CChronica Maps

Kilwa: History, Former Names & Timeline

Port sultanate of the Swahili coast that controlled the southern gold trade; Ibn Battuta called it one of the most beautiful cities in the world.

Map showing Kilwa in 1500Kilwa
Border map for 1500. See the world in 1500.

Explore Kilwa in the interactive map

Former names of Kilwa

FromNameNote
AD 900Kilwa Kisiwani

Timeline of Kilwa

YearEvent
1331Ibn Battuta visits
1505The Portuguese take Kilwa

Who ruled Kilwa

Derived from the border maps; each row runs until the next recorded border change.

PeriodState
500 BC–799Khoisan
800–999Bantu peoples
1000–1649Islamic city-states
1650–1782Unclaimed / no data
1783–1879Zanzibar
1880–1913Sultanate of Zanzibar
1914–1919German E. Africa (Tanganyika)
1920–todayTanzania, United Republic of

Nearby cities