Does the pilgrimage of the emperor of Mali, Mansa Musa, to Mecca also pass by the Oasis of Siwa?
The precise route is not certain but many sources mention the oasis of Augila as a stop on the runway for Cairo and, in this case, the passage for Siwa is almost mandatory.
Unfortunately there are no sources in Siwa but I believe that the passage of the Emperor's caravan, made up of 60,000 men, from our Oasis is almost certain for geographical reasons. The emperor's caravan stops in Cairo for about 3 months in the summer of 1324 so the transition from Siwa should have taken place in May or June of that year.
Mansa Musa’s Hajj Route (circa 1324 AD)
From Wikipedia: Musa made his pilgrimage between 1324 and 1325.His procession reportedly included 60,000 men, all wearing brocade and Persian silk, including 12,000 slaves, who each carried 1.8 kg (4 lb) of gold bars, and heralds dressed in silks, who bore gold staffs, organized horses, and handled bags. Musa provided all necessities for the procession, feeding the entire company of men and animals. Those animals included 80 camels which each carried 23–136 kg (50–300 lb) of gold dust. Musa gave the gold to the poor he met along his route. Musa not only gave to the cities he passed on the way to Mecca, including Cairo and Medina, but also traded gold for souvenirs. It was reported that he built a mosque every Friday. Musa's journey was documented by several eyewitnesses along his route, who were in awe of his wealth and extensive procession, and records exist in a variety of sources, including journals, oral accounts, and histories. Musa is known to have visited the Mamluk sultan of Egypt, Al-Nasir Muhammad, in July 1324. However, Musa's generous actions inadvertently devastated the economies of the regions through which he passed. In the cities of Cairo, Medina, and Mecca, the sudden influx of gold devalued the metal for the next decade. Prices on goods and wares greatly inflated. To rectify the gold market, on his way back from Mecca, Musa borrowed all the gold he could carry from money-lenders in Cairo at high interest. This is the only time recorded in history that one man directly controlled the price of gold in the Mediterranean.
Mansa Musa’s Hajj Route (circa 1324 AD)
Gadames, Augila et, Probably, the Siwa Oasis on the way to Cairo
Gadames, Augila et, Probably, the Siwa Oasis on the way to Cairo
The Catalan Atlas is a Medieval world map or mappamundi created in 1375. It was produced by the Majorcan cartographic school, possibly by Cresques Abraham, a Jewish book illuminator who was described by a contemporary as a master of mappae mundi as well as of compasses. It was in the royal library of France (now the Bibliothèque nationale de France) by 1380, in the time of King Charles V.
