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Mansa Musa's Lost Fleet: The Mali Navy That Patrolled the Niger
In this episode, we explore a little-known aspect of the Mali Empire under Mansa Musa: its riverine navy. While the empire is famous for its gold and trans-Saharan caravans, few realize that Mansa Musa maintained a fleet of war canoes on the Niger River, crewed by Sorko fishermen and commanded by a 'naval farba' based in Djenné. We discuss the fleet's role in securing trade routes, projecting power against the Songhai and Mossi kingdoms, and the logistical challenges of maintaining hundreds of boats. Drawing on al-Umari's Masalik al-Absar and oral traditions recorded in…
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