This Medieval cemetery from Kilwa Kisiwani, an important historical site on an island of Tanzania, dates back hundreds of years to the heyday of the Swahili Kilwa Sultanate. The Medieval city there was described by the early 14th-century traveler Ibn Battuta as one of the most beautiful in the world — and Ibn Battuta was one of the most well-travelled men in history, so that was high praise.
In a study from _Nature_ magazine published at the end of March this year in 2023, genetic analysis of Medieval Swahili peoples in this area revealed a fascinating profile of the ethnic origins of these peoples. The study shows that Swahili elites around the turn of the first millenium were a blend of East African and Persian ethnicities. The study demonstrates that the Persian immigrants to Africa were mostly men, and the elite women were mostly of African descent. Thus, the aristocratic dynasties seem to have been founded by men from abroad intermingling with the indigenous African women. In fact, the oral history recorded in the”Kilwa Chronicle” (there are two known written versions recorded in the early 1500s) claim that Persian sultans came to East Africa and founded the Kilwa state in the 10th century, but these accounts were considered mostly mythological until now.
The artifacts and buildings of these Medieval Swahili peoples reflect a blend of African and Persian cultures, while the language is distinctly African. Since the culture was matrilineal and women owned their homes, the blending was likely to have been a peaceful process versus a coercive one.
Sources: For summary and analysis of above citation see _Science_ Andrew Curry, 29 March 2023 “DNA shows ‘Persian Princes’ helped found medieval African trading culture”. See also _ThoughtCo._ “Sultans of the Swahili culture,” K. Kris Hirst, August 18, 2018, “Entwined African and Asian genetic roots of medieval peoples of the Swahili coast,” _Nature_, 29 March 2023, 866-873. Esther Brielle et al.
