1. Empire of Mali
Holt Page
Standard 7.4.3, 7.4.4

2. Sundiata Sundiata is Mali’s first leader
Had to overcome great hardships
Mighty warrior and magician
Son of a former king that built an army to win independence
Conquered nearby kingdoms, including Ghana

3. Mali Improves Take over the gold and salt trade
New farmlands produce many new things
Beans, Onions, Rice and Cotton
Cotton quickly becomes valuable
Once fighting was over soldiers became farmers themselves
Worked in the fields with slaves
Sundiata took power away from local leaders and granted it all to himself

4. Mansa Musa Mali reaches its height under Mansa Musa in 1300’s
Islam spreads as a result
Rules Mali for 25 years
Captured three cities
Timbuktu
Gao
Djenne

5. The World takes Notice Mansa Musa travels to Mecca in 1324 (hajj)
Stops in Cairo with 100 camels, each with 300 pds of gold
Gave away so much gold it was no longer rare there
Becomes famous throughout Africa, Asia and Europe

6. Musa Supports Education
Sent scholars to Morocco
Set up schools in Mali to study Qur’an
Timbuktu famous for schools
Stressed reading and writing in Arabic
Arabic becomes main language
Hires architects from Muslim countries to build elaborate mosques

7. All good things Must come to an End
Poor leadership after Mansa Musa weakened the empire
Son Maghan took over and couldn’t stop raiders
Set fire to schools and mosques
Mali slowly declined for two reasons
#1-It was too big to control
Parts of the empire started to break away
#2-Invaders weakened the empire
Eventually even claimed all of Timbuktu

8. Homework
Answer Questions #1-4 on page 140 on the left side of your notebook (WA 13)