Mansa Musa was arguably the greatest king in the western African area of his time and what he did made him widely known throughout Europe and the Middle East. Mansa Musa’s hajj changed the course of History significantly because of the inflation of gold, the development of Timbuktu and Mali, and how much power Mansa Musa had and how he used it on numerous things. Mansa Musa’s is famous for giving out so much gold that ruined the Egyptian economy. Mansa Musa was the grandson of Sundiata, the founder of the dynasty, Mansa Musa came to throne in 1307. Musa the Magnificent began his hajj across Africa in 1324. Mansa Musa traveled along the “Niger River To Mema, then to Walata, then through Taghaza and on to Tuat.” Musa arrived in Egypt a few days …show more content…
When Mansa Musa came to power, Mali struck it rich. Traders always stopped at Mali, and Mansa Musa was very generous. Mali grew larger than any kingdom in Europe and the economy became really strong. “Mali collected taxes on imports and exports, which added to Mali’s wealth”. The trade routes also helped spread the religion of Islam. Mali had control over salt mines, diamonds, copper, and finally gold which assured it economic prosperity. He also helped to spread Islam. He built many schools which taught the teachings of the Qur’an. He ordered many Mosques to be built while on his hajj. This attracted many followers as he has a high opinion of the Qur’an. On Mansa Musa’s pilgrimage, he took about 60,000 men, 80 camels, each camel carried about 300 pounds of gold, and plenty of slaves. There was no need to worry about being robbed or the gold being stolen with that big of an army. Mansa Musa’s army is huge itself which made a lot of people fear him but at the same time it got more followers for Mansa Musa. The army guarded the gold mines, every time Mansa Musa left the castle, 300 guards would follow him! He was a very well protected and feared King. Mansa Musa may sound very violent and savage, but he is actually very generous and peaceful. Mansa Musa was basically the perfect king: he was very religious, generous, possesses a lot of power, and
In the 1300s Mansa Musa, king of Mali took his holy pilgrimage to the city of Mecca as a devout muslim, traveling through scorching deserts and bustling cities, although there might be other reasons he took his religious Hajj. The pilgrimage of Mansa Musa traveled all across Northern Africa and Arabia, stopping in cities along the way where Mansa Musa gave out gold to all he saw. The journey from the Empire of Mali to the city of Mecca was not only a faithful religious journey to the holy city, but also to create a name for Mali as the wealthy and powerful empire it was.
“There is no god but Allah…” (41). This is what was taught to many African people during the emergence of the Islamic culture. Although many diverse religions existed before this emergence, Islam and its teachings spread quicker than people imagined. Its teachings were very formal and education-oriented. This was certainly evident through the emergence of Tiekoro, the son of Dousika Traore, who was the king’s most trusted advisor, but not a well-respected man. As Conde stated on page 41, Segu seemed like it became smaller everyday, as if it were an island surrounded by other countries, which have unfortunately lost the battle to Islam. Tiekoro, being a young man, realized these rapid changes in his society. He, unlike many other Bambaras, decided to convert to the majority, leaving the minority (his Bambara people) behind to ponder what their next choice will be.
The fame over Islam strengthened Mali in a couple of different ways. With Islam as the official religion of Mali it influenced the idea of a community and brotherhood which was a unifying force for Mali. Also it helped create stronger relationships with trading partners and allies as well. The Islam people of Mali followed the lead of Mansa Musa and held academics and scholarly learning in the highest of regards. Many great works can be attributed to the people who learned and taught at Muslim centers of education. While Islam was the official religion of the nation there was religious tolerance. Mansa Musa was adamant that those who held different beliefs were acceptable. While Mansa Musa most certainly wanted to spread what he believed to be the true word of God to the people of his country he gave people the choice. Many have suggested that Mansa Musa allowing other religions actually helped spread the Islamic faith by letting people choose for themselves and truly believing the faith they were more inclined to spread the faith. The Islamic faith exploded in Mali and brought the nation closer together not only with itself but with many other Islamic
As the world of trade developed over time, goods were not the only things that were traded throughout these routes. With the merchants that traveled the world, were the ideals and religions that had learned from foreign lands, and the major religions of Christianity, Islam, and Buddhism, spread like wildfire throughout the regions of Eurasia and Africa because of this. The spread of Islam throughout the continent of Africa acted as a major influence both politically and socially. After 1600, Islam began to make its mark on the newly centralized states in Africa and was spread through western land trade, and through merchants on the Swahili coast. The major gold trading center of the Kingdom of Ghana, attracted merchants, and was a center for the Muslim community . By the 10th century, the kings of Ghana had converted to Islam in order to improve the relation between the kings and merchants. The early converts of Central and West Africa did not e...
He was not offered his usual elite treatment upon arrival, and upon appearing to protest this alleged slight, the sultan did not even recognize him. Accordingly, he describes the sultan as “miserly” (Gibb, et al. 957). In constrast, however, he appreciated the devoutness of those Malians who were Muslim (Levtzion and Pouwels 67), and generally praised the region’s wealth and gold reservers (which had, under Musa I, literally placed the region on the Catalan map).
achieved unprecedented popularity in both Egypt and the Arab world. He was said to be
Mufasa was one really great king. He made sure everyone was happy and he made sure everyone had food and water and he tried to make sure everything was right in his kingdom. After scar killed him, the kingdom drastically changed. Hyenas accompanied Scar
There was also a great city in Mali called Timbuktu. It was very important because it was a center for trade and it aided the Muslim art and culture which helped to spread Islam.
Islam is presented in the Epic of Sundiata in a way that encourages listeners to embrace Islam over their indigenous belief systems. The epic accomplishes this by incorporating elements and practices of the indigenous beliefs into Islamic tradition; and by adapting certain Islamic mythology — such as the Jinn — to the existing West African culture. It also asserts the superior power and strength of those who derive their power from Allah and the Jinn, to those whose power is based in ancestral worship and fetishes. Through conflict, adaptation, and tolerance, the Epic of Sundiata presents an accessible version of Islam to the people of the Mali Empire; and promotes the acceptance of this new faith over the indigenous beliefs of the area.
Mali is a landlocked country in North West Africa. It is bordered with Algeria to the South, Niger to the East, Burkina Faso and Cote d’Ivoire to the south and Senegal and Mauritania to the west. Modern day Mali is nowhere close to what it was at its peak in the 1300s. It was a flourishing empire, and one of the three empires that controlled trans-Saharan trade. It covered twice the size of modern day France, meaning around 1,500,000 kilometres square. However during the Scramble of Africa, France seized control of Mali making it a part of French Sudan. After the independence from the French, French Sudan became the Federation of Mali. However Senegal left, leaving Sudan occupying Mali. After a coup in 1991, Mali became an independent country. Now however, Mali is 1,240,000 Kilometres Square with a Gross Domestic Product of just 631 dollars per capita, compared to 43,185 dollars per capita in the United Arab Emirates. Mali has a population of around 14 million people. The southern part of Mali is more populated because it features the Niger and Senegal rivers. Mali’s prominent natural resource is gold. Actually it is the third largest producer of gold in all of Africa, but however the country is still poor. One of the arising problems in Mali, is humanitarian rights. The Tuareg rebellion, and a political upheaval generated by a March military coup led to a deterioration in respect to the human rights in Mali. After the occupation of the North, the respect to the human rights in Mali fell drastically forcing about 400,000 northern residents being displaced. Several armed groups, took control of territories in the North, and abused civilians. This abuse includes sexual abuse, looting and pillaging houses, and setting executions, rec...
Through day-to-day knowledge of what is happening in the world there is observable evidence that Islamic followers have employed different techniques to proclaim ‘power’. The techniques being employed are basically inflicting pain in the opponent by methods of kidnapping, hijackings, and recruiting members (such as Al-Qaeda in the Middle East) in order to make them a more powerful and a more appealing group in their societies. According to Mandaville, Islam is directly linked to politics (they cannot be separated); Muslims wanted to challenge new technological innovations as well as new institutions without forgetting about their religious values. Mandaville proclaims an important aspect of the Islamic religion. During the Ottoman Empire many Muslims gained important power and began to interact with Europeans in order to move into a more modern system; but times have changed.
The Kingdom of Mali was an African hub of wealth, trade and education for over 225 years. Mali is an Arab version of the Mandinka word that means, “Where the king dwells”, and was vitally important in spreading trade, education, religion and culture along the Niger River. The rise of Mali into an Empire occurred in the early 13th century, when Sundiata defeated his enemies and won control of the West African gold mines. In 1312 Mansa Musa became ruler of Mali. During his reign which was known as Mali’s, “Golden Age”, he introduced Islamic beliefs to many communities along the Niger and enhanced education after his historic pilgrimage to Mecca. Mali’s rise was attributed to the Trans-Saharan Trade routes leading to and from Western and Eastern Africa. These trade routes contributed to the rise and fall of powerful African Kingdoms for hundreds of years, but for 250 years, Mali was the crown jewel of Africa.
The spread of Islam in Africa had taken course from a number of factors, including external and internal forces. After my analyzing of the spread of Islam in Africa, I have gather three main themes that stuck out during the expansion of Islam: Islam and trade, the conversion conditions of Islam, and the economics/political development involving Islam. These three themes provide great insight on how Islam started to spread through out Africa. Through trade the culture and religion of Islam was spread to many different areas. This correlates to the conversion of different people, which helped spread Islam. By these conversions Islam was able to establish Islamic states, which played a factor in the development of strong economic and political
Ibn Battuta known for his travels, the only medieval traveler known to have visited the lands of every Muslim ruler of his time. Ibn Battuta traveled for about 27 years. Ibn Battuta was born in February 25, 1304 In Tangier, Morocco. His religion was Islam, he was a Muslim. As a young man, he studied at a Sunni Malkili Madhihab, it was the dominant form of education in North Africa at that time. At a very young age, age of 21, Ibn Battuta set alone on a hajj, in other words pilgrimage to Mecca. This expedition would take sixteen months. This hajj or expedition was his first traveling experience. He must had loved it, because instead of Ibn Battuta returning home, he went or continued with his travels. He traveled to Mecca overland, following the North African coast, he then got married in the town of Sfax, which was his first series of marriages that would feature in his travels. In 1326, Ibn Battuta arrived at the Port of Alexandria. Ibn Battuta spended a couple of weeks at the Port of Alexandria and then headed inland to Cairo, an important city at the time. Later on a local rebellion; an open, armed, and organized resistance to a government forced him to turn back, so he returned back to Cairo, taking a second side trip.
Firstly we would like to talk about the influence of islam and Christianity on the people of Bambara.There were opposing value systems between the fetish Islam and Christian religion.The traditional religion of the people of segou was one in which there were many gods and