Swahili Coastal City-States

Timeline

1. 800–1100Shanga–Kilwa region · TanzaniaBantu fishermen and merchants formed trading settlements along the East African coast, gradually Islamizing and joining the Indian Ocean monsoon routes, exchanging local products for foreign goods and laying the prototype of the Swahili city-states.
2. 1321–1330Kilwa Kisiwani · TanzaniaSultan al-Hasan ibn Sulaiman expanded the palace and mosque; Kilwa controlled Sofala's gold exports and dominated the coastal ports, becoming the most powerful Swahili city-state on the East African coast in the 1320s, closely linked to the Indian Ocean trade network.
3. 1500–1505Kilwa · TanzaniaIn 1505 the Portuguese captured Kilwa and other key ports, dealing a heavy blow to the traditional Swahili city-states' independent trading system, as the coastal political and economic order shifted into an era of colonial competition.