Swahili coast trading city-state, rival of Mombasa and ally of the Portuguese.
Declined after 1593 when the Portuguese moved their main East African base to Mombasa and the Malindi ruling family relocated its court there; the city lost demographic and commercial significance and effectively ceased to function as an independent city-state by the early 17th century.
The standard history of the Swahili coast society and its trading city-states, including Malindi.
An anthropological portrait of the Swahili coastal towns and their mercantile civilization (broad regional context).