1 00:00:00,560 --> 00:00:03,760 Speaker 1: Welcome to Stuff You Missed in History Class from how 2 00:00:03,800 --> 00:00:13,720 Speaker 1: Stuff Works dot Com. Hello, and welcome to the podcast. 3 00:00:13,880 --> 00:00:16,440 Speaker 1: I'm Sarah Dowdy and I'm delaying a chocolate boarding and 4 00:00:16,560 --> 00:00:19,320 Speaker 1: today we're going to be talking about a city of gold. 5 00:00:19,440 --> 00:00:22,599 Speaker 1: But this one existed long before anybody had heard about 6 00:00:22,600 --> 00:00:27,640 Speaker 1: El Dorado with its mythical streets paved in gold. There 7 00:00:27,720 --> 00:00:30,960 Speaker 1: was this city in Mali, and that's this great West 8 00:00:31,000 --> 00:00:35,400 Speaker 1: African empire that was supposedly so rich that slaves could 9 00:00:35,440 --> 00:00:38,879 Speaker 1: carry staffs that were dusted in gold, and even the 10 00:00:38,920 --> 00:00:43,240 Speaker 1: most common objects, like everyday things around your house would 11 00:00:43,240 --> 00:00:46,279 Speaker 1: be made out of this precious metal that was so 12 00:00:46,400 --> 00:00:48,960 Speaker 1: rare in most of the world. Yeah. But the interesting 13 00:00:49,000 --> 00:00:51,040 Speaker 1: thing is for most of the Middle Ages, Europe and 14 00:00:51,200 --> 00:00:54,600 Speaker 1: even paid much attention to Africa beyond its northern trading 15 00:00:54,640 --> 00:00:58,880 Speaker 1: cities at all. But this gold, it really changed things. Yeah, 16 00:00:59,000 --> 00:01:03,080 Speaker 1: especially when a into the British historian Dr Basil Davidson, 17 00:01:03,480 --> 00:01:06,240 Speaker 1: the rulers of Molly were quote rumored to have been 18 00:01:06,360 --> 00:01:10,039 Speaker 1: the wealthiest men on the face of the earth. So 19 00:01:10,200 --> 00:01:13,040 Speaker 1: I would say that would be worth checking out, even 20 00:01:13,120 --> 00:01:16,800 Speaker 1: going across the desert for perhaps, I'd say so. And 21 00:01:16,840 --> 00:01:21,080 Speaker 1: the most illustrious ruler of this empire was Mansa Musa, 22 00:01:21,319 --> 00:01:25,760 Speaker 1: and he expanded territories, developed great cities, and most famously 23 00:01:25,920 --> 00:01:30,280 Speaker 1: displayed his land's wealth and a procession of thousands across Africa. 24 00:01:30,400 --> 00:01:32,759 Speaker 1: And he didn't do this to fight a battle. He 25 00:01:33,000 --> 00:01:36,240 Speaker 1: did it to make a pilgrimage to Mecca. So, okay, 26 00:01:36,280 --> 00:01:38,319 Speaker 1: we're gonna be talking about this city of gold, and 27 00:01:38,319 --> 00:01:41,160 Speaker 1: we're gonna be talking about this ruler who made this 28 00:01:41,280 --> 00:01:45,480 Speaker 1: famous pilgrimage. So who was mons and Musa and where 29 00:01:45,480 --> 00:01:48,520 Speaker 1: did he come from. He came from the Sahel, which 30 00:01:48,560 --> 00:01:52,160 Speaker 1: is this band of land that separates the Sahara from 31 00:01:52,280 --> 00:01:56,480 Speaker 1: the forests of southern Africa. And it's always been an important, 32 00:01:57,240 --> 00:02:01,240 Speaker 1: banned important part of the world because of the trade 33 00:02:01,280 --> 00:02:04,520 Speaker 1: that crosses it. And that really started in about seven 34 00:02:04,640 --> 00:02:07,520 Speaker 1: fifty a d. And lasted until the sixteenth and seventeenth 35 00:02:07,560 --> 00:02:13,120 Speaker 1: centuries when finally ships replaced overland caravans of camels. You 36 00:02:13,160 --> 00:02:16,920 Speaker 1: could do your trading a lot easier by boats. Yes, 37 00:02:17,400 --> 00:02:19,680 Speaker 1: And the first great kingdom of this area was that 38 00:02:19,760 --> 00:02:22,760 Speaker 1: of Ghana. And that's different from the modern nation of 39 00:02:22,760 --> 00:02:25,400 Speaker 1: Ghana that we know today. Yeah, it's not even really 40 00:02:25,440 --> 00:02:29,480 Speaker 1: in the same spot nearby, but not exactly the same. 41 00:02:30,320 --> 00:02:34,799 Speaker 1: But while this kingdom splintered apart, Islamic proselytizing converted much 42 00:02:34,800 --> 00:02:38,120 Speaker 1: of the region to Islam, including ruling families. Yeah, and 43 00:02:38,200 --> 00:02:41,440 Speaker 1: one of these families, the Kayita, started up a new 44 00:02:41,520 --> 00:02:44,960 Speaker 1: kingdom that replaced this empire of Ghana. That was the 45 00:02:45,040 --> 00:02:49,520 Speaker 1: Kingdom of Moli and it's first major leader, the leader 46 00:02:49,560 --> 00:02:53,480 Speaker 1: who brought the family to great power with Scindiata. And 47 00:02:53,560 --> 00:02:56,720 Speaker 1: there's kind of a fun story about the sky from 48 00:02:56,720 --> 00:03:00,600 Speaker 1: the oral tradition. Supposedly he was a really st long child, 49 00:03:00,639 --> 00:03:03,639 Speaker 1: but kind of clumsy on his feet. But there was 50 00:03:03,720 --> 00:03:06,920 Speaker 1: a rule kind of like a king Arthur and the 51 00:03:07,040 --> 00:03:10,919 Speaker 1: stone sort of snory. But there was a challenge. Whoever 52 00:03:11,000 --> 00:03:13,880 Speaker 1: could knock down a fruit from this special tree in 53 00:03:13,960 --> 00:03:17,000 Speaker 1: town and then swallow the pit of that fruit would 54 00:03:17,040 --> 00:03:20,839 Speaker 1: become king. And so this strong, that clumsy boy gave 55 00:03:20,880 --> 00:03:23,119 Speaker 1: it a shot. And most people would try to knock 56 00:03:23,160 --> 00:03:26,240 Speaker 1: down the fruit by throwing rocks or some sort of 57 00:03:26,280 --> 00:03:30,160 Speaker 1: object at it, and it wouldn't work. Cyndiata picked up 58 00:03:30,160 --> 00:03:33,600 Speaker 1: a man and threw him at the fruit, knocked it down, 59 00:03:33,800 --> 00:03:37,040 Speaker 1: swallowed the fruit hole and for good measure. He plucked 60 00:03:37,080 --> 00:03:39,600 Speaker 1: the tree out of the ground and replanted it in 61 00:03:39,680 --> 00:03:43,240 Speaker 1: his mother's yard so other people couldn't steal the fruit. Wow, 62 00:03:44,280 --> 00:03:47,800 Speaker 1: that's a hard story to beat about becoming king. Yeah, 63 00:03:47,880 --> 00:03:51,600 Speaker 1: I mean I would make him king. Yeah, it's worth it. 64 00:03:52,760 --> 00:03:55,720 Speaker 1: So the Empire of Molly thrived because of its placement 65 00:03:55,800 --> 00:03:58,760 Speaker 1: near the Niger River. This kingdom had a lock on 66 00:03:58,840 --> 00:04:01,920 Speaker 1: all the gold that traveled north. But it wasn't just gold. 67 00:04:02,280 --> 00:04:05,480 Speaker 1: There was also trade in copper, slaves, and salt. Yeah. 68 00:04:05,520 --> 00:04:09,520 Speaker 1: So imagine mostly gold and slaves coming from the south 69 00:04:09,720 --> 00:04:12,800 Speaker 1: and salt coming from the desert, and all of it 70 00:04:12,880 --> 00:04:16,120 Speaker 1: going through this kingdom where they can tax the merchants 71 00:04:16,160 --> 00:04:19,160 Speaker 1: heavily and make a big profit. Um. But we shouldn't 72 00:04:19,160 --> 00:04:22,159 Speaker 1: think of it as two cohesive an empire because it 73 00:04:22,240 --> 00:04:26,440 Speaker 1: had really distinct regions where different people live, they spoke 74 00:04:26,480 --> 00:04:32,040 Speaker 1: different languages. Um, it's not an empire how you might 75 00:04:32,080 --> 00:04:35,360 Speaker 1: think of an empire today. Um. And according to Timba 76 00:04:35,480 --> 00:04:38,640 Speaker 1: to the Sahara's Fabled City of Gold, which was a 77 00:04:38,680 --> 00:04:42,600 Speaker 1: book I referenced for this episode. After Cindiata's death, there 78 00:04:42,640 --> 00:04:45,920 Speaker 1: were there's kind of turmoil. There was a series of emperors, 79 00:04:46,160 --> 00:04:48,960 Speaker 1: one was insane and murdered by his courtiers. That's never 80 00:04:49,000 --> 00:04:52,239 Speaker 1: good um, and power is kind of juggled around until 81 00:04:52,560 --> 00:04:56,119 Speaker 1: somehow it falls on this man of the servant class 82 00:04:56,160 --> 00:04:59,440 Speaker 1: named Sakura, and power changed hands a few times again 83 00:04:59,480 --> 00:05:02,640 Speaker 1: after him, and settled on Abu Baquir the second, the 84 00:05:02,680 --> 00:05:06,640 Speaker 1: immediate predecessor of Manta Musa. Yeah and Montsa Musa. I mean, 85 00:05:06,640 --> 00:05:09,080 Speaker 1: we're gonna be talking about him more at length later. 86 00:05:09,120 --> 00:05:12,719 Speaker 1: But he proved to be a very able administrator. He 87 00:05:12,760 --> 00:05:17,760 Speaker 1: expanded the territory a lot, it's reputation, but he wasn't 88 00:05:17,839 --> 00:05:21,279 Speaker 1: a shoe in for becoming king, and at least the 89 00:05:21,320 --> 00:05:26,479 Speaker 1: timing of his ascension is kind of a fluke. As 90 00:05:26,480 --> 00:05:29,120 Speaker 1: he later told the Son of the Sultan and Cairo, 91 00:05:29,200 --> 00:05:31,840 Speaker 1: the only reason he earned his throne was because Abubakir 92 00:05:32,080 --> 00:05:35,680 Speaker 1: refused to believe that the ocean was infinite. So basically, 93 00:05:36,160 --> 00:05:39,760 Speaker 1: this guy was obsessed with what was across the Atlantic, 94 00:05:39,920 --> 00:05:43,720 Speaker 1: stare out at the ocean, just dying that there might 95 00:05:43,720 --> 00:05:46,120 Speaker 1: be lands over there that he was not the emperor 96 00:05:46,160 --> 00:05:50,000 Speaker 1: of right, So he finally launched an expedition of four 97 00:05:50,080 --> 00:05:54,840 Speaker 1: hundred ships into this unknown Atlantic ocean, and only one 98 00:05:54,960 --> 00:05:57,240 Speaker 1: came back, but the men spoke of a river on 99 00:05:57,279 --> 00:05:59,320 Speaker 1: the ocean, so that must have been enough for him. 100 00:05:59,400 --> 00:06:02,599 Speaker 1: He was in trigued of a river being in the ocean, 101 00:06:02,600 --> 00:06:06,440 Speaker 1: which I don't know if that's like a current or something. 102 00:06:06,640 --> 00:06:10,520 Speaker 1: Perhaps he was interested, and so he ordered two thousand 103 00:06:10,760 --> 00:06:14,800 Speaker 1: news ships, a thousand with men, a thousand with supplies, 104 00:06:14,960 --> 00:06:18,080 Speaker 1: and those time he led the fleet out and told 105 00:06:18,240 --> 00:06:22,080 Speaker 1: Mansa Musa here in charge until I come back. Unsurprised 106 00:06:22,080 --> 00:06:26,000 Speaker 1: and famous last words. Yeah, he never came back. And um, 107 00:06:26,040 --> 00:06:30,560 Speaker 1: if you want to compare this to some other transatlantic travel, 108 00:06:30,640 --> 00:06:34,000 Speaker 1: this is thirteen ten or thirteen twelve, So it's kind 109 00:06:34,000 --> 00:06:37,240 Speaker 1: of fascinating to imagine what if he did make it. 110 00:06:37,279 --> 00:06:40,680 Speaker 1: I think you have like a good comic book or 111 00:06:40,720 --> 00:06:45,920 Speaker 1: something possibility of Um. Fortunately from Mansa Musa he's a 112 00:06:45,920 --> 00:06:48,560 Speaker 1: lot more content with what he has and expanding the 113 00:06:48,640 --> 00:06:53,680 Speaker 1: territory and land, not sailing off into the great unknown ocean. Yes, 114 00:06:53,720 --> 00:06:56,200 Speaker 1: so his empire became one of the world's largest at 115 00:06:56,200 --> 00:06:58,680 Speaker 1: the time. A lot of people said it supposedly took 116 00:06:58,680 --> 00:07:01,000 Speaker 1: a year to travel from one end to the other, 117 00:07:01,600 --> 00:07:04,320 Speaker 1: but that was probably a bit of an exaggeration. Actually, 118 00:07:04,440 --> 00:07:07,760 Speaker 1: fourteenth century traveler ibn Batuta said that it took him 119 00:07:07,839 --> 00:07:12,080 Speaker 1: about four months to travel from northern Molly to Nani 120 00:07:12,200 --> 00:07:16,600 Speaker 1: in the south, so still a very sizeable empire um 121 00:07:16,680 --> 00:07:19,280 Speaker 1: And in the seventeenth year of his reign, Montsa Musa 122 00:07:19,760 --> 00:07:23,000 Speaker 1: embarked on the most famous journey of his lifetime. What 123 00:07:23,640 --> 00:07:26,080 Speaker 1: is the reason why we're talking about him today on 124 00:07:26,120 --> 00:07:30,920 Speaker 1: the podcast, Probably that's his pilgrimage to Mecca. And basically 125 00:07:30,960 --> 00:07:34,800 Speaker 1: this pilgrimage let the whole world knew how wealthy his 126 00:07:34,920 --> 00:07:39,000 Speaker 1: kingdom was and what was beyond the desert. And he 127 00:07:39,160 --> 00:07:43,440 Speaker 1: traveled from his capital of Nanni to Wallata, to Twat 128 00:07:43,680 --> 00:07:46,680 Speaker 1: to Cairo, and from there he went on to Mecca. 129 00:07:46,800 --> 00:07:51,920 Speaker 1: And he had a caravan of sixty thousand men, twelve 130 00:07:52,000 --> 00:07:56,400 Speaker 1: thousand slaves dressed in brocade and the finest Persian silk. 131 00:07:57,400 --> 00:08:00,320 Speaker 1: One wife. He brought his senior wife with him her 132 00:08:00,400 --> 00:08:03,600 Speaker 1: retinue of five hundred slaves, and then he himself rode 133 00:08:03,600 --> 00:08:07,080 Speaker 1: on horseback with five hundred gold staff slaves that we 134 00:08:07,120 --> 00:08:10,080 Speaker 1: mentioned in the beginning riding in front of him. And 135 00:08:10,600 --> 00:08:14,760 Speaker 1: his entourage's baggage was carried by eighty camels, and they 136 00:08:14,760 --> 00:08:17,880 Speaker 1: each carried three hundred pounds of gold. So I mean, 137 00:08:17,960 --> 00:08:21,720 Speaker 1: just imagine something like this passing through your tiny little 138 00:08:21,800 --> 00:08:24,720 Speaker 1: desert town. I know, that's a lot of baggage, would 139 00:08:24,720 --> 00:08:27,880 Speaker 1: be unbelievable, especially considering he only brought one wife. Yeah, 140 00:08:29,160 --> 00:08:33,640 Speaker 1: so along his way he gave generously, and he spent lavishly, 141 00:08:34,640 --> 00:08:37,839 Speaker 1: and his party was noted for their good behavior and 142 00:08:38,040 --> 00:08:40,959 Speaker 1: he was noted for his own piousness. In Cairo, it 143 00:08:41,040 --> 00:08:43,280 Speaker 1: took a major convincing to make mont AMusA pay a 144 00:08:43,280 --> 00:08:46,160 Speaker 1: formal visit to the mom Luke Sultan, since he didn't 145 00:08:46,160 --> 00:08:48,960 Speaker 1: wish to break away from his religious observances. Yeah, it 146 00:08:49,000 --> 00:08:52,080 Speaker 1: basically took someone saying, you really have to go meet 147 00:08:52,120 --> 00:08:53,840 Speaker 1: with the Sultan or you're going to be in trouble. 148 00:08:54,960 --> 00:08:58,800 Speaker 1: And according to the chronicler all Umari, he said, I 149 00:08:58,920 --> 00:09:01,200 Speaker 1: came for the pilgrimage and nothing else. I do not 150 00:09:01,280 --> 00:09:04,480 Speaker 1: wish to mix anything else with my pilgrimage. But probably 151 00:09:04,520 --> 00:09:08,640 Speaker 1: the most amazing detail of this pilgrimage is that twelve 152 00:09:08,800 --> 00:09:12,720 Speaker 1: years later all Umari found people still talking about the 153 00:09:12,800 --> 00:09:16,160 Speaker 1: visit in Cairo and apparently, oh that this is kind 154 00:09:16,200 --> 00:09:19,880 Speaker 1: of a disputed fact. Apparently he flooded the Cairo market 155 00:09:20,080 --> 00:09:23,800 Speaker 1: with so much gold, just giving to every official he 156 00:09:23,840 --> 00:09:28,720 Speaker 1: could find and spending buying everything he could find. He 157 00:09:29,360 --> 00:09:32,040 Speaker 1: infused so much gold into the market that it basically 158 00:09:32,080 --> 00:09:36,200 Speaker 1: crashed and remained deflated for years, I mean twelve years later. 159 00:09:36,400 --> 00:09:40,600 Speaker 1: That's unbelievable. That's a long time. So the pilgrimage with 160 00:09:40,679 --> 00:09:43,120 Speaker 1: all of its gold and all of these slaves and 161 00:09:43,240 --> 00:09:47,800 Speaker 1: camels and other people attending the pilgrimage with him, that's 162 00:09:47,800 --> 00:09:51,720 Speaker 1: really impressive in itself. But the truly amazing thing is 163 00:09:51,880 --> 00:09:54,720 Speaker 1: the impression it leaves on all of the people who 164 00:09:54,760 --> 00:09:58,200 Speaker 1: see him, and how quickly the word spreads not just 165 00:09:58,520 --> 00:10:01,960 Speaker 1: through Africa and through the Middle East, but all the 166 00:10:01,960 --> 00:10:04,880 Speaker 1: way into Southern Europe yep. And he's not just spreading 167 00:10:04,880 --> 00:10:07,320 Speaker 1: the word about himself and his wealth, but he's spreading 168 00:10:07,320 --> 00:10:10,760 Speaker 1: the word about his home to other West African rulers 169 00:10:10,800 --> 00:10:14,200 Speaker 1: had made pilgridges before, but Mansa Musa's really advertised molly 170 00:10:15,200 --> 00:10:17,839 Speaker 1: Muslim kingdoms in North Africa and European kingdoms. They all 171 00:10:17,840 --> 00:10:21,360 Speaker 1: wanted to see the place that this wealth was coming from, 172 00:10:21,400 --> 00:10:24,719 Speaker 1: the area that that had originated. Yeah, and Venetian and 173 00:10:24,840 --> 00:10:28,679 Speaker 1: Genoy's trading firms that were based in Alexandria of course 174 00:10:28,840 --> 00:10:32,400 Speaker 1: heard about this great king that was over in Cairo, 175 00:10:32,679 --> 00:10:36,000 Speaker 1: and they started to spread the word around southern Europe. 176 00:10:36,200 --> 00:10:39,360 Speaker 1: And by thirteen seventy five, which is you know, it's 177 00:10:39,640 --> 00:10:42,320 Speaker 1: a long time later, but this is still of note, 178 00:10:42,800 --> 00:10:45,439 Speaker 1: Mansa Musa had made it on to Charles the five 179 00:10:45,679 --> 00:10:49,480 Speaker 1: of France's newly commissioned atlas. And if you look up 180 00:10:49,640 --> 00:10:52,520 Speaker 1: Mansa Musa, the picture you get of him is going 181 00:10:52,559 --> 00:10:55,000 Speaker 1: to be from this atlas. He's drawn holding a ball 182 00:10:55,040 --> 00:10:58,400 Speaker 1: of gold, he's wearing a crown, and there's the caption 183 00:10:58,880 --> 00:11:01,840 Speaker 1: so abundant is gold which is found in his country, 184 00:11:02,080 --> 00:11:05,160 Speaker 1: that he is the richest and most noble king in 185 00:11:05,240 --> 00:11:09,480 Speaker 1: all the land, and three cities in his empire listed 186 00:11:09,480 --> 00:11:13,480 Speaker 1: on this atlas. So clearly he's made a big, big 187 00:11:13,520 --> 00:11:16,440 Speaker 1: impression on people very far away from him, and a 188 00:11:16,440 --> 00:11:19,320 Speaker 1: big name for his homeland. Even though he's a high roller, 189 00:11:19,679 --> 00:11:24,160 Speaker 1: his riches aren't inexhaustible, though unfortunately it would be a 190 00:11:24,160 --> 00:11:27,640 Speaker 1: better story if they were. It would be he over 191 00:11:28,320 --> 00:11:30,840 Speaker 1: spends himself, as you so often do when you're traveling. 192 00:11:30,840 --> 00:11:33,480 Speaker 1: You overspend yourself and then you have to get home 193 00:11:34,200 --> 00:11:38,280 Speaker 1: and raise some money quickly, and so during the trip home, 194 00:11:38,440 --> 00:11:41,560 Speaker 1: he had to borrow at really high rates due to 195 00:11:41,600 --> 00:11:46,040 Speaker 1: all that's spending in Cairo and Mecca. Fortunately, though, while 196 00:11:46,080 --> 00:11:49,680 Speaker 1: he was on his pilgrimage, one of his generals, like Mandia, 197 00:11:49,800 --> 00:11:53,320 Speaker 1: had expanded his empire's territory, so he had a lot 198 00:11:53,360 --> 00:11:57,520 Speaker 1: of new prospective sources of income. Um since he had 199 00:11:57,559 --> 00:12:03,720 Speaker 1: just incorporated two very wealthy, very prominent city states, Gal 200 00:12:03,840 --> 00:12:09,400 Speaker 1: and timbukto um So. Yeah, it's it's looking like all 201 00:12:09,440 --> 00:12:11,400 Speaker 1: the borrowing isn't going to be too bad, I think 202 00:12:11,720 --> 00:12:14,800 Speaker 1: looking up. So on the way home, Mansa Musa stops 203 00:12:14,920 --> 00:12:18,079 Speaker 1: by Cairo not just to borrow money, but also to 204 00:12:18,160 --> 00:12:22,160 Speaker 1: collect artisans Mason's iron workers and the poet and architect 205 00:12:22,440 --> 00:12:27,640 Speaker 1: AbuI shock Sahili all twadjen al Granada before swinging through 206 00:12:27,679 --> 00:12:30,280 Speaker 1: his newly claimed city states and taking a couple of 207 00:12:30,320 --> 00:12:33,040 Speaker 1: princes as hostages on the way. Yeah, make sure the 208 00:12:33,200 --> 00:12:36,440 Speaker 1: city states knew who were bought Who's boss um so 209 00:12:36,559 --> 00:12:40,720 Speaker 1: in exchange for these really extravagant payments like hundreds of 210 00:12:40,720 --> 00:12:44,040 Speaker 1: pounds of gold and slaves and food and riverland. The 211 00:12:44,240 --> 00:12:48,080 Speaker 1: architect with the very long name builds a lot of 212 00:12:48,320 --> 00:12:51,640 Speaker 1: great monuments to Mansa Musa. He builds a palace and 213 00:12:51,679 --> 00:12:54,800 Speaker 1: a mosque and go and a now lost palace in 214 00:12:54,880 --> 00:12:58,520 Speaker 1: Timbuctoo and one of one in Nanni. And most famously 215 00:12:58,600 --> 00:13:03,600 Speaker 1: he builds a great mosque in Timbuctoo and um again, 216 00:13:03,640 --> 00:13:07,800 Speaker 1: if you google timbuk two, this is probably the mosque 217 00:13:07,800 --> 00:13:11,320 Speaker 1: you're going to see. It's the most famous landmark, i'd say, 218 00:13:11,320 --> 00:13:13,320 Speaker 1: of the city. And it looks a lot like it 219 00:13:13,360 --> 00:13:16,760 Speaker 1: did in thirteen thirty. It's the UNASCO site. It's very 220 00:13:16,960 --> 00:13:22,240 Speaker 1: threatened by the desert and um just being neglected in 221 00:13:22,360 --> 00:13:26,360 Speaker 1: terms of upkeep. Um. But it's a pretty impressive structure. 222 00:13:26,840 --> 00:13:31,560 Speaker 1: And the rich building projects that Mansa Musa essentially kicks 223 00:13:31,559 --> 00:13:34,839 Speaker 1: off start a trend because all the wealthy merchants in 224 00:13:34,920 --> 00:13:38,800 Speaker 1: Timbuctoo wanted to sort of look like what the king 225 00:13:38,960 --> 00:13:41,600 Speaker 1: is doing. And yeah, they start bringing in their own 226 00:13:41,600 --> 00:13:45,720 Speaker 1: Egyptian workers and making their own elaborate homes, and we 227 00:13:45,760 --> 00:13:49,280 Speaker 1: have guilds of masons formed and iron workers formed, and 228 00:13:49,600 --> 00:13:54,000 Speaker 1: Timbuctoo becomes this really cosmopolitan city and their people from 229 00:13:54,040 --> 00:13:57,520 Speaker 1: all these different cultures. In the fourteenth century, there are 230 00:13:57,559 --> 00:14:01,240 Speaker 1: as many as fifteen thousand peep bowl which maybe it 231 00:14:01,280 --> 00:14:05,360 Speaker 1: doesn't sound like a whole lot nowadays, but let's compare 232 00:14:05,400 --> 00:14:08,200 Speaker 1: that to London's population at the same time, which was 233 00:14:08,240 --> 00:14:12,120 Speaker 1: only twenty thousands, so pretty close. It's interesting. It's a 234 00:14:12,240 --> 00:14:15,720 Speaker 1: it's a huge city with a lot going on, and 235 00:14:15,840 --> 00:14:19,560 Speaker 1: Timbucto kept this sort of position as a cosmopolitan city 236 00:14:19,600 --> 00:14:23,480 Speaker 1: even after Manson Musa died in thirty two, and gradually 237 00:14:23,560 --> 00:14:25,880 Speaker 1: the states of the Empire of Molly began to break 238 00:14:25,880 --> 00:14:28,640 Speaker 1: off after that, but Timbuctoo went on to become a 239 00:14:28,680 --> 00:14:32,360 Speaker 1: major cultural and religious center of the world. And you know, 240 00:14:32,480 --> 00:14:35,760 Speaker 1: it had been It had been a pretty major trading 241 00:14:35,800 --> 00:14:40,400 Speaker 1: city before Montsa Musa took it under his wing. Um 242 00:14:40,640 --> 00:14:43,560 Speaker 1: long long ago. It had been this little crossroads town. 243 00:14:44,080 --> 00:14:46,280 Speaker 1: And I love the story if it's naming. It was 244 00:14:46,280 --> 00:14:49,960 Speaker 1: a place where a tiregg woman named Buck two ran 245 00:14:50,120 --> 00:14:52,480 Speaker 1: a rest stop on the edge of the desert near 246 00:14:52,520 --> 00:14:56,400 Speaker 1: a Niger River tributary, and tin buck two means well 247 00:14:56,480 --> 00:15:01,160 Speaker 1: of buck too, so there you go, wow um. But 248 00:15:01,280 --> 00:15:03,920 Speaker 1: you know it had developed a lot since then, but 249 00:15:04,080 --> 00:15:08,840 Speaker 1: it was under Mansa Musa that it started. The great 250 00:15:08,880 --> 00:15:11,920 Speaker 1: libraries developed, the schools developed, and it became the meeting 251 00:15:11,960 --> 00:15:15,120 Speaker 1: place for some of the best poets and scholars and 252 00:15:15,200 --> 00:15:18,400 Speaker 1: artists in Africa in the Middle East, And I'd just 253 00:15:18,480 --> 00:15:21,280 Speaker 1: like to give a little rundown of some of the 254 00:15:21,320 --> 00:15:23,680 Speaker 1: stuff that people were working on at this time, just 255 00:15:23,720 --> 00:15:28,640 Speaker 1: because it it seems um so much earlier than that 256 00:15:28,800 --> 00:15:31,080 Speaker 1: you would think, yeah, than you would think. In the 257 00:15:31,120 --> 00:15:35,280 Speaker 1: fifteenth century, mathematicians in Timbuctu knew about the rotation of 258 00:15:35,320 --> 00:15:38,240 Speaker 1: the planets and the details of the eclipse, which were 259 00:15:38,600 --> 00:15:42,480 Speaker 1: things that Galileo and Copernicus calculated a lot later, And 260 00:15:43,000 --> 00:15:45,840 Speaker 1: we've talked about both of them in recent episodes, so 261 00:15:45,960 --> 00:15:50,640 Speaker 1: it's interesting to get a little pre Galileo Copernicus background 262 00:15:50,760 --> 00:15:54,760 Speaker 1: on astronomy here. Yeah, definitely. They also kind of tooled 263 00:15:54,760 --> 00:15:57,760 Speaker 1: around a bit with some ideas from India, including creating 264 00:15:57,840 --> 00:16:01,480 Speaker 1: Arabic numerals. Yeah, and their physic shans wrote about medicinal 265 00:16:01,520 --> 00:16:06,200 Speaker 1: plants and nutrition and performed early operations on the human eye, 266 00:16:06,320 --> 00:16:10,440 Speaker 1: which sounds kind of uncomfortable, but I guess you gotta 267 00:16:10,440 --> 00:16:15,520 Speaker 1: start somewhere. And ethesist debated polygamy and tobacco. So I mean, 268 00:16:15,800 --> 00:16:19,040 Speaker 1: just a very small slice of all of the ideas 269 00:16:19,080 --> 00:16:21,840 Speaker 1: that we're floating around in Timbuctoo and of course, a 270 00:16:21,880 --> 00:16:25,120 Speaker 1: lot of ideas on Islam too. It became a great 271 00:16:25,200 --> 00:16:30,520 Speaker 1: center of Islamic study. Um. So finally, you know, the 272 00:16:30,560 --> 00:16:34,080 Speaker 1: city did reach a decline at some point, even though 273 00:16:34,120 --> 00:16:37,160 Speaker 1: it was long after the Empire of Molly fell, And 274 00:16:37,240 --> 00:16:40,760 Speaker 1: that came when a Morok consultan invaded and killed the scholars, 275 00:16:40,880 --> 00:16:47,200 Speaker 1: and that ended the um educational reputation of Timbuctoo somewhat, 276 00:16:47,240 --> 00:16:50,440 Speaker 1: and its commercial success ended not too long after that, 277 00:16:50,560 --> 00:16:53,800 Speaker 1: when the ocean trade routes opened up and nobody had 278 00:16:53,840 --> 00:16:56,560 Speaker 1: any reason to go all the way to Timbuctoo anymore. 279 00:16:57,040 --> 00:17:00,400 Speaker 1: But luckily, none of it didn't all go away. There 280 00:17:00,400 --> 00:17:03,200 Speaker 1: are many thousands of books that were stashed away, and 281 00:17:03,240 --> 00:17:06,160 Speaker 1: they were hidden in caves and storage rooms, are buried 282 00:17:06,200 --> 00:17:09,240 Speaker 1: in trunks, and in that way they were sort of 283 00:17:09,280 --> 00:17:13,159 Speaker 1: protected from invaders, if not from the elements necessarily. And 284 00:17:13,240 --> 00:17:16,919 Speaker 1: today there's a major effort to save these ancient books, 285 00:17:17,119 --> 00:17:20,199 Speaker 1: which many of which were handwritten in classic Arabic on 286 00:17:20,359 --> 00:17:24,680 Speaker 1: linen based paper, inks and dyes that were from desert plants, 287 00:17:24,800 --> 00:17:27,280 Speaker 1: and they had covers that were the skins of goats 288 00:17:27,280 --> 00:17:30,800 Speaker 1: and sheep. Yeah, and Yasco has been working on protecting 289 00:17:30,920 --> 00:17:34,040 Speaker 1: a lot of these texts almost since Molly's independence in 290 00:17:34,040 --> 00:17:37,879 Speaker 1: the nineteen sixties, and there are numerous libraries that have 291 00:17:37,960 --> 00:17:42,000 Speaker 1: been established in timbuc To, supported by not only NASCO, 292 00:17:42,160 --> 00:17:46,520 Speaker 1: but the Ford Foundation or the professor Henry Lewis Gates Jr. 293 00:17:46,600 --> 00:17:50,920 Speaker 1: Who has promoted the libraries and the text of Timbucto. 294 00:17:51,040 --> 00:17:54,600 Speaker 1: A lot um people are really focusing on, for one thing, 295 00:17:54,720 --> 00:17:57,840 Speaker 1: finding them, rounding them up, getting them out of the 296 00:17:57,920 --> 00:18:00,840 Speaker 1: trunks they're buried in in the desert it and getting 297 00:18:00,840 --> 00:18:04,320 Speaker 1: the dust off of them, but also digitizing the library 298 00:18:04,359 --> 00:18:07,040 Speaker 1: so that they can be used around the world. You 299 00:18:07,080 --> 00:18:09,480 Speaker 1: don't have to go to timbuc To to look at 300 00:18:09,520 --> 00:18:12,560 Speaker 1: this important manuscript, right And I think you've mentioned that 301 00:18:12,560 --> 00:18:14,679 Speaker 1: some of them are in pretty bad shape. Yeah, a 302 00:18:14,720 --> 00:18:18,400 Speaker 1: lot of them are rotten at this point. It's um 303 00:18:18,440 --> 00:18:22,480 Speaker 1: obviously a dry climate, but Jinas isn't always good for books, 304 00:18:22,520 --> 00:18:25,199 Speaker 1: and there's a rainy season, so you end up with 305 00:18:25,280 --> 00:18:29,760 Speaker 1: insects and mold and mildew um, so a lot of them. 306 00:18:29,800 --> 00:18:34,119 Speaker 1: It's amazing that they're they've survived this long um. According 307 00:18:34,200 --> 00:18:37,520 Speaker 1: to Tell Tamari, who's a historian at the National Center 308 00:18:37,560 --> 00:18:41,560 Speaker 1: for Scientific Research in Paris, what's in the books is 309 00:18:42,240 --> 00:18:45,600 Speaker 1: likely going to shock the world if it's ever all compiled. 310 00:18:46,160 --> 00:18:50,320 Speaker 1: Um Tell Tamari was quoted as saying, these discoveries are 311 00:18:50,359 --> 00:18:54,560 Speaker 1: going to revolutionize what one thinks about West Africa. So 312 00:18:54,920 --> 00:18:58,960 Speaker 1: there's really a rush to to get this onto computers 313 00:18:59,119 --> 00:19:03,080 Speaker 1: or at least preserve before they disintegrate. Yeah, it sounds 314 00:19:03,080 --> 00:19:05,399 Speaker 1: like a really challenging effort, but a good one. If 315 00:19:05,440 --> 00:19:07,760 Speaker 1: you want to learn a little bit more about the 316 00:19:07,880 --> 00:19:11,879 Speaker 1: preservation effort in Timbukto, there's a really good Smithsonian article 317 00:19:11,920 --> 00:19:15,560 Speaker 1: by Joshua Hammer just on how these libraries were formed. 318 00:19:15,840 --> 00:19:19,320 Speaker 1: Um in what people are doing to try to save 319 00:19:19,400 --> 00:19:22,920 Speaker 1: all these old manuscripts. Yep. And it would be good 320 00:19:22,960 --> 00:19:24,359 Speaker 1: for them to do that too, because it's not that 321 00:19:24,359 --> 00:19:28,199 Speaker 1: easy to visit Timbuctoo anymore, isn't. No, it's not. The U. S. 322 00:19:28,200 --> 00:19:33,080 Speaker 1: State Department cautions against all travel in Northern Mali, including Timbucto, 323 00:19:33,760 --> 00:19:36,840 Speaker 1: because of threats from the terrorists group a q i 324 00:19:36,920 --> 00:19:42,680 Speaker 1: Am and tire unrest and banditry. Um. So yeah, unfortunately, 325 00:19:43,480 --> 00:19:47,119 Speaker 1: going from here to Timbuctoo really is like an impossibility 326 00:19:47,200 --> 00:19:51,879 Speaker 1: now unless you're seriously willing to um risk some major 327 00:19:51,960 --> 00:19:55,399 Speaker 1: personal danger. Um. And that's unfortunate because it seems like 328 00:19:55,440 --> 00:19:58,359 Speaker 1: there's so much they are still and of course the 329 00:19:58,400 --> 00:20:01,520 Speaker 1: city is also being threatened by the desert itself, but 330 00:20:01,720 --> 00:20:04,160 Speaker 1: I think they're trying to keep it at bay and 331 00:20:04,240 --> 00:20:08,440 Speaker 1: protect the mosques and the monuments from just being swallowed 332 00:20:08,480 --> 00:20:11,879 Speaker 1: up by the sand again. So I guess that's about 333 00:20:11,880 --> 00:20:14,159 Speaker 1: all we have to say about tim Buck two and 334 00:20:14,240 --> 00:20:16,920 Speaker 1: Monsa Musa today. But it was really interesting to learn 335 00:20:16,960 --> 00:20:20,560 Speaker 1: about this king who um. I mean, I never really 336 00:20:20,560 --> 00:20:24,000 Speaker 1: heard about him before. He's been suggested a few times, um, 337 00:20:24,040 --> 00:20:27,879 Speaker 1: But it's it's interesting to learn about how the whole 338 00:20:28,000 --> 00:20:30,800 Speaker 1: continent is partly opened up to another part of the world, 339 00:20:31,160 --> 00:20:33,080 Speaker 1: and about tim Buck two, which I think has almost 340 00:20:33,119 --> 00:20:36,280 Speaker 1: taken on kind of a mythical persona Tim Buck too. 341 00:20:36,560 --> 00:20:38,880 Speaker 1: You say it when you're talking. You want to say, 342 00:20:38,920 --> 00:20:42,000 Speaker 1: like something that's the farthest place you can imagine. It's 343 00:20:42,080 --> 00:20:44,240 Speaker 1: just a catch phrase. I think probably a lot of 344 00:20:44,280 --> 00:20:48,720 Speaker 1: people don't even realize it's a real city, let alone that. Um. 345 00:20:48,800 --> 00:20:51,720 Speaker 1: That catchphrase would have been so wrong for most of 346 00:20:51,760 --> 00:20:56,280 Speaker 1: its history, like the center of things, um. But I 347 00:20:56,320 --> 00:20:59,040 Speaker 1: don't know. It was fun, and I think that brings 348 00:20:59,119 --> 00:21:07,640 Speaker 1: us to snermail. We have one from Darlene, who says, 349 00:21:08,400 --> 00:21:11,920 Speaker 1: a long time ago, that's along with lots of ohs. 350 00:21:13,000 --> 00:21:15,560 Speaker 1: Back at U c l A, I took an astronomy 351 00:21:15,600 --> 00:21:18,040 Speaker 1: class with the head of the department, a brilliant and 352 00:21:18,119 --> 00:21:21,080 Speaker 1: shameless punster who had written many books, including the one 353 00:21:21,119 --> 00:21:26,200 Speaker 1: assigned as a textbook, Quell Surprise in parentheses. During our 354 00:21:26,240 --> 00:21:29,760 Speaker 1: study of Tico Brahy. The assigned reading included the puzzling 355 00:21:29,800 --> 00:21:34,479 Speaker 1: phrase Tico brahe did not die in Vain spelled h 356 00:21:34,680 --> 00:21:38,439 Speaker 1: b e N. This made sense when we learned that 357 00:21:38,480 --> 00:21:41,720 Speaker 1: the town and question isn't pronounced then, as in your 358 00:21:41,760 --> 00:21:45,520 Speaker 1: podcast is pronounced vain. I think you can figure it out. 359 00:21:46,240 --> 00:21:49,359 Speaker 1: She says, thanks as always for an enjoyable peak at 360 00:21:49,400 --> 00:21:52,320 Speaker 1: corners of history that I did indeed missing class. I 361 00:21:52,320 --> 00:21:55,560 Speaker 1: think that might be one of the best correction emails 362 00:21:56,080 --> 00:21:58,720 Speaker 1: I've ever gotten. Yeah, we I'm glad to know that 363 00:21:59,080 --> 00:22:01,320 Speaker 1: it is pronounced a ban and so what a fun 364 00:22:01,600 --> 00:22:06,840 Speaker 1: little puzzle to throw it a clever professor at astronomy enthusiast. 365 00:22:07,160 --> 00:22:09,400 Speaker 1: We have another one on Tico brow here, also kind 366 00:22:09,400 --> 00:22:13,000 Speaker 1: of a fun correction, and it's from Anne in New Hampshire, 367 00:22:13,119 --> 00:22:15,919 Speaker 1: and she wrote, November has a nothing to do with 368 00:22:15,960 --> 00:22:18,960 Speaker 1: celebrating the ability to grow a mustache. It started out 369 00:22:19,000 --> 00:22:22,360 Speaker 1: as an awareness campaign for prostate cancer, which affects more 370 00:22:22,400 --> 00:22:25,560 Speaker 1: men in their lifetimes than breast cancer affects women, which 371 00:22:25,600 --> 00:22:29,280 Speaker 1: gets little awareness. I believe November is an umbrella for 372 00:22:29,480 --> 00:22:33,720 Speaker 1: overall awareness of men's health issues. So that's my little soapbox. 373 00:22:34,200 --> 00:22:38,760 Speaker 1: Um And I was looking into November after getting a 374 00:22:38,800 --> 00:22:40,840 Speaker 1: few days emails a little bit, and I think it 375 00:22:41,000 --> 00:22:43,800 Speaker 1: started with this group of Australian men in a bar, 376 00:22:43,920 --> 00:22:48,720 Speaker 1: of course, who decided to grow mustaches. And it was 377 00:22:48,840 --> 00:22:52,000 Speaker 1: later that they decided, well, we could actually seriously raise 378 00:22:52,119 --> 00:22:57,440 Speaker 1: some money by our mustache growing enterprising young fellows, and 379 00:22:57,640 --> 00:23:02,000 Speaker 1: um yeah. From there it became a prostate cancer fundraiser 380 00:23:02,160 --> 00:23:06,240 Speaker 1: and um, I think depression fundraising and just general men's 381 00:23:06,280 --> 00:23:10,159 Speaker 1: health issues. So kind of a fun fact about mustache 382 00:23:10,200 --> 00:23:13,960 Speaker 1: growing and tico and um but I think that's wicked cool. 383 00:23:14,000 --> 00:23:16,800 Speaker 1: I want to uh celebrate November next year now that 384 00:23:16,880 --> 00:23:18,960 Speaker 1: I know what it's really all about. Good luck with that, 385 00:23:20,600 --> 00:23:24,080 Speaker 1: maybe with a false mustache. Um well, I think that 386 00:23:24,200 --> 00:23:27,840 Speaker 1: about wraps it up. We have, fortunately for you an 387 00:23:27,960 --> 00:23:30,080 Speaker 1: article on this the Hell. If you want to learn 388 00:23:30,119 --> 00:23:32,640 Speaker 1: a little bit more about the part of Africa we 389 00:23:32,640 --> 00:23:35,399 Speaker 1: were talking about. You can also email us if you 390 00:23:35,520 --> 00:23:40,600 Speaker 1: have suggestions for more African history topics at History podcast 391 00:23:40,680 --> 00:23:43,359 Speaker 1: at how stuff works dot com. We're on Twitter, misst 392 00:23:43,400 --> 00:23:45,720 Speaker 1: in history, and we're on Facebook. If you want to 393 00:23:45,760 --> 00:23:48,119 Speaker 1: check out that article, it's called why is this the 394 00:23:48,160 --> 00:23:51,280 Speaker 1: Hell Shifting? You can find it by searching forth the 395 00:23:51,359 --> 00:23:54,720 Speaker 1: Hell on our home page at www dot how stuff 396 00:23:54,760 --> 00:24:01,359 Speaker 1: works dot com. Or more on this and thousands of 397 00:24:01,400 --> 00:24:04,160 Speaker 1: other topics. Visit how stuff works dot com. To learn 398 00:24:04,160 --> 00:24:07,000 Speaker 1: more about the podcast, click on the podcast icon in 399 00:24:07,040 --> 00:24:10,040 Speaker 1: the upper right corner of our homepage. The how stuff 400 00:24:10,040 --> 00:24:13,520 Speaker 1: Works iPhone app has a ride. Download it today on iTunes, 401 00:24:18,280 --> 00:24:18,320 Speaker 1: m