Q 01/05

Which emperor of Mali gave away so much gold in Cairo on his 1324 pilgrimage that its value fell?

A) Mansa Musa

B) Mansa Sulayman

C) Mansa Sakura

D) Mansa Wali

Answer · why

A) Mansa Musa

Mansa Musa is often called the richest person in history, though historians say his wealth is impossible to calculate. He travelled to Mecca with a va...

Q 02/05

Which desert-edge city with the Sankoré mosque became a famed centre of Islamic scholarship?

A) Marrakesh

B) Agadez

C) Timbuktu

D) Khartoum

Answer · why

C) Timbuktu

Timbuktu was a world centre of Islamic learning from the 13th to the 17th century, yet English dictionaries now list its name as a metaphor for any fa...

Q 03/05

Which mineral, cut into slabs at Taghaza in the Sahara, did desert caravans carry south to barter for gold?

A) Copper

B) Salt

C) Sulphur

D) Tin

Answer · why

B) Salt

Salt was so plentiful at Taghaza that the miners' own houses were built from slabs of it, yet so scarce in the gold country to the south that it was c...

Q 04/05

In Ashanti legend, which royal object did the priest Okomfo Anokye call down from the sky?

A) A silver sword

B) An iron bell

C) A golden stool

D) A coral crown

Answer · why

C) A golden stool

A golden stool is said to house the spirit of the whole Ashanti nation, living, dead and yet to be born. It must never touch the ground, so it rests o...

Q 05/05

Which rice dish takes its name from the Wolof people, whose medieval empire ruled much of Senegambia?

A) Jollof

B) Waakye

C) Pilau

D) Jambalaya

Answer · why

A) Jollof

Jollof is now cooked right across West Africa, where a friendly rivalry over which country makes it best has become known as the Jollof wars.