From the Vault: Zengjiani, the Zanzibari Traveler in China

The Portuguese arrive in Kilwa. This should go well.

As my voice recovers, please enjoy this "from the vault" episode about Zengjiani, a famous East African traveler who reached numerous impressive destinations.

After decades of civil strife and conflict, a powerful leader finally emerges in Kilwa Kisiwani as the 14th century reached its climax. With the power of the sultanate waning, a powerful judge named Muhammad Al Kawab asserts himself as the true power behind the throne. The age of powerful monarchs is over, and Kilwa's era as an oligarchy begins.

Today, we enter into an age of transformation. For a prominent period in Kilwa's history, the city and its many satellites will no longer be under the reign of the centuries-old monarchy. Instead, a new apparatus of bureaucratic elites will begin to exert control over the state, and eventual make the monarchy little more than a shadow of its former self.

Urban sprawl and social instability leads Kilwa to develop a sister city on a nearby peninsula. Songo Mnara grows rapidly to become a major urban center on the Eastern Coast of Africa.

The great traveler Ibn Battuta arrives in Kilwa, and paints a tale of a country at the peak of its power, wealth, and prestige...but with a potentially bleaker future awaiting.

Every historic civilization has one or two famous leaders who rise above all others in their fame and prestige. Kilwa's most famous ruler was certainly Abu al Mawahib, the Father of Gifts.

The Sultanate of Kilwa influenced Zanzibar. Today, Zanzibar influences Kilwa back.

In today's episode, we examine the height of the Shirazi Dynasty - with Kilwa's absorption of several nearby islands and territories, as well as the transformation of Kilwa from an island of wooden buildings to an island of coral limestone structures.

The 11th century: a period of tumult in Kilwa's history. The sultanate overthrows the yoke of the Xanga, only to find that this rebellion is not the last.