Lesson video

Hello and welcome to today's history lesson.

My name's Mr. Merrett, and I'll be guiding you through today's lesson.

Today's lesson is looking at the successful expansion of medieval Mali, and by the end of the lesson, we'll be able to evaluate the different reasons for the growth of medieval Mali.

In order to do that, we need to use some key terms, and our key terms for today are trade, federation, and Mansa.

Trade means the exchange of goods.

A federation is a country made up of individual states that have control over their own local matters but are controlled by a central government.

And Mansa is the word used in the Mali Empire to refer to the king or the emperor.

Today's lesson will comprise of three separate learning cycles, and our first learning cycle is looking at how did the Mali Empire expand.

So, let's get going.

In 1235, the founder of the Mali Empire, Sundiata Keita, defeated the Sosso king in battle and established a new power in the West African Sahel.

In 1240, the Lion Prince, as he was nicknamed, captured the city and surrounding lands of the capital of the former Ghana Empire, a city known as Kumbi Saleh.

This reinforced the young empire's grip on the gold and salt trade, ensuring that Sundiata Keita could pay for further expansion.

Essentially, all of the major routes heading from North Africa down through the Sahara and into the Sahel were now passing through the lands of the Mali Empire.

Now that they'd taken control of the old Ghana Empire, they effectively took control of the last of those trade routes that are coming through.

Sundiata Keita was able to defeat the Sosso king with the support of several other kings, all of whom were members of the Mandinke people.

The Mandinke formed the heart of the Mali Empire, but they were not the only ethnic group who lived in the empire.

There were other people such as the Jolof in the west and the Songhai in the east, who had different customs, spoke different languages, had different belief systems, and whereas the Mandinke willingly joined together to form the empire, these other people had to be conquered.

So, let's go for a quick check for understanding.

Now, true or false statement here.

The Mali Empire was made up entirely of Songhai people.

Is that true, or is that false?

Okay, if you chose false, then very well done.

It is indeed false, but let's work out why it was false.

Is it false because the Mali Empire was made up entirely of Mandinke people, or is it false because the Mali Empire was made up mostly of Mandinke people along with some other ethnic groups?

Make your justification now.

Okay, if you chose b, then well done.

That is indeed correct.

Now, let's move on to think about the Malian military.

So, the Malian military was impressive.

Almost all of the army was made up of Mandinke, although other ethnic groups could be called upon to fight on occasion.

It wasn't particularly common, but it did happen from time to time.

The Mandinke were expert blacksmiths who were capable of making strong iron weapons, and that gave them a really big advantage over their neighbors in the Sahel.

So, when you think about why were the Mandinke, why did the Mali rise to prominence, partly it's because the weapons that they could forge as an ethnic group were generally of a better quality than that could be formed by rival ethnic groups.

They were also expert horsemen as well.

So, the Mandinke cavalry were responsible for winning many battles for the Mali Empire.

The majority of the army there was made up of infantry, so people were not on horseback, and, of these, most of those were archers as well.

So the primary force in the Malian Empire, in terms of their army, it was made up mainly of archers.

Medieval African bows were smaller and less powerful than bows used in Europe or Asia at the same time, but their lack of power and range was overcome by the use of poison-tipped arrows.

So, that gave them an advantage in battle there as well.

At its height, the Malian army consisted of somewhere between 90,000 infantry and 10,000 cavalry, something along that sort of stretch.

And, by comparison, England, at the same time, had armies of between 7,000 to 15,000.

So significantly stronger than anything the English could have filled at this same point in time.

The Malian army was a major reason why the empire was able to expand but also why the empire was able to stay together peacefully for such a long time.

So, let's have another quick check for understanding.

So, out of the options available to you, choose the two unit types that made up a major part of the Malian army.

Are they archers, artillery, cavalry, or crossbowmen?

Okay, if you chose A and C, then very well done.

The Malian army was mainly made up of archers and cavalry as well.

Right, let's go for our first task for today, and our first task is a crossword.

So there are some clues on the screen there for you.

You need to use the clues to complete the crossword.

So, all you need to do is match up, for instance, 1 across.

If you see there, there's a number 1.

There's four blocks.

It would be a four-letter word.

You have to work out what the missing word is.

And likewise, 4 down.

Again, it's a four-letter word.

You'd read the clue there for that and try work out what it is.

So, pause the video whilst you do this, and I'll see you once you're finished.

Okay, welcome back.

Hopefully, you got along fine with that task.

So hopefully your answers are the same that are on the screen here.

Let's just go through some of the answers now and make sure we're happy with them.

So, 1 across, Sundiata Keita was nicknamed the Lion Prince.

2 across, the majority ethnic group in Mali was the Mandinke.

And 3 across, Mali arrows were coated in this.

That is poison.

And the down ones.

4 down, part of the trade that made Mali rich was gold.

5 down, most of the Mali infantry were archers.

And 6 down, the Ghana capital is known as Kumbi Saleh.

So hopefully you've got those answers as well.

Right, let's move on then to our second learning cycle for today, which is: how was the Mali Empire organized?

So the Mali Empire was a federation, and although there was a ruler, the Mansa in charge of the empire, the individual kings had a great deal of power to rule their regions as they wanted, as long as they obeyed the Mansa's orders and paid their yearly tributes.

The benefits of this system was that it was much simpler to rule in this way.

Individual kings could deal with the day-to-day running of their regions and respond quickly to any problems as well as feeling pleased that their rule was not being interfered with too much.

The downside though was that it created opportunities for rebellions to quietly grow especially in areas that were populated by non-Mandinke people who felt that they could continue to run their own kingdoms perfectly well without having to pay a yearly tribute.

Another real benefit of this style of government was that if the Malian king at the time wasn't particularly effective, it doesn't necessarily mean that the empire would fall apart because individual kingdoms could continue to run themselves with a great deal of success.

Obviously, it's great to have a really good emperor, and, generally speaking, the history of Mali shows that when there was a good emperor, the empire did well.

But the history of Mali shows that when they didn't have a particularly effective emperor, the empire was still okay.

It still ran itself perfectly well on a day-to-day basis, just that the emperor just took less of an active interest in the day-to-day running.

Everything else though still tends to operate perfectly well.

Now in terms of the issue with quiet rebellions seething, which did happen, to counter this problem, the Mansa installed a farimba, and that translates to a great brave man, in the court of each of the kings.

So each of these individual kings had a farimba installed by the emperor at the time, by the Mansa at the time.

So, the farimba's job was to make sure that the king did not act against the interests of the empire, effectively to stop them rebelling.

If they did try and rebel, if they did try and act against the interest of the empire, then the farimba could remove the king and take control himself until a new king was installed.

He was in command of a small local army for instances just such as this.

The farimbas had to be completely loyal to the Mansa for this system to work, and in order to make that system work, many of the farimbas were enslaved people who felt loyal to the Mansa, personal loyalty to the Mansa because it was a Mansa that gave them a job of such immense power and responsibility.

It's worth making clear that no one in Western Africa or anywhere wanted to be enslaved at this point in time or any point in time really, but enslaved people we're often given roles of great power and respect in the Malian Empire.

And just to give you another really good example, a former enslaved person, a man by the name of Sakura, became a general in the army, and then, in 1285, he actually rose to become Mansa after a period of instability.

There'd been a couple of really poor Mansas which led to instability in the empire.

Sakura rose up, took control, and, by all accounts, was a very good Mansa as well.

So, he was actually the Mansa that was killed on his way back from hajj as well by some bandits.

So, quite a sad end to a really interesting life.

Okay, let's go for a quick check for understanding now then, and it's a discussion-based question for this check for understanding.

I want you to think, "What is good about organizing an empire as a federation?

" "Also though, what is bad about organizing an empire "as a federation?

" "And then finally, overall, do you think it was a good idea "for the Mali empire to organize itself "as a federation or not?

" So, have a little think about those three questions.

Pause the video if you need to, and I'll speak to you again once you're finished.

Okay, welcome back.

Hopefully, you got along fine with that task.

Let's think about some of the possible answers now then.

So, what's good about organizing an empire as a federation?

Well, it's less work for the Mansa for a start.

A lot of the work that he would be doing is now being done by the individual kings within those individual kingdoms.

So, the Mansa himself doesn't need to do as much which, if the Mansa is not particularly effective, is probably a good thing for the empire.

As well as that, individual kingdoms would be happier because they have more freedom.

In terms of what is bad about organizing an empire as a federation, well, some kingdoms might try to break away from the empire, some that might feel that they are doing a perfectly good job organizing themselves.

Wouldn't they be better if they didn't have to spend money to do that?

As well as that, the Mansa has less power, which again is good if he's not a very good Mansa, but if he is an effective Mansa, if he's got some big ideas and big ambitions for the empire, it might actually prevent him from being able to follow those through.

And finally, overall, do you think it was a good idea for the Mali empire to organize itself as a federation or not?

Well, it's entirely your own opinion there.

I mean, you could have said that it was a good idea because most people were happy to be a part of an empire.

They gave them some freedom.

Generally speaking, historically, if an empire is in place, then that's usually at the expense of individual freedoms, but in the Mali Empire, that was less so the case.

Okay, let's have another check for understanding now.

So true or false statements.

The role of a farimba was to rule a kingdom within the Mali empire.

Is that true, or is that false?

Okay, if you chose false, then congratulations.

That is indeed correct.

But let's justify the answer now.

Why is it false?

So, is it false because a farimba monitored kings within the empire to ensure that they worked to support the empire?

Or is it false because a farimba traveled from kingdom to kingdom within the empire, comparing the work of different Mansas?

Make a choice now.

Okay, if you chose a, then very well done.

That is indeed the correct answer.

Let's go onto our next task for today then.

So, I want you to think, "How might different kings in the Mali empire feel "about having a farimba watching them?

" So, I'd like you to imagine what a Mandinke king might say and what a Songhai king might say as well.

So just write a couple of sentences.

Imagine the thoughts of each of these two groups.

Pause the video whilst you're doing this, and I'll speak to you again in just a moment.

Okay, welcome back.

Let's think about what you might have said then.

So, a Mandinke king; as you remember, the majority of the Mali Empire was made of the Mandinke people.

He might have said, "I don't mind having a farimba here.

"I'm happy that my people are so wealthy and powerful.

"There's no way I'd act against the empire.

"The farimba can tell the Mansa just how loyal I am.

" So, the Mandinke king almost certainly felt quite happy that the Mali Empire's a federation.

The Songhai king, well, he might have said, "I wish the farimba wasn't spying on me, "and I wish I didn't have to be a part of the empire.

"The Songhai are strong, "but we will be stronger without having to send tributes.

"One day we'll leave the empire.

" So the Songhai, in particular, they didn't particularly like being under the control of the Mali Empire, and, in later years, the Songhai actually broke away, and then they actually took over what was the Mali Empire, and they became the last of the really great West African powers as well, but you can kind of feel that that's the way the tide was shifting in any case years and years before, that the Songhai weren't overly happy to be ruled within the Mali Empire.

Right, let's go for our final learning cycle for today which is looking at how did the Mali Empire use its wealth.

So, the Mali Empire generated incredible amounts of wealth due to its position between the gold fields to the south and the salt mines to the north, as well as being the first stop for traders who would cross the Sahara.

This wealth was used by the Malian elites to create fabulous displays of wealth, but it was also used to enhance the empire.

Let's have a quick check for understanding.

So, which empire first benefited from the Sahel trade of gold and salts?

So, if you've joined me for previous lessons within this unit, you'll know the answer to this hopefully.

Was it the Ghana Empire, the Mali Empire, or the Songhai Empire?

Make your choice now.

Okay, if you chose a, the Ghana Empire, then very well done.

That is indeed correct.

Gold dust was the primary export from the gold fields controlled by the Mali Empire.

All gold nuggets were claimed by the Mansa to keep the value of gold high, and the whole idea is that the Mansas are trying to make sure there's not too much gold in the market so that the value of that gold would then decrease 'cause if there's too much of anything, then the value of that thing isn't worth as much.

If anybody brought a gold nugget to the Mansa, then the Mansa would take the nugget but provide that person with the equivalent weight of that nugget but in gold dust.

So, gold dust was used for trading, and gold nuggets were kept by the Mansa to keep the value of gold high.

The gold owned by the Mansa was used for ornamentation, such as golden bows and arrows, golden threads in his clothes, and even gold collars for his dogs.

The Mansa's gold was also used to pay for the construction of buildings that built the reputation of the empire, such as the Djinguereber Mosque and Sankore Mosque in Timbuktu and the Great Mosque of Djenne as well.

So the Malians used the gold for personal ornamentation to make themselves look good, but they also used that gold to actually beautify and enhance their empire as well by creating incredible buildings, but also populating those buildings with incredible people and incredible books as well.

So the gold was really put to very, very good use.

Okay, another check for understanding, and it's another discussion question.

I want you to think about, "How else did the Mali Empire use its wealth?

" So try and think of a few different ways the Mali Empire used its wealth.

Pause the video if you need to.

I'll speak to you once you've answered that question.

Okay, welcome back.

So you might have said that the Mali Empire used its wealth to fund the army, expand the empire, build great buildings, and trade with other nations, so a whole variety of different ways the Mali Empire used its wealth.

So our final task for today, I want you to think, "What do you think was the most significant factor "in the successful expansion of the Mali Empire?

"Was it its military?

"Was it its method of organization?

"Or was it its wealth?

" So there's no right or wrong answer here.

There genuinely isn't a right or wrong answer.

What I'm most interested in is the fact that first of all, you have an opinion, and then secondly, you can justify that opinion, you can support it with facts and evidence and a really good explanation for why you think your chosen factor is more important than the other two.

So use the evidence from this lesson, use your own knowledge, pause the video whilst you're doing this, and I'll see you once you're finished.

Okay, welcome back.

Hopefully you got along fine with that task.

Let's go through an answer that I've got on the screen here in front of you.

So I said, "The most significant factor "in the successful expansion of the Mali Empire "was its wealth "because it could be used to make the empire stronger.

"For example, Mali could pay "for an even bigger and more impressive army "which would allow it to conquer "more neighboring ethnic groups.

"Additionally, Mali's wealth could grow "the empire's reputation "through impressive building projects "like the Djinguereber Mosque in Timbuktu.

"This reputation would have encouraged "neighboring kingdoms to join "the successfully expanding empire.

"Similarly, Mali's wealth allowed it to trade "with other nations, "increasing both its wealth "and successful reputation further.

" So hopefully there, what you can see that I've done, is that I've taken my chosen factor, and I've explained why I think it's important, but I've also linked it to the other factors as well, and explained how my chosen factor actually supports the other two factors.

So I'm not ignoring the other two factors entirely in my answer.

I'm saying that my chosen factor actually boosts the other two factors, and that's one of the reasons why it's so important.

Now, if you didn't choose wealth, you might have said something different like its method of organization.

So here's a potential answer you could have said for that one.

So, "The most significant factor "in the successful expansion of the Mali Empire "was its method of organisation "because, as a federation, "the Mansa was able to control his empire "more easily and efficiently.

"Additionally, the yearly tribute "the individual kings had to pay "contributed to the Mansa's wealth, "furthering the opportunities for empire growth.

"Similarly, having a farimba in each kingdom "ensured the Mansa loyalty throughout the empire "and encouraged peace amongst the kingdoms.

"In turn, this allowed the Mansa time to focus "on successful empire expansion.

" So hopefully there, you can see I'm doing the same sort of thing.

I'm thinking about how my chosen factor actually supports the other two factors.

And we'll do it again one more time for the final factor.

And I said here, "The most significant factor "in the successful expansion of the Mali Empire "was its military.

"because the Malian army was largely made up "of the Mandinke ethnic group "who were expert blacksmiths "and capable of making strong iron weapons.

"This gave them an advantage over their neighbors "in the Sahel who did not have the same abilities.

"The Mandinke were also excellent horsemen; "the Mandinke cavalry were responsible "for winning many battles for the Mali Empire "which allowed the empire to successfully expand.

" Right, let's summarize the lesson for the day then.

"The Mali Empire expanded throughout the Sahel "during the 13th century.

"One reason it expanded "was that it was able to use its superior army "to conquer its neighbors, "such as the Jolof in the west and the Songhai in the east.

"Another reason was that it also had "a successful government structure for ruling the empire, "for example, it was a federation.

"Both of these factors were possible "because of Mali's great wealth.

"The Malian elites used the gold to enrich themselves "and successfully expand the empire "by paying for its impressive army "and through building projects "which improved the empire's reputation.

" Thank you very much for joining me today.

Hopefully you enjoyed yourself.

Hopefully you learned something, and hopefully I'll see you again next time.

Bye-bye.