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Medieval Trade Center of Eastern Africa
On a small island off the coast of Tanzania lies
the site of Kilwa Kisiwani, also called Kilwa
(and spelled in Portuguese Quiloa), the most
important of about thirty-five trading sites on
the Indian Ocean during the 11th through 16th
centuries AD. Archaeological investigations at
the site began in earnest in 1955, and the site
and its sister port Songo Mnara were named
Kilwa
History
The earliest substantial occupation at Kilwa
Kisiwani dates to AD 800, and the city became a
major trade center from the 1100s to the early
1500s. The site was important during the Shiraz
dynasty of the 11th and 12th centuries AD, and
under the rule of Ali al-Hasan, a Great Mosque
was built, and trade connections to southern
Africa and the near and far east were
established
Archaeological Studies at Kilwa
Archaeologists became interested in Kilwa because of two 16th
century histories about the site, including the
now-lost Kilwa Chronicle (although remnants of
this document do still exist). Excavators in the
1950s included James Kirk man and Neville Chit
tick, from the
British Institute in Eastern Africa.
Scholars believe the Kilwa society developed
into the later Swahili societies |
