1330, the kingdom of Mossi invaded and conquered the city of Timbuktu. At the time of Musa's ascension to the throne, Mali in large part consisted of the territory of the former Ghana Empire, which Mali had conquered. The final incarnation of the Gbara, according to the surviving traditions of northern Guinea, held 32 positions occupied by 28 clans. Mali was thriving for a long time, but like other west African kingdoms, Mali began to fall. [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. The Mali Empire consisted of land that is now part of Guinea, Senegal, Mauritania, The Gambia, and the modern state 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]. Eventually, due to Muhammad's failure to return, Musa was recognized as mansa.[89]. 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]. [120], The old core of the empire was divided into three spheres of influence. After the victory, King Soumaoro disappeared, and the Mandinka stormed the last of the Sosso cities. [116] Songhai authority over Bendugu and Kala declined by 1571, and Mali may have been able to reassert some authority over them. Arabic sources omit Faga Leye, referring to Musa as Musa ibn Abi Bakr. They camped for three days by the Pyramids of Giza, before crossing the Nile into Cairo on 19 July. [79][80], Musa's reign is commonly regarded as Mali's golden age, but this perception may be the result of his reign being the best recorded by Arabic sources, rather than him necessarily being the wealthiest and most powerful mansa of Mali.
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