What was Sofala known for?
Sofala, at present known as Nova Sofala, used to be the chief seaport of the Mwenemutapa Kingdom, whose capital was at Mount Fura. It is located on the Sofala Bank in Sofala Province of Mozambique. It was founded by Swahili merchants.
Why was Sofala important to the Indian Ocean trade?
Sofala’s harbour was the oldest harbour in southern Africa. It was visited by Arabs beginning in 915 in order to trade the gold from the hinterland. Persian Muslims settled there in 1020, and during the 14th and 15th centuries Sofala was an important southern outpost of the Islāmic sultanate of Kilwa.
Who founded Sofala?
Medieval Sofala was erected on the edge of a wide estuary formed by the Buzi River (called Rio de Sofala in older maps). Sofala was founded about the year 700. The Arabs had frequented the coast since 915, followed by traders from Persia.
What did Sofala trade in the Indian Ocean trade?
African trade goods, including gold, were exported from these ports to the northern Swahili towns and through them to the Indian Ocean where they exchanged for cotton, beads, spices and other Indian goods (Beach, 1980; Smith, 1983).
What did Kilwa and Sofala export?
In the 18th century CE Kilwa, now under French control, became a major port of the East African slave trade as well as a significant exporter of ivory. Although Kilwa has survived in part, Sofala fared much worse and was destroyed by the incursion of the sea in the early 20th century CE.
What did Kilwa and Sofala import?
Kilwa captured Mogadishu’s erstwhile monopoly of the gold trade with Sofala and exchanged cloth—much of it made at Kilwa—and glass beads for gold; and with the great wealth that resulted new pottery styles were developed, a marked increase in the import of Chinese porcelain occurred, and stone houses, which had …
Who controlled the Indian Ocean trade?
During the classical era (4th century BCE–3rd century CE), major empires involved in the Indian Ocean trade included the Achaemenid Empire in Persia (550–330 BCE), the Mauryan Empire in India (324–185 BCE), the Han Dynasty in China (202 BCE–220 CE), and the Roman Empire (33 BCE–476 CE) in the Mediterranean.
Who built Kilwa?
Ali ibn al-Hassan Shirazi
The Kilwa Sultanate (Arabic: سلطنة كيلوة) was a sultanate, centered at Kilwa (an island off modern-day Tanzania), whose authority, at its height, stretched over the entire length of the Swahili Coast. According to the legend, it was founded in the 10th century by Ali ibn al-Hassan Shirazi, an Persian prince of Shiraz.
Why was Kilwa so important?
How did people travel along the Indian Ocean trade?
By 3000 B.C., travelers in small canoes and rafts moved between towns and trading ports along coastlines from Arabia to the Indian subcontinent. During its peak, the trade network connected places as far-flung as China, Rome and southern African kingdoms such as Great Zimbabwe.
Where did the name Sofala come from in Mozambique?
It is located on the Sofala Bank in Sofala Province of Mozambique. It was founded by Somali merchants and seafarers. Sofala in Somali literally means “Go dig”. This name was given because the area is rich with resources.
Why was Sofala important to the Persian Empire?
It was visited by Arabs beginning in 915 in order to trade the gold from the hinterland. Persian Muslims settled there in 1020, and during the 14th and 15th centuries Sofala was an important southern outpost of the Islāmic sultanate of Kilwa.
Who was the first European to visit Sofala?
Sofala was easily the most dominant coastal city south of Kilwa itself. Portuguese explorer and spy Pêro da Covilhã, travelling overland disguised as an Arab merchant, was the first European known to have visited Sofala in 1489.
Who was the ruler of the Kingdom of Sofala?
Formally, Sofala continued to belong to the Kingdom of Mwenemutapa, the Swahili community paying tribute for permission to reside and trade there. The Sultan of Kilwa had jurisdiction only over the Swahili residents, and his governor was more akin to a consul than a ruler.