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This article is written by Sheikomak
African monarchs on the map of Europeans
Before we start with the main text, let's talk about a map. This map is called the Catalan Map. Professionals consider this to be the most beautiful map drawn in the Middle Ages and one of the most important works in cartographic history.
Map of Catalan
We look to the bottom of the map on the far left – this is Africa. To the west, a white man wearing a veil under his chin rides on an animal, possibly a camel, though the cartographer may not have seen it. The camel was ridden by a Berber nomad. To the east, another white man dressed in navy blue with a turban on his head and a long curved knife in his hand was the king of Organa, probably the city of Valgra in present-day Algeria. Their eyes meet the person in between. He was sitting on the throne with his face to one side. His skin was black, his beard was properly trimmed, his forearms and feet were bare, he wore a wide golden coat and a gold crown, holding a lily scepter in one hand and a golden ball in the other. He held up the ball as if to show it to the world.
The area ruled by the king was called Ginyia. On the map, the king is surrounded by four place names: Tagaza, Tonbuch, Gougou, and Buda, in the oasis of Tuvat, Algeria. The two place names to the left were also the king's domains, although the domains were of different ranks: Sultan (Sudam, derived from the Arabic "Sûdân" (referring to the black race) and Mari (Melly). The picture is illustrated with a caption that reads in Catalan: "This black monarch, named Musse Melly, is the black king of Guinea. He had a large amount of gold in his domain, so he was the richest and most honored monarch here. ”
This is the protagonist of our story today, one of the most famous mansa in the history of the Mali Empire, Mansa Musa.
Mansa Musa on the map of Catalan
The majesty of Mansamusa
After Abu Becker II sailed away in 1312, Mansamusa began to rule Mali until his death in 1337. His 25 years of rule in Mali are considered the golden age of the Malian Empire.
Musa expanded its territory and flourished. Mali's territory reached the valleys of the Gambia and lower Senegal rivers to the west, and submitted to the Wolf Kingdom. As far north as the desert north of Wagra, the Taudini salt-producing areas were controlled, and the nomadic Sanghaja paid tribute to Mali. The Eastern Datatad Macka produces copper, but administrative power in southern Mali has not crossed the Malinkai ghetto. In the middle of the fourteenth century, Mali was one of the world's great powers in terms of land size and national wealth.
When Mansamusa rode out on horseback, a red-plated yellow royal flag flew above his head. When Mansa officially met the people, he carried a golden weapon with him, including a bow and arrow symbolizing royal power. Mansa sat on a huge throne made of ebony, which was mounted on a platform with ivory standing next to it. Behind Mansa stood about 30 slaves. On Mansa's head, a slave holds a silky red parasol with a falcon made of gold on it.
Flag of the Maharajas
The kings of the small kingdoms belonging to Mansa sat in two rows, with the cavalry generals behind them. In front of Mansa stood a knife-wielding guard, along with a key spokesman known as Jerry. Mansa never spoke out loud in public, just told Jerry what he wanted to say, and Jerry announced it loudly to the others.
Mansa is always accompanied by music when he appears in public, with drums of various sizes, trumpets made of ivory, and a xylon known as Baba, which is known for its beautiful sound.
Mansa meets with his subjects
Pilgrimage
Of all the ancient West African rulers who made their pilgrimage to Mecca, Mansamusa was undoubtedly the most famous. In 1324-1326, Mansa Moussa made a pilgrimage to Mecca, which brought attention to this distant West African country in North Africa, especially Egypt. This is also a major event in the medieval history of Africa.
As he prepared his trip to Mecca, the fortune-teller advised him to wait until a Saturday, which happened to be the twelfth day of the month. That meant he had to wait nine months before he left, but he did. The trip through the Sahara Desert took a year. Mansa Moussa is said to have accompanied him, including his eldest wife, Inari Kanute, with hundreds of attendants and slaves. The entourage also included Muslims from the Malian community of officials and merchants, soldiers from the protection team, camel herders, waiters and slaves. Count dried camels and donkeys to carry food, water and other supplies. In addition to livestock, slaves helped transport the placer gold. According to records, he led an entourage of at least 8,000 people.
When Mansamusa arrived in Egypt in July 1324, they camped near the Great Pyramids of Cairo. Because he brought a huge amount of gold, his trip to Egypt caused a great sensation. According to records, 500 of his 8,000 retinue were slaves, each carrying a 4-pound golden staff and 100 camels each carrying 300 pounds of gold. He spent so much money that he gave 40,000 gold dinars to the Sultan of Nasir of Egypt. He also gave the sultan's assistant 10,000 gold dinars, which was very generous to everyone in the Egyptian royal palace. The gold he gave and spent flooded the Cairo market, plunging the local gold price by 12 percent and failing to return to its original price for 12 years.
Moussa and his party stayed in Cairo for three months before continuing their pilgrimage to the Arabian Peninsula, two holy sites in Mecca and Medina.
After the Hajj, Mansa Moussa's wealth was a sensation, and the Mali Empire became famous. Marimasa is known as the "King of the Gold Mines" and is the "richest and noblest king" in Africa. Until half a century later, people were still talking about it. An Egyptian author recorded: "King Musa ibn Abu Bakr arrived in Egypt to pay homage to the ancient temples of Allah and to visit the tomb of the prophet revered by the world. Moses was a young man with light black skin, a handsome face, and a personable demeanor. He was accompanied by more than 10,000 people in a group of richly dressed soldiers on horseback. He carries exquisite, gorgeous gifts and gifts. It is said that the length of his territory is 3 years, and there are 14 dependencies, including kings and rulers. Al Yumari records: "On my first trip to Cairo and my stop in the city, I heard that Sultan Musa had come here on a pilgrimage. I saw the local people in Cairo excited when they mentioned the extravagance of these people. Another biographer who collected historical sources, Mihmandâr (the Mamluk official in charge of accompanying foreign missions at the court of Sultan in Egypt), described the rulers of Mali this way: "He was noble, lived a luxurious life, and was religious. When I met him on behalf of Nasirddin Mohammed (then the Sultan of the Mamluks), he greeted me in the most thoughtful way and treated me with the most nuanced courtesy. The son of the prince's court attendant recorded: "He was noble and generous, generous and charitable. He left Mali with 100 camels loaded with gold. Moses squandered gold anywhere on the pilgrimage, whether in the tribes passing between Mali and Cairo, Cairo, or between Cairo and Hejaz, squandering gold on the way and back, to the point where he would eventually need to borrow money from Cairo. He borrowed money from merchants, backed by high profits. "Intelligent, pious, rich, that's the impression that the Malian rulers left on Cairo.
Moussa's pilgrimage
Cultural development in Mali
After this pilgrimage, Mali's economic and cultural ties with North Africa have become closer. In 1337, Mali exchanged envoys with the Sultan of Hassan in Morocco to establish diplomatic relations. The King of Mali was a passionate advocate of the absorption of Islamic culture, sent international students to Study in Egypt, and set up a residential dormitory for Malian students in Cairo. Moussa honored Islamic scholars and hired them to serve in Mali. Abu Isaac Al-Sahili, a Spanish-Muslim architect who had been recruited at the time, had designed and built mosques and palaces in Timbuktu, Gao and other cities. He helped Moses build a rectangular house with a dome. This pioneered Mali's famous "Sultanate" architectural style. The house is decorated with colorful plaster. Timbuktu's famous Jan Grebel Mosque was built by him on the orders of Musa.
Gate of The Jane Grebel Mosque
Moroccan and Egyptian scholars have emigrated in Mali to teach, and many black scholars have been trained, through which they have trained a large number of teachers who understand Arabic and spread out education. A number of commercial cities gradually developed into Centers of Islamic Scholarship, with Timbuktu being the most prestigious. The Sankolay Mosque, with its vast collection of books and manuscripts, became a well-known Islamic university in the Muslim world. The long-established academic culture of West Sudan blossomed in Timbuktu, ushering in a glorious new era of black Culture in West Africa. The culture of the Mali Empire is characterized by the fact that it absorbs the essence of Islamic culture in North Africa and preserves the characteristics of black culture in West Sudan, and integrates into a unique culture. It has fed many ethnic groups in a vast region of West Africa and has had a profound impact. When Ibn Battuta visited the Malian Empire in 1353, he painted a vivid description of the prosperity of the empire and the grandeur of imperial etiquette, and he praised the people of Mali: "These negroes have good qualities, there are very few unrighteous people here; of all the peoples, they are the least unjust." Their Sultans do not condone anyone who misbehaves. There is peace everywhere at home and abroad, and neither the traveler nor the local residents are worried about robbery and mob murder." Obviously, Mali's economy and culture at that time were developing upwards and social stability.
British postcard on Sankley University in 1905
After Musa's death in 1337, he was succeeded by his son Maga. But Mansamaga ruled for four years before dying. The throne was succeeded by Maga's uncle, Moussa's younger brother Suleiman. During Suleiman's reign, Mali continued to prosper, but a great crisis was brewing within the Mali Empire.
Resources
(1) Zheng Jiaxin: The Mali Empire with the medieval history of Africa
(2) Li Anshan: The ancient kingdom of Africa
(3) David C. Condra: Medieval West African Empires
（4）F. Fowell-Aymar: The Golden Rhinoceros: A History of Medieval Africa