Kismaayo

Kismaayo is situated in the Jubaland state of southern Somalia. By population, it is Somalia's fifth-largest city. It is a well-known city in Somalia. The Ajuran Empire, which ruled most of southern Somalia and eastern Ethiopia during the Middle Ages, included Kismayo and the surrounding area. Its territory stretched from Hobyo in the north through Qelafo in the west to Kismayo in the south.

The Geledi Sultanate ruled Kismayo in the early modern era, and the Boqow dynasty took over in the late 1800s. After the passing of the final sultan, Osman Ahmed, the kingdom was eventually merged into Italian Somaliland.

The city was designated the official Kismayo District's center after Kenya gained independence in 1960.The town, constructed in 1872 by the Sultan of Zanzibar, was captured by the British in 1887; it eventually became a part of Jubaland and was located in Italian Somaliland (1927–41). With assistance from the US, its seaport facilities were upgraded in the 1960s, mostly for the export of bananas. The port in Kismaayo was damaged during the Somalia civil war in the 1990s.