Depiction of Mansa Musa, ruler of the Mali Empire in the 14th century, from the 1375 Catalan Atlas. The label reads: This Black Lord is called Musse Melly and is the sovereign of the land of the black people of Gineva (Ghana). This king is the richest and noblest of all these lands due to the abundance of gold that is extracted from his lands.[1]
Mansa of Mali
Reign
c. 1312 – c. 1337 (approx. 25 years)
Predecessor
Muhammad[2]
Successor
Magha
Born
Late 13th century Mali Empire
Died
c. 1337 Mali Empire
Spouse
Inari Kunate
House
Keita dynasty
Religion
Islam Maliki
Mansa Musa[a] (reigned c. 1312 – c. 1337[b]) was the ninth[4]Mansa of the Mali Empire, which reached its territorial peak during his reign. Musa's reign is often regarded as the zenith of Mali's power and prestige.
He was extremely wealthy; it has been suggested that he was the wealthiest person in history,[5] but the extent of his actual wealth is not known with any certainty. It is known from local manuscripts and travellers accounts that Mansa Musa's wealth came principally from the Mali Empire controlling and taxing the trade in salt from northern regions and especially from gold panned and mined in the gold-rich regions to the south: Bambuk, Wangara, Bure, Galam, Taghaza and other such kingdoms over many centuries. Over a very long period Mali had created a large reserve of gold. Mali is also suspected to have been involved in the trade in many goods such as ivory, slaves, spices, silks, and ceramics. However presently little is known about the extent or mechanics of these trades.[6][7] 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 Mali Empire consisted of land that is now part of Guinea, Senegal, Mauritania, the Gambia, and the modern state of Mali.
Musa went on Hajj to Mecca in 1324, traveling with an enormous entourage and a vast supply of gold. 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. Musa expanded the borders of the Mali Empire, in particular incorporating the cities of Gao and Timbuktu into its territory. He sought closer ties with the rest of the Muslim world, particularly the Mamluk and Marinid Sultanates. 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 reign is associated with numerous construction projects, including part of Djinguereber Mosque in Timbuktu.
^"The Cresques Project - Panel III". cresquesproject.net. Archived from the original on 12 February 2023. Retrieved 12 February 2023.
^Levtzion 1963, p. 346
^Levtzion 1963, pp. 349–350.
^Levtzion 1963, p. 353
^Mulroy, Clare. "The richest person who ever lived had unimaginable wealth. Inside the world's wealthiest". USA Today. Archived from the original on 27 December 2022. Retrieved 24 December 2022.
^"Mansa Musa (Musa I of Mali)". National Geographic. National Geographic Society. Archived from the original on 19 August 2022. Retrieved 6 September 2022.
^Rodriguez, Junius P. (1997). The Historical Encyclopedia of World Slavery. ABC-CLIO. p. 449. ISBN 978-0-87436-885-7. Retrieved 3 May 2023.
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MansaMusa (reigned c. 1312 – c. 1337) was the ninth Mansa of the Mali Empire, which reached its territorial peak during his reign. Musa's reign is often...
In 1324, while staying in Cairo during his hajj, MansaMusa, the ruler of the Mali Empire, told an Egyptian official whom he had befriended that he had...
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was the eighth mansa of the Mali Empire. He succeeded his father, Mansa Qu, and the predecessor of Mali's most famous ruler, MansaMusa. The exact dates...
to have traded his gold, MansaMusa proved his wealth to the Meccans by handing out the gold he brought on his trip. MansaMusa and his people specifically...
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middle of the 14th century. He was the brother of MansaMusa and succeeded Musa's son Magha as mansa. As mansa, Sulayman continued the diplomatic relations...
MansaMusa III, also known as Foamed Musa or Sérébandjougou was the 18th mansa (emperor) of the Mali Empire. Little is known about him or his reign other...
Maghan II was a mansa of the Mali Empire from 1387 to 1389. He was the son of Mansa Mari Diata II and the brother of MansaMusa II. Tunisian historian...
becomes a clan name. A couple of generations after him, his great-nephew, MansaMusa Keita I of Mali, made a celebrated pilgrimage to Mecca. The dynasty he...
century. After a shift in trading routes, particularly after the visit by MansaMusa around 1325, Timbuktu flourished, due to its strategic location, from...
Musa (name), including a list of people with the surname and given name Moses in Islam MansaMusa, hereditary ruler of the Mali Empire 1312–1337 Musa...
standing cavalry of around 10,000 horsemen by the reign of MansaMusa. With such a force, the mansa was able to project his power from modern Senegal to the...
founder of the Mali Empire. He was also the great-uncle of the Malian ruler MansaMusa, who is usually regarded as the wealthiest person of all time, although...
conquered during the reign of MansaMusa. The Tarikh al-Sudan agrees with the second account in crediting the conquest of Gao to Musa. It is possible that Sakura...
Africa and one of the wealthiest on earth, with its 14th-century emperor MansaMusa believed to be one of the wealthiest individuals in history. Besides being...
gold, reached its territorial and economic height under the reign of MansaMusa I of Mali, the wealthiest individual of medieval times, and perhaps the...
decline of the Mali Empire. Jata was the son of Mansa Maghan, and as such the grandson of MansaMusa. Jata may be the same person as a figure named Jatil...
on the oral-derived Epic of Sunjata. Chapter 6, "MansāMūsā and Global Mali", focuses on MansāMūsā and his famous pilgrimage to Mecca, which generated...
Relationships. Edward Elgar Publishing. pp. 53–55. ISBN 978-1-84376-155-6. "MansaMusa". May 24, 2006. Archived from the original on May 24, 2006. Retrieved...
Mandinka region before this, via Islamic trading diasporas. In 1324, MansaMusa who ruled Mali, went on Hajj pilgrimage to Mecca with a caravan carrying...
Trans-Saharan trade commodities from Timbuktu and Djenné. In the 1300s, Emperor MansaMusa I of the Mali Empire particularly profited from gold in the Malian region...
merchants passing by, it eventually became a large trading city. Eventually MansaMusa I (ruled 1307–1332) gained control of the city. When he traveled to Mecca...
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