TOP 10 Mali Empire

 

1. Mansa Musa (1312-1337) - A devout Muslim who built many mosques and expanded Mali's influence over large Niger city-states of Timbuktu, Gao, and Djenne.
2. Sonni Ali (1464-1492) - Turned Gao into the Songhay empire. Conquered the cities of Timbuktu and Jenne with a military based on cavalry and fleets of ships.
3. Askia Muhammad Toure (1493-1528) - Standardization Guy. Centralized government with legal cod based on Islamic principles.
4. Niger River - Ran through the empire  and provided a trade route as well as irrigation for crops.
5. Birmindana - first ruler to convert to Islam.
6. Monetary irresponsibility - bad economic manuevers by the king sent mali into a state of weakness in the 14th century, this lead to internal and  external clashes.
7. Integration of two different religions -  Mali rulers struggled to try to incorporate Islamic faith to help advance them in economics and government while still keeping traditional African Mande practices.
8. Gold - They were filthy rich. When Mansa Musa made his pilgrimage to Mecca he took along two tons of gold to distribute among the poor.
9. Timbuktu - under Mansa Musa's rule became the cultural center for  sub-saharan africa and became a meeting spot  for the finest poets, scholars, and artists.
10. Anarchy - The Mali empire got to big and government control became difficult so Mali crumbled to anarchic little city-states and in 1612 the Mali empire was over.

Quotes
"He told me that his king had ruined the empire, exhausted the royal treasury and brought the state close to collapse…he…spent [it] in debaucheries and foolishness…" writes Ibn Khaldun

"Much later the population of Mali grew to such an extent that it became dominate over all over this region (i.e. the area formerly ruled by Ghana)…" (Khaldun 1)

"When I'm asked about the relevance to Black people of what I do, I take that as an affront. It presupposes that Black people have never been involved in exploring the heavens, but this is not so. Ancient African empires -- Mali, Songhai, Egypt -- had scientists, astronomers. The fact is that space and its resources belong to all of us, not to any one group. " - Mae Jemison

Summary Paragraph
The Mali Empire was key in the  spreading of Islamic culture and practices to Africa. Without the advancements caused by Islamic influence they would be even further behind on the development scale then they are now. However, the continuing practice of african traditions insured the survival of them and the  religions they belong to. Also, the meeting of brilliant minds at the cultural center of Timbuktu lead to advancements in science, astronomy, art, and poetry.

 

By Tyler Powers, 2006