New
New
Year 2

Mansa Musa and the Hajj

I can explain how Mansa Musa's Hajj made him famous.

New
New
Year 2

Mansa Musa and the Hajj

I can explain how Mansa Musa's Hajj made him famous.

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Lesson details

Key learning points

  1. Mansa Musa was a Muslim and his faith was very strong.
  2. He knew that as a Muslim, he should travel to the holy city of Mecca on a pilgrimage called the Hajj.
  3. He made the long journey to Mecca accompanied by many people and camels, carrying huge amounts of gold.
  4. During the journey Mansa Musa gave this gold away to the people that he met.
  5. His journey and the gold made Mansa Musa and Mali famous throughout the Islamic world.

Keywords

  • Pilgrimage - a pilgrimage means to travel to a special place that's important to a religion

  • Hajj - Hajj is the name for the Muslim pilgrimage

  • Islamic - Islamic means relating to Islam

Common misconception

Pupils may think all Muslims have to do the pilgrimage.

The pilgrimage is something many Muslims would like to do. However, it is only required if they are able to do it. Travelling to Mecca is too expensive for many people. Others might not be physically able to do the pilgrimage.

Explore the map of Mansa Musa's pilgrimage and how long that journey would have taken.
Teacher tip

Licence

This content is © Oak National Academy Limited (2024), licensed on Open Government Licence version 3.0 except where otherwise stated. See Oak's terms & conditions (Collection 2).

Lesson video

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6 Questions

Q1.
Where is the Mali Empire on today's map?
South Africa
Correct answer: West Africa
East Africa
Q2.
What were the rulers of the Mali Empire called?
Correct Answer: mansas, mansa
Q3.
What was the Mali Empire famous for?
diamonds
Correct answer: gold
silver
Q4.
Mansa Musa used his large army to lands rich with gold and salt.
make friend with
Correct answer: conquer
have holidays in
Q5.
What happened to the mansa before Mansa Musa?
He died from illness.
Correct answer: He didn't return from his voyage.
He went to rule a new empire.
Q6.
What is an empire?
taking control of a place or people
Correct answer: a group of states or countries ruled over by one person
having a lot of money

6 Questions

Q1.
When was Mansa Musa ruler of the Mali Empire?
200 years ago
Correct answer: 700 years ago
1000 years ago
Q2.
Which religion did Mansa Musa follow?
Correct answer: Islam
Christianity
Sikhism
Q3.
Where do Muslims travel for their pilgrimage?
Correct Answer: Mecca, mecca
Q4.
Very few people knew about Mansa Musa before his Hajj.
Correct answer: true
false
Q5.
How long did Mansa Musa's pilgrimage take?
seven days
four months
Correct answer: 2 years
Q6.
What did Mansa Musa give to people on his Hajj?
food
water
Correct answer: gold

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