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In 1076 the powerful empire of Ghana was attacked by the Almoravids, a group
of Muslim warriors who lived in the Sahara, a desert across much of North Africa.
This attacked weakened Sumangura,
Ghana’s
king. As a result, King Sundiata, Mali’s king
defeated Sumangura at the battle of Kirina in 1235. Mali then
began the next trading emprie.
King Sundiata, who was called the “Lion
King”, did several things to build Mali
into a huge empire that became more prosperous and bigger than Ghana. First, he made Mali a productive faming region
by planting rice, yams, onions greens and cotton. Second, he improved the
economy by restoring the salt and gold mines and Niani, a state within Mali, became
the empires new trade center. Third, he expanded Mali’s trade routes to the north
and east. Finally, he collected taxes from traders passing through the
empire. Mali was located
near the Niger River and it became a busy
highway for trading gold and other goods. In the late 1300s Mali was three times as larger than Ghana.
Mali’s greatest king was Mansa Musa,
a devote Muslim, who came to the throne in 1307. He brought culture and
learning to the empire as well as, expanded the empire. According to Ibn Battuta, a historian, in
1324 A.D., Mansa Musa made a pilgrimage to Mecca, the birthplace of Muhammad. He took
with him 500 slaves, 100 camels each with 100 pound of gold, family members,
advisors and doctors. He was widely admired for his wealth and generosity as
he traveled to Mecca.
Under Mansa Musa’s rule culture and learning thrived in cities like Niani and
Timbuktu. He brought back Arab scholars to Mail who
taught the people how to read and write and instructed them in the Islamic
religion. Mansa Musa also expanded Mali’s borders by acquiring land
through war and peaceful negotiations.
The downfall of Mali began
after Mansa Musa’s death in 1332. His
sons could not control the vast empire and internal fighting weakened the
empire. Songhai, a smaller state within the empire, revolted and the empire
of Mali
collapsed.
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Additional learning resource: http://mali.pwnet.org/history/history_mali_empire.htm
BIBLIOGRAPHY FOR THE
CURRENT PAGE
Textbooks:
World History - Medieval
and Early Modern Times. Evanston: McDougal Littell,
2006. (150 – 199)
Across the Centuries.
Boston:
Houghton Miifflin Company, 1997. (108 – 153)
Dasilva, Benjamin, and Milton
Finkelstine. The Afro-American in United States History. New York: Globe Book
Company, 1969. (4 -135)
Internet Websites:
"Collapse - Why do Civilization
Fall?" Mali & Songhai. 1 Mar. 2006
<http://www.learner.org/exhibits/collapse/mali.html>.
"Mansa Masu & Sohghai
Empire." Mans Masu. 1 Mar. 2006
<http://www.princetonol.com/groups/iad/lessons/middle/mansa.htm>.
Hooker, Richard. "Civilizations in Africa." Civilizations in Africa Mali. 1
Mar. 2006 <http://www.wsu.edu:8080/~dee/CIVAFRCA/CIVAFRCA.HTM>.
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