11 Matching Annotations
  1. Apr 2021
    1. This black Lord is called Musse Melly and is the sovereign of the land of the negroes of Gineva [Ghana]. This king is the richest and noblest of all these lands due to the abundance of gold that is extracted from his lands.

      This description shows and explains that Musse Melly was the one who became the richest Malian king in ancient history. From the narrative that I read about Musse Melly, I believe this refers to King Mansa Musa. I also think that Musse Melly was just another name he had, and his people probably have called him by that.

    2. This black Lord is called Musse Melly and is the sovereign of the land of the negroes of Gineva [Ghana]. This king is the richest and noblest of all these lands due to the abundance of gold that is extracted from his lands.

      The black lord refers to Mansa Musa, a dedicated Muslim and Emperor of West Africa during the 14th century. Land of the negroes means dark-skinned civilization. It mentions that his the richest and noblest of all lands indicate his travels because it compares other emperors' wealth and hereditary class to Mansa Musa. No other empire could compare to his status because of the natural resources of gold in Mansa land. His leadership is shown due to him being called black lord. He had vast amounts of his people following him on his travel to Mecca, which shows his people's dedication and respect for him as king.

    3. This black Lord is called Musse Melly and is the sovereign of the land of the negroes of Gineva [Ghana]. This king is the richest and noblest of all these lands due to the abundance of gold that is extracted from his lands.

      In this section, the atlas is referring to the Malian King, Mansa Musa. I was not aware that he was also called Musse Melly, but was able to infer due to the familiar image of him as well as the description of his wealth. As we know, Mansa Musa is still believed to be the richest human in world history. We also learned that Mansa Musa used his wealth to benefit his country, though this was not mentioned in this section.

    1. Mecca. In this city, one finds the arch of Mohamed, the prophet of the Saracens who make a pilgrimage here from all regions.

      Last week we learned about Mansa Musa and how he made a pilgrimage to Hajj which is in the city of Mecca. Hajj is the Muslim pilgrimage to Mecca that takes place in the last month of the year, and that all Muslims are expected to make at least once during their lifetime. Mansa Musa prepared well for the long trip he had to take. His journey through Egypt caused quite a stir because he gave away so much gold that the overall value of gold decreased in Egypt for the next 12 years.

    2. Mecca. In this city, one finds the arch of Mohamed, the prophet of the Saracens who make a pilgrimage here from all regions.

      Last week we learned about Mansa Musa and how he made a pilgrimage to Hajj which is in the city of Mecca. Hajj is the Muslim pilgrimage to Mecca that takes place in the last month of the year, and that all Muslims are expected to make at least once during their lifetime. Mansa Musa prepared well for the long trip he had to take. His journey through Egypt caused quite a stir because he gave away so much gold that the overall value of gold decreased in Egypt for the next 12 years.

    3. Mecca. In this city, one finds the arch of Mohamed, the prophet of the Saracens who make a pilgrimage here from all regions.

      When reading last week we read about Mansu Musa who did take a pilgrimage to Mecca. The reason being that he was remembered for his pilgrimage was because of his great wealth that he had acquired during his lifetime. He also on his pilgrimage brought with him tons of gold and he also administered many gifts to the citizens of mecca as well as the gold he brought. But in doing so he not only lowered the average price of gold but he was a swell weakening his own empire because the gold be brought was from this cities in his empire. This in turn lead to the his own country being significantly weakened by his actions.

    4. Mecca. In this city, one finds the arch of Mohamed, the prophet of the Saracens who make a pilgrimage here from all regions.

      We read a bit about Mecca in the background of Mansa Musa. He was well known for his pilgrimage to Mecca due to the world becoming aware of his great wealth. Mecca is seen as the holiest city of Islam as it was the birthplace of Muhammad, the Islamic Prophet. As the highlighted section stated, people would make a pilgrimage from all over in order to worship Allah and still do so today.

    1. This is the middle branch of Mount Tauris [Tibesti Mountains]. Many Saracens coming from the West pass through this mountain wishing to go to Mecca to see the arch of Mohamed that contains their Law.

      Mecca is considered the holy city of Islam, near Cairo, Egypt on the west side of Africa. When Mansa Musa made his pilgrimage, as is tradition for a Malian sovereign, he impressed the court so much with his offering that people wrote about it for decades to come. Looking further at his journey, we note that he left Niani and most definitely passed one of the branches of Mount Tauris (the Tibesti Mountains). It's incredibly interesting to think about how long this journey was, and the fact that he left such a large impression by his gifts and wealth was fascinating to me considering the era. In our readings, it also said he brought 10,000 of his followers, which is even more incredible that that many people made this perilous journey

  2. Dec 2020
    1. Cape Finisterre [end of the land] of Occidental Africa. Here starts Africa, which ends in Alexandria and Babylon; it starts here and encompasses all the Barbarian Coast extending towards Alexandria, towards the south, and towards Ethiopia; in these regions, there is a lot of ivory due to plenty of elephants (...)

      I feel like this text is close related to the Mansa Munsa. In ethiopedia, many muslim religion closely associated themselves with the Mansa Musa king. Then the writing associated with this document is arabic

    2. I find it very interesting that they refer to Mansa Musa and Musse Melly. I wouldn’t have understood they were referring to the same person if it wasn’t for the fact they stated about his riches and wealth. In addition, it confirms the fact that he was very wealthy which is stated in many texts. He was wealthy for extracting of riches, but he also was influential leader in Africa.

  3. Apr 2020
    1. Mecca.

      It was a pilgrimage to Mecca that Mansu Musa is remembered for. He was well prepared for the journey taking many people with him. He also took a very large quantity of gold that had been acquired over years and years by several generations. When he got to Cairo, he gave out large sums of gold, so much that gold became less expensive. In Cairo he became a very appreciated person but in his own city, he is remembered as a ruler who spent a large sum of money on a pilgrimage to Mecca and thus weakening his own empire for generations to come.