History

The Aussa Sultanate or Afar Sultanate succeeded the earlier Imamate of Aussa. The latter polity had come into existence in 1577, when Muhammed Jasa moved his capital from Harar

Harar

Harar is an eastern city in Ethiopia, and the capital of the modern Harari ethno-political division of Ethiopia...

 to Aussa with the split of the Adal Sultanate into Aussa and the Harari city-state. At some point after 1672, Aussa declined and temporarily came to an end in conjunction with Imam Umar Din bin Adam's recorded ascension to the throne. The Sultanate was subsequently re-established by Kedafu around the year 1734, and was thereafter ruled by his Mudaito Dynasty. The primary symbol of the 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...

 was a silver baton

Baton (symbol)

The ceremonial baton is a short, thick stick, carried by select high-ranking military officers as a uniform article. The baton is distinguished from the swagger stick in being thicker and less functional . Unlike a staff of office, a baton is not rested on the ground...

, which was considered to have magical properties.

Rulers

The following is a list of the Mudaito Dynasty rulers of the Aussa Sultanate. Names of Sultans (Amoyta) are cited, with the modern Afar

Afar language

Afar is a Lowland East Cushitic language spoken in Ethiopia, Eritrea and Djibouti. It is believed to have 1.5 million speakers, the Afar. The basic word order in Afar, like in other East Cushitic languages, is subject–object–verb. Its speakers have a literacy rate of between one and three per cent...

 spelling in Latin letters shown in brackets:

1734–1749	Kadhafo (Kaxxafo)
1749–1779	Kadhafo Mahammad ibn Kadhafo
1779–1801	Aydahis ibn Kadhafo Mahammad
1801–1832	"Asa" Aydahis ibn Mahammad ibn Aydahis ("Qasa" Aydacis Macammad), first Amoyta
1832–1862	Hanfadhe ibn Aydahis (Canfaxe Aydacis)
1862–1902	Mahammad "Illalta" ibn Hanfadhe (Macammad "Illalta" Canfaxe)
1902	Incorporated into Ethiopia Ethiopia Ethiopia , officially known as the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, is a country located in the Horn of Africa. It is the second-most populous nation in Africa, with over 82 million inhabitants, and the tenth-largest by area, occupying 1,100,000 km2...
1902 - ca. 1910	Mahammad ibn Aydahis ibn Hanfadhe (Macammad Aydacis)
Starting from 1902 the governorship of Mahammad ibn Aydahis was challenged by his cousins, the nine sons of his direct predecessor, Aydahis, Alimirah, Kadhafo, Hanfadhe, Alo and Yayyo (the later sultan)
c. 1902 - 1927	Yayyo ibn Mahammad ibn Hanfadhe (Yayyo Macammad)
1927–1944	Mahammad Yayyo (Macammad Yayyo)
Alimirah Hanfadhe (Qali Mirac Canfaxe)	1975–1991	Alimirah Hanfadhe (exiled)
Alimirah Hanfadhe	2011–present	Hanfadhe Alimirah