THE WORLD ATLAS

Realm · approximate borders · 1000–1505

Kilwa Sultanate

Swahili city-state on Kilwa island, whose history begins c. 960–1000.

A sultan of 1178–1195 took Sofala from the Mogadishans, and at its height Kilwa's authority reached along the whole Swahili coast; it ruled the island, Mafia and the adjacent mainland coast directly. The Portuguese took Kilwa in 1505. Source: Wikipedia 'Kilwa Sultanate'.

See Kilwa Sultanate on the map in 1000

On the map
1000–1505
Capital
Kilwa Kisiwani

Rulers named in the sources

African kingdoms and states, 430–1911

Besides the large empires and the colonial powers, Africa had many other states: the Berber kingdoms of late-Roman Mauretania and the Aurès; the Wolof states of Senegambia, the Fula imamates, Kaabu and the Moorish emirates; Kong, the Mossi kingdoms, Dagbon, Denkyira, Akwamu, Dahomey and Benin; the Hausa kingdoms, Nupe, Kebbi, Agadez, Damagaram and Baguirmi; the Ethiopian, Gibe and Somali sultanates and kingdoms, the Shilluk, Kilwa and Pate; Buganda, Bunyoro, Rwanda and Burundi; Loango, Ndongo, Matamba, Kasanje, Kuba, Luba, Lunda and Kazembe; Mapungubwe, Great Zimbabwe, Mutapa, Butua and the Rozvi; and Maravi, Gaza, the Nguni and Sotho kingdoms, the Lozi and the Sakalava. Dates and rulers come from cited reference articles. Few pre-colonial African frontiers were ever surveyed or described, and many of these states ruled people and trade routes more than fixed territory.

Sources