1. MANSA MUSA & THE KINGDOM OF MALI

2. The Kingdom of Mali  In the upper Niger river, there was a nation called the Mandinka.  They had suffered defeat in a war.  The king and his family were slaughtered, except for one of his sons, who was considered too weak and sickly to pose a threat.  By 1235, he had crushed his enemies, he was in control of the gold trade routes and founded the Kingdom of Mali.  His name was Sundiata

3. Sundiata’s Achievements  He conquered the decaying Empire of Ghana.  He improved agriculture and introduced cotton.  He took power away from local leaders, in order to centralize it.

4. Mali  Mali is an Arab version of the Mandinka word.  Their kings were called Mansas.  They stretched their dominions to the south.  Cities like Timbuktu boomed into civilized centers.

5. The Greatest King  In the year 1312, the greatest ruler of the kingdom, came to the throne.  His name was MANSA MUSA

6. MANSA MUSA  He expanded Mali’s borders:  To the north and towards the Atlantic  He made sure that peace was kept within his kingdom.  He converted to Islam and adopted the Muslim justice system.  But, he promoted religious tolerance and did not impose his religion on his subjects.

7. Mansa Musas’ Travels

8.  His entourage:  12000 servants for the King.  500 for his wife.  14000 slaves carrying fine silk clothes and the luggage.  500 carrying golden staffs  His fortune spent is estimated to be 100 million USD if he had done the trip today.  For the only time in history, one man controlled the price of gold.

9. The Hajj  In 1324 he made the hajj, or pilgrimage to Mecca.  He showed his devotion towards his religion.  On the way he made a few diplomatic and economic ties with other Muslim states.

10. Buildings for life  Afterwards, he brought back with him many different scholars, architects and teachers who helped promote Islamic education.  Built a university in Timbuktu, which still exists today!

11. What did Mali trade? Gold The dotted lines are trade routes from Mali to other parts of Africa Salt Mali often traded its gold for salt Salt was sometimes more valuable than gold! Salt was brought in large slabs (coins) Slaves Major center for the slave trade The man is holding a slab of salt mined recently near Timbuktu

12. Decline of Mali  In the 1400s, internal disputes weakened Mali.  Subject nations broke away, and little by little, it all collapsed.  The power vacuum was filled by Songhai

13. Bantu Migration  Between 1000 BC -1800 AD  This migration was the largest in history.  The Bantu people settled in sub-Saharan Africa  They also influenced two-thirds of African language. - - Swahili is the most widely spoken Bantu language