Kilwa Kisiwani emerges as Indian Ocean entrepot
1105
On a coral island off the Swahili coast, the Shirazi sultans of Kilwa consolidated their grip on the gold trade flowing north from the Zimbabwe plateau. Merchants from Aden, Gujarat, and the Persian Gulf dropped anchor in its harbor, and the Great Mosque began its ambitious expansion in coral-stone blocks - a monument that still stands against the Indian Ocean wind today.
In context
Also in 1105 (3 other events on record)
- Henry IV forced to abdicate · Europe · Politics
- Mi Fu paints in the Song academy · East Asia · Culture
- Pagan Kingdom flourishes under Kyansittha · Southeast Asia · Culture
Before and after in Africa
Before and after in Politics
Era
High Middle Ages (1000–1300), one of 1,306 events from that era on Saeculum.