Mansa Musa and His Pilgrimage

Mansa Musa and His Pilgrimage

By Caitlin Irwin

Mansa Musa

The original influencer

These are some of the richest men ever. How much do you think each is worth?

Poll

Out of the six listed, who do you believe is the richest? Here is a hint it is not Bill Gates.

• Bezos

• Rockefeller

• Carnegie

• Vanderbilt

• Ford

Rockefeller founded the Standard Oil Company, which dominated the oil industry and was the first great U.S. business trust.

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Rockefeller

​1839-1937

Before Rockefeller there was another man who was much richer...

Mansa Musa

• Considered to be one of the richest men ever.

• Estimate to be worth $5 trillion

• Mansa mean sultan or king

• He was the ruler of the Mali Empire

​1 Trillion -- 1,000,000,000,000

Multiple Choice

What was the name of the empire Musa ruled over?

• Mali

• Sahara

• Mansa

• Africa

Multiple Choice

What does Mansa mean?

• Grandchild

• Priest

• Educator

• King

Multiple Choice

How much money was Mansa Musa estimated to be worth?

• $5 Million

• $5 Billion

• $5 Trillion

• $5 Thousand

Mali Empire

• 1240 - 1645 CE

• Giant influence in Western Africa

• Mansa Musa came into power in 1312CE

• 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.

Multiple Choice

What desert does the Mali Empire have a piece of?

• Sahara

• Kalahari

• Namib

• Arabian

Multiple Choice

What word means making areas more like cities?

• sanitation

• urbanization

• citified

• rural

Pilgrimage to Mecca

• Mansa Musa was a devout (faithful) Muslim

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

• 1324-1325 CE: He makes the hajj 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

Multiple Choice

When it comes to dates, C.E. stands for what?

• Century Edition

• Common Era

• Current Era

• Center Escape

Multiple Choice

Mansa Musa practice of which religion?

• Christianity

• Islam

• Judaism

• Hinduism

Multiple Choice

Where is Mecca?

• Egypt

• Saudi Arabia

• Mali

• Jordan

During the Pilgrimage

• 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)

Multiple Choice

How many people were estimated to accompany Mansa Musa on his pilgrimage to Mecca?

• 12,000

• 60,000

• 300

• 80

After the Pilgrimage

• 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

Multiple Choice

Trade + university + Islam = (what major Mali Empire City)

• Mecca

• Saudi Arabia

• Africa

• Timbuktu

Mansa Musa's successes ​

Mansa Musa’s son had done quite a good job ruling Mali during the time Mansa Musa had been on his pilgrimage. His son had even extended the empire to the east. He did this by conquering the city of Gao, the capital of the neighboring territory of Songhai. To make sure that Songhai would not revolt against Mali, Mansa Musa’s son took two Songhai princes as captives.

Mansa Musa's successes

Mansa Musa continued to support education and building in Mali. He persuaded a North African architect to return to Mali with him to build mosques in Mali’s cities. He exchanged ambassadors with other Muslim countries such as Egypt and Morocco. He established religious schools to teach about Islam. However, he also allowed his people to choose which religion to follow. Some, including the people near the gold mines, continued to follow traditional religions.

Mali after Mansa Musa​

• Mansa Musa died in 1332

• ​After Mansa Musa’s death, his son Mansa Maghan (/mah*gan/) succeeded to the throne.

• Mansa Maghan ruled for only four years, but his reign was a disaster.

​

The Fall of Mali​

• First, Mali lost the city of Timbuktu.

• Second, Mansa Maghan allowed the two Songhai princes to escape. The princes established a new government that would become the Songhai Empire.

The Fall of Mali

The growing threat of the Songhai Empire eventually proved too much for Mali.

​

By 1500, Mali had lost its hold on the gold and salt trade across the Sahara.

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In the late 1400s, the Songhai Empire replaced Mali as the richest and most powerful empire in West Africa. And two captive princes made this happen.

Subject | Subject

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