Mansa Musa

You have heard of the super extra ordinary wealth of Bill Gates,J.P. Morgan, Rockefeller,the sultan of Brunei,have you heard of Mansa Musa,one of the richest men who ever lived?."

Mansa Musa 1(or King of Musa)ascended the throne of Mali empire in 1312.He was ,perhaps ,the most colourful personality in West African history.Of this monarch ,Dr deGraft Johnson wrote: "It was in 1324 that the world awoke to the splendour and grandeur of Mali.There across the African desert ,and making its way to Mecca,was a caravan of a size which had never before been seen ,a caravan consisting of 60,000 men. There were Mansa's men,and Mansa Musa was with them .He was not going to war: he was going to worship at Mecca.

" The large caravan included a personal retinue of 12,000 slaves,all dressed in brocade and Persian silk.Mansa Musa himself rode on horseback ,and directly preceding him were 500 slaves,each carrying a staff of gold dust.The imposing caravan made its way from Niani on the upper Niger to Walata,then to Tuat,and then to Cairo.

"Mansa Musa's piety and open -handed generosity ,the fine clothes and good behaviour of his followers,all quickily made a good impression .One might have thought that a pilgrimage to Mecca undertaken with such pomp and ceremony would have ulterior motives ,but no such motives have ever been adduced."

In Egypt,Musa spent so much money in gold that he devastated that nation 's economy .His visit was a topical issues on the streets of Cairo, Mecca, and Baghdad talked about this wonderful pilgrimage which led to the devaluation of gold in the middle East for years.He also embarked on a large building programme of mosques and universities in Timbuktu and Gao.In Niani,the capital,he built the Hall of Audience ,a building communicated by an interior door to the royal palace.It was an" admirable monument" surrounded by a dome,adorned with arabesques of striking colours.