Taken from: Swahili Monumental Architecture and Archaeology North of the Tana River by Thomas H. Wilson 2016.

P138

Faza entered written history with its support of the Turk Mirale (Amir Ali?) Bey in 1586, for which action the town was destroyed by the Portuguese the following year. Faza subsequently became an ally of the Portuguese, an alliance mainly directed against Pate; in the nineteenth century it served as a base of operations of the Zanzibaris against Siyu (Kirkman 1964:65-66). There were a Portuguese chapel and a fort at Faza, but their remains are not known. The Swahili ruins include three mosques and some tombs. The musalla of the mosque of Shala Fatani was entered through an eastern anteroom or through a southern ablution chamber (Garlake 1966: Figs. 33, 34, Pl. XI, Wilson 1980:Pl. 70). Two rows of two octagonal piers supported the roof, leaving an unobstructed view of the mihrab, and two more piers upheld the transverse ogival archways separating the ablution chamber from the musalla. The mihrab was framed in an architrave with doubly recessed panels, with a single arch-shaped niche in each pilaster. There was a double inner spandrel frame rising from panelled jamb blocks, with an inscription across the face and reveal of the cornice of each. Inside the spandrel frame was a raised archivolt and three arch orders, highly stilted and elliptical in shape, and an inner trefoliate arch. The apse is luted below the spring line of the inner arch, above which there are several corbelled members and a central herringbone spine with vertical luting radiating outwards from it. Carvings, shaped like a spear tip or a heart, were set above the inner trefoliate arch and above the apex of the archivolt. The front and rear walls stand but the west and half of the east walls have fallen. The well was to the southeast, and water was sent into the mosque through a conduit. The mosque orientation is 1.5°. South of the Shala Fatani mosque is another mosque, much broken down, which used to have southern ablution facilities. North of this ruin is a cemetery, with several low step-end tombs and low enclosures. One tomb had a short (ca. 1.8 metre) tapered pillar erected, but I could not distinguish to which tomb it belonged. Another seems to have been a low domed type, set over walls roughly square. To the east is another ine ruined mosque, entered through an eastern anteroom, with ablution chamber to the south (Wilson 1980:Pl. 71). Like the Shala Fatani mosque, this one also had three aisles, but two rather than four octagonal piers shortened the length of its musalla; and, like the other mosque, ogival archways provided entrance to the ablution chamber. The mihrab is having a barely salient architrave of adjacent continuous rectangular panels (it is possible that these were only pilasters, not a complete architrave, for the facade is destroyed above the spandrels). The jamb blocks are panelled as well, above which rise a spandrel frame and archivolt, inside of which were three arch orders and an inner trefoliate arch, destroyed in 1980, which rose from its own chamfered pilaster. The apse has vertically extended panels below

P139

springing of the inner arch, above which are ive offset courses of plaster. The top of the semi-dome is destroyed. The stilted semicircular arches are nicked at the top. There was a wooden lintel above the spandrel frame. In each pilaster is a single square niche. The central piers and one ogival archway still stand, but the side and rear walls have fallen. The qibla and parts of the north wall stand. Its orientation is 347°. Nearby a large mosque with a similar mihrab has recently fallen into disuse. This mosque has four central piers in two rows, and was entered through ogival archways from eastern and southern rooms. There is a recessed minbar and a tower for the call to prayers, the latter reached through an external stairway entered from the east room. The roof of the musalla will collapse unless it is attended to. On the east side the mosque is approached by high, broad stairs. A tomb nearby this last mosque has a unique façade (Wilson 1980:Pl. 72). Unfortunately the east side is destroyed, but on the north and west may be seen two rows of panels in which are diagonal crosses. The west side has six such panels, above which was a frieze of niches; on the north façade there might have been a system of alternating plain and crossed panels on the top row. The south side might have had a single lower large panel, above which were several smaller panels. The tomb measures 2.23 metres on the west, 3.00 metres on the north; the crossed panels are about 50 centimetres wide by 45 centimetres high. Our surface collection from Faza included a few pieces of sgrafiato, some celadon, numerous Islamic monochromes, Persian blue and white, Islamic polychromes, Chinese blue and white from the fifteenth to nineteenth century, Japanese blue and white, Indian black on red earthenware, imitation celadon, and nineteenth century European wares. The sgrafiato suggests that Faza might date from the late thirteenth century. 

The Kitab al Zanj (a late 19^th history of the Swahili compiled in S Somalia) mentions Faza: In the year 149 (765-766) the emissary of the Abbasid government came to the sultans in Maqdishu, Marka, Barawa, Faza, Siwi, Bata, Manda, Taqa, Amu, Uzi, Maludi, Uyumbu, Kilifi, Basasa, Zinjibar, Kilwa and Waybu.  

Note: this date for the existence of all these places is impossible.

The Pate chronicle (edited by Marina Tolmacheva) mentions Faza:

In the year 690 (1291) Sultan Ahmad (of Pate) died …. Muhammad ibn Ahmad reigned, the third of the Nabahans …..

After Sultan Muhammad had conquered the country of Shanga, trouble arose between him and the people of the country originally called Rasini, but which is now called Faza.

So he made war against them and they fought together for many days. And it came to pass that the people of Pate were unable to go outside the town to draw water after the sun had risen for fear of those people of Rasini. For it was the custom of those people to arrive daily as the sun commenced to mount in the heavens. Till the women in their houses used to tell their slaves: Go quickly and draw water before the sun mounts and those of the mounting sun have come. So the people of Faza (or Paza) were called: those of the mounting sun. This is the origin of the word Wapaza, for after a while the word sun was dropped out, and they were called: those of the mounting (=Wapatha in Pate Swahili). After many days had passed the name of Wapaza stuck to them. Later on when the country of Rasini had been taken by the Sultan of Pate, it remained uninhabited till the Watikuu came asking for a place in which to settle. The Sultan of that date told them that they could have the place of the Wapatha. That is why they are now called Paza (or Faza).

Main happenings in Faza in Portuguese times.

-1587-89 Portuguese destruction of Manda and Faza: Santos, , Etiopia Orientale.

-c.1593 Stambuli dynasty, Faza.

-c. 1596 Augustianians and Misericordia Brethren in Mombasa, Faza, Lamu, Zanzibar.

-1636 Punitive expeditions and treaties imposed on Pate, Siyu, Manda, Luziwa, Faza and Lamu.

-1643 Sultan of Faza complains of Portuguese conduct. Captain Afonso Manoel sent to Goa for trial. Tension between Faza and Pate.

-1644 War between Pemba and Faza.

-1660 Umani raiders at Faza and supported by Pate, Siyu, Manda, Lamu, Simio, Mwera, Jasa & Oja.

Taken from: Travels in the coastlands of British East Africa and the islands of Zanzibar and Pemba: their agricultural resources and general characteristics; by WILLIAM   WALTER   AUGUSTINE   FITZGERALD (1898)

End of the Middle-ages view and End of Faza by the Portuguese.

Taken from: Friar João dos Santos (1622) Ethiopia Oriental (Vária historia de cousas notaveis do Oriente), Lisbon, His book is about 1580-1600.

p378

Along this coast are many islands populated by Moors and Kaffir Gentiles, some of which are very large beautiful and fertile islands such as Quiloa Monfia Zanzibar Mombasa Pemba

P379

Lamo Pate and other smaller ones. In each of these islands there is the captain of the coast, his foreman who makes his goods to him, which are slaves, amber turtle, ivory, wax, corn and rice, of which merchandise there is a good quantity in these lands. In all these islands there are many palms and fields of corn and rice. Many boats are made in them, with mats and straws of fine straw, many good cloths of silk and cotton and particularly on the island of Pate where there are large weavers and in this respect they are very much in the middle of it; Pate cloths are worn by the Moorish nobles and kings of this coast and also the wives of some Portuguese. Each of these islands has its Moorish king, all of whom are vassals of the King of Portugal and all pay him tribute in recognition of their salary which the captain of the coast collects every year. All these Moors were formerly foreigners on this coast just as today are the Portuguese; because they are Arabs by nation and left the province of Arabia Felix and the city of Larach and came to populate these islands and some lands at the edge of the sea of this Ethiopia where they founded large and populous cities and towns that they have today and in them they have lived for many years as natives of the land and almost similar to the same Ethiopians, both in color of face and in customs. All these Arabs follow the sect of the Persians which is the interpretation that Ali made on the law of Mafamede in which they are very deviated from the sect of the Turks who follow Omar, interpreting the opposite opinion for which reason they consider each other to be heretics …………

P385

Beyond the city of Malindi, the island is located, of Lamo where there is a lot of breeding of donkeys, very large in body but very soft and of little use. Near Lamo is the beautiful island of Pate, next to the mainland, which is very fertile and large and is lorded over by three kings who live in three cities located within the same island populated by many Moors that are Pate Sio and Ampaza, tributary to the King of Portugal. This last city of Ampaza was formerly very rich and very prosperous and had better buildings than all the other cities on this coast and so it was town of mouros most arrogant and great enemies of Christians for which reason they were punished by the Portuguese, destroyed and put to the ground as can be seen in the following chapter.

P392

(In 1587) This city of Ampaza (=Faza) was on a round hill, surrounded in parts by mud plains and in parts by a wall and on the sea side with a large and thick wooden wall. It was a very large city and very full of prosperous and rich people, the king who owned it was very powerful and the very envious of all the kings on this coast. ……

P396-7

The justice that His Majesty orders to be done on this traitor and rebel Estambadur, king who was from this city, which he orders to be burned, is devastated forever by the betrayals that were committed there against the Portuguese. And immediately they set fire to it, and destroyed it, so that not one stone was left upon another. And because the Moors did not return to populate that place, as many palm trees were cut down with an ax, which would be more than eight thousand palm trees, which is the main farm and support of these Moors; so that there was nothing more than the flat field, where the superb city of Ampaza was.

P397

The justice that His Majesty orders to be done is not against the traitor and rebel Estambadur, who was king of this city, but he orders the city to be burned and devastated forever because of the wraths that were committed against the Portuguese. And they immediately set it on fire and destroyed it so that not one stone was left standing. And because the Moors should not take possession of that place anymore, they cut down with axes all the palm groves that were encircling it, which would have been more than eight thousand palm trees, which was the main farm and support of these Moors; so that nothing was left there but the flat field, where the proud city of Ampaza had been located.