Misplaced Pages

The Walashma dynasty was a medieval Muslim dynasty of the Horn of Africa founded in Ifat (modern eastern Shewa). Founded in the 13th century, it governed the Ifat and Adal Sultanates in what are present-day, Somalia, Djibouti, Eritrea and eastern Ethiopia.

History

This section needs expansion. You can help by adding to it. (June 2024)

Genealogical traditions

The Walashma princes of Ifat and Adal claimed to possessed Arab genealogical traditions. In terms of lineage, Walashma traditions trace descent from Banu Makhzum tribe by El Maqrisi. But Ifat Sultanate trace descent from Akīl ibn Abī Tālib, the brother of the Caliph ʿAlī and Djaʿfar ibn Abī Tālib. The latter was among the earliest Muslims to settle in the Horn region. However, the semi-legendary apologetic History of the Walasma asserts that ʿUmar ibn-Dunya-hawaz was a descendant of Caliph ʿAlī's son al-Hasan. This is not supported by both Maqrizi and the chronicle of the Walashma. But ʿUmar ibn-Dunya-hawaz, whom both assert was the founder of the dynasty, was of Quraysh or Hashimite origin. Fourteenth century Arab historian Ibn Khaldun mentions the ancestors of Walasma were once tributary to the Kingdom of Damot.

However, most historians, including Enrico Cerulli and J. Spencer Trimingham, regard the Walashma dynasty to be of local origin. Cerulli asserts that according to Harar chronicles, the 10th century Somali saint "Aw" Barkhadle from Arabia was the fifth ancestor ofʿUmar ibn Dunya-hawaz, founder of the Walashma Dynasty. Ioan Lewis also mentions that in a short king-list titled 'Rulers of the land of Sa'ad ad-Din', Barkhadle is recognized as one of the Walashma ancestors. Lewis places his death at around 1190 AD. J. Spencer Trimingham does note that according to local traditions though, he was said to have lived for over 500 years, placing his death in the early 16th century. Some rulers of the Walashma Dynasty are also thought to be buried at the site of Aw-Barkhadle in modern-day Somaliland. As descendants of Barkhadle, it was said that the Walashma success, longevity, and influence was due to their native family background Walasma are historically tied to the ancestors of Argobba and the people of Doba. The Harari people also claim to be associated with the Walasma. Bahru Zewde, Richard Pankhurst, Djibril Niane regard the Walasma Sultans of Ifat and Adal to be predominantly Argobba and Harari. However, Amelie Chekroun suggests no possible link to identify the people of medieval Ifat with the Argobba people. According to I.M. Lewis, the polity was governed by local dynasties consisting of Somalized Arabs or Arabized Somalis, who also ruled over the similarly established Sultanate of Mogadishu in the Benadir region to the south.

Walasma dynasty of Ifat initiated a series of marriage alliances with the leaders of Adal. Ferry Robert notes that there existed political and matrimonial relations between the nobles of Adal and Somali tribes. According to the chronicle "Conquest of Abyssinia" by Arab Faqīh, Harla lords descendant from the last Walasma ruler of Ifat Sa'ad ad-Din II participated in the sixteenth century Ethiopian–Adal War. The last known Walasma member in Adal was Barakat ibn Umar Din of Harar during the sixteenth century. The Kabirto of Harla as well as Doba who originate from the Walasma dynasty were overthrown in 1769 by the Mudaito dynasty of Afar in Aussa (modern Afar Region), the descendant of Kabirto Shaykh Kabir Hamza, preserved their history through manuscripts.

The title Walasma was still used in Ifat province as late as the nineteenth century with governors of that region claiming descent from the old dynasty. In 1993 Mohammed Saleh who professed his ancestors were the Argobba Walasma of Ifat revealed that his progenitors were traders of the Shewa-Harar route for centuries.

Language

According to Ferry Robert, the language spoken by the people of Adal as well as its rulers the Imams and Sultans would closely resemble contemporary Harari language. The 19th-century Ethiopian historian Asma Giyorgis suggests that the Walashma themselves spoke Arabic.

Sultanate of Ifat

During the end of the 13th century, northern Hararghe was seat of a Muslim sultanate named under the rule of Makhzumi dynasty. A contemporary source describes the sultanate being torn apart by internal strafe and weakened by struggles with neighboring Muslim states. In 1278 one of these neighboring states, named Ifat in eastern Shewa, led by the Walashma invaded the Sultanate of Shewa. After a few years of struggle the sultanate was annexed into Ifat. This annexation is usually attributed to ʿUmar, but he had been dead for 50 years by the time Shewa was annexed. More likely, it was his grandson Jamal ad-Dīn or perhaps even his great-grandson Abūd. In 1288 Sultan Wali Asma successfully conquered Hubat, Adal and other Muslim states in the region. Making Ifat the most powerful Muslim kingdom in the Horn of Africa.

In 1332, the Sultan of Ifat, Haqq ad-Din I was slain in a military campaign against the Abyssinian Emperor Amda Seyon's troops. Amda Seyon then appointed Jamal ad-Din as the new King, followed by Jamal ad-Din's brother Nasr ad-Din. Despite this setback, the Muslim rulers of Ifat continued their campaign. The Abyssinian Emperor branded the Muslims of the surrounding area "enemies of the Lord", and again invaded Ifat in the early 15th century. After much struggle, Ifat's troops were defeated and the Sultanate's ruler, King Sa'ad ad-Din II, fled to Zeila. He was pursued there by Abyssinian forces, where they slayed him.

Sultans of Ifat

Sultanate of Adal

Adal was a general term for a region of lowlands inhabited by Muslims east of the province of Ifat. It was used ambiguously in the medieval era to indicate the Muslim inhabited low land portion east of the Ethiopian Empire. Including north of the Awash River towards Lake Abbe as well as the territory between Shewa and Zeila on the coast of Somaliland. According to Ewald Wagner, Adal region was historically the area stretching from Zeila to Harar. In the late fourteenth century Walasma princes Haqq ad-Din II and Sa'ad ad-Din II relocated their base to the Harari plateau in Adal forming a new Sultanate.

The last Sultan of Ifat, Sa'ad ad-Din II, was killed in Zeila after he had fled there in 1403, his children escaped to Yemen, before later returning to the Harar plateau in 1415. In the early 15th century, Adal's capital was established in the town of Dakkar, where Sabr ad-Din III, the eldest son of Sa'ad ad-Din II, established a new base after his return from Yemen. By the late 1400s the Walasma sultans began to be challenged by the Harla emirs of the Harar plateau with rise of Imam Mahfuz.

Adal's headquarters were relocated in the following century, this time to Harar. From this new capital, Adal organised an effective army led by Imam Ahmad ibn Ibrahim al-Ghazi (Ahmad "Gurey" or Ahmad "Gran") that invaded the Abyssinian empire. This 16th century campaign is historically known as the Conquest of Abyssinia (Futuh al-Habash). During the war, Imam Ahmad pioneered the use of cannons supplied by the Ottoman Empire, which he imported through Zeila and deployed against Abyssinian forces and their Portuguese allies led by Cristóvão da Gama. Some scholars argue that this conflict proved, through their use on both sides, the value of firearms like the matchlock musket, cannons and the arquebus over traditional weapons.

The Walashma sultans of Ifant and Adal also apparently had a fair taste for luxury, the commercial relations that existed between the Adal Sultanate and the rulers of the Arab peninsula allowed Muslims to obtain luxury items that Christian Ethiopians, whose relations with the outside world were still blocked, could not acquire, a Christian document describing Sultan Badlay relates:

"And the robes and those of his leaders were adorned with silver and shone on all sides. And the dagger which he carried at his side was richly adorned with gold and precious stones; and his amulet was adorned with drops of gold; and the inscriptions on the amulet were of gold paint. And his parasol came from the land of Syria and it was such beautiful work that those who looked at it marveled, and winged serpents were painted on it."

Sultans of Adal

Family tree

See also

• Somali aristocratic and court titles
• Ethiopian aristocratic and court titles

Notes

1. He was killed either in 805 AH / 1402-3 CE during the reign of Dawit I (according to al-Maqrizi) or in 817 AH / 1414-5 during the reign of Yeshaq I (according to Cerulli, ed. (1931). "History of the Walashmaʿ". R.R.A.L. Ser. vi. Vol. iv. p. 45.) Some historians pick one of the two possible dates (e.g. Paul Henze selects 1403 in Layers of Time, A History of Ethiopia , p. 67).

References

1. Ifat. Britannica.
2. Jyee, Dr. Ravi (2016). WORLD ENCYCLOPAEDIA OF AFRICAN COUNTRIES. New Delhi, India: AFRO-ASIAN-AMERICAN CHAMBER OF COMMERCE, OCCUPATIONAL RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT (ACCORD). p. 360. Founded in 1285 by the Walashma dynasty, it was centered in Zeila. Ifat established bases in Djibouti and Somalia, and from there expanded southward to the Ahmar Mountains.
3. ^ M. Elfasi, Ivan Hrbek (1988). Africa from the Seventh to the Eleventh Century, General History of Africa, Volume 3. UNESCO. pp. 580–582. ISBN 9231017098.
4. ^ Mekonnen, Yohannes (29 January 2013). Ethiopia: the Land, Its People, History and Culture. Yohannes Mekonnen. ISBN 9781482311174.
5. Tamrat, Taddesse (1972). Church and state in Ethiopia, 1270-1527. Clarendon Press. p. 124. ISBN 978-0-19-821671-1.
6. Ibn Haldun. Encyclopedia Aethiopica.
7. Trimingham 1965, p. 67.
8. Cerulli, Enrico. Islam: Yesterday and Today translated by Emran Waber. Istituto Per L'Oriente. p. 323.
9. Cerulli, Enrico (1926). Le popolazioni della Somalia nella tradizione storica locale. L'Accademia. "Cerulli suggests that the Saint "Aw Barkhdale" (Yusuf Al Kownayn) can be associated with "Yusuf Barkatla", ancestor of Umar' Walashma, founder of the Ifat dynasty"
10. Lewis, Ioan M. (1998). Saints and Somalis: Popular Islam in a Clan-based Society. The Red Sea Press. p. 89. ISBN 9781569021033.
11. Somalia; Wasaaradda Warfaafinta iyo Hanuuninta Dadweynaha (1972). The Writing of the Somali Language: A Great Landmark in Our Revolutionary History. Ministry of Information and National Guidance. p. 10. Aw Barkhadle, he was a native, who lived in about 1,000 years ago and is buried now in a ruined town named after him, Aw Barkhadle, which is a few miles away from Hargeisa.
12. Lewis, Ioan M. (1998). Saints and Somalis: popular Islam in a clan-based society (1. Red Sea Press ed.). Lawrenceville, NJ: The Red Sea Press p. 92. ISBN 9781569021033.
13. Lewis, Ioan M. (1998). Saints and Somalis: popular Islam in a clan-based society (1. Red Sea Press ed.). Lawrenceville, NJ: The Red Sea Press p. 93. ISBN 9781569021033.
14. Trimingham 1965, p. 251.
15. Drake-Brockman, R.E. British Somaliland. p. 219.
16. Mire, Sada (5 February 2020). Divine Fertility: The Continuity in Transformation of an Ideology of Sacred Kinship in Northeast Africa. London New York: Routledge. p. 69. ISBN 978-0-429-76924-5.
17. Rirash, Mohamed Abdillahi (1988). "Effects of Sixteenth Century Upheavals on the History of the Horn" (PDF). Proceedings of the Third International Congress of Somali Studies: 251.
18. Kifleyesus, Abebe (28 January 2024). Tradition and Transformation The Argobba of Ethiopia. Harrassowitz. p. 44. ISBN 978-3-447-05341-9.
19. Asfaw, Aklilu (2000). "A short History of the Argobba". Annales d'Éthiopie. 16: 174. doi:10.3406/ethio.2000.973.
20. Zewde, Bahru (1998). A Short History of Ethiopia and the Horn. Addis Ababa University. p. 64.
21. ^ Pankhurst 1997, p. 52.
22. The Cambridge History of Africa (PDF). Cambridge University Press. pp. 147–150.
23. Niane, Djibril (31 December 1984). General History of Africa. Heinemann Educational Books. p. 427. ISBN 978-92-3-101710-0.
24. Chekroun, Amélie (23 February 2023). La Conquête de l'Éthiopie - Un jihad au XVIe siècle (in French). CNRS editions. p. 179. ISBN 978-2-271-14543-7.
25. Lewis, I.M. (1955). Peoples of the Horn of Africa: Somali, Afar and Saho. International African Institute. p. 140. Archived from the original on 2024-05-18. Retrieved 2016-12-21.
26. ^ Ferry, Robert (1961). "Quelques hypothèses sur les origines des conquêtes musulmanes en Abyssinie au XVIe siècle". Cahiers d'Études africaines. 2 (5): 28–29. doi:10.3406/cea.1961.2961.
27. IV Congresso Internazionale Di Studi Etiopici (Roma, 10-15 Aprile 1972). Accademia nazionale dei Lincei. 28 January 1974. p. 623.
28. Chekroun, Amélie. Le" Futuh al-Habasa": écriture de l'histoire, guerre et société dans le Bar Sa'ad ad-din. Université Panthéon-Sorbonn. pp. 197–198.
29. Trimingham 2013, p. 92.
30. Alwan, Daoud (28 January 2024). Historical Dictionary of Djibouti. Scarecrow Press. p. 19. ISBN 978-0-8108-3873-4.
31. Fani, Sara (2017). IslHornAfr 6 th Field Mission Report (PDF) (Report). University of Cophenhagen. p. 10. Archived (PDF) from the original on 2023-04-04. Retrieved 2023-04-17.
32. Bausi, Alessandro (28 January 2024). Ethiopia History, Culture and Challenges. Michigan State University Press. p. 83. ISBN 978-3-643-90892-6.
33. Darkwah, Rexford. The rise of the kingdom of Shoa 1813-1889 (PDF). University of London. p. 259.
34. Omer, Ahmed. Some Notes on Harar and the local Trade Routes: A Report on the view of ex-merchants of Shäwa (1839-1935) (PDF). Annales d'Ethiopie. pp. 141–142.
35. Giyorgis, Asma (1999). Aṣma Giyorgis and his work: history of the Gāllā and the kingdom of Šawā. Medical verlag. p. 257. ISBN 9783515037167.
36. Dilebo, Lapiso (2003). An introduction to Ethiopian history from the Megalithism Age to the Republic, circa 13000 B.C. to 2000 A.D. Commercial Printing Enterprise. p. 41. OCLC 318904173. Like their direct descendants, the Adares of today, the people of ancient Shewa, Yifat, Adal, Harar and Awssa were semitic in their ethnic and linguistic origins. They were neither Somalis nor Afar. But the Somali and Afar nomads were the local subjects of the Adal.
37. Braukhaper, Ulrich (2002). Islamic History and Culture in Southern Ethiopia: Collected Essays. LIT Verlag Münster. p. 21. ISBN 9783825856717. Retrieved 2017-03-12.
38. Trimingham 1952, p. 58.
39. Houtsma, M. Th (1987). E.J. Brill's First Encyclopaedia of Islam, 1913-1936. BRILL. pp. 125–126. ISBN 9004082654.
40. The Glorious Victories, p. 107.
41. ^ Trimingham 1976, p. 74, note 4 explains the discrepancy in the sources.
42. Josef, Josef (12 January 2018). Medieval Islamic Civilization. Taylor & Francis. ISBN 9781351668224.
43. Shinn, David H.; Ofcansky, Thomas P. (11 April 2013). Historical Dictionary of Ethiopia. Scarecrow Press. ISBN 9780810874572.
44. Wagner, Ewald. Legende und Geschichte: der Fath Madinat Hara von Yahya Nasrallah. Verlag.
45. Trimingham 2013, p. 87.
46. Baba, Tamon. NOTES ON MIGRATION BETWEEN YEMEN AND NORTHEAST AFRICA DURING THE 13–15TH CENTURIES (PDF). Kyushu University. pp. 81–82.
47. Abir, Mordechai (28 October 2013). Ethiopia and the Red Sea. Taylor & Francis. p. 27. ISBN 978-1-136-28090-0.
48. mbali, mbali; Dekmejian, R. Hrair (2010). "Somaliland". Basic Reference. 28 (2). London, UK: mbali: 217–229. doi:10.1017/S0020743800063145. S2CID 154765577. Archived from the original on 2012-04-23. Retrieved 2012-04-27.
49. Briggs, Philip (2012). Bradt Somaliland: With Addis Ababa & Eastern Ethiopia. Bradt Travel Guides. p. 10. ISBN 978-1841623719.
50. ^ Lewis, I. M. (1999). A Pastoral Democracy: A Study of Pastoralism and Politics Among the Northern Somali of the Horn of Africa. James Currey Publishers. p. 17. ISBN 0852552807.
51. Hassen, Mohammed. Reviewed Work: Futuh Al-Habaša: The Conquest of Abyssinia [16th Century]. Tsehai Publishers. p. 192. JSTOR 27828848.
52. Jeremy Black, Cambridge Illustrated Atlas, Warfare: Renaissance to Revolution, 1492-1792, (Cambridge University Press: 1996), p.9.
53. Fasi, M. El (1990). L'Afrique du VIIe au XIe siècle (in French). UNESCO. p. 623. ISBN 978-92-3-201709-3.
54. Budge E.a. Wallis (1828). History Of Ethiopia Nubia And Abyssinia. p. 302.
55. Pankhurst 1997, p. 57.

Works cited

• Cerulli, Enrico (1931). "Documenti arabi per la storia dell'Etiopia". Memorie della Reale Accademia Nazionale dei Lincei. 6 (4): 39–101. OCLC 4178469.
• Pankhurst, Richard (1997). The Ethiopian Borderlands: Essays in Regional History from Ancient Times to the End of the 18th Century. The Red Sea Press. ISBN 978-0-932415-19-6.
• Trimingham, John Spencer (1952). Islam in Ethiopia. Oxford University Press. OCLC 3472650.
• Trimingham, John Spencer (1965). Islam in Ethiopia. Frank Cass & Company. ISBN 9780714617312. OCLC 546800.
• Trimingham, J. Spencer (1976) . Islam in Ethiopia. London: Routledge. ISBN 9781136970221. OCLC 858861432.
• Trimingham, J. Spencer (13 September 2013). Islam in Ethiopia. Routledge. ISBN 9781136970290.

Further reading

• Kifleyesus, Abbebe (2006). Tradition and Transformation: The Argobba of Ethiopia. Otto Harrassowitz Verlag. p. 84. ISBN 978-3-447-05341-9.

v t e Somalia articles
History	Chronology Laas Geel Land of Punt Walashma dynasty Adal Sultanate Ajuran Empire Sultanate of the Geledi Isaaq Sultanate Majeerteen Sultanate Sultanate of Hobyo Warsangali Sultanate Dervish movement Italian Somaliland Colonial governors British Somaliland Colonial governors Trust Territory of Somaliland Ogaden War Somaliland War of Independence (1981–1991) Isaaq genocide Rebellion (1986–1992) Piracy Civil War Ethiopian intervention (2006–2009) (2009–present) By topic Maritime Military Postal
Geography	Cities Climate Wildlife Greater Somalia Guardafui Channel Hafun Waterfalls Iskushuban Lamadaya Mountain ranges Cal Madow Buur Dhaab Mountains Bahaya Island Bajuni Islands Regions Awdal Bakool Banaadir Bari Bay Galguduud Gedo Sool Sanaag Hiran Middle Juba Lower Juba Mudug Nugal Middle Shebelle Lower Shebelle Togdheer Woqooyi Galbeed States Galmudug Khatumo Hirshabelle Jubaland Somaliland Puntland South West Somalia
Politics	Cabinet Constitution Elections Foreign relations Government Human rights LGBT rights Judiciary Law (Xeer) Military Political history Parliament Political parties President List Prime Minister List
Economy	Agriculture Central Bank Companies Economic history EEZ Mineral industry Oil industry Shilling (currency) Communications Tourism Transportation
Society	Anthem Child marriage Coat of arms Demographics Diaspora Education Health Mental health Flag Polygamy Public holidays Women Culture Architecture Art Cinema Cuisine Literature Media Music Religion Sports Languages
Category Portal

• Walashma dynasty
• Monarchies of Ethiopia
• Somaliland noble families
• African royal families
• 1185 establishments
• 12th-century establishments in Africa
• 1559 disestablishments in Africa
• Adal Sultanate
• Medieval history of Somalia
• History of Islam in Ethiopia
• Islam in Eritrea
• Islam in Djibouti
• Islam in Somalia
• Islam in Somaliland