# Attoumani Founds Mayotte's Dynasty (Late 15th century)

URL: https://allhistories.com/comoros/timeline/1495-attoumani-founds-mayotte-s-dynasty
Location: Mtsamboro, Mayotte
Themes: main-event

Until the end of the fifteenth century Mayotte was divided into independent territories ruled by fani, Muslim chiefs of Swahili and Malagasy heritage. Their chiefdoms were based in towns such as Mtsamboro, Acoua, Tsingoni and Bandrélé. According to traditions studied by French historians, Attoumani ben Mohamed, a member of the Shirazi clan established for several generations on Anjouan, married the daughter of Mwalimu Poro, the powerful fani of Mtsamboro in the north of Mayotte. This marriage founded the first princely dynasty of the island, with its seat at Mtsamboro. Their daughter, Jumbe Amina, married Mohamed ben Hassan, sultan of Anjouan, extending Anjouan's influence over Mayotte. Their son, Aïssa ben Mohamed, inherited through his mother the right to rule Mayotte and asserted the island's independence from Anjouan, moving the capital to Tsingoni around 1530. The founding of the dynasty marked the end of the age of the fani and the beginning of the sultanate of Mayotte, which survived until the early nineteenth century. The marriage alliance illustrates how incoming Shirazi lineages gained legitimacy by allying with established local chiefs, often through the female line, a pattern found throughout the Comoros. At this point in the timeline (Late 15th century), no ruler with secure dates is recorded in this dataset; the islands were divided among local chiefs (fani and bedja) and small sultanates whose lists are only partly documented.

## Why it matters
Attoumani's marriage founded the sultanate of Mayotte and ended the age of the fani chiefdoms.

## Sources
- [Wikipedia — Mtsamboro](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mtsamboro)
- [Wikipédia (fr) — Histoire de Mayotte](https://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Histoire_de_Mayotte)
- [Wikipedia — List of sultans in the Comoro Islands](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_sultans_in_the_Comoro_Islands)
- [Encyclopaedia Britannica — Mayotte history](https://www.britannica.com/search?query=Mayotte+history)
- [Wikipedia — Swahili Trade And Early Islam (period overview)](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Islam_in_the_Comoros)