Written by the Fiveable Content Team • Last updated August 2025
Verified for the 2027 exam
Verified for the 2027 exam•Written by the Fiveable Content Team • Last updated August 2025
Definition
Independent urban trading centers on the Swahili Coast united by shared language (Swahili) and religion (Islam) between the eleventh and fifteenth centuries, which rose through Indian Ocean trade and fell to Portuguese invasion.
AP course connection
Topic 1.8: 1.8 Culture and Trade in Southern and East Africa