Mahdali

The Mahdali were the Arab sultans of Kilwa, an island trading city off the Swahili Coast. Their Yemeni founder al-Hasan bin Talut seized power from the Shirazi line in the late thirteenth century and took over Kilwa's gold trade from Sofala.

His grandson al-Hasan ibn Sulaiman, called Abu al-Mawahib, reigned from 1310 to 1333. He minted Kilwa's only known gold coins, reconquered Mafia Island and began the Husuni Kubwa palace and warehouse. Ibn Battuta visited in 1331 and praised his generosity to strangers.

In the fifteenth century the sultanate claimed overlordship from Mozambique to Lamu as a loose confederation of merchant cities. Vasco da Gama extorted tribute in 1502; Francisco de Almeida sacked Kilwa in 1505 and installed a puppet sultan. Port cities broke away, trade fled and Kilwa was largely abandoned, carrying the Mahdali line down with it.