Mansa Musa and Establishment of The Mali Empire

The Significance of the Mali Empire in Human History

The Mali Empire is an empire well-known for its wealth and religious influence in West Africa. The empire was established in 1235 Common Era by King Sundiata Keita and began through the merging of smaller Malinke kingdoms within the regions of Ghana and the upper Niger River. In the following essay, I will be discussing the significance of the Ancient Empire of Mali, focusing on the economic, social, and educational contributions it has made towards human history.

Mansa Musa and the Establishment of the Mali Empire

Mansa Musa and King Sundiata remain the most successful and well-known leaders of the Mali Empire. They were recognized for developing and maintaining sophisticated political systems in which the independent provinces of Mali were granted local self-governance. Mansa Musa’s leadership ensured peace and social prosperity across the Western region. The kings introduced the Islamic religion to the people of Mali and influenced the spread of Islamic knowledge farther into Africa. Although the people of Mali were not compelled to convert to Islam, Islamic beliefs and values were incorporated into some of their traditional and local practices.

The empire of Mali was recognized for having the strongest and most successful economy of its time. The mighty empire revived and supported its local economy through various wealth-generating strategies. It gained its wealth primarily through trade, taxes, and the control it had over important trading routes running through the Sahara Desert, the Middle East, and Europe. Upon his ruling, King Sundiata expanded the borders of Mali, leading to the acquisition of additional gold mines and the introduction of a taxing system where imported and exported goods were taxed. He also taxed merchants crossing into Mali’s borders. Smaller kingdoms pledged their allegiance to Mali through annual tax payments and trade. Mansa Musa made the infamous pilgrimage to Mecca, where he distributed large amounts of gold to the public, making him the first Muslim ruler in West Africa to travel to Mecca. The pilgrimage’s extravagance drew attention to the considerable wealth of Africans, which made records throughout Europe. The king’s generosity later resulted in a decrease in the value of gold in Egypt, which lasted for several years. Mansa Musa returned from his travels with Arab scholars and architects who contributed to the continuous development of the city of Timbuktu (Conrad, 2010).

The Intellectual and Cultural Hub: Timbuktu

Mali’s city of Timbuktu was a world-famous center of learning and architecture. It was the hub of scholarly activities known throughout the Islamic regions. Timbuktu became the epicenter of Islamic intellectual development and contributed greatly towards Islam and world civilization through scholarships. Mansa Musa constructed a mosque, Sankore Madrassah (university), that served as both a prayer temple and learning center. Its library was the greatest of its time and attracted scholars from other Islamic nations. Sankore University offered students exposure to knowledge in various fields of study, including Islamic studies, and produced a number of distinguished graduates such as engineers, architects, and astronomers. Important academic and religious books were written and copied in Timbuktu, where thousands of manuscripts were stored at the Madrassah. It is suggested that if Sankore University had been preserved and survived foreign invasions, it could have transformed the academic and cultural history of Africa. The university's education standard was considered to surpass other Islamic institutions in the world and remains one of the oldest operating institutions in Africa (Levtzion & Hopkins, 2000).

The establishment of this empire resulted in the gradual accumulation of wealth, the birth of cultures, and the practice of the Islamic religion in West Africa. The essay above has accounted for the various contributions made by the Empire of Mali to human history.

References:

Conrad, D. C. (2010). Empires of Medieval West Africa: Ghana, Mali, and Songhay. New York: Chelsea House.

Levtzion, N., & Hopkins, J. F. P. (2000). Corpus of Early Arabic Sources for West African History. Princeton: Markus Wiener Publishers.