Mansa Musa

Mansa Musa (c. 1280 – c. 1337) was the ninth Mansa of the Mali Empire, which reached its territorial peak during his reign. Musa's reign is often regarded as the zenith of Mali's power and prestige, although he features less in Mandinka oral traditions than his predecessors.

Musa was exceptionally wealthy, to an extent that contemporaries described him as inconceivably rich; Time magazine reported: "There's really no way to put an accurate number on his wealth.” They cite Ferrum College history professor Richard Smith that Mali was likely the largest gold producer in the world at the time, but “contemporary sources describe the king’s riches in terms that are impossible for the time." It is known from local manuscripts and travellers' accounts that Mansa Musa's wealth came principally from the Mali Empire's control and taxing of the trade in salt from northern regions and especially from gold panned and mined in Bambuk and Bure to the south. Over a very long period Mali had amassed a large reserve of gold. Mali is also believed to have been involved in the trade in many goods such as ivory, slaves, spices, silks, and ceramics. However, presently little is known about the extent or mechanics of these trades. It is estimated that two thirds of the gold circulating in the Medieval Mediterranean came from West Africa and this accounts for almost half of the Old World’s gold supply. Archeological near the town of Tadmekka shows Malians invented their own process of refining gold by using melted glass and removing impurities. While gold was abundant copper was incredibly scarce and prized in Sub-Saharan Africa and “was exchanged for gold at rates that would be considered unfair by present-day standards.” At the time of Musa's ascension to the throne, Mali consisted largely of the territory of the former Ghana Empire, which had become a vassal of Mali. The Mali Empire comprised land that is now part of Guinea, Senegal, Mauritania, the Gambia, and the modern state of Mali which would be an area of 1,300,000 km.