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The Swahili Coast, in particular, was significant in facilitating this trade, blending African, Arab, Persian, and Indian cultures into a rich tapestry of commerce and culture. Intra-continental trade routes within Africa also played a vital role in connecting the continent's interior regions to its coastal areas.
The Swahili city-states were independent, self-governing urban centres that were located on the Swahili coast of East Africa between the 8th and 16th centuries. These were primarily coastal hubs, including Kilwa, Mombasa and Zanzibar, which prospered due to their advantageous locations along Indian Ocean trade networks, enabling interactions between Africa, the Middle East and Asia.
Swahili is a Bantu language with heavy influence from Arabic with the word "Swahili" itself descending from the Arabic word "sahil," meaning "coast"; "Swahili" meaning "people of the coast." [ 4 ] [ 41 ] Some hold that Swahili is a completely Bantu language with only a few Arabic loanwords , while others suggest that Bantu and Arabic mixed to ...
Trade along the Swahili coast dates back to the 1st century C.E. and up to the 19th century C.E. Though there are not many reliable written records of trade along the East African coast between the 1st and 11th centuries, trade still occurred between the Indian Ocean coast and the rest of the world (India, China and Arabian countries
The East African coast, particularly the Swahili Coast, has a long history of maritime activities. The Swahili people, whose culture emerged from a blend of African, Arabian, Persian, and Indian influences, were adept sailors and traders. They constructed dhows, traditional wooden sailing vessels, which facilitated trade across the Indian Ocean.
A sketch of stone town showing the old fort and palace from the year 1871 to the year 1875. Zanzibar Stone Town was a port in the Indian Ocean slave trade. Arab-Swahili slave traders and their captives along the Ruvuma River in Mozambique. The Muslim world expanded along trade routes, such as the silk route in the 8th century. As the power and ...
Arab slave traders and their captives along the Ruvuma River in Mozambique along the Swahili coast. Medieval Swahili kingdoms are known to have had island trade ports, described by Greek historians as "metropolises", and to have established regular trade routes [97] with the Islamic world and Asia. [98]
The settlement of Gedi occurred long after the emergence of the earliest settlements along the Swahili Coast with the intensification of trade in the sixth century. [23] The earliest evidence for occupation at Gedi is a grave marker that has been radiocarbon dated to between 1041 and 1278, placing the original settlement of the site sometime in ...