So wealthy that his riches could not be described. That is how the world’s richest man ever is described. Mansa Musa was the emperor of the West African empire of Mali from 1307 to 1324. In his 17-year reign as emperor, Mansa Musa left a realm notable for its extent and riches.
Being the grandson of Sundiata, the founder of the dynasty, Mansa Musa, grew the empire to span a sizeable portion of West Africa, from the Atlantic coast to the inland trading hub of Timbuktu and parts of the Sahara Desert.
His Pilgrimage to Mecca
Despite everything he accomplished, it was his journey to Mecca that captured the attention of his followers and revealed Mansa’s vast fortune. Musa, a devoted Muslim living in a predominantly Muslim area, left for Mecca to do the Hajj pilgrimage. Musa travelled the estimated 4,000-mile journey with a caravan of tens of thousands of warriors, slaves, and heralds who were dressed in Persian silk and carried golden staffs.
Hundreds of pounds of gold were carried by camels and horses as part of the intricate convoy that marched with Musa, although accounts of the precise number of participants in the journey are hard to come by.
Mansa Musa’s extraordinary generosity and piety, together with his followers’ elegant attire and admirable conduct, did not fail to make a positive impression. The emperor was so lavish in his spending that he flooded the Cairo market with gold, which caused such a drop in its value that the market had not yet fully recovered 12 years later.
None Like Mansa Musa
Before Mansa Musa, rulers of West African states had made the pilgrimage to Mecca, but his extravagant journey had the effect of publicizing Mali and himself far beyond the African continent and inspiring the Muslim kingdoms of North Africa as well as many European countries to seek out the source of this incredible wealth.
Only after Musa’s journey to Mecca did word of his riches and power transcend Africa. Long after his passing, which is said to have occurred between the years of 1332 and 1337, stories of his tremendous compassion and generosity persisted.
Musa had been shown at the end of the 14th century in the 1375 Catalan Atlas, a crucial tool for medieval European navigators. Musa was seen holding a gold nugget while seated on a throne with a gold sceptre and crown in Abraham Cresques’ atlas, which was produced in Spain.
