Timbuktu by Gus Caseley-Hayford

Author:Gus Caseley-Hayford
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781405934916
Publisher: Penguin Books Ltd
Published: 2018-02-12T16:00:00+00:00

Cairo

Mansa Musa’s arrival in Cairo in July 1324 was greeted with celebrations. Al-Maqrizi, the Egyptian historian, captured Mansa Musa’s arrival: ‘He is a young man with brown skin, a pleasant face and good figure, instructed in Malikite rite. He appeared amidst his companions magnificently dressed and mounted, and surrounded by more than 10,000 subjects. He brought gifts and presents that amazed the eye with their beauty and splendour.’ The Mamluk Sultan, Al-Nasir Muhammad, perhaps recognizing Mansa Musa as the richest man who had ever lived, ordered his city to give the visiting emperor a fitting welcome.

Yet even Mansa Musa was, according to Egyptian etiquette, meant to bow to his host, the Sultan. But rather than show his subservience to the Sultan as was customary, Mansa Musa kissed the ground in praise of Allah and was welcomed to court. Mansa Musa was a natural diplomat, he knew he must accept local mores, but he was not about to bow to anyone. The Sultan was won over, inviting Mansa Musa to shelter in Cairo over the summer, perhaps knowing that this hugely wealthy man might bring benefit to the city’s economy with his generosity. It has been often repeated, that Mansa Musa spent and gave away so much gold that the economic repercussions of his visit were felt for a decade.

When the cooler weather arrived, Mansa Musa and his caravan pushed on to Mecca.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.