Sultan al-Hasan ibn Sulaiman ( ar, الحسن بن سليمان), often referred to as "Abu'l-Muwahib" ("father of gifts"), was an Arab ruler of
Kilwa Kisiwani
Kilwa Kisiwani (English: ''Kilwa Island'') is an island, national historic site, and hamlet community located in the township of Kilwa Masoko, the district seat of Kilwa District in the Tanzanian region of Lindi Region in southern Tanzania. Ki ...
, in present-day
Tanzania
Tanzania (; ), officially the United Republic of Tanzania ( sw, Jamhuri ya Muungano wa Tanzania), is a country in East Africa within the African Great Lakes region. It borders Uganda to the north; Kenya to the northeast; Comoro Islands and ...
, from 1310 until 1333. His full name was ''Abu al-Muzaffar Hasan Abu al-Muwahib ibn Sulaiman al-Mat'un ibn Hasan ibn Talut al-Mahdal.''
History
Al-Hasan ibn Sulaiman was a member of the Mahdali dynasty, and oversaw a period of great prosperity in his capital city of Kilwa. The Mahdal claim descent from the
Prophet of Islam
Prophets in Islam ( ar, الأنبياء في الإسلام, translit=al-ʾAnbiyāʾ fī al-ʾIslām) are individuals in Islam who are believed to spread God's message on Earth and to serve as models of ideal human behaviour. Some prophets ar ...
. He built the extensive
Palace of Husuni Kubwa outside of the city and added a significant extension to the
Great Mosque of Kilwa. This building activity seems to have been inspired by the Sultan's pilgrimage to
Mecca
Mecca (; officially Makkah al-Mukarramah, commonly shortened to Makkah ()) is a city and administrative center of the Mecca Province of Saudi Arabia, and the Holiest sites in Islam, holiest city in Islam. It is inland from Jeddah on the Red ...
, whose great buildings he wished to emulate. In 1331 the traveller
Ibn Battuta
Abu Abdullah Muhammad ibn Battutah (, ; 24 February 13041368/1369),; fully: ; Arabic: commonly known as Ibn Battuta, was a Berbers, Berber Maghrebi people, Maghrebi scholar and explorer who travelled extensively in the lands of Afro-Eurasia, ...
visited the court of the sultan and described the Sultan's great generosity, whence stemmed the appellation "father of gifts."
See also
*
Kilwa Sultanate
The Kilwa Sultanate ( fa, پادشاهی کیلوا) was a sultanate, centered at Kilwa Kisiwani, Kilwa (an island off modern-day, Kilwa District in Lindi Region of Tanzania), whose authority, at its height, stretched over the entire length of t ...
*
Shirazi (ethnic group)
*
Ali ibn al-Hassan Shirazi
Sultan Ali ibn al-Hassan Shirazi ( ar, علي بن الحسن شيرازي) (c.10th century), was the founder of the Kilwa Sultanate. According to legend, Ali ibn al-Hassan Shirazi was one of seven sons of the Emir Al-Hassan of Shiraz, Persia, hi ...
References
Precolonial Tanzania
Sultans
Shirazi people
14th-century Arabs
{{Noble-stub