Hello, my name is Mrs. Tipping, and I am really looking forward to learning with you today, all about significant rulers from the past.

And we're going to explore the question, what can those rulers, what can their stories tell us? So, shall we get started? Let's go.

By the end of today's lesson, you will be able to describe how Musa Keita became the mansa of Mali.

Before we start, I would like to introduce you to some key words.

We'll be using these key words during the lesson, so it might be a good idea to write these keywords down.

The keywords we'll be using today are empire.

Mansa.

Wealthy.

Conquer.

I'm going to say those words again and I'd like you to repeat them after me.

Empire.

Mansa.

Wealthy.

Conquer.

Good job.

Now let's think in more detail about what these keywords mean.

Let's take a look at each of their definitions.

An empire is a group of places or countries ruled by one person.

All rulers of the Mali Empire were called mansas.

To be wealthy means having a lot of money.

To conquer means to take control of another place.

Pause the video here to make a note of these key words, and when you are ready to continue press play.

These are the learning cycles that we're working through together in today's lesson.

The Mali Empire.

Who was Mansa Musa? In the first learning cycle we'll explore the Mali Empire.

Around 800 years ago, a man named Sundiata Keita created the Mali Empire.

He became the first mansa of Mali.

All leaders of the Mali Empire were called mansas.

The Mali Empire grew very wealthy and became famous for its gold.

To be wealthy means to have a great deal of money or resources.

The Mali Empire was extremely rich.

It became an important place for trade, and the empire controlled important cities like Timbuktu and Gao.

Have a look there at that illustrative map of the Mali Empire.

Let's take a moment to pause and check our understanding.

Can you match these keywords to their definition? So we have mansa, we have wealthy, having a lot of money.

The name of rulers of the Mali Empire.

Pause the video here and give yourself a moment to think, and press play when you are ready to continue.

How did that go? Shall we take a look? So, mansa is the name of rulers of the Mali Empire.

And wealthy means having a lot of money.

Well done if you matched those correctly.

Now, the first mansa of the Mali Empire, Sundiata Keita, ruled the empire until he died in 1255.

By the 1300s, almost 800 years ago, the Mali Empire became one of the largest in the world.

The empire stretched across what is now known as Mali, Guinea, Senegal, Mauritania, and the Gambia in West Africa.

Let's take a look at this Google Map of West Africa here.

So, a lot of that area in that west of Africa is what the Mali Empire was.

Let's take a moment to pause and check our understanding.

Where is the Mali Empire on today's map? East Africa, West Africa, or Asia? Pause the video here and have a quick discussion with your learning partner, and press play when you are ready to continue.

What did you think? If you said that the Mali Empire on today's map was in West Africa, you are absolutely right.

Well done.

Now, Musa Keita was an important man who supported the mansa.

And when the mansa wanted to go and explore what was beyond the seas, he gave the instruction to Musa Keita, a really important instruction.

The mansa told Musa Keita that if he did not return from his journey, then Musa Keita should become the next mansa of Mali.

And so the mansa set off on his voyage into the Atlantic Ocean.

Now I wonder, did the mansa ever come back? Let's take a moment to pause and check our understanding.

Musa Keita was told he would definitely become mansa.

Is that true or false? Hmm, what do you think? Musa Keita was told he would definitely become mansa.

That is false.

Now, looking at these two statements, which of these would help to justify your answer? He would become mansa only if the mansa before did not return from his voyage.

He would become mansa when the mansa before returned from his voyage.

So, pause the video here and have a discussion with your learning partner to decide which of these two statements would help to justify your answer, and press play when you are ready to continue.

What did you think? If you said he would become mansa only if the mansa before did not return from his voyage, you are absolutely right.

Well done.

This brings us to our first learning task.

I'd like you to label this map of the Mali Empire with information you've learned about it.

These words might help you, mansa, wealthy, largest, West Africa.

So, pause the video here and make sure that you give yourself enough time to have a go at labelling this map of the Mali Empire with things you've learned about it already, and press play when you are ready to continue.

How did that go? Shall we take a look at an example? So, you might have written that Sundiata Keita was the first mansa of the Mali Empire.

The Mali Empire stretched across West Africa.

By 1300, the Mali Empire was one of the largest in the world and it was a wealthy empire.

So well done if you were able to add those labels to explain what you've learned about the Mali Empire.

And well done for completing that learning task.

This brings us to our second part of our lesson, by going to explore who Mansa Musa was.

In 1312, when the mansa did not return from his voyage, Musa Keita became the new ruler of the Mali Empire, and he was known as Mansa Musa.

So you can see an illustration of Mansa Musa there.

Let's take a moment to pause and check our understanding here.

When did Musa Keita become Mansa Musa? 1312, 1412, or 1512? Pause the video here and give yourself a moment to think, and then press play when you are ready to continue.

If you said that Musa Keita became Mansa Musa in 1312, you are absolutely right.

Well done.

As the new ruler of the entire Mali Empire, Mansa Musa used his large army to conquer lands that were rich with gold and salt.

You can see a map of the Mali Empire there.

Now, Mansa Musa doubled the size of the lands he controlled, growing his already vast empire.

Now, to conquer means to take control of another place.

So Mansa Musa controlled lots of other places because he conquered them.

It is estimated that Mali controlled half of the world's supply of salt and gold at this time.

The Mali Empire became even more wealthy and powerful.

And with this wealth, Mansa Musa also built many schools, universities, and libraries in cities like Gao and Timbuktu.

Some historians have described Mansa Musa as the wealthiest man who has ever lived.

Wow, that's quite an accolade, isn't it? Let's take a moment to pause and check our understanding.

What items made the Mali Empire very wealthy? Wood, gold, salt, diamonds? Pause the video here and have a quick discussion with your learning partner, and press play when you are ready to continue.

What did you think? If you said that gold and salt were the items that made the Mali Empire very wealthy, you are absolutely right.

Well done.

This brings us to our final learning task.

I'd like you to put the following events into the correct order with number one as the earliest.

So here are the events.

He did not return and Musa became the new mansa.

The mansa of Mali went on a voyage.

Mansa Musa used Mali's army to conquer lands and make an empire.

The mansa gave Musa Keita an instruction to become the mansa if he did not return.

Salt and gold made the Mali Empire wealthy.

So, pause the video here and give yourself enough time to put these events into the correct order, starting with number one as the earliest, and press play when you are ready to continue.

How did that go? Shall we take a look at the order? So, firstly, the mansa of Mali went on a voyage.

The mansa gave Musa Keita an instruction to become the mansa if he did not return.

He did not return, and Musa became the new mansa.

Mansa Musa used Mali's army to conquer lands and make an empire.

Salt and gold made the Mali Empire wealthy.

Well done if you were able to put those events into the correct order.

And well done for completing that learning task.

Before we finish this lesson, let's summarise what we've learned about Mansa Musa of Mali.

The Mali Empire began around 800 years ago.

Musa Keita was an important man who supported the mansa.

When the mansa went on a voyage, he told Musa Keita to take over as mansa if he did not return.

He never returned and Musa Keita became Mansa Musa, ruler of Mali.

Mansa Musa used Mali's army to conquer lands rich with salt and gold, and this made Mali powerful and wealthy.

Thank you for joining me in this lesson today.

I hope to see you in the next one.

See you next time.