Kilwa Empire
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The Kilwa Empire was part of a larger empire built by the Bazrangids. It became an independent geopolitical entity after Ardashir I of the Sassanid Empire conquered its parent Bazrangi state in southern Persia in 224 AD. Emperor Ardashir's successor, Shapur I, annexed the southern shores of the Persian Gulf, as well as the region of Muscat on the Indian Ocean. This led to the removal of all final vestiges of Bazrangi independence on the Asian continent.
Zoroastrian fire temples within the Kilwa Empire were preserved as a result of Bazrangi custodians. Sassanian sources, which include rock inscriptions and documents, discuss how the Bazrangids served important custodial functions at the Great Temple of the goddess Anahita in Istakhr (near Persepolis). The Kilwa Empire prospered even during the early Islamic era. However, the capital city of Kilwa was under siege by members of the native populations of East Africa. The city fell and nearly 2000 of its inhabitants were devoured in a single week. In 980 AD, the Zanj Empire was founded by Ali ibn Hasan and succeeded the Kilwa Empire.
Recent archaeological excavations in the old Kilwa imperial sites such as Unguja Ukuu, Tumbatu, Mtambwe, and Mkumbuu are shedding new light on the history of the Bazrangid founded Kilwa Empire and its status as a maritime power.
[edit] Sources
- Periplus Maris Erythraei (translated and edited by Lionel Casson). Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1989
- Reusch, Richard. History of East Africa. New York: Ungar, 1961.
- Gervase, Matthew (edited by Matthew Gervase and Oliver Roland). The East African Coast until the Coming of the Portuguese, History of East Africa. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1963.
