After the publication of this atlas, Mansa Musa became cemented in the global imagination as a figure of stupendous wealth.Īfter his return from Mecca, Mansa Musa began to revitalize cities in his kingdom. by Spanish cartographers, shows West Africa dominated by a depiction of Mansa Musa sitting on a throne, holding a nugget of gold in one hand and a golden staff in the other. Stories of his fabulous wealth even reached Europe. While in Cairo, Mansa Musa met with the Sultan of Egypt, and his caravan spent and gave away so much gold that the overall value of gold decreased in Egypt for the next 12 years. Arab writers from the time said that he travelled with an entourage of tens of thousands of people and dozens of camels, each carrying 136 kilograms (300 pounds) of gold. The kingdom of Mali was relatively unknown outside of West Africa until this event. When Mansa Musa went on a pilgrimage ( hajj) to Mecca in 1324 C.E., his journey through Egypt caused quite a stir. Elephant ivory was another major source of wealth. His riches came from mining significant salt and gold deposits in the Mali kingdom. 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. Mansa Musa came to power in 1312 C.E., after the previous king, Abu Bakr II, disappeared at sea. Mansa Musa turned the kingdom of Mali into a sophisticated center of learning in the Islamic world. He also brought architects from the Middle East and across Africa to design new buildings for his cities.
Mansa Musa developed cities like Timbuktu and Gao into important cultural centers. The ancient kingdom of Mali spread across parts of modern-day Mali, Senegal, the Gambia, Guinea, Niger, Nigeria, Chad, Mauritania, and Burkina Faso. During his reign, Mali was one of the richest kingdoms of Africa, and Mansa Musa was among the richest individuals in the world. Mansa Musa (Musa I of Mali) was the ruler of the kingdom of Mali from 1312 C.E.
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