King Mansa Musa: the richest man who ever lived

Who would believe that the richest man in history (much richer than Bill Gates or Carlos Slim ) lived over 600 years ago ? Moreover , it was a black man and he reigned in Black Africa without ever knew that in his lifetime became the man in the planet. It's about the First Mansa Musa , ruler of Mali and ruler who had more gold than any contemporary European kings with him.

 Forgotten Africa
 Remained under the dust of history for centuries, sub-Saharan Africa was formed into a special world, highly diversified and advanced in many ways unexpected . Unlike in Europe , North Africa and Asia , sub- Saharan Africa has never been united under one or more monotheistic religions state or a huge empire .

 Some human societies African features not present a unitary state , but rather coalesced around a prince or ruling families , who still exercised central authority over their subjects. The very act of rule over such companies do not behave the goals and obligations of a European monarch .
 African tribes and tribal confederations had large armies or ambitious construction projects and large-scale political organization . In this world there were not even proper conditions of organized long-distance trade with people in other parts of the world . As we know, the Silk Road has avoided tropical Africa and the vastness of the Sahara for centuries off the African contact with Europe and Asia.
    Traditional Map of Africa

  

However, not all African human populations at that time were at a level of strict tribal organization . Some of them have established empires with nothing less than their contemporary .
 From an economic perspective, North Continenutului Black was already integrated Mediterranean trade and the Arab world . Instead, the Africa below the Sahara was could not be more different. The savings here were some of subsistence, and sometimes just local , regional .

 Most African populations had the same animistic belief system . It was their religious universe . People believed in a world controlled by spirits and gods. Ancestor worship was also very important .
 With the spread of Islam in North Africa remained still some pockets of Christianity in the area. After all , Christianity penetrated here long before Islam. Egypt , Nubia and Ethiopia ( then known as the Aksum ) had strong Christian communities had important links with Byzantium .
 
 Surrounded by Muslim and animist , Christian communities were isolated itself in the Ethiopian highlands where they successfully survived over time and created a culture of its own , mainly characterized by fabulous churches carved into the rock .

Golden age of African kingdoms

South of the Sahara occurred so called African kingdoms gold. The largest and most powerful kingdoms of Mali and Ghana were, who had the same boundaries as modern states bearing the same names, but some with much larger.

Trans-Saharan trade was revolutionized between 3-5 centuries AD, Pein the Berber tribes who introduced dromedary camel in the region. Later, traders in Ghana and Mali have created a path between salt resources of northern continent and huge deposits of gold in the sub-Saharan Africa. Link to the integrated sphere of influence of the Mediterranean world.

Supervision by Ghanaian and Malin quickly catapulted into the role of regional great powers who quickly managed to have powerful armies and build settlements impressive.

    Mosque of Djenne

  

After the 7th century, northern partners of Africans were Muslims. At the beginning Islam was a religion tolerated in the region, to the beginning of the 11th century, almost all the kings of Ghana and Mali had converted to the religion of Prophet Muhammad. However, Islam rejects the general population, although the kings understood the economic benefits of tolerating Islam, given that this put them ideal relations with trading partners in the North.

Ghana royal dynasty of the golden period, came from Soninke clan, whose power depended on centuries of huge quantities of gold in their possession.

 Ancient manuscripts from Timbuktu

 

By royal decree , Soninke kings of the house had the right of possession of any gold nuggets discovered , while the population was allowed to keep her gold dust .  

This unique form of taxation of the population has consolidated his power for centuries.The situation was to change around 1200 , when the Malinke clan leader defied the authority of the Soninke families .

 The famous king Sundiata Keita ( Prince Leo ) Malinke , Soninke defeated and conquered kingdom with Mali Empire .The story , is currently the largest West African fiction , some commentators considered it a real King Arthur of Africa .

 King Sundiata was to be the grandfather's brother who became , as all historians and statisticians richest man who has lived on this planet , King Mansa Musa !
 King of the world's gold

 Mansa Musa , meaning King of Kings , the local dialects, came to power in 1312 over the Mali Empire , which stretched then Mali 's territory , Ghana , Senegal, Sudan and Nigeria today. When Musa took power , Mali Empire already control the trade routes linking northern and southern high in salt rich in gold deposits .
 
 Conqueror skillful , Mansa Musa managed to occupy the territories crossed by the River Niger , including in his empire and important orşe Timbuktu and Gao . He led armies north to the city rich in salt Taghaza and east beyond city limits Gao to its territory Hausa tribes .
   Home of the famous Catalan Atlas of 1375 , representing King Mansa Musa with a gold nugget in  hand.

  

Brilliant strategist , he has occupied a part of Sudan and managed to impose his whole empire within a highly effective legal system which provided very harsh punishment for any act of violence and theft. The system was so effective that the famous Muslim traveler Ibn Batuta , who crossed the Mali Empire to twelve years after the death of Musa , was stunned by that rule there everywhere.

 Making King had a strong commercial success that led to unprecedented prosperity for the empire . Like all the kings who preceded him Musa was a Muslim , although it proved to be an extremely tolerant in a historical period in which religious tolerance was rare. The vast majority of his subjects were faithful religious pantheon of Mandinka tribes , which did not prevent the richest man in the world to support their religion just as claimed and Islam .
  His pilgrimage to Mecca made ​​history with unprecedented pomp and opulence . Its halt Cairo was one fabulous. Soon , news of the king black gold throw people without caring about their rank , spanned the Muslim area .

 When his caravan arrived in Egypt , King Mansa Musa gave much gold lot of people that caused the fall in the price of gold in the region. In Mecca and Medina , his gifts have destabilized the local economy. The influx of gold brought by Musa in the heart of Islam led to the depreciation of gold in the coming decades . Fire particularly generous , Musa offered to buy some of the gold gifted to balance local currencies . For the first time in history, one man had unwittingly control the price of gold throughout the Mediterranean .
 
 The chroniclers described by all as the most powerful weather , luck, wealth and feared African leader , enjoys deserved this status based on its înţeleptelor choices in establishing trade and diplomatic relaţiilro and because of huge gold deposits in the region at that time .
 Trade in gold , salt , ivory and kola nuts brought an unprecedented flowering ever in any African kingdom .Mali Empire was no longer a local authority but a regional one . Under King Mansa Musa of Mali ambassadors were sent to Morocco , Egypt , Syria, and Byzantium .

 Traditional writing the name of Allah in Arabic

  

He also ordered the construction of many mosques, and is due to start lifting his brick houses in sub-Saharan Africa.
After his death, which occurred in 1331, Mali Empire gradually collapsed under numerous civil wars and external attacks.

According to recent studies by historians and economists, Mansa Musa has a fortune of over $ 400 billion, which propels him on their first among the richest men in history. To realize how rich was this man, you should know that occupants second place, only less famous Rothschild family, managed to accumulate from 1740 to the present, the amount of 350 billion dollars.

It was Mansa Musa and his remarkable works. As African gold king, it disappeared long before his fame to reach the courts of Europe.