Swahili Civil War

The Swahili Civil War, also known as the Sixth Fitna, the Great African War, and the War for Swahilian Unification, was an African conflict that lasted twenty-four years, and resulted in the deaths of more than 6,000,000 soldiers, 3,000,000 citizens, and over 1,500,000 slaves. The war is historically a center piece for the rise of the early Idrissid Caliphate and the ultimate downfall for the decentralized Sultanate of Swahili, which had incorperated the Abbasid dynasty into it's high political ranks following their movement into Swahili a few decades prior. The conflict lasted from November 7th, 1603 to June 9th, 1627, beginning with the beginning of the Armed Uprising in Sofala and ended with the Treaty of Mogadishu.

During the Armed Uprising in Sofala, the Swahili Imperial Guard were forced to viciously attack the Makua people, which would result in the Siege of Nacala, killing more than 10,000 Swahili Imperial Guard forces and 25,000 Makuans, 12,000 were associated in the armed uprising. This death total would spark the Swahili Civil War, with the Makuan's storming numerous armories and pillaging large cities, the extent of which was Dar es Salaam. The state's of Merina, Sofala, and Zanzibar would all declare independence away from the Swahili Sultanate, and soon regents of soldiers would be directed to attack the capital city of Mogadishu.

The Ethiopian Empire and Zulu Kingdom would take the opportunity to begin large assaults on the dis-unified state, however their efforts would eventually be pushed back and later would face defeat at the hands of the Swahili Sultanate.

The war has historically been described as "one of the bloodiest conflicts Africa has seen", and remained the largest multicidal conflict until the eruption of World War I in 1914.