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Mansa Musa - Ruler of Ancient Mali
Mansa Musa
Mansa Kankan Musa I or Mansa Musa or The Lion of Mali was a 14th century king of the Mali Empire. He is remembered for his fabled hajj and as a benefactor of Islamic scholarship.
Biography
Mansa Musa was the grand-nephew of the founder of the Mali's Empire, Sundiata Keita, and ruled over Mali while it was the source of almost half the world's gold. Musa was a devoted Muslim and Islamic scholarship flourished under his rule. With Musa as a benefactor, Sankore University in Timbuktu reached its height. Craftsmen and especially Islamic scholars came from all over the Muslim world to receive a free education at Sankore's guilds and madrasas.
When he passed through Cairo in July of 1324, he was accompanied by five hundred slaves, each reportedly carrying a six-pound staff of gold. He gave out so much gold that it took 12 years for the economy to recover, due to the rapid inflation that it initiated. According to Cairo born historian al-Maqurizi, "the members of his entourage proceeded to buy Turkish and Ethiopian slave girls, singing girls and garments, so that the rate of the gold dinar fell by six dirhams." The Arab historian al-Umari records that Musa was so generous that he ran out of money and had to take out a loan to be able to afford the journey home. Musa's hajj, and especially his gold, caught the attention of both the Islamic and Christian worlds.
He was succeeded in 1337 by his son Maghan and in 1341 by his brother Suleyman.
