Kasongo, also known as Piani Kasongo, is a town and a

Territory A territory is an area of land, sea, or space, particularly belonging or connected to a country, person, or animal. In international politics, a territory is usually either the total area from which a state may extract power resources or a ...

, located in the

Maniema Maniema is one of 26 provinces of the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Its capital is Kindu. Toponymy Henry Morton Stanley explored the area, calling it Manyema.Stanley, H.M., 1899, Through the Dark Continent, London: G. Newnes, Vol. One , ...

Province of the eastern

Democratic Republic of the Congo The Democratic Republic of the Congo (french: République démocratique du Congo (RDC), colloquially "La RDC" ), informally Congo-Kinshasa, DR Congo, the DRC, the DROC, or the Congo, and formerly and also colloquially Zaire, is a country in ...

Geography

Kasongo lies east of the

Lualaba River The Lualaba River flows entirely within the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo. It provides the greatest streamflow to the Congo River, while the source of the Congo is recognized as the Chambeshi. The Lualaba is long. Its headwaters are i ...

, northwest of its confluence with the

Luama River The Luama River is a tributary of the Lualaba River in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). Location The Luama rises in the mountains to the west of Lake Tanganyika, in the Kalemie Territory of Tanganyika District. It flows north and nor ...

, at an altitude of 2188 ft (666 m). Kasongos population is approximately 63,000. The town is served by Kasongo Airport. Kasongo is connected to the provincial capital

Kindu Kindu is a city in the Democratic Republic of Congo, the capital of Maniema province. It has a population of about 200,000 and is situated on the Lualaba River at an altitude of about 500 metres, and is about 400 km west of Bukavu. Kindu ...

by the 150 mile 'Kasongo Road' (a section of National Road 31 (N31)), however the journey takes two days due to the road's poor state.Congo rising from chaos, isolation - The Boston Globe
Boston.com (2005-07-10). Retrieved on 2017-05-22. The City also lies on National Road 2 (N2) and Regional Road 629 (R629) Kasongo is part of the

Roman Catholic Diocese of Kasongo The Roman Catholic Diocese of Kasongo ( la, Kasongoën(sis)) is a diocese located in the cities of Kasongo in the Ecclesiastical province of Bukavu in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. History * January 10, 1952: Established as Apostolic Vi ...

History

The town was founded around 1850-60, but the first

Sultan Sultan (; ar, سلطان ', ) is a position with several historical meanings. Originally, it was an Arabic abstract noun meaning "strength", "authority", "rulership", derived from the verbal noun ', meaning "authority" or "power". Later, it ...

named Dougombi (métis) established in 1868. Ramazani Munia Muhara (

Manyema Manyema (WaManyema) (Una-Ma-Nyema, eaters of flesh), are a powerful and, in the past, warlike Bantu people in the southeast of the Congo basin in Nyangwe ( Kasongo) in Maniema, Democratic Republic of Congo and in the city of Kigoma, Kigoma regio ...

) was the

the town by the time of the Congo-Arab war during 1892–1894 in Kasongo,

trading post A trading post, trading station, or trading house, also known as a factory, is an establishment or settlement where goods and services could be traded. Typically the location of the trading post would allow people from one geographic area to tr ...

was established in

Nyangwe Nyangwe is a town in Kasongo, Maniema on the right bank of the Lualaba River, Lualaba in the Democratic Republic of Congo (territory of Kasongo). It was an important hub for the Arabs for trade goods like ivory, gold, iron & slaves: it was one of ...

(Piani-Kasongo) in 1875 by

Tippu Tip Tippu Tip, or Tippu Tib (1832 – June 14, 1905), real name Ḥamad ibn Muḥammad ibn Jumʿah ibn Rajab ibn Muḥammad ibn Saʿīd al Murjabī ( ar, حمد بن محمد بن جمعة بن رجب بن محمد بن سعيد المرجبي), ...

, an

Afro-Arab Afro-Arabs are Arabs of full or partial Black African descent. These include populations within mainly the Sudanese Arabs, Sudanese, Emiratis, Al-Akhdam, Yemenis, Afro-Saudis, Saudis, Afro-Omanis, Omanis, Sahrawis, Mauritanians, Algerians, Egyp ...

trader.

and the greater part of Kasongo,

became the capital of the Sultanate of Utetera controlled by

and local sultans. It’s key trading partner and ally was the Sultanate of Zanzibar and thus, was related to

Omani Monarchy Oman ( ; ar, عُمَان ' ), officially the Sultanate of Oman ( ar, سلْطنةُ عُمان ), is an Arabian country located in southwestern Asia. It is situated on the southeastern coast of the Arabian Peninsula, and spans the mouth of ...

through

; However, the death of

Said bin Sultan Sayyid Saïd bin Sultan al-Busaidi ( ar, سعيد بن سلطان, , sw, Saïd bin Sultani) (5 June 1791 – 19 October 1856), was Sultan of Muscat and Oman, the fifth ruler of the Busaid dynasty from 1804 to 4 June 1856. His rule commenced fol ...

in 1856 saw the division of the

Omani Empire The Omani Empire ( ar, الإمبراطورية العُمانية) was a maritime empire, vying with Portugal and Britain for trade and influence in the Persian Gulf and Indian Ocean. At its peak in the 19th century, Omani influence or control ...

between his sons. Two sultanates: an African section called the

Sultanate of Zanzibar The Sultanate of Zanzibar ( sw, Usultani wa Zanzibar, ar, سلطنة زنجبار , translit=Sulṭanat Zanjībār), also known as the Zanzibar Sultanate, was a state controlled by the Sultan of Zanzibar, in place between 1856 and 1964. The Sul ...

through Majid bin Said and an Asian section called the Sultanate of Muscat and Oman ruled by Thuwaini bin Said. The area was visited by

Henry Morton Stanley Sir Henry Morton Stanley (born John Rowlands; 28 January 1841 – 10 May 1904) was a Welsh-American explorer, journalist, soldier, colonial administrator, author and politician who was famous for his exploration of Central Africa Cen ...

sometime between 1879 and 1884, on his third expedition. The territory was at the centre of the Congo-Arab War and the Batetela Revolt in 1898. A century later, Kasongo and its inhabitants were severely affected by the Second Congo War (1998-2003), and the CARE and Concern Worldwide

NGO A non-governmental organization (NGO) or non-governmental organisation (see spelling differences) is an organization that generally is formed independent from government. They are typically nonprofit entities, and many of them are active in h ...

's are active in the area.

References

External links

Worldstatesmen.org: Details of traditional kingdom leadership, including in Kasongo area
{{Authority control Populated places in Maniema

Geography

History

See also

References

External links