When Mansa Musa made his famous pilgrimage to Mecca in 1324, he brought so much gold that he accidentally crashed the economies of Egypt and the Middle East for over a decade.
The Story of Mansa Musa
Mansa Musa became emperor of the Mali Empire around 1312 and ruled over a vast territory in West Africa that controlled more than half the world's supply of gold and salt. The Mali Empire under his rule stretched nearly 2,000 miles — covering modern-day Mali, Senegal, Gambia, Guinea, Niger, Nigeria, Chad, and Mauritania.
In 1324, Mansa Musa embarked on his Hajj — pilgrimage to Mecca — with an entourage estimated at 60,000 people including 12,000 enslaved servants, 500 heralds carrying golden staffs, and 80 camels each carrying 300 pounds of gold dust. He gave away so much gold in Cairo and along the route that he crashed the price of gold across Egypt, the Arabian Peninsula, and North Africa for over a decade.
His journey forced European cartographers to include the Mali Empire on their maps of the world. The 1375 Catalan Atlas — one of the most important medieval maps — shows Mansa Musa seated on a golden throne holding a golden scepter, labeled as "the richest king in the world."
Mansa Musa was also a great patron of Islamic scholarship. He built the Djinguereber Mosque in Timbuktu, established universities, and made Timbuktu one of the great centers of learning in the medieval world — with hundreds of thousands of manuscripts that are still being recovered and studied today.
Color Mansa's Portrait
The Alphabet Book of Generals — Who Resisted White Supremacy and Won features a full-page coloring portrait of Mansa with a color guide and fun fact. Perfect for children ages 4–12 and Black history education.
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