Mansa Musa

7.17 Explain the importance of Mansa Musa

and locate is pilgrimage to Mecca in 1324.

Time for a chart!Copy the following chart in your notes.

Before the Story

Copy down the following questions in the column marked Before the Story. (Feel free to answer them right away during the story.)

What did the boy want so much that he saved a long time to get it?

What was probably true about the price of the necklace?

Why do you think it was expensive?

During the Story

Copy down the following questions in the column marked During the Story. (Feel free to answer them right away during the story.)

How does the boy feel about the necklace?

What is he trying to do with the necklace by then?

What Changed?

Write down your own thoughts of what changed between the two time periods, before and after Mansa Musa.

You must have at least 3 examples.

For your Notes

Copy the following information down word for word. You will be copying 2 and a half paragraphs. Each paragraph will be on a new slide.

Mansa Musa ruled Mali from 1312 to 1337. He expanded its empire to twice its original size and also gained control of trade routes throughout Africa. Mali’s two most valuable trade goods, gold and salt, reached the ends of the continent on these routes. In 1324 Mansa Musa, who was a Muslim, decided to go on a pilgrimage, or hajj, to Mecca. The king assembled a huge caravan that traveled with him on his journey. The immense size of the caravan and the power and wealth needed to collect such a group greatly impressed everyone who saw it. This caravan helped Mansa Musa establish an important position for himself and Mali in the Muslim world.

Mansa Musa’s caravan included thousands of soldiers and servants, along with 80 camels carrying over two tons of gold. On his way to Mecca, Mansa Musa stopped in Cairo where the Sultan of Egypt received him. While there, Musa spent large sums of money and gave many gifts of gold. He brought so much gold with him that he made the value of gold fall. Mansa Musa then continued on to Mecca. The sights he saw in Mecca inspire him to create great mosques, libraries, and universities in Mali. When Mansa Musa returned to Mali, he brought back many Arab scholars, architects, and poets who helped build his home city of Timbuktu into a center for Islamic studies.

In this graphic novel, a young boy describes how Mansa Musa’s visit to Egypt personally affects him. The gold necklace for which he had saved is nothing compared to the items that Mansa Musa has given the boy’s friends. The boy cannot even sell his necklace because the value of gold has fallen so much.

You may spend the rest of class

working on your homework. There are 6 questions. Make sure that you answer them in complete sentences. For the questions, make sure you only use the paragraphs provided on your worksheet.

Make sure you don’t forget to fill in all of the blanks.