KING MANSA MUSA 1

King Mansa Musa I (Emperor Moses) was an
important Malian king, ruling from 1312 to 1337
and expanding the Mali influence over the Niger
city-states of Timbuktu, Gao, and Djenne.
Musa ruled the Mali Empire and was estimated to
have been worth the equivalent of $400 billion in
today’s currency, which makes him the richest
man to ever walk this earth. The emperor was a
master businessman and economist, and gained
his wealth through Mali’s supply of gold, salt and
ivory, the main commodities for most of the
world during that time.
Musa maintained a huge army that kept peace
and policed the trade routes for his businesses.
His armies pushed the borders of Mali from the
Atlantic coast in the west; beyond the cities of
Timbuktu and Gao in the east; and from the salt
mines of Taghaza in the north to the gold mines
of Wangar in the south.
Musa was also a major influence on the
University of Timbuktu, the world’s first university
and the major learning institution for not just of
Africa but the world. Timbuktu became a meeting
place of poets, scholars and artists of Africa and
the Middle East. Even after Mali declined,
Timbuktu remained the major learning center of
Africa for many years.