Quotes About Mansa Musa

Mansa Musa never spoke in public, and whispered everything to an interpreter; he was also never allowed to be seen eating a meal.

While visiting Mali's capital, Ibn Battuta was received by the king, who was at that time Mansa Musa's son. Ibn Battuta was offended by the king's lack of generosity. The traveler complained that the king was miserly and instead of giving him "robes of honor and money," he offered Ibn Battuta … three cakes of bread, a piece of beef fried in native oil, and a calabash of sour curds.

By the time Mansa Musa left the Middle East, he had put so much gold into circulation, its value fell sharply. A reporter in the service of the Egyptian sultan reported that the Cairo gold market had been so saturated that it still had not fully recovered twelve years after Mansa Musa's fabulous hajj.