He belonged to the Keita Dynasty and came to power after Abu-Bakra-Keita II left on an expedition to explore the Atlantic Ocean, leaving Musa as his deputy and never returned. [86] Qu was succeeded by his son Muhammad, who launched two voyages to explore the Atlantic Ocean. During this period, trade routes shifted southward to the savanna, stimulating the growth of states such as Bono state. While spears and bows were the mainstay of the infantry, swords and lances of local or foreign manufacture were the choice weapons of the cavalry. [40] Ibn Battuta and Leo Africanus both call the capital "Mali. This region straddles the border between what is now southern Mali and northeastern Guinea. 6. Al-Nasir expected Musa to prostrate himself before him, which Musa initially refused to do. [22], Genealogy of the mansas of the Mali Empire up to Magha II (d.c.1389), based on Levtzion's interpretation of Ibn Khaldun. Corrections? [86] As Fajigi, Musa is sometimes conflated with a figure in oral tradition named Fakoli, who is best known as Sunjata's top general. This style is characterised by the use of mudbricks and an adobe plaster, with large wooden-log support beams that jut out from the wall face for large buildings such as mosques or palaces. It wasn't long before the new kingdom of Great Fulo was warring against Mali's remaining provinces. [84][85] However, some aspects of Musa appear to have been incorporated into a figure in Mand oral tradition known as Fajigi, which translates as "father of hope". (2020, October 17). Get a Britannica Premium subscription and gain access to exclusive content. Musa is reported to have reigned for 25 years, and different lines of evidence suggest he died either. In their own country they use only slave women and men for transport, but for long journeys such as pilgrimages they have mounts. Still, throne names do not usually indicate blood relations. Encyclopaedia Britannica's editors oversee subject areas in which they have extensive knowledge, whether from years of experience gained by working on that content or via study for an advanced degree. This thread is archived At Taghaza, for example, salt was exchanged; at Takedda, copper. Mansa Musa, one of the wealthiest people who ever lived - Jessica Smith TED-Ed 7.1M views 7 years ago The history of Nigeria explained in 6 minutes (3,000 Years of Nigerian history) Epimetheus. [40], Musa was a young man when he became mansa, possibly in his early twenties. In 14331434, the Mali Empire lost control of Timbuktu to the Tuareg, led by Akil Musa stayed in the Qarafa district of Cairo, and befriended its governor, Ibn Amir Hajib, who learned much about Mali from him. Dates: 4001591 C. E.", "Is Mansa Musa the richest man who ever lived? The Mali Empire covered a larger area for a longer period of time than any other West African state before or since. The World History Encyclopedia logo is a registered trademark. Mansa Souleyman Keita (or Suleiman) took steep measures to put Mali back into financial shape, thereby developing a reputation for miserliness. [104] He would only reign a year before a descendant of Mansa Gao Keita removed him.[70]. Sundiata Keita was a warrior-prince of the Keita dynasty who was called upon to free the local people from the rule of the king of the Sosso Empire, Soumaoro Kant. He made a famous pilgrimage to Mecca from 1324 to 1326. After the loyalty or at least the capitulation of an area was assured, it was allowed to select its own dyamani-tigui. Text on this page is printable and can be used according to our Terms of Service. [14], Medieval sources are divided over whether Mali is the name of a town or a region. Sundiata's mother was Maghan Kon Fatta's second wife, Sogolon Kdjou. Stride, G. T., & C. Ifeka: "Peoples and Empires of West Africa: West Africa in History 10001800". His information about the empire came from visiting Malians taking the hajj, or pilgrim's voyage to Mecca. so the name Kanku Musa means "Musa, son of Kanku", although it is unclear if the genealogy implied is literal. During the peak of the kingdom, Mali was extremely wealthy. Following the death of Sundiata Keita in c. 1255, the kings of Mali were referred to by the title mansa. He ruled the nation for nearly 25 years until his death in 1337 and is . [45] He would have spent much time fostering the growth of the religion within his empire. Swords were drawn, but before the situation escalated further, Musa persuaded his men to back down. He also states that Djata or "Jatah" means "lion". The Royal Kingdoms of Ghana, Mali, and Songhay: Life in Medieval Africa By Patricia McKissack, Fredrick McKissack Page 60, "The richest person who ever lived had unimaginable wealth. This is the least known period in Mali's imperial history. The family tree of Mansa Musa. Mansa Mahmud Keita II received the Portuguese envoys Pro d'vora and Gonalo Enes in 1487. With a global population of some 11 million, the Mandinka are the best-known ethnic group of the Mande peoples, all of whom speak different dialects of the Mande language. His administration and military work allowed the empire to survive through the 16th century, solidifying him, his empire, and his family into the imaginations of storytellers around the world. The current King, Salman bin Abdulaziz, is the 25th son of King Abdulaziz and has continued to maintain the . ", "Recherches sur l'Empire du Mali au Moyen Age", "Towards a New Study of the So-Called Trkh al-fattsh", World History Encyclopedia Mansa Musa I, History Channel: Mansa Moussa: Pilgrimage of Gold, Caravans of Gold, Fragments in Time: Art, Culture, and Exchange across Medieval Saharan Africa, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Mansa_Musa&oldid=1142573327, Short description is different from Wikidata, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License 3.0, Mansa Musa was portrayed in two games in the, Mansa Musa was portrayed in the episode ", This page was last edited on 3 March 2023, at 05:05. [70] The mansa lost control of Jalo during this period. [116] Songhai authority over Bendugu and Kala declined by 1571, and Mali may have been able to reassert some authority over them. [87] The figure of Fajigi combines both Islam and traditional beliefs. Kankan Musa, better known as Mansa Musa probably took power in approximately 1312, although an earlier date is possible. However, Al-Nasir Muhammad returned Musa's earlier show of generosity with gifts of his own. harvnb error: no target: CITEREFKi-ZerboNiane (, sfn error: no target: CITEREFLevztionHopkins2000 (. Much of the history is oral, given by professional "historians". 1312 is the most widely accepted by modern historians. Stories of his fabulous wealth even reached Europe. Khalifa would shoot arrows at his subjects, so he was overthrown and killed. [8] Mansa, 'ruler'[9] or 'king'[10] in Mand, was the title of the ruler of the Mali Empire. What did Ms I do when he returned to Mali? Barring any other difficulties, the dyamani-tigui would run the province by himself collecting taxes and procuring armies from the tribes under his command. While in Cairo during his hajj, Musa befriended officials such as Ibn Amir Hajib, who learned about him and his country from him and later passed on that information to historians such as Al-Umari. Gao had already been captured by Musa's general, and Musa quickly regained Timbuktu, built a rampart and stone fort, and placed a standing army to protect the city from future invaders.[70]. In Ibn Khaldun's account, Sundjata is recorded as Mari Djata with "Mari" meaning "Amir" or "Prince". [69] The university became a center of learning and culture, drawing Muslim scholars from around Africa and the Middle East to Timbuktu. His reign came with huge physical, economic and intellectual development in the Mali Empire. Certainly, his descendants were Muslim, and many went on pilgrimage to Mecca (hajj), and Keita's most famous descendent, Mansa Musa, dazzled Egypt and the Islamic world on his lavish pilgrimage east. [122] They targeted Moroccan pashas still in Timbuktu and the mansas of Manden. Mansa Abu Bakr II had departed on a large fleet of ships to explore the Atlantic Ocean, and never returned.Mansa Musa inherited a kingdom that was already wealthy, but his work in expanding trade made Mali the wealthiest kingdom in Africa. The other characteristic of this era is the gradual loss of its northern and eastern possessions to the rising Songhai Empire and the movement of the Mali's economic focus from the trans-Saharan trade routes to the burgeoning commerce along the coast. After unsuccessful attempts by Mansa Mama Maghan to conquer Bamana, the Bamana in 1670 sacked and burned the capital, and the Mali Empire rapidly disintegrated and ceased to exist, being replaced by independent chiefdoms. The Portuguese decided to stay out of the conflict and the talks concluded by 1495 without an alliance.[110]. As a result of steady tax revenue and stable government beginning in the last quarter of the 13th century, the Mali Empire was able to project its power throughout its own extensive domain and beyond. [93] Mansa Maghan Keita I spent wastefully and was the first lacklustre emperor since Khalifa Keita. The last son of Maghan Keita I, Tenin Maghan Keita (also known as Kita Tenin Maghan Keita for the province he once governed) was crowned Mansa Maghan Keita II in 1387. Ms Is pilgrimage caravan to Mecca in 1324 comprised some 60,000 people and an immeasurable amount of gold. Mansa Musa ruled over the Mali empire in the 14th Century, and his incredible access to gold made him arguably . Mansa Musa also ran out of gold on the hajj to Mecca but was not concerned because he knew he had enough gold back in Mali to pay back everyone he owed money to. Sakura was able to stabilize the political situation in Mali. Jansen, Jan: "The Younger Brother and the Stranger. [45], Many oral histories point to a town called Dakajalan as the original home of the Keita clan and Sundiata's childhood home and base of operations during the war against the Soso. [95] When he passed through Cairo, historian al-Maqrizi noted "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.". Musa made his pilgrimage between 1324 and 1325 spanning 2,700 miles. [122] This campaign gutted Manden and destroyed any hope of the three mansas cooperating to free their land. [149], Imperial banner carried with Musa I in 1325 Hajj, Social, economic and governmental reformation. All of them agree that he took a very large group of people; the mansa kept a personal guard of some 500 men,[94] and he gave out so many alms and bought so many things that the value of gold in Egypt and Arabia depreciated for twelve years. [90][91] His reign is considered the golden age of Mali. A manuscript page from Timbuktu showing a table of astronomical information. Longman, 1995. Musa I (Arabic: , romanized:Mans Ms, N'Ko: ; r.c.1312c.1337[a]) was the ninth[4] mansa of the Mali Empire, which reached its territorial peak during his reign. They founded the first village of the Manding, Kirikoroni, then Kirina, Siby, Kita. CREDITS: Chart/Narration: Matt Baker. Musa expanded the borders of the Mali Empire, in particular incorporating the cities of Gao and Timbuktu into its territory. Despite this disunity in the realm, the realm remained under Mandinka control into the mid-17th century. His 25-year reign (1312-1337 CE) is described as "the golden age of . [59] Those not living in the mountains formed small city-states such as Toron, Ka-Ba and Niani. To Musa, Islam was "an entry into the cultured world of the Eastern Mediterranean". [76] The latter possibility is corroborated by Ibn Khaldun calling Suleyman Musa's son in that passage, suggesting he may have confused Musa's brother Suleyman with Musa's son Maghan. During this period, there was an advanced level of urban living in the major centers of Mali. [42] Another source of income for Mali during Musa's reign was taxation of the copper trade. However, it went through radical changes before reaching the legendary proportions proclaimed by its subjects. Not only do we pay for our servers, but also for related services such as our content delivery network, Google Workspace, email, and much more. [51] Musa made a major point of showing off his nation's wealth. His leadership of Mali, a state which stretched across two thousand . If a media asset is downloadable, a download button appears in the corner of the media viewer. Imperial Malian architecture was characterised by Sudano-Sahelian architecture with a Malian substyle, which is exemplified by the Great Mosque of Djenne. A kl-koun led free troops into battle alongside a farima ("brave man") during campaign. Mali's domain also extended into the desert. Many houses were built by hand and during the hot weather some houses would melt so they had to be very secure, The dating of the original Great Mosque's construction is obscure (the current structure, built under French Colonial Rule, dates from 1907). the descendants of the nearly 1,000-year-old objects made in Africa. [86] After Sakura's death, power returned to the line of Sunjata, with Wali's son Qu taking the throne. The buildings were constructed from slabs of salt and roofed with camel skins. It was this pilgrimage that awakened the world to the stupendous wealth of Mali. Mali Emperors Family Tree | Mansa Musa - The Richest Man in World History 71,113 views Nov 27, 2019 1.8K Dislike Share Save UsefulCharts 1.08M subscribers Watch the map animation on From. [83] He is criticized for being unfaithful to tradition, and some of the jeliw regard Musa as having wasted Mali's wealth. Available from http://incompetech.com. [86], The name "Musa" has become virtually synonymous with pilgrimage in Mand tradition, such that other figures who are remembered as going on a pilgrimage, such as Fakoli, are also called Musa. [112] Still, no help came from the envoy and further possessions of Mali were lost one by one. ), mansa (emperor) of the West African empire of Mali from 1307 (or 1312). [49] It has been suggested that the name given in the Arabic sources for the capital of Mali is derived the Manding word "bambi", meaning "dais", and as such refers to the "seat of government" in general rather than being the name of a specific city. Umari also describes the empire as being south of Marrakesh and almost entirely inhabited except for few places. The Manding languages were spoken in the empire. [d], Musa's father was named Faga Leye[12] and his mother may have been named Kanku. The Songhai kingdom measured several hundreds of miles across, so that the conquest meant the acquisition of a vast territory. If you have questions about how to cite anything on our website in your project or classroom presentation, please contact your teacher. [93] Mansa Souleyman's generals successfully fought off the military incursions, and the senior wife Kassi behind the plot was imprisoned. But the Mali Empire built by his predecessors was too strong for even his misrule and it passed intact to Musa's brother, Souleyman Keita in 1341. and transl. By the time they reached Suez, many of the Malian pilgrims had died of cold, starvation, or bandit raids, and they had lost many of their supplies. Forty years after the reign of Mansa Musa Keita I, the Mali Empire still controlled some 1,100,000 square kilometres (420,000sqmi) of land throughout Western Africa.[103][9]. [140], The Mali Empire maintained a semi-professional, full-time army in order to defend its borders. [41] Given the grandeur of his subsequent hajj, it is likely that Musa spent much of his early reign preparing for it. However, his riches are only one part of his legacy, and he is also remembered for his Islamic faith, promotion of scholarship, and patronage of culture in Mali. [15] Leo Africanus said that the capital city was called Melli. [63] Both of these accounts may be true, as Mali's control of Gao may have been weak, requiring powerful mansas to reassert their authority periodically.[64]. "LEAD: International: The History of Guinea-Bissau", "Four People Who Single-handedly Caused Economic Crises", "Lessons from Timbuktu: What Mali's Manuscripts Teach About Peace | World Policy Institute", "Mossi (12501575 AD) DBA 2.0 Variant Army List", "The history of Africa Peul and Toucouleur", "Africa and Slavery 15001800 by Sanderson Beck", "How the Mali Empire in the 12th century revolved levels of governance", Trade, Transport, Temples, and Tribute: The Economics of Power, "Gold, Islam and Camels: The Transformative Effects of Trade and Ideology", "Power and permanence in precolonial Africa: a case study from the central Sahel", "Recherches sur l'Empire du Mali au Moyen Age", "Expansion and Contraction Patterns of Large Polities: Context for Russia", "East-West Orientation of Historical Empires", Metropolitan Museum Empires of the Western Sudan: Mali Empire, Ibn Battuta: Travels in Asia and Africa 13251354, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Mali_Empire&oldid=1142808910, Identification disputed; possibly no fixed capital, Yantaar or Kel Antasar: Located in the vicinity of the, Tn Ghars or Yantar'ras: Correspond to the modern, This page was last edited on 4 March 2023, at 13:53. He was crowned under the throne name Sunidata Keita becoming the first Mandinka emperor. Still, when Ibn Battuta arrived at Mali in July 1352, he found a thriving civilisation on par with virtually anything in the Muslim or Christian world. Contemporary sources claim 60 copper bars traded for 100 dinars of gold. A dknsi performed the same function except with slave troops called sofa ("guardian of the horse") and under the command of a farimba ("great brave man"). His religious devotion contributed to the spread of Islam across West Africa. Nobody lived in the area except the Musafa servants who worked to dig the salts and lived on dates imported from Sijilmasa and the Dar'a valley, camel meat and millet imported from the Sudan. But more reasoned analysis suggests that his role, if any, was quite limited. [43] Perhaps because of this, Musa's early reign was spent in continuous military conflict with neighboring non-Muslim societies. [60] She was a hunchback from the land of Do, south of Mali. It had a well-organised army with an elite corps of horsemen and many foot soldiers in each battalion. . [147][148], The Sudano-Sahelian influence was particularly widely incorporated during the rule of Mansa Musa I, who constructed many architectural projects, including the Great Mosque of Gao and Royal Palace in Timbuktu, which was built with the assistance of Ishaak al-Tuedjin, an architect brought by Musa from his pilgrimage to Mecca. Several of the names are spelled in a variety of ways in different manuscripts. In 1645, the Bamana attacked Manden, seizing both banks of the Niger right up to Niani. [33] Some modern historians have cast doubt on Musa's version of events, suggesting he may have deposed his predecessor and devised the story about the voyage to explain how he took power. Articles from Britannica Encyclopedias for elementary and high school students. [93], In 1477, the Yatenga emperor Nassr made yet another Mossi raid into Macina, this time conquering it and the old province of BaGhana (Wagadou).[109]. 4. [47], According to Jules Vidal and Levtzion, citing oral histories from Kangaba and Keyla, another onetime capital was Manikoro or Mali-Kura, founded after the destruction of Niani. A very large number of families that make up the Mandinka community were born in Manding. The third great account is that of Ibn Khaldun, who wrote in the early 15th century. The farimba operated from a garrison with an almost entirely slave force, while a farima functioned on field with virtually all freemen. Cairo and Mecca received this royal personage, whose glittering procession, in the superlatives employed by Arab chroniclers, almost put Africas sun to shame. [123] Either as a counter-attack or simply the progression of pre-planned assaults against the remnants of Mali, the Bamana sacked and burned Niani in 1670. [40] Seemingly contradictory reports written by Arab visitors, a lack of definitive archaeological evidence, and the diversity of oral traditions all contribute to this uncertainty. Sadly for Sundjata, this did not occur before his father died. The emperor was so overjoyed by the new acquisition that he decided to delay his return to Niani and to visit Gao instead, there to receive the personal submission of the Songhai king and take the kings two sons as hostages. Musa went on hajj to Mecca in 1324, traveling with an enormous entourage and a vast supply of gold. He was the first African ruler to be widely known throughout Europe and the Middle East. These farbas would rule their old kingdoms in the name of the mansa with most of the authority they held prior to joining the empire. Ms Is hajj left a lasting impression of Malis splendour on both the Islamic and European worlds. The Wangara, an Old Soninke Diaspora in West Africa? . Through the oral tradition of griots, the Keita dynasty, from which nearly every Mali emperor came, claims to trace its lineage back to Lawalo, one of the sons of Bilal,[60] the faithful muezzin of Islam's prophet Muhammad, who was said to have migrated into Mali and his descendants established the ruling Keita dynasty through Maghan Kon Fatta, father of Sundiata Keita.[61]. Evidence of cavalry in terracotta figures suggest the empire's prosperous economy as horses are not indigenous to Africa. Every year merchants entered Mali via Oualata with camel loads of salt to sell in Niani. He has been subject to popular claims that he is the wealthiest person in history,[5] but his actual wealth is not known with any certainty. [4] Much of the recorded information about the Mali Empire comes from 14th-century Tunisian historian Ibn Khaldun, 14th-century Moroccan traveller Ibn Battuta and 16th-century Andalusian traveller Leo Africanus. He has sometimes been called the wealthiest person in history. [45] Those animals included 80 camels which each carried 23136kg (50300lb) of gold dust. After a mere nine months of rule, Mansa Camba Keita was deposed by one of Maghan Keita I's three sons. World History Encyclopedia. By the end of Mansa Musa's reign, the Sankor University had been converted into a fully staffed university with the largest collections of books in Africa since the Library of Alexandria. From 1389 onwards Mali gained a host of mansas of obscure origins. While in Mecca, conflict broke out between a group of Malian pilgrims and a group of Turkic pilgrims in the Masjid al-Haram. Therefore, Arabic visitors may have assigned the "capital" label merely to whatever major city the mansa was based out of at the time of their visit. Imperial Mali is best known through three primary sources: the first is the account of Shihab al-'Umari, written in about 1340 by a geographer-administrator in Mamluk Egypt. What made this possible was the decentralised nature of administration throughout the state. [81] He was replaced by Abu Bakr, a son of Sunjata's daughter. [123] Segou, defended by Bitn Coulibaly, successfully defended itself and Mama Maghan was forced to withdraw. Manuscript of Nasir al-Din Abu al-Abbas Ahmad ibn al-Hajj al-Amin al-Tawathi al-Ghalawi's Kashf al-Ghummah fi Nafa al-Ummah. National Geographic Headquarters 1145 17th Street NW Washington, DC 20036. [79] Some oral traditions agree with Ibn Khaldun in indicating that a son of Sunjata, named Yerelinkon in oral tradition and Wali in Arabic, took power as Sunjata's successor. There is some ambiguity over the identity of the mansa responsible for the voyages. [7] Maghan I succeeded his father as mansa in 1337, but was deposed by his uncle Suleyman in 1341. In addition, the moral and religious principles he had taught his subjects endured after his death. Bowmen formed a large portion of the field army as well as the garrison. Robert Smith, "The Canoe in West African History", harvnb error: no target: CITEREFBourgeois1987 (, Learn how and when to remove these template messages, Learn how and when to remove this template message, Kitab al-Masalik wa al-Mamalik (Book of Highways and Kingdoms) Ab Ubayd Al-Bakri, "The Empire of Mali, In Our Time BBC Radio 4", "Tracing History in Dia, in the Inland Niger Delta of Mali -Archaeology, Oral Traditions and Written Sources". This enabled him to rule over a realm larger than even the Ghana Empire in its apex. Mansa Musa (Musa I of Mali) was the king of the ancient empire of Mali in West Africa. Numerous educational institutions recommend us, including Oxford University. Please refer to the appropriate style manual or other sources if you have any questions. Heusch, Luc de: "The Symbolic Mechanisms of Sacred Kingship: Rediscovering Frazer". Al-Umari said that before Musa's arrival, a mithqal of gold was worth 25 silver dirhams, but that it dropped to less than 22 dirhams afterward and did not go above that number for at least twelve years. Musa and his entourage gave and spent freely while in Cairo. Musa's death may have occurred in 1337, 1332, or possibly even earlier, giving 1307 or 1312 as plausible approximate years of accession. The northern commercial towns of Oualata and Audaghost were also conquered and became part of the new state's northern border. Yet native sources seem to pay him little attention. In 1324 Musa embarked on a hajj, a religious pilgrimage to Mecca, traveling with an entourage that included 8,000 courtiers, 12,000 servants and 100 camel loads of . Side by side with the encouragement of trade and commerce, learning and the arts received royal patronage. While this was probably an exaggeration, it is known that during his pilgrimage to Mecca one of his generals, Sagmandia (Sagaman-dir), extended the empire by capturing the Songhai capital of Gao. [133], There was no standard currency throughout the realm, but several forms were prominent by region. After the victory, King Soumaoro disappeared, and the Mandinka stormed the last of the Sosso cities. [j][52][53] While in Cairo, Musa met with the Mamluk sultan al-Nasir Muhammad, whose reign had already seen one mansa, Sakura, make the hajj. [136] One particular source of salt in the Mali Empire was salt-mining sites located in Taghaza. [20] Additional information comes from two 17th-century manuscripts written in Timbuktu, the Tarikh Ibn al-Mukhtar[c] and the Tarikh al-Sudan. [e] After the loss of the first expedition, Muhammad led the second expedition himself. Wagadou's control over Manden came to a halt after internal instability lead to its decline. [145] Another common weapon of Mandekalu warriors was the poison javelin used in skirmishes. [105][106] Three years later, Oualata also fell into their hands. Mansa means (King or Emperor) and he was ruling the Mali kingdom from C.E 1312 to 1337 for around 25 years. 24 June, 2022. [118] Mahmud sought support from several other rulers, including the governor of Kala, Bukar. The audio, illustrations, photos, and videos are credited beneath the media asset, except for promotional images, which generally link to another page that contains the media credit. Mansa Musa's reign itself was 25 years long. Several 21st century historians have firmly rejected Niani as a capital candidate based on a lack of archaeological evidence of significant trade activity, clearly described by Arab visitors, particularly during the 14th century, Mali's golden age. Mansa Musa (about 1280 - about 1337) was an emperor (mansa) of the Mali Empire during the 14th century. To Westerners, he seems to have been the greatest of Mali rulers, as visible in games like Civilization. Our editors will review what youve submitted and determine whether to revise the article. [27] His list does not necessarily accurately reflect the actual organization of the Mali Empire,[28] and the identification of the listed provinces is controversial. Traveling separately from the main caravan, their return journey to Cairo was struck by catastrophe. "[42], Early European writers such as Maurice Delafosse believed that Niani, a city on what is now the border between Guinea and Mali, was the capital for most of the empire's history, and this notion has taken hold in the popular imagination. From the Mamma Haidara Commemorative Library, Timbuktu. Mansa Musa even built the Great Mosque of Djenn, one of the most famous mosques in Mali, to recognize his pilgrimage. [128] Nevertheless, the mansa managed to keep tax money and nominal control over the area without agitating his subjects into revolt. Lange, Dierk (1996), "The Almoravid expansion and the downfall of Ghana", Der Islam 73 (2): 313351. Log in, Click to share on Twitter (Opens in new window), Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window). Upon his return in 1324, Ms Is pious pilgrimage inspired him to commission two enormous mosques in Timbuktu and Gao.