Mansa Musa

Question 1

Who was Mansa Musa?

Answer 1

Mansa Musa was the king of Mali between 1312 and 1337.

Question 2

Explain Mansa Musa’s pilgrimage.

Answer 2

• In 1334 Mansa Musa set off on his pilgrimage to Mecca
• He brought 60000 officials, soldiers, merchants, servants and slaves. (14000 for him and 500 for his senior wife).
• He also brought 80 camel that each carried gifts and 200 kilograms of gold.
• He paid for mosques to be built wherever his caravan stopped on Fridays and he gave gold dust to poor people on the side of the road.
• He gave away so much gold that the value of gold dropped in Egypt.
• On his return journey he ran out of gold and had to borrow money.
• His journey took 1 year and was 3000 miles long.
• He visited Cairo (Egypt) and Medina (Arabia) before he reached Mecca.
• Eye witnesses made Mansa Musa famous when they spread the word about him to far off lands.
• Egyptian traders were so impressed with Mansa Musa that they went back to trade with Mali. He also brought back Muslim teachers, architects and Arab scholars.
• The reason Mali was put on the map and became a very powerful country and was a thriving centre for trade was because Mansa Musa gave away so much gold and was so generous during his pilgrimage to Mecca.

Question 3

What made Mansa Musa a good leader?

Answer 3

• He was very generous.
• He made friendly relationships with neighbouring countries.
• He maintained a strong army that could keep order and prevent traders and travellers from being afraid to travel because of robbers.

Question 4

How did Mansa Musa impact Mali?

Answer 4

Mansa Musa impacted Mali because of his generosity during his pilgrimage to Mecca which put Mali on the map, which in time made Mali a thriving centre for trade and a very powerful country. He also improved the country’s government, made friendly relationships with neighbouring country’s and produced a strong army that could keep order so that traders and travellers could move without fear of robbers.