9.+The+Decline+of+Mali

=Background Paragraph=

Mali was a great empire until Mansa Musa died in 1332. The empire slowly started failing after a group of inadequate kings took over. Right after Mansa Musa's death there were two major setbacks that occurred. One was loss of Timbuktu from their control. The second was that the king that had taken over after Musa (Mansa Maghan) let two important hostages escape. These things aided in the decline of Mali. After that, in 1475, the Songhay Empire, centered in Gao, slowly became the most important state and Mali fell to second place. Mali stayed around for about two centuries but never became as big an influence as it was in its glory days.

=Key Fact Bullet Points=


 * Mansa Musa died in 1332 after ruling for 25 years.
 * Mansa Maghan ruled after his father and he did a very bad job. He ruled for 4 years (1332 - 1336).
 * During his reign, Mali suffered two huge setbacks. One was the loss of Timbuktu. Hostile Mossi people raided it and set it on fire. The second was that Mansa Maghan let two Songhay prince hostages go.
 * Mansa Maghan was succeeded by his uncle, Mansa Sulayman in 1336.
 * Sulayman did a good deal to repair Mali and stabilized its decline until the mid 1300s.
 * After him, there were no good Mandingo Empires. Every king after him was weak and not able to control an empire.
 * The Songhay empire was a huge threat to Mali
 * In 1481, Mali made their last stand
 * Mali stayed around for a while (two centuries) before finally fading away