Swahili city-states · about 1000-1505

Kilwa and the Swahili coast

Stone towns along the East African coast traded gold, ivory and cloth across the Indian Ocean on the monsoon winds. Students visit Kilwa, which Ibn Battuta called one of the most beautiful towns in the world.

Teach it live New Open on the map
Length
45 minutes
Ages
11–14
On the map
3 steps, AD 1300
Live lesson
7 rounds, 3 on the map
Worksheet
Two A4 pages, with Classroom
You need
A projector; phones for live

Live lesson · new in Classroom

Teach it live. The class answers on their phones.

Put the board on the projector. Students join with a six-digit code, no account needed, and tap the map: where was the frontier, where did the grain come from. Their pins drop in together when you reveal, and the closest student takes the round.

€19 per month: every lesson live, every worksheet, cancel anytime. Rome at its height runs live for free.

A live lesson on the projector: the class's pins on the map around Alexandria, the closest students listed beside it A student's phone: the question and a map to tap
7 rounds
3 places to find on the map, quiz questions, a class vote and a one-line answer.
About 15 minutes
Run it as the map step, or to open the discussion. You move on with the space bar.
A report
Every answer, per student and per round, to read back or print after the lesson.
1

Introduction

5 min

Read aloud

Stone towns along the East African coast traded gold, ivory and cloth across the Indian Ocean on the monsoon winds. Students visit Kilwa, which Ibn Battuta called one of the most beautiful towns in the world.

By the end of the lesson, students can

  • Locate the main Swahili city-states from Mogadishu to Sofala.
  • Explain how the monsoon winds shaped trade between East Africa, Arabia and India.
  • Describe how the Swahili language and culture mixed African and Arabian influences.
2

Explore the map

12 min

Project the map, or let students follow on their own devices. Each step opens the map at the right year and place.

a

AD 1300

A coast of cities

Open the map in 1300 and zoom to the East African coast. The map marks it "Islamic city-states". How far along the coast does the label stretch?

Open this view on the map
b

AD 1331

Ibn Battuta at Kilwa

Open Stories and choose Ibn Battuta under Travel with. Stop at the Kilwa stop in 1331. What does he say about the town?

Open this view on the map
c

AD 1300

An ocean highway

Turn on Trade Routes and zoom out over the Indian Ocean. Find the Maritime Spice Route. Which coasts does it link, and how could Swahili ships join this trade?

Open this view on the map
3

Class discussion

14 min

Pick two or three. They run from what happened to why it mattered.

  1. Swahili is an African language with many Arabic words. What does that tell you about life on the coast?
  2. Ships could only sail with the monsoon winds. How would that shape the year of a merchant in Kilwa?
  3. Kilwa's own chronicle says its first sultan came from Shiraz in Persia, but archaeologists find African roots. Why might a city tell a foreign origin story?
  4. Kilwa grew rich from gold it did not mine. How did it control the trade?
  5. In 1505 a Portuguese fleet attacked Kilwa. Why could a small fleet with cannons defeat rich city-states?
4

Game round

9 min

No ruler of the Swahili coast is in Rule History. Play one round as Suleiman the Magnificent, whose fleets also competed with Portugal in the Indian Ocean in the 1500s. Discuss: what did sea power mean for trading cities like Kilwa?

Open Rule History
5

Worksheet

5 min

This worksheet comes with Classroom

€19 per month unlocks every worksheet, every live lesson and the class workspace. The free lesson prints without a subscription.