Mansa Musa

**Mansa Musa** (he reign ) na he be de ninth *Mansa* of de Mali Empire, wich na reach ein territorial peak during ein reign. Na Musa ein reign often be regarded as de zenith of Mali ein power den prestige, although na he feature less insyd Mandinka oral traditions dan ein predecessors. 

Na he be exceptionally wealthy to an extent dat na he be described as being inconceivably rich by contemporaries; na *Time* magazine report: "Der be really no way to put an accurate number for ein wealth top." E be known from local manuscripts den travellers dema accounts dat na Mansa Musa ein wealth cam principally from de Mali Empire ein control den taxing of de trade insyd salt wey komot northern regions den especially from gold dem pan wey dem mine insyd Bambuk den Bure to de south. Over a very long period na Mali amass a large reserve of gold. Na dem sanso believe Mali be involved insyd de trade insyd chaw goods such as ivory, slaves, spices, silks, den ceramics. However, presently little be known about de extent anaa mechanics of dese trades. At de time of Musa ein ascension to de throne, na Mali consist largely of de territory of de former Ghana Empire, wich na cam be a vassal of Mali. Na de Mali Empire comprise land wey now be part of Guinea, Senegal, Mauritania, the Gambia, den de modern state of Mali.

Na Musa expand de borders of de Mali Empire, in particular wey dey incorporate de cities of Gao den Timbuktu into ein territory. Na he seek closer ties plus de rest of de Muslim world, particularly de Mamluk den Marinid Sultanates. Na he recruit scholars from de wider Muslim world make dem travel to Mali, such as de Andalusian poet Abu Ishaq al-Sahili, wey na dem help establish Timbuktu as a center of Islamic learning. Na ein reign be associated plus chaw construction projects, wey dey include a portion of Djinguereber Mosque insyd Timbuktu.

## Name den titles
Na Mansa Musa ein personal name be Musa (Arabic: موسى, romanized: *Mūsá*), de name of Moses insyd Islam. *Mansa*, 'ruler' anaa 'king' insyd Mandé, be de title of de ruler of de Mali Empire. 

Insyd oral tradition den de *Timbuktu Chronicles*, na Musa be further known as Kanku Musa.Insyd Mandé tradition, na e be common for one ein name to be prefixed by ein mommie ein name, so de name Kanku Musa dey mean "Musa, son of Kanku", although e be unclear whether de genealogy imply e be literal. Na Al-Yafii give Musa ein name as Musa ibn Abi Bakr ibn Abi al-Aswad Arabic: موسى بن أبي بكر بن أبي الأسود, romanized: *Mūsā ibn Abī Bakr ibn Abī al-Aswad*), wey na ibn Hajar give Musa ein name as Musa ibn Abi Bakr Salim al-Takruri (Arabic: موسى بن أبي بكر سالم التكروري, romanized: *Mūsā ibn Abī Bakr Salim al-Takruri*).

Musa be often given de title Hajji insyd oral tradition secof na he make hajj. Insyd de Songhai language, na rulers of Mali such as Musa be known as de Mali-koi, *koi* be a title wey convey authority over a region: insyd oda words, de "ruler of Mali".

## Historical sources
Much of wat be known about Musa dey camf from Arabic sources dem wrep after ein hajj, especially de writings of Al-Umari den Ibn Khaldun. While insyd Cairo during ein hajj, na Musa befriend officials such as Ibn Amir Hajib, wey he learn about am den ein country from am wey he later pass dat knowledge to historians such as Al-Umari. Additional information dey cam from two 17th-century manuscripts dem wrep insyd Timbuktu, de *Tarikh Ibn al-Mukhtar* den de *Tarikh al-Sudan*. Oral tradition, as de *jeliw* (sg. *jeli*) perform, dem sanso know as griots, dey include relatively little information about Musa relative to sam oda parts of de history of Mali, pluz ein predecessor conquerors wey dey receive more prominence.

## Lineage

According to Djibril Tamsir Niane, na dem name Musa ein poppie Faga Leye den ein mommie fi be named Kanku.Na Faga Leye be de son of Abu Bakr, a bro of Sunjata, de first mansa of de Mali Empire. Ibn Khaldun no dey mention Faga Leye, wey he dey refer to Musa as Musa ibn Abu Bakr. Dis fi be interpreted as either "Musa son of Abu Bakr" anaa "Musa descendant of Abu Bakr." Na e be implausible dat Abu Bakr be Musa ein poppie, secof de amount of time between Sunjata ein reign den Musa ein own.

Ibn Battuta, wey visit Mali during de reign of Musa ein bro Sulayman, say dat na dem name Musa ein grandpoppie Sariq Jata. Sariq Jata fi be anoda name give Sunjata, wey na actually be Musa ein great-uncle. Dis, along plus Ibn Khaldun ein use of de name 'Musa ibn Abu Bakr' prompt historian Francois-Xavier Fauvelle make he propose dat na Musa be in fact de son of Abu Bakr I, a grandson of Sunjata thru ein daughter. Na later attempts make dem erase dis possibly illegitimate succession thru de female line lead to de confusion insyd de sources over Musa ein parentage. Na hostility towards Musa ein branch of de Keita dynasty sanso go explain ein relative absence from anaa scathing treatment by oral histories.

## Early life den accession to power
Na de date of Musa ein birth be unknown, buh na he appear he be a young man insyd 1324. Na de *Tarikh al-fattash* dey claim dat na Musa accidentally kill Kanku at sam point prior to ein hajj.

Musa ascend to power insyd de early 1300s under unclear circumstances. According to Musa ein own account, na ein predecessor as Mansa of Mali, presumably Muhammad ibn Qu, launch two expeditions make he explore de Atlantic Ocean (200 ships for de first exploratory mission den 2,000 ships for de second). Na de Mansa lead de second expedition einself wey na he appoint Musa as ein deputy to rule de empire til na he return. Wen na he no return, na dem crown Musa as mansa einself, wey dey mark a transfer of de line of succession from de descendants of Sunjata to de descendants of ein bro Abu Bakr. Na sam modern historians cast doubt on Musa ein version of events, wey dem dey suggest na he fi depose ein predecessor den devise de story about de voyage make he explain how na he take power. Nonetheless, na dem seriously take de possibility of such a voyage by chaw historians.

## Early reign

Na Musa be a young man wen na he cam be *Mansa*, possibly insyd ein early twenties. Given de grandeur of ein subsequent *[[hajj]]*,  e be likely say Musa spend much of ein early reign dey prepare give am. Na among dese preparations likely go be raids make he capture den enslave people wey komot neighboring lands, as na Musa ein entourage go include chaw thousands of slaves; na de historian Michael Gomez dey estimate say Mali fi capture over 6,000 slaves per year for dis purpose. Perhaps secof dis, na Musa ein early reign be spent insyd continuous military conflict plus neighboring non-Muslim societies. Insyd 1324, while insyd Cairo, na Musa say dat na he conquered 24 cities den dema surrounding districts.

## References

### Primary sources
*, translated in Levtzion & Hopkins 2000
*, translated in Hunwick, 1999
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* , translated in Levtzion & Hopkins 2000

### Oda sources
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## Read further

* , translated in Levtzion & Hopkins 2000 and Hamdun & King 2009

## External links

*Mansa Musa I at World History Encyclopedia
* Mansa Moussa: Pilgrimage of Gold (archived) at History Channel's History.com
*Caravans of Gold, Fragments in Time: Art, Culture, and Exchange across Medieval Saharan Africa at Northwestern University's Block Museum of Art