Walashma dynasty

Yusuf bin Ahmad al-Kawneyn is believed to be the founder and ancestor of the Walashma Dynasty.[2][3] He is believed to be born in Zeila during the early Adal Kingdom period with which he is associated. He is a very famous Somali saint figure.[4] The establishment of the Walashma Dynasty in the Horn of Africa is credited due to them being native to the region.[5]

According to some, the Walashma princes of Ifat and Adal possessed Arab genealogical traditions.[6][7]

In terms of lineage, Walashma traditions 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-hawz had as a progenitor Caliph ʿAlī's son al-Hasan [6] with this genealogy being owed to their ancestor Yusuf bin Ahmad al-Kawneyn.[4] This is supported by both Maqrizi and the chronicle of the Walashma, ʿUmar Walashma, whom both assert the founder of the dynasty, was of Quraysh or Hashimite origin.[7][8]

However, the Walashma dynasty of Ifat is more commonly linked with the Sheikh Yusuf bin Ahmad al-Kawneyn,[9] who is described as a native Somali man from Zeila.[10][11][12] Furthermore, in the book, "The History of Islam in Africa", the Sheikh aforementioned is known for establishing this dynasty.[13] Also, the Aw Barkhadle site is also known as an important burial site of the Muslim rulers of Adal and the Walashma dynasty, Al-Kowneyn himself of the Walashma dynasty of the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries AD is buried in this town (and is known for establishing this royal dynasty.)[14] Although as do most Somali and other Muslim tribes in the Horn of Africa possess mythical Arab genealogies connected to Hashimite origin, Walashma was probably a local origin.[15]

According to Leo Africanus in the 16th century stated that the Walashma dynasty spoke Somali and were centred in Zeila.[16]

However, the 19th-century Ethiopian historian Asma Giyorgis suggests that the Walashma themselves spoke Arabic alongside Somali.[17]

Despite being described as a 'successor' to the Sultanate of Showa, the Sultanate of Ifat and Showa state were founded around the same time. ʿUmar DunyaHuz founded Ifat at Zeila in 1185, one of eight Sultanates that were established in the Horn of Africa during this period. The other sultanates were the aforementioned Showa along with the sultanates of Arbabni, Dawaro, Hadiya, Sharka, Bale and Dara). The original borders of the Sultanate of Ifat roughly correspond with the present-day Somaliland. In 1278, the Walashma conquered the Sultanate of Showa. The dynasty later annexed the sultanate into Ifat in 1280, making Ifat the largest and most powerful of its peers. This annexation is usually attributed to ʿUmar, but he had been dead for 50 years by the time Showa was annexed. More likely, it was his grandson Jamal ad-Dīn or perhaps even his great-grandson Abūd.

In 1332, the Zeila-based King of Adal was slain in a military campaign against the Abyssinian Emperor Amda Seyon's troops.[18] Amda Seyon then appointed Jamal ad-Din as the new King, followed by Jamal ad-Din's brother Nasr ad-Din.[19] 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.[20]

Islam was introduced to the Horn of Africa early on from the Arabian peninsula, shortly after the hijra. In the late 9th century, Al-Yaqubi wrote that Muslims were living along the northern Somali seaboard.[21] He also mentioned that the Adal kingdom had its capital in the city,[21][22] suggesting that the Adal Sultanate with Zeila as its headquarters dates back to at least the 9th or 10th century. 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. Adal's history from this founding period forth would be characterized by a succession of battles with neighbouring Abyssinia.[22]

After the last Sultan of Ifat, Sa'ad ad-Din II, was killed in Zeila in 1410, his children escaped to Yemen, before later returning in 1415.[23] In the early 15th century, Adal's capital was moved further inland to the town of Dakkar, where Sabr ad-Din II, the eldest son of Sa'ad ad-Din II, established a new base after his return from Yemen.[24][25]

Adal's headquarters were again relocated 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.[25] 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.[26] 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.[27]

In 1559, the Ethiopian General Hamalmal captured Harar and killed Sultan Barakat. The Walashma dynasty did not go extinct (there are still members alive today), but Amīr Nūr ibn Mujahid was chosen to succeed him. Nūr ibn Mujahid subsequently founded a new dynasty and sultanate in the same year, the Sultanate of Harar.

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