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.
Bale, also known as Bali, is the name of a former polities located in the southeastern part of modern Ethiopia. It bordered the Dawaro to the north, Hadiya in the west, and Adal in the east and its core areas were located around the Shebelle River. However, the borders of Bale during the medieval period are unclear - it is usually placed around the Wabe Shebelle river, another river that shaped its borders was the Wabe River. Overall, borders of historical Bale corresponded to the modern districts of Goba, Sinana-Dinsho, Agarfa, Gasera and Goro. In the 14th century it was located between Ifat and Solomonic tributary state of Hadiya. Taddesse Tamrat locates Bale south of the Shebelle River, which separated the kingdom from Dawaro to the north and Adal to the northeast; Richard Pankhurst adds that its southern boundary was the Ganale Dorya River. Ulrich Braukämper, after discussing the evidence, states that this former dependency "occupied an area in the northeast of the province which later was named after it, between the mountain range of Urgoma and the eastern Wabi Bend."
The Sultanate of Ifat, known as Wafāt or Awfāt in Arabic texts, or the Kingdom of Zeila was a medieval Sunni Muslim state in the eastern regions of the Horn of Africa between the late 13th century and early 15th century. It was formed in present-day Ethiopia around eastern Shewa in Ifat. Led by the Walashma dynasty, the polity stretched from Zequalla to the port city of Zeila. The kingdom ruled over parts of what are now Ethiopia, Ogaden, Djibouti, Somaliland or Somalia.
The Walashma dynasty was a medieval Muslim dynasty of the Horn of Africa founded in Ifat. Founded in the 13th century, it governed the Ifat and Adal Sultanates in what are present-day, Somalia, Djibouti, Eritrea and eastern Ethiopia.
The Ethiopian–Adal War or Abyssinian–Adal War, also known in Arabic as Futūḥ Al-Ḥabaša, was a military conflict between the Christian Ethiopian Empire and the Muslim Adal Sultanate from 1529 to 1543. The Christian Ethiopian troops consisted of the Amhara, Tigrayans, Tigrinya and Agaw people, and at the closing of the war, supported by the Portuguese Empire with no less than four hundred musketeers. The Adal forces were composed of Harla, Somali, Afar, as well as Arab and Turkish gunmen. Both sides would see the Maya mercenaries at times join their ranks.
The Argobba are an ethnic group inhabiting Ethiopia. A Muslim community, they are spread out through isolated village networks and towns in the north-eastern and eastern parts of the country. Group members have typically been astute traders and merchants, and have adjusted to the economic trends in their area. These factors have led to a decline in usage of the Argobba language. Argobba are considered endangered today due to exogamy and destitution as well as ethnic cleansing by the Abyssinian state over the centuries.
The Harari people are a Semitic-speaking ethnic group which inhabits the Horn of Africa. Members of this ethnic group traditionally reside in the walled city of Harar, simply called Gēy "the City" in Harari, situated in the Harari Region of eastern Ethiopia. They speak the Harari language, a member of the South Ethiopic grouping within the Semitic subfamily of the Afroasiatic languages.
The Harla, also known as Harala, Haralla are an ethnic group that once inhabited Ethiopia, Somalia, and Djibouti. They spoke the now-extinct Harla language, which belonged to either the Cushitic or Semitic branches of the Afroasiatic family.
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 the Adal Sultanate and the Ethiopian Empire would further encourage the numerous Oromo tribes to expand towards central and eastern modern Ethiopia.
The Makhzumi dynasty also known as Sultanate of Shewa or Shewa Sultanate, was a Muslim kingdom in present-day Ethiopia. Its capital Walale was situated in northern Hararghe in Harla country. Its territory extended possibly to areas west of the Awash River. The port of Zeila may have influenced the kingdom. The rise of the Makhzumi state at the same time resulted in the decline of the Kingdom of Axum. Several engravings dating back to the 13th century showing the presence of the kingdom are found in Chelenqo, Bale, Harla near Dire Dawa and Munesa near Lake Langano.
The Imamate of Aussa, also spelled Imamate of Awsa, was a medieval Sunni Muslim imamate in present-day eastern Ethiopia and north-western Djibouti. Muhammad Gasa established the seat of power to Aussa from Harar in 1577, as the latter was too exposed to Oromo invasions. Internal strife arose from conflicts between the Harla and Arab factions. A Harar faction split from the Imamate in 1647 forming their own independent emirate. The 17th century saw the inclusion of upland Harla and Doba populations playing a pivotal role in the establishment of the Aussa Sultanate. The state was disestablished in 1734 and in 1769, the Mudaito dynasty successfully overthrew the Kabirto of Harla.
The Sultanate of Dahlak was a small medieval kingdom covering the Dahlak Archipelago and parts of the Eritrean coast. First attested in 1093, it quickly profited from its strategic trading location, gaining heavily from being near to Yemen as well as Egypt and India. After the mid 13th century Dahlak lost its trade monopoly and subsequently started to decline. Both the Ethiopian empire and Yemen tried to enforce their authority over the sultanate. It was eventually annexed by the Ottomans in 1557, who made it part of the Habesh Eyalet.
Timothy Insoll is a British archaeologist and Africanist and Islamic Studies scholar. Since 2016 he has been Al-Qasimi Professor of African and Islamic Archaeology at the University of Exeter. He is also founder and director of the Centre for Islamic Archaeology. Previously he was at the Department of Archaeology at the University of Manchester (1999–2016).
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.
GaradAbun Ibn Adash or Abogn ibn Adish was a Harari Emir of the Adal Sultanate. He was the de facto ruler of Adal reducing the Adal sultan to nominal leader. In this period Sultan Abu Bakr ibn Muhammad would move Adal's capital to Harar city after killing emir Abogn in order to regain influence in Adal.
Hubat, also known as Hobat, or Kubat was a historical Muslim state located in present-day eastern Ethiopia. Historically part of the Adal region alongside Gidaya and Hargaya states on the Harar plateau. Hubat is today within a district known as Adare Qadima which includes Garamuelta and its surroundings in Oromia region. The area is 30 km north west of Harar city at Hubeta, according to historian George Huntingford. Trimingham locates it as the region between Harar and Jaldessa. Archaeologist Timothy Insoll considers Harla town to be Hubat the capital of the now defunct Harla Kingdom.
Adal, known as Awdal or Aw Abdal was a historical Muslim region in the Horn of Africa. Located east of Ifat and the Awash river as far as the coast, and including Harar as well as Zeila. The Zeila state often denoted Adal and other Muslim dominions in medieval texts.
Dakkar, also known as Dakar, or Deker, was a historical Muslim town located in present-day eastern Ethiopia. It served as the first capital of the Adal Sultanate after its founding in the early 15th century by Sabr ad-Din III.
Ifat also known as Yifat, Awfat or Wafat was a historical Muslim region in the Horn of Africa. It was located on the eastern edge of Shewa.
Hargaya was a historical Muslim state in present-day eastern Ethiopia. It was located east of the Awash River on the Harar plateau in Adal alongside Gidaya and Hubat states. It neighbored other polities in the medieval era including Ifat, Fedis, Mora, Biqulzar and Kwelgora.
