Mansa Musa & Trans-Saharan Trade

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 second biggest empire in the world at this time!

Mali makes 50% of the entire world's salt

Grandson of first mansa, Sundiata

Muslim

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

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

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

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

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)

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