Kilwa Sultanate

(noun)

A Medieval sultanate, centered at Kilwa (an island off modern-day Tanzania), whose authority, at its height, stretched over the entire length of the Swahili Coast. It was founded in the 10th century by Ali ibn al-Hassan Shirazi, a Persian prince of Shiraz. His family ruled the Sultanate until 1277, when it was replaced by the Arab family of Abu Moaheb. The latter was overthrown by a Portuguese invasion in 1505.

Related Terms

Examples of Kilwa Sultanate in the following topics:

  • The Swahili Culture

    • The Kilwa Sultanate was a medieval sultanate, centered at Kilwa (an island off modern-day Tanzania), whose authority, at its height, stretched over the entire length of the Swahili Coast.
    • His family ruled the Sultanate until 1277, when it was replaced by the Arab family of Abu Moaheb.
    • By 1513, the sultanate was already fragmented into smaller states, many of which became protectorates of the Sultanate of Oman.
    • Despite its origin as a Persian colony, extensive inter-marriage and conversion of local Bantu inhabitants and later Arab immigration turned the Kilwa Sultanate into a diverse state not ethnically differentiable from the mainland.
    • The Kilwa Sultanate was almost wholly dependent on external commerce.

  • Great Zimbabwe

    • Archaeological evidence suggests that Great Zimbabwe became a center for trading, with a trade network linked to Kilwa Kisiwani (the historic center of the Kilwa Sultanate; off the southern coast of present-day Tanzania in eastern Africa) and extending as far as China.
    • Despite these strong international trade links, there is no evidence to suggest exchange of architectural concepts between Great Zimbabwe and other centers such as Kilwa Kisiwani.

  • Architecture under the Sultanate of Delhi

    • Indo-Islamic architecture emerged in India under the Delhi Sultanate during the 13th to 16th centuries.
    • Qutb-ud-din Aibak, the governor of Delhi and, subsequently, the first sultan of the Delhi Sultanate (ruling from 1206–1210 CE), started the construction of the Qutb Minar in 1192, which was completed after his death by his successor Iltutmish.
    • The Qutb Minar is located in Mehrauli Archeological Park, which also contains other fine examples of Delhi Sultanate architecture, including the tomb of the sultan Balban (who reigned from 1266–1287 CE), the first known building in India to feature a true arch.
    • Built in 1311 CE by the second Khilji sultan of Delhi, Ala-ud-din Khilji, it features the earliest surviving true dome in India.
    • One of the earliest and best known of the Delhi Sultanate architectural monuments, and also the tallest minaret in India.

  • The Sultanates of Somalia

    • Its first dynasty was established by Sultan Fakr ad-Din.
    • The Sultanate of Ifat was a medieval Muslim Sultanate in the Horn of Africa. 
    • The Adal Sultanate or Kingdom of Adal was founded after the fall of the Sultanate of Ifat. 
    • The Sultanate was governed by the Gobroon Dynasty.
    • The Majeerteen Sultanate was a Somali Sultanate centered in the Horn of Africa.

  • Painting under the Sultanate of Delhi

    • The paintings of the Delhi Sultanate represent a period of inventiveness and the development of an influential Indo-Persian style of art.
    • The early rulers of the Delhi Sultanate are often viewed as iconoclastic pillagers, best known for their indiscriminate destruction of Hindu, Buddhist, and Jain temples.
    • The painting style of the Delhi Sultanate borrowed heavily from the flourishing traditions of Islamic painting abroad, resulting in the development of an Indo-Persian style.
    • Shahnama, Delhi Sultanate, c. 1450.
    • Discuss the Indo-Persian style of painting supported by the Delhi Sultanate

  • Kohler and Insight Learning

    • Kohler's most famous study on insight learning involved Sultan the chimpanzee.
    • After Sultan had learned to use the stick to reach the fruit, Kohler moved the fruit out of range of the short stick.
    • Initially, Sultan tried to reach the fruit with the short stick and failed.
    • Sultan was never conditioned to use one stick to reach another; instead, it seemed as if Sultan had an epiphany.
    • The internal process that lead Sultan to use the sticks in this way is a basic example of insight.

  • The Fall of Constantinople

    • He took Sultan Bayezid I as a prisoner.
    • It ended when Mehmed I emerged as the sultan and restored Ottoman power.
    • On 2 April 1453, the Ottoman army, led by the 21-year-old Sultan Mehmed II, laid siege to the city with 80,000 men.
    • On the third day after the fall of our city, the Sultan celebrated his victory with a great, joyful triumph.
    • After the conquest, Sultan Mehmed II transferred the capital of the Ottoman Empire from Edirne to Constantinople.

  • Ottoman Empire

    • Sultan Mehmed II would later even fuse European traditions in his rebuilding programs at Istanbul in the 19th century.
    • Painting atelier of the Sultan.
    • Commissioned by Sultan Selim II and was built by famous Ottoman architect Mimar Sinan between 1569 and 1575, the Selimiye Mosque was considered by Sinan to be his masterpiece and is one of the highest achievements of Islamic architecture.

  • Mughal Empire

    • Ousted from his lands in Central Asia, he turned his attention to the fertile lands of the Delhi Sultanate in northern India.
    • Babur finally defeated Ibrahim Lodi, the head of the Delhi Sultanate, in the First Battle of Panipat in 1526 (despite having a much smaller army), and took his kingdom, thus establishing the beginnings of the Mughal Empure.

  • Hindu Rajput Kingdoms

    • Later, Sultan Alauddin Khilji of the Delhi Sultanate took the two Rajput forts of Chittor and Ranthambore, but he did not succeed in holding them.