These city-states began to decline towards the sixteenth century, mainly as a consequence of the advent of the Portuguese. Eventually, Swahili trading centers went out of business and commerce between Africa and Asia on the Indian Ocean collapsed. Aspects of Swahili culture are diverse due to its many influences.
Full Answer
What led to the decline of the Swahili Coast?
Interactions with the Portuguese and a consequent decrease in trade led to the decline of the Swahili Coast city-states, although some did carry on for another few centuries, some under the rule of the Omani Empire. Today, Swahili is the lingua franca of East Africa.
What is the history of Swahili civilization?
The Swahili civilisation lay on the east African coast, from Mogadishu in the North towards Sofala (today Beira) and Inhambane in the South. This civilisation existed from around 100 A.D. Swahili civilisation came about through the mixing of the original local people with foreigners with whom they traded, especially the Arabs.
Why did the Portuguese return to Swahili?
In the early 1500s, the Portuguese returned to the Swahili city-states to enforce their will. As the Swahili city-states did not have a unified political structure or large armies, the Portuguese successfully looted and destroyed some Swahili cities.
How did the Swahili people compete for control of trade?
These coastal towns or city-states were independent from each other and they sometimes competed for control of trade. The Swahili people also traded with other African kingdoms like Mapungubwe in southern Africa. Swahili Mosque at Lamu Island North Of Mombasa, Kenya.
When did the Swahili civilization end?
16th-century CESwahili Civilization flourished from around 11th-century CE to the 16th-century CE on the eastern coast of Africa.
How did the Swahili fall?
Interactions with the Portuguese and a consequent decrease in trade led to the decline of the Swahili Coast city-states, although some did carry on for another few centuries, some under the rule of the Omani Empire. Today, Swahili is the lingua franca of East Africa.
When did the Swahili city-states start and end?
From 1000 to 1500 CE, Swahili city-states were wealthy urban areas connected both to the African interior and the larger Indian Ocean World.
What was the Swahili civilization?
Iron Age people traded with inland Africa, East and Southern Asia, and Europe, producing what has become popularly known as the “Swahili civilization.” This civilization along the coast of Eastern Africa is marked by material culture of iron working, cloth production, pottery, beads, and glass as well as monumental ...
When did the Swahili city-states fall?
These city-states began to decline towards the 16th century, mainly as a consequence of the Portuguese advent. Eventually, Swahili trading centers went out of business, and commerce between Africa and Asia on the Indian Ocean collapsed.
How old is Swahili language?
Evidence of Kiswahili as a Bantu language dates back to as early as the 2nd century AD in a document called Periplus of Erythrean Sea written by an anonymous Greek author detailing the early expansion of Swahili civilisations towards Somalia, Kenya and Zanzibar (Maganda and Moshi, 2014, p.
Who Conquered Swahili city-states?
The Arrival of the Portuguese & Decline The beginning of the end for the Swahili city-states was the arrival of one Vasco da Gama in 1498-9. The Portuguese explorer had audaciously sailed around the Cape of Good Hope and up the east coast of Africa.
Who created Swahili?
The language dates from the contacts of Arabian traders with the inhabitants of the east coast of Africa over many centuries. Under Arab influence, Swahili originated as a lingua franca used by several closely related Bantu-speaking tribal groups.
What led to the development of Swahili culture?
Archaeological work indicates that Swahili culture emerged as a package from about 1250CE as the result of the indigenous Iron Age cultures absorbing influences from the Kenyan coast (Chami 2002, 1).
Why was Swahili important?
The cultural heritage of Swahili plays an important role in the African Diaspora, making it a prominent starting point in fields of African Studies, African-American Studies, and the study of other cultures of African origin throughout the world.
When did Swahili civilizations reach their height?
The Swahili civilizations reached their height between the 13th and 16th century.
What are the key elements of Swahili civilization?
Here are the major characteristics of the Swahili civilization and culture.Language – Kiswahili. – They developed it into a written language. ... Religion. – Worship of nature gods, – animals, trees, stones. ... Politics. ... Social life. ... Economy – trade, metal technology and agriculture (subsistence)
What is Swahili a mix of?
Today's Swahili, a mixture of African and Arab ancestry, trace their origins to this trading relationship. The Swahili use a Bantu-related language laced with Arabic words, and practice Islam, but enjoy music and food that is distinctly African.
How did Swahili come into existence?
The language dates from the contacts of Arabian traders with the inhabitants of the east coast of Africa over many centuries. Under Arab influence, Swahili originated as a lingua franca used by several closely related Bantu-speaking tribal groups.
What was the main cause of the development of Swahili culture?
Archaeological work indicates that Swahili culture emerged as a package from about 1250CE as the result of the indigenous Iron Age cultures absorbing influences from the Kenyan coast (Chami 2002, 1).
Who brought Swahili in Africa?
Trade contacts have been noted as early as 100 CE by early Roman writers who visited the Southeast African coast in the 1st century. Trade routes extended from Kenya to Tanzania into modern day Congo, along which goods were brought to the coasts and were sold to Arab, Indian, and Portuguese traders.
What is the Swahili civilization?
The Swahili civilization stands at the periphery of the Muslim and African worlds, resulting in the development of a unique coastal culture based on trade. In fact, its marginal position is linked to our vision of the Indian Ocean, which separates Africa, Arabia and Asia.
Where is Swahili culture?
Swahili culture extends from Mogadishu in Somalia, through Kenya, Tanzania, north Madagascar and Comoros, to the bay of Sofala in Mozambique. As well as religion and language, these coastal populations share the same social organization and architecture. More than 450 Swahili archaeological sites have been registered spread over 3,000 km of the coastline (Pradines 2004: 18-20). The lifestyles on the east coast, Comoros and Madagascar were homogenous due to the dissemination of new ideas and techniques by maritime travellers. Swahili culture reflects neither a specific ethnic group nor a particular nationality.
What was the transition between the eleventh and the twelfth century?
The transition between the eleventh and twelfth century was a period of change. A number of urban East African centers developed at this time as did architecture in stone, used for public buildings, mosques and enclosure walls. The Swahili city-states were established: Malindi and Mombasa were mentioned in 1154 by al-Idrîsî who spoke also of the island of Angazidja (Anjouan) and Sufala, the golden country. During the reign of Sulaymân b. al-Hasan, from 1178 to 1195, Kilwa made a fortune from the gold trade from Sofala. For this period, the major chronicles of Swahili city-states are precious tools for the archaeologist, the most famous being the Kilwa Chronicle (Freeman-Grenville 1962: 34-49).
What were the main cities of the Swahili coast?
A new balance of power developed in the thirteenth century. The Swahili coast was divided into several independent sultanates, including Kilwa, Mombasa, Malindi, Pate and Mogadishu. In 1212-1229, Yâqût noted the cities of Mogadishu, Merka and Malindi, but not until Ibn Battûta’s work of 1331 do we have a precise description of the cities on the eastern coast (Freeman-Grenville 1962: 27-32). Ibn Battûta noted that Mombasa was large, with wooden mosques. Kilwa was supposedly one of the most beautiful towns in the world with stone houses covered with palm-leaf roofs or makuti; only certain mosques and the palace had hard flat roofs. From the fourteenth to fifteenth century, Kilwa continued to hold the monopoly for gold, trading gold from Yufi, situated a one-month walk from the coast. Sofala, a vassal of Kilwa city, maintained commercial relations with the Shona kingdom of Great Zimbabwe; the rise of Great Zimbabwe was intimately linked to the trading of gold with Islamized peoples.
How many Swahili archaeological sites are there?
More than 450 Swahili archaeological sites have been registered spread over 3,000 km of the coastline (Pradines 2004: 18-20). The lifestyles on the east coast, Comoros and Madagascar were homogenous due to the dissemination of new ideas and techniques by maritime travellers.
What was the commercial force of the Sultanate of Zanzibar?
But the commercial force of the Sultanate of Zanzibar was also its weakness, its plundering economy being based solely on slavery and the export of tropical products such as ivory and cloves, the limited number of these products increasing the precariousness of the economic system.
When did Zanzibar become a protectorate?
The last sultan, Sa‘îd Barghash, died in 1888 and Zanzibar became a British protectorate on 1 July 1890. Wa-swahili, or “shore people”, designates the inhabitants of the East African coastline, and signifies above all a culture with a common language, Kiswahili, and the same religion, Islam.
What is the Swahili civilization?
The Swahili civilization, therefore, refers to the social complexes, which developed in Eastern Africa over nearly two millennia and are marked by the material culture that signifies social and economic interactions between Eastern Africa and other parts of the world.
Where is the Swahili civilization located?
The evidence that marks the Swahili civilization is spread over an area that extends along the coast of Eastern Africa about 3,000 km from Mogadishu (Somalia) in the north to Inhambane (Mozambique) in the south. The Swahili civilization locale also includes the islands of Unguja (Zanzibar), Pemba, Mafia, Comoros, and northern Madagascar.
What are the coastal environments of Swahili?
The Swahili have occupied a coastal environment shaped by Pleistocene and Holocene sea level changes evidenced by raised coral terraces, with caves such as Kuumbi and Mwanampambe Caves on Unguja and Tung’ande and Kisima Kissongo Caves to the south of Kilwa, as well as drowned estuaries or rias such as Lamu, Mombasa, and Kilwa. Sand deposition around river mouths has allowed the growth of beach ridges such as at Mkadini to the north of the Ruvu River, and vegetated spits have provided sites for Swahili towns inland from the sea such as the late medieval Kaole ruins (figure 2 ). Conversely, an intertidal mosque among mangroves at Songo Mnara (figure 3) may be due to erosion of the shoreline or sea level change.
What was the name of the culture that developed on the coast of Eastern Africa?
These locally initiated developments combined together with externally influenced growth resulted in a unique culture generally named Swahili civilization.
What is the culture of Eastern Africa?
This civilization along the coast of Eastern Africa is marked by material culture of iron working, cloth production, pottery, beads, and glass as well as monumental constructions that range from stone-built mosques, tombs, and palaces.
Where are the Swahili forts?
These forts are still notable at the towns of Mozambique Island, Kilwa Kisiwani, Mafia, Zanzibar, Malindi, and Mombasa.
Who is the swahili?
De Vere Allen ( 1993, 252–259) provides definitions of the Swahili as people who made their home around one of the traditional Muslim settlements of the East African coast or became Swahilized, so their lifestyle involves Swahili cultural features such as language, weddings, dress and mannerisms.
How did the Swahili civilization come about?
Swahili civilisation came about through the mixing of the original local people with foreigners with whom they traded, especially the Arabs. The cultures of many groups blended together to form a new language and culture, called ‘Swahili’ by the Arabs.
What did the flooding of the Nile do to the people?
Yearly flooding of the Nile nourished the dry surrounding farms. People had always built their homes in towns and cities along the banks of the Nile. The earliest inhabitants of this region were Stone-Age hunter-gatherers who found the area rich in wildlife.
Why did the Nile River Valley and Mediterranean and Red Sea border keep foreigners away?
The Nile River was very important to Egyptian civilisation. The Nile provided a communication and trade route across a huge and harsh land.
Why did the Egyptians live close to the Nile?
Egyptians always lived close to the Nile as it was an abundant water source providing protection against the surrounding harsh desert environment. Egypt was split into two regions. These were the higher ground and narrower river valleys in the south and the flat flood plains in the north by the sea.
Which two natural boundaries ensured that the Egyptians were the only people of the ancient world able to control both western?
Another natural boundary, the Red Sea, extends roughly parallel to the Nile lies to the East. These two seas ensured that the Egyptians were the only people of the ancient world able to control both western and eastern foreign trade. Egyptian Pyramids. Image source.
When did the Nubian kingdom dissolve?
The Nubian rulers grew weaker as time passed and in the 15th century the kingdom finally dissolved.
What is the Nubian civilization?
The black race pharaohs in Egyptian history were actually Nubian or Sudanese kings. The two civilisations lived side by side for a long time and share many similarities. Nubia had pyramids similar to ones in Egypt. There are 223 pyramids in Sudan, over half the number of those in Egypt. The Nubian civilisation was known as the Ta Seti kingdom and its kings ruled Egypt in 712-657 BC as the 25th dynasty. It is believed that the first Nubian king to rule Egypt was Sabacus. After Egypt regained independence from the Nubians, the Nubian civilisation continued for 1000 years in Sudan.
Who ruled the Swahili cities?
By the 12th century, the cities were ruled by the affluent Muslim merchant class. Assisting the single ruler or sultan were various officials such as a council of advisors and a judge, who were all likely selected from the most powerful merchant families.
What did the ancient peoples of Swahili Coast do?
The ancient peoples of what would become the Swahili Coast prospered thanks to agriculture and animal husbandry, aided by a regular annual rainfall and shallow coastal waters plentiful in seafood.
What were the goods that the Swahili city states made?
Finally, Swahili city-states also manufactured goods for both their own residents and for trade such as pottery, cloth, and highly decorated siwa, the typical brass trumpet of the region. Goods from Africa included: Precious metals - gold, iron, and copper. Ivory.
What is the name of the region where Africans and Arabs mixed to create a unique identity from the 8th?
The Swahili Coast on the shores of East Africa was a region where Africans and Arabs mixed to create a unique identity from the 8th century called Swahili Culture. Swahili is the name of their language and means 'people of the coast.' The coast blossomed into a number of important, independent trading cities which included Mombasa, Mogadishu, and Zanzibar.
How many settlements did the Bantu people have?
Initially inhabiting the interior, Bantu people gradually moved in greater numbers to the coast as the second half of the 1st millennium wore on, creating over 400 new settlements and using stone - typically coral blocks held together with mortar - instead of or in addition to mud and wood for their homes.
Where does Swahili come from?
The term Swahili derives from the Arabic word sahil ('coast') and so means 'people of the coast'. It not only refers to the coastal region of East Africa from Mogadishu in Somalia at its northern end to Kilwa in the south but also to the language spoken there, a form of the indigenous African language Bantu, which emerged in the middle of the 1st millennium CE. Later, many Arabic terms were mixed in and Swahili became the lingua franca of East Africa, even if different dialects did develop. The language is still spoken today in East Africa, continues to acquire foreign loan words, and is the national language of Kenya and Tanzania.
What is the best monument in Swahili?
One of the best surviving monuments on the Swahili coast is the Great Mosque at Ki lwa. Constructed from coral rock blocks in the 14th century and added to in the subsequent century, the structure incorporated parts of an earlier mosque of the 10th-11th century.
What led to the decline of the Swahili Coast city states?
Interactions with the Portuguese and a consequent decrease in trade led to the decline of the Swahili Coast city-states, although some did carry on for another few centuries, some under the rule of the Omani Empire. Swahili Today. Today, Swahili is the lingua franca of East Africa.
What is the majority of Swahili people?
Today, the vast majority of Swahili people are Sunni Muslims. The Medieval Heyday. The Swahili Coast appears to have reached its zenith during the Medieval Period, from around the 11th to 15th centuries. During that time, the Swahili Coast comprised numerous city-states that traded across the Indian Ocean.
What is the Swahili Coast?
This coastal region, which today stretches along the eastern edge of Africa from Somalia in the north to Mozambique in the south, is known as the Swahili Coast and is home to a unique culture and language—a multicultural polyglot of African, Arab, and Indian Ocean peoples. The original inhabitants of the Swahili Coast were Bantu -speaking Africans, ...
What was Kilwa's main trading center?
In medieval times, Kilwa was one of the most important trading centers on the east African coast.
How many people speak Swahili?
The language also contains loaner words from Persian, Portuguese, and German, among other languages. It is estimated to be spoken by more than 100-million people worldwide.
Who were the original inhabitants of the Swahili Coast?
The original inhabitants of the Swahili Coast were Bantu -speaking Africans, who had migrated east from the continent’s interior. They eventually spread up and down the coast, trading with each other, with the people of the interior, and eventually people from other continents. Not much is known about the history of the Swahili Coast in ...
Did the Chinese have a permanent presence in Africa?
However, the Chinese did not maintain a permanent presence in East Africa. The voyages of Zheng He ended with his death and the death of the emperor. Still, archaeological evidence of the Chinese-Swahili connection is being unearthed even today.
What civilizations were on the Swahili coast?
The Kush and Axum civilizations on the Swahili coast experienced increases in power following the decline of Egypt. Learn about the developments and interactions of the Kush and Axum kingdoms by exploring the rise and fall of each. Updated: 10/30/2021
When did the Kush period end?
This golden period for Kush came to an end in the 6th century B.C.E. when the Assyrians invaded Egypt from across the Sinai Peninsula.
What were the two kingdoms in East Africa?
Two kingdoms in East Africa - Kush and Axum - were no different. Kush began as a conduit for trade between sub-Saharan Africa and the Egyptian Empire of the Nile River. Kush's political clout largely rested on the strength of the Egyptians, and only after the fall of the New Kingdom in the 11th century B.C.E. did Kush rise to regional dominance.
What did the people of Kush trade?
In addition, the people of Kush built their kingdom on trading, especially with their northern Egyptian neighbors. They served as a gateway of sorts to the goods of central and southern Africa, including ivory, gold, and slaves. It is not known exactly when Kush was established as a kingdom.
What was the first African state to adopt Christianity?
In addition to becoming an economic power in just a few short centuries, Axum was also a bulwark of Christianity in East Africa. Axum was the first African state to officially adopt Christianity as its state-sponsored religion in the 327 C.E. and an enormous Christian cathedral was built only years later. In addition, Axum minted its own coins (the first African state to do so) and included the Christian cross on one side.
Why did Axum decline?
After this period, Axum declined, largely due to the establishment of Islamic states in Africa and the Middle East.
Where did the Kush people live?
The traditional homeland of the Kush Kingdom is in the Nile River valley just like Egypt. However, it began much farther south than Egypt, south of the third cataract. Here, the seasonal floods that made agriculture in the lower Nile sustainable were far less intense, and as such most historians believe it was settled later than Egypt. In addition, the people of Kush built their kingdom on trading, especially with their northern Egyptian neighbors. They served as a gateway of sorts to the goods of central and southern Africa, including ivory, gold, and slaves.
What were the characteristics of the Swahili city states?
One of the quintisessential features of the Swahili city-states from 1000 to 1500 CE was their urban style. A few families made up the elite, ruling classes, while most people in the cities were less wealthy, working as craftsmen, artisans, clerks, and sailors. People in villages along the coast could also identify as Swahili. Claimants of Swahili identity spoke the Swahili language and were Muslim. Archaeology shows that emerging Swahili cities had mosques and Muslim burial grounds starting in the eighth century CE. By their height, the Swahili city-states were distinctly Muslim; they had large mosques built of local coral stone. The Swahili, regardless of their economic status, drew a distinction between themselves as Muslims and the “uncultured,” non-Muslim Africans of the interior.
What is the origin of Swahili?
Historians of Africa trace the origins of the Swahili city-states to the Bantu expansions, explaining that by the first century CE, Bantu farmers had built communities along ...
What was the most prosperous city in Swahili?
As it controlled gold coming from Great Zimbabwe, Kilwa Kisiwani became one of the most prosperous of the Swahili city-states. From 1000 to 1500 CE, Swahili city-states were wealthy urban areas connected both to the African interior and the larger Indian Ocean World. Dozens of Swahili city-states running down the East African coast ...
What is the origin of Kilwa Kisiwani?
The above version is just one account of Kilwa Kisiwani’s origins; nevertheless, it conveys some very important elements of Swahili identity. Starting at least by the thirteenth century CE, in response to resident Arab merchants who scorned non-Muslims and some African practices, African elites in East Africa claimed descent from Shirazis (Persians) and to have been early converts to Islam. In some cases, the connections may have been exaggerated or inaccurate from a historical standpoint. However, regardless of their accuracy, these stories demonstrate some of the defining features of Swahili identity.
Why did the Swahili elite use stone houses?
The Swahili elite used their stone houses to establish themselves as prominent, creditworthy citizens. They wore imported silk and cotton and ate off imported porcelain to further display their status. Like other Swahili, the ruling classes distinguished themselves from non-Muslims of the interior.
What did the Portuguese do to the Swahili coast?
Moving up the East African coast in the late fifteenth and early sixteenth centuries, the Portuguese sacked some Swahili cities and tried to tax trade. In 1498, when they happened upon the Swahili coast, the Portuguese were trying to establish a direct sea route to the riches of India and China.
What did the Swahili elites buy?
In return, Swahili elites bought imported glass, porcelain, silk, spices, and cloth.
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Swahili
Ancient Settlement
Arrival of Muslim Traders
Medieval Trading Cities
Trade
Government & Society
Islam
Architecture
The Arrival of The Portuguese & Decline
- The beginning of the end for the Swahili city-states was the arrival of one Vasco da Gamain 1498-9. The Portuguese explorer had audaciously sailed around the Cape of Good Hope and up the east coast of Africa. Those who followed in his wake sought one thing: total control of the Indian Ocean trade network. With inferior weapons and a lack of coopera...