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Mansa Musa was born in the 1280's in Mali. His father Faga Laye raised him to become king.
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Mansa Musa became the emperor of The Mali empire after his dad: Abu-Bakr the second died. When they crowned him they gave him the name Musa which means king.
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Since Mansa Musa was Muslim he went on a journey to Mecca. He brought a lot of gold and was accompanied by companions. His companions were nicely dressed servants and those who supported him. 500 slaves also came with him to carry 4 pounds of gold each and he also brought camels who were carrying 300 pounds of gold each.
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While Mansa Musa was coming back to his empire he heard his army captured Gao. When he heard this news he made a u-turn to the city and captured the Gao kings son's: Ali Kolon and Suleiman Nar. Also along his way back to his empire he captured many Arabian scholars and architects in Andalusia to build his grand palace and the great Djinguereber Mosque.
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The kingdom Mossi invades and captures Timbuktu ,but Mansa Musa quickly regains the city back. He built a rampart and stone port to help protect the city. He also placed a army in the city incase theirs anymore invaders.
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Mansa Musa died around 1332. By the time of his death he had built a academy: the Sankore University. The Sankore University was said to have the largest collection books in Africa. Over 1,000,000 manuscripts was held in the library. The university could also house about 25,000 students. Also by the time of his death he had made Timbuktu the center of trade,culture and Islam.
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Even though most of Africa was unknown the country Mali showed up on maps due to its success in trade and Islamic scholarships in the city Timbuktu.