The
Adal Sultanate ' onMouseout='HidePop("43548")' href="http://www.absoluteastronomy.com/topics/Ge'ez_alphabet">Ge'ez
Ge'ez , also called Ethiopic, is an abugida script that was originally developed to write Ge'ez, now the liturgical language of the Ethiopian Orthodox Church...
: አዳል ''ʾAdāl,
ArabicThe Arabic alphabet is the script used for writing several languages of Asia and Africa, such as Arabic and Urdu. After the Latin alphabet, it is the second-most widely used alphabet around the world....
: عدل) (c. 1415 - 1555) was a province-cum-sultanate located in present-day northwestern
SomaliaSomalia , officially the Republic of Somalia and formerly known as the Somali Democratic Republic, is a country located in the Horn of Africa...
, southern
DjiboutiDjibouti , officially the Republic of Djibouti, is a country in the Horn of Africa. It is bordered by Eritrea in the north, Ethiopia in the west and south, and Somalia in the southeast. The remainder of the border is formed by the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden. On the other side of the Red Sea, on...
, and the
SomaliSomali Region ; is the eastern-most of the nine ethnic divisions of Ethiopia. It is often called Somalia, though it is not to be confused with the independent country of the same name. Also known as Western Somali and Ogadenia, the capital of Somali State is Jijiga...
,
OromiaOromia is one of the nine ethnic divisions of Ethiopia...
, and
AfarAfar is one of the nine ethnic divisions of Ethiopia, and is the homeland of the Afar people. Formerly known as Region 2, its current capital is Asayita; a new capital named Semera on the paved Awash - Asseb highway is under construction.The Afar Depression, also known as the Danakil depression,...
regions of
EthiopiaEthiopia , officially the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, is a landlocked country situated in the Horn of Africa. Ethiopia is bordered by Eritrea to the north, Sudan to the west, Kenya to the south, Somalia to the east and Djibouti to the northeast. Its size is 1,100,000 km² with an...
. At its height, the sultanate controlled large portions of Ethiopia and Somalia.
Ethnicity
There is still debate over the ethnic composition of the kingdom. I.M Lewis states,
- Somali forces contributed much to the Imām’s victories. Shihab ad-Din, the Muslim chronicler of the period, writing between 1540 and 1560, mentions them frequently (Futūḥ al-Ḥabasha, ed. And trs. R. Besset Paris, 1897.). The most prominent Somali groups in the campaigns were the Samaroon(Dir),Geri, Marrehān, and Harti---all Dārod clans. Shihāb d-Dīn is very vague as to their distribution and grazing areas, but describes the Harti as at the time in possession of the ancient eastern port of Mait. Of the Isāq only the Habar Magādle clan seem to have been involved and their distribution is not recorded. Finally several Dir clans also took part.
This finding is supported in the more recent Oxford History of Islam:
The sultanate of Adal, which emerged as the major Muslim principality from 1420 to 1560, seems to have recruited its military force mainly from among the Somalis.
Lewis, on the other hand, notes that the Imam's origins are unknown. There is also evidence that the sultanate may have been largely
AfarAfar are an ethnic group in the Horn of Africa who reside principally in the Danakil Desert in the Afar Region of Ethiopia, as well as in Eritrea and Djibouti...
in nature. Ewald Wagner connects the name ʿAdäl with the Dankali (Afar) tribe Aḏaʿila and the Somali name for the clan Oda ʿAlï, proposing that the kingdom may have largely been composed of Afars. Although Afars constituted a significant part of Adal, Didier Morin notes that "the exact influence of the ʿAfar inside the Kingdom of `Adal is still conjectural due to its multiethnic basis." Nevertheless, Franz-Christoph Muth identifies Ahmad ibn Ibrihim al-Ghazi as
SomaliSomalis are an ethnic group located in the Horn of Africa, also known as the Somali Peninsula. The overwhelming majority of Somalis speak the Somali language, which is part of the Cushitic subgroup of the Afro-Asiatic language family...
.
Ethiopian Province
Prior to 1288, Adal was a
Muslim:A Muslim , , is an adherent of the religion of Islam. The feminine form is Muslimah . Literally, the word means "one who submits ". Muslim is the participle of the same verb of which Islam is the infinitive. Muslims believe that there is only one God, translated in Arabic as Allah...
province of Christian
SolomonicThe Solomonic dynasty is the traditional Imperial House of Ethiopia, claiming descent from King Solomon and the Queen of Sheba, who is said to have given birth to the traditional first king Menelik I after her Biblically described visit to Solomon in Jerusalem...
Ethiopia. At some point afterwards, the province rebelled and had to be reconquered under the Ethiopian
negusä nägästThe Emperor of Ethiopia was the hereditary ruler of Ethiopia until the abolition of the monarchy in 1974. The Emperor was the head of state and head of government, with ultimate executive, judicial and legislative power in that country...
Amda SeyonAmda Seyon was Emperor of Ethiopia , and a member of the Solomonic dynasty...
in his 1332 campaigns. During the same campaign, the Sultanate of
ShewaShewa is a historical region of Ethiopia. Formerly an autonomous kingdom within the Ethiopian Empire, the Ethiopian modern capital Addis Ababa is located at its center....
and the smaller Sultanate of Ifat, controlling a few trading ports on the coast including
ZeilaZeila is a port city on the Gulf of Aden coast and is located in the Awdal region of Somalia near the Djibouti border.It is located at , surrounded on three sides by the sea; landward the country is unbroken desert for some fifty miles...
were also conquered. Adal was later controlled by Ifat, but it eventually became independent in its rebellion against Amde Seyon, but had to surrender after the death of its king and the conquest of its capital, Talag, eventually ending in Jamal ad-Din of Ifat's death and the sultanates' subjugation. In either 1403 or 1415, the Ethiopians reconquered Ifat once again, which had recently rebelled against the Emperor, and defeating its armies under its sultan,
Sa'ad ad-Din IISa'ad ad-Din II was a sultan of Ifat, and the brother of Haqq ad-Din II. He was born at the court of Emperor Newaya Krestos. Richard Pankhurst describes him as "the last great ruler of Ifat."...
. Sa'ad ad-Din was chased throughout the kingdom, with the Ethiopian Emperor (either
Dawit IDawit I was of Ethiopia, and a member of the Solomonic dynasty. He was the younger son of Newaya Krestos.-Life:...
in 1403 or
Yeshaq IYeshaq I or Isaac was of Ethiopia, and a member of the Solomonic dynasty...
in 1415) eventually conquering the port of
ZeilaZeila is a port city on the Gulf of Aden coast and is located in the Awdal region of Somalia near the Djibouti border.It is located at , surrounded on three sides by the sea; landward the country is unbroken desert for some fifty miles...
and killing him. As a result, the royal
WalashmaThe Walashma dynasty was a Muslim noble family who ruled Ifat - parts of whatis now eastern Ethiopia, Djibouti, and western Somalia. The earliest known member of this family was Umar ibn Dunya-huz , whose son Ali ibn Wali Ashma conquered the Muslim kingdom of Shewa.The last member of this dynasty...
family had to flee to Yemen to avoid being caught and killed. When they later returned, however, their head took the title "Sultan of Adal," rather than "Sultan of Ifat," indicating that Ifat was a part of Adal (also called Barr Sa'ad ad-Din in the former ruler's honor, considered a
martyrA martyr is somebody who suffers persecution and death for refusing to renounce a belief, usually religious.-Meaning:...
) instead of the reverse as in the past.
Invasion of Ethiopia
In the mid-1520s,
ImamAn imam is an Islamic leadership position, often the leader of a mosque and the community. Similar to spiritual leaders, the imam is the one who leads the prayer during Islamic gatherings. More often, the community turns to the mosque imam if they have an Islamic question...
Ahmad ibn Ibrihim al-GhaziAhmad ibn Ibrihim al-Ghazi was an Imam and General of Adal who invaded Ethiopia and defeated several Ethiopian emperors, wreaking much damage on that kingdom...
conquered Adal and launched a holy war against
ChristianA Christian is a person who adheres to Christianity, an Abrahamic, monotheistic, religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth, who Christians believe was the Messiah prophesied in the Old Testament/Hebrew Bible, and the Son of God.The term "Christian" is also used adjectivally to...
Ethiopia, which was then under the leadership of Lebna Dengel. Supplied by the
Ottoman EmpireThe Ottoman Empire or Ottoman State , also known by its contemporaries as the Turkish Empire or Turkey , was an empire that lasted from 1299 to November 1, 1922 The Ottoman Empire or Ottoman State (Ottoman Turkish: دَوْلَتِ عَلِیَّهِ عُثْمَانِیَّه Dawlet-il ʿAliyyat-il ʿOs̠māniyye, Modern Turkish:...
with firearms, Ahmad was able to defeat the Ethiopians at the
Battle of Shimbra KureThe Battle of Shimbra Kure was fought in March of 1529 between the forces of Adal led by Imam Ahmad ibn Ibrihim al-Ghazi, and the Ethiopian army, under Dawit II . Despite being outnumbered, the followers of Imam Ahmad prevailed, and were in control of the field at the end of the battle. Both...
in 1529 and seize control of the wealthy
Ethiopian highlandsThe Ethiopian Highlands are a rugged mass of mountains in Ethiopia, Eritrea , and northern Somalia in the Horn of Africa...
, though the Ethiopians continued to resist from the highlands. In 1541, the
PortuguesePortugal , officially the Portuguese Republic , is a country located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula. Portugal is the westernmost country of mainland Europe and is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the west and south and by Spain to the north and east...
, who had vested interests in the
Indian OceanThe Indian Ocean is the third largest of the world's oceanic divisions, covering about 20% of the water on the Earth's surface. It is bounded on the north by South Asia ; on the west by Africa; on the east by Indochina, the Sunda Islands, and Australia; and on the south by the Southern Ocean...
, sent aid to the Ethiopians in the form of 400 musketeers. Adal, in response, received 900 from the Ottomans.
Imam Ahmad was initially successful against the Ethiopians while campaigning in the Autumn of 1542, killing the Portuguese commander
Cristóvão da GamaCristóvão da Gama was a Portuguese soldier, who led a Portuguese army on a crusade in Ethiopia against the Muslim army of Imam Ahmad ibn Ibrihim al-Ghazi . He was victorious against larger forces in four battles, but was defeated in his last battle, after which he was captured and killed...
in August that year. However, Portuguese musketry proved decisive in Adal's defeat at the
Battle of Wayna DagaThe Battle of Wayna Daga occurred 21 February 1543 east of Lake Tana in Ethiopia. Led by the Emperor Galawdewos, the combined army of Ethiopian and Portuguese troops defeated the Muslim army led by Imam Ahmad ibn Ibrihim al-Ghazi. Tradition states that Ahmad was killed by a Portuguese musketeer,...
, near Lake Tana, in February 1543, where Ahmad was killed in battle. The Ethiopians subsequently retook the Amhara plateau and recouped their losses against Adal. The Ottomans, who had their own troubles to deal with in the Mediterranean, were unable to help Ahmad's successors. In 1577, the capital of the Adal Sultanate was moved from
ZeilaZeila is a port city on the Gulf of Aden coast and is located in the Awdal region of Somalia near the Djibouti border.It is located at , surrounded on three sides by the sea; landward the country is unbroken desert for some fifty miles...
to
HararHarar is an eastern city in Ethiopia, and the capital of the modern Harari ethno-political division of Ethiopia...
, and a sharp decline in Adal's power followed.
The Gadaa Expansion
After the conflict between
AdalAdal may refer to one of the following:* Adal Sultanate* Adal * Adal Ramones* Adal * Adal...
and
EthiopiaEthiopia , officially the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, is a landlocked country situated in the Horn of Africa. Ethiopia is bordered by Eritrea to the north, Sudan to the west, Kenya to the south, Somalia to the east and Djibouti to the northeast. Its size is 1,100,000 km² with an...
had subsided, the conquest of the highland regions of Ethiopia and Adal by the Oromo (namely, through military expansion and the installation of the
GadaaGadaa or Gada is the traditional social stratification system of Oromo males in Ethiopia and northern Kenya; it is also practiced by the Gedeo people of southern Ethiopia. Each class, or luba, consists of all of the sons of the men in another particular class...
socio-political system) ended in the contraction of both regional powers and changed the dynamics of the region for centuries to come. In essence, what had happened is that the populations of the highlands had not ceased to exist as a result of the Gadaa expansion, but were simply incorporated into a different socio-political system.