<P> The dating of the Great Mosque's construction is obscure . The earliest document mentioning the mosque is Abd al - Sadi's Tarikh al - Sudan, which gives the early history, presumably from the oral tradition as it existed in the mid seventeenth century . The tarikh states that a Sultan Kunburu became a Muslim and had his palace pulled down and the site turned into a mosque; he then built another palace for himself near the mosque on the east side . </P> <P> The Sudano - Sahelian influence was particularly widely incorporated during the rule of Mansa Musa I, who constructed many architectural projects, including the Great Mosque of Gao and Royal Palace in Timbuktu, which was built with the assistance of Ishaak al - Tuedjin, an architect brought by Musa from his pilgrimage to Mecca . </P> <P> There were 21 known mansas of the Mali Empire after Mari Djata I, and probably about two or three more yet to be revealed . The names of these rulers come down through history via the djelis and modern descendants of the Keita dynasty residing in Kangaba . What separates these rulers from the founder, other than the latter's historic role in establishing the state, is their transformation of the Manden Kurufaba into a Manden Empire . Not content to rule fellow Manding subjects unified by the victory of Mari Djata I, these mansas would conquer and annex Fula, Wolof, Bamana, Songhai, Tuareg and countless other peoples into an immense empire . </P> <P> The first three successors to Mari Djata / Sundiata Keita all claimed it by blood right or something similar . This twenty - five year period saw large gains for the mansa and the beginning of fierce internal rivalries that nearly ended the burgeoning empire . </P>

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