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[[Ahmad ibn Ibrahim al-Ghazi]] was originally a Malassay serving under a [[Garad]] named [[Garad Abun Adashe|Abun Adashe]] prior to becoming leader of the Adal Sultanate.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Aregay |first1=Merid |title=A REAPPRAISAL OF THE IMPACT OF FIREARMS IN THE HISTORY OF WARFARE IN ETHIOPIA (C. 1500-1800) |publisher=Journal of Ethiopian Studies |page=109 |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/41965889?seq=1}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |title=The Imperial and Asiatic Quarterly Review and Oriental and Colonial Record |publisher=Oriental Institute |url=https://books.google.ca/books?id=yj9BAQAAMAAJ&dq=ahmed+garad+abun&focus=searchwithinvolume&q=abun}}</ref>
[[Ahmad ibn Ibrahim al-Ghazi]] was originally a Malassay serving under a [[Garad]] named [[Garad Abun Adashe|Abun Adashe]] prior to becoming leader of the Adal Sultanate.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Aregay |first1=Merid |title=A REAPPRAISAL OF THE IMPACT OF FIREARMS IN THE HISTORY OF WARFARE IN ETHIOPIA (C. 1500-1800) |publisher=Journal of Ethiopian Studies |page=109 |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/41965889?seq=1}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |title=The Imperial and Asiatic Quarterly Review and Oriental and Colonial Record |publisher=Oriental Institute |url=https://books.google.ca/books?id=yj9BAQAAMAAJ&dq=ahmed+garad+abun&focus=searchwithinvolume&q=abun}}</ref>
In the sixteenth century the main troops of Adal Sultanate's leader Ahmad ibn Ibrahim al-Ghazi were the Malassay during the invasion of Abyssinia.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Muth |first1=Franz-Christoph |title=Allahs Netze: ʽArabfaqīhs Futūḥ al-Ḥabaša als Quelle für Netzwerkanalysen |publisher=Annales d'Éthiopie |page=114 |url=https://www.persee.fr/doc/ethio_0066-2127_2001_num_17_1_993?q=allahs+netze}}</ref> The Malassay participated in the conquest of Habasha at the decisive [[Battle of Shimbra Kure]].<ref>{{cite book |title=History of Harar |publisher=Harari people regional state |page=57 |url=https://www.everythingharar.com/files/History_of_Harar_and_Harari-HNL.pdf}}</ref> Emperor [[Lebna Dengel]] chronicles states the Malassay were the Muslim enemy that invaded.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Haile |first1=Getachew |title=Reviewed Work: Tānāsee 106: Eine Chronik der Herrscher Äthiopiens. Äthiopistische Forschungen, Band 12 by Franz Amadeus Dombrowski |publisher=Northeast African Studies |page=181 |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/43661193?Search=yes&resultItemClick=true&searchText=malasay&searchUri=%2Faction%2FdoBasicSearch%3FQuery%3Dmalasay&ab_segments=0%2Fbasic_search_gsv2%2Fcontrol&refreqid=search%3A4d8a1920bae6d6b52c0776f745235ec3&seq=1}}</ref>
In the sixteenth century the main troops of Adal Sultanate's leader Ahmad ibn Ibrahim al-Ghazi were the Malassay during the invasion of Abyssinia.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Muth |first1=Franz-Christoph |title=Allahs Netze: ʽArabfaqīhs Futūḥ al-Ḥabaša als Quelle für Netzwerkanalysen |publisher=Annales d'Éthiopie |page=114 |url=https://www.persee.fr/doc/ethio_0066-2127_2001_num_17_1_993?q=allahs+netze}}</ref> The Malassay participated in the conquest of Habasha at the decisive [[Battle of Shimbra Kure]].<ref>{{cite book |title=History of Harar |publisher=Harari people regional state |page=57 |url=https://www.everythingharar.com/files/History_of_Harar_and_Harari-HNL.pdf}}</ref> Emperor [[Lebna Dengel]] chronicles states the Malassay were the Muslim enemy that invaded.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Haile |first1=Getachew |title=Reviewed Work: Tānāsee 106: Eine Chronik der Herrscher Äthiopiens. Äthiopistische Forschungen, Band 12 by Franz Amadeus Dombrowski |publisher=Northeast African Studies |page=181 |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/43661193?Search=yes&resultItemClick=true&searchText=malasay&searchUri=%2Faction%2FdoBasicSearch%3FQuery%3Dmalasay&ab_segments=0%2Fbasic_search_gsv2%2Fcontrol&refreqid=search%3A4d8a1920bae6d6b52c0776f745235ec3&seq=1}}</ref> According to Mohammed Hassan the Malassay under Ahmed consisted of the [[Harla]] and [[Harari people|Harari]] ethnic groups.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Hassan |first1=Mohammed |title=Reviewed Work: Ethiopia and the Red Sea: The Rise and Decline of the Solomonic Dynasty and Muslim-European Rivalry in the Region by M. Abir |publisher=Michigan State University Press |page=64 |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/43660165?seq=1}}</ref> Ethiopian historian [[Merid Wolde Aregay]] associated the Malassay with Semitic speakers.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Aregay |first1=Merid |title=Southern Ethiopia and the Christian kingdom 1508-1708 with special reference to the Galla migrations and their consequences |publisher=University of London |url=https://www.scribd.com/document/243460939/Merid-Wolde-Aregay?referrer=utm_campaign%3Dapp_promo%26utm_source%3Dinterstitial%26utm_medium%3Dweb}}</ref>


In the reign of Emperor [[Sarsa Dengel]], the [[Hadiya people|Hadiya]] Kingdom was supported by 500 Malassay who had arrived from [[Harar]] territory to battle Ethiopia.<ref>{{cite book |title=Islamic History and Culture in Southern Ethiopia: Collected Essays |publisher=LIT Verlag Münster |page=59 |url=https://books.google.ca/books?id=HGnyk8Pg9NgC&pg=PA59&lpg=PA59&dq=hadiyya+troops+were+reinforced+by+500&source=bl&ots=s-xoGinm3H&sig=ACfU3U2kEsAgQfAhfmmMtXDjmSO7eieCtw&hl=en&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwigsaG1nZ3vAhUlMVkFHZ7ZA0IQ6AEwAHoECAMQAw#v=onepage&q=hadiyya%20troops%20were%20reinforced%20by%20500&f=false}}</ref> Sarsa Dengel chronicles mentions Malassay rebels of Elmag (an unidentified group) and malasay rebels of ''Tumur'' the [[Somalis|Somali]] under their old moniker in Harari. They were armored riders and shield carriers.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Kropp |first1=Manfred |title=MÄLÄSAY: SELBSTBEZEICHNUNG EINES HARARINER OFFIZIERSKORPS UND IHR GEBRAUCH IN ÄTHIOPISCHEN UND ARABISCHEN CHRONIKEN |publisher=Frobenius Institute |page=108 |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/40732663?seq=1}}</ref>
In the reign of Emperor [[Sarsa Dengel]], the [[Hadiya people|Hadiya]] Kingdom was supported by 500 Malassay who had arrived from [[Harar]] territory to battle Ethiopia.<ref>{{cite book |title=Islamic History and Culture in Southern Ethiopia: Collected Essays |publisher=LIT Verlag Münster |page=59 |url=https://books.google.ca/books?id=HGnyk8Pg9NgC&pg=PA59&lpg=PA59&dq=hadiyya+troops+were+reinforced+by+500&source=bl&ots=s-xoGinm3H&sig=ACfU3U2kEsAgQfAhfmmMtXDjmSO7eieCtw&hl=en&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwigsaG1nZ3vAhUlMVkFHZ7ZA0IQ6AEwAHoECAMQAw#v=onepage&q=hadiyya%20troops%20were%20reinforced%20by%20500&f=false}}</ref> Sarsa Dengel chronicles mentions Malassay rebels of Elmag (an unidentified group) and malasay rebels of ''Tumur'' the [[Somalis|Somali]] under their old moniker in Harari. They were armored riders and shield carriers.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Kropp |first1=Manfred |title=MÄLÄSAY: SELBSTBEZEICHNUNG EINES HARARINER OFFIZIERSKORPS UND IHR GEBRAUCH IN ÄTHIOPISCHEN UND ARABISCHEN CHRONIKEN |publisher=Frobenius Institute |page=108 |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/40732663?seq=1}}</ref>

Revision as of 21:21, 9 March 2021

Malassay
Active13th–16th century
Allegiance Adal Sultanate
TypeInfantry
RoleStanding professional military
GarrisonsHarar
EngagementsBattle of Shimbra Kure
Commanders
CommanderAhmad ibn Ibrahim al-Ghazi

A Malassay was a member of the elite infantry units that formed the Adal Sultanate's household troops. They were sustained and maintained by the labour and produce of Adal's Muslim peasants. Desribed by Shihab Ad-Din as the heroic men given to incursions and Jihad. The "brave among brave".[1][2][3] According to Manfred Kropp, Malassay were the Harari armed forces.[4]

Etymology

Often considered synonymous with "Muslim" in Ethiopian texts, the term malasāy has been the subject of several interpretations. [5] In 1901, Francesco Beguinot thought that they were Christian combatants in the ranks of the Muslim army.[6] In 1971, Jean Doresse described them for his part as Muslim troops loyal to the Christian kingdom during the second half of the 16th century. [7] According to Didier Morin in the futuh al-Habasa, the Malasai form a heterogeneous militia with a religious base. The term is preserved in Harari (Malsay) and Afar (Malsay) and designates "the warriors", "the brave".[8]

René Basset offers an etymological explanation to malasāy (الملساي in Arabic and መለሳይ in Amharic), from the Amharic root mallasa ("Converted") and the verb tigriña melesé ("to return"). [9] According to Basset, this term would designate converts to Islam. From the pen of ‘Arab Faqīh, this explanation seems unlikely. Certainly, at the end of a list of horsemen qualified as malasāy, ‘Arab Faqīh notes:[10]


كل ھو S ء ممن دخل في دين ا c س t م وحسن اس t مھم وجاھدوا في الله حق جھاده

.

All these men had entered into the faith of Islam and increased their belief and were doing ğihād in the way of Allah in a sincere manner.

Subsequently, no mention is made of their converted status. On the contrary, they appear to be the most faithful Muslims and the most reliable. Moreover, the etymological explanation of René Basset seems little plausible. On the one hand, the knowledge of ‘Arab Faqīh in Amharic and even more in Tigriña are relatively low, and on the other hand it would be surprising if he used a term Amharic to refer to Muslims, "famous horsemen" of the army of the imām. [11]

Only Manfred Kropp in 1990 considered the question as a whole, depending on the rare texts which make use of this term.[12] Based on the chronicles of Sarsa Dengel it mentions troops that deserted from the rebel camp, including warriors of the malasay called ermag and temur; they are armored riders and shield carriers. The first name, perhaps created and amharicized (remag = step), is not clear. The second one, however, is very interesting: Temur or Tumur is the old name of the Somali in Harari, which also appears in an Old Amharic song on Emperor Yeshaq (14th century) next to the Somali, they are therefore a separate but related one group. To which Manfred Kropp argues that the Malasay military group was composed of unfasted members of various peoples, including Somali.[13]

Antoine d’Abbadie and Philipp Paulitschke believe that the term malasāy designates a "tribe" [14], just like the Somali or the Ḥarla. However, Reading the Futūḥ al-Ḥabaša, the Malasāy appear as the basic unit of the army of the imām. Unlike the other groups that make up this army, the Malasāy were a group social and not a tribe or a clan. Unlike the Balaw, Somali or Ḥarla, a man Malasāy is not born. He obtained this title after demonstrating his military capabilities. ‘Arab Faqīh gives a relatively precise definition of what he means by "malasāy: [15]

وفرقة الملساي اھل الغزو والجھاد ا c صلي المعتمد عليھم في القتال والصناديد ا c بطال فيھم ا c مام

. And the Malasāy troop, who are people of raids and ğihād, worthy men of confidence, who could be trusted during the fighting, of the army chiefs who not only do not flee from the battlefield but who protect the retreat of his family

(بطال c ا والصناديد.)

The imām was with them

The Imām Ahmad ibn Ibrahim al-Ghazi in person is therefore part of the group of Malasāy. According to the definition proposed by ‘Arab Faqīh, they are the warrior elite of Bar Sa’ad ad-dīn, the brave among the brave

Ultimately, in Muslim and Christian sources, the term malasāy does not refer to a particular population of Adal Sultanate. On the one hand, it designates an elite warrior from the different tributary populations of the sultanate, on the other the Muslims in a generic sense, sometimes enemies, sometimes allies of Christian power. The Malasāy do can therefore not be defined as the Ḥarla or the Somali who designate them, clearly, populations in their own right. [16]

History

Early Ge'ez and Portuguese texts indicate Muslim soldiers were known as the Malassay.[17] In the thirteenth century the Malassay appear to back the Amhara rebel Yekuno Amlak in his conflict with the Zagwe dynasty.[18]

Ahmad ibn Ibrahim al-Ghazi was originally a Malassay serving under a Garad named Abun Adashe prior to becoming leader of the Adal Sultanate.[19][20] In the sixteenth century the main troops of Adal Sultanate's leader Ahmad ibn Ibrahim al-Ghazi were the Malassay during the invasion of Abyssinia.[21] The Malassay participated in the conquest of Habasha at the decisive Battle of Shimbra Kure.[22] Emperor Lebna Dengel chronicles states the Malassay were the Muslim enemy that invaded.[23] According to Mohammed Hassan the Malassay under Ahmed consisted of the Harla and Harari ethnic groups.[24] Ethiopian historian Merid Wolde Aregay associated the Malassay with Semitic speakers.[25]

In the reign of Emperor Sarsa Dengel, the Hadiya Kingdom was supported by 500 Malassay who had arrived from Harar territory to battle Ethiopia.[26] Sarsa Dengel chronicles mentions Malassay rebels of Elmag (an unidentified group) and malasay rebels of Tumur the Somali under their old moniker in Harari. They were armored riders and shield carriers.[27]

Under the Emirate of Harar, the entire army was commanded by a Garad who had several militias under him labeled the Malassay.[28]

See also

References

  1. ^ Northeast African Studies. African Studies Center, Michigan State University. p. 64.
  2. ^ The "Futuh al-Habasa" : the writing of history, war and society in the "Bar Sa'ad ad-din" (Ethiopia, 16th century) by Amélie Chekroun page 183-188
  3. ^ Journal of Ethiopian Studies. Haile Selassie I University. p. 52.
  4. ^ Abstracts in German Anthropology. Edition Herodot. p. 83.
  5. ^ The "Futuh al-Habasa" : the writing of history, war and society in the "Bar Sa'ad ad-din" (Ethiopia, 16th century) by Amélie Chekroun page 181
  6. ^ BEGUINOT, La cronaca abbreviate d’Abissina, 1901, p. 18 note 6.
  7. ^ DORESSE, Histoire sommaire de la Corne Orientale de l’Afrique, 1971, p. 231.
  8. ^ Morin, Didier. Poésie traditionelle des Afars. Peeters Publishers. p. 12.
  9. ^ BASSET, Conquête, 1897-1909, vol. 2 : p. 84
  10. ^ The "Futuh al-Habasa" : the writing of history, war and society in the "Bar Sa'ad ad-din" (Ethiopia, 16th century) by Amélie Chekroun page 180-181
  11. ^ The "Futuh al-Habasa" : the writing of history, war and society in the "Bar Sa'ad ad-din" (Ethiopia, 16th century) by Amélie Chekroun page 181
  12. ^ The "Futuh al-Habasa" : the writing of history, war and society in the "Bar Sa'ad ad-din" (Ethiopia, 16th century) by Amélie Chekroun page 180
  13. ^ Kropp, Manfred. MÄLÄSAY: SELBSTBEZEICHNUNG EINES HARARINER OFFIZIERSKORPS UND IHR GEBRAUCH IN ÄTHIOPISCHEN UND ARABISCHEN CHRONIKEN. Frobenius Institute. p. 108.
  14. ^ ABBADIE & PAULTISHKE, Futûḥ el Hábacha, 1898, p. 48, note 2.
  15. ^ The "Futuh al-Habasa" : the writing of history, war and society in the "Bar Sa'ad ad-din" (Ethiopia, 16th century) by Amélie Chekroun page 183-188
  16. ^ The "Futuh al-Habasa" : the writing of history, war and society in the "Bar Sa'ad ad-din" (Ethiopia, 16th century) by Amélie Chekroun page 188
  17. ^ Journal of Ethiopian Studies. Haile Selassie I University. p. 52.
  18. ^ Tamrat, Tadesse. Ethnic Interaction and Integration In Ethiopian History: The Case of the Gafat. Institute of Ethiopian Studies. p. 125.
  19. ^ Aregay, Merid. A REAPPRAISAL OF THE IMPACT OF FIREARMS IN THE HISTORY OF WARFARE IN ETHIOPIA (C. 1500-1800). Journal of Ethiopian Studies. p. 109.
  20. ^ The Imperial and Asiatic Quarterly Review and Oriental and Colonial Record. Oriental Institute.
  21. ^ Muth, Franz-Christoph. Allahs Netze: ʽArabfaqīhs Futūḥ al-Ḥabaša als Quelle für Netzwerkanalysen. Annales d'Éthiopie. p. 114.
  22. ^ History of Harar (PDF). Harari people regional state. p. 57.
  23. ^ Haile, Getachew. Reviewed Work: Tānāsee 106: Eine Chronik der Herrscher Äthiopiens. Äthiopistische Forschungen, Band 12 by Franz Amadeus Dombrowski. Northeast African Studies. p. 181.
  24. ^ Hassan, Mohammed. Reviewed Work: Ethiopia and the Red Sea: The Rise and Decline of the Solomonic Dynasty and Muslim-European Rivalry in the Region by M. Abir. Michigan State University Press. p. 64.
  25. ^ Aregay, Merid. Southern Ethiopia and the Christian kingdom 1508-1708 with special reference to the Galla migrations and their consequences. University of London.
  26. ^ Islamic History and Culture in Southern Ethiopia: Collected Essays. LIT Verlag Münster. p. 59.
  27. ^ Kropp, Manfred. MÄLÄSAY: SELBSTBEZEICHNUNG EINES HARARINER OFFIZIERSKORPS UND IHR GEBRAUCH IN ÄTHIOPISCHEN UND ARABISCHEN CHRONIKEN. Frobenius Institute. p. 108.
  28. ^ Kropp, Manfred. MÄLÄSAY: SELBSTBEZEICHNUNG EINES HARARINER OFFIZIERSKORPS UND IHR GEBRAUCH IN ÄTHIOPISCHEN UND ARABISCHEN CHRONIKEN. Frobenius Institute. p. 111.
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