Sultanate of Ifat emerges in the Horn of Africa
1201
Along the trade corridors linking the Ethiopian highlands to the port of Zeila, Muslim merchants and Somali clans consolidated the Sultanate of Ifat. Controlling the flow of ivory, slaves, and gold dust to Red Sea dhows, it became the most powerful Islamic polity in the Horn, a rival to Christian Ethiopia that would simmer for centuries.
In context
Also in 1201 (3 other events on record)
- Fourth Crusade mustering begins at Venice · Europe · Religion
- Ghurid Sultan Muhammad raids Bengal · South Asia · War
- Amalric II consolidates Crusader Cyprus · Middle East · Politics
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.