On this day in history, July 19th in 1324, the Mali Emperor, Mansa Musa arrived with his entourage in Cairo, Egypt—a journey of 2,700 miles—an incredible feat of history given this took place seven centuries ago.
Mansa Musa is thought to be one of the wealthiest rulers in history, if not the wealthiest. On this journey he brought 600,000 men; 12,000 slaves; and 24,000 lbs of gold packed to both impress and garner favor with rulers on his route. (The rapid influx of gold into Egypt actually ended up causing major inflation in Egypt for years to come.)
His epic caravan was en route from the center of the west coast of Sub-Saharan Africa to Mecca. Mansa Musa, an Islamic king, was on pilgrimage to the Muslim holy city. His stop in Cairo was a way for him to build connections with other Islamic nations in order to gain strategic religious, military and economic alliances.
Mansa Musa’s wealth and influence was evident on the hand-drawn map of Africa, made in 1375, by European cartographer Abraham Cresques. On the map, the Mali Emperor was drawn holding a large gold scepter and wearing a large golden crown.
Cresques’ map also shows Islam dominance in Africa as he drew mosques throughout the continent. Hundreds of years prior, Islam spread rapidly in Africa primarily as Muslim missionaries, scholars and armies traveled along trade routes. In traditional societies of the 1300s, there was no clear secular-sacred divide (that came with Western Enlightenment philosophers centuries later). Therefore, many converted by decree of the ruling king and/or because they believed the spiritual power of Allah, that was represented in the powerful Muslim conquerors. Muslim’s inclusion and focus on social justice also had broad appeal.
As Mansa Musa gained power in an increasingly Muslim-dominated Africa, Christianity’s influence diminished (even those the previous century Crusaders violently fought against, but by 1226, had been defeated). Although the long-established Christian empire in Ethiopia remained strong and peaceful, former Christian empires of Nubia (present day Sudan) and Carthage in North Africa lost influence.
Today, seven centuries later, Africa is home to a substantial number of Muslim believers who exert significant cultural, social, and political influence across many regions of the continent. In some regions, militant Islam believers are persecuting Christians using terrorist means of violence and fear tactics in nations like Nigeria.
However, in the last thirty years, Christianity has spread rapidly through peaceful means. In fact, “the number of African Christians is growing at around 2.5 percent annually, which would lead us to project a doubling of the continent’s Christian population in thirty years” [1]. Christian missiologists point to how Christianity is most rapidly spreading South in Africa, Asia and South America. Phillip Jenkins in his book, The Next Christendom, cited evidence that in the next year (2025), that 695 million Christians would live in Africa [2]. A hand-drawn map of Africa today would feature more church buildings than mosques.
What is the lesson from history? That God is building His Church and is calling His people to build in His way as Jesus did (through speaking the truth in love and by peaceful means). Although Christians may face diminishing influence or persecution, God is always alive and always drawing men to Himself (John 6:44).
And like the Ethiopian Church in the time of Mansa Musa we are called to peacefully persist in our faith and trust in the Lord because there is eternal reward in the Lord if we do. James, the brother of Jesus who faced persecution for his faith and was thought to be martyred [3], spoke of the blessings of trusting the Lord in persecution: “Blessed is the one who perseveres under trial because, having stood the test, that person will receive the crown of life that the Lord has promised to those who love him” (Jam. 1:12).
That crown is far better and more valuable than any gold crown wore by Mansa Lula or any other human king.
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[1] Philip Jenkins, The Next Christendom: The Coming of Global Christianity (New York: Oxford University Press, 2002), 2, citing Status of Global Mission, 2005,” http://www.globalchristianity.org/resources.htm.
[2] Jenkins, The Next Christendom, 2.
[3] Josephus, Antiquities of the Jews, 20.9.