Mansa Sulayman

Mansa Sulayman was the younger brother of the legendary Mansa Musa and the eleventh emperor of the Mali Empire. He took the throne in 1341, after deposing his nephew Maghan I, Musa's son, and ruled until his death in 1360, a reign recorded as 19 years in some sources and 24 in others. His reign is considered part of the golden age of Mali, together with that of Musa.

Much of what is known about him comes from the Moroccan traveller Ibn Battuta, who visited his capital in 1352 and 1353 and left the first eyewitness account of a West African kingdom. Ibn Battuta described a court of ceremony and pageantry that was virtually on a par with European courts of the time, with the emperor's arrival signalled by trumpets and drums, curtains raised and a flag hung from a window on a silken cord.

Ibn Battuta watched Sulayman hear the disputes of ordinary citizens and make fair judgments, and he praised the security of the empire, saying that travellers need not worry about thieves. He was less kind about the emperor's generosity, calling him a miserly king from whom no great donation could be expected, a harsh comparison with his famously generous brother. Sources agree, however, that he was a capable and effective ruler.

Sulayman ruled alongside his principal wife and cousin Qasa, whose name was mentioned in the pulpit. Ibn Battuta noted that the queen was his partner in the kingship, following the custom of the Black peoples. While the traveller was in Mali, Qasa was accused of plotting to depose her husband and bring back an exiled cousin, and Sulayman imprisoned her and married another wife, Banju.

Sulayman died in 1360 and was followed by his son Qasa, who ruled briefly before a civil war was won by Sulayman's great-nephew Mari Jata II. His death is often taken to mark the end of Mali's golden age and the start of a slow decline. His reputation has suffered from comparison with Musa, but historians now see his reign as a period of stability and strong administration.