Mansa Musa & Trans-Saharan Trade

Mansa Musa & Trans-Saharan Trade

For Today

• We will quickly review the high points from 4.02 on the West African Kingdoms

• We will look at Mansa Musa and Trans-Saharan Trade

Multiple Select

Which of the following are kingdoms in West Africa that we studied this week?

• Mali

• Byzantium

• Ghana

• Baghdad

• Songhai

Multiple Choice

What do you call the ruler of a West African kingdom?

• king

• sultan

• emperor

• mansa

Multiple Choice

Which empire conquers Ghana and absorbs it into their empire?

• Songhai

• Ghana

• Mali

• Timbuktu

Multiple Choice

What is the final empire in West Africa that conquers Mali?

• Ghana

• Mali

• Songhai

• Shanghai

What is going on today?

• We will begin in Ghana with a brief video about the silent barter in the salt trade

• We will talk about Mali and the rule of Mansa Musa

The Mali Empire

• The second biggest empire in the world at this time!

• Mali makes 50% of the entire world's salt

Open Ended

Why was Mali's salt production so important to its wealth?

Who was Mansa Musa?

• Grandson of first mansa, Sundiata

• Muslim

• Known for his wealth - estimated at $400 billion to $4.6 trillion

Achievements of Mansa Musa

• He urbanized Timbuktu (make it more like a city!)

• Built mosques & universities

• Sankore University in Mali had 25,000 students and one of the largest libraries in the world

Pilgrimage to Mecca

• Mansa Musa was a devout (faithful) Muslim

• 1324-1325 CE: He makes the hajj to Mecca

• He wanted to spread Islam across West & North Africa, show off his empire

Pilgrimage to Mecca

• 60,000 people (12,000 enslaved people) all dressed in silk and carrying gold walking sticks

• Each person personally carried 4 pounds of gold

• 80 camels, and each camel carried 300 pounds of gold dust

Open Ended

What were two (2) goals of Mansa Musa's hajj to Mecca?

The Legend of Mansa Musa

• It is said that Mansa Musa gave gold away to the poor and made large donations to Cairo, Medina, & Mecca on this trip

• The rumor is that he gave away so much gold that is became nearly worthless (too much of something = less value)

After the Hajj

• Mansa Musa invites architects from Spain and Egypt to build a palace & mosques in Timbuktu

• Timbuktu becomes a center of trade & culture

• Trade + university + Islam = Timbuktu becomes a city for Islamic scholars