KILWA-Tanzania
The recorded history of Kilwa does not start till the 10th century. It may have been the Pharaohs daughter whom Solomon married who began it. Solomon wife wanted ivory, apes, peacocks, and all the luxuries of the East which had long been known to Egypt. Solomon needed Gold and Silver for the treasury of Jehovah, for the building of the Temple, for his palace and garrison. The wealth of Kilwa during the period of her ascendancy depended partly on commerce in Ivory but chiefly on her monopoly of the gold trade from Sofala. A well worn road centuries old leads from Kilwa to Lake Nyasa and is one of the few main slave caravan routes. Coins were struck at a mint set up at there. This mint is the only one ever established in Black Africa, Other than the later mints of Mogadishu and Zanzibar. Testifying to the wealth of ancient Kilwa a number of ruins such the Great Mosque ,the Gereza, the great house, the small Domed Mosque, Makuti, Husuni kubwa , Husuni ndogo, and Songo Mnara.
Kilwa Kisiwani was once the most famous trading post in East Africa. In 9th century the Swahili wealth owner of the island sold it to a trader called Ali bin Al-Hasan, the founder of Shiraz Dynasty. From 11th Century to early 15th Ali bin Al-Hasan managed to create a powerful city (Kilwa Kisiwani) and as major trading center along east African coast. He built a great mosque, established close trading links to interior of southern Africa as far as Nyasaland and Zimbabwe.
In this sense , Kilwa Kisiwani became the principle trading port on the Indian Ocean. Its wealth came from the exchange of gold and iron from Great Zimbabwe and other part of Southern Africa, ivory and slaves from mainland Tanzania with textiles, Jewelry, porcelain and spices from Asia.
By Jalala Ndossa
