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Mansa Musa was the ninth Mansa of the Mali Empire, which reached its territorial peak during his reign. Musa's reign is often regarded as the zenith of Mali's power and prestige, although he features comparatively less in Mandinka oral traditions than his predecessors.
The Mali Empire was an empire in West Africa from c. 1226 to 1670. The empire was founded by Sundiata Keita and became renowned for the wealth of its rulers, especially Mansa Musa. At its peak, Mali was the largest empire in West Africa, widely influencing the culture of the region through the spread of its language, laws, and customs.
Sundiata Keita was a prince and founder of the Mali Empire. He was also the great-uncle of the Malian ruler Mansa Musa, who is usually regarded as the wealthiest person of all time, although there are no reliable ways to accurately calculate his wealth.
Naré Maghann Konaté was a 12th-century faama (king) of the Mandinka people, in what is today Mali and the progenitor of the Maghan people of Wagaddou. He was the father of Sundiata Keita, founder of the Mali Empire, and a character in the oral tradition of the Epic of Sundiata.
Abu Bakr, known as Bata Mande Bori in oral tradition, was the fifth mansa of the Mali Empire, reigning during the late 13th century. He was a son of a daughter of Sunjata, the founder of the Mali Empire, and may have been adopted by Sunjata as a son. Abu Bakr succeeded Khalifa, a tyrant who was deposed after a brief reign. Abu Bakr was the first mansa of the Mali Empire to succeed through the female line. It remains debated whether Abu Bakr's succession marked a return to a traditional pattern of succession that had been ignored by his predecessors or if it was a break from traditional succession caused by political instability. After an unremarkable reign, Abu Bakr was succeeded by Sakura, an enslaved court official who seized power in a coup.
Maghan I, also known as Magha or, in oral traditions, Maghan Soma Burema Kein was the tenth mansa of the Mali Empire, following his father Kankan Musa I's death in 1337. He was left in charge of the empire, at least nominally, during his father's absence for his famous hajj. He reigned in his own right for only four years before being succeeded by his uncle Suleyman in 1341.
Mansa Jata, commonly referred to as Mari Jata II, possibly incorrectly, known in oral histories as Konkodugu Kamissa was mansa of Mali from 1360 to 1374. He was an ineffective ruler, and his reign, recorded by the contemporary North African historian Ibn Khaldun, marked the beginning of the decline of the Mali Empire.
Musa II was mansa of the Mali Empire from 1374 to 1387.
Sandaki, also known as Sandiki or Santigi, was a mansa of the Mali Empire from 1388 to 1389. According to Ibn Khaldun Sandaki was not his name but rather his title, the Mandinka word for 'vizier'. His real name is unknown.
Maghan III, also known as Mahmud I, was mansa of the Mali Empire from 1390 to about 1400. He assumed the throne after killing the usurper Sandaki, who had ruled for only two years. He came from the 'pagan lands' to the south of the empire, and claimed to be descended from Mansa Qu.
The Keita dynasty ruled pre-imperial and imperial Mali from the 11th century into the early 17th century. It was a Muslim dynasty, and its rulers claimed descent from Bilal ibn Rabah. The early history is entirely unknown, outside of legends and myths. The first Keita mansa was Sundiata Keita. This is when Mari Jata is crowned and Keita becomes a clan name. A couple of generations after him, his great-nephew, Mansa Musa Keita I of Mali, made a celebrated pilgrimage to Mecca.
The Gbara or Great Assembly was the deliberative body of the Mali Empire, which ruled much of West Africa during the Middle Ages. It was first formed in 1235 on the orders of Sundiata in the Mandinka constitution known as the Kouroukan Fouga.
Mansa Uli II, also known as Gbèré, was the twentieth mansa of the Mali Empire. He ruled during the later half of the 15th century.
Mande Bori, also known as Mande Bakari and known in Arabic as Abu Bakr, is a heroic figure in Mande oral tradition who was involved in the founding of the Mali Empire. He was the brother and right-hand man of Sunjata, the founder of the empire, and served as the empire's kankoro-sigui, an office that has been translated as "viceroy" or "lieutenant-general". Though Mande Bori never himself reigned as mansa, his grandsons Musa and Suleyman ruled the Mali Empire at the apex of its power and prestige, and he is often erroneously cited as Mansa Abu Bakr II.
The military history of the Mali Empire is that of the armed forces of the Mali Empire, which dominated Western Africa from the mid 13th to the late 15th century. The military culture of the empire's driving force, Mandinka people, influenced many later states in West Africa including break-away powers such as the Songhay and Jolof empires. Institutions from the Mali Empire also survived in the 19th century army of Samory Ture who saw himself as the heir to Old Mali's legacy.
During the 200 year period between 1301 and 1500 the main civilizations and kingdoms in Africa were the Mali Empire, Kingdom of Kongo, Ife Empire, Benin Kingdom, Hausa City-states, Great Zimbabwe, Ethiopian Empire, Kilwa Sultanate, Khormans and the Ajuran Sultanate. These kingdoms flourished in the first part of this period, especially the Mali Empire, which saw a cultural flowering within its empire centred on the University of Timbuktu.
Manding, Manden or even Mandé is a region located in West Africa, a space between southern Mali and eastern Guinea. It is the historic home of the Mandinka community.
Mama Maghan was the last Mansa of the Mali Empire, and Kangaba during the 17th century.
The history of the Mali Empire begins when the first Mande people entered the Manding region during the period of the Ghana Empire. After its fall, the various tribes established independent chiefdoms. In the 12th century, these were briefly conquered by the Sosso Empire under Soumaoro Kante. He was in turn defeated by a Mande coalition led by Sundiata Keita, who founded the Mali Empire.
References
- ↑ Gomez, Michael (2018). African dominion : a new history of empire in early and medieval West Africa. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press. p. 151. ISBN 9780691177427.
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