AFRICAN HISTORY (EPISODE 1): KING MANSA MUSA
An early depiction of King Mansa Musa (1280 to 1337), Sultan of the Mali Empire, an ancient African civilization. At the peak of his reign, he made an extravagant pilgrimage to Mecca and crashed the markets of the cities he passed through along the way for over a decade, most notably, Cairo in Egypt, because he gave away so much gold.
Also under his reign, the Mali Empire became nicknamed the Land of Gold. He built three universities in Timbuktu and developed the city into a great center of learning.
By modern evaluations, his wealth is estimated at an upwards of $400 billion, making him the wealthiest man in history after King Solomon.
After his lavish pilgrimage, news of his expansive wealth traveled the world and he garnered much attention and interest. The Mali Empire first appeared on an European map in 1339.
