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Musa the Magnificent: A Mali Empire Timeline


Author’s Note:

Hello all! My name is Ben and after a couple months of researching, procrastinating, forgetting, remembering, more procrastinating, and more researching, I am finally ready to start my first timeline. I decided to write my timeline on the Mali Empire in West Africa. This timeline shall be an attempt to do two things. First, I will try to realistically keep the empire from going into decline and continue to survive for centuries longer than otl (haven’t decided how far yet though). Secondly, this timeline is an attempt to entertain readers and get them more interested in African history. Unfortunately, much of African history is ignored by society and made out to be rather irrelevant. The ultimate goal of this timeline is to try to change that widely held belief. I would also like to apologize if my writing is not the best. Anyways without further ado, ladies and gentlemen I present to you, Musa the Magnificent: A Mali Empire Timeline……….

Prologue: Cairo, 1324

As the sun slowly set on the horizon, Mansa Musa stared out the window of his temporary home to catch a glimpse of Cairo’s beauty one last time. Before his eyes laid the most magnificent city he had ever seen. Musa was truly impressed with what he saw. The citadel on top of the hill was the most imposing fortress his eyes had laid upon, while the city’s mosques were by far the most breathtaking. The bazaars were spectacular, filled with many items and goods he had never before seen or even heard of. Even the houses of the commoners were rather respectable. Yet while gazing upon a city whose beauty would make anybody happy, the Sultan of Mali was not happy.

After taking in the view for several moments, Mansa Musa sighed heavily and turned from the window. The sight he had just taken in had made him jealous. “Hell, this entire trip has done nothing but fill me with frustration” he quietly mumbled to himself. Yes Musa was happy he took the hajj, as any Muslim should be. But traveling to cities such as Cairo, Mecca, and Medina had truly showed him how backwards his homeland was.

“I Mansa Musa, richest man in all the lands live in a country that would be considered worthless compared to this one” Musa said as he sat down on his bed. As he laid down and tried to sleep, the Mansa continued to think about the differences between this land and his home. Cairo’s architecture was far more advanced than the mud brick houses and wooden huts of Mali, while the Mamluk’s military made a mockery out of his. And the centralized bureaucracy that ran this state was by far more efficient than the series of vassals and tribes that ran his empire. And come sunrise, he would be leaving Cairo and returning to his backwards lands, never to be content with what he ruled.

The thought of not being able to have what these people had sent chills down his spine and filled his body with anger. “I cannot allow that to happen.” Musa rose from his bed and exited his bedroom. “Abu!” the Mansa yelled loudly down the hall. Several seconds later, the Mansa’s dyeli appeared. “Yes your greatness?” asked Abu. The Mansa stared at his friend closely. Although Abu was a slave, he had been Musa’s closest and most trusted friend since he was a child.

“Abu, I have changed my mind. We will not be leaving tomorrow.” Abu nodded his head and quickly replied “Of course your majesty. I will let everyone else know. When shall we be leaving?”

“We will be leaving two months from now” Musa replied back. Abu stood there completely shocked by the answer. “But we’ve been away from home for months your majesty. Staying here for such a long period could be problematic. May I remind you that you left your son in charge.”


Abu’s response made Musa smile. Had anyone else talked to him that way, he would have killed them immediately. But Abu had a point. Magha was not the yet the most competent of rulers and he still had a lot to learn. Luckily his son was surrounded with competent advisers and Musa’s brother Sulayman.

“My dear friend Abu” the Mansa said. “I know you are worried, but everything will be fine. More importantly, you must see the bigger picture here. We are in a land that is far more advanced than our own. We must take advantage of this opportunity that Allah has presented us with. Now go and tell the others. Then get some rest. Come sunrise I want you to go and find me Cairo’s best architects, its most pious imams, the smartest merchants, and the strongest warriors. I must learn all I can so that when we finally do go back to Mali, we will be able to transform it into the greatest empire ever seen. And afterwards I will go down in history as Musa the Magnificent!”

The POD:

In otl, Mansa Musa made a hajj. He did visit Cairo on the way to Mecca and on the way back home. While on his trip, Mansa did take advantage of it and hire/bring back many Muslim scholars who would help him reform his empire. However in this timeline, I will be slightly altering this event. I added the fact that Musa was greatly jealous by what he saw (which angers him because he believes that since he is the richest man in the land, he deserves a nation as advanced as Mamluk Egypt). In response to this, he makes the decision to stay an additional two months. During this time he will learn as much as possible, and even make more friends with people who can make the Mali Empire greater than ever before


Other Comments:

I have a couple more things to say. First, is about Abu. Abu is a fictional character that I was forced to make up. However, the position of dyeli was real. A dyeli was a slave that the Mansa (Sultan) of Mali owns. They own this slave from childhood are supposed to become friends with the slave. That way the dyeli can be heavily trusted and act as your top and most trusted advisor at court when you take the throne as Mansa. Also, the prologue will be the only section of this timeline that will be written in a narrative format. Chapter One and all of the proceeding chapters will be written like a textbook. Each chapter will discuss the reign of one Mansa. I will have Chapter One (the complete reign of Mansa Musa) typed up by tomorrow night. From there I will try to update the timeline once a week. If you have any comments, questions, or concerns, feel free to ask.



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