The Kilwa Sultanate is a Medieval sultanate, centered at Kilwa (an island off modern-day Tanzania), whose authority, at its height, stretches over the entire length of the Swahili Coast.

It is founded in the 10th century by Ali ibn al-Hassan Shirazi, a Persian prince of Shiraz.

His family rules the Sultanate until the year 1277.

It is replaced by the Arab family of Abu Moaheb until 1505, when it is overthrown by a Portuguese invasion.

By 1513, the sultanate is already fragmented into smaller states, many of which became protectorates of the Sultanate of Oman.