Ms. Yi s WCI Unit 4.1 Post-Classical Middle East: Dar al-islam, Student Info for #7. 1. House of Wisdom

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1 1. House of Wisdom The House of Wisdom was an educational institution founded in Baghdad in present-day Iraq by the Abbasid caliph al- Ma mum, in 830 CE. At the time, Western Europe was going through a Dark Age, when learning and literacy were lost. The Catholic Church, the sole unifying force in Europe, did not tolerate religious differences. In stark contrast, the Islamic world was going through the Pax Islamica, or the Islamic Peace, a time of religious tolerance and openness to learning. As a result, scholars from all over Afro-Eurasia Jews, Christians, Hindus, Zoroastrians, and Muslims flocked over to the House of Wisdom, where they learned from one another and collaborated on their collective pursuit of knowledge. These international scholars worked together to translate, preserve, and improve upon ancient Egyptian, Persian, Greek, Roman, and Indian learning. In this way, they helped preserve the Greek classics (such as the works of Plato, Aristotle, and Euclid) that might otherwise have been lost or destroyed. And the House of Wisdom s extensive library, which contained religious texts and all sorts of ancient texts (on law, poetry, history, geography, philosophy, and the sciences) and which was open to the public, became a model for other large libraries throughout Dar al-islam.

2 2. Library at Cordoba In the 8 th century, a new and independent Muslim emirate was established by the Umayyads in Spain. Its capital city, Cordoba, became a second center of learning and intellectual life in Dar al-islam (along with Baghdad s House of Wisdom). Known as a city of bibliophiles (book lovers), its most celebrated library was run by the Spanish Umayyad Caliph Al- Hakam Il al-mustansir ( ). Al-Hakam, an accomplished scholar himself, sent bookbuyers all over Dar al-islam to find books for his library. Library clerks, many of them women, carefully copied by hand the books while calligraphers and bookbinders created beautiful text and cover designs. Al-Hakam s library was said to have contained between 400,000 and 500,000 books, whose titles filled a 44-volume catalogue. (In comparison, the largest library in the rest of Europe, the library at the monastery of St. Gall, boasted 36 books.) The people of Cordoba also collected books for their homes. Those who owned large, personal libraries were regarded as important figures in Cordovan society.

3 Scholars from all over Afro-Eurasia Jews, Christians, Muslims, Zoroastrians flocked to Cordoba s famous library to study together. Great thinkers who studied in Cordoba included Maimonides( ), the author of the Guide for the Perplexed. A Jewish scholar, Maimonides explained Jewish faith in terms of Aristotle s logic. His philosophy deeply influenced later European thinkers, including Scholastics like Thomas Aquinas. An even more famous scholar from Cordoba was Ibn Rushd ( ), known to the Western world as Averroes. Ibn Rushd was the Islamic equivalent of Leonardo da Vinci. He was widely regarded as the Ideal Man who excelled in numerous fields. He wrote copiously on philosophy, politics, music, medicine, astronomy, mathematics, geography, and physics. His commentaries on Aristotle s works became so influential in later European thought that he has been called one of the spiritual fathers of Europe.

4 3. Paper and Bookmaking In 751, the Abbasids defeated the Tang Chinese at the Battle of Talas in Central Asia. Among the captured Chinese were artisans skilled in paper making. These Chinese prisoners taught their captors the technique of making paper out of tree barks. Paper technology quickly spread throughout Dar al-islam. The first paper-manufacturing plant in Dar al-islam opened in Baghdad in 794 CE. By 891 CE, Baghdad had over a hundred booksellers. Most mosques had libraries. Many cities also had public libraries. Baghdad at the time of the Mongol invasion in 1258 had 36 libraries. According to historian Will Durant, Muslim rulers "in the 10 th century might own as many books as could be found in all the libraries of Europe combined." Books became easily accessible and contributed to interest in all kinds of learning. In Dar al-islam, a well-stocked library was a status symbol! Gradually, Europeans learned paper and bookmaking technology from the Islamic world. Paper was first used in Constantinople by 1100, in Italy by 1102, in Germany by 1228, and in England by Previously, mass production of books was not possible in Europe, who used parchment and silk to produce hand-crafted manuscripts. Introduction by way of the Islamic world of paper would gradually re-introduce literacy and learning to the Western Europeans and help them end centuries of the Dark Age which had begun with the collapse of Rome in the 5 th century.

5 4. Calligraphy Calligraphy, which means beautiful writing, is the art of elegant handwriting. Calligraphy was first used by Muslims when the Arabs began preparing copies of the Qur an. The words of the Qur an were written in calligraphy because only calligraphy was considered worthy of the word of God. At the same time, the Muslim belief that Allah should never be depicted in human image spilled over to the practice of not using visual images to depict important humans. As a result, calligraphy was used not only to adorn the walls of mosques but also as decorations for textiles, ceramics, and metal works. In the Islamic world, the calligrapher was honored above other artists, and calligraphy was considered the highest form of art.

6 5. Geometric and Floral Design Muslim art was mostly abstract, which meant that the pictures did not represent real subjects like humans or animals. Not only was it forbidden to depict Allah in human image, it was generally believed that visual images of humans and animals would distract worshippers from praying to Allah. Consequently, floral patterns and geometric designs became favorite art subjects. The most common was the arabesque, a winding stem of leaves and flowers that formed a spiraling design. The arabesque decorated everything from small objects metal boxes, ceramic bowls, tiles to carpets and entire walls. Muslim artists also used geometric patterns to express the idea that unity and order exists everywhere and at all times. Interlacement, which was another type of arabesque, was made of geometric patterns drawn inside a circle and repeated several times. Despite the religious guidelines, paintings of both humans and animals did exist. They could be found in private places like bathhouses, women s apartments, and the living quarter of the ruling classes. Persian artists particularly excelled at making beautiful miniature portraits of people.

7 6. Music of Muslim Spain The music of Muslim Spain was one of the glorious achievements of the Pax Islamica. Musical styles from all over the world combined to create the distinct sound of the music of Muslim Spain. Europe s first music conservatory (school) was established in Cordoba by an Arab named Ziryad, a freed slave from Baghdad. Royal courts hired musicians from all over Central Asia and Africa to entertain royalty and important visitors, such as wealthy merchants. Musicians and poets worked together to create songs that combined the patterns and rhythms of poetry and musical styles from the Arab, Spanish, African, and Central Asian cultures. By the 11 th century, this music was so popular that the courts of Islamic rulers all over Dar al-islam competed to see whose musicians produced the most pleasing songs. The instruments most often used in this music included: the oud, a short-necked string instrument that is the ancestor of the guitar; the rebab, an instrument brought to Spain from the Middle East that resembles a violin; the ney, a simple wood flute; and the darbuka, a goblet-shaped drum made of pottery. The origins of many instruments, including the oboe, trumpet, violin, guitar, harp, and percussion instruments can be traced to this music of Muslim Spain.

8 7. Chess The game of chess was introduced to Dar al-islam by the Persians, who had learned it from India. The game became widely popular among men and women because of its difficulty and intellectual challenge. Caliphs and sultans and emirs (rulers) would invite champions of the game to chess matches at their palaces. The Muslims continued to adapt and improve the game. It was the Muslims who introduced chess to Europeans, who played it widely from the 13 th century onward.

9 8. Polo It is believed that the game of polo, arguably the oldest recorded team sport in the world, was first invented by pastoral nomadic tribes of Central Asia. The Persians took up the sport over 2500 years ago, probably as a training method for their famous cavalry, the Ten Thousand Immortals. Polo matches, played on horseback, could resemble a battle with up to 100 men to a side. The Muslim world learned the game of polo from the Persians, and quickly, it became a great favorite among the wealthy classes because of its use of horses. The Abbasid caliphs loved the game, which became known as the game of kings. The Arabian stallions, famed for their beautiful looks and fast speed, were used to improve the game. Eventually, the Muslim world introduced the game of polo to Europeans, who also fell in love with the game. Today, polo is played all over the world. Adapted from

10 9. Agricultural & Energy Technology Because water was so scarce in the desert regions of Dar al-islam, Muslim engineers developed ingenious irrigation techniques using underground wells. Muslims probably learned the idea of underground pipes to irrigate farm fields from the Persians, who first perfected the technique, known as the Quanat. As early as the 10 th century, dams, reservoirs, and underground wells were constructed throughout Dar al-islam. Underground wells were placed as much as 50 feet deep in order to tap underground water sources and to minimize evaporation of the precious water. Muslim engineers also perfected the water wheel, a technique that could be operated by man, animals, or the wind. When an upright pole connected to a series of geared wheels was turned, four water scoops, rising one after another, emptied their contents into a canal. Muslim engineers also pioneered double-action pumps that could raise water to a height of 12 meters and windmills with vertical blades. They also built pigeon towers to gather fertilizer for the soil, produced kerosene fuel by distilling crude oil, (Adapted from:

11 10. Numbers, Banking, and Accounting Like the Romans, Muslims excelled at learning from other people and tweaking and improving on what they learned. From the Indians, Muslims adapted the concept of zero and the decimals to develop what Europeans later called the Arabic Numerals. From the Indians, Muslims also adapted the concept of banking. To end the confusion caused by the many currencies in use all over Afro-Eurasia, Muslim merchants developed the concept of checks, which derives from the Arabic word sakk. The Abbasids had central banks with branch offices and an elaborate system of checks and letters of credit. It became possible for a check written on a bank in one part of Dar al-islam to be cashed in a distant city. This was crucial in expanding international trade, which Muslim merchants dominated, both over land and by sea. Double-entry accounting/bookkeeping method, which is used all over the world today, was first used in Europe by Italian merchants around the 13 th century. Some scholars believe that Italian merchants learned of this method from the Muslim world.

12 11. Algebra Muslim scholars were deeply interested in furthering the developments of the ancient Greeks and Indians in mathematics. They spent hours trying to stump one another with difficult mathematical puzzles. For fun, they made magic boxes that were grids containing numbers that added up to the same sum horizontally, vertically, and diagonally. Of the many Islamic scholars, the most famous math scholar was Al-Khwarizmi, who invented algebra. Algebra derives from the Arabic word al jabr, which means the bringing together of separate parts. In algebra, a mathematician substitutes symbols (such as x, y, and z) for numbers in order to solve mathematical problems. Al-Khwarazmi, the Father of Al jabr

13 12. The Scientific Method and Chemistry Aristotle is often given credit for inventing the Scientific Method, but it is actually the Muslim scholars who invented the Scientific Method as we know it today. Will Durant, a famous historian, gives Muslims credit for "introduc(ing) precise observation, controlled experiment, and careful records. Briffault, in his book Making of Humanity, states that (I)nvestigation, accumulation of positive knowledge, minute methods of science and prolonged observation were alien to Greek temperament. These were introduced to Europe by the Arabs. European science owes its existent to the Arabs. Muslim scientists set up the world s first laboratories and conducted painstaking research and experiments to test their theories. As the world s first true scientists, Muslim scholars turned alchemy, the ancient art of transmuting metals, into the science of chemistry. They were the first people to separate chemical compounds from one another. They invented and/or perfected the processes of distillation, sublimation, crystallization, oxidation, and precipitation. They discovered the process of calcinations, which is used to reduce substances to a powered form. They also discovered many elements with their specific weights. They distinguished between metals and alloys, noting that alloys were mixtures and not true elements. They developed the acid-base principal of chemistry as well as the ph scale. They also studied the solubility/insolubility of substances. And Al-Razi s (d. 925) booklet, Secret of Secrets, is said to be the first known example of a chemistry lab manual.

14 Unlike the Greeks who loved knowledge for knowledge s sake, Muslim scientists were deeply interested in practical applications of their theories. They oversaw the beginnings of the chemical industry by using their labs for R&D (research and development) purposes. Muslim chemists developed techniques for extracting minerals and metals, invented crystal making, distilled rose-water perfume, and developed new ceramic glazes, hair dyes, and waterproof varnishes. The Crusades (which began in the late 12 th century) increased Muslim-Christian contacts, which led to the spread of Muslim knowledge and technology into Western Europe. Translations of Muslim works on chemistry (especially Al-Razi s chemistry lab manual) were used in many European schools standard textbooks for many centuries. Source:

15 13. Zoology Muslims scholars made great advances I zoology, the scientific study of animals, during the Golden Age. Muslims were deeply interested in animals, in part because they were so dependent upon animals for their lifestyle, trade, and travels. Al-Jahiz, born in 776 CE in Basra, present-day Iraq, made great contributions to zoology. He composed some 200 works, the most famous of which was the Book of Animals. In this book, he collected a huge body of lore and knowledge about animals from all kinds of sources, including the Qur an, the Hadith, pre-islamic poetry, proverbs, and stories from merchants and sailors, his own personal observations, and his studies of Greek texts. While the book was full of entertaining stories, it also contained important scientific theories and information. His work deeply influenced the 11 th century physician Ibn Kakhtishu, who wrote The Uses of Animals, an account of medicines that could be extracted from animals for human use. In the 14 th century, Al-Damiri used Al- Jahiz s scientific information to write The Lives of the Animals, an encyclopedia of animals.

16 14. Astronomy Muslim scientists made great advances in astronomy, the science of celestial (heavenly) objects/bodies. Muslim astronomers perfected the astrolabe, a device first invented by the Greeks. This was a small, flat, brass disc marked off in degrees. By lining up the pointer with the sun, the user could measure latitude, tell the time of day, and determine the position or movement of the stars and planets. Using the astrolabe and their own observatories, Muslim astronomers made many astronomical discoveries. In Europe, the Catholic Church lionized the incorrect idea that the world was geo-centric. The Hellenistic Greek astronomer Ptolemy had proposed that the earth was the center of the universe. Since the theory fit the Biblical accounts of the creation of the world, the Ptolemaic theory of the universe became Church dogma (doctrine held as indisputable truth) for centuries. To even question the theory became heresy punishable by the Church. Using the astrolabe and their observatories, Muslim scientists made their own observations, which they compared to Ptolemy s tables. They gradually compiled enough data to prove Ptolemy s idea incorrect. Many Muslim astronomers also learned that the earth is a sphere (globe), that it rotates on its own axis, and that the sun is the center of the universe. Centuries later, scientists in Western Europe made their own discoveries and ended up agreeing with the Muslim astronomers.

17 15. Geography and Cartography Muslims were the best geographers and cartographers of the Medieval period. Why? There were two (2) reasons: Commerce and religion. Long distance travel created a need for mapping, and travelers often provided the information to achieve the task. As hazardous as long-distance travel was in Medieval times, Muslims undertook long journeys. One motive for these was the 5 th Pillar, or Hajj. Annually, Muslim pilgrims came to Mecca from all parts of Afro-Eurasia. Another motive for travels was commerce. Muslim merchants dominated both maritime (Indian Ocean) and overland (Silk Road) routes by this time. The following is excerpted from an article found at Fuat Sezgin is one of the world's most prominent historians of science and technology in the Muslim world. The 80-year-old Turkish professor is the director of the Institute for the History of Arabic-Islamic Science at the Johann Wolfgang Goethe University in Frankfurt, Germany, and a prodigiously productive writer. He has compiled a 13-volume history of Islam's Golden Age of Science, including three new books on the accomplishments of Arabic and Islamic cartographers. He says the cartographers not only opened much of the world to Muslim traders but also paved the way for European navigators, who later defined our modern view of geography. "I have written in these three volumes the history of mathematical geography for the first time, generally. Until now, it was impossible to write the [full] history of mathematical geography because [scholars] did not know the mathematical geography in Islam," Sezgin says. Sezgin says it has long been recognized that Muslim navigators undertook sea voyages over vast distances, which gave them a more complete view of geography than the ancient Greeks and Romans. But he says he believes he is the first to compile a comprehensive collection of evidence showing how

18 Muslim cartographers combined the navigators' information with studies of astronomy and mathematics to compile maps of astonishing precision for their day. Sezgin says one of his greatest successes was tracking down a copy of a particularly famous map that Western scholars knew existed from Arab histories but which was generally assumed to be lost. That is the map of the world that Caliph al-ma'mum, who reigned in Baghdad from 813 to 833 AD, commissioned from a large group of astronomers and geographers. "Many geographers, many astronomers, many mathematics scholars made this map. Historians of geography knew of this map, but by its name only. I [finally] found this map in an encyclopedia in Topkapi Sarai [Museum in Istanbul]," Sezgin says. The map shows large parts of the Eurasian and African continents with recognizable coastlines and major seas. It depicts the world as it was known to the captains of the Arab sailing dhows which, with planks secured by palm-fiber ropes rather than nails, used the monsoon wind cycles to trade over vast distances. Western historians recognize that by the 9th century, Arab sea traders had reached Canton, in China. Sezgin says the Caliph al-ma'mum map illustrates how far the Muslim cartographers departed from earlier world views. The maps of the Greeks and Romans reveal a good knowledge of closed seas like the Mediterranean but little understanding of the vast ocean expanses beyond. "This map [shows] the Muslims knew the continents are islands, not like the Greeks' thinking that the seas are closed seas," Sezgin says. But if Sezgin has devoted his life to understanding Islam's Golden Age of Science -- he has spent 55 years writing about it -- he is far from having chauvinistic views. He says Muslim scientists were able to make such advances because they were ready to build on the work of earlier scholars -- Muslim or otherwise. The professor says this "receptiveness" enabled Muslim science to become the world's dominant scientific tradition within 200 years of the beginnings of the Arab conquests. "The Arabs, the Muslims, had taken from Christians, from Jews, from [Persia] without complexes. The Muslims were tolerant. The Muslims had accepted these Christians and Jews as teachers. That's very important, because the period of the reception of science was [thus just] 200 years," Sezgin says. Islam's Golden Age of Science finally ended as the stability and wealth of the Muslim world was shaken by rival powers. European states controlled the Mediterranean trade routes by the 14th century, and the Mongol invasions of the 13th to 15th centuries disrupted trade with China. State patronage of science gave way to military affairs. Still, Muslim science never disappeared. Instead, it reemerged as part of the new body of science developing in Europe as scholars there -- in their turn -- borrowed liberally from Muslim scholars before them. Sezgin says Portuguese and Spanish navigators used the knowledge they gained from Muslim cartographers while Iberia was under Arab domination to launch their own voyages of discovery. Those great sea journeys, including the circumnavigation of the world and the discovery of the Americas, helped lead to a modern view of Earth as a globe containing all of the major continents. Sezgin, who mostly writes in German, says the first volume of his book on the Muslim cartographers has just been translated into English and will be published next month. He hopes the translation will help his work reach a broader audience, both in the West and the Muslim world.

19 16. Medical Advances Contacts with India and Egypt civilizations with a long history of medical advances provided Muslim scholars with opportunities to learn from the best. They learned from Indian and Egyptian doctors and improved on their learning by making their own advances. Muslim doctors experimented with herbal drugs, using them as treatment and as anesthetic during surgery. They used plants like coriander for their curative powers and hashish (a strong narcotic) as sedatives during surgery. Muslim physicians had a great understanding of the functions of parts of the body,. Ibn al-nafis, a 13 th century physician, thoroughly understood the blood circulation system. He was the first to explicitly state that blood moves from the heart, transits through the lungs to mix with air before returning to the heart. Muslim physicians also pioneered the technique of using needles to remove cataracts. Al-Haytham ( ), Latinized as Alhacen or Alhazen, a Muslim mathematician from Basra, Iraq, became known in Europe in the 13 th century as the author of a monumental book on optics the mathematical theory of vision. In his Kitâb al-manâ zir, he offered a new solution to the problem of vision, combining experimental investigations of the behavior of light with inventive geometrical proofs and constant forays into the psychology of visual perception all systematically tied together to form a coherent alternative to the Euclidean and Ptolemaic theories of "visual rays" issuing from the eye. (Source: Al-Razi ( ), a physician from Persia, wrote the Continence, a 24-volume medical encyclopedia, which became hugely influential on European thinking on medicine. He described clinical signs of many diseases, wrote about diagnosing and treating smallpox and measles, and the importance of hygiene and clean air in treating illnesses.

20 Ibn Sinna, Latinized as Avicenna (born 980), another famous physician from Persia, wrote the 14-volume Canon of Medicine, a huge collection of his vast knowledge of Greek and Arabic medical systems. He the Canon, he described various diseases (including smallpox and measles) and their causes, symptoms, and cures. He emphasized the need for hygiene and clean air, for understanding the functions of parts of the human body, and the contagious nature of certain communicable diseases, such as tuberculosis. He was also deeply interested in human psychology and wrote a great deal on the effects of the mind on the body The Canon was translated into Latin and was used as a standard reference book in European universities until the 17 th century. Al-Zahrawi (born 936) from Cordoba, Spain, was the most renowned of all Muslim surgeons. Sometimes called the pharmacist surgeon, he wrote Al-Tasrif, a famous manual on surgery that later became the chief reference work for surgery in Italian and French universities for centuries. The manual included sections on the preparation and dosage of drugs, nutrition, public health, anatomical dissection, and techniques for performing various types of surgeries (including amputation of limbs and crushing bladder stones). The sections on surgery are illustrated with drawings of about 100 surgical instruments, many of which he invented himself, including a pair of forceps used in child birth and catgut to stitch internal incisions. He also used antiseptics to cleanse wounds, a practice that Europeans would not learn of until centuries later.

21 17. Public Healthcare: Hospitals & Pharmacies Muhammad s statement that Allah had provided a cure for every illness inspired the Muslim world s interest in treating diseases. This, coupled with the 5 Pillars of Islam, led to the creation of the first hospital in the world. An early hospital that became a model for future hospitals was founded in Damascus, present-day Syria, staffed with physicians paid by the government. Hospitals were designed to promote health, cure diseases, and teach and expand medical knowledge. By the 9 th century, there were hospitals in all large Muslim towns. The most advanced hospitals like the Aduidi hospital founded by the Abbasid Caliph Harun al-rashid in Baghdad attracted outstanding medical scholars and were housed in large buildings with lecture halls, libraries, pharmacies, laboratories, and patient wards with beds. Patients with communicable diseases, as well as those recovering from surgery, were placed in a separate part of the hospital. In addition to hospitals, pharmacies also developed in Baghdad to provide medicine to treat diseases. Much like today s pharmacies, Muslim pharmacies filled prescriptions ordered by physicians. Drugs were considered so important and dangerous that they were carefully supervised, both during preparation and while in storage..

22 18. Navigation and Shipbuilding Along with the Indian merchants, Muslim merchants were masters of the Indian Ocean. Their knowledge of geography and technological advances in navigation and shipbuilding allowed them to dominate trade and travel in the Indian Ocean. Two Muslim innovations of particular importance were the astrolabe (see Astronomy ) and the dhow. The Dhow, a sailing vessel still in use in the Indian ocean, used both the square and the triangular sail. The triangular sail known as the Lateen Sail allowed the dhows to sail both into and against the wind, which made possible long-distance ocean voyages!! In the Indian Ocean, the dhow used the monsoons as free fuel to move across the Indian Ocean. In the winter, the winds blew to the southwest, bringing the dhows down the coast of East Africa (which Muslims called the Zanj. ) In the summer, the monsoons reversed direction, and the dhow would sail up to Arabia and India. From the Zanj, the Muslim traders picked up wood, ivory, ostrich feathers, and even slaves. In 1492, Christopher Columbus set sail on three small caravel ships which used the triangular lateen sail borrowed from the Islamic world. He also set out with a Muslim navigator, an

23 Arab translator, and an astrolabe perfected by Muslim astronomers. He also had with him a copy of Marco Polo s travelogue and a magnetic compass, a Chinese invention. As you all know, he was looking for a direct sea route to India and China in search of spices. Of course he had no idea that a continent blocked his way, nor did he know the true size of the earth, something that many Muslim astronomers and geographers already knew with fair accuracy.

24 19. Muslim Travelers Muhammad encouraged Muslims to travel as far as China for learning. The wealth of the cities in Dar al-islam depended on trade. And the 5 th Pillar of Islam asked Muslims to go on a Hajj to Mecca at least once during their lifetime. These reasons propelled Muslims to become the world s greatest cartographers and travelers of the time! Ibn Battuta ( ?) dreamed of visiting every major city in Dar al-islam. Sometimes called the Marco Polo of the Islamic world, he managed to travel about 75,000 miles in 29 years! His written accounts, called the Rihla, are tremendously valuable, as they are the only historical source of information about many of the places he visited. Though some scholars question the accuracy of some of his information (much as they question Marco Polo s veracity), his travels ranged from Timbuktu, the famous city of Mali in Wet Africa, all the way to Beijing, China. As a Muslim, he took advantage of the generosity shown to pilgrims he was often given gifts (of horses, gold,,and even slaves) and stayed for free in dormitories, private homes, and even in the palaces of Muslim rulers. For 7 years, he worked for the Sultan in Delhi, India. On his travels he met several Sultans who welcomes him into their

25 company. His descriptions are filled with exciting adventures; he almost died several times. He survived robbers, shipwrecks, pirates, wars, and the Bubonic Plague/Black Death! Mansa Musa (r ) was a rich ruler of Mali, the Western African kingdom that grew wealthy from its gold-salt trade across the Sahara. (Mansa means king, and Musa means Moses in Arabic.) In 1324, he began his famous Hajj to Mecca. It was this pilgrimage that awakened European interest in the incredible wealth of Mali. He traveled from the upper Niger River in Mali across the Sahara to Cairo, Egypt. Accounts vary, and some may be exaggerated, but according to some, Mansa Musa s caravan included 60,000 men, including 12,000 personal slaves finely dressed in silk. Mansa Musa rose on horseback and was preceded by 500 slaves, each carrying a gold-decorated staff. 80 camels tagged along, each carrying 300 pounds of gold! He generously gave away so much gold that Cairo s gold market was staggered by a gargantuan inflation. It took Cairo several decades to recover from the inflation. Mansa Musa impressed the rest of Dar al-islam with his incredible wealth and his commitment to Islam. He brought back to Timbuktu a group of Islamic scholars, who set out to turn Timbuktu into an important center of Islamic learning.