For the inaugural edition of Garfield’s Histories of Gold, there’s nothing better to talk about than how one of the world’s wealthiest emperors, Musa I of Mali, caused the collapse of Cairo’s economy.

In 1307, Mansa Musa inherited the flourishing West African kingdom of Mali. The empire had already been affluent thanks to his predecessors. King Musa of Mali I, however, sought to greatly expand Mali’s global influence.

Perhaps his most notable action was a storied pilgrimage to Mecca. After nearly two decades in power, Mansa Musa of Mali departed on the 4,000-mile journey from his capital of Niani. He went with a caravan of 60,000 men… and a significant amount of gold.

Some 12,000 of his procession were fully dressed in brocade—a fabric woven with silver or gold thread—and 500 held gold-adorned staffs. To further display Mali’s prosperity, 80 camels followed behind with a total of 24,000 pounds of gold.

When Musa I of Mali traversed into Cairo, he poured so much gold into the economy that Cairo fell into an economic depression. Even though the value of gold hadn’t recovered over a decade later, the roughly 1 million inhabitants of the city continued to praise Mansa Musa’s generosity.

To learn more about Musa I of Mali’s reign, click here.

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Written by

Allie Bowman

Allie Bowman is the Content Lead at Garfield Refining, where she translates more than 130 years of precious metals expertise into clear, accurate, and practical content for individual sellers, dental professionals, jewelers, and collectors. A Dean's List graduate of the University of Delaware's Media Communication program, Allie has built her career around making complex subjects accessible to a broad audience. Her experience spans nutrition science, lifestyle magazine publishing, and precious metals refining, giving her a unique ability to transform technical information into engaging, trustworthy content. At Garfield, Allie brings editorial rigor and subject-matter expertise to every piece she produces. She works closely with Garfield's refining specialists and senior leadership to ensure that technical topics - from karat markings and assay methods to precious metals markets and spot price mechanics - are explained with both accuracy and clarity. Since joining Garfield's marketing team, Allie has written extensively on precious metals refining, dental scrap recovery, gold and silver bullion, estate and inherited jewelry, and industry-specific topics for dental and jewelry professionals. All content is reviewed by Garfield's leadership team prior to publication, ensuring it reflects the company's standards for accuracy, transparency, and industry expertise.