Sultanate of Showa

The Sultanate of Showa (Sultanate of Shewa) also known as Makhzumi Dynasty was a Muslim kingdom in present-day Ethiopia. Its capital Walale was situated in northern Hararghe in Harla country. Its territory extended possibly to some areas west of the Awash River.[1][2][3] The port of Zeila may have influenced the kingdom.[4] The rise of the Makhzumi state at the same time resulted in the decline of the Kingdom of Axum.[5] Several engravings dating back to the 13th century showing the presence of the kingdom are found in Chelenqo, Bate, Harla near Dire Dawa and Munessa near Lake Langano.[6]

Sultanate of Showa

896–1286
The Sultanate of Showa at its height under Sulṭān Malasmaʿī.
CapitalWalale (unknown exact location) modern Somali region of Ethiopia
Common languagesArabic, Argobba, Harla
Religion
Islam
GovernmentAbsolute monarchy
Sultan 
• late 9th century
unknown (Sultan) Haboba (Emir)
• 13th century
Dil Gamis
History 
• Established
896
• Disestablished
1286
CurrencyDinar
Preceded by		Succeeded by
Harla Kingdom
Ifat Sultanate

The Shewa sultanate was one of the oldest documented Muslim states in the region. The state ran along Muslim trade lines and dominions known to the Arab world as the country of Zeila.[7] Its founding dynastic family, the Makhzumis, is said to have consisted of Arab immigrants who arrived in Showa during the 9th century.[8] This ruling house governed the polity from AH 283/AD 896 to 1285–86, a period of three hundred and ninety years. The Makhzumi dynasty reigned until it was deposed by the Walashma dynasty of Yifat or Ifat (1285-1415). Ifat was once the easternmost district of Shewa Sultanate. In 1285 Ali b. Wali Asma deposed the kings of Shewa and installed a certain MHz.[9][10] According to historian Mohammed Hassan, one of the main reasons for Shewa's decline was due to conflict with Sidama state the Kingdom of Damot.[11][12]

There were nine recorded Sulṭāns of Showa (Shewa), who asserted descent from Wudd ibn Hisham al-Makhzumi.[13] Although Makhzumi rulers names found initially in Harar are Arabic, other texts found elsewhere at a later date use traditional Ethiopian Semitic names alternatively.[14]

Ruler NameReignNote
1 Amir Haboba 896 - 928 Earliest documented ruler of Hararghe. Haboba is unable to quell tribal conflicts, appeals to the Abbasid caliphate for mediators. Abdicates in favor of Abbasid mediating party leader Abadir.[15]
2 Amir Umar ??? - ??? Known as Father (Aw) Abadir Umar ar-Rida. Resolves tribal issues. Proselytized as far as Mogadishu.[16] Several tribes in the Horn of Africa venerate Abadir. The beginning of the Harari dynasty of rulers.[17] Tomb in Harar.[18]
3 Amir Muhiaddin ??? - ??? Known as Father (Aw) Barkhedle Yusuf bin Ahmad al-Kawneyn. Proselytized as far as Maldives and Sri Lanka. Venerated by various tribes in the Horn of Africa and South Asia. Tomb near Hargeisa.[19]
4 Amir Eidal ??? - ??? Known as Father (Aw) Abdal.[20]
5 Amir Maya ??? - ??? He is succeeded by his daughter.
6 Queen Badit ??? - 1063 Daughter of King Maya, possibly Gudit who destroyed the Axum state[21][22] Harar chronicles lists her as Tedin Bint Maya Lama[23] The Emirate in Harar transitions from emirate to sultanate after the death of Badit.
7 Sulṭān Malasmaʿī 1180 - 1183
8 Sulṭān Ḥusein 1183 - 1193 He belonged to the Harla sub-clan Gidaya.[24]
10 Sulṭān ʿAbdallah 1193 - 1235
11 Sulṭān Maḥamed 1235 - 1239 Son of Sulṭān Ḥusein.
12 Sulṭān Ganah 1252 - 1262
13 Sulṭān Mālzarrah 1239 - 1252 Son of Sulṭān Maḥamed. Married Fatimah Aydargun, daughter of Sulṭān ʿAli "Baziwi" ʿUmar of Ifat in 1245, and mother of Sultan Dilmārrah.
14 Sulṭān Girām-Gaz'i 1262 - 1263 Son of Sulṭān Ganah. The only other ruler in the region to hold the title Gazi "conqueror", aside from Ahmad ibn Ibrahim al-Ghazi. Abdicated in favor of his elder brother.
15 Sulṭān Dilmārrah 1263 - 1278 Dil Marrah literally "Guide to the victory" in Harari and Argobba as well as other Ethiopian Semitic languages spoken by Christians of northern Ethiopia.[25] Son of Sulṭān Mālzarrah. Internal conflict, he was deposed by Dil Gamis. He was half-Walashma on his mother's side, and also married a Walashma princess.
16 Sulṭān Dil-Gāmis 1269 - 1283 Assumes the Christian Axumite royal title "Dil" last used by Dil Na'od.[26] In 1270 Yekuno Amlak establishes Amhara dynasty in the west with the assistance of Gafat mercenaries and Dil Gamis, whom provided aid to Amlak giving him an advantage over Zagwe.[27][28] According to Arabic texts found in Harar the previous ruler Dil-Marrah sought assistance from Yekuno Amlak in restoring his rule, and was briefly restored to the throne in July 1278, but was deposed again by August.[29] The Axumite title "Dil" would not be used again until the 16th century by Bati del Wambara.
17 Sulṭān ʿAbdallah 1279 - 1279 Son of Sulṭān Ganah. Briefly deposed Sulṭān Dilmārrah to restore the rule of the sons of Ganah. However, this rebellion was short lived, and Showa would be annexed into Ifat the following year.
A map showing the center of the medieval Shoa Sultanate

Shewa Sultanate, established in 896, is the first Muslim state inland and according to the chronicle of the sultanate no major report of conversion to Islam was reported before the beginning of the 12th century.[30][9][10] However, beginning with the conversion of the Gbbh people in 1108, whom Trimingham suggested them being the ancestors of Argobba, other people were converted. By mid fourteenth century Islam expanded in the region and the inhabitants leaving north of Awash river were the Muslim people of Zaber and Midra Zega (located south of modern Merhabete); the Argobba (Gabal), the Werji people); Tegulat & Menz people whom at that time were Muslims.[31][32][30] The chronicle of Shewa sultanate also mentions that in 1128 the Amhara fled from the land of Werjih people whom at that time were pastoralist people and lived in the Awash valley east of Shoan plateau.[33]

Ifat or Yifat, established in early medieval times, was the easternmost district of Shewa Sultanate and was located in the strategic position between the central highlands and the Sea, especially the port of Zeila.[34][35] In 1285 Ifat's ruler Wali Asma deposed Shewan kings and established the Walasma dynasty and Shewa with its districts including its centers, Walalah and Tegulat, became one of the seven districts of Ifat sultanate.[10][36][37] Tegulat, previously the capital of Shewa Sultanate, is situated on a mountain 24 km north of Debre Berhan, located in today's North Shewa Zone (Amhara), and was known by Muslims as mar'ade which later became the seat of emperor Amda Tsion.[38][39][40] The chronicle of Amde Sion mentions Khat being widely consumed by Muslims in the city of Marade.[41]

Based on Cerulli's study of the names of the princes J. D. Fage and Roland Oliver were convinced that the inhabitants of Shewa spoke Ethiopian Semitic language likely Argobba language.[42] Argobba are widely believed to be the first to accept Islam collectively, in the Horn of Africa, and lead expansions into various regions under the Sultanate of Shewa.[43] Argobba and Harla seem to have relied on each other in the Islamic period.[44] According to Hararis, the early Emirs of Harar in the Islamic period were Argobba prior to Harari dynasty of rulers.[45] After Shewa was incorporated into Ifat an Egyptian courtier, Al Umari, would describe Ifat Sultanate as one of the largest as well as the richest of Ethiopias Muslim provinces, and Shewa, Adal, Jamma, Lao and Shimi are places incorporated into Ifat.[36]

See also

References
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  2. The Ethno-History of Halaba People (PDF). p. 15. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2018-07-05. Retrieved 18 July 2017.
  3. Braukhaper, Ulrich (2002). Islamic History and Culture in Southern Ethiopia: Collected Essays. LIT Verlag Münster. p. 21. ISBN 9783825856717. Retrieved 12 March 2017.
  4. Hbrek, Ivan (1988). Africa from the Seventh to the Eleventh Century. UNESCO. p. 85. ISBN 9789231017094. Retrieved 10 January 2018.
  5. "Ethiopianist Notes". African Studies Center, Michigan State University. 1–2: 17. 1977.
  6. GIANFRANCESCO, LUSINI. LINGUE DI CRISTIANI E LINGUE DI MUSULMANI D'ETIOPIA. EDIZIONI DI STORIA E LETTERATURA. p. 136.
  7. Meri, Josef (2006). Medieval Islamic Civilization: A-K, index. Taylor and Francis. p. 12. ISBN 9780415966917. Retrieved 10 January 2018.
  8. Quath, Faati (1957). Islam Walbaasha Cabra Taarikh [Islam and Abyssinia throughout history] (in Arabic). Cairo, Egypt.
  9. Nehemia Levtzion, Randall Pouwels The History of Islam in Africa - Google Books" Ohio University Press, 2000. p. 228.
  10. Stuart Munro-Hay Ethiopia, the Unknown Land: A Cultural and Historical Guide - Google Books" I.B.Tauris, 2002. p. 365.
  11. Balisky, E. (September 2009). Wolaitta Evangelists: A Study of Religious Innovation in Southern Ethiopia, 1937-1975. Wipf and Stock Publishers. p. 3. ISBN 9781606081570.
  12. Hassen, Mohammed (1983). Oromo of Ethiopia (PDF). University of London. p. 8.
  13. Ethiopia, the Unknown Land: A Cultural and Historical Guide, Page 365-366
  14. GIANFRANCESCO, LUSINI. The Costs of the Linguistic Transitions: Traces of Disappeared Languages in Ethiopia (PDF). University of Naples. p. 270-271.
  15. Baynes-Rock, Marcus (21 September 2015). My library My History Books on Google Play Among the Bone Eaters: Encounters with Hyenas in Harar. Penn State Press. ISBN 9780271074047. Retrieved 9 September 2018.
  16. Braukämper, Ulrich. Islamic History and Culture in Southern Ethiopia: Collected Essays. LIT Verlag Münster.
  17. Baynes-Rock, Marcus (21 September 2015). Among the Bone Eaters: Encounters with Hyenas in Harar. Penn State Press. ISBN 9780271074047.
  18. Burton, Richard F. (15 January 2014). First Footsteps in East Africa; Or, an Exploration of Harar. p. 14. ISBN 9780486789545.
  19. Lewis, I. M. (3 February 2017). Islam in Tropical Africa. ISBN 9781315311395.
  20. Ahmed, Wehib (2015). History of Harar and Hararis (PDF). Harar Culture Bureau. p. 105.
  21. "Gudit fl. 10th century Orthodox Ethiopia". Archived from the original on 2012-02-12. Retrieved 3 July 2017.
  22. Munro-Hay, Stuart (3 May 2002). Ethiopia, the Unknown Land: A Cultural and Historical Guide. I.B.Tauris. p. 365. ISBN 9781860647444. Retrieved 4 July 2017.
  23. Ahmed, Wehib (2015). History of Harar and Hararis (PDF). Harar Culture Bureau. p. 105.
  24. Ahmed, Wehib (2015). History of Harar and Hararis (PDF). Harar Culture Bureau. p. 105.
  25. GIANFRANCESCO, LUSINI. The Costs of the Linguistic Transitions: Traces of Disappeared Languages in Ethiopia (PDF). University of Naples. p. 270-271.
  26. UNESCO General History of Africa. 3 November 1992. p. 281. ISBN 9780520066984.
  27. Oromo of Ethiopia with special emphasis on the Gibe region (PDF). p. 4.
  28. Pankhurst, Richard (1997). The Ethiopian Borderlands: Essays in Regional History from Ancient Times to the End of the 18th Century. Red Sea Press. p. 89. ISBN 9780932415196.
  29. Selassie, Sergew Hable (1972). Ancient and Medieval Ethiopian History to 1270. p. 290.
  30. J. D. Fage, Roland Oliver The Cambridge History of Africa, Volume 3 - Google Books" Cambridge University Press, 1975. p. 107.
  31. Deutsche UNESCO-Kommission Perspectives Des Études Africaines Contemporaines: Rapport Final D'un Symposium International - Google Books" 1974. p. 269.
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  33. J. D. Fage, Roland Oliver The Cambridge History of Africa, Volume 3 - Google Books" Cambridge University Press, 1975. p. 107.
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  37. Harm Johannes Schneider Leprosy and Other Health Problems in Hararghe, Ethiopia - Google Books" 1975. p. 18.
  38. George Wynn Brereton Huntingford The Historical Geography of Ethiopia: From the First Century Ad to 1704 - Google Books" British Academy, 1989. p. 78.
  39. George Wynn Brereton Huntingford The Historical Geography of Ethiopia: From the First Century Ad to 1704 - Google Books" British Academy, 1989. p. 80.
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  41. Maurice Randrianame, B. Shahandeh, Kalman Szendrei, Archer Tongue, International Council on Alcohol and Addictions The health and socio-economic aspects of khat use - Google Books" The Council, 1983. p. 26.
  42. Fage, J.D (1975). The Cambridge History of Africa. Cambridge University. p. 107. Retrieved 22 December 2016. convinced al-umari names princes semitic.
  43. Begashaw, Kassaye. The Archaeology of Islam in North East Shoa (PDF). p. 15.
  44. Braukämper, Ulrich (1977). "Islamic Principalities in Southeast Ethiopia Between the Thirteenth and Sixteenth Centuries (Part 1)". Ethiopianist Notes. 1 (1): 27. JSTOR 42731359.
  45. History of Harar (PDF). p. 33.
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