Categories: Legends and People

Mansa Musa, the King of Mali

Mansa Moussa is the tenth « mansa » (king of kings) of the Mali Empire from 1312 to 1337. He is the grandson of Soundjata Keïta, founder of the Mali Empire.

According to Forbes, he is the richest man of all time, whose fortune is estimated at 400 billion dollars. Under the reign of Mansa Musa, the Mali Empire represented almost half of the Old World gold reserves, according to the British Museum.

Under his reign, the kingdom of Mali developed considerably. He annexed 24 cities, including Timbuktu.

The kingdom stretched for about 3,000 kilometers, from the Atlantic Ocean to present-day Niger via Senegal, Mauritania, Mali, Burkina Faso, Niger, The Gambia, Guinea-Bissau, Guinea and the Ivory Coast.

Mansa made a pilgrimage to Mecca accompanied by 60,000 men, 12,000 slaves, 80 dromedaries each loaded with 130 kilos of gold powder. Mansa built a mosque every Friday. He is the one who built the oldest university in Africa: the University of Sankore in Timbuktu.

Team Akwaba

Recent Posts

Shaka Zulu, leader of the Zulu kingdom

Shaka Zulu born in 1787 and died in 1828, is a Zulu king. He is…

1 an ago

Lake Turkana national parks

The national parks of Lake TurKana, inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List in 1997…

1 an ago

Alexander Miles secures the elevator

Alexander Miles is an African American inventor born May 18, 1838. He invented the electric…

1 an ago

Fried banana is called like that in Africa…

Plantains are a staple food in Africa. In the majority of households in Africa, bananas…

1 an ago

African countries with AFCON wins

The African Cup of Nations is the most important continental football competition in Africa. This…

1 an ago

Top 10 universities in Africa

If you decide to study in Africa, you will not be disappointed. Africa has world…

1 an ago