The Kingdom of Daresalam
al Mamlakah al Daresalam
Ufaleme wa Daresalam
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Location
Population: 76,008, 463
Capital City: Dar Es Salaam
Official Language: Arabic and Swahili
Demonym: Daresalami
Government: Absolute Monarchy
- Malik Muhammad Ibn Yusuf ibn Ahmad ibn Said al Amini
Legislature:
none
Establishment:
tbd
Land Area: 998, 579 km2
GDP: CRtbd
GDP per capita: CR tbd
Currency: tbd
Time Zone: tbd
Daresalam, officially known as the Kingdom of Daresalam (Arabic: al Mamlakah al Daresalam,, Swahili: Ufaleme wa Daresalam) is an absolute monarchy located on the East African mainland. Daresalam consists of a land area of 998, 579 km2 and its closest neighbour is the British Empire which possesses the islands of Zanzibar, Pemba and Mafia.
Although Arabic is given the status of official language in Daresalam, it is Swahili that constitutes the true national language of the country, as it is used in matters of governance, commerce and everyday life. This makes Swahili an important unifying element amongst the countries diverse population, with over 100 spoken langues drawn from four of Africa's major languages family, Bantu, Nilotic, Cushtitic and Khoi San, along many other languages spoken by immigrant groups. This reflects Daresalam's diverse society which is divided into numerous different ethnic groups, clans and tribes that many Daresalami identity with. Along with the Swahili languages, religion also forms the other common shared trait of Daresalam's diverse inhabitants, as a majority of the country adheres the Shafi'i school of Sunni Islam, which in Daresalam is almost synonymous with the local branch of the Qadiriyya Sufi Order.
Much of Daresalam's history has been characterized by patterns of migration, settlement and group formation that has helped shape the various peoples, cultures and states that have emerged. The coast meanwhile has formed an important area of contact between the interior peoples and the wider world through its role of intermediary between the hinterland and the the Indian Ocean trading network. While trade and cultural encounter had occured between the coastal and interior peoples for centuries, it was the intensification of these contacts in the late 18th and 19th century that modern Daresalam emerges. Initially under the control of the Omani Sultans, much of the Daresalam coast eventually broke away due to the machinations of the Arab-Swahili trader Said al Amini and his alliance with - Trading Company, resulting in the foundation of the Protectorate of Daresalam with Said as Malik (King). As Daresalam gradually expanded to include the interior, Said al Amini and his descendents continue to rule Daresalam throughout the colonial and post colonial periods.
Since the 1990s, Daresalam has been ruled by Malik Muhammad ibn Yusuf ibn Ahmad ibn Said al Amini, who has transitioned his country through a difficult period of post independence to the modern day. Thanks to many economic liberal reforms and policies, Daresalam has benefited from extensive overseas investment, with the capital of Dar Es Salaam serving as a major trade and manufacturing hub in Africa and the Indian Ocean. However, poor living conditions and repressive political control has created rising tensions in the country that threaten to destabilise it in the near future.