<P> In 1307 Mansa Musa came to the throne after a series of civil wars and ruled for thirty years . During the peak of the kingdom , Mali was extremely wealthy . This was due to the tax on trade in and out of the empire , along with all the gold Mansa Musa had . He had so much gold that during his hajj to Mecca , the Mansa passed out gold to all the poor along the way . This led to inflation throughout the kingdom . Mansa Musa also ran out of gold on the hajj to Mecca but was not concerned because he knew he had enough gold back in Mali to pay back everything he owed money to . Trade was a significant factor to the rise and success of Mali . Mali flourished especially when Timbuktu came under Mansa Musa 's control . Timbuktu was a place of trade , entertainment , and education . The city 's water supply was a leading cause to its successes in trade . Mansa Musa placed a heavy tax on all objects that went through Timbuktu . Although this time in the kingdom was prosperous , Mali 's wealth and power soon declined . Mali was thriving for a long time , but like other western pre-colonial kingdom , Mali began to fall . Constant civil war between leaders led to a weakened state . These conflicts also interrupted trade . This is one of the main factors to the fall of the kingdom . Trade was Mali 's form of income , and wealth . With trade being disrupted by wars , there was no way for the economy to continue to prosper . As a result of this the empire fell . </P>
which best describes timbuktu under the mali empire
a place of trade , entertainment , and education