Rumaliza

Rumaliza
Rumaliza, January 1900.
Born	Muhammad bin Khalfan bin Khamis al-Barwani c. 1855 Lindi, Tanganyika
Died	After 1894
Nationality	Swahili
Occupation	Sultan of Ujiji
Known for	Slave and ivory trading

Muhammad bin Khalfan bin Khamis al-Barwani (born c. 1855), commonly known as Rumaliza, was a Swahili slave and ivory trader in East Africa in the last part of the nineteenth century. With the help of Tippu Tip he became Sultan of Ujiji. At one time he dominated the trade of Tanganyika, before being defeated by Belgian forces under Baron Francis Dhanis in January 1894.

The trade in slaves from East Africa dates back thousands of years. Arabs are documented as trading in slaves from the East African coast in the second century A.D. The Arabs established a series of trading posts along the coast. Through prolonged contact with the Arabs, a distinctive Swahili ("coastal") culture developed among the Bantu people of the region. Although the Swahili language has Bantu roots, it includes many words of Arabic origin. For many years, Zanzibar was considered part of the kingdom of Oman. The Swahili and Arab traders obtained slaves in the interior of East Africa and sold them in the great markets like Zanzibar on the coast. The trade peaked in the nineteenth century in response to growing local and international demand.

Rumaliza was born at Lindi around 1855, on the Indian Ocean coast in the south of modern Tanzania. He was educated at Zanzibar during the reign of Majid bin Sa'id (1856–70). He became a leader in the Qadiriyya Muslim brotherhood. The Arab trader Tippu Tip from Zanzibar reached the Luba region in the late 1850s, trading in slaves, ivory and copper. Relying on force as needed to defeat uncooperative local chieftains, he steadily expanded his trading empire. In 1875, he established his capital as Kasongo. Rumaliza spent some time with Tippu Tip at Tabora in western Tanganyika, and is said to have acquired his name from the nearby village or suburb called Rumaliza or Lumaliza. Rumaliza formed a trading alliance with Tippu Tip.

A market where salt could be exchanged for other goods was established at Ujiji on Lake Tanganyika in Burundi in 1840. Tippu Tip and Ruwaliza established themselves there in 1881. From 1883 Rumaliza was the leader of the Swahili community at Ujiji. Rumaliza and his Magwangwara auxiliaries occupied five posts on the northeast coast of Lake Tanganyika between 1884 and 1894. He launched a series of raids into the mountains and up the Rusizi River valley as far as Lake Kivu.