MANSA MUSA 127 The Great Mosque continued to be the centre of religious life in Timbuctoo until the conquest of the town by the Moors in 1591, while the still older Sankor6 Mosque was the centre of university life. A teacher of this mosque, who also returned with Musa from the East, found Timbuctoo full of black jurisconsults, whose knowledge of law was greater than his own. He accordingly went to Fez, where he studied law for some years, and then returned to found a chair of law at Timbuctoo.

In 1337, the year after Musa's conquest of Timbuctoo, Abou el Hagen, the reigning monarch of Morocco, effected that conquest of Teleman which has already been mentioned in a previous chapter, and Mansa Musa sent a deputation to congratulate him. Abou el Ha9en, on his part, being, it is said, "animated by a proper pride," had "adopted the habit of interchanging presents with all monarchs his equals." The King of Melle was at that time the greatest of the black kings, and his territories were nearest to Morocco. Abou el Haen therefore determined to send him a "truly royal" present of the finest products of his kingdom. We are not told of what it was composed, but we are told that he carefully chose all the objects which it included himself, and that he confided it to the care of a highly honourable chief, Ibn Ghanem. A deputation composed of the most eminent persons of the empire was selected to accompany it. The magnificence of the offering, Ibn Khaldun says, was the subject of general comment, and we may draw from this circumstance our own inference as to the importance of the place occupied by Melle among the states of Africa. But the splendid gift never reached Mansa Musa. While it was on its way he died. It was delivered to his successor, who sent the handsome return present once before mentioned, composed of products of his own country all extremely rare and curious, and it became the habit of the sovereigns of Melle and Morocco to interchange presents by the medium of the great officials of their kingdoms. The amiable relations thus established between them were maintained by their successors for several generations.