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Secondary sourcePainting1375

Catalan Atlas: Mansa Musa Enthroned

Abraham Cresques (attributed) · 1375

A detail from the 1375 Catalan Atlas showing Mansa Musa crowned, enthroned, and holding a gold nugget, showing his European fame as Africa's gold king.

One of the earliest and most famous European images of Mansa Musa, shaping his legend as a gold-rich king.

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Detail of a medieval painted map showing a crowned figure seated on a throne, holding a gold coin in one hand and a scepter in the other, with towns, handwritten labels, and wavy sea nearby.
Attributed to Abraham Cresques, Catalan Atlas, Sheet 6, 1375.

About this source

What it is

This is a detail from the Catalan Atlas, a map made in 1375 and attributed to Abraham Cresques. It shows Mansa Musa seated on a throne, crowned, holding a gold coin and a sceptre.

Why it matters

Musa's famous 1324 pilgrimage to Mecca, during which he gave away huge amounts of gold, made such an impression that European mapmakers decades later still pictured him as the gold-rich king of Africa. This image shows how far his reputation travelled, even though it was drawn by people who had never met him.

Look closer

  • What objects does the figure hold, and what might they be meant to say about him?
  • Who made this map, and did they ever meet Mansa Musa themselves?
  • What does the map not tell us about Musa's empire or his people?

This painting is part of the curated material that grounds the AI version of Mansa Musa on Humy.ai — when students ask about related events, the AI can quote it and cite it.

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Open manuscript on a display, pages covered in brown-ink Arabic script on aged, yellowed paper. The left page is written in handwriting across most of its lines, and the right page has a decorated heading at the top followed by dense Arabic text. The leather-bound spine is visible at the left edge.Book

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Sankoré Madrasa

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Detail of a medieval painted map showing a seated crowned figure holding a gold coin and a scepter on a throne, a camel rider in green robes and turban on the left, walled cities drawn in red and purple, red rhumb lines, and handwritten Catalan-style text in brown ink.Painting

Primary source

Catalan Atlas, Sheet 6: Western Sahara

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Secondary source

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Exterior view looking up at a mud-brick mosque with a tall tapering tower topped by a rounded dome, with protruding wooden beam ends set in its walls. A large studded wooden door sits at lower left beside steps, under a pale sky with power lines crossing.Artifact

Secondary source

Djinguereber Mosque

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