It’s widely believed that Mansa Musa was the richest person in the history of the world, worth approximately $400 billion, according to CelebrityNetWorth. Due to the fact that all one knows about Mansa Musa is from 500-year-old accounts, how does one know his wealth hasn’t been exaggerated and turned into legend?
Initially, the Catalan Atlas states that Mansa Musa was the richest man, but is too general with all its information. As stated in Document B, the Catalan Atlas, “[Mansa Musa] is the richest and most noble king in all the land”. The Catalan Atlas was a medieval atlas, created in 1375, showing most of the world during that time period. The document states he was the richest man in all the land, but what is all the land? The Catalan Atlas never gives Mansa Musa’s wealth an exact number and is quite vague about all the information it provides. It was created 38 years after Mansa Musa died, and the author of the Catalan Atlas, Abraham Cresques, never visited the empire that Mansa Musa ruled over! How does one know if the information in
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this source is accurate? Subsequently, Document D states how elaborate Mansa Musa's procession into Cairo was and includes actual figures on the number of precious metals he brought.
While adding up all the gold mentioned in Document D, and adjusting the prices for inflation, the reader was left with the impression Mansa Musa had approximately $571,860,000 worth of gold with him in Cairo during his Hajj. After adding in all the other luxury goods Musa brought with him, another $247,080,000 is added to the amount of money he brought with him, ending with a total of $818,940,000. This is around $399,000,000,000 off from the original estimate. One could quite logically assume that Mansa Musa would not have brought his entire life savings with him to Cairo, but since he was a Muslim on Hajj, Mansa Musa most likely brought more than the average person to complete the third pillar of Islam; charity. Still, one billion dollars is very far off from 400
billion. As said in Document C “The people of Cairo made incalculable profits out of him…they depressed [gold’s] value in Egypt and caused its price to fall. This has been the state of affairs for about twelve years until this day by reason of the large amount of gold which [Musa] brought into Egypt...”. Document C backs up the claim that he would have brought more money with him, as he caused a financial depression due to his generosity there. Document C was written by an Arabic historian, Al-Umari, who had interviewed the emir in Cairo. How does one know if the emir wasn’t being honest, and was just trying to hype up Cairo and make it seem prestigious because a king passed through? The emir very easily could have exaggerated Mansa Musa’s wealth, and Al-Umari never explicitly stated any numbers. In conclusion, Mansa Musa was a very wealthy individual, but there’s just not enough evidence to say he was the richest person of all time. Due to the fluctuating prices of goods throughout time, there’s no way to ever find out the exact amount of the money he had, and it will remain a mystery for the rest of history.
As the Reconstruction Era ended, the United States became the up and coming world power. The Spanish-American war was in full swing, and the First World War was well on its way. As a result of the open-door policy, England, Germany, France, Russia, and eventually Japan experienced rapid industrial growth; the United States decided to pursue a foreign policy because of both self- interest and idealism. According to the documents, Economic self- interest, rather than idealism was more significant in driving American foreign policy from 1895 to 1920 because the United States wanted to protect their foreign trade, property and their access to recourses. While the documents also show that Nationalistic thought (idealism) was also crucial in driving American foreign policy, economic Self- interest prevailed.
The relationship between cricket and politics is clearly delineated in South Asia from 1880 to 2005 through the easing of the stress between totally different caste members, although the stress mitigated wasn't forever from a religious aspect between the Pakistanis, Indians, and also the British. The various issues that arose in South Asia was largely class or caste systems (Docs 2, 3, 4), rivalry (Docs 1, 6, 10), and religious tensions (Docs 5, 7, 8, 9) against the various countries and cricket groups. Throughout its interaction with Indian politics from 1880 to 2005, cricket has served as both a unifying force between totally different political groups and also has divided political groups in periods of power struggle and political variations, as well as making sturdy bonds between countries.
Asoka was a ruler of Ancient India and has done evil, but good things, so would you think he is a ruthless conqueror or an enlightened ruler? Asoka had been a ruler in 268 BC. He had conquered an emperor, Kalinga. During the war, he had killed many people. Because he felt a great crisis, he decided to seek enlightenment. After seeking enlightenment with a buddhist monk, he helped his citizens. Because Asoka was remorse after the killings of many people, he helped the poor, and spread the Buddha’s beliefs while still honoring the traditions of the Hindu religion in India, proving Asoka really was an enlightened ruler.
How does one region have a prolonged battle for authority, and conflict with the opposing force for eternity? After the Ottoman Empire sided the Central Powers during World War I, they didn’t foresee that they would lose their empire based off of this decision. European countries that won the war came in and partitioned the Middle Eastern region. Soon after the Sykes-Picot Agreement was established, and the Arabs felt betrayed because they weren't granted their deserved independence. The new borders set caused continuous conflict because of the artificial blending of different ethnic and religious groups. International conflicts have contributed to regional conflict in Southwest Asia by forming borders without regards to the different ethnic and religious groups, creation of the state Israel in 1948, and the U.S. being involved in the matters of the Middle
The Atlantic Slave Trade affected millions of lives throughout the centuries that it existed and now many years later. It was so widely and easily spread throughout four continents and with these documents we get to read about three different people with three different point of views. A story of the life as a slave from an African American slave himself, how the slave trade was just a business from the point of view from merchants and kings, and letter from King Affonso I referring to the slave trade to King Jiao of Portugal.
“Season of Hope” happened during 1870 to 1890. “Some blacks in the South pressured plantation owners into adopting individual family farming.” Also, black men’s voting rights were guaranteed and even some office accepted black. Benjamin Singleton, a slave who escaped from his owner tried to help other move to Kansas. Those who answered him were called “Exodusters”. Singleton helped black people start their own industries, even though he sooner realized he was not strong enough to do that. From 1890 the Southern states began to enforce white supremacy through disfranchisement and segregation. They tried to remove African-American from the vote list so that they could do whatever they want. Not only the race separation, black people were also
After the Second World War, the world was more interesting in oil than ever before. The conflict itself made the countries of the world realize that oil was a serious factor in the quest for power. From this point in history, oil was considered the driving force behind a successful economy and therefore attaining power. Therefore the quest for oil heightened during and after World War II. In the effort to acquire more oil, many countries began to seek out additional locations to drill and this drove the United States to the Middle East. In late 1943 a man named DeGolyer who was a geologist went on a mission to Saudi Arabia to survey the possibility for oil. His mission there concluded that “the oil in this region is the greatest single prize in all history”. With such a conclusion it is not surprising that the United States began extremely concerned with the oil concessions there.
Ibn Munqidh, Usama. "From Memoirs." McNeill, William and Marilyn Robinson Waldman. The Islamic World. Chicago: The University of Chicago Press, 1973. 184-206.
Throughout Europe in the fifteenth, sixteenth, seventeenth, and eighteenth centuries, nations were filled with poor and less fortunate individuals. While the nobles of countries such as France and England ruled their lands, many forgot about the underprivileged that roamed the city streets begging for alms. As a result, the opinions towards these lower class people were very differentiated. However, three main opinions stood out. All in all, the views of the poor in fifteenth – eighteenth century Europe included those who believed individuals should help the poor because it is the right thing to do, those who believed individuals should help the poor for God, and those who believed the poor were just idlers
The Islamic tradition, as reflected in Naguib Mahfouz’s Zaabalawi, has over the course of history had an incredible impact on Arab culture. In Mahfouz’s time, Islamic practices combined with their political relevance proved a source of both great power and woe in Middle Eastern countries. As alluded to in Zaabalawi, Mahfouz asserts the fact that not all Muslims attain religious fulfillment through this common tradition, and other methods outside the scope of Islam may be necessary in true spiritual understanding.
I. MAIN POINT: Thanks to the Ancient Egyptians, Egypt’s revenue increase by $13 billion every year due to the thousands of people who come and visit this historic monument.
Usamah ibn Munquidh is a muslim who was born in 1095 in Syria. He spent his time reading and learning about Quran which it is holy book of Islam. He was fasting and hunting in daytime, but memorizing the Quran in night time. His faith was the most powerful that lead respect for his strength in the battle. When he was little, He live his life in danger but learned to not be afraid. He learned how to write which help us understand the Islamic perspective of the crusades. He wrote about what happened in the battles and crusades who were evil . He also wrote about Muslims and prayed to Allah to help them. He spent his life, believing in Allah and trusting him deeply.
The Richest Man in Babylon was written by George S. Clason in 1926. It is a series of didactic, interwoven stories concerning personal financial habits set against the backdrop of ancient Babylon. Clason begins his novel by introducing Bansir, a chariot builder who wishes he had more disposable income. Distraught with the reality that he has accumulated no real surplus of wealth by his later years, he seeks out the advice from an old friend, Arkad- the richest man in Babylon. Through the remaining course of the novel, we are introduced to Clason’s words of wisdom for successful management of wealth, told vicariously through the various characters and scenarios set forth as the novel progresses.
In the face of a dwindling budget and uncertain prospects, Mubarak settled on moving from the pricey University district of Al Rashid to a cheaper neighborhood in the fringes of the capital. As he thought of his urgent decision, he recalled what an Iraqi immigrant at the refugee commission once told him “The cost of living is extremely low in Khrebat, and the people there are affable and tolerant of foreigners. In order to get there take the bus to the Wehdat transit center. Then take the Khrebat minibus and tell the chauffeur to drop you off at Hajja Nima bus station. Once there, ask any passerby about the Sudanese men who live at Hajja Nima lodging. Everybody in that neighborhood knows where they live. They will be happy to show you the community and assist you to find an apartment or a house for a discounted rent. They are very good men. Some of them used to be my neighbors back in Baghdad”
Arundhati Roy a famous Indian Author best known for her novel “The God of Small Things” brings a collection of her essays to become one known as “The Algebra of Infinite Justice”. She had experience in acting, architecture, and finally writing. She has devoted herself to political activism and as a spokesperson to the “anti globalization and alter globalisation movement”. According to Arundhati America goes to war and cannot back out unless it ends with one side losing, and when there is no enemy the American government will create one to satisfy their arms business and the angry citizens that have been effected by terrorism. President Bush during his presidency has described the enemies of America as “enemies of Freedom” but this freedom is only for their people. This idea has put the thought in Americans’ head that “The American way of Life” is the only right way and that anyone who goes against it is an enemy or a terrorist.