Mali Empire

Guinea, 1235–1670. Draft, not yet reviewed

The Mali Empire was an empire in West Africa. The empire began as a small Mandinka kingdom at the upper reaches of the Niger River, centered around the Manding region. The empire was founded by Sundiata Keita and became renowned for the wealth of its monarchs, especially Mansa Musa. The Mali Empire comprised land that is now part of Guinea, Senegal, Mauritania, the Gambia, and the modern state of Mali.

Seat of power: Kangaba

No rulers documented for this era yet.

Culture

• The first ruler for which there is accurate written information is Sundiata Keita, 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 Kanté.
• Musa went on Hajj to Mecca in 1324, traveling with an enormous entourage and a vast supply of gold. En route, he spent time in Cairo, where his lavish gift-giving is said to have noticeably affected the value of gold in Egypt and garnered the attention of the wider Muslim world.
• Musa expanded the borders of the Mali Empire, in particular incorporating the cities of Gao and Timbuktu into its territory. His reign is associated with numerous construction projects, including a portion of Djinguereber Mosque in Timbuktu.

Picture

Mansa Musa was the ninth Mansa of the Mali Empire, which reached its territorial peak during his reign.

Image: attributed to Abraham Cresques, Public domain, file

Sources

• Mali Empire (Wikipedia)
• Mali Empire (Wikidata)
• About the picture (Wikipedia)

Text adapted from the Wikipedia articles listed as sources, CC BY-SA 4.0.