Why was mansa musa significant

Who was Mansa Musa? Why is he important? Yonas Yohannes. Mar 15, Related questions Was Mansa Musa a good king? But it was this excessive generosity that also caught the eyes of the world. Mansa Musa had put Mali and himself on the map, quite literally. In a Catalan Atlas map from , a drawing of an African king sits on a golden throne atop Timbuktu, holding a piece of gold in his hand.

Timbuktu became an African El Dorado and people came from near and far to have a glimpse. In the 19th Century, it still had a mythical status as a lost city of gold at the edge of the world, a beacon for both European fortune hunters and explorers, and this was largely down to the exploits of Mansa Musa years earlier. Mansa Musa returned from Mecca with several Islamic scholars, including direct descendants of the prophet Muhammad and an Andalusian poet and architect by the name of Abu Es Haq es Saheli, who is widely credited with designing the famous Djinguereber mosque.

In addition to encouraging the arts and architecture, he also funded literature and built schools, libraries and mosques. Timbuktu soon became a centre of education and people travelled from around the world to study at what would become the Sankore University. The rich king is often credited with starting the tradition of education in West Africa, although the story of his empire largely remains little known outside West Africa.

After Mansa Musa died in , aged 57, the empire was inherited by his sons who could not hold the empire together. The smaller states broke off and the empire crumbled. The later arrival of Europeans in the region was the final nail in the empire's coffin. Son of a joiner becomes UK's richest man. Kylie Jenner is world's youngest billionaire. Image source, Getty Images. Mansa Musa travelled to Mecca with a caravan of 60, men and 12, slaves. But he is by no means the richest man of all time. The 10 richest men of all time.

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