In 1324 the Malian Emperor, Mansa Musa, made a pilgrimage to Mecca that would
stun the Islamic world with its magnificence. If the sources are to be
believed, the emperor traveled with an entourage 60 000 fellow pilgrims and
untold quantities of pure West African gold. While travelling through Egypt
his lavish spending flooded the country with so much gold that he apparently
caused an economic crisis. Precious metals were devalued and Egypt fell into a
recession that it would take years to recover from... or at least, so goes the
story. Is it true that Mansa Musa had enough gold to destabilize one of the
strongest economies in the medieval world? Is it even possible to accurately
calculate the wealth of someone from the 1300's? Tune in and find out how tips
on copper, half-remembered conversations, and payments in gold-dust all play a
role in the story.
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