Mansa Musa

In 1324, Mansa Musa made a pilgrimage from Mali to Mecca. He built masques along the way, caused the price of gold to drastically drop in Cairo, and returned to Mali with Muslim scholars. Mansa brought the Kingdom of Mali to its highest point. The legend of this king made Europeans believe that Africa had a city of gold. Who was this king? Let's take a closer look at Mansa Musa!

Mansa Musa: History

In 1312, the king of Mali, Abu Bakr II, went on a voyage from which he would never return. Before he left, the king placed Mansa Musa I of Mali in charge of the kingdom while he was away. Mansa wasn't related to the former king but was entrusted with the Kingdom of Mali.

Fig 1: This is a map of the Kingdom of Mali at the end of the reign of Mansa Musa. Many of these areas weren't a part of Mali when the Mansa became king.

King Mansa Musa

Mansa inherited a wealthy kingdom and grew it into an empire. The people of Mali didn't have a shared identity, which meant that they didn't feel like a united people. To solve this, Musa made Islam the state religion. Trade with other Muslims became more accessible because of a shared sense of identity, but non-Muslims didn't always want to accept the religion.

When miners at a gold mine refused to work if their religion went unrecognized, Musa took control of the situation. He didn't force non-Muslims to convert. While Islamic laws were enforced, Mansa Musa practiced traditional non-Muslim trials. He also took part in religious events outside of Islam.

On top of the use of Islam as a unifying device, it was used to network. Traders who practiced Islam were inclined to do business with the people of Mali. While being Muslim wasn't the deciding factor in the traders working with the people of Mali, it did help. Speaking of trade, let's take a closer look at the economy that Mansa created in Mali!

Mansa Musa: Empire

Mali was a rich empire, but Mansa capitalized on the trade industry. Mali was described to have trade goods from all over Africa. Gold was an important good produced in Mali. Mali had two rich gold mines which produced so much gold, that it was considered less valuable than goods like salt, fabrics, and copper.

The gold mines in Mali were kept a secret. Miners were so good at keeping the mines' locations hidden that even the merchants who traded with them had no idea where they were. Mansa didn't reveal the mines' locations because that put them at risk of banditry.

Miners would meet traders at natural locations. The traders would place goods at the location and then leave. The miners would then go to the location and place the gold that they were willing to trade for the goods. If the traders liked the amount of gold, they would take it. If not, they would leave again, then the miners would return to leave more gold. When a price was decided upon, the traders would take the gold, then the merchants would take the goods.

Fig 2: Image of Mansa Musa published in a Spanish Atlas in 1375

While the gold trade was great for Mali, Mansa Musa also capitalized on trade routes. Musa had his large standing army rid the trade routes of bandits. There was a zero-tolerance policy for bandits on trade routes. The routes through Mali were so safe that merchants with goods from all over the world took them. Mansa, of course, taxed those who used his route. This system provided a generous income for the Empire of Mali.

Mansa Musa Pilgrimage

In 1324, Mansa Musa went on a Hajj. When Mansa took this pilgrimage, he showed his dedication to Islam. Every Muslim was supposed to take a Hajj. The emperor saw himself as no exception. Every Friday, the emperor had a masque built wherever his caravan stopped to pray. This display showed Mansa's commitment to his faith.

Mansa had an enormous entourage with him on this pilgrimage that included 60,000 people and 600 camels. The camels carried gold dust that Mansa would spend along his journey. At least 12,000 members of his entourage were enslaved people. A large portion of them was his standing army.

Mansa was a very generous spender that paid any price that a vendor asked. He spent so much money in Cairo that the value of gold went down. This value wasn't restored for several years! When Mansa met with the Sultan of Cairo, he found himself at an impasse.

The Sultan couldn't bow to Mansa because it would signal that he was weak. Mansa was unable to bow for the same reason. Mansa, ever the creative problem solver, kissed the ground and praised Allah. This won him the favor of the Sultan.

Fig 3: Mansa and his entourage on their way to Mecca

When Mansa arrived in Cairo, he networked with other Muslims. His entourage returned with Muslim scholars, mathematicians, architects, poets, and more! Legends of Mansa's pilgrimage spread across the world. Europeans believed that Africa had its own version of the legendary city made of gold - El Dorado.

When Mansa passed through Cairo on his way home, he borrowed gold from loaners. His wanted to increase the value of gold, so he borrowed it at high rates. When he returned to Mali, Mansa immediately paid back the loan. This caused the gold to lose value again.

Mansa Musa: Significance

Mansa Musa made sure that Mali was known across Africa. Before his rule, Mali was wealthy, but only known within West Africa. Mansa contributed to the growth of the Malian economy by investing in trade routes, and gold mines, and unifying the people.

He also made cities, like Timbuktu, Islamic cultural hubs. Mansa brought scholars of all kinds to Mali. Mansa's pilgrimage became a legend. Many of the surrounding stories are exaggerated today. There are links to Portuguese and Spanish legends about African wealth that can be traced back to Mansa Musa.