Adal Kingdom
Kingdom of Adal Boqortooyadii Adal | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 9th century–13th century | |||||||||
 Approximate extension of the Kingdom of Adal. | |||||||||
| Capital | Zeila | ||||||||
| Common languages | Somali · Arabic | ||||||||
| Religion | Islam  | ||||||||
| Government | Monarchy | ||||||||
| History | |||||||||
• Established | 9th century | ||||||||
• Decline | 13th century | ||||||||
| |||||||||
| Today part of |  Somalia Djibouti Ethiopia | ||||||||
The kingdom of Adal was a Somali Muslim kingdom centered around Zeila and was established by the local Somali tribes in the 9th century. It's capital and headquarters was Zeila that attracted many merchants around the world and the city its self was wealthy, ancient and one of the earliest cities in the world to embrace Islam.[1]
Origins and History
In the late 9th century, Al-Yaqubi was an Armenian Muslim scholar and traveler in the 9th century wrote that the Kingdom of Adal was a small wealthy Somali kingdom and its capital was Zeila served as the headquarters for the kingdom which dates back to the 9th century.[2][3]
Adal kingdom also known as Walashma Kingdom was mostly located in Somali territories from western Somaliland to Southern Djibouti to eastern Ethiopia, Somali Region.
Most scholars claim that Adal kingdom and Shewa Sultanate both existed in the same time in the 10th century and had nothing to do with each other. It was actually Adal kingdom that succeeded into Ifat Sultanate which was located mostly located in northern Somali territories while Shewa Sultanate was located in central Ethiopia and had no connection with northern Somali Sultanates and historically both Ifat Sultanate and Shewa Sultanate warred with each other over the Islamic dominance in the Horn of Africa. It was also known as the conquest of Shewa by the Ifat Sultanate ignited a rivalry for supremacy between the Christian Solomonids and the Muslim Ifatites which resulted in several devastating wars. After the wars, the reigning king had his minstrels compose a song praising his victory, which hailed the powerful "Somali" warriors that succeeded in every battle from the Somali ruler called Sa'ad ad-Din II.[4][5]
Yusuf bin Ahmad al-Kawneyn is believed to be born in Zeila during the Adal Kingdom period which he associated with. Yusuf bin Ahmad al-Kawneyn is a very famous Somali saint figure.[6] He is believed to be the founder and ancestor of the royal family known as walashma Dynasty that governed both Ifat Sultanate and Adal Sultanate during the middle ages.ref>Lewis, I. M (1998). Saints and Somalis: Popular Islam in a Clan-based Society. The Red Sea Press. p. 89.</ref>[7]
References
- ^ https://image.prntscr.com/image/OhfIs5KhR-yhBdrzIq922w.png
- ^ Encyclopedia Americana, Volume 25. Americana Corporation. 1965. p. 255.
- ^ Lewis, I.M. (1955). Peoples of the Horn of Africa: Somali, Afar and Saho. International African Institute. p. 140.
- ^ https://books.google.co.uk/books?id=Q0pZPp032c0C&pg=PA43&dq=medieval+Somali+history&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwjWlKHSzNXXAhWRJhoKHRrUCbsQ6AEIPzAE#v=onepage&q=medieval%20Somali%20history&f=false
- ^ https://books.google.co.uk/books?id=kSYkCQAAQBAJ&pg=PA49&dq=Ifat+Sultanate+was+a+somali+kingdom&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwjsovD0htXYAhUOb1AKHX9hDuEQ6AEISTAG#v=onepage&q=Ifat%20Sultanate%20was%20a%20somali%20kingdom&f=false
- ^ Lewis, I.M. (1998). "Saints and Somalis: Popular Islam in a Clan-based Society", The Red Sea Press, Retrieved on 22 September 2015.
- ^ Nehemia Levtzion; Randall Pouwels (Mar 31, 2000). The History of Islam in Africa. Ohio University Press. p. 242.
Aw Barkhadle, is the founder and ancestor of the Walashma dynasty
