The Mali Empire and Mansa Musa: The Richest Kingdom of the Medieval World

Discover the extraordinary story of the Mali Empire and Mansa Musa, the legendary ruler often described as the richest man in history. This episode explores how Mali rose to power through gold, salt, trans-Saharan trade, taxation, and control of some of medieval Africa’s most important commercial routes.

Follow Mansa Musa’s famous pilgrimage to Mecca, his astonishing display of wealth in Cairo, the rise of Timbuktu as a center of trade and scholarship, and the wider connections that linked West Africa with North Africa, the Middle East, and Europe.

More than a story about gold, this is the story of how one of the greatest empires of medieval Africa became a major economic and cultural power.