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Sofala
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. The first recorded use of this port town was by Mogadishan merchants.''The Horizon History of Africa'', vol. 1, p. 143 One possible etymology for Sofala is "go and cultivate" in the Somali language, showing the city as a hub for gold. History One of the oldest harbours documented in Southern Africa, medieval Sofala was erected on the edge of a wide estuary formed by the Buzi River (called ''Rio de Sofala'' in older maps). The Buzi River connected Sofala to the internal market town of Manica, and from there to the gold fields of Great Zimbabwe. Sometime in the 10th century, Sofala emerged as a small trading post and was incorporated into the greater global Indian Ocean trade network. It is stated that the first inhabitants of Sofala out of the East African coast came from Moga ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Sultanate Of Mogadishu
The Sultanate of Mogadishu (, ), also known as Kingdom of Magadazo, was a medieval Muslim Somali-Arab sultanate centered in southern Somalia.M. Elfasi, Ivan Hrbe"Africa from the Seventh to the Eleventh Century", "General History of Africa". Retrieved 31 December 2015. Established by Abubakr bin Fakhr ad-Din, who was of Arab descent and served as the first Sultan of the Mogadishu Sultanate and the Fakhr al-Din dynasty. It rose as one of the preeminent powers in the Horn of Africa during the 13th century.I.M. Lewis, ''Peoples of the Horn of Africa: Somali, Afar, and Saho, Issue 1'', (International African Institute: 1955), p. 47.I.M. Lewis, ''The modern history of Somaliland: from nation to state'', (Weidenfeld & Nicolson: 1965), p. 37. The Mogadishu Sultanate maintained a vast trading network, dominated the regional gold trade, minted its own currency, and left an extensive architectural legacy in present-day southern Somalia. The Fakhr al-Din dynasty ruled up until the late 16 ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Sofala Bank
The Bight of Sofala/Swamp Coast is a marine ecoregion along the eastern coast of Africa, characterized by extensive mangrove swamps and coastal wetlands. It extends along the coast of Mozambique, from Angoche (16°14' S) to the Bazaruto Archipelago (21°14’ S). It adjoins the East African coral coast ecoregion to the north, and the Delagoa ecoregion to the south. Geography The Bight of Sofala, also known as Sofala Bay, is a large indentation on the African coast. The continental shelf is wide in the region, reaching up to 140 km near Beira, in contrast with the narrower continental shelves to the north and south. The concave coastline and shallow seas create high-amplitude tides. The Mozambique Current runs generally southward along the coast, and eddy currents form in coastal indentations like the Sofala Bight. Habitat types 24 rivers empty into the ocean in this region, which supports extensive mangroves, coastal swamps, and tidal estuaries. The Zambezi, Pungwe, and S ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Sofala Province
Sofala is a Provinces of Mozambique, province of Mozambique. It has a population of 2,259,248 (2017 census). Beira, Mozambique, Beira is the capital of the province, named for the ruined port of Sofala which is to the south. History Portuguese landholder and imperialist established a base at the river mouth at what is now Beira in 1884. Sofala Province is one of the strongholds of the RENAMO. In late 1978 RENAMO guerrillas were "ranging into Sofala Province and launching attacks along the Beira–Chimoio road and rail line, the Dondo–Inhaminga corridor". Some of the more scarcely populated areas of the province are affected by landmines; defensive rings around villages were still common in some rural areas according to mid 1990s reports by Oxfam. In March 2019, the province was severely affected by Cyclone Idai, with its capital city of Beira being largely destroyed. The flooding resulting from this storm was widespread throughout the province and the rest of Central Mozambi ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Kilwa Sultanate
The Kilwa Sultanate was a sultanate, centered at Kilwa (an island off modern-day, Kilwa District in Lindi Region of 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, a Persian prince of Shiraz. History The history of the Kilwa Sultanate begins around 960–1000 AD. According to legend, Ali ibn al-Hassan Shirazi was one of seven sons of a ruler of Shiraz, Persia, his mother an Abyssinian slave. Upon his father's death, Ali was driven out of his inheritance by his brothers. Setting sail out of Hormuz, Ali ibn al-Hassan, his household and a small group of followers first made their way to Mogadishu, the main commercial city of the East African coast. However, Ali failed to get along with the city's Somali elite and he was soon driven out of that city as well. Steering down the African coast, Ali is said to have purchased the island of ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Mozambique
Mozambique, officially the Republic of Mozambique, is a country located in Southeast Africa bordered by the Indian Ocean to the east, Tanzania to the north, Malawi and Zambia to the northwest, Zimbabwe to the west, and Eswatini and South Africa to the south and southwest. The sovereign state is separated from the Comoros, Mayotte, and Madagascar by the Mozambique Channel to the east. The capital and largest city is Maputo. Between the 7th and 11th centuries, a series of Swahili port towns developed on that area, which contributed to the development of a distinct Swahili culture and dialect. In the late medieval period, these towns were frequented by traders from Somalia, Ethiopia, Egypt, Arabia, Persia, and India. The voyage of Vasco da Gama in 1498 marked the arrival of the Portuguese Empire, Portuguese, who began a gradual process of colonisation and settlement in 1505. After over four centuries of Portuguese Mozambique, Portuguese rule, Mozambique Mozambican War of Indepen ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Buzi River (Mozambique)
Buzi River () is a river in Mozambique. The Buzi originates in the Eastern Highlands (or Manica Highlands) on the border of Mozambique and Zimbabwe, and flows eastward through Manica and Sofala provinces of Mozambique. It empties to the Mozambique Channel west of Beira, forming a large estuary with the Pungwe River. Geography The Buzi River is long, with a drainage basin in size. Its mean annual discharge is 79 m³/s (2,790 cfs) to at its mouth. It often causes floods, frequently forming a floodplain together with the larger Pungwe River. Dombé and Búzi are situated on the banks of the river. Tributaries The Buzi and its principal tributaries rise in the Eastern Highlands, or Manica Highlands, along the border with Zimbabwe. Some of the Buzi's headwater streams rise in Zimbabwe, and in other places the international border follows the watershed boundary. The Revué river is the main northern tributary, and its headwaters are in the Eastern Highlands near Machipan ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Mwenemutapa
The Mutapa Empire – sometimes referred to as Mwenemutapa or Munhumutapa, (, ) – was an African empire in Zimbabwe, which expanded to what is now modern-day Mozambique, Botswana, Malawi, and Zambia. It was ruled by the Nembire or Mbire dynasty. The Portuguese term ''Monomotapa'' is a transliteration of the Shona royal title ''Mwenemutapa'' derived from a combination of two words, ''Mwene'' meaning "Lord" and ''Mutapa'' meaning "conquered land". Over time the monarch's royal title was applied to the kingdom as a whole, and used to denote the kingdom's territory on maps from the period. History Origins There are several Mutapa origin stories, the most widely accepted told by oral tradition is of the princes of Great Zimbabwe. Shona oral tradition attributes Great Zimbabwe's demise to a salt shortage, which may be a figurative way of speaking of land depletion for agriculturalists or of the depletion of critical resources for the community. The first "Mutapa" was a wa ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Great Zimbabwe
Great Zimbabwe was a city in the south-eastern hills of the modern country of Zimbabwe, near Masvingo. It was settled from 1000 AD, and served as the capital of the Kingdom of Great Zimbabwe from the 13th century. It is the largest stone structure in precolonial Southern Africa. Major construction on the city began in the 11th century until the 15th century, and it was abandoned in the 16th or 17th century. The edifices were erected by ancestors of the Shona people, currently located in Zimbabwe and nearby countries. The stone city spans an area of and could have housed up to 18,000 people at its peak, giving it a population density of approximately . The Zimbabwe state centred on it likely covered 50,000 km² (19,000 sq mi). It is recognised as a World Heritage Site by UNESCO. The site of Great Zimbabwe is composed of the Hill Complex, the Valley Complex, and the Great Enclosure (constructed at different times), and contained area for commoner housing within the per ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Save River (Africa)
The Save River, or Sabi River ( Portuguese: ''Rio Save'') is a river of southeastern Africa, flowing through Zimbabwe and Mozambique. The river has its source in Zimbabwe, some south of Harare, then flows south and then east, from the Zimbabwean highveld to its confluence with the Odzi River. It then turns south, drops over the Chivirira ("Place of Boiling") Falls, and flows down the western side of Zimbabwe's Eastern Highlands, forming a dry river valley in the rain shadow of these mountains. It is joined by the Runde River or Lundi at the Mozambique border, forming a dramatic confluence at Mahenya. It then crosses Mozambique to flow into the Indian Ocean at about 21°S. The Save River provided irrigation for sugar plantation, but now supports the cultivation of citrus, cotton, rice, and wheat. It is also a source of small-scale fishing for the local population. It divides Mozambique administratively, politically, ethnically and ecologically: * During the colonial era, the ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Kilwa Kisiwani
Kilwa Kisiwani ('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 in southern Tanzania. Kilwa Kisiwani is the largest of the nine hamlets in the town of Kilwa Masoko and is also the least populated hamlet in the township with around 1,150 residents. At its peak in the Middle Ages, Kilwa had over 10,000 inhabitants. Since 1981, the entire island of Kilwa Kisiwani has been designated by UNESCO as a World Heritage Site along with the nearby ruins of Songo Mnara. Despite its significant historic reputation, Kilwa Kisiwani is still home to a small and resilient community of natives who have inhabited the island for centuries. Kilwa Kisiwani is one of the seven World Heritage Sites in Tanzania. Additionally, the site is a registered National Historic Site of Tanzania. Geography Kilwa Kisiwani Island lies 9 degrees south of the equator. The islan ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ophir
Ophir (; ) is a port or region mentioned in the Bible, famous for its wealth. Its existence is attested to by an inscribed pottery shard found at Tell Qasile (in modern-day Tel Aviv) in 1946, dating to the eighth century BC, which reads "''gold of Ophir to/for Beth-Horon ..30 shekels''". The location of Ophir is unknown, though the find confirms it as a real place which exported gold. Biblical references Ophir in Genesis 10 (the Table of Nations) is said to be the name of one of the sons of Joktan. The Books of Kings and Chronicles tell of a joint expedition to Ophir by King Solomon and the Tyrian king Hiram I from Ezion-Geber, a port on the Red Sea, that brought back large amounts of gold, precious stones and ' algum wood' and of a later failed expedition by king Jehoshaphat of Judah. The famous 'gold of Ophir' is referenced in several other books of the Hebrew Bible. In the Septuagint, other variants of the name are mentioned: ''Ōpheír'', ''Sōphír'', ''Sōpheír ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
