Mansa Musa was the tenth Sultan (or conqueror) of the Mali empire. His wealth is famed to be unmatched by anyone else during the Middle Ages. Musa was also famous by other names such as “Emir of Melle”, “Lord of the Mines of Wangara”, and the “Conqueror of Ghanata”. The empire which he reigned over consisted of the lands now known as Mauritania, Mali, and more. In total, he conquered twenty-four cities and their surrounding areas. His empire was the largest known producer of gold in the world and Musa, rightly so, is considered among the wealthiest in history.
Born in 1280 AD, Musa I had amassed a fortune of approximately $400 billion today, by his death in 1337. Although, historians in the Times say that a proper estimate is impossible just this rough estimate is enough to overwhelm the net worth of all other famous, wealthy personalities.
Since the Mali empire was built upon the remains of the Ghana empire, the Mansa’s initial wealth came from the salt and gold mines of West Africa. While his wealth is the most famed, it is not the only aspect of this sultan’s rule. Mansa Musa was a great believer and promoter of education and the arts. Not only in his center of the ruling but en route to his pilgrimage to Mecca, Musa built many mosques along the way. He had enough to spend that, despite his grand and ridiculously extravagant caravan, the ruler built a mosque every Friday. Among those mosques is the Djinguereber Mosque in Timbuktu, which still stands today. He paid an architect about 200 kg of gold to build this mosque. He even established the University of Timbuktu, which like the mosque remains. During his reign, the Mali empire became the Western center for Islamic learning. The empire remained for another century after his death, until history took its course.
Mansa Musa was the tenth Sultan (or conqueror) of the Mali empire. His wealth is famed to be unmatched by anyone else during the Middle Ages. Musa was also famous by other names such as “Emir of Melle”, “Lord of the Mines of Wangara”, and the “Conqueror of Ghanata”. The empire which he reigned over consisted of the lands now known as Mauritania, Mali, and more. In total, he conquered twenty-four cities and their surrounding areas. His empire was the largest known producer of gold in the world and Musa, rightly so, is considered among the wealthiest in history.
Born in 1280 AD, Musa I had amassed a fortune of approximately $400 billion today, by his death in 1337. Although, historians in the Times say that a proper estimate is impossible just this rough estimate is enough to overwhelm the net worth of all other famous, wealthy personalities.
Since the Mali empire was built upon the remains of the Ghana empire, the Mansa’s initial wealth came from the salt and gold mines of West Africa. While his wealth is the most famed, it is not the only aspect of this sultan’s rule. Mansa Musa was a great believer and promoter of education and the arts. Not only in his center of the ruling but en route to his pilgrimage to Mecca, Musa built many mosques along the way. He had enough to spend that, despite his grand and ridiculously extravagant caravan, the ruler built a mosque every Friday. Among those mosques is the Djinguereber Mosque in Timbuktu, which still stands today. He paid an architect about 200 kg of gold to build this mosque. He even established the University of Timbuktu, which like the mosque remains. During his reign, the Mali empire became the Western center for Islamic learning. The empire remained for another century after his death, until history took its course.