Pemba Island is a Tanzanian island forming part of the Zanzibar Archipelago, lying within the Swahili Coast in the Indian Ocean.
The Swahili people comprise mainly Bantu, Afro-Arab and Comorian ethnic groups inhabiting the Swahili coast, an area encompassing the Zanzibar archipelago and mainland Tanzania's seaboard, littoral Kenya, northern Mozambique, the Comoros Islands and Northwest Madagascar.
Chake-Chake is a town located on the Tanzanian island of Pemba and capital of Chake Chake District. It is in the centre of a deep indentation in the west coast called Chake-Chake Bay. Chake-Chake is historically the capital of Pemba Island, and the seat of Pemba's court. Pemba's only airport is 7 km south-east of Chake-Chake. The Mkama Ndume ruins are close to the airport in Pujini village.
Chambani is a historic site and village located in Mkoani District of Pemba South Region. Its one of several National Historic sites on the island of Pemba. The site is located nine kilometres south of Chake-Chake, close to several sets of ruins, notably the Pujini Ruins, a 15th-century citadel, located close to the village of Pujini, two kilometres to the north.
Ngagu is a village on the Zanzibari island of Pemba. It is located at the end of a narrow peninsula known as Ras Mkumbuu, which lies on the west coast immediately to the north of Chake-Chake Bay. The town is located close to the Quanbalu Ruins. Possibly dating from as early as the eighth century, these are the remains of a major trading centre which may have been Africa's oldest Muslim town.
Chake-Chake Bay is a large indentation in the central west coast of Pemba Island, one of the two main islands of Tanzania's Zanzibar Archipelago.
The Shirazi people, also known as Mbwera, are a Bantu ethnic group inhabiting the Swahili coast and the nearby Indian ocean islands. They are particularly concentrated on the islands of Zanzibar, Pemba and Comoros.
National Historic Sites of Tanzania is an official list of places in Tanzania that have been designated as National Historic Sites as per the Ministry of Natural Resources and Tourism of Tanzania under the Antiquities Division. The list is not complete and is currently being updated.
Mkama Ndume Ruins was a medieval Swahili settlement palace ruins located in Chake Chake District of Pemba South Region that was abandoned in the 16th Century prior to Portuguese arrival and is known for its fortification. The site is located 10 km (6.2 mi) east of the town of Chake-Chake. The settlement was ruled by a leader named Mohammed bin Abdul Rahman, who was known for his cruelty towards his subjects thus earned his infamous nickname Mkama Ndume meaning milker of men in old Swahili. The settlement ruins bear this nickname.
Pujini Ruins is a Medieval historic site next to the village of Pujini located in Chake Chake District of Pemba South Region. There used to be a fortified palace at the site, only ruins of the walls remain. The palace is believed to have been of Mkame Mdume. Its one of several National Historic Sites on the island of Pemba including Chambani and Ras Mkumbuu.
Chwaka is a medieval Swahili historic site next to the village of Chwaka located in Micheweni District of Pemba North Region, Tanzania. There is an excavated Swahili mosque on the site. The location of these ruins is 6 km (3.7 mi) from the small town of Konde, at the end of a trail that extends 900 m (3,000 ft) in the direction of the village of Tumbe on the way to the village of Myumoni.
Mtambwe Kuu or Mtambwe Mkuu is a Medieval Swahili historic site located in Chake Chake District of Pemba North Region. A town wall, a mosque, tombs, and residences are among the several stone constructions at the Mtambwe Mkuu site in northwest Pemba. The oldest indications of occupation date from the eleventh century and persisted successfully and unbrokenly until the fifteenth century. It was once again occupied in the nineteenth century. A cache of over 2,000 gold and silver coins from the 10 and eleventh centuries were found during an excavation at the location, demonstrating Pemba's Swahili involvement in the regional trade networks at the time.
Shamiani is protected historic site located inside Mkoani District of Pemba South Region in Tanzania. The site is home to partially excavated abandoned medieval Swahili ruins with a brief occupation period from about 14th to 16th century.
Msuka Mjini Ruins is protected historic site located inside Micheweni District of Pemba North Region in Tanzania. Msuka Mjini has a Swahili mosque from the fifteenth century preserved in ruins on the Kigomasha peninsula on the island. The date 816AH is carved on the interior of the circular mirhab.
Mduuni Ruins is protected historic site located inside Micheweni District of Pemba North Region in Tanzania. The settlement was established around 1100 CE.
Mkia wa Ng'ombe Ruins is protected historic site located inside Micheweni District of Pemba North Region in Tanzania. The settlement was established around the 15th CE and abandoned in the 16th century. There are ruins of a mosque, tombs and some stone buildings. The site is critically endangered to further erosion.
Kisimani Mafia is a national historic site located in Miburani ward in the Mafia Archipelago of Pwani Region's Mafia District. They are Mafia's oldest ruins, which are close to the district's capital of Kilindoni. The earliest strata of mosques, according to archaeologist Neville Chittick who performed excavations there in the 1950s, date from about the tenth and eleventh centuries. However, many of them have since been washed into the Mafia Channel.
Kunduchi is a Medieval Swahili National Historic Site located in Kunduchi ward, located in Kinondoni District of Dar es Salaam Region in Tanzania. There is an excavated 15th-century mosque on the site. An 18th-century cemetery with the biggest collection of pillared tombs in East Africa, situated in a baobab woodland, and embellished with Ming era's porcelain plates. The pottery discovered here demonstrates the medieval town's affluence and trading connections with imperial China.
Tanzania 
