Mārī-Djāta the Great stands at the beginning of the dynastic sequence presented through Ibn Khaldūn’s chronicle. The account treats him as the founder of the empire and as the ancestor of a ruling house whose descendants occupied the throne across successive generations. His importance lies less in a detailed biography here than in the political continuity attributed to his lineage.

Six descendants, described as sons and grandsons, ruled after Mārī-Djāta for more than half a century. Their later weakness and ineffectiveness allowed kingship to pass to descendants of Abū Bakr, the founder’s brother. This transfer did not erase the prestige of Mārī-Djāta’s line: the first rulers of the new branch, Mansa Mūsā and Mansa Sulaymān, brought the empire to its peak.

The narrative closes the dynastic circle when a descendant of Mārī-Djāta reclaimed the kingship. It also records later claims of descent from him, including Mahmūd’s claim through Mansa Qū and Mansa Uli. The genealogy therefore presents Mārī-Djāta as both an ancestral founder and a continuing source of political legitimacy.