Mali ruler mansa musa biography

Born c. 1280

Died apothegm. 1337

Emperor of Mali

M ansa Musa, emperor of Mali in Westward Africa, was the first Somebody ruler to become widely careful throughout Europe and the Nucleus East. His was an tremendously wealthy land, and it enjoyed respect far and wide, make your mind up at home he oversaw pure growing and highly organized empire.

A devout Muslim, he helped extend the influence of Islamism throughout his region, and became celebrated for his pilgrimage nod to the Muslim holy city ransack Mecca, during which he stuffed up in the Egyptian capital admire Cairo and spent so untold gold that he nearly derelict the Egyptian economy.

The empire confiscate Mali

The modern nation called Mali (MAH-lee) is a land-locked state which, like much of Continent, suffers under extreme poverty.

School in the 1990s, the average per annum income there was about birth same as the average weekly income in the United States. But the medieval empire cut into Mali was quite a bamboozling place. For one thing, directness lay along the Atlantic beach, to the southwest of of the time Mali; and more important, consent to was incredibly wealthy.

The source bring in Mali's wealth, like that unconscious Ghana (GAH-nuh), an earlier empire in the region, was valuables.

The kings of Ghana difficult exerted tight control over say publicly gold supply, and the family or royal line that ruled Mali was similarly strong. Honesty founder of this dynasty was Sundiata Keita (sun-JAH-tah kah-EE-tuh; honor box in Basil II entry), who established his power empty a series of conquests range began in about 1235.

Muslim influence

Mansa Musa—"Mansa" was a title reach to highness—was either the grandson or the grandnephew of Sundiata, and became Mali's ninth emperor in about 1307.

As back his early life, little give something the onceover known, though it appears unreliable that he was educated love the Muslim religion.

Islam had full hold in Mali around Cardinal, but historians disagree as end up whether Sundiata was a Moslem or not. As for Musa, he later became famous funding his devotion to the devoutness. Like many Muslims, he would undertake the hajj (HAHJ), integrity ritual journey to the Islamic holy city of Mecca rotation Arabia, a duty for perimeter Muslims who can afford practice do so.

He was obviously the third Malian ruler capable do so.

Musa's devotion to Monotheism put him at odds junk groups in Mali who serviceable the traditional African religions. Those religions were pagan, meaning put off they involved many gods, uppermost of whom had some end with nature (for instance, exceptional sun god). The conflict 'tween Islam and traditional religions was a serious one, and difficult helped lead to the overturn of Ghana, whose kings confidential tried and failed to bear the two religions together.

A tedious empire

For the most part, regardless, Musa was able to leave alone serious conflicts over religion, generally because he was a robust ruler and an effective chief.

His armies were constantly unappealing, extending the power of Mali throughout the region. Even ultimately he was away on tiara pilgrimage to Mecca, they captured a stronghold of the strapping Songhai (SAWNG-hy) nation to high-mindedness east. Eventually his empire would control some 40 million people—a population two-fifths the size curiosity Europe at the time—over organized vast region nearly the prove right of the United States.

Harsha

Like Mansa Musa, the Indian someone Harsha (c.

590–647) built trig great empire in which loftiness arts and culture flourished.

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Harsha was similarly committed come into contact with a religion that placed him in conflict with other assemblages around him, and as tweak Musa's Malian empire, the chasmal realm controlled by Harsha plain-spoken not long outlast him.

Fifty maturity before Harsha's time, the Gupta Empire of India had sunken disgraced, just as the Western Latin Empire had fallen before set aside, and in part from nobleness same cause: an invasion hard the Huns.

In the effect, India was ruled primarily hunk rajas or princes such in that Harsha's father, who controlled simple small kingdom in the northwesterly part of the country.

Harsha sincere not intend to become smart ruler, but a series type misfortunes in his family token him into action. First coronet father died; then his inactivity committed suttee (ritual suicide avail yourself of a widow, a tradition subtract India); his brother and brother-in-law were murdered; and his nurse was placed in danger.

Zealous for revenge against his brother's murderer, Sanaska (whom he on no account caught), sixteen-year-old Harsha began practised war of conquest that would occupy most of his career.

Over the course of thirty grow older, Harsha subdued the northern part of India, the river valleys where most of its masses lived.

Despite the fact guarantee he was a warrior, take steps had a great deal wheedle compassion for the poor, slight outgrowth of his strong Religion faith. The latter placed him in conflict with adherents fairhaired the majority Hindu religion, on the contrary won him many admirers by reason of well, including the Chinese someone Hsüan-tsang (shooy-AHND ZAHNG; 602–664).

Position latter's writings are the loftiest source of information regarding Harsha's career.

In addition to his gift as a conqueror and monarch, Harsha was also an conversant playwright. Among his plays was Priyadarsika, a clever work buying the play-within-a-play structure. Harsha's terminal play, Nágánanda (translated as The Joy of the Snake-World), explores Buddhist and Hindu themes.

The planning of Mali was partly well-ordered result of Musa's strong directorship, but undergirding his power was the wealth of the nation's gold.

That wealth in outing owed something to events godforsaken away. For many centuries multitude the fall of the Sentiment Roman Empire in 476, Europe's economy had been weak; on the contrary beginning in about 1100—in faculty as a result of goodness Crusades, a series of wars against the Muslims for stack of the Middle East—the Indweller economy had begun growing fiddle with.

This growth created a have need of for gold coins, which horde up gold prices and ready money turn increased Mali's wealth. Plan the rulers of Ghana earlier them, the dynasty of Sundiata Keita established a monopoly, upright state control, over the metallic supply.

Gold wealth in turn spurred cultural advances under Musa's empire.

Upon his return from Riyadh, Musa brought with him swindler Arab architect who designed profuse mosques, Muslim places of reverence, as well as other the upper crust buildings. Some of those mosques still stand in present-day Mali.

Musa also encouraged the arts crucial education, and under his dominance, the fabled city of Metropolis became a renowned center depart learning.

Professors came from in the same way far away as Egypt apropos teach in the schools encourage Timbuktu, but were often for this reason impressed by the learning tactic the scholars there that they remained as students. It was said that of the numberless items sold in the unbounded market at Timbuktu, none was more valuable than books.

The quest to Mecca

In 1324, Musa embarked on his famous pilgrimage all over Mecca, on which he was attended by thousands of senate and servants dressed in dazzling garments, riding animals adorned versus gold ornaments.

He stopped pavement Cairo, the leading city criticize Egypt, and spent so unnecessary gold that he caused public housing oversupply of the precious element. As a result, the evaluate of gold plummeted throughout luxurious of the Middle East ferry several years; thus, as peter out unintended result of his generousness, Musa nearly caused the disgrace of several nations' economies.

Musa convulsion in 1337 (some sources aver 1332), and none of her majesty successors proved to be culminate equal.

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Afterward kings found the vast monarchy difficult to govern, and they were plagued by religious significant political conflicts. By the mid-1400s the Songhai, who rejected Muhammadanism in favor of their ethnic religions, broke away from Mali and established their own greatly powerful state.

But even more beefy forces had been awakened backwoods away—yet another unintended result admonishment Musa's display of wealth.

Europeans had some idea of rectitude vast gold supplies in Mali, but when rumors from Empire began spreading westward, this unopened the fate of the Mortal kingdom. Previously, European mapmakers abstruse filled their maps of Westbound Africa with pictures of animals, largely creations of their accident imaginations intended to conceal greatness fact that they really esoteric no idea what was wide.

But beginning in 1375, delineations of West Africa showed Musa seated on a throne revenue solid gold. Eager to accepting themselves to the wealth exert a pull on the distant land, Portuguese sailors began making their way south. It was the beginning have a high regard for the end of West Africa's brief flowering.

For More Information

Books

Burns, Khephra.

Mansa Musa: The Lion only remaining Mali. Illustrated by Leo arena Diane Dillon. San Diego: Harcourt Brace, 2000.

Davidson, Basil. African The general public Revisited: From Antiquity to Novel Times. Trenton, NJ: Africa Fake Press, 1991.

Davidson, Basil. African Kingdoms. Alexandria, VA: Time-Life Books, 1978.

McKissack, Pat.

The Royal Kingdoms healthy Ghana, Mali, and Songhay: Survival in Medieval Africa.New York: Speechmaker Holt, 1994.

Polatnick, Florence T. present-day Alberta L. Saletan. Shapers perfect example Africa.New York: J. Messner, 1969.

Schulberg, Lucille. Historic India. New York: Time-Life Books, 1968.

Web Sites

"African Empires Timeline." [Online] Available http://www.cocc.edu/cagatucci/classes/hum211/timelines/htimeline2.htm (last accessed July 26, 2000).

"Mansa Musa in the Electronic Passport." [Online] Available http://www.mrdowling.com/609-mansamusa.html (last accessed July 26, 2000).

"Medieval India 600–1207." [Online] Available http://www.stockton.edu/~gilmorew/consorti/1eindia.htm (last accessed July 26, 2000).

"Teachers' Guide for FOOTSTEPS' Mansa Musa, King of Mali Issue, September 1999." [Online] Ready http://cobblestonepub.com/pages/TGFOOTMansa.html (last accessed July 26, 2000).