[23] Numbered individuals reigned as mansa; the numbers indicate the order in which they reigned. If you have questions about licensing content on this page, please contact ngimagecollection@natgeo.com for more information and to obtain a license. Trade was Mali's form of income, and wealth. Mansa Musa came from his country with 80 loads of gold dust (tibr), each load weighing three qintars. He became emperor in 1307. In his attempt to justify the importance of the Keita and their civilisation in early Arabic literatures, Adelabu, the head of Awqaf Africa in London, coined the Arabic derivatives K(a)-W(e)-Y(a) of the word Keita which in (in what he called) Arabicised Mandingo language Allah(u) Ka(w)eia meaning "Allah Creates All" as a favourable motto of reflection for Bilal Ibn Rabah, one of the most trusted and loyal Sahabah (companions) of the Islamic prophet Muhammad, whom he described (quoting William Muir's book The Life of Muhammad) as 'a tall, dark, and with African feature and bushy hair'[64] pious man who overcame slavery, racism and socio-political obstacles in Arabia to achieve a lofty status in this world and in the Hereafter.[65]. Evidence of cavalry in terracotta figures suggest the empire's prosperous economy as horses are not indigenous to Africa. The other account claims that Gao had been conquered during the reign of Mansa Sakura. Sarah Appleton, National Geographic Society. Mali is the Fula form of the word. If a media asset is downloadable, a download button appears in the corner of the media viewer. "[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]. [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. Hunters from the Ghana Empire (or Wagadou), particularly mythical ancestors Kontron and Sanin, founded Manding and the Malink and Bambaras hunter brotherhood. It contained three immense gold mines within its borders unlike the Ghana Empire, which was only a transit point for gold. Ibn Battuta, who visited the capital city from 1352 to 1353, called it Mali. The Wolof populations of the area united into their own state known as the Jolof Empire in the 1350s. 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 army of the Mali Empire used of a wide variety of weapons depending largely on where the troops originated. [147][148], The Sudano-Sahelian influence was particularly widely incorporated during the rule of Mansa Musa I, who constructed many architectural projects, including the Great Mosque of Gao and Royal Palace in Timbuktu, which was built with the assistance of Ishaak al-Tuedjin, an architect brought by Musa from his pilgrimage to Mecca. If Dakajalan was, in fact, situated near Kangaba, this may also have contributed to their conflation, beginning with Delafosse's speculation that the latter may have begun as a suburb of the former. [42] Another source of income for Mali during Musa's reign was taxation of the copper trade. [16] However, al-Umari gives Mali as the name of the capital province and Ibn Khaldun refers to Mali as a people, with each giving different names for the capital city itself. 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". [46] Kangaba became the last refuge of the Keita royal family after the collapse of the Mali Empire, and so has for centuries been associated with Sundiata in the cultural imagination of Mande peoples. [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]. Get a Britannica Premium subscription and gain access to exclusive content. Musa was a very successful military leader. Gold dust had been weighed and bagged for use at least since the time of the Ghana Empire. [75] This victory resulted in the fall of the Kaniaga kingdom and the rise of the Mali Empire. Wagadou and Mema became junior partners in the realm and part of the imperial nucleus. He intended to abdicate the throne and return to Mecca but died before he was able to do so. While every effort has been made to follow citation style rules, there may be some discrepancies. So lavish was the emperor in his spending that he flooded the Cairo market with gold, thereby causing such a decline in its value that the market some 12 years later had still not fully recovered. He was the first African ruler to be widely known throughout Europe and the Middle East. [60] She was a hunchback from the land of Do, south of Mali. Its first meeting, at the famous Kouroukan Fouga (Division of the World), had 29 clan delegates presided over by a belen-tigui (master of ceremony). [71] The tiny kingdom of Niani was one of several in the Kri area of Manden. He is also called Hidji Mansa . Mansa Musa was the great-great-grandson of Sunjata, who was the founder of the empire of Mali. [93] Mansa Maghan Keita I spent wastefully and was the first lacklustre emperor since Khalifa Keita. CREDITS: Chart/Narration: Matt Baker. Before Dankaran Touman and his mother could enjoy their unimpeded power, King Soumaoro set his sights on Niani forcing Dankaran to flee to Kissidougou.[60]. He sought closer ties with the rest of the Muslim world, particularly the Mamluk and Marinid Sultanates. 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. . Upon his return in 1324, Ms Is pious pilgrimage inspired him to commission two enormous mosques in Timbuktu and Gao. After the publication of this atlas, Mansa Musa became cemented in the global imagination as a figure of stupendous wealth.After his return from Mecca, Mansa Musa began to revitalize cities in his kingdom. His administration and military work allowed the empire to survive through the 16th century, solidifying him, his empire, and his family into the imaginations of storytellers around the world. The exact date of Musa's accession is debated. [15] Leo Africanus said that the capital city was called Melli. To his parents' dread, the prince did not have a promising start. [47], According to Jules Vidal and Levtzion, citing oral histories from Kangaba and Keyla, another onetime capital was Manikoro or Mali-Kura, founded after the destruction of Niani. Inside the world's wealthiest", "Mansa Musa (Musa I of Mali) | National Geographic Society", "The 25 richest people who ever lived inflation adjusted", "Civilization VI the Official Site | News | Civilization VI: Gathering Storm Mansa Musa Leads Mali", International Journal of African Historical Studies, "Searching for History in The Sunjata Epic: The Case of Fakoli", "chos d'Arabie. 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. To Westerners, he seems to have been the greatest of Mali rulers, as visible in games like Civilization. The University of Sankore in Timbuktu was restaffed under Musa's reign with jurists, astronomers, and mathematicians. Research/Artwork: From Nothing Team. [8] Mansa, 'ruler'[9] or 'king'[10] in Mand, was the title of the ruler of the Mali Empire. [citation needed] The northern region on the other hand had no shortage of salt. [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. Kankan Musa, better known as Mansa Musa probably took power in approximately 1312, although an earlier date is possible. His skillful administration left his empire well-off at the time of his death, but eventually, the empire fell apart. What is evident is that there is no steady lineage governing the empire. The second account is that of the traveller Ibn Battuta, who visited Mali in 1352. The Gao mosque was built of burnt bricks, which had not, until then, been used as a material for building in West Africa. Mansa Ms left a realm notable for its extent and richeshe built the Great Mosque at Timbuktubut he is best remembered in the Middle East and Europe for the splendour of his pilgrimage to Mecca (1324). [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. Several alternate spellings exist, such as Congo Musa, Gongo Musa, and Kankan Musa, but they are regarded as incorrect. Web. 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. It was cut into pieces and spent on goods with close to equal buying power throughout the empire. [111] This envoy from the Portuguese coastal port of Elmina arrived in response to the growing trade along the coast and Mali's now urgent request for military assistance against Songhai. In approximately 1140 the Sosso kingdom of Kaniaga, a former vassal of Wagadou, began conquering the lands of its old rulers. [27] The date of Musa's birth is unknown, but he still appeared to be a young man in 1324. Mali Emperors Family Tree | Mansa Musa - The Richest Man in World History 71,113 views Nov 27, 2019 1.8K Dislike Share Save UsefulCharts 1.08M subscribers Watch the map animation on From. Musa is reported to have reigned for 25 years, and different lines of evidence suggest he died either. On this Wikipedia the language links are at the top of the page across from the article title. In their own country they use only slave women and men for transport, but for long journeys such as pilgrimages they have mounts. Sundiata Keita is the first ruler for which there is accurate written information (through Ibn Khaldun). [6] The early history of the Mali Empire (before the 13th century) is unclear, as there are conflicting and imprecise accounts by both Arab chroniclers and oral traditionalists. These oral stories . Wagadou's control over Manden came to a halt after internal instability lead to its decline. The conquest of Sosso in c. 1235 gave the Mali Empire access to the trans-Saharan trade routes. Watch the map animation on From Nothing:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QOexUoPc6YUBe sure to subscribe to From Nothing for more African History:https://www.. U UsefulCharts 0 followers More information Mansa Musa Family Tree Rich Man Ibn Battuta had written that in Taghaza there were no trees and there is only sand and the salt mines. . Al-Umari's list, which is quoted with slight differences by al-Qalqashandi, is as follows: Al-Umari also indicates that four Amazigh tribes were subjects of Mali: Gomez instead suggests that these tribes would have inhabited territory in the vicinity of Mema, Ghana, and Diafunu. If you have questions about how to cite anything on our website in your project or classroom presentation, please contact your teacher. We all know of Mansa Musa, possibly the richest man to ever exist. He was the son of Niani's faama, Nare Fa (also known as Maghan Kon Fatta meaning the handsome prince). In Niani, Musa built the Hall of Audience, a building communicating by an interior door to the royal palace. Musa and his entourage gave and spent freely while in Cairo. Like the Great Mosque, a contemporaneous and grandiose structure in Timbuktu, the Hall was built of cut stone. When you reach out to him or her, you will need the page title, URL, and the date you accessed the resource. [83] This term was used interchangeably with dinar, though it is unclear if coined currency was used in the empire. The Mali Empire (Manding: Mand[3] or Manden; Arabic: , romanized:Ml) was an empire in West Africa from c. 1226 to 1670. We would much rather spend this money on producing more free history content for the world. Let us know if you have suggestions to improve this article (requires login). Musa Mansa | YourDictionary and transl. He stopped in Cairo along the way, and his luxurious spending and gift giving was so extensive that he diluted the value of gold by 10 to 25 percent and impacted Cairos economy for at least 12 years afterward. Atlantic voyage of the predecessor of Mansa Musa - Wikipedia by UsefulCharts. Salt was as valuable, if not more valuable, than gold in sub-Saharan Africa. By the end of Mansa Musa's reign, the Sankor University had been converted into a fully staffed university with the largest collections of books in Africa since the Library of Alexandria. During his reign, the Mossi emperor Bonga of Yatenga raided into Mali and plundered Macina. Masuta performs many of the same attacks as his original incarnation (though he yells a quote prior to using his abilities), but does not summon thrashing waters or create . (2020, October 17). Mansa Musa (about 1280 - about 1337) was an emperor (mansa) of the Mali Empire during the 14th century. [92] Furthermore, it is difficult to meaningfully compare the wealth of historical figures such as Mansa Musa, due to the difficulty of separating the personal wealth of a monarch from the wealth of the state and the difficulty of comparing wealth in highly different societies. The Venetian explorer Alvise Cadamosto and Portuguese traders confirmed that the peoples of the Gambia were still subject to the mansa of Mali. They are descendants of. The only major setback to his reign was the loss of Mali's Dyolof province in Senegal. Accounts of how many people and how much gold he spent vary. [122] They targeted Moroccan pashas still in Timbuktu and the mansas of Manden. [60] The anglicised version of this name, Sunjata, is also popular. World History Foundation is a non-profit organization registered in Canada. [41] Given the grandeur of his subsequent hajj, it is likely that Musa spent much of his early reign preparing for it. [59] Those not living in the mountains formed small city-states such as Toron, Ka-Ba and Niani. Kankoro-sigui Mari Djata, who had no relation to the Keita clan, essentially ran the empire in Musa Keita II's stead. National Geographic Society is a 501 (c)(3) organization. Every year merchants entered Mali via Oualata with camel loads of salt to sell in Niani. Each representative or ton-tigi ("quiver-master") provided counsel to the mansa at the Gbara, but only these two ton-tigi held such wide-ranging power. Mansa Musa ruled over the Mali empire in the 14th Century, and his incredible access to gold made him arguably . Still, when Ibn Battuta arrived at Mali in July 1352, he found a thriving civilisation on par with virtually anything in the Muslim or Christian world. Jansen, Jan: "The Younger Brother and the Stranger. Mansa Abu Bakr II had departed on a large fleet of ships to explore the Atlantic Ocean, and never returned.Mansa Musa inherited a kingdom that was already wealthy, but his work in expanding trade made Mali the wealthiest kingdom in Africa. Khalifa would shoot arrows at his subjects, so he was overthrown and killed. Wali was succeeded by his brother Wati, about whom nothing is known,[82][83] and then his brother Khalifa. He had so much gold that during his hajj to Mecca, the Mansa passed out gold to all the poor along the way. 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. [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 wooden window frames of an upper storey were plated with silver foil; those of a lower storey with gold. However, Al-Nasir Muhammad returned Musa's earlier show of generosity with gifts of his own. 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). Mansa Mss prodigious generosity and piety, as well as the fine clothes and exemplary behaviour of his followers, did not fail to create a most-favourable impression. "[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. Mansa Musa (Musa I of Mali) was the king of the ancient empire of Mali in West Africa. Any interactives on this page can only be played while you are visiting our website. World History Publishing is a non-profit company registered in the United Kingdom. Among these are references to "Pene" and "Malal" in the work of al-Bakri in 1068,[53][54] the story of the conversion of an early ruler, known to Ibn Khaldun (by 1397) as Barmandana,[55] and a few geographical details in the work of al-Idrisi. The Gbara or Great Assembly would serve as the Mandinka deliberative body until the collapse of the empire in 1645. Rulers of West African states had made pilgrimages to Mecca before Mansa Ms, but the effect of his flamboyant journey was to advertise both Mali and Mansa Ms well beyond the African continent and to stimulate a desire among the Muslim kingdoms of North Africa, and among many of European nations as well, to reach the source of this incredible wealth. The Mali Empire consisted of land that is now part of Guinea, Senegal, Mauritania, The Gambia, and the modern state of Mali. The Camara (or Kamara) are said to be the first family to have lived in Manding, after having left, due to the drought, Ouallata, a region of Wagadou, in the south-east of present-day Mauritania. 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. 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. Musa is known for his wealth and generosity. [82], Musa is less renowned in Mand oral tradition as performed by the jeliw. Consequently, the name of Mali and Timbuktu appeared on 14th century world maps. [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. [34][35] Nonetheless, the possibility of such a voyage has been taken seriously by several historians. UsefulCharts, . 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 encouraged his subjects immersion in scholarship, the arts, and the Qurn.