Mansa Musa was the great-great-grandson of Sunjata, who was the founder of the empire of Mali. There are a few references to Mali in early Islamic literature. The empire was founded by Sundiata Keita (c. 1214 c. 1255) and became renowned for the wealth of its rulers, especially Mansa Musa (Musa Keita). But the Mali Empire built by his predecessors was too strong for even his misrule and it passed intact to Musa's brother, Souleyman Keita in 1341. In the early 15th century, Mali was still powerful enough to conquer and settle new areas. Mansa Musa began extending the shores of the empire alongside amassing great wealth and riches. The Mali Empire covered a larger area for a longer period of time than any other West African state before or since. [93] He did not, however, hold the power of previous mansas because of the influence of his kankoro-sigui. [86] Fajigi is remembered as having traveled to Mecca to retrieve ceremonial objects known as boliw, which feature in Mand traditional religion. Please check the original source(s) for copyright information. Musa's name Kanku Musa means "Musa son of Kanku", but the genealogy may not be literal. The Catalan Atlas, created in 1375 C.E. A manuscript page from Timbuktu showing a table of astronomical information. Not only do we pay for our servers, but also for related services such as our content delivery network, Google Workspace, email, and much more. [124] Following this disastrous set of events, Mansa Mama Maghan abandoned the capital of Niani. Mali flourished especially when Timbuktu came under Mansa Musa's control. The voyage is often incorrectly attributed to a Mansa Abu Bakr II, but no such mansa ever reigned. Arab writers from the time said that he travelled with an entourage of tens of thousands of people and dozens of camels, each carrying 136 kilograms (300 pounds) of gold. Al-Umari said that before Musa's arrival, a mithqal of gold was worth 25 silver dirhams, but that it dropped to less than 22 dirhams afterward and did not go above that number for at least twelve years. Still, by the time of Mansa Musa Keita II's death in 1387, Mali was financially solvent and in control of all of its previous conquests short of Gao and Dyolof. . Ms I of Mali, Ms also spelled Musa or Mousa, also called Kankan Ms or Mansa Musa, (died 1332/37? The buildings were constructed from slabs of salt and roofed with camel skins. The architectural crafts in Granada had reached their zenith by the fourteenth century, and its extremely unlikely that a cultured and wealthy poet would have had anything more than a dilettante's knowledge of the intricacies of contemporary architectural practice. Ms Is hajj left a lasting impression of Malis splendour on both the Islamic and European worlds. As a result of this the empire fell. Like two mansolu (rulers of Mali) before him, Ms I undertook the hajj as an act of devotion in line with Islamic tradition. The Mali Empire reached its largest area under the Laye Keita mansas. In addition, Mansa Ms had a baggage train of 80 camels, each carrying 300 pounds of gold. [8] Mansa, 'ruler'[9] or 'king'[10] in Mand, was the title of the ruler of the Mali Empire. And so the name Keita became a clan/family and began its reign.[70]. His information about the empire came from visiting Malians taking the hajj, or pilgrim's voyage to Mecca. Intro music: "Lord of the Land" by Kevin MacLeod and licensed under Creative Commons Attribution license 4.0. The University of Sankore in Timbuktu was restaffed under Musa's reign with jurists, astronomers, and mathematicians. Masuta the Descended is a miniboss in The Shadow Reef. Mansa Musa brought architects and scholars from across the Islamic world into his kingdom, and the reputation of the Mali kingdom grew. [72], According to Niane's version of the epic, during the rise of Kaniaga, Sundiata of the Keita clan was born in the early 13th century. [32] When he did not return, Musa was crowned as mansa himself, marking a transfer of the line of succession from the descendants of Sunjata to the descendants of his brother Abu Bakr. [52][55], Musa's generosity continued as he traveled onwards to Mecca, and he gave gifts to fellow pilgrims and the people of Medina and Mecca. Watch the map animation on From Nothing:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QOexUoPc6YUBe sure to subscribe to From Nothing for more African History:https://www.. U UsefulCharts 0 followers More information Mansa Musa Family Tree Rich Man Omissions? [75] When the campaigning was done, his empire extended 1,000 miles (1,600km) east to west with those borders being the bends of the Senegal and Niger rivers respectively. Manuscript of Nasir al-Din Abu al-Abbas Ahmad ibn al-Hajj al-Amin al-Tawathi al-Ghalawi's Kashf al-Ghummah fi Nafa al-Ummah. [140], The Mali Empire maintained a semi-professional, full-time army in order to defend its borders. The three states warred with each other as much, if not more, than they did against outsiders, but rivalries generally stopped when faced with invasion. Among these are references to "Pene" and "Malal" in the work of al-Bakri in 1068,[53][54] the story of the conversion of an early ruler, known to Ibn Khaldun (by 1397) as Barmandana,[55] and a few geographical details in the work of al-Idrisi. Ibn Battuta, who visited the capital city from 1352 to 1353, called it Mali. [95] Musa himself further promoted the appearance of having vast, inexhaustible wealth by spreading rumors that gold grew like a plant in his kingdom. It wasn't long before the new kingdom of Great Fulo was warring against Mali's remaining provinces. The Songhai kingdom measured several hundreds of miles across, so that the conquest meant the acquisition of a vast territory. UsefulCharts, . Konkodougou Kamissa Keita, named for the province he once governed,[70] was crowned as Mansa Mari Djata Keita II in 1360. If you have questions about licensing content on this page, please contact ngimagecollection@natgeo.com for more information and to obtain a license. Different oral traditions conflict with each other, as well as Ibn Khaldun, about the transfer of power following Sunjata's death. [49] It has been suggested that the name given in the Arabic sources for the capital of Mali is derived the Manding word "bambi", meaning "dais", and as such refers to the "seat of government" in general rather than being the name of a specific city. The mansa could also replace a farba if he got out of control, as in the case of Diafunu. Imperial Malian architecture was characterised by Sudano-Sahelian architecture with a Malian substyle, which is exemplified by the Great Mosque of Djenne. The organization and smooth administration of a purely African empire, the founding of the University of Sankore, the expansion of trade in Timbuktu, the architectural innovations in Gao, Timbuktu, and Niani and, indeed, throughout the whole of Mali and in the subsequent Songhai empire are all testimony to Mansa Mss superior administrative gifts. Swords were drawn, but before the situation escalated further, Musa persuaded his men to back down. Al-Umari, who wrote down a description of Mali based on information given to him by Abu Said 'Otman ed Dukkali (who had lived 35 years in the capital), reported the realm as being square and an eight-month journey from its coast at Tura (at the mouth of the Senegal River) to Muli. [63] Both of these accounts may be true, as Mali's control of Gao may have been weak, requiring powerful mansas to reassert their authority periodically.[64]. Then, in 1630, the Bamana of Djenn declared their version of holy war on all Muslim powers in present-day Mali. It was during Suleyman's 19-year reign that Ibn Battuta visited Mali. [122] Their forces marched as far north as Kangaba, where the mansa was obliged to make a peace with them, promising not to attack downstream of Mali. [79][80], Musa's reign is commonly regarded as Mali's golden age, but this perception may be the result of his reign being the best recorded by Arabic sources, rather than him necessarily being the wealthiest and most powerful mansa of Mali. [42] Among these preparations would likely have been raids to capture and enslave people from neighboring lands, as Musa's entourage would include many thousands of enslaved people; the historian Michael Gomez estimates that Mali may have captured over 6,000 people per year for this purpose. He ruled the nation for nearly 25 years until his death in 1337 and is . His elaborate pilgrimage to the Muslim holy city of Mecca in 1324 introduced him to rulers in the Middle East and in Europe. During the peak of the kingdom, Mali was extremely wealthy. [75] This victory resulted in the fall of the Kaniaga kingdom and the rise of the Mali Empire. It is known from the Tarikh al-Sudan that Mali was still a sizeable state in the 15th century. Islamic studies flourished thereafter. Included in al-Qalqashandi's quotation of al-'Umari, but not in any manuscript of al-'Umari's text itself, which only list thirteen provinces despite saying there are fourteen. Several alternate spellings exist, such as Congo Musa, Gongo Musa, and Kankan Musa, but they are regarded as incorrect. Scholars have located the capital in Niani, or somewhere on the Niger, or proposed that it changed several times, that there was no true capital, or even that it lay as far afield as the upper Gambia River in modern-day Senegal. In Mali he promoted trans-Saharan trade that further increased the empires wealth. Although this time in the kingdom was prosperous, Mali's wealth and power soon declined. His name was Mansa Musa, and he was a devout Muslim. ), mansa (emperor) of the West African empire of Mali from 1307 (or 1312). The new Songhai Empire conquered Mema,[93] one of Mali's oldest possessions, in 1465. It contained three immense gold mines within its borders unlike the Ghana Empire, which was only a transit point for gold. Updates? He made his wealth and that of Mali known through a long and extravagant pilgrimage to Mecca in 1324, the 17th year of his reign as emperor of Mali. Mansa Musa ruled over the Mali empire in the 14th Century, and his incredible access to gold made him arguably . This can be interpreted as either "Musa son of Abu Bakr" or "Musa descendant of Abu Bakr." The third great account is that of Ibn Khaldun, who wrote in the early 15th century. Al-Umari reported that Mali had fourteen provinces. [70] The mansa lost control of Jalo during this period. When Mansa Musa was giving gold away, he was following 2 . Original video by UsefulCharts. While Mansa Musa's grandfather, Abu-Bakr, was a nephew of Sundiata Keita, the founder of the Malian Empire, neither he nor his descendants had a strong claim to the throne. Musa expanded the borders of the Mali Empire, in particular incorporating the cities of Gao and Timbuktu into its territory. This was due to the tax on trade in and out of the empire, along with all the gold Mansa Musa had. Gold dust had been weighed and bagged for use at least since the time of the Ghana Empire. In 14331434, the Mali Empire lost control of Timbuktu to the Tuareg, led by Akil by Spanish cartographers, shows West Africa dominated by a depiction of Mansa Musa sitting on a throne, holding a nugget of gold in one hand and a golden staff in the other. Mansa Musa was a devout Muslim. Mansa Musa eventually gained the throne owing to a strange sequence of events that turned in his favor. [15] Leo Africanus said that the capital city was called Melli. After the reigns of two more emperors, Musa Keita became mansa in c. 1312. The Mandinka went on to form the powerful and rich Mali Empire, which produced the richest Black man who ever lived, King Mansa Musa. In 1330, the kingdom of Mossi invaded and conquered the city of Timbuktu. Musa I ( Arabic: , romanized : Mans Ms, N'Ko: ; r. c. 1312 - c. 1337 [a]) was the ninth [4] mansa of the Mali Empire, which reached its territorial peak during his reign. Malink, also known as Mande, Mali, or Melle, was founded around 1200 CE, and under Mansa Musa's reign . [71] However, Ibn Khaldun also reports that Musa sent an envoy to congratulate Abu al-Hasan Ali for his conquest of Tlemcen, which took place in May 1337, but by the time Abu al-Hasan sent an envoy in response, Musa had died and Suleyman was on the throne, suggesting Musa died in 1337. Timbuktu was a place of trade, entertainment, and education. Only sofa were equipped by the state, using bows and poisoned arrows. Online articles in the 21st century have claimed that Mansa Musa was the richest person of all time. [112] Still, no help came from the envoy and further possessions of Mali were lost one by one. The city's water supply was a leading cause to its successes in trade. His skillful administration left his empire well-off at the time of his death, but eventually, the empire fell apart. By the time they reached Suez, many of the Malian pilgrims had died of cold, starvation, or bandit raids, and they had lost many of their supplies. As founded by Mari Djata, it was composed of the "three freely allied states" of Mali, Mema and Wagadou plus the Twelve Doors of Mali.[60]. [142][143] Numerous sources attest that the inland waterways of West Africa saw extensive use of war canoes and vessels used for war transport where permitted by the environment. A kl-koun led free troops into battle alongside a farima ("brave man") during campaign. [92] Furthermore, it is difficult to meaningfully compare the wealth of historical figures such as Mansa Musa, due to the difficulty of separating the personal wealth of a monarch from the wealth of the state and the difficulty of comparing wealth in highly different societies. Very little is known about the life of Mansa Musa before 1312. The Mali Empire began in and was centered around the Manding region in what is now southern Mali and northeastern Guinea. "Mansa Musa Family Tree | Empire of Mali." The 14th-century traveller Ibn Baah noted that it took about four months to travel from the northern borders of the Mali empire to Niani in the south. [29] Al-Umari, who visited Cairo shortly after Musa's pilgrimage to Mecca, noted that it was "a lavish display of power, wealth, and unprecedented by its size and pageantry". [114] However, the Songhai do not maintain their hold on the Malian capital. It was common practice during the Middle Ages for both Christian and Muslim rulers to tie their bloodline back to a pivotal figure in their faith's history, so the lineage of the Keita dynasty may be dubious at best,[62] yet African Muslim scholars like the London-based Nigerian-British cleric Sheikh Abu-Abdullah Adelabu have laid claim of divine attainments to the reign of Mansa Mousa: "in Islamic history and its science stories of Old Mali Empire and significance of Mansa Mousa by ancient Muslim historians like Shihab al-Umari, documenting histories of African legendaries like Mansa Kankan Musa did actually exist in early Arabic sources about West African history including works of the author of Subh al-a 'sha one of the final expressions of the genre of Arabic administrative literature, Ahmad al-Qalqashandi Egyptian writer, mathematician and scribe of the scroll (katib al-darj) in the Mamluk chancery in Cairo[63] as well as by the author of Kitab al-Masalik wa al-Mamalik (Book of Highways and Kingdoms) Ab Ubayd Al-Bakri, an Arab Andalusian Muslim geographer and historian emboldened Keita Dynasty", wrote Adelabu. Stories of his fabulous wealth even reached Europe. 24 June, 2022. Barring any other difficulties, the dyamani-tigui would run the province by himself collecting taxes and procuring armies from the tribes under his command. Bowmen formed a large portion of the field army as well as the garrison. Mansa Souleyman Keita died in 1360 and was succeeded by his son, Camba Keita. [7] Maghan I succeeded his father as mansa in 1337, but was deposed by his uncle Suleyman in 1341. It is implausible that Abu Bakr was Musa's father, due to the amount of time between Sunjata's reign and Musa's. Several 21st century historians have firmly rejected Niani as a capital candidate based on a lack of archaeological evidence of significant trade activity, clearly described by Arab visitors, particularly during the 14th century, Mali's golden age. CREDITS: Chart/Narration: Matt Baker Research/Artwork: From Nothing Team Editing: Jack Rackam Intro animation: Syawish Rehman Intro music: "Lord of the Land" by Kevin MacLeod and licensed under Creative Commons Attribution license 4.0. [22], Genealogy of the mansas of the Mali Empire up to Magha II (d.c.1389), based on Levtzion's interpretation of Ibn Khaldun. [89][85] Contemporary Arabic sources may have been trying to express that Musa had more gold than they thought possible, rather than trying to give an exact number. He belonged to the Keita Dynasty and came to power after Abu-Bakra-Keita II left on an expedition to explore the Atlantic Ocean, leaving Musa as his deputy and never returned. Thank you for your help! Mansa Musa was an important ruler of the golden age of the Malink kingdom, based on the upper Niger River in Mali, West Africa. Mansa Ms, either the grandson or the grandnephew of Sundiata, the founder of his dynasty, came to the throne in 1307. In the event of conquest, farins took control of the area until a suitable native ruler could be found. We care about our planet! During his reign, Mali was one of the richest kingdoms of Africa, and Mansa Musa was among the richest individuals in the world. Sarah Appleton, National Geographic Society. [40] Seemingly contradictory reports written by Arab visitors, a lack of definitive archaeological evidence, and the diversity of oral traditions all contribute to this uncertainty. One of the five pillars of Islam states that Muslims should embark on a pilgrimage known as Hajj, to the holy city of Mecca.. [84] Then an enslaved court official, Sakura, seized power. The family tree of Mansa Musa. The Gao mosque was built of burnt bricks, which had not, until then, been used as a material for building in West Africa. [34][35] Nonetheless, the possibility of such a voyage has been taken seriously by several historians. Jansen, Jan: "The Younger Brother and the Stranger. In the interregnum following Sunjata's death, the jomba or court slaves may have held power. However, from 1507 onwards neighboring states such as Diara, Great Fulo and the Songhai Empire chipped away at the outer borders of Mali. [40], Musa was a young man when he became mansa, possibly in his early twenties. [27] The date of Musa's birth is unknown, but he still appeared to be a young man in 1324. Web. Text on this page is printable and can be used according to our Terms of Service. [132], The Mali Empire flourished because of its trade above all else. Ibn Khaldun in Levtzion and Hopkins, eds. Timbuktu became a major Islamic university center during the 14th century due to Mansa Musas developments. Musa gave the gold to the poor he met along his route. [113], In 1544 or 1545,[f] a Songhai force led by kanfari Dawud, who would later succeed his brother Askia Ishaq as ruler of the Songhai Empire, sacked the capital of Mali and purportedly used the royal palace as a latrine. Traveling from his capital of Niani on the upper Niger River to Walata (Oualta, Mauritania) and on to Tuat (now in Algeria) before making his way to Cairo, Mansa Ms was accompanied by an impressive caravan consisting of 60,000 men including a personal retinue of 12,000 enslaved persons, all clad in brocade and Persian silk. Mansa Musa (1280-1337) Mansa Musa, fourteenth century emperor of the Mali Empire, is the medieval African ruler most known to the world outside Africa. However, territories that were crucial to trade or subject to revolt would receive a farba. [133], There was no standard currency throughout the realm, but several forms were prominent by region. The Keitas retreated to the town of Kangaba, where they became provincial chiefs. [93] Mansa Maghan Keita I spent wastefully and was the first lacklustre emperor since Khalifa Keita. This process was essential to keep non-Manding subjects loyal to the Manding elites that ruled them. They tell of his hardships as a boy before he came to the throne. [36][37][38], According to the Tarikh al-Fattash, Musa had a wife named Inari Konte. The army of the Mali Empire used of a wide variety of weapons depending largely on where the troops originated. Mansa Musa also ran out of gold on the hajj to Mecca but was not concerned because he knew he had enough gold back in Mali to pay back everyone he owed money to. The Wangara, an Old Soninke Diaspora in West Africa? However, Al-Nasir Muhammad returned Musa's earlier show of generosity with gifts of his own. It spanned the modern-day countries of Senegal, southern Mauritania, Mali, northern Burkina Faso, western Niger, the Gambia, Guinea-Bissau, Guinea, the Ivory Coast and northern Ghana. [120] Each ruler used the title of mansa, but their authority only extended as far as their own sphere of influence. Mansa Musa returned from Mecca with several Islamic scholars, including direct descendants of the prophet Muhammad and an Andalusian poet and architect by the name of Abu Es Haq es Saheli,. The empire began as a small Mandinka kingdom at the upper reaches of the Niger River, centered around the Manding region. The Malian and Moroccan armies fought at Jenne on 26 April, the last day of Ramadan, and the Moroccans were victorious thanks to their firearms and Bukar's support, but Mahmud was able to escape. He was the son of Niani's faama, Nare Fa (also known as Maghan Kon Fatta meaning the handsome prince). By 1180 it had even subjugated Wagadou forcing the Sonink to pay tribute. Under his leadership, Mali conquered new territories and trade with North Africa increased. Afterward, he put himself and his kingdom, West Africa's Mali, on the map, literally. [122] They targeted Moroccan pashas still in Timbuktu and the mansas of Manden. We contribute a share of our revenue to remove carbon from the atmosphere and we offset our team's carbon footprint. He ruled between 707-732/737 according to the Islamic calendar (AH), which translates to 1307-1332/1337 CE. Al-Umari's list, which is quoted with slight differences by al-Qalqashandi, is as follows: Al-Umari also indicates that four Amazigh tribes were subjects of Mali: Gomez instead suggests that these tribes would have inhabited territory in the vicinity of Mema, Ghana, and Diafunu. This website claims no authorship of this content; we are republishing it for educational purposes. [6] The early history of the Mali Empire (before the 13th century) is unclear, as there are conflicting and imprecise accounts by both Arab chroniclers and oral traditionalists. This is one of the main factors to the fall of the kingdom. [86] After Sakura's death, power returned to the line of Sunjata, with Wali's son Qu taking the throne. Heusch, Luc de: "The Symbolic Mechanisms of Sacred Kingship: Rediscovering Frazer". ", "Recherches sur l'Empire du Mali au Moyen Age", "Towards a New Study of the So-Called Trkh al-fattsh", World History Encyclopedia Mansa Musa I, History Channel: Mansa Moussa: Pilgrimage of Gold, Caravans of Gold, Fragments in Time: Art, Culture, and Exchange across Medieval Saharan Africa, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Mansa_Musa&oldid=1142573327, Short description is different from Wikidata, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License 3.0, Mansa Musa was portrayed in two games in the, Mansa Musa was portrayed in the episode ", This page was last edited on 3 March 2023, at 05:05. [12][h] Ibn Battuta, who visited Mali during the reign of Musa's brother Sulayman, said that Musa's grandfather was named Sariq Jata. Musa I (c. 1280 - 1337), better known as Mansa Musa, was the ninth mansa of the Mali Empire.Widely considered to have been the wealthiest person in known history (some sources measuring his wealth at around $400 billion adjusted to inflation), his vast wealth was used to attract scholars, merchants and architects to Mali, establishing it as a beacon of Islamic trade, culture and learning. While every effort has been made to follow citation style rules, there may be some discrepancies. He was the first African ruler to be widely known throughout Europe and the Middle East. Mansa Ms probably died in 1332. In Ibn Khaldun's account, Sundjata is recorded as Mari Djata with "Mari" meaning "Amir" or "Prince". [59] Those not living in the mountains formed small city-states such as Toron, Ka-Ba and Niani. Mansa Musa was the great nephew of Sundiata Keita, who was founder . Captivation History summarizes Mansa Musa's story from his ancestors to his descendants as they reigned over the Mali Empire beginning in the 1300s. World History Encyclopedia, 17 Oct 2020. The growing trade in Mali's western provinces with Portugal witnessed the exchange of envoys between the two nations. Mali is the Fula form of the word. While this was probably an exaggeration, it is known that during his pilgrimage to Mecca one of his generals, Sagmandia (Sagaman-dir), extended the empire by capturing the Songhai capital of Gao. According to Ibn Battuta who visited Mali in the mid-14th century, one camel load of salt sold at Walata for 810 mithqals of gold, but in Mali proper it realised 2030 ducats and sometimes even 40. His religious devotion contributed to the spread of Islam across West Africa. Musa is known for his wealth and generosity. Mali's domain also extended into the desert. He intended to abdicate the throne and return to Mecca but died before he was able to do so. The post of a farba was very prestigious, and his descendants could inherit it with the mansa's approval. In addition, the moral and religious principles he had taught his subjects endured after his death. Trade was Mali's form of income, and wealth. Mansa Ms left a realm notable for its extent and richeshe built the Great Mosque at Timbuktubut he is best remembered in the Middle East and Europe for the splendour of his pilgrimage to Mecca (1324). Mansa Musa ruled the Malian empire from 1312-1337 CE. Mansa Musa brought the architect back to Mali to beautify some of the cities. [136] While it was as good as gold in the north, it was even better in the south. No single Keita ever ruled Manden after Mahmud Keita IV's death, resulting in the end of the Mali Empire. The tarikh states that a Sultan Kunburu became a Muslim and had his palace pulled down and the site turned into a mosque; he then built another palace for himself near the mosque on the east side. The farba could also take power away from the native administration if required and raise an army in the area for defence or putting down rebellions.[130]. Musa made his pilgrimage between 1324 and 1325 spanning 2,700 miles. [58] This area was composed of mountains, savannah and forest providing ideal protection and resources for the population of hunters. [g] Faga Leye was the son of Abu Bakr, a brother of Sunjata, the first mansa of the Mali Empire. The northern commercial towns of Oualata and Audaghost were also conquered and became part of the new state's northern border. Some Rights Reserved (2009-2023) under Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike license unless otherwise noted. [70] Manden was split in half with the Dodougou territory to the northeast and the Kri territory to the southwest. Nobody lived in the area except the Musafa servants who worked to dig the salts and lived on dates imported from Sijilmasa and the Dar'a valley, camel meat and millet imported from the Sudan. Mansa Musa's pilgrimage to Mecca happened between 1324 and 1325. In 1307, Mansa Musa came to the throne after a series of civil wars and ruled for thirty years. Mansa Musa was immensely wealthy (whether he can be regarded as personally wealthy or wealthy because he controlled the gold mines of Mali is, of course, a . They founded the first village of the Manding, Kirikoroni, then Kirina, Siby, Kita. [39], The identity of the capital city of the Mali Empire is a matter of dispute among historians. It is unknown from whom he descended; however, another emperor, Mansa Maghan Keita III, is sometimes cited as Mansa Mahmud Keita I. Available from http://incompetech.com. Sundiata, according to the oral traditions, did not walk until he was seven years old. Oral tradition states that he had three sons who fought over Manden's remains. [44] Niani's reputation as an imperial capital may derive from its importance in the late imperial period, when the Songhai Empire to the northeast pushed Mali back to the Manding heartland. His administration and military work allowed the empire to survive through the 16th century, solidifying him, his empire, and his family into the imaginations of storytellers around the world. This is the least known period in Mali's imperial history. Editing: Jack Rackam. During this period, there was an advanced level of urban living in the major centers of Mali. In 1481, Fula raids against Mali's Tekrur provinces began. Musa I (Arabic: , romanized:Mans Ms, N'Ko: ; r.c.1312c.1337[a]) was the ninth[4] mansa of the Mali Empire, which reached its territorial peak during his reign. Three bowmen supporting one spearman was the ratio in Kaabu and the Gambia by the mid-16th century. He ruled oppressively and nearly bankrupted Mali with his lavish spending. Any interactives on this page can only be played while you are visiting our website. In the 17th year of his reign (1324), he set out on his famous pilgrimage to Mecca. [86], The name "Musa" has become virtually synonymous with pilgrimage in Mand tradition, such that other figures who are remembered as going on a pilgrimage, such as Fakoli, are also called Musa. Rulers of West African states had made pilgrimages to Mecca before Mansa Ms, but the effect of his flamboyant journey was to advertise both Mali and Mansa Ms well beyond the African continent and to stimulate a desire among the Muslim kingdoms of North Africa, and among many of European nations as well, to reach the source of this incredible wealth.