The Contributions of Mansa Musa to the Greatness of Mali Empire - Essay Example

Mansa Musa engaged in numerous conquest of the neighboring kingdoms after his return from pilgrimage which saw him expand the kingdom from all corners. During his journey, he got involved in lavish spending as well as well distribution of goods to the needy. The people in his entourage also took part in the distribution in the Egyptian city of Cairo leading to the collapse of the city’s financial market which was among the largest in the world. As a result, he gained large following especially from the key Islamic scholars and those who were responsible for the building of the city of Cairo.

They followed him back to his empire after which he used them in the building of the major cities in the region. They first built the city of Timbuktu into one of the leading pioneers of Islamic academic and financial centers. As a result, Timbuktu became the leading trading center in Africa that can be compared to the present Wall Street. Trade in the city mainly involved gold, slaves, kola nuts, cashew nuts among other items. This led into the city is at the same level with other cities in Europe such as Paris, Madrid, and Venice in terms of intellectual capacity, economic growth, population and political stability (Alexander, 201-321).

Mansa Musa embarked on major construction initiatives that included the building and establishment of mosques and madrasas. Example include the Sankore Madrasah commonly known as the University of Snake which was built during his reign and have remained up to the present age. Musa brought about the modern educational system in the kingdom by re-staffing the University of Sankore with a team of learned astronomers, scientists, mathematicians and jurists who made a great influence in the University thus making it the center for learning and cultural experience.