The Adal Sultanate also known as the Adal Empire, or Bar Saʿad dīn was a medieval Sunni Muslim Empire which was located in the Horn of Africa. It was founded by Sabr ad-Din III on the Harar plateau in Adal after the fall of the Sultanate of Ifat. The kingdom flourished c. 1415 to 1577. At its height, the polity under Sultan Badlay controlled the territory stretching from Cape Guardafui in Somalia to the port city of Suakin in Sudan. The Adal Empire maintained a robust commercial and political relationship with the Ottoman Empire. Sultanate of Adal was alternatively known as the federation of Zeila.
Ahmad ibn Ibrahim al-Ghazi was the Imam of the Adal Sultanate from 1527 to 1543. Imam Ahmad, led the conquest of the Ethiopian Empire under the Sultanate of Adal during the Ethiopian-Adal War. He is often referred to as the "King of Zeila" in medieval texts.
Galawdewos also known as Mar Gelawdewos, was Emperor of Ethiopia from 3 September 1540 until his death in 1559, and a member of the Solomonic dynasty. His throne name was Asnaph Sagad I. A male line descendant of medieval Amhara kings, he was a younger son of Dawit II and Seble Wongel.
Sarsa Dengel, also known as Sarsa the Great, was Emperor of Ethiopia, and a member of the Solomonic dynasty. His throne name was throne name Malak Sagad I.
Hadiya also known as Adea or Hadia was a medieval Muslim state in the southern part of its realm located south of Shewa and west of Sharkha. Hadiya was historically a vassal state of the Adal federation and then became a province of Abyssinia in the fourteenth century. In the 1600s Hadiya regained its independence and was led by a Garad. By 1850, Hadiya is placed north-west of lakes Zway and Langano but still between these areas.
The Battle of Gomit or Battle of Egubba was fought in 1445 between the Ethiopian Empire and a powerful Muslim army under the Adal Sultanate. The Ethiopians were led by Emperor Zara Yaqob, while the forces of Adal were led by Sultan Badlay ibn Sa'ad ad-Din. The Ethiopian army was victorious, and Badlay was slain.
Yeshaq was the Bahr Negus, or ruler of the Medri Bahri, during the mid to late 16th century A subordinate of Ethiopian Emperor Dawit II, he was noted for supporting Gelawdewos during the Ethiopian-Adal war, and rebelling against his successors.
Hadiya, also spelled as Hadiyya, is an ethnic group native to Ethiopia in Southern Nations, Nationalities and Peoples' Region who speak the Hadiyyisa language. According to a popular etymology, the name 'Hadiyya," sometimes written in the versions Hadya, Hadea, Hadija, Hadiyo, Hadiyeh, Adea, Adia, means "gift of god" A historical definition of the Hadiya people based on the old Hadiyya Sultanate included a number of Ethiopian ethnic groups currently known by other names. Currently, this historic entity is subdivided into a number of ethnonyms, partly with different languages and cultural affiliations. In his book "A History of the Hadiyya in Southern Ethiopia," Ulrich Braukämper reported that Leemo, Weexo-giira, Sooro, Shaashoogo, Baadawwaachcho, and Libido (Maraqo) Hadiyya subgroups remain a language entity and preserved identity of oneness, the Hadiyya proper. In contrast, Qabeena, Halaaba, Welene and Gedebano, and Silt'e people developed separate ethnic identities. Clans of Hadiya origin in Oromia, Sidama, Wolayta, Gurage, Tigray, and Afar were completely absorbed by these nations. They were initially all inhabitants of a single political entity, a sultanate, which in the four centuries following its break-up in the mid-16th century fragmented into separate ethnic groups.
Nur al-Din or Nur ibn Mujahidibn ‘Ali ibn ‘Abdullah al Dhuhi Suha was a Somali Emir of Harar who ruled the Adal Sultanate. He was known for marrying his uncle's widow, Bati del Wambara, and he also succeeded Imam Ahmad as leader of the Muslim forces fighting Christian Ethiopia.
The Ethiopian–Adal War or Abyssinian–Adal War, also known in Arabic as the "Futuḥ al-Ḥabash", was a military conflict between the Christian Ethiopian Empire and the Muslim Adal Sultanate from 1529 to 1543. Christian Ethiopian troops consisted of the Amhara, Tigrayans, Tigrinya and Agaw people, and at the closing of the war, supported by a few hundred Portuguese musketmen. While Adal forces were mainly Harla, Somali, Afar, as well as Turkish and Arab gunmen. Both sides at times would see the Maya mercenaries join their ranks.
Sharka was a province of the Ethiopian Empire in the southern part of its realm. Its inhabitants were predominantly Muslim, and similar in customs, economic conditions, and ethnic affiliations to its neighboring provinces of Hadiya and Arababni.
The Oromo expansions, also known as the Oromo migrations or the Oromo invasions, were a series of expansions in the 16th and 17th centuries by the Oromo. Prior to their great expansion in the 16th century, the Oromo inhabited only the area of what is now modern-day southern Ethiopia and northern Kenya. Over the centuries due to many factors, mostly the wars between Adal Sultanate and Ethiopia would further encourage the numerous Oromo tribes to expand towards central and eastern modern Ethiopia.
Dawaro or Doaro was a Muslim principality which laid alongside the Ifat Sultanate. The state was originally independent until becoming a vassal and later a province due its subjugation by Emperor Amda Seyon I in the early 14th century. The region was situated east of Hadiya and north of Bali which covered much of Ethiopia's Arsi Province.
The Maya are an extinct ethnic group native to the old Wej province in Ethiopia. The Mayas were a Cushitic-speaking nomadic people, who were feared and dreaded by their neighbors for their use of deadly poisoned arrows. They were primarily pastoralists and their livelihood was with their cattle. The Maya were related to the Afar people.
Fatagar was a historical province that separated Muslim and Christian dominions in the medieval Horn of Africa. In the eleventh century it was part of the Muslim states, then was invaded by the Christian kingdom led by Emperor Amda Seyon I, after which it would serve as central district in, and home of multiple rulers of, the Ethiopian Empire in the 15th century.
A Malassay was a member of the elite infantry units that formed the Adal Sultanate's household troops. According to Manfred Kropp, Malassay were the Harari armed forces.
The Battle of Fatagar was a reprisal war between the participants of the previous Adal Sultanate and Ethiopian Empire in the Ethiopian-Adal war. It was fought between the forces of the Sultanate of Harar led by Nur ibn Mujahid, and the Ethiopian Empire under Emperor Gelawdewos. The Ethiopian Emperor was killed by Adal forces in this battle.
Damot was a historical region located in western Ethiopia. The region was situated south of Gojjam and covered most of Ethiopia's Welega Province. Until the fourteenth century it was ruled by its own independent kingdom, before its conquest by the Ethiopian Emperor Amda Seyon I, after which it would serve as an important province within the Ethiopian Empire during the medieval period.
Garad Matan bin Uthman Bin Khalid born c. early 1490 – 28 October 1531, also known as Garad Matan Bin Uthman bin Khalid Al Somali, was a Somali military commander and Adalite general that served the Adal Sultanate. He led in key and decisive battles, famously leading the Somali divisions. He was also the brother-in-law of Imam Ahmed and his right-hand man. Garad Matan played a very prominent role in the campaigns against the Abyssinians, killing the son of the Lebna Dengel named Victor. Garad Matan hailed from the Geri Koombe clan and was also the chieftain. Matan is regarded as the most bravest, courageous military generals in East Africa, well documented in the Futuh Al Habash.
Muhammad ibn Nasir, reigned 1573–1576, was a sultan of the Sultanate of Adal in the Horn of Africa.
Ethiopian Empire 
Adal Sultanate 
Sarsa Dengel