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This illustration from a Spanish map from 1375 of the emperor Mansa Musa holding up a nugget of the gold that drew so many traders to West Africa. 

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Mansa Musa was famous for his piety and generosity. His 25-year-reign, from 1312 to 1337, is thought of as the golden age of Mali. The royal flag that flew over Mansa Musa when he rode out on horseback was yellow with a red background. When the mansa held an audience, he carried gold weapons including a bow and a quiver of arrows (symbols of royal power in Mali). Mansa Musa sat on a large ebony throne that was on a raised platform with elephant tusks along the sides. Behind the king stood about 30 slaves, including ones from Turkey and Egypt. Over the mansa’s head one of the slaves held a large silk parasol

topped by a golden falcon (Conrad).

By the mid-14th century, when Mali was at its highest point of imperial dominance, the trans-Saharan trade had greatly increased in volume. Because of Mansa Musa’s extravagant pilgrimage and the resulting publicity in Cairo, Mali became better known in North Africa and the Middle East, and even Europe. Stories of Mali’s wealth drew increasing numbers of North Africans to trading ventures across the Sahara. In the decades following Mansa Musa’s pilgrimage, Egyptian traders were regular visitors to Mali, and Malian citizens in commercial centers like Walata were dressing in clothes imported from Egypt. Mansa Musa exchanged diplomatic embassies with the sultan of Morocco, which added new stimulus to trade with the Maghrib (Northwest Africa) (Conrad).

Mali's gold was important all over the world. In the later Medieval period, West Africa may have been producing almost two-thirds of the world's supply of gold! Mali also supplied other trade items - ivory, ostrich feathers, kola nuts, hides, and slaves. No wonder there was talk about the Kingdom of Mali and its riches! And no wonder Ibn Battuta, still restless after his trip to Al-Andalus, set his mind on visiting the sub-Saharan kingdom (UC Berkeley).

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In the heart of West Africa, the Mali Empire rose to prominence as a beacon of civilization from the 13th to 17th century. Spanning vast territories across Mali, southern and western Mauritania, and Senegal, this empire thrived not only in trade and governance but also in the realm of intellectual pursuits. This chapter explores the role of scholarship and the dissemination of knowledge within the Mali Empire.

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Al rulers of Mali adopted the title of” Mansa”.  Mali’s founder, Sundiata, claimed that he had a direct link to the spirits of the land, thus making him the guardian of the ancestors. This helped to establish his rule in both a secular and religious aspect. His empire extended from the fringes of the forest in the southwest through the grassland country of the Malinké to the Sahel and Southern Sahara ports of the Walatta and Tandmekka. Arabic scholars estimate that he ruled for roughly 25 years, and died in 1255.

Despite the grandeur of the Mali Empire, historians agreed that many bad rulers had afflicted the nation. Even so, Sundiata’s son Mansa Wali, who was the second Mansa, is considered to have been one of the most powerful rulers of Mali.  Mansa Wali was then succeeded by his brother Mansa  Wati, who was then succeeded by their youngest brother Khalifa. Khalifa was described as a terrible ruler. Witnesses claimed he killed people with a bow and arrows for fun. Khalifa's reign ended after being overthrown and replaced by a grandchild of Sundiata named Abu Bakr. However, even Abu Bakr’s reign was troubled. He was overthrown by a man named Sakura. Sakura’s reign also ended badly as he was killed by the Danakil people after going on a pilgrimage to Mecca shortly after converting to Islam.

It is debated as to whether Sakura was a slave or a military commander. Even so, the low status of Sakura implies that the royal family had lost much power and popularity amongst the commoners. Sakura’s ascent to power illustrates that the ruling family and the Mansa held limited authority in the Empire of Mali, while the officers of the court possessed substantial influence in comparison. This was due to the decentralized government system of Mali.

The empire of Mali was organized into provinces and contained a strict hierarchy. Each province was ruled by a governor, and every town had a mayor, also known as a mochrif. The empire was able to deploy large armies to prevent rebellion and safeguard trade routes. The decentralized government, hierarchies, and military are what kept Mali so stable despite its history of troublesome rulers. The power of those in lower positions allowed the empire to function even if there was a conflict with the Mansas.

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Map of Africa depicting the Kingdom of Ghana, the Mali Empire, and the Songhai empire. Shows how the original nation of Ghana expanded into Mali, and eventually the Songhai empire.

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The Mali Empire was one of the most powerful and prosperous empires in Africa. Existing from 1226 to 1670, the Mali Empire was legendary and pivotal in the history and culture of West Africa. From their control over the trans-saharan trade routes to their influential royal class who produced notable kings such as Mansa Musa, the Mali Empire made a significant impression. This textbook reading delves into the political structure, social structure, economic structure, and scholarly endeavors of this great empire. The epic landmark events of the Mali Empire are captured and explained within this text and come complete with images and illustrations. The account of the Mali Empire showcases some of the best achievements of the African continent. As a center of power, cultural exchange, and intellectual curiosity, the Mali empire was a marvel of the medieval world and African history.

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Foundations of Learning in the Mali Empire

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Foundations of Learning in the Mali Empire

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Long before the rise of the Mali Empire, West Africa boasted a tradition of indigenous knowledge transmission. However, it was with the ascendancy of Islam in the region that formalized systems of education began to take shape. Islam became the dominant religion within the Mali Empire with Muslim kings who propagated the faith. Mali Musa is credited for establishing Islam as the state religion. At the height of Malii's power, Islamic scholarship flourished under its patronage. Scholars introduced the teachings of the Quran alongside fields such as theology, law, philosophy, and Arabic literature, contributing to the intellectual richness of the empire. As the Mali Empire expanded its influence, these educational practices became more institutionalized. Mosques and Quranic schools sprang up across the empire, serving as centers of learning where subjects such as Arabic grammar, theology, and jurisprudence were taught. This fusion of indigenous and Islamic educational traditions aided the flourishing of scholarship within the Mali Empire during its height.

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Great Mosque, built by Emperor Mūsā I of Mali in 1327, Timbuktu, Mali.

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Among the many cities that flourished within the Mali Empire, none attained the level of prestige achieved by Timbuktu. Situated on the southern edge of the Sahara Desert, Timbuktu emerged as a bustling trading post on the trans-Saharan caravan route. As a prominent ground for Arab and African interaction, it became a center of Islamic culture. The city, initially founded as a seasonal settlement by Tuareg nomads of the Southern Sahara, was incorporated into the Mali empire in the 14th century. It was during the 15th and 16th centuries that it reached its economic and cultural peak and grandeur. The University of Timbuktu, one of the oldest universities in the world, was the crown jewel of the kingdom's intellectual landscape and a center for the propagation of scientific and religious knowledge. It comprised the Djinguereber mosque, the Sankore mosque, and the Sidi Yahia mosque. The Sankore mosque was built at the end of Mansa Musa's reign, and it became one of the greatest centers of learning in the Islamic world, and the greatest library in Africa at the time. The adoption of Islam enabled the Mali Empire in West Africa to forge connections to many other parts of the world due to a shared faith. The mosques and libraries of Timbuktu had a glorious appeal, and scholars from across the Islamic world flocked to the city. Visiting strangers were treated like royalty in hopes that they’d share their knowledge and books with Timbuktu’s African scholars. People from all over the world were eager to study under the renowned teachers of Timbuktu and access its vast repositories. In the medieval world, it became the headquarters of Islamic intellectual development in Africa, contributing greatly to Islam and world civilization with scholarship.

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Investigate the impact of Islamic scholarship within the Mali Empire. What role did Timbuktu's libraries and repositories play in connecting the Mali Empire to the rest of the Islamic world, and how did they contribute to the growth of knowledge?

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A manuscript page from Timbuktu showing a table of astronomical information.

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Scholarship within the Mali Empire encompassed a wide array of fields, contributing to the modern understanding of Islamic and academic studies in West Africa during the medieval period. Islamic theology and jurisprudence occupied a central place in educational curricula. During the empire's golden age, thousands of manuscripts were produced by scholars on a wide range of subjects, including religion, science, medicine, mathematics, law, philosophy, and economics. The famed Sankore Mosque, a vibrant intellectual hub, was estimated to have housed between 250,000 and 700,000 manuscripts. In their complexity, these manuscripts are indicative of the high level of civilization attained by the West Africans in Mali. Scholars in intellectual hubs like Timbuktu engaged in rigorous intellectual pursuits, conducted research, and explored various aspects of human endeavor, enriching the intellectual landscape of the Mali Empire. The empire's commitment to education and learning was further evidenced by the patronage of rulers like Mansa Musa, who invested in the construction of mosques and schools, furthering the growth and spread of knowledge throughout the empire. The empire's golden age was a bustling period, with astronomers developing advanced methods for studying celestial bodies and calculating time, mathematicians making strides in arithmetic and problem-solving, historians documenting the empire's rich history, and writers producing vibrant poetry and prose in Arabic and local languages. The libraries, scholars, and educational institutions of the Mali Empire played significant roles in the preservation and transmission of knowledge, supporting groundbreaking scholarly work and propogating African scholarship.

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The legacy of scholarship within the Mali Empire left an enduring mark on the intellectual heritage of West Africa and played a crucial role in shaping the broader intellectual landscape of the medieval world. Remnants of the Mali Empire's mosques, madrasas, libraries, and manuscripts exist today, with some such as the Sankore mosque continuing to operate today, reflecting the glory of the Mali Empire's golden age. It was books, not gold bars, that brought the Mali Empire its prosperity. The hundreds of scholars studying in the numerous Quranic schools, the scribes producing hundreds of manuscripts, and the rulers financing intellectual pursuits all contributed to the advancement and glory of the Mali Empire. Never had African Muslims seen a better time to attain knowledge.

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This map shows the known trade routes from a combined-source approach. 

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A trip to Mali, like all other trips, would be made easier because of already established trade routes controlled by Muslims. The rulers and many businessmen of Mali had converted to Islam a generation before and Muslim traders had come to live in Mali's business centers. A trip to Mali, like all other trips, would be made easier because of already established trade routes controlled by Muslims. The rulers and many businessmen of Mali had converted to Islam a generation before and Muslim traders had come to live in Mali's business centers (UC Berkeley).

Excavations at Gao (c. 750 CE onward), a trading town on the Niger River in West Africa, yielded artifacts from across the Sahara such as glass beads and bronze artifacts that attest to the fact that this place was an important staging post for trans-Saharan trade. Excavations at other trading centers in the same region such as Tadmekka on the southern edge of the Sahara Desert in Mali yielded coin molds and other objects that demonstrate the existence of trade and exchange and the use of coinage in Islamized trading towns of West Africa from the 9th and 10th centuries CE onward (Chirikure).

Archaeological work outside of trading centers has also identified objects that are known to indicate consumption of materials, commodities, and ideas originating from different areas. The similarity between Igbo Ukwu beads and Zhizo types in southern Africa suggests chronologically overlapping connections between, on the one hand, West Africa, North Africa, and the Middle East and, on the other, southern Africa and the Middle East via East Africa. This attests to the fact that from 700 CE onward most African regions were networked through the emerging trading system that with time intensively connected Afro-Eurasia. Archaeological research in numerous parts of Africa exposed the existence of large-scale production debris that is consistent with commodities production beyond local needs. Indeed, this archaeological observation from large-scale production centers is supported by historical information that makes an explicit case for specialization and trade in metal. Other resources such as salt that were intensively exploited at Taghaza (Mali) were traded across large parts of North and West Africa and partly sustained the economy of empires such as Ghana, Mali, and Songhay (Chirikure).

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the Empire of Mali’s most famous ruler, Mansa Musa, ascended to the throne. Historians debate whether Mansa Musa was the grandson of one of Sundiata’s brothers, making him Sundiata’s grand-nephew, or if he was the grandson of Abu Bakr. What is certain is that Mansa Musa converted to Islam and undertook a pilgrimage to Mecca in 1324, accompanied by 60,000 individuals and large quantities of gold. His generosity was so immense that by the time he left Mecca, he had used every piece of gold he had taken with him and had to borrow money for the return trip. Mansa Musa was known to be a wise and efficient ruler, and one of his greatest accomplishments was commissioning some of the most remarkable buildings in Timbuktu. In 1327, the Great Mosque in Timbuktu was constructed, and the city would later become a center of learning. By the end of Mansa Musa’s reign, he had built and funded the Sankara Madrassa, which became one of the greatest centers of learning in the Islamic world and housed the largest library in Africa at the time, with an estimated 250,000 to 700,000 manuscripts. Some sources claim that during his reign, Mansa Musa conquered 24 cities and their surrounding lands, significantly expanding the empire. Mansa Musa is estimated to have died in 1337, passing the title of Mansa to his son, Mansa Maghan.

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This map shows its approximate extent in 1335. Spreading from the Pacific Ocean in the west to the city of Gao in the east, the Mali Empire roughly followed the Sénégal and Niger Rivers.

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On the southern fringe of the Sahara is the Sahel, a marginal area of transition from desert to savanna. Sahel is the Arabic word for “shore.” It is as if the Sahara were a great ocean of sand and rock, the camels that transport goods across the desert were ships, and the large market towns were seaports. Nowadays the Sahel is semi-arid, with more irregular rainfall and cycles of drought than the savanna grasslands. As beasts of burden, camels are almost as important in the Sahel as they are in the nearby Sahara (Conrad).

The savanna of sub-Saharan West Africa was first described in writing by Arab travelers and geographers, who called it the Bilad-al-Sudan. The relatively fertile soil and grasslands of the savanna made it possible for the early occupants of the Western Sudan to harness their natural resources. They made the transition from basically surviving by hunting and gathering, to more reliable production of food by herding domestic livestock such as cattle, sheep, and goats, and cultivating grains such as millet, fonio, and sorghum. Their production of surplus food led to the development of trade with neighboring peoples. Their mastery of iron for tools and weapons and the later acquisition of horses made it possible for some peoples of the Sudan to field superior armies and dominate others. The economic and military successes of these more powerful

groups eventually led to the founding of Ghana, Mali, and Songhay, three of the greatest empires in African history (Conrad).

Beyond the major cities of Segu and Jenne in Mali, the Niger River reaches the great trading port of Mopti, where it turns north. Then, through hundreds of miles, the river turns gradually back to the east as it passes Timbuktu, until it is flowing southeastward past Gao. This great turn in the river, which continues to where it flows into modern-day Nigeria, is called the Niger Bend. The Niger Bend area of the Middle Niger, which includes the vast Inland Delta, was the heartland of the Songhay Empire. It was such a desirable region that neighboring peoples would periodically try to take control of the area, and this kept the armies of Songhay busy maintaining their control (Conrad).

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A page in a book of crafts and agriculture, written in Arabic

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In pre-1500s Mali, writing was mostly in Arabic. But since majority of the people were illiterate, they had a rich storytelling culture. They would pass down information of traditions and culture through generations by storytelling.  Oftentimes, audience members would partake in the storytelling if they knew the story.

Storytellers were known as Griots (female: Griotte), who were the historians with stories. They used to be court musicians and even teachers for princes and council for kings in the time of Emperor Sundiata. These storytellers weren’t all about talking; they paid critical attention to gestures, tones, body language, repetition, and more to tell their story. Story telling was their biggest example of social interactions, and this was one of the greatest ways that the people could feel a sense of community.

The people of Mali used to believe in the Dogon religion. They were animists, had no written language, and expressed their knowledge through art forms. They would speak Manding languages, which had multiple dialects. After Islam was introduced to the people of Mali, they were more unified, both through language and religion. Since the Koran was in Arabic, the people could all learn to speak, read, write in Arabic, which brought people together. The introduction of Islam centralized political power as well. Islam also allowed trade to be a bigger part of people's lives.

Ibn Battuta, a traveler, visited Mali for eight months. When he first visited, he expected the people to be very religious, while following the Koran. However, he was surprised to see people incorporating their traditions with religion. He found that unlike other Muslim countries, men and women were not segregated, and criticized the festivities. Ibn Battuta's writings reveal how the people of Mali blended their traditions with religion, which revealed how the people accepted Islam, while also preserving their traditions.

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All the goods that were traded in the regional markets of the Ghana Empire from the 10th to the 12th centuries continued to generate revenue in the markets of Mali from the 13th to the 15th centuries. The main difference was that at the height of Mali’s power it controlled far more territory than Ghana ever did, so it had more resources to exploit. By the beginning of the 14th century, Mali’s expansion into the Inland Delta, Gao, and the eastern Songhay provinces added enormously to the farming, grazing, hunting, and fishing resources of the empire. The new territories also provided additional sources of slaves for trade, military service, and farm production. Tribute from newly subordinated kings and chiefs, and tariffs from

newly controlled trade routes, enriched the government treasury (Conrad).

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Link to our Works Cited document