Zanj

Zanj (Arabic: زنج‎‎; from Persian: زنگ‎‎ zang, meaning "Land of the Blacks" ) was a name used by medieval Muslim geographers to refer to both a certain portion of Southeast Africa (primarily the Swahili Coast), and to the area's Bantu inhabitants. This word is also the origin of the place name Zanzibar.

Zengī (زنگی) is of unknown derivation, but the appellation in Persian is roughly equivalent with "negro". It is recorded in Arabic as zanjī (زنجي) and in Turkish as zencî.

The latinization Zingium is an archaic name for the band of East African coast in modern-day Kenya and Tanzania. In the modern day, the architecture of these commercial urban settlements are a subject of study for urban planning. However, some foreign travelers, i.e. Arabs and Chinese, regarded the lands to be culturally primitive. For centuries the coastal settlements were a source of ivory, gold, and slaves, from sections of the conquered hinterland, to the Indian Ocean world.

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