Mansa Musa, << MAHN sah MOO sah >> (?-1337?), also known as Kankan Moussa, was the ruler of the Mali Empire in Africa from 1312 to about 1337 (see Mali Empire ). He was a great-nephew of Sundiata Keita, the empire’s founder. Mansa Musa greatly expanded Mali and made it West Africa’s political and cultural power. He brought the trading cities of Gao, Walata, and Timbuktu under his rule and made Timbuktu a center of learning.
Mansa Musa spread Islam, the Muslim religion, throughout the empire. In 1324, he traveled to Mecca, the holy city of the Muslims. Mansa Musa’s party supposedly included thousands of his people and hundreds of camels bearing gold and gifts. He brought back many learned people, including an architect who designed mosques (Muslim houses of worship) for Gao and Timbuktu. After Mansa Musa died, his son Mansa Magha I became ruler of the empire.
