Kilwa Sultanate dominates East African gold trade
1233
The Swahili city-state of Kilwa, on an island off the Tanzanian coast, seized control of Sofala's gold exports from Great Zimbabwe. Its sultan minted the first sub-Saharan African coinage, copper and silver coins stamped in Arabic, and built the great domed mosque that Ibn Battuta would later admire. Kilwa's coral-stone merchant houses rivaled those of any Indian Ocean port in their elegance.
In context
Also in 1233 (3 other events on record)
- Kaifeng falls and Jin dynasty collapses · East Asia · War
- Mongols use gunpowder bombs at Kaifeng · East Asia · Technology
- Coal mining expands in northern England · Europe · Technology
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.