Jump to content

Adal (historical region)

Edit links
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
This article is about the ancient region in the Horn of Africa. For the sultanate, see Adal Sultanate.

Adal (Harari: አዳል; Somali: Awdal), known as Awdal or Aw Abdal[1][2] was a historical Muslim region in the Horn of Africa.[3][4] Located east of Ifat and the Awash river as far as the coast, and including Harar as well as Zeila.[5][6][7][8] The Zeila state often denoted Adal and other Muslim dominions in medieval texts.[9]

Geography

[edit]
Adal in 1696 bordering Fatagar region to its immediate west and region of Afar in the north west

Adal was situated east of the province of Ifat and was a general term for a region inhabited by Muslims.[10][11] According to Portuguese explorer Francisco Alvarez, Adal in 1520 bordered on the Abyssinian frontier province of Fatagar in the west and stretched to Cape Guardafui in the east.[12] He further stated that it was confined by the Kingdom of Dankali in the north west and that the leaders of Adal were considered saints by the locals for their warfare with neighboring Abyssinia.[13]

It was used ambiguously in the medieval era to indicate the Muslim inhabitant low land portion east of the Ethiopian Empire. Including north of the Awash River towards Lake Abbe in modern Djibouti–Ethiopia border as well as the territory between Shewa and Zeila on the coast of Somalia.[14] Districts within Adal included Hubat, Gidaya and Hargaya.[15] It also occasionally included the Hadiya Sultanate.[16]

According to Ewald Wagner, the Adal region was historically the area stretching from Zeila to Harar.[17] In the 1800s Catholic missionary Stanely states Adal is situated west of Zeila.[12] Dr. Duri Mohammed asserts the lowlands outside the city of Harar is known as Aw Abdal where Imams traditionally led prayer.[18] According to Amélie Chekroun, Adal designated the region east of the Awash River, replacing Ifat as the Muslim power which had come under Ethiopian Christian control in the 1300s. The Christian state under Menelik II's invasion during the 1800s for the first time in its history maintained control in Adal therefore incorporating it into modern Ethiopia.[19][20] The region was mostly located in modern-day Awdal and had Zeila as a capital city but also controlled other interior towns like Abasa or Dakkar extending into the Harar plateau to the south-east and modern day Djibouti in the west.[21][22]

Semi legendary foundation

[edit]

Eidal (Abdal) becomes Emir of the region succeeding saint Barkhadle in AD 1067 following a victory against a Persian.[23]

After two days he sent some of the horsemen to Hararge to the Sarif Idal, and (this) came (to him) with 150 horsemen. He and the Imam started the war against the army of al-Kanis Mari in the land of Bissidimo. The war broke out for four days until they reached the land of Kurummi. When Sarif Idal reached her, he cut off her head and hung her on lances. She had 200 riders with her, all of whom God quickly sent into the fire of hell. The Imam returned (with) Sarif Idal after killing her and was called Emir Idal. He entered Hararge with 500 riders, praising God and cheering with innumerable and incalculable booty.

— Yahya Nasrallah, Fath Madinat Harar

History

[edit]
Depiction of the Sultan of Adal (right) and his troops battling King Yagbea-Sion and his men in the thirteenth century.

Islam was first introduced to the area early on from the Arabian Peninsula, shortly after the Hijrah. Zeila's two-mihrab Masjid al-Qiblatayn dates to the 7th century, and is one of the oldest mosques in the world.[24] The earliest reference to Adal was following the collapse of the Makhzumi dynasty in July 1288 when 'Ali Baziyu led a campaign in Adal and Mora which was concluded by the killing of the lords of Adal and Mora, the victorious Sultan then annexed Adal and Mora to his Kingdom.[25][26] Adal is also mentioned by Marco Polo in 1295 as a state continuously in conflict with Abyssinia.[27] According to fourteenth century Arab historian Al Umari, Adal was one of the founding regions of the Ifat Sultanate alongside Biqulzar, Shewa, Kwelgora, Shimi, Jamme and Laboo.[28]

In the fourteenth century Emperor Amda Seyon of Ethiopia battled against Adal leader Imam Salih who allied with Jamal ad-Din I of Ifat.[29][30]

In the late fourteenth century rebel leaders of Ifat Haqq ad-Din II and Sa'ad ad-Din II relocated their base to the Harari plateau in Adal forming a new Sultanate at Dakkar.[31][32][33][34][35][36] This new Adal Sultanate encompassed the modern city of Harar.[37][38][39][40][41][42] According to Arabic texts Coffee was introduced into Arabia by the Arab brother in-law of Sa'ad ad-Din II, Ali bin Omar al-Shadhili which he became familiar with during his brief stay in Adal.[43] According to Harari tradition numerous Argobba people had fled Ifat and settled around Harar in the Aw Abdal lowlands during their conflict with Abyssinia in the fifteenth century, a gate was thus named after them called the gate of Argobba.[1] In this period the Walasma dynasty of Ifat initiated a series of marriage alliances with the leaders of Adal.[44]

According to Enrico Cerulli, local discontent for the Walasma dynasty of Ifat which occupied Adal region led to the rise of Ahmed ibn Ibrahim al-Ghazi in the sixteenth century.[45] Up until the end of the sixteenth century, the rulers of Adal were in a raging conflict with the leaders of neighboring Christian state of Ethiopian Empire.[46] In the ensuing Oromo invasions, Adal split into two states, the Aussa Sultanate of Adal and Harar Emirate of Adal, the latter surviving up until the nineteenth century.[47][48]

Adal had friendly trade relations with Abyssinia during the reign of Sahle Selassie in early 1840s which led to a delegate from Harar referred to as "Abdal Wanag" (lion of Adal) administrating the Abyssinian town of Aliyu Amba.[49][50] In 1842 British traveler Charles Johnston described Harar as the last city of Adal.[51] Adal state would be annexed by Ethiopia in the late 1800s during Menelik II's invasion after the Battle of Chelenqo.[52]

In the 1900s the designated emperor of Ethiopia Lij Iyasu is stated to have entered into marriage alliances with the peoples of Adal. Iyasu married the daughter of a Somali noble, the daughter of an Afar descended from the governor of Zeila as well as the daughter of Abdullahi Sadiq, a Harari aristocrat.[53]

Inhabitants

[edit]
Defensive walls of Harar city erected during the reign of Emir Nur ibn Mujahid

The city of Zeila was originally the center of power and commerce in the Adal region. The bustling port city was predominantly inhabited by Somalis, as well as Arabs and Afars.[54][14]

Clans of Adal mentioned in the fourteenth century Emperor Amda Seyon I chronicles during the Ethiopian invasion included; Wargar, Tiqo, Paguma, Labakala and Gabala.[55]

In the fifteenth century Emperor Zara Yaqob chronicle, the Harla people are mentioned as the traders of Adal.[56] Harla are considered to be the main population of Adal.[57] However, according to historian Enrico Cerulli, Harla people who originate from the Harari region were assimilated by Somalis following the decline of the Adal principalities.[58] Harla inhabitants of Adal occupied modern Afar Region in Ethiopia also suffered similar fates by adopting Afar identity in the seventeenth century.[59]

According to Professor Lapiso Delebo, the contemporary Harari people are heirs to the ancient Semitic speaking peoples of the Adal region.[60] Historians state the language spoken by the people of Adal as well as its rulers the Imams and Sultans would closely resemble contemporary Harari language.[61][62][63][64] According to Bahru Zewde and others the Walasma state of Adal in the fourteenth century primarily included the Semitic speaking Harari and Argobba people, however it also began including some portions of Somali and Afar people.[65][66][67][68][69] The agriculture practicing population of Adal were exclusively Harla and Harari people.[70][71]

According to Archaeologist Jorge Rodriguez, the Somalis were periphery peoples of the Adal state.[72][73]

[edit]

References

[edit]
  1. ^ a b ABUBAKER, ABDULMALIK. THE RELEVANCY OF HARARI VALUES IN SELF REGULATION AND AS A MECHANISM OF BEHAVIORAL CONTROL: HISTORICAL ASPECTS (PDF). The University of Alabama. p. 44.
  2. ^ Kaplan Irving. Area Handbook for Somalia. p. 18.
  3. ^ Adal. Encyclopedia Britannica.
  4. ^ Encyclopedia Americana. Americana Corporation. 1965. p. 255.
  5. ^ Shillington, Kevin (28 August 2018). History of Africa. Macmillan Education UK. p. 128. ISBN 9781137524812.
  6. ^ Adal A-C. Encyclopedia Aethiopica. 2003. p. 846. ISBN 978-3-447-04746-3.
  7. ^ Gates, Henry (2010). Encyclopedia of Africa Volume 1. Oxford University Press. p. 430. ISBN 978-0-19-533770-9.
  8. ^ Dubov, Kalman (2021-12-21). In the Shadows of the Christian See: Maintaining Integrity in the Face of Challenge. Kalman Dubov.
  9. ^ Brill, E. J. (1993). E.J. Brill's First Encyclopaedia of Islam 1913-1936. A - Bābā Beg · Volume 1. Brill. p. 126. ISBN 9789004097872.
  10. ^ Josef, Josef (12 January 2018). Medieval Islamic Civilization. Taylor & Francis. ISBN 9781351668224.
  11. ^ Pankhurst, Richard (1997). The Ethiopian Borderlands. Red Sea Press. p. 52. ISBN 9780932415196.
  12. ^ a b Trimingham, J.Spencer (13 September 2013). Islam in Ethiopia. Taylor & Francis. ISBN 9781136970290.
  13. ^ Beckingham, C.F. (5 July 2017). The Prester John of the Indies. Routledge. ISBN 9781351541329.
  14. ^ a b Shinn, David (11 April 2013). Historical Dictionary of Ethiopia. Scarecrow Press. p. 20. ISBN 9780810874572.
  15. ^ Braukamper, Ulrich (2002). Islamic History and Culture in Southern Ethiopia. Lit. p. 33. ISBN 9783825856717.
  16. ^ Hadiyya. BRILL.
  17. ^ Wagner, Ewald. Legende und Geschichte: der Fath Madinat Hara von Yahya Nasrallah. Verlag.
  18. ^ Mohammed, Duri (4 December 1955). The Mugads of Harar (PDF). University College of Addis Abeba Ethnological Bulletin. p. 1. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2021-07-10. Retrieved 10 July 2021.
  19. ^ Chekroun, Amélie. Between Arabia and Christian Ethiopia: The Walasmaʿ Sultan Saʿd al-Dīn and his sons (early fifteenth century.
  20. ^ Munro-Hay, Stuart (2002). Ethiopia, the Unknown Land A Cultural and Historical Guide. Bloomsbury Academic. p. 28. ISBN 978-1-86064-744-4.
  21. ^ P. Stéphane. Historic Mosques in Sub-Saharan Africa: From Timbuktu to Zanzibar. p. 127.
  22. ^ Joseph Cuoq. L'Islam en Éthiopie des origines au XVIe siècle. p. 142.
  23. ^ Wagner, Ewald (1978). Legende und Geschichte der Fath madinat Harar. p. 112.
  24. ^ Briggs, Phillip (2012). Somaliland. Bradt Travel Guides. p. 7. ISBN 978-1841623719.
  25. ^ E. Cerulli. Islam Yesterday and Today. p. 273.
  26. ^ Loimeier, Roman (2013-06-05). Muslim Societies in Africa: A Historical Anthropology. Indiana University Press. p. 184. ISBN 978-0-253-00797-1.
  27. ^ Adal. Encyclopedia Aethiopica.
  28. ^ Huntingford, G.W.B. The Glorious victories of Amda Seyon, king of Ethiopia. Clarendon Press. p. 20.
  29. ^ Jamal Ad-din Mansur. Encyclopedia Aethiopica.
  30. ^ Trimingham, J.Spencer (13 September 2013). Islam in Ethiopia. Taylor & Francis. p. 72. ISBN 9781136970221.
  31. ^ Falola, Toyin (30 August 2002). Key Events in African History A Reference Guide. Greenwood Press. p. 77. ISBN 9780313313233.
  32. ^ Chekroun, Amelie. Le" Futuh al-Habasa" : ´ecriture de l'histoire, guerre et soci´et´e dans le Bar Sa'ad ad-din (PDF). Universit´e Panth´eon-Sorbonne. p. 145.
  33. ^ Tegegne, Habtamu. The Edict of King Gälawdéwos Against the Illegal Sla dict of King Gälawdéwos Against the Illegal Slave Trade in Christians: Ethiopia, 1548. Arc Humanities Press. p. 100.
  34. ^ Baba, Tamon. NOTES ON MIGRATION BETWEEN YEMEN AND NORTHEAST AFRICA DURING THE 13–15TH CENTURIES (PDF). Kyushu University. pp. 81–82.
  35. ^ Mordechai, Abir. Ethiopia And The Red Sea (PDF). Hebrew University of Jerusalem. pp. 26–27.
  36. ^ Wagner, Ewald (1991). "The Genealogy of the later Walashma' Sultans of Adal and Harar". Zeitschrift der Deutschen Morgenländischen Gesellschaft. 141 (2). Harrassowitz Verlag: 376–386. JSTOR 43378336.
  37. ^ Ahmed, Hussein (2007). "Reflections on Historical and Contemporary Islam in Ethiopia and Somalia: A Comparative and Contrastive Overview". Journal of Ethiopian Studies. 40 (1/2). Institute of Ethiopian Studies: 264. JSTOR 41988230.
  38. ^ Belcher, Wendy (13 October 2015). The Life and Struggles of Our Mother Walatta Petros. Princeton University Press. p. 413. ISBN 9781400874149.
  39. ^ Ostebo, Terje (30 September 2011). Localising Salafism Religious Change Among Oromo Muslims in Bale, Ethiopia. BRILL. p. 57. ISBN 978-9004184787.
  40. ^ Marcus, Harold. A history of Ethiopia (PDF). University of California Press. p. 16.
  41. ^ Loimeier, Roman (5 June 2013). Muslim Societies in Africa A Historical Anthropology. Indiana University Press. p. 179. ISBN 9780253007971.
  42. ^ McKenna, Amy (15 January 2011). The History of Central and Eastern Africa. Britannica Educational Pub. p. 100. ISBN 9781615303229.
  43. ^ E.J. Brill's First Encyclopaedia of Islam 1913-1936. BRILL. 1987. p. 631. ISBN 9004082654.
  44. ^ IV Congresso Internazionale Di Studi Etiopici (Roma, 10-15 Aprile 1972). Accademia nazionale dei Lincei. 1974. p. 623.
  45. ^ Cerulli, Enrico. Islam yesterday and today. p. 169.
  46. ^ Hathaway, Jane (30 August 2018). The Chief Eunuch of the Ottoman Harem From African Slave to Power-Broker. Cambridge University Press. p. 26. ISBN 9781107108295.
  47. ^ Kalb, Jon (18 April 2006). Adventures in the Bone Trade The Race to Discover Human Ancestors in Ethiopia's Afar Depression. Springer New York. p. 126. ISBN 9780387216188.
  48. ^ 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. under the pressure of the neighboring nomads, the Adalite Sultanate was divided into the two regional entities of the Harar Emirate of Adal and the Awssa Sulanate of Adal. The Harer Emirate of Adal, despite the pressure of the Oromo and Somali nomads managed to survive within the walled city of Harar. However the Awssa Sultanate of Adal in the north was overrun by the Afar nomads in the 17th century.
  49. ^ Pankhurst, Richard (1982). History of Ethiopian Towns from the Middle Ages to the Early Nineteenth Century Volume 1. Steiner. p. 296. ISBN 978-3-515-03204-9.
  50. ^ Lindahl, Bernhard. Local History of Ethiopia (PDF). Nordic Africa Institute. p. 69.
  51. ^ Johnston, Charles. Through the Country of Adal to the kingdom of Shoa (PDF). J Madden and Co. pp. 428–429.
  52. ^ Barkan, Elliott (17 January 2013). Immigrants in American History: Arrival, Adaptation, and Integration. ABC-CLIO. p. 695. ISBN 9781598842203.
  53. ^ Smidt, Wolbert (2014). The Life and Times of Lïj Iyasu of Ethiopia New Insights. Lit Verlag. p. 43. ISBN 9783643904768.
  54. ^ Fage, J. D.; Oliver, Roland Anthony, eds. (1975). The Cambridge history of Africa. Cambridge; New York: Cambridge University Press. p. 139. ISBN 978-0-521-20981-6.
  55. ^ Trimingham, J. (13 September 2013). Islam in Ethiopia. Taylor & Francis. p. 72. ISBN 9781136970221.
  56. ^ GETATCHEW, HAILE (1983). "THE CAUSE OF THE ƎSṬIFANOSITES: A Fundamentalist Sect in the Church of Ethiopia". Paideuma. 29. Frobenius Institute: 106. JSTOR 41409892.
  57. ^ Chekroun, Amelie. Le futuh al habasha (PDF). pp. 196–199.
  58. ^ Cerulli, Enrico. Islam yesterday and today. p. 203.
  59. ^ Bausi, Alessandro (2017). Ethiopia History, Culture and Challenges. Michigan State University Press. p. 83. ISBN 9783643908926.
  60. ^ 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.
  61. ^ 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.
  62. ^ Lindahl, Bernhard. Local history of Ethiopia (PDF). Nordic Africa Institute. p. 37.
  63. ^ Harbeson, John (1978). "Territorial and Development Politics in the Horn of Africa: The Afar of the Awash Valley". African Affairs. 77 (309). Oxford University Press: 486. doi:10.1093/oxfordjournals.afraf.a097023. JSTOR 721961.
  64. ^ Kifleyesus, Abebe (2006). Tradition and Transformation The Argobba of Ethiopia. Harrassowitz Verlag. p. 62. ISBN 9783447053419.
  65. ^ "Ethnology". CNRS Research (7–10): 12. 1978. Adal with its ancient, mostly ruined, cities and its remains of ancient peoples, such as the Ar- gobba, the Harla, and the Adare.
  66. ^ Tamrat, Taddesse. Review: Place Names in Ethiopian History. Institute of Ethiopian Studies. p. 120. JSTOR 41965996.
  67. ^ Zewde, Bahru (1998). A Short History of Ethiopia and the Horn. Addis Ababa University. p. 64.
  68. ^ Niane, Djibril (January 1984). General History of Africa. Heinemann Educational Books. p. 427. ISBN 9789231017100.
  69. ^ The Cambridge History of Africa (PDF). Cambridge University Press. pp. 147–150.
  70. ^ Hassan, Mohammed. Journal of Oromo Studies (PDF). Middle Tennessee University. p. 198.
  71. ^ Kluijver, Robert. The State in Somalia : between self-governance and international order. Paris Institute of Political Studies. p. 81.
  72. ^ Rodriguez, Jorge (2022). "The Medieval Archaeology of Somaliland". Oxford Research Encyclopedia of Anthropology. Oxford University Press. doi:10.1093/acrefore/9780190854584.013.566. ISBN 978-0-19-085458-4. The influence of the Muslim states of Ifat and Adal must have been very shallow: this region is described as "the land of the Somalis" in the medieval texts (Stenhouse 2003, 15), indicating that it was outside the control of Adal and Ahmed Gragn had to conduct several military expeditions to reassure his authority upon the Somali tribes.
  73. ^ Wion, Anaïs (2023). Amélie Chekroun, La conquête de l'Ethiopie. Un jihad au xvie siècle (PDF). Paris, CNRS Èditions. p. 109.
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Adal_(historical_region)&oldid=1252980072"