In the early modern period, Kismayo was ruled by the Geledi Sultanate and by the later 1800s, the Boqow dynasty.

In the early modern period, Kismayo was ruled by the Geledi Sultanate and by the later 1800s, the Boqow dynasty. The kingdom was eventually incorporated into Italian Somaliland in 1925/6 after the death of the last sultan, Osman Ahmed. After independence in 1960, the city was made the center of the official Kismayo District.