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- [00:02]
Molly
Hi, it's Molly and I'm Emisha and if you're looking for your one stop shop for all things beauty and wellness, this is your place. Become best friends with your hairstylist. They're gonna make you look and feel so good and you'll just show up as a better you. I always wanted to make hoops. I think those girls are hard to raise. They are gonna push all the buttons. Just having a community is the best news cause you can compare stories with your girlfriends. If you wanna hear more, listen to Lipstick on the Rim on Apple or wherever you get your podcasts.
- [00:30]
Luke Peppera
Hi everyone.
- [00:31]
Emisha
Just a reminder that after this episode you can hear from me and Luke as we dive even deeper into the story over on this is history plus. To subscribe just go to thisishistorypod.com or go to Apple Podcasts and click Try Free. Enjoy the episode.
- [00:52]
Luke Peppera
The morning is crisp and clear. The crowd is excited and restless. Awestruck, they watch as the sails glide past. There must be thousands of them, moving and fluttering like the wing beats of insects. A procession follows them. That's because these boats aren't on the water, but are being carried on the backs of an ocean of camels. It's the early 14th century and this grand procession is in Niani, capital city of the Mali Empire. Leading the procession are standard variants, waving flags of red and white. The thump of drumbeats, the roar of trumpets and the clang of xylophones make an almighty sound. At the back of the procession, on horseback, rides the most important person. His name is Abu Bakr. He is Mali's emperor and he's leading an expedition that will transform his empire's fortunes. Abubakar's teenage son, Prince Musa, standing near the crowd, is one of the few who is worried. If Abubakar succeeds, Mali will become the most famous place on earth. But if he fails, Musa's life will never be the same again. Abubakr's ambition began some years before. He was always fascinated by the ocean and what lay beyond it. So he ordered 400 boats to be built, filled with sailors, food and gold, and then to sail across the Atlantic. He told the fleet's admiral not to return until he either reached land or ran out of food. After a few years, only one boat returned. Musa was floored. He asked the boat's captain what on earth happened. He never forgot his grim story. Prince, the captain pleaded. We navigated for a long time until we saw in the midst of the ocean, as if a big river was flowing violently. My boat was the last one. Others were ahead of me. As soon as any of them reached this place, they drowned in the whirlpool and never came out. I sailed backwards to escape this current. Shocked, the court was silent. 400 boats gone, several thousand men's lives lost. Surely Abubakr would now give up on his reckless scheme. The ocean was obviously far too strange, dangerous and unpredictable. But when he looked at his father, Musa saw that he had a dangerous gleam in his eye. If this was the best his sailors could do, said Abu Bakr, he would simply have to lead another expedition himself. Musa and the rest of Abu Bakr's advisors tried to talk him out of it, but Abu Bakr ignored them. He does not listen to those who tell him it is impossible to get to the other side of the surrounding sea and obstinately persists in his purpose, musa lamented. Abu Bakr ordered 3,000 boats built. He made Musa his successor in the palace. They bid each other farewell. Before long, he expects to hear word of his father's success. But the months pass, and then the years. Abu Bakr has disappeared and he is never seen again. Musa is now Mali's new emperor. He'll never make the same mistake as his father. Glory doesn't lie beyond the sea, but inside his kingdom. And Musa is going to be the mightiest ruler. I'm Luke Peppera and from Sony Music Entertainment. This is History. Presents Empire of Gold Episode one Matricide.
- [05:50]
Emisha
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- [06:53]
Molly
Emisha and if you're looking for your one stop shop for all things beauty and wellness, this is your place. Become best friends with your hairstylist. They're going to make you look and feel so good and you'll just show up as a better you. I always wanted to make hoops. I think those girls are hard to raise. They are going to push all the buttons. Just having a community is the best news because you can compare stories with your girlfriends. If you want to hear more, listen to Lipstick on the Rim, on Apple or wherever you get your podcasts.
- [07:22]
Luke Peppera
Musa Better known as Mansa Musa, the young man we've just met is the most famous medieval African ruler. Mostly this is because of his legendary wealth. He's often said to be the richest man who ever lived, with a net worth of half a trillion dollars. This puts him above even all of today's tech super billionaires, yo, Zuckerbergs, Musk's, and businesses. But there's a lot more to Musa than just his checkbook. I'm a historian of Africa and in my research I found in Musa's life an extraordinary story of tragedy, peril, redemption and glory. Over the next six episodes, I'm going to tell you that story. To start, let's set the scene. The Mali Empire is in West Africa in the early 14th century, the time our story takes place. The empire covers an area of close to 400,000 square miles, about eight times the size of England, or double California, give or take. The empire's population is about 50 million. In Niani, its capital city, there are 100,000 people. London's population is around 80,000. There are enormous mud brick palaces, stone houses and bustling markets, just like in England during Edward II's reign. There is an aristocracy and there are peasants, most of whom are farmers. The nobles live in fortresses in the center of Niani. Unlike in England, castles do not dot Mali's landscape. However, there are garrisons in its outer towns, whereas in England there is extensive rain. Mali's climate is mild and breezy. Perhaps the biggest difference, though, is that in contrast to Christian England, Mali's rulers have been Muslim since the 8th century. They adopted Islam to improve their relations with rich Arab merchants and kings. They built mosques and welcomed Muslim lawyers and priests. In the early 13th century, the Mali Empire began as a small kingdom called Mande. The story goes that one day a a buffalo came to one of Mande's provinces. It went on a rampage, smashing things and terrifying its people. Luckily, two hunters were passing through and managed to kill the Buffalo. As a reward, they were offered the hand of a noble woman named Sogolon. Sogolon, as the story has it, was not a beauty. In fact, her name was Sogolon the Ugly. Because she had a hunchback. The hunters wanted to have sex with Sogolon, but they were not noble, so she refused them. The story continues that they therefore presented her as a gift to the Mande king, a man named Magan the Handsome. Now, as chance would have it, Magn had heard a prophecy just a few months earlier, a prophecy that stated that if he married an ugly woman and and had by her a son, that son would not only become a mighty warrior and a great conqueror, but would make his kingdom and its people famous forever. So the pair married and did indeed have a son together called Sundiata Keita. For more on this fantastical history that's reminiscent of King Arthur, head over to the subscriber episodes, where Dan Jones and I will be getting into it. Around the same time Sundiata was born, a man called Sumaro Kante became king of the nearby kingdom of Soso. Sumaro was an excellent soldier, a ruthless and cruel master, and, according to tradition, a skilled sorcerer. He had 300 wives, but still abducted young girls from his provinces. And his favourite pastime was to flog elders in public. Sumoaro conquered many towns and villages, making Soso the most powerful state in the region. He attacked Mande no less than nine times. He wasn't able to conquer it, however. Each time he'd attacked, he'd slain and taken the head of a Mande noble. In a secret room in his palace, he had nine earthenware jars arranged in a circle. In each of these was a head. When Sundiata came of age, he was the only person in Mande brave enough to stand up to Sumaoru. Many others had fled, but Sundiata instead assembled an army and rode out to meet the king of Soso. Early one morning, Sundiata swept down upon Sumoaro's camp. He penetrated the core of Su Maura's army and seeing Su Maura himself in the middle of the fray, readied his bow, took aim at him and let loose an arrow. The arrow grazed Su Maura's shoulder. He tried to regroup, but couldn't. Sundiata's forces routed his own, but he managed to retreat. Sundiata chased him. Sumaro took refuge in a cave. Sundiata ordered his troops to surround the cave. They soon cornered and killed Sumaoro. Sundiata then sacked Soso and conquered Sumar's territories. He gathered his generals and was proclaimed emperor. The Mali Empire he founded would last 300 years. It's 1323, and Musa paces the room. He wears a cloth tunic and a gold skull cap. The room is large and lavishly decorated with gold sculptures, crystal ornaments and silver weapons. But he doesn't notice it. He's in too much pain. He sits down on a silk cushion, staring blankly, tears in his eyes. He gets up and paces again. His main advisor, a young man called Faseki, watches him sympathetically. They have known each other since childhood. Then the priest they've requested enters and bows low. Faseki asks the priest the question that's been tormenting his friend and master. How do you atone for killing another person? The priest stands upright, thinks for a moment and makes his proclamation. He says that atonement for any crime requires Allah's forgiveness. But in a case as serious as this, more is required. The young man must make a journey of 5,000 miles to the city of Medina, to the Prophet Muhammad's tomb, and pray there for Allah's forgiveness. Musa nods gravely. He'd been expecting something like this, and if this is what it takes to find forgiveness and ease his torment, he'll do it. The journey will take eight months. He knows that along the way he'll face the threats of ruthless bandits, hostile armies and arrogant kings. But he is relieved, for he sees a way not only to absolve himself of the terrible crime he has committed, but also a way to make his name known far and wide throughout the world. The crime in question. Musa is seeking forgiveness for having killed his own mother. We can only speculate how the matricide happened. It's only mentioned briefly in a couple of tantalizing sources, and little detail is given. In Mali, members of the nobility were allowed to walk around the empire carrying a bow and a quiver full of arrows. They formed Mali's cavalry, an elite force that the emperor commanded directly. Carrying weapons around at all times possibly wasn't the best idea if he had a bit of a temper. Or perhaps, given the importance of bows and quivers in Mali, it's not unreasonable to think that the Malians viewed archery highly and and archery competitions as a worthwhile pastime in such a competition. Might Musa have accidentally struck his mother with an arrow? It's possible, though we'll never know. According to other historians, Musa had his mother killed. We may imagine that he discovered her plotting against him in Mali. Like in any royal court, such plots weren't uncommon in the early 1350s, when Musa's brother Suleiman was emperor, he uncovered his queen's plot to overthrow him in favor of his nephew. He had her imprisoned and executed. The same punishment Musa may have meted out to his mother. But when he discovered that he was mistaken about his mother's role in the plot, he may have felt intense regret. However it came about, it was this remorse that caused Musa to ask his priests for help. Understandably, because of what had happened to his father, Musa was completely put off sailing. Instead, his ambitions lay inland. This trip then, would not only save his soul, but gain him glory as an adventurer in the lands around him. Could he kill two birds with one stone? What's more, as a Muslim, Musa is also required to visit Mecca once in his lifetime time. Could this even be three birds with one stone? He could go to Medina and Mecca and he would travel in style. It would be the most epic quest any emperor had ever undertaken. Musa's journey will have profound consequences for Mali, Africa and the world. Some of which Musa will be proud. Some of which he could never have foreseen, and others he would have wished never happened. But first, Musa must finish preparing for his journey like no other. A journey so dangerous that it's killed emperors who've come before him. But that's for next time on this is History presents Empire of Gold.