WHAT WAS ANCIENT EMPIRE OF MALI¿ (PART 1) ¦ Mali Empire ¦ Sankofa Pan African Series (720p_30fps_H264-128kbit_AAC)

What was his role in the founding of the ancient empire of Mali welcome to the Sankofa Pan-African series please subscribe if you have not yet done so and Click on your notification button so we can let you know when new episodes are Thank you now showing Mali was established by the Mandinka also known I believe that since the Kunta Kinte described himself as one of the major drama series roots written by Alex Haley about his family now we shouldn't be surprised by Alex Haley's success as a storyteller since he traces his ancestry to his ethnic group which is Famous for producing some of the most enduring epics through jellies known in The French language as griots and the practice of the jelia the story of the The evolution of the Mali Empire which over to Ghana is very interesting and is often confused with the stories of its two most famous rulers Sundiata Keita And Mansa Musa Keita yes whose stories have been left as epics woven together and preserved through oral and recently written traditions according to To his own epic Sundiata Keita's father was a handsome ruler of the Mandinka who married an equally beautiful wife who bore him a son Dan Karan Tumani Keita however a soothsayer who visited this king's court predicted that if he married a ugly woman she would bear him a son who would One day he became a very powerful king and was presented with a I'm a hunchbacked woman by some hunters, although this woman was who was He married her. In the hope of fulfilling the prophecy unfortunately when she gave birth to a Son Sundiata he was unable to walk he was unable to walk still hopeful that The prophecy would somehow be fulfilled. The king tried to raise his crippled son without prejudice unfortunately after the king died his First son Dan Karan Tumani Keita became king but he was not accommodating of his disabled half-brother as such Sundiata his mother and his two sisters were either banished or chose to leave the kingdom depending on who was telling the So there are two versions of the story. Some oral version said they were Others said they chose to leave the kingdom for their safety. Anyway they moved to a neighboring kingdom with Sundiata who could only walking with the use of a walking stick made out of a Bilbao branch miraculously Gained use of his legs he then trained with the best warrior of that kingdom Until he became such a formidable fighter his prowess made him so so I mean so indispensable as a good warrior that his host kingdom chose to make him the heir to their throne however in fulfillment of his destiny The burgeoning Mali which I mean Mali had started growing but you know into a sent for him after his half-brother Danaran Tumani Keita took flight when the Mandinka were attacked and overcome by a marauding group which had already captured some kingdoms from the Ghana Empire some sources identified this group as the Almoravids but others just identified them as A group of people who were capturing people in order to convert them to Islam Sundiata then strategically entered into an alliance with other small kingdoms who then enthroned him as the first Mansa of the collective kingdoms now of Mansa means Emperor ruler king and all that he succeeded in organizing this A motley lot into a cohesive unit under the first barra or assembly of nobles And minor kings of the emerging Empire so some form of democracy I think we Could we start seeing started developing because he didn't rule as An absolute king you know he formed this assembly of nobles who were made up of kings of other smaller empires and then he then presented them with a set of Rules and regulations for administering the domain at his coronation this move The aim of the new government was to guarantee peace and prosperity in the new in the new state or the emerging empire initially the capital of this new empire of Mali was Kangaba I hope I'm pronouncing that Kangaba which was located on the banks of the Niger River Sundiata's ascension as a Mansa was in 1230 and as he went on to He expanded the handful of kingdoms into a formidable empire. He moved the capital. After overtaking Ghana he quickly took control of the gold trade. The country was famous for its agricultural heritage and began to improve its agriculture by Turning many of the soldiers in his army into farmers they cultivated fertile land which therefore produced an abundant harvest of grains peanuts and other food Crops as well as cotton at his death in 1255 Sundiata was succeeded by his son who was also followed by a number of other less remarkable emperors until 1307 when another great ruler Musa Keita ascended the throne as you will If you watch our episode on Mansa Musa this extraordinary ruler of Mali is believed by modern economists to have been the richest richest person who ever lived even when compared to today's standards so according to some Musa Keita became Mansa when he ascended the throne after his uncle Abubakar Keita the second he was initially appointed to deputy for Abubakar Keita during his absence Abubakar Keita did this that is appointed him When he set out on an expedition to find the limits of the Atlantic Ocean but Never returned so naturally it fell the throne fell on Musa who became He was enthroned after they waited for his uncle and he didn't come back now. Historians like Ivan Van Sertima believe that some of the sailors who Abubakar sent found their way to the Americas long before Christopher Columbus please if you haven't read the book they came before Columbus by Ivan Van Sertima did it and I want to thank our viewers out there some of them I've actually posted in the comment section and I've recommended this book So please take the time to look for the book They Came Before Columbus by Ivan Ivan Van Sertima now Mansa Musa was a man of many interests and talents and Over a reign of about 25 years he consolidated the wealth of the Empire He left his mark in many areas such as education. He was a patron of the arts. and sciences although he had heard of the Muslim faith and tried to get as Many of his citizens as he could to follow in his footsteps he was pragmatic and open-minded enough to allow them their freedom of religion now One of the most famous accounts of his reign illustrates the wealth of Mali as As a as an Empire and Mansa Musa's personal wealth there are several accounts of his pilgrimage to Mecca he made a pilgrimage in 1324 and apart from His wife Inari Kunati some accounts claim that he had over 60,000 men and Women accompany him on this spectacular journey through the desert John G. Jackson reports that in order to finance this trip several camels were loaded with 300 He was accompanied by a very efficient commissary Jackson further illustrates this Emperor's department By the impact that his presence made in Cairo which was in Egypt where wealth He stopped on his way to and from Mecca so apart from the elaborate The Sultan of Egypt granted him the amount of gold circulated by The Emperor and his entourage during his visit was so vast that it brought about a slump in the gold market in Egypt it was reported by an official of The Egyptian government that it took them 12 years for the gold markets to be revived after Mansa Musa's visit this elaborate pilgrimage was so widely The European Commission has published a report on the impact of the European The European Commission has also been involved in the development of the In locating this wealthy empire they were desperate to find the source of the wealth there is a reproduction of a map made for King Charles the 14th of France with a drawing of Mansa Musa on it he's seen wearing regal He is drawn holding a scepter in one hand and a The big gold nugget in the other copies of the map with the with the drawing are available online if you google images of Mansa Musa so I have also have written a Children's illustrated book about this charismatic ruler of Mali who is available for sale through Amazon in Grams Park as well as Okada books for The Commission has already made a number of proposals to the Council. Children's picture books, the first in a series of children's picture books that they We are working on making our history accessible to our children from a very young age. Thank you very much for watching we will continue with the Please, please, please continue to engage with We will try to answer them in the future episodes and also watch out for our live in a program where we're We're working on it. We'll bring it out to you soon. Thank you.