ABSTRACT
Mansa Musa, also known as Kankan Musa, united, centralized, and expanded Mali, transforming it into a prosperous trading empire. Musa, a Muslim, like most of West Africa's ruling and merchant elite, is most famous for his pilgrimage to Mecca in 1324. After returning from the hajj in 1325, Musa encouraged more orthodox Islamic practices, built many mosques, sent scholars to Morocco, and set up centers for Koranic studies, most notably in Timbuktu. However, many of his subjects, who practiced local animist religions, resisted these efforts. Musa created a strengthened empire that withstood external and domestic attacks for many years and was one of the largest empires in its time, rivaled only by the Mongol Empire of Central Asia. Musa's travels and contacts with North Africans gained him a reputation among fourteenth-century Europeans as the “richest king in Africa.” From that time forward, Europeans attempted to reach Musa's kingdom to trade for gold and other resources.
