The East African coast was well known to ancient geographers centuries before Christ. Yet its history is today as mysterious as it is intriguing to modern day scholars.
In 150 A.D., the Greek geographer Ptolemy gave a detailed account of East Africa, which he called Azania, and mentioned a headland which he called Zingis.
The author of the “Periplus” (an ancient navigation book written in Greek and which guided ships sailing down the Red Sea) also made reference to the land of Zand or Zangs, and from which words ‘Zanguebar’, and later ‘Zanzibar’, may have been coined.
Also, Arabian historians around A.D. 684 recorded the attack and defeat of Said and Suleiman, the rulers of Oman, by the Governor of Iraq.
The defeated, the records indicate, fled southwards to the land of Zang, accompanied by some Persians.
The Arab historians record Makdishu (Mogadishu) as the earliest settlement on the EA coast, having been built circa 908 A.D. There is no doubt that some habitations existed in the hinterland.
Makdishu was followed by Kilwa, an old settlement city in modern day Tanzania. About two hundred years later, circa 1100 A.D., Mombasa, Gede, Malindi and settlements of the Lamu archipelago were formed.
There is compelling evidence that the Japanese and Chinese also called on the East African shores at some point in history.
In ancient Chinese encyclopedia it is recorded that “in the country of the Tsengu, in the South West ocean, there is a bird called ‘Pheng’ which eclipses the sun during flight. It can swallow a camel and its quills are used for water casks…”
Chinese coins dated between A.D. 713-1170 have also been found. Indeed, researchers recently discovered in a remote corner of Australia ancient coins that had been minted in Kilwa.
Marco Polo visited Makdishu and described it as an exceedingly large city. He also visited Mombasa and had his to write about modern Kenya’s second largest city:
“…(Mombasa) is large, abounding with banana, lemon and citrus fruits…the people are religious, chaste and honest with peaceful habits…”
In his book, The East African Protectorate, Sir Charles Eliot, who was Governor of Kenya from 1900-1904, described Mombasa as follows:
“In virtue of the advantage of its position, it’s good climate and fine harbours, Mombasa was the most important point, yet it cannot be said to have been the political centre of the surroundings. It was simply the place which was most fought about and oftenest burnt…”
Sir Eliot wrote on:
“The native name Mvita means war, and never was a name more justified by history. There can hardly been a town in the world which has been besieged, captured, sacked, burnt and razed to the ground so often and in so short a time…”
Historia ya Wakenya.
Photos: Scenes from Mombasa in 1902.
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did you know that malaria, strange as it may sound, greatly helped protect africa from earlier exploitation? the disease killed most of those who dared venture inland. It follows that caravans had to keep close to river courses for the water but this exposed them to mosquitoes and consequential malaria. they referred to the disease as swamp fever, with explorers such as Dr David Livingstone attributing malaria to the bad fumes that emanate from bogs. it was not until the discovery of the bark of the cinchona tree’s efficacy in reducing the effects of malaria that adventurers were able to venture further inland…
Interesting. The word malaria is derived from ‘mal’ which means bad and ‘aria’ which means air. It was initially believed that the disease was as a result of foul air.
think of the bad smell of rotting vegetation from marshes and all that methan bubbling out and you have your answer…do not forget the adventurers, usually going to hunt for ivory, usually set out during the dry season when the deltas of rivers were also drying up, marooning and killing fish and other aquatic life in delta lakes and ponds…
[SIZE=6]Marsh gas[/SIZE]
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Marsh gas, swamp gas and bog gas are common names for biogas which forms in wetlands, whose principal component is methane with hydrogen sulfide and carbon dioxide as minor compositions, produced naturally within some geographical marshes, swamps, and bogs.