The Life of Mansa Musa Mansa Musa was the ruler and king of the Mali empire, which is located in west Africa. Mansa Musa is said to be the richest person in history with a net worth of about 400 billion dollars. He was born in the year 1280 B.C., but his birthdate was unknown. Historians have been able to identify that he was grandson of nephew of Sundiata. Sundiata was the founder of the dynasty. Sundiata was serving and following Abu Bakhr II while he disappeared on a mission across the Atlantic Ocean. Mansa Musa's father was named Faga Leye and while his mother's name is not certain, it is rumored to be Kanku. Faga Leye was the son of Abu Bakhr. Mansa Musa had an older brother named Sulayman. Some sources say that after Abu Bakhr disappeared to sea, Mansa Musa was the next in line for the throne so he took over. Once Mansa Musa took over the Mali empire and became king, he inherited a very wealthy and strong kingdom. Mali had abundant gold and salt mines, so the kingdom thrived. Mansa Musa was a very devout Muslim. So, during the middle of Mansa Musa reign, he took a pilgrimage, or Haji. …show more content…
Because of his wealth, he was able to build many different structures for both religious and political reasons. Islamic learning centers, mosques, universities, and the biggest library in all of Africa are directly correlated to Mansa Musa. All these buildings were a direct result of Mansa Musa, and it caused the Mali empire to turn into a multilingual and a multiethnic kingdom. As well as his buildings, he also transformed cities like Timbuktu and Gao into important cultural centers. He brought in architects from other nations like the Middle East to help construct these cities. Mana Musa completely turned the focus of Mali and turned it into a sophisticated and refined center for the Islamic