Mansa Musa and Islam in Africa: Crash Course World History #16

Apr 2026 15

In which John Green teaches you about Sub-Saharan Africa! So, what exactly was going on there? It turns out, it was a lot of trade, converting to Islam, visits from Ibn Battuta, trade, beautiful women, trade, some impressive architecture, and several empires. John not only covers the West African Malian Empire, which is the one Mansa Musa ruled, but he also discusses the Ghanian Empire and even gets over to East Africa as well to discuss the trade-based city-states of Mogadishu, Mombasa, and Zanzibar. In addition to all this, John considers emigrating to Canada.

Chapters:
Introduction: African History 00:00
King Mansa Musa of Mali 1:22
Mali, the Berbers, and the Islamization of West Africa 3:23
An Open Letter to Ibn Battula 5:29
The End of the Malian Empire 6:17
The Swahili Civilizations of Eastern Africa 6:55
Credits 9:56

Crash Course is on Patreon! You can support us directly by signing up at

Want to find Crash Course elsewhere on the internet?
Facebook –
Twitter –
Instagram –

CC Kids:

source