Ahmed Yusuf (Gobroon)
Encyclopedia
Ahmed Yusuf was a Somali
Somali people
Somalis 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 branch of the Afro-Asiatic language family...

 ruler, and the fourth Sultan
Sultan
Sultan is a title with several historical meanings. Originally, it was an Arabic language abstract noun meaning "strength", "authority", "rulership", and "dictatorship", derived from the masdar سلطة , meaning "authority" or "power". Later, it came to be used as the title of certain rulers who...

 of the Gobroon Dynasty
Gobroon Dynasty
The Gobroon dynasty or Geledi sultanate was a Somali royal house that ruled parts of East Africa during the 18th and 19th centuries. It was established by the Ajuuraan soldier Ibrahim Adeer, who had defeated various vassals of the Ajuuraan Empire and established the House of Gobroon...

 from 1848 to 1878.

Biography

Yusuf was born in the town of Afgooye
Afgooye
-Location:It is situated about 25 kilometres west of Mogadishu, the nation's capital. The Shabelle River passes through the middle of the town.-History:Afgooye was part of Italian Somaliland during the early part of the 20th century...

, where he stayed until the age of seven. His father subsequently sent him to Qur'anic schools
Madrasah
Madrasah is the Arabic word for any type of educational institution, whether secular or religious...

 in Barawa
Barawa
Barawa or Brava is a port town on the south-eastern coast of Somalia. The traditional inhabitants are the Tunni Somalis and the Bravanese people, who speak Bravanese, a Swahili dialect.-History:...

 for studies.

Through his military dominance, Sultan Yusuf managed to exact tribute
Tribute
A tribute is wealth, often in kind, that one party gives to another as a sign of respect or, as was often the case in historical contexts, of submission or allegiance. Various ancient states, which could be called suzerains, exacted tribute from areas they had conquered or threatened to conquer...

 from the Oman
Oman
Oman , officially called the Sultanate of Oman , is an Arab state in southwest Asia on the southeast coast of the Arabian Peninsula. It is bordered by the United Arab Emirates to the northwest, Saudi Arabia to the west, and Yemen to the southwest. The coast is formed by the Arabian Sea on the...

is south of Lamu
Lamu
-Threats to Lamu:In a 2010 report titled Saving Our Vanishing Heritage, Global Heritage Fund identified Lamu as one of 12 worldwide sites most "On the Verge" of irreparable loss and damage, citing insufficient management and development pressure as primary causes.- See also :* Juma and the Magic...

, and regularly extended his support to East African sultanates fighting the Zanzibar
Zanzibar
Zanzibar ,Persian: زنگبار, from suffix bār: "coast" and Zangi: "bruin" ; is a semi-autonomous part of Tanzania, in East Africa. It comprises the Zanzibar Archipelago in the Indian Ocean, off the coast of the mainland, and consists of numerous small islands and two large ones: Unguja , and Pemba...

is.

He and his brother, Abukar Yusuf, were eventually defeated in the Battle of Cagaraan against the powerful military clan of the Bimal. Their bodies were taken to Merca
Merca
Merca is a port city on the coast of southern Somalia, facing the Indian Ocean. It is the main town in the Shabeellaha Hoose region, and is located approximately southwest of the nation's capital, Mogadishu.-History:...

by the Bimal sultan, where they were then displayed in front of a large crowd as a show of triumph. Upon seeing the bodies of the dead men, the women of the Bimal reportedly marvelled at the beauty of Ahmed Yusuf, which resulted in a public uproar with women demanding a proper funeral for the late Sultan.

The Istunka tournament was developed in the Ajuuraan period and was celebrated subsequently each year during the Somali new year along side other festivals such as Nowruz. It was not until the Gobroon Dynasty and the reign of Sultan Ahmed Yusuf that the martial art festival became a centralized tournament with separate teams each supported by an assembly of poets, female vocalists and dance groups throughout the duration of the contest.
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