Bardera

During the Middle Ages, Bardera and its surrounding area was part of the Ajuran Empire that governed much of southern Somalia and eastern Ethiopia, with its domain extending from Hobyo in the north, to Qelafo in the west, to Kismayo in the south.[4] Bardera was one of the most important cities in the Jubba river during the Ajuran period. It was an agricultural and commercial center. It had roads that connected the Benadir ports built by Ajuran. Bardhere provided many goods to the coastal provinces and many merchants across the region came to Bardera for trade..[5]

View of the Bardera Citadel in the mid 1800s by Baron Karl Klaus von der Decken.

Bardera continued its agricultural and commercial legacy under Geledi Sultanate rule where it was surrounded by a citadel and with increased link between the coast and interior, both the Benadir ports and Bardera flourished with the city serving as the key ivory hub in the southern part of the Horn.[6][7]

In the 1830s, a new militant extremist group rose in the citadel of Bardera, overlooking the Jubba River, and began imposing their interpretation of Islam on the surrounding regions, including the coastal city of Barawa, which they subdued and captured in 1840. In response, Sultan Yusuf Mahamud gathered his armies into a coalition and marched towards Bardera. The citadel was besieged and then burned to the ground, solidifying Sultan Yusuf's paramount authority in southern Somalia following his Conquest of Bardera.[8] Following the defeat of the Bardera recovered and remained relatively quiet until the eventual end of the Geledi Sultanate and subsequent incorporation into Italian Somaliland.[9]

After independence in 1960, the city was made the center of the official Bardera District. Bardera became the first place in Somalia were onions were grown commercially. This production began to increase rapidly but eventually fell off in the 1980s due to failed agricultural policies of the Somali government. The actual quality soil is in a narrow strip on either side of the river where pumps can feed private farms. Other produce such as sorghum can be found in Markabley/Hayranta although still in the district. German Explorer Carl Von Der Decken was killed at this same site in 1860, remnants of his wrecked ship remain.[10]