A leader of this city known as the "Father of Gifts" built its Palace of Husuni Kubwa.
According to legend, this city was built on a piece of land that a prince purchased from a foreign king by trading all the cloth he used to encircle it, but when the king tried to renege, the prince destroyed the only bridge leading to this city. A leader of this city known as the "Father of Gifts" built its Palace of Husuni Kubwa. The chronicle named for this city provides a list of the Mahdali dynasty sultans who ruled it and claims that Ali ibn al-Hassan Shirazi was its founder. In 1944, several coins issued by this city were found in the Wessel Islands of Australia, suggesting a maritime Silk Road. Much of this city's wealth derived from the tribute in gold paid to it by its southern neighbor Sofala. Perhaps this city's most impressive remains is a mosque made entirely out of coral, which appears in Ibn Battuta's description of it. This city's power declined during the early 16th century, when the 4th Armada of Vasco Da Gama extracted tribute from it. For 10 points, name this city on an island off of Tanzania, the most powerful of the medieval Swahili cities.
According to legend, this city was built on a piece of land that a prince purchased from a foreign king by trading all the cloth he used to encircle it, but when the king tried to renege, the prince destroyed the only bridge leading to this city.
Kilwa Sultanate