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Wilmington, North Carolina once had a thriving Black middle class and an elected interracial government. In 1898 white supremacists used violence to overthrow that government, kill Black residents and drive many others from the city.
MORE →Reflects the personal views, recollections, and perspective of the author, Mike Davis.
This is a personal recollection on the Move fire on May 13, 1985
| Muhammad ibn Qu | |
|---|---|
| Mansa of Mali | |
| Predecessor | Qu |
| Successor | Musa I |
| Died | c. 1312 Atlantic Ocean or the Americas (disputed) |
| Dynasty | Keita |
| Father | Mansa Qu |
Muhammad ibn Qu (Arabic: محمد بن قو, romanized: Muḥammad ibn Qū; fl. 14th century) was the eighth mansa of the Mali Empire. He succeeded his father, Mansa Qu, and was the predecessor of Mali's most famous ruler, Mansa Musa.
Musa said Mansa Muhammad disappeared leading an expedition into the Atlantic Ocean.
The exact dates of Muhammad ibn Qu's reign are not known with certainty, though his reign was certainly brief. His father's predecessor, Sakura, was killed at some point between 1298 and 1308 and his own successor Musa took the throne in 1307 or 1312.[1][2]
In 1324, while staying in Cairo during his hajj, Mansa Musa, the ruler of the Mali Empire, told an Egyptian official whom he had befriended that he had come to rule when his predecessor led a large fleet in an attempt to cross the Atlantic Ocean and never returned. This account, recorded by the Arab historian al-Umari, has attracted considerable interest and speculation as a possible instance of pre-Columbian trans-oceanic contact. The voyage is popularly attributed to a Mansa Abu Bakr II,[a] but no such mansa ever reigned, and it was Mansa Muhammad who disappeared at sea.
Mansa Musa stayed in Cairo for three months in 1324 while en route to Mecca for the hajj.[3] While there, he befriended an emir named Abu al-Hasan Ali ibn Amir Hajib, who was the governor of the district of Cairo Musa was staying in.[4] Ibn Amir Hajib later relayed to the scholar al-Umari what he had learned of Mali from his conversations with Musa. In one such conversation, Ibn Amir Hajib had asked Musa how he had become king, and Musa responded:
We belong to a house which hands on the kingship by inheritance. The king who was my predecessor did not believe that it was impossible to discover the furthest limit of the Atlantic Ocean and wished vehemently to do so. So he equipped 200 ships filled with men and the same number equipped with gold, water, and provisions enough to last them for years, and said to the man deputed to lead them: "Do not return until you reach the end of it or your provisions and water give out." They departed and a long time passed before anyone came back. Then one ship returned and we asked the captain what news they brought. He said: "Yes, O Sultan, we traveled for a long time until there appeared in the open sea [as it were] a river with a powerful current. Mine was the last of those ships. The [other] ships went on ahead but when they reached that place they did not return and no more was seen of them and we do not know what became of them. As for me, I went about at once and did not enter that river." But the sultan disbelieved him. Then that sultan got ready 2,000 ships, 1,000 for himself and the men whom he took with him and 1,000 for water and provisions. He left me to deputize for him and embarked on the Atlantic Ocean with his men. That was the last we saw of him and all those who were with him, and so I became king in my own right.[5]
Al-Umari’s record of this conversation is the only known account of this voyage, as it is not mentioned by other medieval Arab historians or West African oral tradition.[6] Nonetheless, the possibility of such a voyage has been taken seriously by several historians.[6][7][8]
Maghan Kon Fatta | |||||||||
| 1. Mari Jata Sunjata | Abu Bakr[b] Mande Bori | ||||||||
| 2. Uli Yerelinkon | 3. Wati | 4. Khalifa | daughter | Faga Leye[d] | |||||
| 7. Qu Ko or Ko Mamadi | 5. Abu Bakr[c] Bata Mande Bori | 9. Musa Kanku Musa | |||||||
| 8. Muhammad Ko Mamadi or Niani Mamadu | |||||||||
Genealogy of the mansas of the Mali Empire up to Musa, following Levtzion's interpretation of Ibn Khaldun.[9]Bolded individuals reigned as mansa of the Mali Empire, with numbers indicating the order in which they ruled. The sixth mansa, Sakura, is not included as he was not related to the others. The upper, non-italicized name is the name given by Ibn Khaldun, the lower name is the name given in oral tradition.[10][11]
Since Al-Umari’s record of Musa's account does not mention the mansa's name, the only indication of his identity is that he was Musa's predecessor.[5] The identity of the mansa responsible for the voyage has been subject to some confusion.[17] According to the Arab historian Ibn Khaldun, writing several decades later, Musa's predecessor as mansa was Muhammad ibn Qu (Mansa Muhammad). As such, several historians have attributed the voyage to Mansa Muhammad.[17][6][18]
Many sources call the mansa in question Abu Bakr II.[17] However, the inclusion of a Mansa Abu Bakr II in the list of Malian rulers is an error that originated in a mistranslation of Ibn Khaldun’s text by the 19th-century European historian Baron de Slane.[19] De Slane translated Ibn Khaldun as saying that the kingship passed from Muhammad to Abu Bakr, then to Musa. However, in the original Arabic text, Abu Bakr is only mentioned in his role as the progenitor of Musa's lineage, not as a ruler. The Abu Bakr in question was a brother of Sunjata, the founder of the Mali Empire, and apparently never himself ruled. Another figure named Abu Bakr did rule as mansa, but he was the predecessor of Sakura, not Musa.[20]
Mansa Musa himself appears to have considered his predecessor's plan to be impractical.[7] The main point he appears to have been trying to make to Ibn Amir Hajib is that his predecessor's failed voyage paved the way to his becoming king.[17] Likewise, it has been speculated that the lack of information in oral tradition about the voyage reflects a view that the mansa's voyage was a shameful abdication of duty.[21]
In modern times, the voyage has become more celebrated.[22] The Malian historian Gaoussou Diawara has remarked that the mansa should be looked up to by modern politicians as an example of a ruler who valued science and discovery over holding onto power.[21]
Source: Wikipedia. Article content is retrieved live through the MediaWiki API.
Mansa Musa (c. 1280 – c. 1337) was the ninth Mansa of the Mali Empire, which reached its territorial peak during his reign. Musa's reign is often regarded as the zenith of Mali's power and prestige, although he features less in Mandinka oral traditions than his predecessors. Musa was exceptionally wealthy, to an extent that contemporaries described him as inconceivably rich; Time magazine reported: "There's really no way to put an accurate number on his wealth." They cite Ferrum College history professor Richard Smith, who said Mali was likely the largest gold producer in the world at the time, but "contemporary sources describe the king's riches in terms that are impossible for the time." It is known from local manuscripts and travellers' accounts that Mansa Musa's wealth came principally from the Mali Empire's control and taxing of the trade in salt from northern regions and especially from gold panned and mined in Bambuk and Bure to the south. Over a very long period Mali had amassed a large reserve of gold. Mali is also believed to have been involved in the trade in many goods such as ivory, slaves, spices, silks, and ceramics. However, presently little is known about the extent or mechanics of these trades. It is estimated that two thirds of the gold circulating in the Medieval Mediterranean came from West Africa and this accounts for almost half of the Old World's gold supply. Archeological investigations near the town of Tadmekka shows Malians invented their own process of refining gold by using melted glass and removing impurities. While gold was abundant, copper was incredibly scarce and prized in Sub-Saharan Africa and "was exchanged for gold at rates that would be considered unfair by present-day standards." At the time of Musa's ascension to the throne, Mali consisted largely of the territory of the former Ghana Empire, which had become a vassal of Mali. The Mali Empire comprised land that is now part of Guinea, Senegal, Mauritania, the Gambia, and the modern state of Mali which would be an area of 1,300,000 km2. Musa went on Hajj to Mecca in 1324, traveling with an enormous entourage and a vast supply of gold. En route, he spent time in Cairo, where his lavish gift-giving is said to have noticeably affected the value of gold in Egypt and garnered the attention of the wider Muslim world. Musa expanded the borders of the Mali Empire, in particular incorporating the cities of Gao and Timbuktu into its territory. He sought closer ties with the rest of the Muslim world, particularly the Mamluk and Marinid Sultanates. He recruited scholars from the wider Muslim world to travel to Mali, such as the Andalusian poet Abu Ishaq al-Sahili, and helped establish Timbuktu as a center of Islamic learning. His reign is associated with numerous construction projects, including a portion of Djinguereber Mosque in Timbuktu.
Mansa (N'Ko: ߡߊ߲߬ߛߊ; pl. mansaw) is a Maninka and Mandinka word for a hereditary ruler, commonly translated as "king". It is particularly known as the title of the rulers of the Mali Empire, such as Mansa Musa, and in this context is sometimes translated as "emperor". It is also a title held by traditional village rulers, and in this context is translated as "chief". Mansa contrasts with another Manding word for ruler, faama. Faama emphasizes the military, coercive authority of a ruler, and can be translated as "tyrant", whereas mansa refers to a hereditary ruler whose authority is derived from tradition and mystical power. A ruler can be both a faama and a mansa, but a mansa was not necessarily a faama. The word mansa (Arabic: منسا, romanized: mansā) was recorded in Arabic during the 14th century by North African writers such as Ibn Battuta and Ibn Khaldun, who explained it as meaning "sultan". Cognates of mansa exist in other Mandé languages, such as Soninke manga, Susu menge, and Bambara masa. Vydrin also compared it to mensey, the Guanche word for their rulers. According to Misiugin and Vydrin, the original meaning of the root word was probably "chief of hunters" or "chief of warriors". An alternate translation of mansa, which Jansen attributes to the followers of Marcel Griaule, is that mansa means "god", "the divine principle", or "priest-king". Jansen notes that they have not provided their reasoning for choosing this translation.
In 1324, while staying in Cairo during his hajj, Mansa Musa, the ruler of the Mali Empire, told an Egyptian official whom he had befriended that he had come to rule when his predecessor Mansa Muhammad ibn Qu led a large fleet in an attempt to cross the Atlantic Ocean and never returned. Musa's account, recorded by the Arab historian al-Umari, has attracted considerable interest and speculation as a possible instance of pre-Columbian trans-oceanic contact. Mansa Muhammad's voyage is sometimes erroneously attributed to a Mansa Abu Bakr II, but no such mansa ever reigned.
Muhammad ibn Qu (Arabic: محمد بن قو, romanized: Muḥammad ibn Qū; fl. 14th century) was the eighth mansa of the Mali Empire. He succeeded his father, Mansa Qu, and was the predecessor of Mali's most famous ruler, Mansa Musa. Musa said Mansa Muhammad disappeared leading an expedition into the Atlantic Ocean.
Before the 1921 destruction of Tulsa’s Greenwood District, Black residents had created a remarkable center of business and community life. The district included stores, professional offices, entertainment venues and homes owned by Black citizens. Understanding Greenwood means learning what was built—not only what was burned.
MORE →Brown v. Board of Education in 1954.
