King Mansa Musa is famous for his Hajj journey, during which he stopped in Egypt and gave out so much gold that the Egyptian economy was ruined for years. Mansa was the great-great-grandson of Sunjata, founder of the Muslim empire of Mali in west Africa. His 25-year reign (1312-1337 CE) was the golden age of Mali. Mansa developed its Islamic practice. He performed his Hajj in 1324. The journey across Africa took more than a year.
In Egypt, Mansa camped by the Pyramids for 3 days. He sent a gift of 50,000 dinars (gold coins) to the Sultan of Egypt before settling in Cairo for 3 months. The Sultan lent him his palace. Mansa gave away thousands of ingots of gold, and Egyptian traders took advantage by charging 5 times the normal price for goods. Gold value in Egypt decreased 25%.
Mansa was a pious Muslim, feared throughout Africa. He stood in a long line of West African kings who made Hajj and he traveled in style. Ibn Battuta recorded the display of wealth, which included hundreds of people and horses. He traveled with his senior wife, Inari Kunate, who brought 500 maids.
Mansa’s Hajj had significant impact on the development of Islam in Mali. He took back an Andalusian architect, who designed the mosque at Timbuktu; and 4 descendents of the Prophet (sallallahu alaihi wa sallam) so Mali would be blessed by their footprints. His Hajj is recorded in many sources, Muslim and non-Muslim and he is known for building mosques and inviting Islamic scholars from around the world to his empire. Timbuktu became an important centre of Islamic study.
Mansa Musa of Mali
