Mali Cultural Exchange

Mansa Musa had a vision of making Timbuktu the educational center of Africa. While on his hajj he collected the greatest scholars in Africa. He convinced some of the of the finest minds of Cairo to come, for Mali would only have the best. The mosque of Sankore became the primary “teaching centre and laid the foundations of the University of Sankore” (Coleman De Graft-Johnson). With Musa’s patronage the University of Sankore became one of the finest universities of the time. The university unlike European universities at the time had no central administration or required courses, instead students focused on specific topics such as religious studies, law and literature(Khiar, Zulkifi). Because of the University of Sankore today colleges and universities allow people to major in a certain field.

After the fall of Ghana, a Black state called Mali became the successor power in West Africa. The king of Mali formed alliances with other Islamic rulers, and this military and religious strength made him the most powerful ruler in Africa. Mali was founded by the Mande people of the upper Niger River, famous for their weaving, mining and architecture. By the close of the fourteenth century, the Mali empire had achieved greater wealth and power than Ghana. Civil warfare, attacks from Mossi and Songhay, and the arrival of the Portuguese in Africa mortally reduced Mali's power.

The History of Africa is very interesting. They had many trade routes and many resources such as salt and gold, their most popular resource was gold. Mansa Musa was their leader and had gone on the Haji as a duty and made their empire known throughout other countries. After that journey the empire had expanded even more that from the start of when their empire first rose up. As you could tell Mansa Musa was a good leader because of the choices he had made to create africa today. In Medieval Africa, Mansa Musa had an Economic impact on Africa because of the duty of islam and the value of gold.

Mali: Gold and Salt trade; reached its peak in 14th century; Mansa Musa’s pilgrimage to Mecca; Islam

Even before Europeans came to Africa, the kingdoms in Africa were quite wealthy. As previously mentioned, Ghana was a very strong kingdom in which its people were also incredibly wealthy. Their government appeared to be wealthy as well, which assisted Ghana in being able to control the gold and salt trade. An Arab scholar, Al-Bakri, wrote about the king’s court and how basically everything that the court had was gold (Document 2). The point of view of this document was also positive, and that is because scholars are usually upper class, just like the king’s court. Al-Bakri thought very highly of the court, and explains in detail how every person has some gold on them and how their surroundings also possessed gold. Ghana had a strong army and an intelligent political counsel, which made other countries fear them. Nations around Ghana did not want to start problems and usually just maintained peace with Ghana (Document 3). Ghana was not the only successful kingdom, one of the leaders of Mali, Mansa Musa,

African Kingdoms were civilized prior to the accession of Europeans in the 15th century. African Kingdoms, such as Ghana, Mali and, Aksum were already progressive in the areas of trade, wealth, and overall advancement. Aksum’s location benefited the region’s advancement by making it a trading center. Mansa Musa was one of the most generous people who expanded the Mali empire through wealth. Through trade and wealth came overall advancement, which brought the rise of literature and art.

The Kingdom Ghana in western Africa flourished. Ghana gained control of the salt-and-gold trade (Doc. 2). This was important because Gold was used as a currency,

Secondly, Mali’s productive administration brought extensive wealth to their economy. Money is key to success because it allows for expansion of land and new technology. According to British Museum, “Their authority became mighty. All the nations of Sahel stood in awe of them, and the merchants from North Africa travelled to their country” (Sheet 2, Source 5).

As a result of Mansa Musa's hajj, the kingdom of Mali became well known and many people flocked there. Of these people, many were geniuses and they journeyed to the city of Timbuktu. This city

In the two documentaries that we watched in class “the Caravans of Gold” and the “King and City”, I could appreciated the different that they had between political, economic and the traditions and the cultural organizations.

Changes in political and cultural traditions during the post-classical period occurred in Africa because of intensive Islamic contact. When Arab conquerors introduced the Islamic faith into northern Africa, they expanded the region of commerce. Muslim merchants established trading centers for copper, iron, salts, and cotton textiles. The newly established trade affected traditional social and religious beliefs. After 1000 C.E., the kin-based social structure experienced difficult challenges. Increased conflict between peoples led to the creation of military forces for both offensive and defensive use. This led to the formation of chiefdoms exhibiting more formal structures of governing such as in the kingdoms of Kongo, Ghana, and Mali. Because most traders were Muslim, many African societies converted to Islam to improve their relations with the

Civilizations in Africa like Mali, Ghana, and Kilwa all exhibited great wealth enjoyed by many in the empire. In document 2, Ghana’s gold and salt trade are shown to have made the kingdom very rich and powerful. The king’s court had very luxurious items and this showcased their wealth, one of the reasons the Europeans came to Africa in the first place. Mansa Musa, the ruler of Mali, also had riches, and he handed them out while traveling through Cairo to Mecca (doc 4). Finally, the city-state of Kilwa was considered one of the most beautiful places in the world by Ibn Battuta (doc 8). African cities were very wealthy from the gold and salt mines on the continent and it was very beneficial to them.

At the intersection he could have traded goods that his kingdom could not obtain, which is good for his kingdom’s economy. Using the gold that he had, if he did not have any goods left, he could have given gold in return. Likewise, Mansa Musa followed existing trade routes, so he knew that the trade route existed and chose to take it. Past kings could have came back with special goods and made Mali grow, which is something that he would have wanted to gain power. Correspondingly, in Document E, Al-Umari states, “…This has been the state of affairs for about twelve years until this day by reason of the large amount of gold which they brought into Egypt and spent there.”

In order for Mali to trade with different civilizations they have to have supplies that the other civilizations would want. The chinese have silk which is really valuable so if the chinese don’t want supplies that the other civilizations sell, the chinese won’t sell them silk. What your going to be learning about is two different civilizations, The Silk Road, and the Mali people. In these civilizations there is history, geography, lasting impact, and trade. This essay talks about how these two civilizations are comparable.

Advertising at its Finest The three different accounts that we get of Mansa Musa of his pilgrimage to Mecca all give a similar description of fourteenth-century Mali and its sultan; they were extremely wealthy and powerful. Prior to Mansa Musa's pilgrimage, most of the world outside of the African continent not only did not know the extent of Mali's power, but had no knowledge of the empire at all. Upon arriving in Cairo in 1324, Mansa Musa showed the wealth that Mali held to the rest of the world with the large mass of people and crates of gold that he brought with him. With this exposure, the ruler was able to establish new diplomatic relations with his generosity and Mali was set out on the world stage for the first time in history.