The Great Camel Cull of 1324: How Musa Paid for Mecca
The Mali Empire: The Richest Civilization in History — Fexingo HistoryPlay episode
Show notes
Mansa Musa's 1324 hajj remains legendary—but the true cost was paid in camel flesh. This episode follows the logistics of the largest caravan in medieval history: the forgotten advance teams who pre-positioned fodder across the Sahara, the camel breeders of Takedda who supplied thousands of pack animals, and the catastrophic die-off on the return journey. Historians have long debated whether the real casualty count of Musa's pilgrimage was human or animal, and whether the gold he lavished in Cairo permanently distorted the Mediterranean economy. Drawing on al-Umari's eyewitness accounts, Tarikh al-Sudan's trade records, and recent archaeological work at camel burial sites near Sijilmasa, Lucas and Luna piece together a story of ecological overreach, personal piety, and the staggering price of spectacle. #MansaMusa #Hajj1324 #CamelCull #SaharanTrade #Takedda #Sijilmasa #alUmari #TarikhAlSudan #MaliEmpire #WestAfrica #MedievalEconomy #GoldInflation #DesertLogistics #CamelBreeding #SaharanEcology #MedievalTrade #History #FexingoHistory Keep every episode free: buymeacoffee.com/fexingo
