The Golden Empire

    The year was 1324. Mansa Musa was crossing the Sahara desert in Africa. He was the emperor, or ruler, of the West African empire of Mali. And he didn’t travel lightly.

    Musa rolled with about 60,000 people. His luggage was full of silk and spices. Not even 80 camels could carry all his gold!

    This was the world’s richest man. But Musa’s journey wasn’t just a way to show off his wealth. 

    It was a way to introduce the mighty Mali Empire to the world. 

    The year was 1324. Mansa Musa was crossing the Sahara desert in Africa. He was the emperor, or ruler, of the West African empire of Mali. And he didn’t travel lightly.

    Musa rolled with about 60,000 people. His luggage was full of silk and spices. Not even 80 camels could carry all his gold!

    He was the world’s richest man. But this trip was not just a way to show how rich he was.

    It was a way to tell the world about the Mali Empire.

    The year was 1324, and Mansa Musa was crossing the Sahara desert in Africa. He was the emperor, or ruler, of the West African empire of Mali. And he didn’t travel lightly.

    Musa rolled with about 60,000 people. His luggage was full of silk and spices. Not even 80 camels could carry all his gold!

    Musa was the world’s richest man—but the purpose of his journey wasn’t only to display his spectacular wealth.

    It was also a way to introduce the mighty Mali Empire to the world.

    An empire is a region, or area, controlled by one leader or government. Mali became West Africa’s most powerful empire in the 1200s. How? For starters, it had a prime location on the Niger River. This provided fertile land for farming. It also gave the empire an easy way to transport goods for trade.

    Then, in 1312, Musa became Mali’s emperor—and took his empire’s power to a whole new level. He sent armies south to take control of gold mines. He sent forces north to claim salt mines. Soon Mali controlled key trade routes along the river too.

    Before long, money started pouring in. Merchants paid Musa to do business in Mali. His empire’s gold and salt were sold as far away as Europe. Leaders of other lands sent gifts to get on his good side. (Often they sent—you guessed it—gold!)

    An empire is an area controlled by one leader or government. Mali became West Africa’s most powerful empire in the 1200s. How? It had a prime location on the Niger River. This provided great land for farming. It also gave the empire an easy way to transport goods for trade.

    Then in 1312, Musa became Mali’s emperor. He took Mali’s power to a new level. He sent armies south to take control of gold mines. He sent forces north to claim salt mines. Soon Mali controlled key trade routes along the river too.

    Money poured in. Merchants paid Musa to do business in Mali. Mali’s gold and salt were sold as far away as Europe. Leaders of other lands sent gifts to get on his good side. Often they sent gold.

    An empire is a region, or area, controlled by one leader or government. Mali became West Africa’s most powerful empire in the 1200s. How? Its prime location on the Niger River provided fertile land for farming and gave the empire a convenient way to transport goods for trade.

    Then in 1312, Musa became Mali’s emperor—and took his empire’s power to a whole new level. He sent armies south to take control of gold mines. He sent forces north to claim salt mines. Soon Mali controlled key trade routes along the river too.

    Before long, money started pouring in. Merchants paid Musa to do business in Mali. His empire’s gold and salt were sold as far away as Europe. Leaders of other lands sent gifts to gain his favor. (Often they sent—you guessed it—gold!)