Empire of the South: Sofala City

 Sofala City

Sometime in the 10th century, the Sofala port 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 were out of the East African coast who came from Mogadishu, and that they were in search of gold.

The Sultanate of Mogadishu or the Kingdom of Magadazo was a medieval Muslim sultanate cantered in southern Somalia, established by Abubakr bin Fakhr ad-Din of the Fakhr al-Din Dynasty had long kept Sofala a secret from the Kilwa Sultanate in Lindi Region of Tanzania. In the 1180's, Sultan Suleiman Hassan of Kilwa seized control of Sofala entering into the Swahili cultural sphere. Sofala's subsequent position as the principal entrepot of the Mwenemutapa gold trade expanded the finances of the Swahili commercial empire along the East African coast. Formally Sofala belonged to the Kingdom of Mwenemutapa, the Swahili community paid tribute for permission to reside and trade there.


"The gold port"- Sofala mentioned by Arab geographers. In the late 15th century(1490s) Sofala was still a thriving trading port yet the amount of gold exported was in decline, and the overland route was used to reach the hinterland. The Arab merchants spoke to the newly arrived Portuguese of an annual export of 5,5 tons to 8,5 tons of gold. By 1507 the Portuguese expelled the Arabs from Sofala and built a small fort.

Due to the decrease of gold, the Portuguese explored the inland territories to find the source of the gold.

Pages:  1,  2,  3,  4,  5,  6,  7,  8,  9.

*Video: Empire of the South: Mutapa.

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