How do we explain the
importance of Mansa
Musa and his pilgrimage to
Mecca in 1324?
Word
Picture
clue
definition
ferba
Governor of a province of Mali
under Mansa Musa
griot
Oral historian of living memory
that used storytelling music,
poetry, dance, and drama to
pass along the history of a
village, clan, or family
inflation
prices of goods and wares going
up and value of money going
down
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9
I4R-82xDPo
Mansa Musa I
• Unlike his grandfather before
him, Mansa Musa was
Muslim.
• Islam was generally practiced
by the wealthy of Mali while
most of the people of Mali
continued in the traditional
African religions.
• Brought the lands of the Middle Niger
under Mali's rule.
• Enclosed the important trade cities of
Timbuktu, Gao, and Jenne within his
empire.
• Pushed armies northward to salt-producing
Taghaza - eastward beyond Gao to the
borders of Hausaland and westward to
Takrur.
• Divided his kingdom into provinces with
appointed “ferbas” who handled day-to-day
operations of the government and had to
rule following strict instructions of Mansa
Musa
– Musa's pilgrimage to Mecca became famous. He began it
in 1324.
– Legend has it his entourage included 60,000 members of
his court, including 500 men who proceeded him, each
carrying a six-pound solid gold staff. Behind this awesome
spectacle came eighty camels, each bearing three hundred
pounds of gold dust.
– Big part of military accompanied Mansa Musa for
protection and to demonstrate his wealth and power.
– Mans Musa lavish gifts of gold on the poor in Cairo,
Medina, and Mecca causing inflation (prices of goods and
wares going up and value of money going down) that
affected these cities for nearly a decade.
– He built Mosques throughout during his Hajj.
Label the Pilgrimage
http://phschool.com/atschool/califo
rnia/webcodes/history_interactive/
mxp-3053/common_player.html
• Musa ran out of money for his return trip and
borrowed all the gold he could carry from
money lenders in Cairo at a high interest (he
paid it back).
• Sent Muslim scholars, architects, and
ambassadors back to Mali.
• In Egypt, Moroccan traders witnessed Mansa
Musa travel through Cairo and later traveled
to Italy and spoke of the immense amounts of
gold from the Empire of Mali and its ruler
Mansa Musa.
• This brought Mali to the attention of European
rulers interested in conquest and gold.
3-2-1Summary
• 3 positives of Mansa Musa’s Hajj.
• 2 negatives of Mansa Musa’s Hajj.
• 1 strong strategy Mansa Musa used in
ruling Mali.