Arab settlement of Australia

The Arab settlement of Australia began when Arab traders discovered Cape York Peninsula. The discovery is credited to an Arab merchant known as Amar. Seeking to discover new lands, he sailed south of New Guinea and discovered the tip of the peninsula. Not knowing he discovered an entire continent, and instead believing to have discovered another archipelago, he named it the Nicolidean archipelago, or simply the Nicolides, and the "island" which he landed on was named al'Ard Aldhahabia. The exact etymology of the word Nicolides remains mysterious. It may refer to someone Amar knew well. After returning to New Guinea and announcing his discovery, he fades from history, leaving the rest of his life a mystery. 
Following the announcement, several more traders and explorers went south and began exploring the peninsula that he had discovered. Over 20 years passed before Arab merchants finally established a settlement where Amar landed. To honor his discovery, they named it al'Ard Aldhahabia, which is what he originally named the area. More explorers also began mapping the region, showing that it was much larger than Amar believed it was. Some even discovered lands outside of the peninsula to the south and west. The name Nicolides still stuck, surviving to this day with the Nicolideans, as well as with the name of the region where most of them live as Nicolidesland.
As the geography of the Cape York Peninsula became more well known, several more settlements began to be established. One of the most notable of these settlements was Kayrinz*, a small town which later evolved into Nikalidian. As the settlements grew, they began to integrate many of the Aboriginals into Arab culture and convert them to Islam, with a large mosque being built in al'Ard Aldhahabia. al'Ard Aldhahabia grew in power as the core of the settlements, eventually being under the rule of a man named Aalam. Following a prophetic dream, he began expanding his state outwards and conquering all other settlements through both violence and diplomacy. Eventually, the whole of the Cape York Peninsula was conquered by al'Ard Aldhahabia. This marked the beginning of the Sultanate of the Nicolides. Kayrinz* became the new capital, as al'Ard Aldhahabia was considered too vulnerable, though many sultans resided within the city, making it a secondary capital.
Category:Events