Swahili city-states

African coast self-governing urban centres

The Swahili city-states were independent, self-governing urban centres that were located on the Swahili coast of East Africa between the 8th and 16th centuries. These were primarily coastal hubs, including Kilwa, Mombasa, and Zanzibar, which prospered due to their advantageous locations along Indian Ocean trade networks, enabling interactions between Africa and Asia.

From Wikipedia, under CC BY-SA. More on occurri.