Historical place profile
Rhapta
A city and trading port on the east coast of Africa, mentioned in the Periplus of the Erythraean Sea and other sources. Probably to be located in the area south of modern Dar es-Salaam, in or around the Rufiji Delta and Mafia archipelago (Tanzania). Rhapta's location has not been archaeologically verified, but monumental architecture identified in 2016 off the north coast of Mafia island is a strong candidate.
Record details
- Research ID
- catholon:place:pleiades:39414
- Catalogue ID
- pleiades:39414
- Place type
- archipelago, delta, mouth, port, ruin, settlement
- Coordinates
- -7.803032, 39.626831
- Precision
- precise
- Locator semantics
- representative_point_not_boundary
Historical description
A city and trading port on the east coast of Africa, mentioned in the Periplus of the Erythraean Sea and other sources. Probably to be located in the area south of modern Dar es-Salaam, in or around the Rufiji Delta and Mafia archipelago (Tanzania). Rhapta's location has not been archaeologically verified, but monumental architecture identified in 2016 off the north coast of Mafia island is a strong candidate.
Geographic evidence
The coordinates are a representative_point_not_boundary. They identify a research anchor and do not by themselves assert an ancient administrative boundary or the full extent of the settlement.
Provenance: Barrington Atlas: BAtlas 4 A7 Rhapta
Source and reuse
This profile derives from the Pleiades current GIS record, licensed CC BY 3.0. Pleiades place record The profile preserves the source name, point, type, description, precision and provenance without silently adding a boundary reconstruction.
Research path
Compare this place with the chronological map at the relevant year, nearby political units, routes, institutions and the period portals. Where the source record is silent about jurisdiction, population or ecclesiastical rank, this profile makes no such claim.