Kilwa Sultanate

Kilwa Sultanate Kilwa
957–1513
Flag
The Sphere of the Sultanate in 1310
Location	Swahili coast
Capital	Kilwa Kisiwani
Common languages	Persian (Elite/Colonists) Arabic (Religious texts) Swahili (de facto)
Ethnic groups	Swahili Mijikenda Luhya Hadimu Shirazi Bravanese
Religion	Islam
Government	Sultanate
Sultan
• 957	Ali ibn al-Hassan Shirazi
• 1277	al-Hassan ibn Talut
• 1499	Ibrahim ibn Suleiman
Historical era	Shirazi era
• Established	957
• Disestablished	1513
Preceded by Succeeded by Swahili culture Portuguese Mozambique Omani Empire
Today part of	Kenya Tanzania Mozambique Madagascar Comoros

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Pre-colonial period
Oldowan stone tool culture Olduvai Gorge Laetoli footprints Mumba Cave hunter-gatherers Cushitic expansion Luxmanda Bantu expansion Nilotic expansion Indian Ocean trade History of Zanzibar Menouthias Rhapta Urewe culture Swahili culture Kilwa Sultanate Engaruka
Colonial period
Vasco da Gama and Portuguese expansion Omani Empire East African slave trade Sultanate of Zanzibar Zanzibar slave trade Scramble for Africa German East Africa Heligoland–Zanzibar Treaty Maji Maji Rebellion East African Campaign British East Africa Tanganyika Territory
Modern history
Tanganyika Zanzibar Revolution Julius Nyerere Ujamaa Uganda–Tanzania War 1998 United States embassy bombings East African Community COVID-19 pandemic in Tanzania
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The Kilwa Sultanate was a sultanate, centered at Kilwa (an island off modern-day, Kilwa District in Lindi Region of Tanzania), whose authority, at its height, stretched over the entire length of the Swahili Coast. According to the legend, it was founded in the 10th century by Ali ibn al-Hassan Shirazi,^[1] a Persian prince of Shiraz.^[2]