The first few weeks of travel passed quickly for the Mansa because he and the Moor spent so many happy hours lost in conversation; but, as time passed, the Mansa grew impatient with the caravan’s slow pace. Every day’s journey was long and difficult, yet, at the end of each day, it didn’t seem like they’d made much progress. After weeks of tedious travel, even Cairo, which was only one-fourth of the way to Niani, was still hundreds of miles away.
Chapter 12
A VAST “GOLDEN LAND”
MANSA MUSA AND MALI WERE FAMOUS—WORLD FAMOUS! By the time the Mansa and his caravan reached Cairo, the stories about Mali, the Mansa, and his spectacular caravan that had kept tongues wagging so happily in Cairo had “flown” out of Cairo, sped across Northern Africa, around the Middle East and through the trading nations of Europe. Almost immediately, because of its reputed wealth and size, Mali was recognized as a world power, and the Mansa as one of the world’s most splendid and powerful rulers.
Word of Mali’s stupendous supply of gold, however, created the most excitement. Within just a few months, hundreds of governments, merchants and adventurers had become desperately anxious to reach this amazing “golden land,” but they didn’t know how to get there. No one seemed to know! The stories said Mali was “across the great desert” or “somewhere beyond the Sahara,” but the Sahara was huge and dangerous and almost no one who heard the stories knew what lay beyond it.
There were, of course, some West African traders who knew how to reach Mali’s gold country, but these traders kept their routes a secret, and even they never saw the gold mines or the miners they traded with. When making a trade, they carried their goods to secret meeting places deep in the forest and laid them on the ground. After beating on drums to signal the beginning of trade, they retreated half-a-day’s journey from the trading site. When the traders had left the area, the gold miners came to the site. They looked over the goods, set what they hoped the traders would accept as a fair payment, all in gold, beside each trader’s pile of goods, and then retreated half-a-day's journey into the forest. When the traders returned, they beat their drums to signal the end of trading if they were satisfied with the gold miner’s payment. If not, they retreated again indicating that the miners must leave more gold. This process continued until both sides were satisfied. In this way, the miners received the supplies they needed and kept the location of their mines a secret.
Far away in Europe, the world’s best mapmakers, spurred on by the demands of their clients for a map that included Mali, busily set about gathering information. However, the information they needed was so difficult to obtain that 15 years passed before Angelino Dulcert correctly indicated Mali’s location on a navigational chart, and another 36 years before Abraham Cresques completed an atlas for Charles V of France that included a map of Mali! Cresques’ success was probably due to information he obtained from Jewish friends. Unlike Christians, whom the Muslims of North Africa refused to let cross their land because they were still bitter about the Crusades, Jewish merchants were often allowed to cross. Like Columbus’ voyages would a century later, Cresques’ map dramatically expanded the boundaries of the known world.9 It also added an additional level of credibility to the stories of gold and riches surrounding Mali.
In the 1300s, mapmakers customarily drew small pictures of important people on their maps. So, within the boundaries of Mali, Cresques drew a picture of Mansa Musa holding a golden scepter in one hand and a large gold nugget in the other.
Mansa Musa’s pilgrimage revealed the immensity of Mali’s gold supply to the world.
Unaware of his new fame, the Mansa and his caravan re-entered Cairo. Just as crowds of people had gathered to stare at him when he first arrived, they rushed into the streets to see him now that he was back. His first visit had been a thrilling event, and the people of Cairo welcomed him with enthusiasm.
The Mansa was also glad to be back. It meant that one leg of his long journey back to Niani was finished. Although Cairo was their most important and interesting stopping place, the Mansa was eager to leave for Mali as soon as possible. Therefore, soon after they arrived, he sent for his Chief Steward. “Buy all the supplies the caravan will need for our journey as quickly as you can,” he ordered. “I don’t want to stay in Cairo any longer than necessary.”
A few days later, after frantically scouring Cairo for good deals on the enormous quantities of food and other supplies the caravan would need, his distressed Chief Steward returned to the Mansa. “Your Majesty, there isn’t enough gold left to purchase all the supplies we’ll need!”
Surprised, and somewhat embarrassed, the Mansa knew he would have to find a way to borrow a large amount of gold. Word of his plight quickly reached the ears of Egypt’s wealthy merchants. Almost immediately, they flocked to him and eagerly offered to loan him all the gold he needed—at a great rate of interest, of course. Though he was irritated as well as amused by their eagerness, he borrowed a large sum of gold from one of them, a sum he later paid back in full, at the princely rate of 700 dinar for every 300 borrowed.10
About this time, the Mansa also learned that many of Cairo’s merchants, believing the people of Mali to be naïve, had been charging them inflated prices. Therefore, when his Chief Steward went back out to finish buying their supplies, it was with strict orders to bargain hard and buy quickly.
Chapter 13
AN ARDUOUS JOURNEY
AFTER LEAVING CAIRO, THE CARAVAN SIMPLY AND STEADILY WALKED OUT INTO THE DESERT. When Cairo was no longer visible, even as a speck in the distance, the immensity of the desert closed down upon them. Hot, dry, barren, vast, lonely, and dangerous, the huge Sahara stretched before them once again.
By now, each member of the caravan was aware of the difficulties that lay ahead. For some, the incredible heat during the summer months was the hardest to bear; for others, it was when the wind became filled with tons of dust or sand and they could only bend before it and endure. For the Mansa, it was the monotony and apparent endlessness of this empty land. For his senior wife, Ināri Kunāte, it was the constant layer of grime and dust that penetrated her clothing and clung to her skin.
*One evening, back when they were crossing the Sahara for the first time, Ināri had felt that she just couldn’t bear the dirt and grime any longer. So, that night she turned to her husband and moaned, “Kankan, I am weary, and I can’t sleep. My body is covered with dust and grime. How I wish I could splash about and swim carefree in the river as I did at home.”
Secretly, the Mansa summoned his head servant, Farba, to his tent and told him of Inari’s wish. “Always,” Kankan said, “I’ve been able to give her everything she’s wished for, but only Allah could create a river in this barren place.”
Bowing low and beating his chest, Farba exclaimed, “May Allah the All-Merciful grant your wish!” Then he hurried outside, gathered his men and told them to dig a trench along a thousand foot line. As the men dug, a wall was thrown up that was three times the height of a man. Next, the trench was lined with gravel and packed with sand for its entire length. On top of the sand, the men placed blocks of wood which were then rubbed with the oil of kharite nuts. One touch of a flaming torch and the melting oil filled in every crevice to form a smooth channel. Thousands of servants were sent to an oasis for water, and in a short time the huge canal was filled with gently rolling waves. A miniature river had sprung up in the desert!
Just as the sun began to rise, Ināri and her 500 women were led in silence to the canal. Shrieks of joy and astonishment broke the morning’s stillness as the laughing, unbelieving women ran and plunged into the water.11
When the caravan re-entered the Sahara to begin its long trip back across the desert, the Mansa decided not to allow any unnecessary stops. While he could easily eliminate these delays, the slow pace of the caravan was becoming more and more difficult for him to bear. In his frustration, he began to order it forward with increasing impatience. Yet, no matter how impatient he became or how efficiently his
staff worked and planned, a caravan consisting of tens of thousands of people traveling by foot can only go so fast.
The addax, a species of antelope that lives in the driest parts of the Sahara, can live its whole life without ever having a drink of water. Adult males weigh up to 420 pounds.
About this time, far to the south of the caravan, a hard-riding messenger left the city of Gao with news that would radically change the Mansa’s plans. The messenger knew the Mansa’s intended route; he also knew that neither a caravan’s route nor its schedule could be followed precisely when crossing the Sahara. So, for almost a thousand miles, he rode hard both day and night, stopping to sleep only when necessary. Then, when he reached the area where he thought he’d find the Mansa’s caravan, he rode only by day, carefully scanning the horizon every few minutes. Finally, far out across the empty landscape, he saw a huge caravan.
Rushed directly to the Mansa, the exhausted messenger respectfully prostrated himself before his emperor. Then, in short, breathless phrases, he announced his exciting news. “Your Majesty, Gao has been captured! The Songhai army has been defeated! The King of Songhai is ready to surrender!”
While listening to the messenger’s news, the Mansa’s old love of military conquest surged within him. He felt once again the thrill his early victories had given him. During the years before his pilgrimage, he had been proud of his reputation as a great military leader. His successful strategies and his powerful, highly disciplined army had added many lands to Mali’s empire. Now, in his absence, his army had defeated the Songhai in what was probably their greatest victory. It meant vast tracts of land and two great cities would be added to Mali’s empire. Although overjoyed by the messenger’s news, the Mansa was suddenly seized by an overwhelming desire to play an important role in this great victory. That evening, he summoned the caravan’s lead guide. “Take us south to Gao,” he told the surprised guide.
Then, seeking out his friend the Moor, the Mansa proudly explained the change in plans. “My army has defeated the Songhai in battle. All the Songhai lands, their important cities and much of their wealth will soon belong to Mali. I have decided to delay our return to Niani so that I can receive the King of Songhai’s statement of submission myself ! Also, although I will allow the Songhai to run their own internal affairs, I will establish Mali’s control over their military forces, their foreign affairs, and set the amount and terms of their tribute. Then, after touring Gao and concluding any other business I may have there, we will resume our journey to Niani.”
Chapter 14
A GREAT ACQUISITION
DRESSED IN HIS MOST REGAL ATTIRE AND MOUNTED on a handsome black stallion that had been lavishly adorned with gold, the Mansa made his triumphant entrance into the city of Gao. Soon he would meet the once powerful King of Songhai, dictate the terms of peace, and claim Gao and all the Songhai lands for Mali. Proud of his role, his army and his splendid caravan, the majestic Emperor of Mali rode into Gao.
For the recently defeated people of Gao, the very sight of Mansa Musa and his enormous caravan, still spectacular and glittering with gold and jewels, was overwhelming. They stared, suddenly fully aware of the consequences of their defeat. Mansa Musa’s power and great wealth were brutally apparent. They knew that he had come to dictate the terms of their surrender and that he could enforce any terms he chose. They knew that his empire stretched west for hundreds of miles, clear to a distant ocean, and that it reached far into the Sahara to the north and the equatorial forests to the south. They knew it included their city now, and their lands, too.
As well as being a most impressive figure, the Mansa was a masterful diplomat. His meeting with the King of Songhai, for instance, was carefully orchestrated so that each ruler received the honor due him. After the initial ceremonies, the Mansa listened quietly to the king’s statement of submission and in all ways treated him with respect. The terms of his peace agreement were fair, given the standards of his day, and the amount of tribute demanded was generally considered just, given the great wealth of the Songhai Kingdom.
Shrewd as well as diplomatic, the Mansa decided to take the Songhai king’s two sons back to Niani with him as guest-hostages. They would be employed as officers in Mali’s army and would be well-treated, but their whereabouts would be closely monitored and they would not be allowed to leave Mali. The Mansa did this to help ensure that the Songhai king would keep the terms of his surrender and to create a measure of Songhai loyalty toward Mali’s rule.
As a result of their defeat, many of the Songhai people were forced into servitude. They were sent to work in Mali’s mines, to grow food for Mali’s army, to establish new villages for Mali’s empire, or to work as personal servants for Mali’s elite. The Mansa alone had thousands of “slaves.” Most of them served him and, at the same time, Mali’s government. Some held highly skilled and responsible positions: provincial governors, for example, were often slaves. Though powerful, they were dependent upon the emperor and could not make a competing claim to the throne as a member of the emperor’s family might. Although these people had been defeated in battle and forced into servitude, they could choose to save their wages and buy back their freedom. They could socialize with, and even marry, anyone in Mali. Perhaps because everyone knew that any free person could be forced into servitude if captured in war, and that through hard work slaves could become free, these people weren’t treated as chattel. Even though Mali had won many victories, the proportion of these servant-slaves, relative to the rest of the population, remained small.
While still in Gao, the Mansa toured the city. Its bustling trade and the great expanse of its lands delighted him, but when he saw the straw-roofed mud hut that served as the mosque for this great city, he was dismayed. Calling the Moor to him, he asked his friend to build a mosque whose magnificence would make it a suitable place in which to praise the never-ending glory of Allah.
The handsome mosque the Mansa commissioned the Moor to build in Gao introduced Mali and the rest of the Sudan to a new style of architecture, a style that became known as the Malian style of architecture. Built of sun-dried bricks, another advance introduced by the Mansa and the Moor, Gao’s tall and graceful mosque was greatly admired for hundreds of years.
After leaving Gao, the caravan followed the Niger River to Timbuktu, another large and important Songhai city that now belonged to Mali. The Mansa was thrilled with the city, its location, and its busy commercial center. Timbuktu was the most important of the northern port cities because, in addition to long caravans of camels and donkeys, hundreds upon hundreds of canoes carried goods into and out of Timbuktu.
For 1000 miles, from Timbuktu in the north to the heart of Mali’s empire in the south, canoes carried goods and people up and down the Upper Niger. Long, up to 66 feet in length, needle-nosed and wonderfully graceful, these sturdy, handmade canoes carried up to a ton and a half of cargo. They were flat-bottomed for stability and good maneuverability even in very shallow water. Many of the larger canoes had arched roofs made of boughs covered with thatch.
This is a photo of a mosque in Mali that exemplifies the style of architecture introduced by Mansa Musa and As-Sāhilī. The boards sticking out of the sides of the building (called toron) are for people to climb up and stand on while replastering. During replastering, which is done at the end of each year’s rainy season, cured mud is rubbed by hand over the entire exterior of the structure to repair any rain damage. After being replastered, the building looks like new and if maintained in this simple way it will last for centuries. (Ladders are used when replastering smaller structures like people’s homes.)
All of this delighted the Mansa, but, once again, he was dismayed when he saw the small building that served as the city’s mosque. So, he sent a message back to Gao commissioning the Moor to build a new mosque in Timbuktu, also. When it was finished, Timbuktu’s large and strikingly handsome mosque became the early home of the University of Sankoré. Founded and supported during its early years by Mansa M
usa, the University of Sankoré became a renowned university where thousands of talented black African scholars taught beside and studied with scholars from Europe, Asia and North Africa.
Chapter 15
WELCOME HOME
SOON AFTER HIS ARRIVAL IN TIMBUKTU, the Mansa ordered several barges built so that he and Ināri, the other women, and the shurafā could ride from Timbuktu to Niani in comfort. The rest of the caravan would continue on by land. So, when his business in Timbuktu was finished, the Mansa and his fellow passengers stepped aboard the newly completed barges and began their leisurely journey up the Niger River to Niani.
By the time the barges approached Niani, a spirited celebration was already under way. Groups of skilled musicians were playing lively music. Scores of chefs were busy preparing an extravaganza of delicious foods, enough for everyone. Dozens of entertainers were dancing and juggling, but the crowds around them kept shrinking as people drifted down to the river’s edge in the hope of seeing Mansa Musa’s arrival.
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“There he is!” “He’s back!” “The Mansa is back!” The crowd cheered and shouted, eager to welcome him back and to celebrate his safe return. When the barges finally landed, the huge crowd parted to let the Mansa and his fellow passengers step ashore. The mix of brightly colored clothes, pounding music, high-flying pennants, cheering voices, colorful banners, and the wonderful fragrances from the huge cooking pots swirled wildly about as the entire city did its best to welcome home its well-loved emperor.
Mansa Musa and the Empire of Mali Page 4
