Mansa Musa was the ninth ruler of the Mali Empire in West Africa, whose reign brought the empire to its greatest territorial extent and made it famous across the Mediterranean and Middle Eastern world for its wealth in gold. Mali controlled major trans-Saharan trade routes and the gold fields of Bambuk and Bure, and Mansa Musa is best remembered for his pilgrimage to Mecca in 1324, undertaken with a retinue reported by contemporary Arabic sources to number in the thousands and to include enormous quantities of gold, so much that his spending in Cairo along the way reportedly depressed the value of gold in Egypt for years afterward. The pilgrimage brought Mali to the attention of Mediterranean mapmakers, and Mansa Musa appears, seated on a throne holding a large gold nugget, on the Catalan Atlas of 1375, one of the most influential medieval maps of the world. On his return he brought architects and scholars from the Islamic world to Mali, expanding Islamic learning and architecture in cities including Timbuktu, whose Sankore mosque and the scholarly community around it date substantially from his reign and that of his immediate successors. His exact death date is not firmly established, with different sources placing it between 1332 and 1337.
Facts
Open Questions
BirthplaceNot recorded by any surviving primary source 1 Secondary sources commonly name Niani, the Mali Empire's capital, as his birthplace, but no surviving primary Arabic source (Ibn Battuta, al-Umari, Ibn Khaldun) states this directly; it is inference from his seat of power. Death PlaceNot recorded by any surviving primary source 1 Secondary sources commonly name Niani as his place of death as well, on the same inference from his capital; no surviving primary source states it directly, and even his death year is disputed among historians (proposed dates range from 1332 to 1337). Role
Role (category) Birth YearNo contemporary record gives a birth date; circa 1280 is the range commonly cited by modern historians from his approximate age during the 1324 pilgrimage. RoleMansa (emperor) of the Mali Empire (reigned circa 1312 to circa 1337). 2 Disputed
Death YearArabic sources disagree on the exact year of his death, with proposals ranging from 1332 to 1337. FAQs
Did Mansa Musa really crash the price of gold in Cairo?
Reportedly yes: he was said to have spent so much gold in Cairo that bullion lost about 20 percent of its value.
This is a reported tradition rather than a measured fact. World History Encyclopedia says that on his 1324 stopover in Cairo, during his pilgrimage to Mecca, Mansa Musa was said to have spent so much gold that the value of bullion crashed by 20 percent. The wording matters: the figure is attributed to what was said, and the page presents it as part of the story of how Mali's wealth became famous well beyond West Africa.
What did Mansa Musa bring back to Mali from his pilgrimage to Mecca?
He brought back architects and scholars who built mosques and universities in cities such as Timbuktu.
According to World History Encyclopedia, he brought back architects and scholars from his pilgrimage to Mecca. They went on to build mosques and universities, and the same source credits that work with making cities such as Timbuktu internationally famous.
Connections
In Era
Open Questions
Participant In
Additional Source Wikipedia: Mansa Musa (pilgrimage source)Pilgrimage to Mecca section (undertaken by)
Related To
Additional Source Wikipedia: Sundiata KeitaLead section, great-uncle of Mansa Musa
Ruled
Source The Cambridge Medieval History
In the Other Atlases
Originated In
Also in Geography Atlas: where this subject originated.
Sources
1. Wikipedia
WikipediaMansa Musa: GenderQuote, Mansa Musa: Gender
Mali controlled major trans-Saharan trade routes and the gold fields of Bambuk and Bure, and Mansa Musa is best remembered for his pilgrimage to Mecca in 1324, undertaken with a retinue reported by contemporary Arabic sources to number in the thousands and to include enormous quantities of gold, so much that his spending in Cairo along the way reportedly depressed the value of gold in Egypt for years afterward.
2. The Cambridge Medieval History
Cambridge University PressRuled: Mali Empire
3. Wikipedia: Mansa Musa (pilgrimage source)
Wikipedialead paragraph
Mansa Musa (c. 1280 - c. 1337) was the ninth Mansa of the Mali Empire, which reached its territorial peak during his reign.
Participant In: Mansa Musa's Pilgrimage to Mecca, Pilgrimage to Mecca section (undertaken by)
the hajj undertaken in 1324 and 1325 by Musa I
View the Source Wikidata: Mansa Musa
Wikidata Q309333, class allow-list match (w-wdresolver-0926)View the Source Wikipedia: Sundiata Keita
WikipediaRelated To: Sundiata Keita, Lead section, great-uncle of Mansa MusaQuote, Related To: Sundiata Keita, Lead section, great-uncle of Mansa Musa
He was also the great-uncle of the Malian ruler Mansa Musa
Open Questions (1 open question)
Where was Mansa Musa born, and where did he die?
Secondary sources commonly name Niani, the Mali Empire's capital, as both his birthplace and place of death, but no surviving primary Arabic source states either directly; it is an inference from his seat of power.
What would resolve this A surviving Malian court record, or a direct statement in the Arabic geographic sources (Ibn Battuta, al-Umari, Ibn Khaldun) naming his birthplace or place of death; the surviving sources establish his reign and pilgrimage but not these two facts directly.
Medieval West African and Mali Empire historyWikipedia: Mansa Musa (pilgrimage source)
Reader Challenges (0)
No disputes yet. Spotted an error or a better source? Open the first one.
Sign in to dispute this or suggest a correction.