The Biography of the Sultans of Kilwa

35 met a Muslim man with his children, and they asked him about the Island. "This island is under the rule of a pagan African from the town of Mitole, on the road between Kilwa and Mchinga which is only a few kilometres off the coast", the man said. "He is in the habit of going to his native town to hunt, and will be back soon", the man added. A few days later, the pagan African returned from the town of Mitole and met Sultan Ali ibn al-Hassan ibn Ali. The Dragoman who interpreted for them was a Muslim residing on the island. Sultan Ali said: "I like this island, and I like to live here. Would you sell it to me so that I may take it as my dwelling place?" "I would be happy to," the African man

RkJQdWJsaXNoZXIy OTg0NzAy