Mansa Musa’s journey to Mecca
Open the interactive lesson
Decisions, questions and your own progress, in the app
Mansa Musa in the Catalan Atlas · attributed to Abraham Cresques · Public domain · Source page
The story
Mansa Musa ruled the Mali Empire, which controlled much of the world’s gold. In 1324 he crossed the Sahara on pilgrimage to Mecca with thousands of followers.
What happened next
In Cairo he gave away and spent so much gold that its value there fell for years. Back home he built mosques and helped make Timbuktu a centre of learning.
Remember
- Mali was one of the largest empires of its time
- A European map from 1375 shows him holding a gold nugget
- The Djinguereber Mosque in Timbuktu dates from his reign
Review question
What happened when Mansa Musa spent gold in Cairo?
Answer: The price of gold there fell. So much gold arrived at once that it lost value. Writers in Cairo were still talking about it 12 years later.
Image credits
- Mansa Musa in the Catalan Atlas · attributed to Abraham Cresques · Public domain · Source page
