A heavy guilder’s tax was imposed on everything that passed through the empire, in or out. In four centuries, Mali expanded its territory, influence, and culture thanks to a well-trained imperial army ...

Listeners swayed as the celebrated Malian duo Amadou and Mariam sang from a stage on the banks of the Niger River at an annual festival coloured this year by political shifts roiling West Africa.

Narrator: Musa became the Emperor of Mali, the Mansa ... Timbuktu became the heart of his empire, the centre of trade and culture. News of wealth and learning spread far and wide.