Pate Town is situated on the South-West coast of the island. According to the Pate Chronicle, the town of Pate was founded by refugees from Oman in the 8th century and re-founded by members of the Nabahani family, also from Oman, in 1203. The Pate Chronicle also claims that in the 14th century Pate was so powerful that it had conquered most of the towns on the Swahili Coast. However, recent archaeological findings (by Neville Chittick and later, Mark Horton) suggest that the early references in the Chronicle to Pate are wrong and that the town is in fact younger.