It’s easy to understand how much money people have today. Billionaires buy stocks in publicly traded companies. It is clear where they have their homes, it is known how many super cars they have, and with an account made from here, their wealth is revealed. When we look at today’s conditions, the richest person in the world is Elon Musk with a fortune of more than 200 billion dollars.
But when we go back in historical sources, this amount does not make him the richest person in the world. Although no one has had as much money as Musk in the history of paper notes, he is not the richest person ever.
According to National Geopraphic, one of the richest people in the world to have ever lived is Moses I, King of Mali. who lived between 1312 and 1337 Mansa Musa ruled over a much wider geography than today’s Mali borders. In those days, the Kingdom of Mali also included Senegal, Burkina Faso, Gambia, Guinea, Niger, Nigeria, Chad and Mauritania.
Moses I, before him II. He took the throne after Abu Bakr was lost at sea. Before Musa I ascended the throne, the Mali Empire was quite rich, but thanks to his trade routes, this wealth doubled.
SALT AND GOLD DEVELOPED ROADS
While the roads he developed especially for salt and gold were remarkable, the ivory trade in the empire also spent its golden period.
Mansa Musa’s first recorded trip outside the empire took place in 1324 when he made the pilgrimage to Mecca. Egyptian historiographers stated that he traveled with thousands of people and that there was more than 130 kilograms of gold on each camel in his caravan (Some sources say that he made this visit with a caravan of 12 thousand slaves and 60 thousand people). The most important historical records about Mansa Musa were kept by Al-Umari and Ibn-i Haldun.
It is stated that the gold prices in Egypt fell for 12 years due to the amount of gold Mansa Musa gave to the Egyptian sultan during his visit to Egypt. The fame of Moses I was spreading in the West as well. In the maps prepared by Spanish cartographers in 1337 (Catalan Atlas) Emperor Moses is depicted in West Africa, holding a golden scepter in his hand.
After the Catalan Atlas, Musa became a rich figure all over the world. After returning from the pilgrimage, Moses I had many mosques built on his land. In the 14th century, Timbuktu became one of the important Islamic centers.
It is stated that during the pilgrimage, Moses said that he had ascended to the throne in his 20s and that he had conquered 24 cities. It is also stated that Moses I gave a gold coin to every unsuccessful person he saw on the pilgrimage route.
THE ROAD TO THE RETURN WAS DIFFICULT
It is claimed that when Musa arrived in Mecca, a tension arose between his convoy of pilgrims and the Turkish pilgrims, and that the king stopped this tension before the swords spoke. On the way back from the pilgrimage, many people in Musa I’s caravan died on the way from the cold. In fact, there comes a time when the money they brought with them runs out and they have to sell the items they bought on the way.
Known for his fondness for architecture, the emperor brought many masters from Andalusia and Cairo to Mali. Sankore University in Timbuktu was filled with many famous mathematicians and astronomers in his time.
It is estimated that Mansa Musa died between 1332 and 1337. Today, many sources write that a fortune close to that of Moses has not been seen in the 21st century. More than $400 billion is circulating. Historian Hadrien Collet reports that such a fortune is incalculable. According to some sources, the question of why he has so much gold He replied, ‘There are gold plants in my country’.
Today, it is possible to see that Mansa Musa’s name is also referenced in popular culture. He is portrayed in Civilization IV. At the same time, American rapper Anderson Paak has a song called Mansa Musa.
Sources: National Geographic, History, African Dominion: A New History of Empire in Early and Medieval West Africa, Kriptokoin.com
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