Ahmad ibn Ibrahim al-Ghazi: Difference between revisions

Ahmad ibn Ibrahim
Ahmad ibn Ibrahim
Imam and General of the Adal Sultanate
	Statue of Ahmad ibn Ibrahim al-Ghazi in Mogadishu, Somalia
Reign	c. 1527 – 21 February 1543
Predecessor	Mahfuz
Successor	Nur ibn Mujahid
Born	c. 1506; Hubat, Adal Sultanate
Died	21 February 1543 (aged 36–37); Wayna Daga, Ethiopian Empire
Burial	Jamia Mosque
Spouse	Bati del Wambara
Issue	Mohammad ibn Ahmad
Religion	Islam

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Ahmad ibn Ibrahim al-Ghazi (Somali: Axmed Ibraahim al-Qaasi or Axmed Gurey, Harari: አሕመድ ኢብራሂም አል-ጋዚ, Arabic: أحمد بن إبراهيم الغازي ;^[2] c. 1506 – 21 February 1543)^[3] was an imam and general of the Adal Sultanate.^[3] Imam Ahmad (commonly named Ahmed Gurey in Somali, and Gura in Afar, both meaning "the left-handed" or "the southpaw"), invaded the Ethiopian Empire under the Sultanate of Adal during the Ethiopian-Adal War.^[4]

Early years

Ahmad ibn Ibrahim al-Ghazi was born in 1506 and hailed from the lowlands of Hubat^[5]^[6] in the Adal Sultanate. The ethnicity of Ahmad is not known, with most historians regarding him as either an ethnic Harla^[7]^[8]^[9], a Somali^[10]^[11]^[12] or a Balaw.^[13]^[14]^[15] After the death of his father sometime in the 1510s, Ahmad served as an infantryman for Garad Abun Adashe of Hubat. Garad Abun crowned himself Sultan of the inhabitants, sparking conflict with the ruling Walashma dynasty. As an elite infantryman of Hubat, Ahmad joined Adashe in his power struggles against the Walashma. It was during this conflict that Ahmad demonstrated his courage, intelligence and military leadership. Garad Abun who was astonished by the military valour of Ahmad, arranged him to get married with the late Mahfuz youngest daughter, Bati del Wambara.^[16] By this marriage Ahmad established not only formal alliance with the supporters of the late leader, but also inherited his mantle to continue with the jihadi tradition of his father-in-law.^[17]^[18] Adashe was then made Sultan of Adal for seven years which was his greatest achievement. His rule over Adal wouldn't last long because a Sultan by the name of Abu Bakr ibn Muhammed rebelled. Abu Bakr is said to have recruited a large number of Somalis into his army. Together with his Somali allies Abu Bakr defeated and killed Adashe near Zeila.^[19] Abu Bakr then established a new capital at Harar.^[20] The remnants of Abogne's force retreated back to Hubat where their numbers soon rose to over a 100. The Sultan attempted to pursue but Ahmad defeated the Sultan in the field, Abu Bakr was forced to take refuge in Ogaden with the Somali nomads. Ahmad did not follow him. After raising another large body of Somali followers, Abu Bakr met Ahmad for the second time. It was an indecisive clash that only forced the Sultan to retreat back into the Ogaden and Ahmad remained in Hubat virtually an independent rebel governor of this famous province.

Upon hearing that a rebel named Ahmad ibn Ibrahim was in a power struggle with the Adal leaders, the Emperor of Ethiopia Dawit II sent his general Degelhan to confront him. The Abyssinian campaign originally seemed successful as large amounts of women and children of Adal were captured by Degelhan including the mother of Ahmad's commander Abubaker Qecchin. Meanwhile Emir Ahmad had laid a trap in Hubat, splitting his unit into three, he waited for the Abyssinians to enter the region after sacking Harar and ambushed them in the Battle of Hubat. The remaining Abyssinian army who were not killed fled in panic, thus Ahmed's troops won decisively and were able to recover stolen booty. Ahmad's victory not only strengthened his fighting capacity, but also spread his fame far and wide. The Sultan hearing about this gathered a large force of his Somali followers and besieged his capital at Siege of Hubat. Ahmad was unprepared and in a mountain encampment on Gara Muleta. The sultan besieged Ahmad and his small force for ten days, when he hoped to starve them. However, at this critical moment, the sheikhs of Harar intervened and reconciled the two leaders. Ahmad was forced to recognize the authority of the Adalite state for the first time in his career.^[21]^[22] This peace was immediately broken by Abu Bakr, who tried to kill Ahmad when he was in Harar, Ahmad fled back to Hubat where he continue to struggle against the Sultan. At about this time a swarm of bees enlightened on Ahmad's head, this incident was considered so miraculous that people gave him the title of Imam. After much war the Imam defeated and killed Abu Bakr who fled to the Ogaden among his Somali supporters. He then returned to Harar where he placed Umar Din on the throne as his puppet.

Imam Ahmad would spend the next several months in subjugating the surrounding Somali clans with diplomacy and war. He had hoped to unite all the warring Muslim nomads under his authority which he had done so successfully. The Imam was able to start stockpiling on firearms such as the matchlock musket, cannons, and the arquebus. Which he obtained from Arabia via the port of Zeila^[23] Before carrying out his invasion of Ethiopia, it is said he had access to several cannons aswell as several well armed soldiers from Yemen. His army enjoyed far more firepower then Dawit II's army, he was also able to recruit a large amount of Somalis nomads which made up a large portion of his army. These Somali clans would include Marehan, Harti, Garre and Habar Yoonis.^[24]

Invasion of Abyssinia

The chronicle of Imam Ahmad's invasion of Abyssinia is depicted in various Arabic, Abyssinian and other foreign sources. On March 1529 Ahmad won a decisive victory over the Ethiopians in the Battle of Shimbra Kure, but the Imam was not able to immediately take advantage of this victory due to tribal infighting within his army. He was forced to return to Harar to resolve disputes between the different tribes that made up his army. He used this opportunity to build up an army that was loyal to him and not to any specific tribal leaders. Finally in 1531 he reconstructed his forces and was able to begin the definite invasion and occupation of Abyssinia. With the help of his advanced weaponry he was able to inflict another crushing defeat on the Abyssinians during the Battle of Antukyah and Battle of Amba Sel which allowed the Adalites to occupy Shewa by the end of the year. The Adalites continued to advance northwards securing the province of Bete Amhara. Dawit II fell back behind the Abay River to the relative security of Gojjam. It was here in Amhara that the Adalites came across many churches and palaces built by the Abyssinians. The Imam was stunned by the beauty of these churches and according to Arab Faqih:

The Imam asked all the Arabs who were with him, "Is there the like of this church, with its images and its gold, in Byzantium, or in India, or in any other place?" They replied, "We never saw or heard of its like in Byzantium or India or anywhere in the world."^[25]

Nevertheless he ordered all of the churches built by the Abyssinians to be pillaged and destroyed, including Mekane Selassie, Atronsa Maryam, Debre Nagwadgwad and Ganata Giyorgis. He soon campaigned against the people of Bali and Dawaro which was governed by Degalhan who had earlier pillaged Adal. They were able to defeat the Abyssinians in the Battle of Antukyah but this was quite difficult as the Christians were able to inflict serious losses on the soldiers of the Imam because they held the high ground. The Adalites attempted to capture Degalhan but he was able to escape through Hadiya. ^[26]

For the next two years the Adalites would secure the southern Abyssinian provinces of Dawaro, Bali, Fatager, Hadiya and Wej. The Imam would then call an assembly of his Emirs, chieftains and all the Muslim leaders to state his intention of staying in Abyssinia

Praised be God who has conquered the whole of the land of Abyssinia. Now let us send to the land of Sa'd ad-Din, to bring up our wives and our children. Let us make our homes in Abyssinia. It is no longer possible for us to go back down to our country, or to leave this one.

After the Muslims conquered Damot and subjugated the pagans of Gafat. The Imam ordered all Muslim armies and Emirs to assemble at Debre Berhan to discuss plans to invade Tigray where the Emperor now resides. He first went through Angot where he was able to convince the people to convert to Islam. He then laid sieged to the fortress of Amba Geshen, around the same time the Muslims captured the Emperor's niece whom the Imam turned into his concubine. The Imam was able to acquire newly purchased cannons which were imported from Zeila which helped bring down the fortress, the Imam ordered those captured to be beheaded. However, his cousin Zaharbui Muhammad was soon killed in an ambush. The Imam grieved over him. The next day he set out with his army eager to avenge his death. He soon defeated the armies of Agame and Tembien and marched towards Aksum, but the locals of Tigray had all assembled up to defend their holy city. The Imam defeated and killed a large number of them as Arab Faqih states, "Not a single one managed to slip away. They killed them in the forts, in the valleys and in the gorges. The ground was so thickly covercd with their corpses, that it was impossible to walk in that place because of the dead bodies." he estimates that over 10,000 Christians were killed. The Imam reached Axum, he destroyed the Church of Our Lady Mary of Zion. While in Aksum a Balaw man informed the Muslims that the Christians had barricaded and hide themselves in the Abba Garima Monastery. When the Iman heard this news he set out to get find them, he tried to tell them to pay jizya but they refused so he massacred them.^[27]

Lebna Dengel had fled to Gojjam with his remaining followers, the Imam pursued him. The Muslims pursued the Abyssinians until they crossed the Blue Nile. After this Imam returned to Tigray where he discovered that the region was undergoing a severe famine that took a huge toll on the Muslim army. Ahmad al-Nagasi, the Imam's newborn son was among the dead.^[28] The Imam soon left for Begmeder, where he pacified the people of Siemen. The Beta Israel assisted the Muslims in subduing the Christians, the establishments on the islands of Lake Tana were looted.^[29] The Emperor was forcedlived as an outlaw in his own realm constantly hounded by Imam Ahmed's soldiers the Malassay,^[30] Dawit came to see Queen Eleni's wisdom in reaching out to Europe for help, and he dispatched João Bermudes, who had arrived in Ethiopia with Dom Rodrigo de Lima, to reach out to their countries for military aid.^[31] The King of Portugal would eventually send ships with 400 Portuguese musketeers, but when they arrived in 1541 Dawit II had died and his son Gelawdewos had succeeded him.^[32]

The Portuguese had arrived in Massawa where Yeshaq (Bahr Negus) was still holding out in Medri Bahri. They then soon advanced into Tigray and were reinforced by local auxiliaries. The first encounter took place during the Battle of BaçenteOn 4 April, after the two unfamiliar armies had exchanged messages and stared at each other for a few days, da Gama formed his troops into an infantry square and marched against the Imam's lines, repelling successive waves of Muslim attacks with musket and cannon. This battle ended when Imam Ahmad was wounded in the leg by a chance shot; seeing his banners signal retreat, the Portuguese and their Abyssinian allies fell upon the disorganized Muslims, who suffered immense losses.^[33] Over the next several days, Imam Ahmad's forces were reinforced by arrivals of fresh troops. Understanding the need to act swiftly, da Gama on April 16 again formed a square which he led against Imam Ahmad's camp. Castanhoso laments that "the victory would have been complete this day had we only one hundred horses to finish it: for the King was carried on men's shoulders in a bed, accompanied by horsemen, and they fled in no order."^[34] da Gama marched southward after Imam Ahmad's force, coming within sight of him ten days later. However, the onset of the rainy season prevented da Gama from engaging Ahmad a third time. On the advice of Queen Seble Wongel, da Gama made winter camp at Wofla near Lake Ashenge, still within sight of his opponent,^[35] while the Imam made his winter camp on Mount Zobil.^[36]

The Imam was forced to call for military aid. According to Abbé João Bermudes [pt], Imam Ahmad received 2,000 musketeers from Arabia, and artillery and 900 picked men from the Ottomans to assist him. Meanwhile, due to casualties and other duties, da Gama's force was reduced to 300 musketeers. After the rains ended, Imam Ahmad attacked the Portuguese camp and through weight of numbers killed all but 140 of da Gama's troops. Da Gama himself, badly wounded, was captured with ten of his men and, after refusing an offer to spare his life if he would convert to Islam, was executed.^[37]

The survivors and Emperor Gelawdewos were afterward able to join forces and, drawing on the Portuguese supplies of muskets, attacked Ahmad on 21 February 1543 in the Battle of Wayna Daga, where their vastly outnumbered troops of 9,000 managed to defeat the 15,000 soldiers under Gragn. The Imam was fatally shot in the chest by a Portuguese musketeer during the battle. Emperor Gelawdewos then ordered his head to be paraded across the countryside to inform the people of his death.^[38]^[39]^[40]

His wife Bati del Wambara managed to escape the battlefield with a remnant of the soldiers, and they made their way back to Harar, where she rallied his followers. Intent on avenging her husband's death, she married his nephew Nur ibn Mujahid on condition that Nur would avenge Imam Ahmad's defeat. In 1550, Nur departed on a Jihad, or Holy War, in the eastern Abyssinian lowlands of Bale, and Hadiya but was repelled by Ras Fanu'el. Abyssinians launched a punitive expedition that captured vast amount of treasure and livestock and they sacked many towns including Harar. In 1559, he invaded Fatagar and Abyssinian Emperor Galawdewos launched a second punitive expedition but was killed in battle.^[41]

Legacy

"In Ethiopia the damage which Ahmad Gragn did has never been forgotten," wrote Paul B. Henze. "Every Christian highlander still hears tales of Gragn in his childhood. Haile Selassie referred to him in his memoirs, "I have often had villagers in northern Ethiopia point out sites of towns, forts, churches and monasteries destroyed by Gragn as if these catastrophes had occurred only yesterday."^[43] To most Somalis Ahmad is a national hero who fought against Abyssinian aggression on their ancient territories.^[44]

References

^ Cite error: The named reference gjctuklcfv was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
^ R. Michael Feener (2004). Islam in World Cultures: Comparative Perspectives. ABC-CLIO. p. 219. ISBN 9781576075166.
^ ^a ^b Saheed A. Adejumobi (2008). The History of Ethiopia. Greenwood Publishing Group. p. 178. ISBN 9780313322730.
^ The New Encyclopædia Britannica, Volume 1. Encyclopædia Britannica. 1998. p. 163. ISBN 9780852296639.
^ Hinika, Mohammed Hassen (2017-12-13). "The Genealogy and Ethnic Identity of Ahmed Ibn Ibrahim Al-Gazi (Gragn) of Ethiopia: A Historiographical Reappraisal". East African Journal of Social Sciences and Humanities. 2 (2): 21–40. ISSN 2521-2192. Imam Ahmed, born in 1506 at Hubat (specifically at Za‟ka, 32 kms North east of Harar town), was the leader of the militant Muslim Sultanate of Adal whichembarked on a conquest of the Christian highland kingdom between 1529 and 1543. {{cite journal}}: line feed character in |quote= at position 71 (help)
^ Trimmingham, John Spencer (1952). Islam in Ethiopia. p. 85. His early years were passed in Hubat (the area between Gildessa and Harar.
^ Aregay, Merid Wolde. (1971). Southern Ethiopia and the Christian kingdom 1508 - 1708, with special reference to the Galla migrations and their consequences (Ph.D). University of London. p. 133. Merid Wolde Aregay argued Ahmed ibn Ibrahim al-Ghazi belonged to the Harla dynasty of rulers through his father.
^ Hassen, Mohammed. "Review work Futuh al habasa". International Journal of Ethiopian Studies: 179–180. JSTOR 27828848. Mohammed Hassan states that Ahmed was the son of Garad Ibrahim, a provincial governor of Sim in Harla realm.
^ Tamrat, Taddesse (November 1991). Review: Place Names in Ethiopian History. Journal of Ethiopian Studies. p. 120. JSTOR 41965996. According to Taddesse Tamrat, Ahmad and most of his commanders had links to the Semitic-speaking Wâlasma elite. Hence, Ahmad was most likely a Harla, but also also could of been from the tribes of Hargaya, Šawa, or Gedaya.
^ Richard Stephen Whiteway (1902). The Portuguese Expedition to Abyssinia in 1541–1543 as Narrated by Castanhoso. Hakluyt Society. p. 38. Of the early history of the Imam Ahmad but little is known. He was the son of one Ibrahim el Ghazi, and both he and his father were common soldiers in the troop of Garad Aboun. Nothing even is said as to his nationality. He was certainly not an Arab: probably he was a Somali, for we find him closely connected with many who were Somalis.
^ Gikes, Patrick (2003). "National Identity and Historical Mythology in Eritrea and Somaliland". Northeast African Studies. 10 (3). Michigan State University Press: 174. JSTOR 41931244. Emir Ahmed Gurrey, known to the Ethiopians as Ahmed Gran. The emir himself was almost certainly from one of the pre-Somali peoples around Harar, but Somalis from a number of clans, particularly the Gorgora, a clan that probably originated around Zelia, certainly fought in his armies. Ahmed himself probably had no direct links with Somalis other than recruiting them, but his mythic value was substantial. He had launched a highly successful jihad against Ethiopia in the 1530s. {{cite journal}}: line feed character in |quote= at position 473 (help)
^ MÄLÄSAY: SELBSTBEZEICHNUNG EINES HARARINER OFFIZIERSKORPS UND IHR GEBRAUCH IN ÄTHIOPISCHEN UND ARABISCHEN CHRONIKEN Paideuma: Mitteilungen zur Kulturkunde Bd. 36, Afrika-Studien II (1990), p.112|quote=The leading historian of Ethiopia, former Minister of Education, Arts & Culture and Dean of the National Library under Haile Selassie, Takla Sadiq Mekuria, devoted a 950-page book to the question of origin of Gragn and the identity of the Malassay in his rough monograph on the Gragn Wars (1961) called "Ya Gragn Warara" (The Conquests of Gragn), in it he draws on the evidence from Arab Faqih Sihab Uddin and the chronicles of Sarsa-Dengel. Through the mediation of Dagazmac Wargnah he interviewed Ahmed Ali Shami, the highest authoritative scholar of Harar that produced the concise manuscript history of Harar (in his Fatah Madinat Harar manuscript) for several European institutions and concludes Gragn's father was to come from the Hawiye (Somali clan) in the Ogaden
^ Faqih, Arab. The Conquest of Abyssinia. Tsehai Publishers & Distributors. p. 12. The Balaw was a tribe of mixed Beja and Bedouin ancestry, they migrated to the Horn of Africa between the 12th and 16th centuries CE. The Futuh al-Habesh mentions one Ibrahim bin Ahmad as a ruler of the Adal Sultanate for three months, whose name suggests that he may be the Imam's father. This Ibrahim is described as one of the Belew and previously having been the ruler of the town of Hubat. The possible connection between the two is strengthened by the fact that Hubat was the birthplace of the Iman and is later mentioned as one of his power bases.
^ Hinika, Mohammed Hassen (2017-12-13). "The Genealogy and Ethnic Identity of Ahmed Ibn Ibrahim Al-Gazi (Gragn) of Ethiopia: A Historiographical Reappraisal". East African Journal of Social Sciences and Humanities. 2 (2): 21–40. ISSN 2521-2192.
^ Trimmingham, John Spencer (1952). Islam in Ethiopia. p. 85.
^ Richard Stephen Whiteway (1902). The Portuguese Expedition to Abyssinia in 1541-1543 as Narrated by Castanhoso. Hakluyt Society. p. xxxiii.
^ Adashe. JSTOR 41965889.
^ Adashe. 1905.
^ Richard Pankhurst (1997). The Ethiopian Borderlands: In Regional History from Ancient Times to the End of the 18th Century Essay. Red Sea Pr. p. 126. ISBN 9780932415196.
^ Lewis, I. M. (1999). A pastoralist democracy. ISBN 9780852552803.
^ Budge, E.A. History Of Ethiopia Nubia And Abyssinia. pp. 327–328.
^ Hassan, Mohammed. Oromo of Ethiopia (PDF). University of London. p. 30.
^ Cambridge illustrated atlas, Warfare: Renaissance to Revolution, 1492–1792, by Jeremy Black pg 9
^ Faqih, Arab. The Conquest of Abyssinia. Tsehai Publishers & Distributors. p. 12.
^ Faqih, Arab. The Conquest of Abyssinia. Tsehai Publishers & Distributors. p. 12.
^ Faqih, Arab. The Conquest of Abyssinia. Tsehai Publishers & Distributors. p. 12.
^ Faqih, Arab. The Conquest of Abyssinia. Tsehai Publishers & Distributors. p. 12.
^ Pankhurst, Richard R. K. 1961. An Introduction to the Economic History of Ethiopia. London: Lalibela House.
^ Futuh, pp. 381–384.
^ Molvaer, Reidulf (1998). "The Tragedy of Emperor Libne-Dingil of Ethiopia (1508-1540)". Northeast African Studies. 5 (2). Michigan State University Press: 32. doi:10.1353/nas.1998.0011. JSTOR 41931161. S2CID 143584847.
^ J. Spencer Trimingham (1952). Islam in Ethiopia. Oxford: Geoffrey Cumberlege for the University Press. p. 173.
^ Faqih, Arab. The Conquest of Abyssinia. Tsehai Publishers & Distributors. p. 12.
^ Richard Stephen Whiteway (1902). The Portuguese Expedition to Abyssinia in 1541-1543 as Narrated by Castanhoso. Hakluyt Society. p. 41.
^ Richard Stephen Whiteway (1902). The Portuguese Expedition to Abyssinia in 1541-1543 as Narrated by Castanhoso. Hakluyt Society. p. 52.
^ Richard Stephen Whiteway (1902). The Portuguese Expedition to Abyssinia in 1541-1543 as Narrated by Castanhoso. Hakluyt Society. p. 53.
^ G.W.B. Huntingford (1989). The historical geography of Abyssinia from the first century AD to 1704. Oxford University Press. p. 134. ISBN 9780197260555.
^ Described in terms worthy of a saint's life by Jerónimo Lobo, who based his account on the testimony of an eye witness. (The Itinerário of Jerónimo Lobo, translated by Donald M. Lockhart [London: Hakluyt Society, 1984], pp. 201-217)
^ Richard Whiteway, The Portuguese expedition in Abyssnia, pp. 82
^ "20 Famous Historical and Biblical Figures from Africa". 28 May 2021.
^ Trimmingham, John Spencer (1952). Islam in Ethiopia. p. 89.
^ Whiteway, Richard (1902). The Portuguese Expedition to Abyssinia in 1541–1543 as Narrated by Castanhoso. Hakluyt Society.
^ Insoll, Timothy. The Mosques of Harar: An Archaeological and Historical Study (PDF). University of Exeter. p. 6.
^ Paul B. Henze (2002). Layers of Time: A History of Ethiopia. Hurst & Company. p. 90. ISBN 9781850653936.
^ Somalia: From The Dawn of Civilization To The Modern Times: Chapter 8: Somali Hero - Ahmad Gurey (1506-43) CivicsWeb Archived March 9, 2005, at the Wayback Machine

External links

[gjctuklcfv-1] Cite error: The named reference gjctuklcfv was invoked but never defined (see the help page).

[clio-2] R. Michael Feener (2004). Islam in World Cultures: Comparative Perspectives. ABC-CLIO. p. 219. ISBN 9781576075166.

[fytdm-3] Saheed A. Adejumobi (2008). The History of Ethiopia. Greenwood Publishing Group. p. 178. ISBN 9780313322730.

[brittannica-4] The New Encyclopædia Britannica, Volume 1. Encyclopædia Britannica. 1998. p. 163. ISBN 9780852296639.

[5] Hinika, Mohammed Hassen (2017-12-13). "The Genealogy and Ethnic Identity of Ahmed Ibn Ibrahim Al-Gazi (Gragn) of Ethiopia: A Historiographical Reappraisal". East African Journal of Social Sciences and Humanities. 2 (2): 21–40. ISSN 2521-2192. Imam Ahmed, born in 1506 at Hubat (specifically at Za‟ka, 32 kms North east of Harar town), was the leader of the militant Muslim Sultanate of Adal whichembarked on a conquest of the Christian highland kingdom between 1529 and 1543. {{cite journal}}: line feed character in |quote= at position 71 (help)

[6] Trimmingham, John Spencer (1952). Islam in Ethiopia. p. 85. His early years were passed in Hubat (the area between Gildessa and Harar.

[7] Aregay, Merid Wolde. (1971). Southern Ethiopia and the Christian kingdom 1508 - 1708, with special reference to the Galla migrations and their consequences (Ph.D). University of London. p. 133. Merid Wolde Aregay argued Ahmed ibn Ibrahim al-Ghazi belonged to the Harla dynasty of rulers through his father.

[8] Hassen, Mohammed. "Review work Futuh al habasa". International Journal of Ethiopian Studies: 179–180. JSTOR 27828848. Mohammed Hassan states that Ahmed was the son of Garad Ibrahim, a provincial governor of Sim in Harla realm.

[9] Tamrat, Taddesse (November 1991). Review: Place Names in Ethiopian History. Journal of Ethiopian Studies. p. 120. JSTOR 41965996. According to Taddesse Tamrat, Ahmad and most of his commanders had links to the Semitic-speaking Wâlasma elite. Hence, Ahmad was most likely a Harla, but also also could of been from the tribes of Hargaya, Šawa, or Gedaya.

[10] Richard Stephen Whiteway (1902). The Portuguese Expedition to Abyssinia in 1541–1543 as Narrated by Castanhoso. Hakluyt Society. p. 38. Of the early history of the Imam Ahmad but little is known. He was the son of one Ibrahim el Ghazi, and both he and his father were common soldiers in the troop of Garad Aboun. Nothing even is said as to his nationality. He was certainly not an Arab: probably he was a Somali, for we find him closely connected with many who were Somalis.

[11] Gikes, Patrick (2003). "National Identity and Historical Mythology in Eritrea and Somaliland". Northeast African Studies. 10 (3). Michigan State University Press: 174. JSTOR 41931244. Emir Ahmed Gurrey, known to the Ethiopians as Ahmed Gran. The emir himself was almost certainly from one of the pre-Somali peoples around Harar, but Somalis from a number of clans, particularly the Gorgora, a clan that probably originated around Zelia, certainly fought in his armies. Ahmed himself probably had no direct links with Somalis other than recruiting them, but his mythic value was substantial. He had launched a highly successful jihad against Ethiopia in the 1530s. {{cite journal}}: line feed character in |quote= at position 473 (help)

[12] MÄLÄSAY: SELBSTBEZEICHNUNG EINES HARARINER OFFIZIERSKORPS UND IHR GEBRAUCH IN ÄTHIOPISCHEN UND ARABISCHEN CHRONIKEN Paideuma: Mitteilungen zur Kulturkunde Bd. 36, Afrika-Studien II (1990), p.112|quote=The leading historian of Ethiopia, former Minister of Education, Arts & Culture and Dean of the National Library under Haile Selassie, Takla Sadiq Mekuria, devoted a 950-page book to the question of origin of Gragn and the identity of the Malassay in his rough monograph on the Gragn Wars (1961) called "Ya Gragn Warara" (The Conquests of Gragn), in it he draws on the evidence from Arab Faqih Sihab Uddin and the chronicles of Sarsa-Dengel. Through the mediation of Dagazmac Wargnah he interviewed Ahmed Ali Shami, the highest authoritative scholar of Harar that produced the concise manuscript history of Harar (in his Fatah Madinat Harar manuscript) for several European institutions and concludes Gragn's father was to come from the Hawiye (Somali clan) in the Ogaden

[13] Faqih, Arab. The Conquest of Abyssinia. Tsehai Publishers & Distributors. p. 12. The Balaw was a tribe of mixed Beja and Bedouin ancestry, they migrated to the Horn of Africa between the 12th and 16th centuries CE. The Futuh al-Habesh mentions one Ibrahim bin Ahmad as a ruler of the Adal Sultanate for three months, whose name suggests that he may be the Imam's father. This Ibrahim is described as one of the Belew and previously having been the ruler of the town of Hubat. The possible connection between the two is strengthened by the fact that Hubat was the birthplace of the Iman and is later mentioned as one of his power bases.

[14] Hinika, Mohammed Hassen (2017-12-13). "The Genealogy and Ethnic Identity of Ahmed Ibn Ibrahim Al-Gazi (Gragn) of Ethiopia: A Historiographical Reappraisal". East African Journal of Social Sciences and Humanities. 2 (2): 21–40. ISSN 2521-2192.

[15] Trimmingham, John Spencer (1952). Islam in Ethiopia. p. 85.

[hvcoluyf-16] Richard Stephen Whiteway (1902). The Portuguese Expedition to Abyssinia in 1541-1543 as Narrated by Castanhoso. Hakluyt Society. p. xxxiii.

[17] Adashe. JSTOR 41965889.

[18] Adashe. 1905.

[Tal-19] Richard Pankhurst (1997). The Ethiopian Borderlands: In Regional History from Ancient Times to the End of the 18th Century Essay. Red Sea Pr. p. 126. ISBN 9780932415196.

[20] Lewis, I. M. (1999). A pastoralist democracy. ISBN 9780852552803.

[21] Budge, E.A. History Of Ethiopia Nubia And Abyssinia. pp. 327–328.

[22] Hassan, Mohammed. Oromo of Ethiopia (PDF). University of London. p. 30.

[23] Cambridge illustrated atlas, Warfare: Renaissance to Revolution, 1492–1792, by Jeremy Black pg 9

[24] Faqih, Arab. The Conquest of Abyssinia. Tsehai Publishers & Distributors. p. 12.

[25] Faqih, Arab. The Conquest of Abyssinia. Tsehai Publishers & Distributors. p. 12.

[26] Faqih, Arab. The Conquest of Abyssinia. Tsehai Publishers & Distributors. p. 12.

[27] Faqih, Arab. The Conquest of Abyssinia. Tsehai Publishers & Distributors. p. 12.

[28] Pankhurst, Richard R. K. 1961. An Introduction to the Economic History of Ethiopia. London: Lalibela House.

[29] Futuh, pp. 381–384.

[30] Molvaer, Reidulf (1998). "The Tragedy of Emperor Libne-Dingil of Ethiopia (1508-1540)". Northeast African Studies. 5 (2). Michigan State University Press: 32. doi:10.1353/nas.1998.0011. JSTOR 41931161. S2CID 143584847.

[ftid-31] J. Spencer Trimingham (1952). Islam in Ethiopia. Oxford: Geoffrey Cumberlege for the University Press. p. 173.

[32] Faqih, Arab. The Conquest of Abyssinia. Tsehai Publishers & Distributors. p. 12.

[cytdt-33] Richard Stephen Whiteway (1902). The Portuguese Expedition to Abyssinia in 1541-1543 as Narrated by Castanhoso. Hakluyt Society. p. 41.

[tryd-34] Richard Stephen Whiteway (1902). The Portuguese Expedition to Abyssinia in 1541-1543 as Narrated by Castanhoso. Hakluyt Society. p. 52.

[yugyo-35] Richard Stephen Whiteway (1902). The Portuguese Expedition to Abyssinia in 1541-1543 as Narrated by Castanhoso. Hakluyt Society. p. 53.

[cktct-36] G.W.B. Huntingford (1989). The historical geography of Abyssinia from the first century AD to 1704. Oxford University Press. p. 134. ISBN 9780197260555.

[37] Described in terms worthy of a saint's life by Jerónimo Lobo, who based his account on the testimony of an eye witness. (The Itinerário of Jerónimo Lobo, translated by Donald M. Lockhart [London: Hakluyt Society, 1984], pp. 201-217)

[38] Richard Whiteway, The Portuguese expedition in Abyssnia, pp. 82

[39] "20 Famous Historical and Biblical Figures from Africa". 28 May 2021.

[40] Trimmingham, John Spencer (1952). Islam in Ethiopia. p. 89.

[41] Whiteway, Richard (1902). The Portuguese Expedition to Abyssinia in 1541–1543 as Narrated by Castanhoso. Hakluyt Society.

[42] Insoll, Timothy. The Mosques of Harar: An Archaeological and Historical Study (PDF). University of Exeter. p. 6.

[nuihno-43] Paul B. Henze (2002). Layers of Time: A History of Ethiopia. Hurst & Company. p. 90. ISBN 9781850653936.

[SOMALIA-CONTACT-WITH-GREE-ROME-44] Somalia: From The Dawn of Civilization To The Modern Times: Chapter 8: Somali Hero - Ahmad Gurey (1506-43) CivicsWeb Archived March 9, 2005, at the Wayback Machine

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@@ Line 10: / Line 10: @@
 | birth_name         =
 | birth_date         = {{circa}} 1506
-| birth_place        = [[Hubat]], or [[Zeila]] ([[Adal Sultanate]])
+| birth_place        = [[Hubat]], [[Adal Sultanate]]
 | death_date         = {{Death date and age|1543|2|21|1506|df=yes}}
 | death_place        = [[Battle of Wayna Daga|Wayna Daga]], [[Ethiopian Empire]]
@@ Line 24: / Line 24: @@
 }}
 '''Ahmad ibn Ibrahim al-Ghazi''' ({{lang-so|Axmed Ibraahim al-Qaasi or Axmed Gurey}}, [[Harari language|Harari]]: አሕመድ ኢብራሂም አል-ጋዚ, {{lang-ar|أحمد بن إبراهيم الغازي}} ;<ref name="clio">{{cite book |title=Islam in World Cultures: Comparative Perspectives |year=2004 |publisher=ABC-CLIO |page=219|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=zsjuQaGLRUkC&pg=PA210 |author=R. Michael Feener |isbn=9781576075166 }}</ref> {{circa}} 1506 – 21 February 1543)<ref name="fytdm"/> was an [[imam]] and [[general]] of the [[Adal Sultanate]].<ref name="fytdm">{{cite book |title=The History of Ethiopia |year=2008 |publisher=Greenwood Publishing Group |page=178 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=-U7aydmefrgC&pg=PA178 |author=Saheed A. Adejumobi |isbn=9780313322730 }}</ref> Imam Ahmad (commonly named Ahmed ''Gurey'' ''in [[Somali language|Somali]], and ''Gura'' in [[Afar language|Afar]], both meaning "the left-handed" or "the southpaw")'', invaded the [[Ethiopian Empire]] under the [[Sultanate of Adal]] during the [[Ethiopian-Adal War]].<ref name="brittannica">{{cite book |title=The New Encyclopædia Britannica, Volume 1 |year=1998 |publisher=Encyclopædia Britannica |page=163 |isbn=9780852296639 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Te4pAQAAMAAJ&pg=PA163}}</ref>
-==Ethnicity==
-Imam Ahmad is regarded by most scholars as an ethnic [[Somali people|Somali]].<ref>[https://books.google.com/books?id=grFyAAAAMAAJ&q=Edmond+Joseph+Keller:++Led+by+the+charismatic+Somali+leader+Ahmad+Gran+(Imam+Ahmed+Ibn+Ibrahim+El-Ghazi),+a+coalition+of+Muslim+invaders+consisting+mainly+of+Somali+and+Afar Revolutionary Ethiopia: From Empire to People's Republic ] by Edmond Joseph Keller</ref><ref>[https://books.google.com/books?id=41aVY2K95yEC&dq=Chatterji%3A+A+Somali+chief+of+Adel%2C&pg=PA166 Muddle of the Middle East, Volume 1] by Nikshoy C. Chatterji</ref><ref>[https://books.google.nl/books?id=gAgkDwAAQBAJ&pg=PT150&dq=Beckingham:+Ahmad+ibn+Ibrahim+al+Ghazi,+called+%27the+left-handed%27+by+the+Somali,(gran+in+Amharic),+was+a+Somali+in+the+service+of+the+ruler+of+Zeila.&hl=no&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwjciLns76XtAhVIEncKHTWHDcIQ6AEwAHoECAEQAg#v=onepage&q=Beckingham%3A%20Ahmad%20ibn%20Ibrahim%20al%20Ghazi%2C%20called%20'the%20left-handed'%20by%20the%20Somali%2C(gran%20in%20Amharic)%2C%20was%20a%20Somali%20in%20the%20service%20of%20the%20ruler%20of%20Zeila.&f=false Some Records of Ethiopia, 1593-1646: Being Extracts from The History of High] By G.W.B. Huntingford</ref><ref>[https://books.google.com/books?id=bjoPAQAAIAAJ&q=Groves:+The+leader+was+a+Somali+chief,+Ahmad+ibn+Muhammad+Gran,+Muslim+ruler+of+a+border+state,+who+with+great+energy+and+resource+pressed+home+the+invasion+of+Abyssinia The Planting of Christianity in Africa, Volume 1]</ref><ref>[https://books.google.com/books?id=q_I4AAAAIAAJ&dq=Langer:+Ethiopia+was+overrun+by+the+Moslem+Somali+chief,+Ahmed+Gran,+who+used+firearms&pg=PA524 An Encyclopedia of World History, Ancient, Medieval and Modern, Chronologically Arranged] By William Leonard Langer</ref><ref>[https://books.google.com/books?id=ABbnAd0oWokC&dq=Andargachew+Tiruneh%3A+Harar%2C+led+by+Gragn+who+was+probably+a+Somali%2C+overran+the+length+and+breadth+of+the+central+and+northern+Highlands+from+1529+to+1543&pg=PA2 The Ethiopian revolution 1974-1987: A transformation from an aristocratic to a totalitarian autocracy] By Andargachew Tiruneh</ref><ref>[https://books.google.com/books?id=-U7aydmefrgC&q=Was+a+Somali+imam+and+general The History of Ethiopia] By Saheed A. Adejumobi</ref><ref>[https://books.google.com/books?id=-DcZp-qDueEC&dq=M.+Th.+Houtsman+invasion+of+the+Somali+chief,+Ahmed+b.+Muhammed+Gran&pg=PA263 E. J. Brill's first encyclopaedia of Islam : 1913 - 1936. 3. E - Iʿtimād al-Dawl] by Martijn Theodor Houtsma</ref><ref>[https://books.google.com/books?id=nljca_pOqrEC&dq=Paulos+Milkias%2C+Getachew+Metaferia%3A+Somali+Ahmad+ibn+Ibrahim+%28known+in+Ethiopia+as+Gragn+Mohammed+-+the+left+handed%29+ran+over+the+highland+and+devastated+churches+and+shrines+in+the+1530s+during+the+reign+of+Libne+Dengel&pg=PA199 The Battle of Adwa: Reflections on Ethiopia's Historic Victory Against European Colonialism]</ref> However, a few historians have dismissed the Somali theory. [[Merid Wolde Aregay]] argued Ahmed ibn Ibrahim al-Ghazi belonged to the [[Harla]] dynasty of rulers through his father.<ref>{{cite thesis |last1=Aregay |first1=Merid Wolde. |title=Southern Ethiopia and the Christian kingdom 1508 - 1708, with special reference to the Galla migrations and their consequences |year=1971 |publisher=University of London |page=133 |url=https://ethos.bl.uk/OrderDetails.do?uin=uk.bl.ethos.308149|type=Ph.D }}</ref> Mohammed Hassan also states Ahmed was the son of [[Garad]] Ibrahim, a provincial governor of Sim in Harla realm.<ref>{{cite journal|last1=Hassen|first1=Mohammed |title=Review work Futuh al habasa |journal=International Journal of Ethiopian Studies|pages=179–180|jstor=27828848}}</ref> According to [[Taddesse Tamrat]], although various Somali clans were involved in the conquest, Ahmed was not a Somali and had links to the Semitic-speaking [[Walashma dynasty|Wâlasma]] aristocracy.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Tamrat |first1=Taddesse |title=Review: Place Names in Ethiopian History |date=November 1991 |publisher=Journal of Ethiopian Studies |page=120 |jstor=41965996 |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/41965996}}</ref> Some sources assert Ahmad was [[Harari people|Harari]] (commonly interchangeable with the Harla, as the Harari was found by seven Harla subclans),<ref name="Muth">{{cite book |title=Encyclopaedia Aethiopica: A-C |year=2003 |publisher=Otto Harrassowitz Verlag |page=155 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=nobesFx6E7oC |author=Siegbert Uhlig |isbn=9783447047463 }}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |last1=Mirza |first1=Sana |title=The visual resonances of a Harari Qur'ān: An 18th century Ethiopian manuscript and its Indian Ocean connections |journal=OpenEdition |date=28 December 2017 |issue=8 |page=5 |doi=10.4000/afriques.2052 |url=https://journals.openedition.org/afriques/2052|doi-access=free }}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last1=Ben-Dror |first1=Avishai |title=The Egyptian Hikimdāriya of Harar and its Hinterland" – Historical Aspects, 1875-1887 |publisher=Tel Aviv University |page=VII |url=http://humanities.tau.ac.il/history-school/files/Ben-Dror.EN.pdf|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120904225813/http://humanities.tau.ac.il/history-school/files/Ben-Dror.EN.pdf |archive-date=2012-09-04 }}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |last1=Muth |first1=Franz-Christoph |title=Allahs Netze: ʽArabfaqīhs Futūḥ al-Ḥabaša als Quelle für Netzwerkanalysen |date=2001 |journal=Annales d'Éthiopie |volume=17 |page=116 |doi=10.3406/ethio.2001.993 |url=https://www.persee.fr/doc/ethio_0066-2127_2001_num_17_1_993}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last1=Esposito |first1=John |title=The Oxford Encyclopedia of the Islamic World |chapter=Ethiopia |publisher=Oxford University Press |date=2009 |isbn=978-0-19-530513-5 |url=https://www.oxfordreference.com/view/10.1093/acref/9780195305135.001.0001/acref-9780195305135-e-0225?rskey=xR9jO3&result=1}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |last1=Wagner |first1=Ewald |title=The Genealogy of the later Walashma' Sultans of Adal and Harar |journal=Zeitschrift der Deutschen Morgenländischen Gesellschaft |year=1991 |volume=141 |issue=2 |publisher=Harrassowitz Verlag |page=377 |jstor=43378336 |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/43378336}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|last1=Fernaren|first1=Nial |title=The Archaeology of Ethiopia|date=8 November 2007|publisher=Routledge|isbn=978-1136755521|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=MNGIzz1VJH0C&q=ahmad+gragn+harari&pg=PA14|access-date=7 February 2016}}</ref> while others regard him as [[Afar people|Afar]] or [[Argobba people|Argobba]].<ref>{{cite book|last=Kifleyesus |first=Abbebe |author-link=Abbebe Kifleyesus |title=Tradition and Transformation: The Argobba of Ethiopia|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=plclkFB9KZwC&pg=PA84|year=2006|publisher=Otto Harrassowitz Verlag|isbn=978-3-447-05341-9|page=84}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal|last=Hinika|first=Mohammed Hassen|date=2017-12-13|title=The Genealogy and Ethnic Identity of Ahmed Ibn Ibrahim Al-Gazi (Gragn) of Ethiopia: A Historiographical Reappraisal|url=https://haramayajournals.org/index.php/ejsh/article/view/637|journal=East African Journal of Social Sciences and Humanities|language=en|volume=2|issue=2|pages=21–40|issn=2521-2192}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book|last=Morin|first=Didier|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=gOm_IeAHbdgC&q=Le+Gaucher|title=Poésie traditionelle des Afars |date=1997|publisher=Peeters Publishers|isbn=978-90-6831-989-7|language=fr}}</ref>
-Many Somali clans played a strong role in Gurey's conquest of Abyssinia, however, it is said that these clans went to war not so much as Somalis but as [[Muslim]]s.<ref name="laitin12">{{cite book |title=Somalia: Nation in Search of a State |author=David D. Laitin, Said S. Samatar |year=1987 |publisher=Westview Press |page=12 |isbn=9780865315556 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=DGFyAAAAMAAJ}}</ref><ref name="ʻArabfaqīh">{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=YgIwAQAAIAAJ|title=The conquest of Abyssinia: 16th century|last=ʻArabfaqīh |first=Shihāb al-Dīn Aḥmad ibn ʻAbd al-Qādir |date=2003-01-01|publisher=Tsehai Publishers & Distributors|isbn=9780972317269|language=en}}</ref>  In the Futuh al-Habasa of Sihab ad-Din records that when the Sultan Umar Din of Harar and the Imam quarrelled over the distribution of the alms tax at some point between the Battle of Shimbra Kure and the Battle of Amba Sel, it led to Imam Ahmad leaving Harar to retire to live amongst Somalis for some time and regularly mediated disputes between clans<ref>Sihab ad-Din Ahmad bin 'Abd al-Qader, Futuh al-Habasa: The conquest of Ethiopia, translated by Paul Lester Stenhouse with annotations by Richard Pankhurst (Hollywood: Tsehai, 2003), pp. 101-105</ref>
-Historian Whiteway, R. S. (Richard Stephen) based on the accounts of the Portuguese expeditions to Abyssinia had this much to say about Imam Ahmad's background:
-<blockquote>Of the early history of the Imam Ahmad but little is known. He was the son of one Ibrahim el Ghazi, and both he and his father were common soldiers in the troop of Garad Aboun. Nothing even is said as to his nationality. He was certainly not an Arab: probably he was a [[Somalis|Somali]], for we find him closely connected with many who were Somalis.<ref>{{cite book |title=The Portuguese Expedition to Abyssinia in 1541–1543 as Narrated by Castanhoso |year=1902 |author=Richard Stephen Whiteway |publisher=Hakluyt Society |page=[https://archive.org/details/bub_gb_P39JAAAAYAAJ/page/n170 38]  |url=https://archive.org/details/bub_gb_P39JAAAAYAAJ}}</ref></blockquote>
-Patrick Gikes however states:
-{{blockquote|Emir Ahmed Gurrey, known to the Ethiopians as Ahmed Gran. The emir himself was almost certainly from one of the pre-Somali peoples around Harar, but Somalis from a number of clans, particularly the Gorgora, a clan that probably originated around Zelia, certainly fought in his armies. Ahmed himself probably had no direct links with Somalis other than recruiting them, but his mythic value was substantial. He had launched a highly successful jihad against Ethiopia in the
-s.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Gikes |first1=Patrick |title=National Identity and Historical Mythology in Eritrea and Somaliland |journal=Northeast African Studies |year=2003 |volume=10 |issue=3 |publisher=Michigan State University Press |page=174 |jstor=41931244 |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/41931244}}</ref>}}
-I. M. Lewis discusses the existence of another leader named Ahmad Gurey, and suggests that the two leaders have been conflated into one historical figure:<blockquote>The text refers to two Ahmad's with the nickname 'Left-handed'. One is regularly presented as 'Ahmad Guray, the Somali' (...) identified as Ahmad Gurey Huseyn, chief of the [[Isaaq|Habar Magaadle]]. Another reference, however, appears to link the Habar Magadle with the Eidagale. The other Ahmad is simply referred to as 'Imam Ahmad' or simply the 'Imam'. This Ahmad is not qualified by the adjective Somali (...) The two Ahmads have been conflated into one figure, the heroic Ahmed Guray<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=_ZFhQneTR7wC&q=%22The+text+refers+to+two+Ahmad%27s+with+the+nickname%22&pg=PA42|title=Dictionnaire historique afar: 1288-1982|last=Morin|first=Didier|date=2004|publisher=KARTHALA Editions|isbn=9782845864924|language=fr}}</ref></blockquote>
-The leading historian of Ethiopia, former Minister of Education, Arts & Culture and Dean of the National Library under [[Haile Selassie]], Takla Sadiq Mekuria, devoted a 950-page book to the question of origin of Gragn and the identity of the [[Malassay]] in his rough monograph on the Gragn Wars (1961) called "Ya Gragn Warara" (The Conquests of Gragn), in it he draws on the evidence from Arab Faqih Sihab Uddin and the chronicles of Sarsa-Dengel. Through the mediation of Dagazmac Wargnah he interviewed Ahmed Ali Shami, the highest authoritative scholar of Harar that produced the concise manuscript history of Harar (in his Fatah Madinat Harar manuscript) for several European institutions and concludes Gragn's father was to come from the [[Hawiye]] (Somali clan) in the Ogaden; a genealogy of eight generations before Gragn is known in this tradition.<ref>[https://www.jstor.org/stable/40732663?seq=8#metadata_info_tab_contents MÄLÄSAY: SELBSTBEZEICHNUNG EINES HARARINER OFFIZIERSKORPS UND IHR GEBRAUCH IN ÄTHIOPISCHEN UND ARABISCHEN CHRONIKEN] Paideuma: Mitteilungen zur Kulturkunde
-Bd. 36, Afrika-Studien II (1990), p.112</ref>
 ==Early years==
 [[File:Zeila ruins.jpeg|thumb|Ruins of the [[Sultanate of Adal]] in Zeila, Somaliland.]]
+Ahmad ibn Ibrahim al-Ghazi was born in 1506 and hailed from the lowlands of [[Hubat]]<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Hinika|first=Mohammed Hassen|date=2017-12-13|title=The Genealogy and Ethnic Identity of Ahmed Ibn Ibrahim Al-Gazi (Gragn) of Ethiopia: A Historiographical Reappraisal|url=https://haramayajournals.org/index.php/ejsh/article/view/637|journal=East African Journal of Social Sciences and Humanities|language=en|volume=2|issue=2|pages=21–40|issn=2521-2192|quote=Imam Ahmed, born in 1506 at Hubat (specifically at Za‟ka, 32 kms North
-Imam Ahmad was born in 1506 at [[Hubat]]<ref>{{cite book |last1=Steed |first1=Christopher |title=A History of the Church in Africa |date=4 May 2000 |publisher=Cambridge University Press |page=74 |isbn=9780521583428 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=y1p61xARWY4C&q=imam+ahmed+hubat&pg=PA74}}</ref> or [[Zeila]], in the [[Adal Sultanate]].<ref>Led by its chief Ahmed Ibn Ibrahim Al-Ghazi, or Ahmed Gragn, born in the Somali port of Zeila - Schools and National Identities in French-speaking Africa: Political Choices page 60</ref><ref>Ahmed Gurey (left-handed in the Somali language) was born in the port city of Zeila in Northern Somalia. - Zakarie Abdi Bade - DYNAMICS OF RELIGION AND NATIONALISM IN SOMALIA: ALLIES AND OPPONENTS - International Journal of Contemporary Applied Researches Page 40</ref><ref>Philip Briggs (2019). Somaliland: with the overland route from Addis Ababa via eastern Ethiopia. Bradt Travel Guides. page 10</ref><ref>Ethiopia - Page 50 by Philip Briggs</ref> Ahmad spent most of his childhood in the city of [[Harar]].<ref name="shin13">{{cite book |title=Historical Dictionary of Ethiopia |author=David H. Shinn, Thomas P. Ofcansky |year=2013|publisher=Scarecrow Press |pages=20–21 |isbn=9780810874572 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=WU92d6sB8JAC}}</ref> Due to the un-Islamic rule during the reign of Sultan [[Abu Bakr ibn Muhammad]], Ahmad would leave Harar for Hubat.<ref name=Tal>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=zpYBD3bzW1wC&pg=PA165| title=The Ethiopian Borderlands: In Regional History from Ancient Times to the End of the 18th Century Essay |year=1997|author=Richard Pankhurst |publisher=Red Sea Pr |page=165| isbn=9780932415196 }}</ref> In Hubat an uprising [[Abun Adashe|Adashe]] crowned himself Sultan of the inhabitants. Adashe longed for Harar and quickly started his conquest after gaining respect from the people. Ahmed along with his father joined Adashe in his conquest and joined the ranks of the elite Adalite force, and became the elite infantryman of Hubat.<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/41965889|title=Adashe|jstor=41965889}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=yj9BAQAAMAAJ&q=abun|title=Adashe|year=1905}}</ref> Adashe who was the uncle of Gragn revolted against the rulers of Zeila and attacked several Adal strong holds, Adashe was then made sultan of Adal for seven years which was his greatest achievement. His rule over Zeila ([[Adal (historical region)|Adal]]) wouldn't last long because a sultan by the name of Abu Bakr ibn Muhammed rebelled. Abu Bakr was defeated Adashe and killed Adashe near Harar. Abu bakr then established  himself at Harar.<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=eK6SBJIckIsC&pg=PA17|title=A pastoralist democracy|isbn=9780852552803|last1=Lewis|first1=I. M.|year=1999}}</ref> When Abu Bakr became sultan the whole country  turned against him because Adashe was a kind man and even his arch enemies loved him. Many people joined the forces of Ahmed Gragn because he claimed to avenge his masters death and kill Abu Bakr. Abu Bakr waged war against Ahmed; however, Ahmed killed Abu Bakr and became the sultan of Adal.<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Qwg8GV6aibkC&pg=PA167|title=Ahmed|isbn=9780521209816|last1=Fage|first1=J. D.|last2=Oliver|first2=Roland Anthony|year=1975}}
+east of Harar town), was the leader of the militant Muslim Sultanate of Adal whichembarked on a conquest of the Christian highland kingdom between 1529 and 1543.}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last1=Trimmingham |first1=John Spencer |title=Islam in Ethiopia |date=1952 |pages=85 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=XbVmNAAACAAJ|quote=His early years were passed in Hubat (the area between [[Gildessa]] and [[Harar]].}}</ref> in the [[Adal Sultanate]]. The ethnicity of Ahmad is not known, with most historians regarding him as either an ethnic [[Harla]]<ref>{{cite thesis |last1=Aregay |first1=Merid Wolde. |title=Southern Ethiopia and the Christian kingdom 1508 - 1708, with special reference to the Galla migrations and their consequences |year=1971 |publisher=University of London |page=133 |url=https://ethos.bl.uk/OrderDetails.do?uin=uk.bl.ethos.308149|type=Ph.D|quote=[[Merid Wolde Aregay]] argued Ahmed ibn Ibrahim al-Ghazi belonged to the [[Harla]] dynasty of rulers through his father.}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal|last1=Hassen|first1=Mohammed |title=Review work Futuh al habasa |journal=International Journal of Ethiopian Studies|pages=179–180|jstor=27828848|quote=Mohammed Hassan states that Ahmed was the son of [[Garad]] Ibrahim, a provincial governor of Sim in Harla realm.}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last1=Tamrat |first1=Taddesse |title=Review: Place Names in Ethiopian History |date=November 1991 |publisher=Journal of Ethiopian Studies |page=120 |jstor=41965996 |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/41965996|quote=According to [[Taddesse Tamrat]], Ahmad and most of his commanders had links to the Semitic-speaking [[Walashma dynasty|Wâlasma]] elite. Hence, Ahmad was most likely a Harla, but also also could of been from the tribes of Hargaya, Šawa, or Gedaya.}}</ref>, a [[Somalis|Somali]]<ref>{{cite book |title=The Portuguese Expedition to Abyssinia in 1541–1543 as Narrated by Castanhoso |year=1902 |author=Richard Stephen Whiteway |publisher=Hakluyt Society |page=[https://archive.org/details/bub_gb_P39JAAAAYAAJ/page/n170 38]  |url=https://archive.org/details/bub_gb_P39JAAAAYAAJ|quote=Of the early history of the Imam Ahmad but little is known. He was the son of one Ibrahim el Ghazi, and both he and his father were common soldiers in the troop of Garad Aboun. Nothing even is said as to his nationality. He was certainly not an Arab: probably he was a [[Somalis|Somali]], for we find him closely connected with many who were Somalis.}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |last1=Gikes |first1=Patrick |title=National Identity and Historical Mythology in Eritrea and Somaliland |journal=Northeast African Studies |year=2003 |volume=10 |issue=3 |publisher=Michigan State University Press |page=174 |jstor=41931244 |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/41931244|quote=Emir Ahmed Gurrey, known to the Ethiopians as Ahmed Gran. The emir himself was almost certainly from one of the pre-Somali peoples around Harar, but Somalis from a number of clans, particularly the Gorgora, a clan that probably originated around Zelia, certainly fought in his armies. Ahmed himself probably had no direct links with Somalis other than recruiting them, but his mythic value was substantial. He had launched a highly successful jihad against Ethiopia in the
-</ref>
+s.}}</ref><ref>[https://www.jstor.org/stable/40732663?seq=8#metadata_info_tab_contents MÄLÄSAY: SELBSTBEZEICHNUNG EINES HARARINER OFFIZIERSKORPS UND IHR GEBRAUCH IN ÄTHIOPISCHEN UND ARABISCHEN CHRONIKEN] Paideuma: Mitteilungen zur Kulturkunde
+Bd. 36, Afrika-Studien II (1990), p.112|quote=The leading historian of Ethiopia, former Minister of Education, Arts & Culture and Dean of the National Library under [[Haile Selassie]], Takla Sadiq Mekuria, devoted a 950-page book to the question of origin of Gragn and the identity of the [[Malassay]] in his rough monograph on the Gragn Wars (1961) called "Ya Gragn Warara" (The Conquests of Gragn), in it he draws on the evidence from Arab Faqih Sihab Uddin and the chronicles of Sarsa-Dengel. Through the mediation of Dagazmac Wargnah he interviewed Ahmed Ali Shami, the highest authoritative scholar of Harar that produced the concise manuscript history of Harar (in his Fatah Madinat Harar manuscript) for several European institutions and concludes Gragn's father was to come from the [[Hawiye]] (Somali clan) in the Ogaden</ref> or a Balaw.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Faqih |first1=Arab |title=The Conquest of Abyssinia |publisher=Tsehai Publishers & Distributors |pages=12 |url=https://www.google.ca/books/edition/The_Conquest_of_Abyssinia/YgIwAQAAIAAJ?hl=en&gbpv=0&bsq=futuh%20al%20habesha|quote=The Balaw was a tribe of mixed Beja and Bedouin ancestry, they migrated to the [[Horn of Africa]] between the 12th and 16th centuries CE. The ''Futuh al-Habesh'' mentions one Ibrahim bin Ahmad as a ruler of the [[Adal Sultanate]] for three months, whose name suggests that he may be the Imam's father. This Ibrahim is described as one of the Belew and previously having been the ruler of the town of [[Hubat]]. The possible connection between the two is strengthened by the fact that Hubat was the birthplace of the Iman and is later mentioned as one of his power bases.}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal|last=Hinika|first=Mohammed Hassen|date=2017-12-13|title=The Genealogy and Ethnic Identity of Ahmed Ibn Ibrahim Al-Gazi (Gragn) of Ethiopia: A Historiographical Reappraisal|url=https://haramayajournals.org/index.php/ejsh/article/view/637|journal=East African Journal of Social Sciences and Humanities|language=en|volume=2|issue=2|pages=21–40|issn=2521-2192}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last1=Trimmingham |first1=John Spencer |title=Islam in Ethiopia |date=1952 |pages=85 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=XbVmNAAACAAJ}}</ref> After the death of his father sometime in the 1510s, Ahmad  served as an infantryman for Garad [[Abun Adashe]] of Hubat. Garad Abun crowned himself Sultan of the inhabitants, sparking conflict with the ruling [[Walashma dynasty]]. As an elite infantryman of Hubat, Ahmad joined Adashe in his power struggles against the [[Walashma dynasty|Walashma]]. It was during this conflict that Ahmad demonstrated his courage, intelligence and military leadership. Garad Abun who was astonished by the military valour of Ahmad, arranged him to get married with the late [[Mahfuz]] youngest daughter, [[Bati del Wambara]].<ref name="hvcoluyf">{{cite book |title=The Portuguese Expedition to Abyssinia in 1541-1543 as Narrated by Castanhoso |year=1902 |author=Richard Stephen Whiteway |publisher=Hakluyt Society |page=xxxiii |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=P39JAAAAYAAJ}}</ref> By this marriage Ahmad established not only formal alliance with the supporters of the late leader, but also inherited his mantle to continue with the jihadi tradition of his father-in-law.<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/41965889|title=Adashe|jstor=41965889}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=yj9BAQAAMAAJ&q=abun|title=Adashe|year=1905}}</ref> Adashe was then made Sultan of Adal for seven years which was his greatest achievement. His rule over [[Adal (historical region)|Adal]] wouldn't last long because a Sultan by the name of [[Abu Bakr ibn Muhammed]] rebelled. Abu Bakr is said to have recruited a large number of [[Somalis]] into his army. Together with his Somali allies Abu Bakr defeated and killed Adashe near [[Zeila]].<ref name=Tal>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=zpYBD3bzW1wC&pg=PA165| title=The Ethiopian Borderlands: In Regional History from Ancient Times to the End of the 18th Century Essay |year=1997|author=Richard Pankhurst |publisher=Red Sea Pr |page=126| isbn=9780932415196 }}</ref> Abu Bakr then established a new capital at Harar.<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=eK6SBJIckIsC&pg=PA17|title=A pastoralist democracy|isbn=9780852552803|last1=Lewis|first1=I. M.|year=1999}}</ref> The remnants of Abogne's force retreated back to Hubat where their numbers soon rose to over a 100. The Sultan attempted to pursue but Ahmad defeated the Sultan in the field,  Abu Bakr was forced to take refuge in [[Ogaden]] with the Somali nomads. Ahmad did not follow him. After raising another large body of Somali followers, Abu Bakr met Ahmad for the second time. It was an indecisive clash that only forced the Sultan to retreat back into the Ogaden and Ahmad remained in [[Hubat]] virtually an independent rebel governor of this famous province.
+Upon hearing that a rebel named Ahmad ibn Ibrahim was in a power struggle with the Adal leaders, the Emperor of Ethiopia [[Dawit II]] sent his general Degelhan to  confront him. The Abyssinian campaign originally seemed successful as large amounts of women and children of Adal were captured by Degelhan including the mother of Ahmad's commander [[Abubaker Qecchin]]. Meanwhile Emir Ahmad had laid a trap in Hubat, splitting his unit into three, he waited for the Abyssinians to enter the region after sacking [[Harar]] and ambushed them in the [[Battle of Hubat]]. The remaining Abyssinian army who were not killed fled in panic, thus Ahmed's troops won decisively and were able to recover stolen booty. Ahmad's victory not only strengthened his
-He married [[Bati del Wambara]], the daughter of [[Mahfuz]], the Governor of Zeila.<ref name="hvcoluyf">{{cite book |title=The Portuguese Expedition to Abyssinia in 1541-1543 as Narrated by Castanhoso |year=1902 |author=Richard Stephen Whiteway |publisher=Hakluyt Society |page=xxxiii |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=P39JAAAAYAAJ}}</ref> In 1531, Bati would give birth to their first child named Muhammad.<ref name="gjctuklcfv">{{cite book |title=The Portuguese Expedition to Abyssinia in 1541-1543 as Narrated by Castanhoso |year=1902 |author=Richard Stephen Whiteway |publisher=Hakluyt Society |page=xxxiv |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=P39JAAAAYAAJ}}</ref>
+fighting capacity, but also spread his fame far and wide. The Sultan hearing about this gathered a large force of his Somali followers and besieged his capital at [[Siege of Hubat]]. Ahmad was unprepared and in a mountain encampment on [[Gara Muleta]]. The sultan besieged Ahmad and his small force for ten days, when he hoped to starve them. However, at this critical moment, the sheikhs of Harar intervened and reconciled the two leaders. Ahmad was forced to recognize the authority of the Adalite state for the first time in his career.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Budge |first1=E.A |title=History Of Ethiopia Nubia And Abyssinia |pages=327-328 |url=https://archive.org/details/in.ernet.dli.2015.499166/page/n411/mode/2up?view=theater&q=mahfud}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last1=Hassan |first1=Mohammed |title=Oromo of Ethiopia |publisher=University of London |page=30 |url=https://eprints.soas.ac.uk/29226/1/10731321.pdf}}</ref> This peace was immediately broken by Abu Bakr, who tried to kill Ahmad when he was in [[Harar]], Ahmad fled back to Hubat where he continue to struggle against the Sultan. At about this time a swarm of bees enlightened on Ahmad's head, this incident was considered so miraculous that people gave him the title of [[Imam]]. After much war the Imam defeated and killed Abu Bakr who fled to the [[Ogaden]] among his Somali supporters. He then returned to [[Harar]] where he placed [[Umar Din]] on the throne as his puppet.
+Imam Ahmad would spend the next several months in subjugating the surrounding Somali clans with diplomacy and war. He had hoped to unite all the warring Muslim nomads under his authority which he had done so successfully. The Imam was able to start stockpiling on [[firearm]]s such as the [[matchlock]] [[musket]], [[cannon]]s, and the [[arquebus]]. Which he obtained from [[Arabia]] via the port of [[Zeila]]<ref>Cambridge illustrated atlas, ''Warfare: Renaissance to Revolution, 1492–1792'', by Jeremy Black pg 9</ref> Before  carrying out his invasion of Ethiopia, it is said he had access to several cannons aswell as several well armed soldiers from [[Yemen]]. His army enjoyed far more firepower then [[Dawit II]]'s army, he was also able to recruit a large amount of [[Somalis]] nomads which made up a large portion of his army. These Somali clans would include [[Marehan]], [[Harti]], [[Garre]] and [[Habar Yoonis]].<ref>{{cite book |last1=Faqih |first1=Arab |title=The Conquest of Abyssinia |publisher=Tsehai Publishers & Distributors |pages=12 |url=https://www.google.ca/books/edition/The_Conquest_of_Abyssinia/YgIwAQAAIAAJ?hl=en&gbpv=0&bsq=futuh%20al%20habesha}}</ref>
-When Mahfuz was killed returning from a campaign against the [[Ethiopian Empire|Abyssinian]] emperor [[Dawit II]] in 1517,<ref name="insol">{{cite book |title=The Archaeology of Islam in Sub-Saharan Africa |year=1902 |author=Timothy Insoll |publisher=Cambridge University Press |page=81 |isbn=9780521657020 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=frC8SAu9QxQC&pg=PA81}}</ref> the Adal sultanate lapsed into anarchy for several years, until Imam Ahmad killed the last of the contenders for power and took control of [[Harar]].<ref name="fage79">{{cite book |title=The Cambridge History of Africa, Volume 3 |year=1979 |author=J. D. Fage, Roland Anthony Oliver |publisher=Cambridge University Press |page=81 |isbn=9780521209816 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=V7qpKqM2Ji8C&pg=PA81}}</ref>
-Ethiopian historians such as Azazh T'ino and Bahrey have written that during the period of his rise to power, Ahmad ibn Ibrahim al-Ghazi had converted many [[Oromo people|Oromo]] pastoral people to Islam.<ref>[https://books.google.com/books?id=Glti5O1XMJ0C&dq=ibrahim+al+ghazi+oromo&pg=PA44 {{cite book |title=Effects of Resettlement Schemes on the Biophysical and Human Environments: The Case of the Gambela Region, Ethiopia |year= 2005 |author=Mengistu Woube |publisher=Universal-Publishers | page=44}} ]</ref>
-In retaliation for an attack on Adal the previous year by the Abyssinian general Degalhan, Imam Ahmad invaded Abyssinia in 1529, supplementing his force with considerable numbers of muskets purchased from the Ottomans, which would panic the Abyssinian troops. Imam Ahmad maintained the discipline of most of his men, defeating Emperor [[Dawit II]] at [[Battle of Shimbra Kure|Shimbra Kure]] that March.<ref>The battle is described in the ''Futuh'', pp. 71-86.</ref>
 ==Invasion of Abyssinia==
 {{Main|Ethiopian-Adal War}}
+The chronicle of Imam Ahmad's invasion of Abyssinia is depicted in various Arabic, Abyssinian and other foreign sources. On March 1529 Ahmad won a decisive victory over the Ethiopians in the [[Battle of Shimbra Kure]], but the Imam was not able to immediately take advantage of this victory due to tribal infighting within his army. He was forced to return to [[Harar]] to resolve disputes between the different tribes that made up his army. He used this opportunity to build up an army that was loyal to him and not to any specific tribal leaders. Finally in 1531 he reconstructed his forces and was able to begin the definite invasion and occupation of Abyssinia. With the help of his advanced weaponry he was able to inflict another crushing defeat on the Abyssinians during the [[Battle of Antukyah]] and [[Battle of Amba Sel]] which allowed the Adalites to occupy [[Shewa]] by the end of the year. The Adalites continued to advance northwards securing the province of [[Bete Amhara]]. [[Dawit II]] fell back behind the [[Abay River]] to the relative security of [[Gojjam]]. It was here in Amhara that the Adalites came across many churches and palaces built by the Abyssinians. The Imam was stunned by the beauty of these churches and according to Arab Faqih:
-The chronicle of Imam Ahmad's invasion of Abyssinia is depicted in various Somali, Abyssinian and other foreign sources. Ahmed with the help of an army overwhelmingly manned by ethnic [[Somalis]]<ref>{{Cite news|last=Malone|first=Barry|date=2011-12-28|title=Troubled Ethiopia-Somalia history haunts Horn of Africa|language=en|work=Reuters|url=https://www.reuters.com/article/us-ethiopia-somalia-idUSTRE7BR0E520111228|access-date=2021-01-15}}</ref> or [[Harla]]/[[Harari people|Harari]]<ref>{{cite journal|last1=Hassen|first1=Mohammed|title=Review work Futuh al habasa|journal=International Journal of Ethiopian Studies|page=179|jstor=27828848}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|last1=Fage|first1=J.D|title=The Cambridge History of Africa|year=1975|publisher=Cambridge University Press|page=170|isbn=9780521209816|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=GWjxR61xAe0C&q=harla+ethiopia&pg=PA170|access-date=10 June 2016}}</ref> invaded Ethiopia. Imam Ahmad campaigned in Abyssinia in 1531, breaking Emperor [[Dawit II]] ability to resist in the [[Battle of Amba Sel]] on 28 October. The Muslim army of Imam Ahmad then marched northward to loot the island monastery of [[Lake Hayq]] and the stone churches of [[Lalibela]]. When the Imam entered the province of [[Tigray Province|Tigray]], he defeated an Abyssinian army that confronted him there. On reaching [[Axum]], he destroyed the [[Church of Our Lady Mary of Zion]].
+:The Imam asked all the Arabs who were with him, "Is there the like of this church, with its images and its gold, in Byzantium, or in India, or in any other place?" They replied, "We never saw or heard of its like in Byzantium or India or anywhere in the world."<ref>{{cite book |last1=Faqih |first1=Arab |title=The Conquest of Abyssinia |publisher=Tsehai Publishers & Distributors |pages=12 |url=https://www.google.ca/books/edition/The_Conquest_of_Abyssinia/YgIwAQAAIAAJ?hl=en&gbpv=0&bsq=futuh%20al%20habesha}}</ref>
+Nevertheless he ordered all of the churches built by the Abyssinians to be pillaged and destroyed, including Mekane Selassie, Atronsa Maryam, Debre Nagwadgwad and Ganata Giyorgis. He soon campaigned against the people of [[Bale Province|Bali]] and [[Dawaro]] which was governed by Degalhan who had earlier pillaged Adal. They were able to defeat the Abyssinians in the [[Battle of Antukyah]] but this was quite difficult as the Christians were able to inflict serious losses on the soldiers of the Imam because they held the high ground. The Adalites attempted to capture Degalhan but he was able to escape through Hadiya. <ref>{{cite book |last1=Faqih |first1=Arab |title=The Conquest of Abyssinia |publisher=Tsehai Publishers & Distributors |pages=12 |url=https://www.google.ca/books/edition/The_Conquest_of_Abyssinia/YgIwAQAAIAAJ?hl=en&gbpv=0&bsq=futuh%20al%20habesha}}</ref>
-The Abyssinians were forced to ask for help from the [[Portugal|Portuguese]], who landed at the port of [[Massawa]] on 10 February 1541, during the reign of the emperor [[Gelawdewos of Ethiopia|Gelawdewos]]. The force was led by [[Cristóvão da Gama]] and included 400 musketeers as well as a number of artisans and other non-combatants. Da Gama and Imam Ahmad met on 1 April 1542 at [[Battle of Jarte|Jarte]], which Trimingham has identified with [[Anasa]], between [[Amba Alagi]] and [[Lake Ashenge]].<ref name="ftid">{{cite book |title=Islam in Ethiopia |year=1952 |publisher=Oxford: Geoffrey Cumberlege for the University Press |page=173 |author=J. Spencer Trimingham |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=uhUFAQAAIAAJ}}</ref> Here the Portuguese had their first glimpse of Ahmad, as recorded by Castanhoso:
-:While his camp was being pitched, the king of Zeila [Imam Ahmad] ascended a hill with several horse and some foot to examine us: he halted on the top with three hundred horse and three large banners, two white with red moons, and one red with a white moon, which always accompanied him, and [by] which he was recognized.<ref name="cytdt">{{cite book |title=The Portuguese Expedition to Abyssinia in 1541-1543 as Narrated by Castanhoso |year=1902 |author=Richard Stephen Whiteway |publisher=Hakluyt Society |page=41 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=P39JAAAAYAAJ}}</ref>
+For the next two years the Adalites would secure the southern Abyssinian provinces of [[Dawaro]], [[Bale Province|Bali]], [[Fatager]], [[Hadiya Zone|Hadiya]] and [[Wej province|Wej]]. The Imam would then call an assembly of his Emirs, chieftains and all the Muslim leaders to state his intention of staying in Abyssinia
-On 4 April, after the two unfamiliar armies had exchanged messages and stared at each other for a few days, da Gama formed his troops into an [[infantry square]] and marched against the Imam's lines, repelling successive waves of Muslim attacks with musket and cannon. This battle ended when Imam Ahmad was wounded in the leg by a chance shot; seeing his banners signal retreat, the Portuguese and their Abyssinian allies fell upon the disorganized Muslims, who suffered losses but managed to reform next to the river on the distant side.
+:Praised be God who has conquered the whole of the land of Abyssinia. Now let us send to the land of Sa'd ad-Din, to bring up our wives and our children. Let us make our homes in Abyssinia. It is no longer possible for us to go back down to our country, or to leave this one.
+After the Muslims conquered [[Kingdom of Damot|Damot]] and subjugated the pagans of [[Gafat people|Gafat]]. The Imam ordered all Muslim armies and Emirs to assemble at [[Debre Berhan]] to discuss plans to invade [[Tigray Province|Tigray]] where the Emperor now resides. He first went through [[Angot]] where he was able to convince the people to convert to Islam. He then laid sieged to the fortress of [[Amba Geshen]], around the same time the Muslims captured the Emperor's niece whom the Imam turned into his [[concubine]]. The Imam was able to acquire newly purchased cannons which were imported from [[Zeila]] which helped bring down the fortress, the Imam ordered those captured to be beheaded. However, his cousin Zaharbui Muhammad was soon killed in an ambush. The Imam grieved over him. The next day he set out with his army eager to avenge his death. He soon defeated the armies of [[Agame]] and [[Tembien]] and marched towards [[Aksum]], but the locals of Tigray had all assembled up to defend their holy city. The Imam defeated and killed a large number of them as Arab Faqih states, "Not a single one managed to slip away. They killed them in the forts, in the valleys and in the gorges. The ground was so thickly covercd with their corpses, that it was impossible to walk in that place because of the dead bodies." he estimates that over 10,000 Christians were killed. The Imam reached [[Axum]], he destroyed the [[Church of Our Lady Mary of Zion]]. While in Aksum a Balaw man informed the Muslims that the Christians had barricaded and hide themselves in the [[Abba Garima Monastery]]. When the Iman heard this news he set out to get find them, he tried to tell them to pay [[jizya]] but they refused so he massacred them.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Faqih |first1=Arab |title=The Conquest of Abyssinia |publisher=Tsehai Publishers & Distributors |pages=12 |url=https://www.google.ca/books/edition/The_Conquest_of_Abyssinia/YgIwAQAAIAAJ?hl=en&gbpv=0&bsq=futuh%20al%20habesha}}</ref>
+[[Lebna Dengel]] had fled to [[Gojjam]] with his remaining followers, the Imam pursued him. The Muslims pursued the Abyssinians until they crossed the [[Blue Nile]]. After this Imam returned to Tigray where he discovered that the region was undergoing a severe famine that took a huge toll on the Muslim army. Ahmad al-Nagasi, the Imam's newborn son was among the dead.<ref>[[Richard Pankhurst (Ethiopianist)|Pankhurst, Richard R. K.]] 1961. ''An Introduction to the Economic History of Ethiopia''. London: Lalibela House.</ref> The Imam soon left for [[Begmeder]], where he pacified the people of [[Siemen]]. The [[Beta Israel]] assisted the Muslims in subduing the Christians, the establishments on the islands of [[Lake Tana]] were looted.<ref>''Futuh'', pp. 381–384.</ref> The Emperor was forcedlived as an outlaw in his own realm constantly hounded by Imam Ahmed's soldiers the [[Malassay]],<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Molvaer |first1=Reidulf |title=The Tragedy of Emperor Libne-Dingil of Ethiopia (1508-1540) |journal=Northeast African Studies |year=1998 |volume=5 |issue=2 |publisher=Michigan State University Press |page=32 |doi=10.1353/nas.1998.0011 |jstor=41931161 |s2cid=143584847 |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/41931161}}</ref> Dawit came to see [[Queen Eleni]]'s wisdom in reaching out to Europe for help, and he dispatched [[João Bermudes]], who had arrived in Ethiopia with Dom Rodrigo de Lima, to reach out to their countries for military aid.<ref name="ftid">{{cite book |title=Islam in Ethiopia |year=1952 |publisher=Oxford: Geoffrey Cumberlege for the University Press |page=173 |author=J. Spencer Trimingham |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=uhUFAQAAIAAJ}}</ref> The King of Portugal would eventually send ships with 400 Portuguese musketeers, but when they arrived in 1541 [[Dawit II]] had died and his son [[Gelawdewos]] had succeeded him.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Faqih |first1=Arab |title=The Conquest of Abyssinia |publisher=Tsehai Publishers & Distributors |pages=12 |url=https://www.google.ca/books/edition/The_Conquest_of_Abyssinia/YgIwAQAAIAAJ?hl=en&gbpv=0&bsq=futuh%20al%20habesha}}</ref>
-Over the next several days, Imam Ahmad's forces were reinforced by arrivals of fresh troops.  Understanding the need to act swiftly, da Gama on April 16 again formed a square which he led against Imam Ahmad's camp.  Castanhoso laments that "the victory would have been complete this day had we only one hundred horses to finish it: for the King was carried on men's shoulders in a bed, accompanied by horsemen, and they fled in no order."<ref name="tryd">{{cite book |title=The Portuguese Expedition to Abyssinia in 1541-1543 as Narrated by Castanhoso |year=1902 |author=Richard Stephen Whiteway |publisher=Hakluyt Society |page=52 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=P39JAAAAYAAJ}}</ref>
-Reinforced by the arrival of the [[Yeshaq (bahr negus)|Bahr Negus Yeshaq]], da Gama marched southward after Imam Ahmad's force, coming within sight of him ten days later. However, the onset of the [[rainy season]] prevented da Gama from engaging Ahmad a third time.  On the advice of Queen [[Seble Wongel]], da Gama made winter camp at [[Wofla]] near Lake Ashenge, still within sight of his opponent,<ref name="yugyo">{{cite book |title=The Portuguese Expedition to Abyssinia in 1541-1543 as Narrated by Castanhoso |year=1902 |author=Richard Stephen Whiteway |publisher=Hakluyt Society |page=53 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=P39JAAAAYAAJ}}</ref> while the Imam made his winter camp on [[Zobil mountains|Mount Zobil]].<ref name="cktct">{{cite book |title=The historical geography of Abyssinia from the first century AD to 1704 |year=1989 |author=G.W.B. Huntingford |publisher=Oxford University Press |page=134 |isbn=9780197260555 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=kpIiAAAAMAAJ}}</ref>
+The Portuguese had arrived in [[Massawa]] where [[Yeshaq (Bahr Negus)]] was still holding out in [[Medri Bahri]]. They then soon advanced into Tigray and were reinforced by local auxiliaries. The first encounter took place during the [[Battle of Baçente]]On 4 April, after the two unfamiliar armies had exchanged messages and stared at each other for a few days, da Gama formed his troops into an [[infantry square]] and marched against the Imam's lines, repelling successive waves of Muslim attacks with musket and cannon. This battle ended when Imam Ahmad was wounded in the leg by a chance shot; seeing his banners signal retreat, the Portuguese and their Abyssinian allies fell upon the disorganized Muslims, who suffered immense losses.<ref name="cytdt">{{cite book |title=The Portuguese Expedition to Abyssinia in 1541-1543 as Narrated by Castanhoso |year=1902 |author=Richard Stephen Whiteway |publisher=Hakluyt Society |page=41 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=P39JAAAAYAAJ}}</ref> Over the next several days, Imam Ahmad's forces were reinforced by arrivals of fresh troops.  Understanding the need to act swiftly, da Gama on April 16 again formed a square which he led against Imam Ahmad's camp.  Castanhoso laments that "the victory would have been complete this day had we only one hundred horses to finish it: for the King was carried on men's shoulders in a bed, accompanied by horsemen, and they fled in no order."<ref name="tryd">{{cite book |title=The Portuguese Expedition to Abyssinia in 1541-1543 as Narrated by Castanhoso |year=1902 |author=Richard Stephen Whiteway |publisher=Hakluyt Society |page=52 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=P39JAAAAYAAJ}}</ref> da Gama marched southward after Imam Ahmad's force, coming within sight of him ten days later. However, the onset of the [[rainy season]] prevented da Gama from engaging Ahmad a third time.  On the advice of Queen [[Seble Wongel]], da Gama made winter camp at [[Wofla]] near Lake Ashenge, still within sight of his opponent,<ref name="yugyo">{{cite book |title=The Portuguese Expedition to Abyssinia in 1541-1543 as Narrated by Castanhoso |year=1902 |author=Richard Stephen Whiteway |publisher=Hakluyt Society |page=53 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=P39JAAAAYAAJ}}</ref> while the Imam made his winter camp on [[Zobil mountains|Mount Zobil]].<ref name="cktct">{{cite book |title=The historical geography of Abyssinia from the first century AD to 1704 |year=1989 |author=G.W.B. Huntingford |publisher=Oxford University Press |page=134 |isbn=9780197260555 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=kpIiAAAAMAAJ}}</ref>
-The Imam was forced to ask for help. According to Abbé {{ILL|João Bermudes|pt}}, Imam Ahmad received 2000 musketeers from Arabia, and artillery and 900 picked men from the [[Ottoman Empire|Ottomans]] to assist him. Meanwhile, due to casualties and other duties, da Gama's force was reduced to 300 musketeers. After the rains ended, Imam Ahmad attacked the Portuguese camp and through weight of numbers killed all but 140 of da Gama's troops. Da Gama himself, badly wounded, was captured with ten of his men and, after refusing an offer to spare his life if he would convert to Islam, was executed.<ref>Described in terms worthy of a saint's life by [[Jerónimo Lobo]], who based his account on the testimony of an eye witness. (''The'' Itinerário ''of Jerónimo Lobo'', translated by Donald M. Lockhart [London: Hakluyt Society, 1984], pp. 201-217)</ref>
+The Imam was forced to call for military aid. According to Abbé {{ILL|João Bermudes|pt}}, Imam Ahmad received 2,000 musketeers from Arabia, and artillery and 900 picked men from the [[Ottoman Empire|Ottomans]] to assist him. Meanwhile, due to casualties and other duties, da Gama's force was reduced to 300 musketeers. After the rains ended, Imam Ahmad attacked the Portuguese camp and through weight of numbers killed all but 140 of da Gama's troops. Da Gama himself, badly wounded, was captured with ten of his men and, after refusing an offer to spare his life if he would convert to Islam, was executed.<ref>Described in terms worthy of a saint's life by [[Jerónimo Lobo]], who based his account on the testimony of an eye witness. (''The'' Itinerário ''of Jerónimo Lobo'', translated by Donald M. Lockhart [London: Hakluyt Society, 1984], pp. 201-217)</ref>
-The survivors and Emperor [[Gelawdewos of Ethiopia|Gelawdewos]] were afterward able to join forces and, drawing on the Portuguese supplies of muskets, attacked Ahmad on 21 February 1543 in the [[Battle of Wayna Daga]], where their vastly outnumbered troops of 9,000 managed to defeat the 15,000 soldiers under Gragn. The Imam was mortally wounded by a Portuguese musketeer during the battle.<ref>Richard Whiteway, The Portuguese expedition in Abyssnia, pp. 82</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://answersafrica.com/20-famous-historical-and-biblical-figures-from-africa.html/amp|title = 20 Famous Historical and Biblical Figures from Africa|date = 28 May 2021}}</ref>
+The survivors and Emperor [[Gelawdewos of Ethiopia|Gelawdewos]] were afterward able to join forces and, drawing on the Portuguese supplies of muskets, attacked Ahmad on 21 February 1543 in the [[Battle of Wayna Daga]], where their vastly outnumbered troops of 9,000 managed to defeat the 15,000 soldiers under Gragn. The Imam was fatally shot in the chest by a Portuguese musketeer during the battle. Emperor [[Gelawdewos]] then ordered his head to be paraded across the countryside to inform the people of his death.<ref>Richard Whiteway, The Portuguese expedition in Abyssnia, pp. 82</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://answersafrica.com/20-famous-historical-and-biblical-figures-from-africa.html/amp|title = 20 Famous Historical and Biblical Figures from Africa|date = 28 May 2021}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last1=Trimmingham |first1=John Spencer |title=Islam in Ethiopia |date=1952 |pages=89 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=XbVmNAAACAAJ}}</ref>
 His wife Bati del Wambara managed to escape the battlefield with a remnant of the soldiers, and they made their way back to [[Harar]], where she rallied his followers. Intent on avenging her husband's death, she married his nephew [[Nur ibn Mujahid]] on condition that Nur would avenge Imam Ahmad's defeat. In 1550, Nur departed on a Jihad, or Holy War, in the eastern Abyssinian lowlands of Bale, and Hadiya but was repelled by Ras Fanu'el. Abyssinians launched a punitive expedition that captured vast amount of treasure and livestock and they sacked many towns including Harar. In 1559, he invaded Fatagar and Abyssinian Emperor [[Galawdewos]] launched a second punitive expedition but was killed in battle.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Whiteway|first=Richard|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=P39JAAAAYAAJ|title=The Portuguese Expedition to Abyssinia in 1541–1543 as Narrated by Castanhoso|date=1902|publisher=Hakluyt Society}}</ref>

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