Mansa Musa & the Kingdom of Mali

Question 1

1. What were Mansa Musa’s reign dates? (1)

Answer 1

• 1312-1337

Question 2

2. During its period of superiority, how many square kilometres did the empire cover? (1)

Answer 2

• 1 million square kilometres

Question 3

3. What was a nickname for Mansa Musa? (2)

Answer 3

• Mansa the Magnificent, or the Lion of Mali.

Question 4

4. What was his time of rule nicknamed? (1)

Answer 4

• Mali’s Golden Age

Question 5

5. Why was Mansa Musa able to maintain his power? (4)

Answer 5

• Access to important raw materials, including gold.
• strong army to protect natural resources.
• towns and villages were allowed to continue their traditional practices.
• friendly relationships with neighbouring African kingdoms.

Question 6

6. How did Mansa Musa govern Mali? (4)

Answer 6

• He divided his empire in 14 provinces
• This included 24 towns and numerous villages
• Each province had a governor
• Each town/village had a mayor

Question 7

7. Where were the largest gold mines in Mali? (1)

Answer 7

• the south of the kingdom

Question 8

8. How much gold did Mali produce in the 14th century? (1)

Answer 8

• half the gold of Africa, Europe and Asia combined

Question 9

9. What happened to any gold entering the kingdom? (1)

Answer 9

• It was made the property of the king.

Question 10

10. What was the mithqal? (2)

Answer 10

• a 4.5g bag of gold dust, used for currency.

Question 11

11. What else could be used as currency in Mali? (3)

Answer 11

• salt, copper and cloth.

Question 12

12. What was Mansa Musa’s estimated wealth in modern day terms? (1)

Answer 12

• £300 billion

Question 13

13. What did the population of Mali produce in terms of food? (5)

Answer 13

• millet, sorghum, rice, fish and breeding cattle.

Question 14

14. What were Malians encouraged to grow? (5)

Answer 14

• cotton, beans, rice, onion, kola nuts.

Question 15

15. When was Mansa Musa’s famous pilgrimage to Mecca? (2)

Answer 15

• Between 1324-1326

Question 16

16. Who did Mansa Musa travel with to Mecca? (6)

Answer 16

• soldiers, officials, merchants, servants and slaves, totalling 60,000

Question 17

17. What did Mansa Musa travel with? (2)

Answer 17

• 80 camels, each loaded with gifts.

- 150kg of gold and gold dust.

Question 18

18. What did Mansa Musa do on his pilgrimage? (4)

Answer 18

• Gave away gold to poor communities.
• Every Friday, he would stop the journey and pay for a new mosque to be built at the village where he stopped.
• He recruited scholars and architects to return to work in Mali
• He collected books which he took back to Mali

Question 19

19. What happened when Mansa Musa reached Egypt? (1)

Answer 19

• He gave away so much gold that the value of gold went down.

Question 20

20. What were two other consequences of Mansa Musa’s pilgrimage? (2)

Answer 20

• he spent so much he had to take out a loan to return

- It was so famous that for the first time ever, Mali appeared on the maps throughout Europe and the Middle East.

Question 21

21. What was the name of the famous atlas that Mansa Musa appeared in and when was it produced? (2)

Answer 21

• Catalan Atlas, 1375

Question 22

22. What did Mansa Musa turn Timbuktu into? (3)

Answer 22

• the capital city of Mali
• the centre of learning in Mali
• a major cultural centre

Question 23

23. What was the name of the mosque built in Timbuktu? (2)

Answer 23

• Djingareyber Mosque (1), with space for 2,000 worshippers (1)

Question 24

24. What else did Mansa Musa build with his wealth? (3)

Answer 24

• 180 schools
• three universities
• many mosques teaching the Koran

Question 25

25. What was the name of the first university in Mali? (1)

Answer 25

• Sankore University

Question 26

26. How many students could Sankore accommodate? (1)

Answer 26

• 25,000

Question 27

27. Where did students come from to study at Sankore? (2)

Answer 27

• Everywhere, from Saudi Arabia (1) to Europe (1).

Question 28

28. Overall, what are some of the reasons Mansa Musa was so famous? (3)

Answer 28

• Gold
• His pilgrimage to Mecca
• Timbuktu