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Mansa Musa

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.

Docket 02-6793 Mansa Musa Yusef Banshee, aka Stanley Rembert Butler, Petitioner v. William E. Gunn, Director, South Carolina Department of Probation, Parole and Pardon Services, et al., October 9, 2002

Mansa (title)

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.

Atlantic voyage of Mansa Muhammad

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.

Mansa Muhammad

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.

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