He had so much gold that during his hajj to Mecca, the Mansa passed out gold to all the poor along the way. [116] Songhai authority over Bendugu and Kala declined by 1571, and Mali may have been able to reassert some authority over them. We all know of Mansa Musa, possibly the richest man to ever exist. Certainly, his descendants were Muslim, and many went on pilgrimage to Mecca (hajj), and Keita's most famous descendent, Mansa Musa, dazzled Egypt and the Islamic world on his lavish pilgrimage east. Constant civil war between leaders led to a weakened state. Imperial Mali's horsemen also used iron helmet and mail armour for defence[146] as well as shields similar to those of the infantry. Mali Emperors Family Tree | Mansa Musa - The Richest Man in World History 71,113 views Nov 27, 2019 1.8K Dislike Share Save UsefulCharts 1.08M subscribers Watch the map animation on From. [93] Gold mines in Boure, which is located in present-day Guinea, were discovered sometime near the end of the 12th century. The Bamana, likewise, vowed not to advance farther upstream than Niamina. A kl-koun led free troops into battle alongside a farima ("brave man") during campaign. There was also a palace conspiracy to overthrow him hatched by the Qasa (the Manding term meaning Queen) Kassi and several army commanders. [45], Many oral histories point to a town called Dakajalan as the original home of the Keita clan and Sundiata's childhood home and base of operations during the war against the Soso. Despite this disunity in the realm, the realm remained under Mandinka control into the mid-17th century. The city's water supply was a leading cause to its successes in trade. In the 17th year of his reign (1324), he set out on his famous pilgrimage to Mecca. The kingdom of Mali was relatively unknown outside of West Africa until this event. Mansa Musa - Originalpeople.org Musa's death may have occurred in 1337, 1332, or possibly even earlier, giving 1307 or 1312 as plausible approximate years of accession. It was this pilgrimage that awakened the world to the stupendous wealth of Mali. The family tree of Mansa Musa. [25] The empire also reached its highest population during the Laye period ruling over 400 cities,[26] towns and villages of various religions and elasticities. His administration and military work allowed the empire to survive through the 16th century, solidifying him, his empire, and his family into the imaginations of storytellers around the world. It is unknown from whom he descended; however, another emperor, Mansa Maghan Keita III, is sometimes cited as Mansa Mahmud Keita I. Kangaba, the de facto capital of Manden since the time of the last emperor, became the capital of the northern sphere. Mansa Musa returned from Mecca with several Islamic scholars, including direct descendants of the prophet Muhammad and an Andalusian poet and architect by the name of Abu Es Haq es Saheli,. [145] Another common weapon of Mandekalu warriors was the poison javelin used in skirmishes. He ruled the nation for nearly 25 years until his death in 1337 and is . This is one of the main factors to the fall of the kingdom. Under Mansa Ms, Timbuktu grew to be a very important commercial city having caravan connections with Egypt and with all other important trade centres in North Africa. The empire he founded became one of the richest in the world, and his descendants included one of the richest individuals to ever live, Mansa Musa. . To Westerners, he seems to have been the greatest of Mali rulers, as visible in games like Civilization. Combined in the rapidly spoken language of the Mandinka, the names formed Sondjata, Sundjata or Sundiata Keita. The 14th-century traveller Ibn Baah noted that it took about four months to travel from the northern borders of the Mali empire to Niani in the south. In Niani, Musa built the Hall of Audience, a building communicating by an interior door to the royal palace. His elaborate pilgrimage to the Muslim holy city of Mecca in 1324 introduced him to rulers in the Middle East and in Europe. Mansa Musa: Great Leader of the Malink Kingdom - ThoughtCo Mansa Musa was a devout Muslim. Mansa Musa, one of the wealthiest people who ever lived - Jessica Smith TED-Ed 7.1M views 7 years ago The history of Nigeria explained in 6 minutes (3,000 Years of Nigerian history) Epimetheus. A dknsi performed the same function except with slave troops called sofa ("guardian of the horse") and under the command of a farimba ("great brave man"). In 1324, while staying in Cairo during his hajj, Mansa Musa, the ruler of the Mali Empire, told an Egyptian official whom he had befriended that he had come to rule when his predecessor led a fleet in an attempt to cross the Atlantic Ocean and never returned. During his monarchy Musa or Musa, I was highly powered and the richest individual king Mansa Musa the . The Story Of Mansa Musa, The Real 'Black Panther' - VIBE.com He was deposed in 1389, marking the end of the Faga Laye Keita mansas. [12] However, these hypotheses have been rejected by locals and are inconsistent with the apparent cognate status of Mali and Mand.[19]. After unsuccessful attempts by Mansa Mama Maghan to conquer Bamana, the Bamana in 1670 sacked and burned the capital, and the Mali Empire rapidly disintegrated and ceased to exist, being replaced by independent chiefdoms. Despite the faama of Niani's wishes to respect the prophecy and put Sundiata on the throne, the son from his first wife Sassouma Brt was crowned instead. Your email address will not be published. Ibn Battuta observed the employment of servants in both towns. Only sofa were equipped by the state, using bows and poisoned arrows. [93], In 1477, the Yatenga emperor Nassr made yet another Mossi raid into Macina, this time conquering it and the old province of BaGhana (Wagadou).[109]. [59] Those not living in the mountains formed small city-states such as Toron, Ka-Ba and Niani. [80] Ibn Khaldun regarded Wali as one of Mali's greatest rulers. This style is characterised by the use of mudbricks and an adobe plaster, with large wooden-log support beams that jut out from the wall face for large buildings such as mosques or palaces. Mansa Musa was the great-great-grandson of Sunjata, who was the founder of the empire of Mali. While Mansa Musa's grandfather, Abu-Bakr, was a nephew of Sundiata Keita, the founder of the Malian Empire, neither he nor his descendants had a strong claim to the throne. [93] Musa may have brought as much as 18 tons of gold on his hajj,[94] equal in value to over US$957million in 2022. Mali Empire - Wikipedia Bukar professed his support, but believing Mahmud's situation to be hopeless, secretly went over to the Moroccans. Sundiata Keita was a warrior-prince of the Keita dynasty who was called upon to free the local people from the rule of the king of the Sosso Empire, Soumaoro Kant. Heusch, Luc de: "The Symbolic Mechanisms of Sacred Kingship: Rediscovering Frazer". Free warriors from the north (Mandekalu or otherwise) were usually equipped with large reed or animal hide shields and a stabbing spear that was called a tamba. [29] Al-Umari, who visited Cairo shortly after Musa's pilgrimage to Mecca, noted that it was "a lavish display of power, wealth, and unprecedented by its size and pageantry". Mansa Musa Family Tree | Empire of Mali Server Costs Fundraiser 2023 Running a website with millions of readers every month is expensive. You cannot download interactives. Sakura was able to stabilize the political situation in Mali. Mansa Souleyman Keita died in 1360 and was succeeded by his son, Camba Keita. [47], According to Jules Vidal and Levtzion, citing oral histories from Kangaba and Keyla, another onetime capital was Manikoro or Mali-Kura, founded after the destruction of Niani. [98] Musa's hajj, and especially his gold, caught the attention of both the Islamic and Christian worlds. [112] Still, no help came from the envoy and further possessions of Mali were lost one by one. Ag-Amalwal. [50] Such impermanent capitals are a historically widespread phenomenon, having occurred in other parts of Africa such as Ethiopia, as well as outside Africa, such as in the Holy Roman Empire.[51]. After Ibn Khaldun's death in 1406, there are no further Arab primary sources except for Leo Africanus, who wrote over a century later. Grades 5 - 8 Subjects Geography, Human Geography, Social Studies, Ancient Civilizations, World History Image Timbuktu, Henrich Barth Painting The fame of Mansa Musa and his phenomenal wealth spread as he traveled on his hajj to Mecca. The oldest brother, Srbandjougou Keita, was crowned Mansa Foamed or Mansa Musa Keita III. [67] News of the Malian empire's city of wealth even traveled across the Mediterranean to southern Europe, where traders from Venice, Granada, and Genoa soon added Timbuktu to their maps to trade manufactured goods for gold.[68]. He built mosques and large public buildings in cities like Gao and, most famously, Timbuktu. He has been subject to popular claims that he is the wealthiest person in history,[5] but his actual wealth is not known with any certainty. As a result of this the empire fell. UsefulCharts, . Very little is known about the life of Mansa Musa before 1312. Atlantic voyage of the predecessor of Mansa Musa - Wikipedia Mansa Musa returned from Mecca with several Islamic scholars, including direct descendants of the prophet Muhammad and an Andalusian poet and architect by the name of Abu Es Haq es Saheli, who is . In his attempt to justify the importance of the Keita and their civilisation in early Arabic literatures, Adelabu, the head of Awqaf Africa in London, coined the Arabic derivatives K(a)-W(e)-Y(a) of the word Keita which in (in what he called) Arabicised Mandingo language Allah(u) Ka(w)eia meaning "Allah Creates All" as a favourable motto of reflection for Bilal Ibn Rabah, one of the most trusted and loyal Sahabah (companions) of the Islamic prophet Muhammad, whom he described (quoting William Muir's book The Life of Muhammad) as 'a tall, dark, and with African feature and bushy hair'[64] pious man who overcame slavery, racism and socio-political obstacles in Arabia to achieve a lofty status in this world and in the Hereafter.[65]. [82], Musa is less renowned in Mand oral tradition as performed by the jeliw. Mansa Musa Family Tree | Family tree, Tree, Kankan - Pinterest [43] Perhaps because of this, Musa's early reign was spent in continuous military conflict with neighboring non-Muslim societies. Encyclopaedia Britannica's editors oversee subject areas in which they have extensive knowledge, whether from years of experience gained by working on that content or via study for an advanced degree. 05 Mar 2023. Today, his net worth is estimated to have been $400 billion. A very large number of families that make up the Mandinka community were born in Manding. [70] However, once Sundiata did gain use of his legs he grew strong and very respected. Much of the history is oral, given by professional "historians". This website claims no authorship of this content; we are republishing it for educational purposes. The Lightning Flash | Mansa Musa 6. He is the resurrected spirit of Masuta the Ascended, the second boss in the first elite dungeon, Temple of Aminishi . [89] This claim is often sourced to an article in CelebrityNetWorth,[89] which claims that Musa's wealth was the equivalent of US$400 billion. Musa went on hajj to Mecca in 1324, traveling with an enormous entourage and a vast supply of gold. [33] Some modern historians have cast doubt on Musa's version of events, suggesting he may have deposed his predecessor and devised the story about the voyage to explain how he took power. so the name Kanku Musa means "Musa, son of Kanku", although it is unclear if the genealogy implied is literal. At Taghaza, for example, salt was exchanged; at Takedda, copper. He intended to abdicate the throne and return to Mecca but died before he was able to do so. By the beginning of the 14th century, Mali was the source of almost half the Old World's gold exported from mines in Bambuk, Boure and Galam. Mali's wealth in gold did not primarily come from direct rule of gold-producing regions, but rather from tribute and trade with the regions where gold was found. The World History Encyclopedia logo is a registered trademark. Mahmud Keita, possibly a grandchild or great-grandchild of Mansa Gao Keita, was crowned Mansa Maghan Keita III in 1390. His descendants migrated to the land of Mali and established the Mandinka clan of Keita. In the interregnum following Sunjata's death, the jomba or court slaves may have held power. With a global population of some 11 million, the Mandinka are the best-known ethnic group of the Mande peoples, all of whom speak different dialects of the Mande language. Each individual farariya ("brave") had a number of infantry officers beneath them called kl-koun or dknsi. He's especially famous for his hajj to Mecca, during which he sponsored numerous mosques and madrases, and supposedly spent so much gold along the way that the metal was severely devalued, which for many people was not a very good thing. Bowmen formed a large portion of the field army as well as the garrison. Mansa Musa came from his country with 80 loads of gold dust (tibr), each load weighing three qintars. Who would native Malians have considered their greatest ruler? Arabic sources omit Faga Leye, referring to Musa as Musa ibn Abi Bakr. CREDITS: Chart/Narration: Matt Baker. UsefulCharts, . [97] Though this has been described as having "wrecked" Egypt's economy,[85] the historian Warren Schultz has argued that this was well within normal fluctuations in the value of gold in Mamluk Egypt. It contained three immense gold mines within its borders unlike the Ghana Empire, which was only a transit point for gold. The second account is that of the traveller Ibn Battuta, who visited Mali in 1352. This process was essential to keep non-Manding subjects loyal to the Manding elites that ruled them. Alternate titles: Kankan Ms, Mansa Musa, Mousa, Musa. Intro music: "Lord of the Land" by Kevin MacLeod and licensed under Creative Commons Attribution license 4.0. The empire began as a small Mandinka kingdom at the upper reaches of the Niger River, centered around the Manding region. They camped for three days by the Pyramids of Giza, before crossing the Nile into Cairo on 19 July. [47][48][49] His procession reportedly included 60,000 men, all wearing brocade and Persian silk, including 12,000 slaves,[50] who each carried 1.8kg (4lb) of gold bars, and heralds dressed in silks, who bore gold staffs, organized horses, and handled bags. Many houses were built by hand and during the hot weather some houses would melt so they had to be very secure, The dating of the original Great Mosque's construction is obscure (the current structure, built under French Colonial Rule, dates from 1907). [93] In 1514, the Denianke dynasty was established in Tekrour. While the accounts are of limited length, they provide a fairly good picture of the empire at its height. Mansa Ms probably died in 1332. He was an extremely successful military leader Captivation History summarizes Mansa Musa's story from his ancestors to his descendants as they reigned over the Mali Empire beginning in the 1300s. Mansa Musa was an important ruler of the golden age of the Malink kingdom, based on the upper Niger River in Mali, West Africa. [citation needed]. While in Cairo, Mansa Musa met with the Sultan of Egypt, and his caravan spent and gave away so much gold that the overall value of gold decreased in Egypt for the next 12 years. At the age of 18, he gained authority over all the 12 kingdoms in an alliance that would become the Mali Empire. The Mandinka went on to form the powerful and rich Mali Empire, which produced the richest Black man who ever lived, King Mansa Musa. [16] However, al-Umari gives Mali as the name of the capital province and Ibn Khaldun refers to Mali as a people, with each giving different names for the capital city itself. Masuta the Descended - The RuneScape Wiki Who is the richest monarch in the world? - coalitionbrewing.com Ibn Battuta, who visited the capital city from 1352 to 1353, called it Mali. [135] Gold nuggets were the exclusive property of the mansa and were illegal to trade within his borders. [129] The county level administrators called kafo-tigui (county-master) were appointed by the governor of the province from within his own circle. . He has sometimes been called the wealthiest person in history. Musa stayed in the Qarafa district of Cairo, and befriended its governor, Ibn Amir Hajib, who learned much about Mali from him. Oral tradition states that he had three sons who fought over Manden's remains. [63] Both of these accounts may be true, as Mali's control of Gao may have been weak, requiring powerful mansas to reassert their authority periodically.[64]. Ms Is hajj left a lasting impression of Malis splendour on both the Islamic and European worlds. The ancient kingdom of Mali spread across parts of modern-day Mali, Senegal, the Gambia, Guinea, Niger, Nigeria, Chad, Mauritania, and Burkina Faso. Rulers of West African states had made pilgrimages to Mecca before Mansa Ms, but the effect of his flamboyant journey was to advertise both Mali and Mansa Ms well beyond the African continent and to stimulate a desire among the Muslim kingdoms of North Africa, and among many of European nations as well, to reach the source of this incredible wealth. In the first millennium BC, early cities and towns were created by Mande peoples related to the Soninke people, along the middle Niger River in central Mali, including at Dia which began from around 900 BC, and reached its peak around 600 BC,[52] and Djenne-Djenno, which lasted from around 250 BC to 900 AD. [79] Some oral traditions agree with Ibn Khaldun in indicating that a son of Sunjata, named Yerelinkon in oral tradition and Wali in Arabic, took power as Sunjata's successor. [107] The Gambia was still firmly in Mali's control, and these raiding expeditions met with disastrous fates before Portugal's Diogo Gomes began formal relations with Mali via its remaining Wolof subjects. [62] According to one account given by Ibn Khaldun, Musa's general Saghmanja conquered Gao. Not only do we pay for our servers, but also for related services such as our content delivery network, Google Workspace, email, and much more. [78] There was evidently a power struggle of some kind involving the gbara or great council and donson ton or hunter guilds. Still, by the time of Mansa Musa Keita II's death in 1387, Mali was financially solvent and in control of all of its previous conquests short of Gao and Dyolof. Another testimony from Ibn Khaldun describes the grand pilgrimage of Mansa Musa consisting of 12,000 slaves: "He made a pilgrimage in 724/1324 []. During this period, there was an advanced level of urban living in the major centers of Mali. While every effort has been made to follow citation style rules, there may be some discrepancies. Mansa Musa was immensely wealthy (whether he can be regarded as personally wealthy or wealthy because he controlled the gold mines of Mali is, of course, a . Wali was succeeded by his brother Wati, about whom nothing is known,[82][83] and then his brother Khalifa. The House of Saud is ruled by the descendants of King Abdulaziz, who founded and unified Saudi Arabia in 1932. Al-Umari, who wrote down a description of Mali based on information given to him by Abu Said 'Otman ed Dukkali (who had lived 35 years in the capital), reported the realm as being square and an eight-month journey from its coast at Tura (at the mouth of the Senegal River) to Muli. Mansa Musa Biography - Facts, Childhood, Family Life & Achievements His leadership of Mali, a state which stretched across two thousand . Among these are references to "Pene" and "Malal" in the work of al-Bakri in 1068,[53][54] the story of the conversion of an early ruler, known to Ibn Khaldun (by 1397) as Barmandana,[55] and a few geographical details in the work of al-Idrisi. During the peak of the kingdom, Mali was extremely wealthy. The identification of Niani as imperial capital is rooted in an (possibly erroneous) interpretation of the Arab traveler al Umari's work, as well as some oral histories. He could read and write Arabic and took an interest in the scholarly city of Timbuktu, which he peaceably annexed in 1324. Manuscript of Nasir al-Din Abu al-Abbas Ahmad ibn al-Hajj al-Amin al-Tawathi al-Ghalawi's Kashf al-Ghummah fi Nafa al-Ummah. Watch the map animation on From Nothing:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QOexUoPc6YUBe sure to subscribe to From Nothing for more African History:https://www.. U UsefulCharts 0 followers More information Mansa Musa Family Tree Rich Man The Sahelian and Saharan towns of the Mali Empire were organised as both staging posts in the long-distance caravan trade and trading centres for the various West African products. By the time of his death in 1337, Mali had control over Taghazza, a salt-producing area in the north, which further strengthened its treasury. [123] Segou, defended by Bitn Coulibaly, successfully defended itself and Mama Maghan was forced to withdraw. There are a few references to Mali in early Islamic literature. We all know of Mansa Musa, possibly the richest man to ever - reddit [137], Copper was also a valued commodity in imperial Mali. Our editors will review what youve submitted and determine whether to revise the article. Under his reign, Mali conquered the neighbouring kingdom of Songhai. By the 6th century AD, the lucrative trans-Saharan trade in gold, salt and slaves had begun, facilitating the rise of West Africa's great empires. Mali flourished especially when Timbuktu came under Mansa Musa's control. Forty years after the reign of Mansa Musa Keita I, the Mali Empire still controlled some 1,100,000 square kilometres (420,000sqmi) of land throughout Western Africa.[103][9]. Musa Keita I (c. 1280 - c. 1337), or Mansa Musa, was the ninth Mansa of the Mali Empire, one of the most powerful West African states. Mansa Ms, whose empire was one of the largest in the world at that time, is reported to have observed that it would take a year to travel from one end of his empire to the other. While on the hajj, he met the Andalusian poet and architect es-Saheli. [28] The Tarikh al-fattash claims that Musa accidentally killed Kanku at some point prior to his hajj. [d], Musa's father was named Faga Leye[12] and his mother may have been named Kanku. Mali's domain also extended into the desert. Scholars who were mainly interested in history, Qurnic theology, and law were to make the mosque of Sankore in Timbuktu a teaching centre and to lay the foundations of the University of Sankore. Al-Umari reported that Mali had fourteen provinces. It was this pilgrimage that awakened the world to the stupendous wealth of Mali. Research/Artwork: From Nothing Team. While Musa's palace has since vanished, the university and mosque still stand in Timbuktu today. [90][91] His reign is considered the golden age of Mali. Intro animation: Syawish Rehman. [15] He is also called Hidji Mansa Musa in oral tradition in reference to his hajj. Mansa Musa also known as Musa I of Mali and was the ninth Islamic ancient Emperor of West Africa in a kingdom known as the Mali Empire. The empire was founded by Sundiata Keita (c. 1214 c. 1255) and became renowned for the wealth of its rulers, especially Mansa Musa (Musa Keita). [3] During the 11th and 12th centuries, an empire began to develop following the decline of the Ghana Empire, or Wagadu, to the north. His name was Mansa Musa, and he was a devout Muslim. The Mali Empire (Manding: Mand or Manden; Arabic: , romanized: Ml) was an empire in West Africa from c. 1226 to 1670. Mansa Musa Family Tree | Empire of Mali. We care about our planet! Imperial Malian architecture was characterised by Sudano-Sahelian architecture with a Malian substyle, which is exemplified by the Great Mosque of Djenne. [147][148], The Sudano-Sahelian influence was particularly widely incorporated during the rule of Mansa Musa I, who constructed many architectural projects, including the Great Mosque of Gao and Royal Palace in Timbuktu, which was built with the assistance of Ishaak al-Tuedjin, an architect brought by Musa from his pilgrimage to Mecca. While in Cairo during his hajj, Musa befriended officials such as Ibn Amir Hajib, who learned about him and his country from him and later passed on that information to historians such as Al-Umari. He sought closer ties with the rest of the Muslim world, particularly the Mamluk and Marinid Sultanates. In the 1450s, Portugal began sending raiding parties along the Gambian coast. This enabled him to rule over a realm larger than even the Ghana Empire in its apex. [20] Additional information comes from two 17th-century manuscripts written in Timbuktu, the Tarikh Ibn al-Mukhtar[c] and the Tarikh al-Sudan. Three bowmen supporting one spearman was the ratio in Kaabu and the Gambia by the mid-16th century. Most West African canoes were of single-log construction, carved and dug out from one massive tree trunk.[144]. This thread is archived The tarikh states that a Sultan Kunburu became a Muslim and had his palace pulled down and the site turned into a mosque; he then built another palace for himself near the mosque on the east side. They are descendants of. [51] Musa made a major point of showing off his nation's wealth. In the early 15th century, Mali was still powerful enough to conquer and settle new areas. 4. [93] Dyamani-tiguis had to be approved by the mansa and were subject to his oversight. That same year, after the Mandinka general known as Sagmandir put down yet another rebellion in Gao,[93] Mansa Musa came to Gao and accepted the capitulation of the King of Ghana and his nobles. Al-Nasir expected Musa to prostrate himself before him, which Musa initially refused to do. The Mali Empire began in and was centered around the Manding region in what is now southern Mali and northeastern Guinea. He attempted to make Islam the faith of the nobility,[93] but kept to the imperial tradition of not forcing it on the populace. [40] Ibn Battuta and Leo Africanus both call the capital "Mali. Answer (1 of 3): The same thing that happened to anybody else's wealth in history: it was spent, looted, donated, or otherwise distributed. At its peak, Mali was the largest empire in West Africa, widely . Ibn Khaldun recorded that in 776 A.H or 1374/1375 AD he interviewed a Sijilmasan scholar named Muhammad b. Wasul who had lived in Gao and had been employed in its judiciary. Then, in 1630, the Bamana of Djenn declared their version of holy war on all Muslim powers in present-day Mali. He describes it as being north of Mali but under its domination implying some sort of vassalage for the Antasar, Yantar'ras, Medussa and Lemtuna Berber tribes. CREDITS:
Chart/Narration: Matt Baker Research/Artwork: From Nothing Team
Editing: Jack Rackam
Intro animation: Syawish Rehman
Intro music: "Lord of the Land" by Kevin MacLeod and licensed under Creative Commons Attribution license 4.0. [40], Musa was a young man when he became mansa, possibly in his early twenties. His reign is associated with numerous construction projects, including part of Djinguereber Mosque in Timbuktu. Masuta performs many of the same attacks as his original incarnation (though he yells a quote prior to using his abilities), but does not summon thrashing waters or create . [70] Two noble brothers from Niani, of unknown lineage, went to Dioma with an army and drove out the Fula Wassoulounk. [108], Despite their power in the west, Mali was losing the battle for supremacy in the north and northeast. The army of the Mali Empire during the 14th century was divided into northern and southern commands led by the Farim-Soura and Sankar-Zouma, respectively. [j][52][53] While in Cairo, Musa met with the Mamluk sultan al-Nasir Muhammad, whose reign had already seen one mansa, Sakura, make the hajj. What is evident is that there is no steady lineage governing the empire. [128] Nevertheless, the mansa managed to keep tax money and nominal control over the area without agitating his subjects into revolt. It was common practice during the Middle Ages for both Christian and Muslim rulers to tie their bloodline back to a pivotal figure in their faith's history, so the lineage of the Keita dynasty may be dubious at best,[62] yet African Muslim scholars like the London-based Nigerian-British cleric Sheikh Abu-Abdullah Adelabu have laid claim of divine attainments to the reign of Mansa Mousa: "in Islamic history and its science stories of Old Mali Empire and significance of Mansa Mousa by ancient Muslim historians like Shihab al-Umari, documenting histories of African legendaries like Mansa Kankan Musa did actually exist in early Arabic sources about West African history including works of the author of Subh al-a 'sha one of the final expressions of the genre of Arabic administrative literature, Ahmad al-Qalqashandi Egyptian writer, mathematician and scribe of the scroll (katib al-darj) in the Mamluk chancery in Cairo[63] as well as by the author of Kitab al-Masalik wa al-Mamalik (Book of Highways and Kingdoms) Ab Ubayd Al-Bakri, an Arab Andalusian Muslim geographer and historian emboldened Keita Dynasty", wrote Adelabu.