Mansa Musa, the venerable emperor of Mali, famous throughout Africa, revered by his people, was a true renaissance man. Why has history forgotten such a man when it has remembered Julius Caesar, Henry VIII or Napoleon, but not this man? It is because small minded white men only respect other white men, they see all others as inferior. The white dominance of history is obvious when only recently are Asians being recognized, only recently people have heard of men like Genghis Khan or Confucius. Yet Africans have also had great people who need to be recognised and acknowledged. Now is the time to be rid of old prejudice and to acknowledge Mansa Musa, who was not only a great African but a king of one of the most enlightened empires of the …show more content…
In addition, Mansa Musa had a baggage train of 80 camels, each carrying 300 pounds of gold."(Coleman De Graft-Johnson).
His caravan, the finest ever seen, was magnificent. He did not just bring his riches to spend, but freely gave it away. Word of his generosity spread, wherever he traveled throughout. Mansa Musa became a legend in the eyes of the people, a man so rich, but generous, powerful, yet humble, and intelligent, but not aloof.
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.
Under Mansa Musa, Mali became the the largest and one of the most renown kingdoms in Africa. Gold was abundant and the empire was prosperous; what more could one ask for? Though as it turns out fame and prosperity can be fleeting. The empire
4. Mansa Musa took over 14 provinces and 24 cities during his 25 year reign and he had the largest army which consisted of 100,000 troops and 10,000 cavalrymen.
According to Document 6, a description written in “Travels to Kingdoms” describes Ibn Battuta’s travels to Mali in 1352. Not only was Ibn Battuta describing what happened at Mali, but as well impressed with the justice and security enjoyed by all of the people of Mali. The description states, “They… have a greater hatred of injustice than any other people…shows no mercy to anyone who is guilty of he least act of it. There is complete security in their country. Neither traveler not inhabitants in it has anything to fear from robbers.” This description explains that the people of Mali didn't tolerate injustice towards anyone and they wouldn't show any mercy to anyone, doesn't natter who they were. In the textbook “World Civilizations The Global Experience,” by Peter N. Stearns, Ibn Battuta reported,"Of all peoples, the Blacks are those who most hate injustice, and their emperor pardons none who is guilty of it.” I Moving past the accomplishments of safety in Africa’s civilizations, it also can be said that Africans had great generosity with others. In Document 4, it is explained that when Mansa Musa was on his haj to Mecca, he stopped in Cairo, Egypt and an Egyptian official described him as a
It is early in the day and I am getting ready to set off on the hajj with Mansa Musa. I’m going to the hajj to offer advice and record observations. I’m packing my journal and my pen to get ready to record my observations. We are heading to the Muslim holy city Mecca. This would spread the African king’s name far and wide. I have brown hair and black eyes. I am 13 years old. I counted and see about 60,000 people going to the hajj, 12,000 slaves who were Mansa Musa’s personal servants, 500 slaves who carry gold, 1000 camels, 80-100 camels who carry gold, 100-300 pounds of gold each camel, and 24000 pounds total amount of gold.
Fighting a war against the oppression and persecution of a people, how hypocritical of the American government to harass and punish those based on their heritage. Magnifying the already existing dilemma of discrimination, the bombing of Pearl Harbor introduced Japanese-Americans to the harsh and unjust treatment they were forced to confront for a lifetime to come. Wakatsuki Ko, after thirty-five years of residence in the United States, was still prevented by law from becoming an American citizen.
All this is a little too close to what A. G. Hopkins called, in the Introduction to his brilliant Economic History of West Africa, the 'Myth of Merrie Africa'. This myth, and any static picture of the African past, does an injustice to the dynamic and innovative features in African society.
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.
How do you think you would have handled being a Japanese living in America during World War Two? I would guess not too well, being taken from your home, put into camps, and you were treated like you were less than the rest of the Americans. Even though a lot of the Japanese living in America during this time had done nothing to support Japan, this still happened to them. It happened to Jeanne Wakatsuki Houston, and she tells about it in her book, Farewell to Manzanar. It wasn’t fair, America had other enemies during that time but only the Japanese were sent to camps for that time. The Japanese-American Internment was fueled by more than war time panic. What role did prejudice play in the Japanese-American Relocation? Are there modern day
Farewell to Manzanar is sociologist and writer Jeanne Wakatsuki Houston's first hand account of her interment in the Japanese camps during World War II. Growing up in southern California, she was the youngest of ten children living in a middle-to lower class, but comfortable life style with her large family. In the beginning of her story, she told about how her family was close, but how they drifted apart during and after their internment in the camp. The ironic part of it is that her family spent their entire time together in the same camp. So why did her family drift apart so? What was once the center of the family scene; dinner became concealed with the harsh realities of the camp. This reflects the loss
Like a dog does tricks for food, Mansa Musa did a variety of activities to spread word of his fame. Mansa Musa, an ancient ruler of the kingdom Mali in Western Africa, ruled from 1312-1337 BCE. While Mali was under his rule, Mansa Musa, expanded gold-salt trade, built a large standing army, as well as took part in one of the 5 Pillars of Faith, a holy pilgrimage known as the hajj. Although the hajj is a religious event, Musa used it as a tool to do much more than show his devotion to Allah. Through his need to prove his importance, going out of his way, and creating impressions, Mansa Musa’s main intention while going on his hajj was to spread his fame.
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 second Empire that was more extensive was Mali in West Africa. They were dominating in the 13th and 14th century. This empire was one of the largest trading posts in the world, which had roots in the gold of West Africa. Mali Empire flourished because of the trade above all else. This empire contained three immense gold mines within its borders unlike the Ghana Empire, which was only a transit point for gold. The taxed every single once of gold, cotton and salt that entered its borders. Mali was the source of almost half the old world’s gold exported from mines in Bambuk, Boure and Galam. The gold nuggets were the exclusive property of the mansa, and were illegal to trade within his borders. All gold was immediately handed over to the imperial treasury in return for an equal value of gold dust. The gold dust had been weighted and bagged for use at least since the reign of the Ghana Empire. The next great unit of exchange in this empire was salt. Salt was as valuable, if
In my essay I will be telling you what I have learned about Mansa Musa of Mali.
Mansa Musa could ether be giving away gold For his religion or other reasons. In my opinion I think that Mansa Musa is giving away gold for his relegation. Mansa Musa was a devout Muslim who believed he needed to the follow the 5 pillars of Islam throughout his entire life, leading leading him to complete the hajj to Mecca and give away gold to the less fortunate during his journey.
Mansa Musa, the extremely wealthy king of the Mali Empire stayed in Egypt on his marvelous pilgrimage to Mecca. Musa, a devoted Muslim, is making his pilgrimage to Mecca to fulfill one of the five pillars of Islam. He left Mali with 100 camel-loads of gold and many slaves and servants. He has been very charitable with his money, in fact, according to a Mamluk official, “...he did me extreme honor and treated me with the greatest courtesy. . . . [He sent] to the royal treasury many loads of unworked native gold and other valuables”. The king has handed out much gold to the poor during his journey, so much, in fact, that the value of gold coins dropped in Cairo! While in the Mamluk Sultanate, Mansa was hesitant to kiss the ground and the sultan’s