Person

Tippu Tip

c. 1837–1905 · 19th century · Also known as Hamad bin Muhammad al-Murjabi

Tippu Tip was a Swahili-Arab trader from Zanzibar who built a commercial empire in the eastern Congo basin, dealing in ivory and slaves. From his base at Kasongo he ruled much of Manyema in the 1870s and 1880s. He helped explorers such as Stanley and was governor of the Stanley Falls district for the Congo Free State from 1887 before retiring to Zanzibar.

Tippu Tip
Image: John Kirk (Life time: Subject died 14/6/1905 AD, author died 15/1/1922 AD) · Public domain · Wikimedia Commons

Mentioned in 3 profiles

Sultanate of ZanzibarSocioeconomyCongo Free StateMilitarySwahiliSpeakers

Mentioned in 1 state history

Tippu Tip's State

See also

Cite this entry
APA
The Epoch Institute. (2026). Tippu Tip. In The Epoch Institute Encyclopedia. https://the-epoch-institute.org/encyclopedia/tippu-tip
MLA
“Tippu Tip.” The Epoch Institute Encyclopedia, The Epoch Institute, 2026, https://the-epoch-institute.org/encyclopedia/tippu-tip. Accessed .
Chicago
The Epoch Institute. “Tippu Tip.” The Epoch Institute Encyclopedia. 2026. https://the-epoch-institute.org/encyclopedia/tippu-tip.
Harvard
The Epoch Institute (2026) ‘Tippu Tip’, The Epoch Institute Encyclopedia. Available at: https://the-epoch-institute.org/encyclopedia/tippu-tip (Accessed: ).

Last reviewed October 2026Random entry ↻