Jidali fort was a cross-shaped fort of the Dervish era located in the town of Jidali in Sanaag, Somalia and is also the first place in Africa to be bombed via aerial bombardment by a tally of four sorties of De Havilland DH-9's on 21 January 1920. An April 1920 letter between the Sayid and Italian-Somali governor Giacomo De Martino states that the Dervishes built a total of twenty-seven forts which are described as Dhulbahante garesas. [1]
According to Lieutenant-Colonel H. Moyse-Bartlett, the Jidali fort was primary means used to conduct Darawiish raids against the possessions of Italian Somaliland and British Somaliland: [2]
Meanwhile Dervish raids continued from the direction of Jidali
Mouse-Bartlett also stated that the Jidali fort was a central or nucleus fort which itself was surrounded by five satellite forts: [2]
It was known that seven forts ringed the position at Tale; that five others had been built at Jidali; that two were on the coast, and five more (at Las Anod, Dariali, Damot, Galadi and Wardair) lay along the escape route to the Webi Shabelle.
Part of a series on |
Dhulbahante garadate |
---|
![]() |
Reer Xadeed / Ugaadhyahan garadate |
Garadate |
|
Seat |
Related topics |
The description by Muhammad Abdullah Hassan, emir of Diiriye Guure, on these forts after the fall of Taleh in February 1920, in an April 1920 letter transcribed from the original Arabic script into Italian by the incumbent Governatori della Somalia, the various Darawiish-built installations are described as garesas taken from the Dhulbahante by the British: [3] [4]
i Dulbohanta nella maggior parte si sono arresi agli inglesi e han loro consegnato ventisette garese (case) ricolme di fucili, munizioni e danaro. | the Dhulbahante surrendered for the most part to the British and handed twenty-seven garesas (houses) full of guns, ammunition and money over to them. |
Although the endonymic term for Darawiish built installations are Dhulbahante garesas, colonial sources refer to Dhulbahante garesas as Dervish forts. [5]
According to Dervish veteran Aw Cabdulle Ibraahiim, the headquarters of the Dervish was shortly changed from Taleh to Jidali in the year 1919: [6]
Guyaashi Daraawiishi qalcadda "Jiidali" ka dhisatay ka dib ayay madaxdoodii waxay la ahaatay dalkii Ceerigaabo ee buurta iyo bannaanka isugu jiraa inuu ka fiican yahay dalka Nugaaleed xagga dagaalka iyo daaqaba. Dabadeed, waxaa guddoonkii ku go'ayin xarunta loo raro Jiidali oo Ceerigaabo 25 mayl dhinaca bari ka xigta. | Once the building of the Jidali fort was complete, its leaders realized that Jidali is more viable than the Nugaal Valley for the purpose of defending oneself (against the British colonialists) and for animal husbandry since it has both plains and mountains. Subsequently it was decided that the headquarters (of the Dervishes) should be moved to Jidali which is roughly 25 miles from Erigabo in an eastern direction. |
Colonial sources also acknowledge that the fort at Jidali was the second most significant Darawiish fort besides the Taleh fort, with Douglas Jardine describing Jidali fort as oen of two main Darawiis positions: [7]
After their defeat at Shimber Berris, the Dervishes retired to their two main positions, the one in the Mullah's haroun at Tale, and the other at Jidali
The most significant raid carried out by the garrison at Jidali was the raid led by Yusuf Agararan in 1917. The term Agararan in the Somali language literally means "feetless"; Agararan was the most senior Darawiish commander in the Jidali area. [2]
The dervish leader Hussein Yusuf (Agararan) had for some time been very active in the north-east. In the course of his raids he had on several occasions come into conflict with the tribal levies, not without credit to the latter. Early in October they reported that Yusuf had attacked the tribes south-east of Las Dureh and driven off 300 camels and 7000 sheep.
Douglas Jardine, a colonial administrator in the area, described the raid by Yusuf Agararan which stemmed from Jidali in the following way: [7]
On 6 October 1917, information was received at Burao to the effect that a Dervish force of four to five hundred men had raided the tribes in the Las Dureh area. Without delay, the Camel Corps moved out at a strength of 10 British officers, 347 rifles, and 6 machine guns, under the command of Major G. R. Breading, D.S.O., Reserve of Officers. By the morning of 8 October they had reached Eil Dur Elan and, pressing on the same day in the tracks of the retreating raiders, they were 27 miles further east by sunset. The Dervishes were now reported to be zanbaed only 20 miles ahead, and the column accordingly moved off again at 1.30 a.m. Captain H. L. Ismay, 21st Cavalry, Indian Army, with 150 pony rifles and 2 machine guns, was ordered to push ahead rapidly and act as circumstances demanded. On coming up with the Dervishes, Ismay found they had driven the looted stock through two very difficult passes which they were holding
The assault on the Jidali fort and its five satellite forts was the first British combined air, ground and sea assault on a target in Africa: [8]
Colonel Summers decided that he would advance at once on Jidali, and, moving via Megedu (Bariat), he arrived with the mounted troops within sight of Jidali fort in the early morning of the 27th.
There were six bombers sent for sorties, an event Roy Irons described as "Four of the aircraft failed to find Medishe, but bombed the fort at Jid Ali and attacked livestock in the surrounding country." Taleh had the highest number of sorties aimed towards it with the entire fleet of air sent to air-bomb it, whilst Jidali accumulated the second highest tally of sorties bombing it at four. The air-bombing campaign lasted a month and the squadron bases from where the Jidali bombings were launched was Eil Dur Elan, whilst the bases from where the Taleh airstrikes were launched was Ceel-Afweyn, both in western Sanaag. [9]
On 21 January six aircraft took off from Eil Dur Elan on their vital surprise mission ... to bomb Tale on 13 February from El Afweina with all the aeroplanes at his disposal
According to native Darawiish accounts, the first airstrike in Africa was struck at a field between Medishe and Jidali wherein men gathered to watch the display of aerobatics. The reports claim that Afqarshe Ismail, the former spokesperson for Darawiish, was the first person to be killed in an airstrike in Africa: [3]
Nin la taliye u ahaa oo dawladda Turkigu xarunta u soo dirtay oo Sayidka la fadhiyey ayaa sheegay oo wuxuu yiri, "Sayidii dayuurad weeye meesha inaga kici." Waxay halkaa ku dileen dad tiradooda 30 lagu qiyaasay, waxase hadiyo jeer la sheegaa, Caamir-Cagoole oo Sayidka adeerkiis ahaa, iyo Af Qarshe. | A representative from the Turkish government who was habitually at the haroun, explained what was going on and said "Oh Sayid, these are military aircraft flying above us; lets escape from here". At that spot, roughly 30 men died, among them Caamir Cagoole, the Sayid's uncle, and Afqarshe |
Although Jidali was the main Dhulbahante garesa in the north, the Jidali fortification had five satellite forts which surrounded Jidali; these included, Baran, Medishe, the Surud Hills, Ershida, and Galbaribur. [10] Examples of satellite Dhulbahante garesa's of Jidali include the following:
In his poem diidda ama yeella, Aadan Carab, a Somali poet mentions on the incident stating "markaan dumiyey calankaan dejiyo dawladnimadayda, waa waxay dadku u leeyihiin dabo-xiddhki meeyey?" Writer Idaaja interprets this message as stating that the aerial bombardment campaign was emblematic of a Dhulbahante genocide orchestrated by the European colonialists: [11]
Boqortooyada Dhulbahante ee soo taxnayd laga soo bilaabo Garaad Shirshoore; tasoo, siduu qabo, ay uga tunasuleen Sayid Maxamad markii ay Daraawiish noqdeen ... Dabo-xidh: ... wuxuu u jeeda Dhulbhante inuu Darawiish ku jabay | The existence of the Dhulbahante kingdom was continuous since the era of Garaad Shirshoore; this was, as he (Aadan Carab) suggests, upended once they (Dhulbahante) aligned themselves with the Sayid Mohamed and the Dhulbahante collectively became Dervishes ... The Dabo-xidh rope pump: he means that Dhulbahante were destroyed on account of them being Dervishes |
A 1931 diary-book by former Italian Somalia governor Francesco Caroselli says that in a letter exchanged in April 1920 between the Sayid and Italian-Somali governor Giacomo De Martino, the Sayid describes the Dervish forts as Dervish forts. [3]
Gl’Inglesi che sapevano questo ci son piombati addosso con tutta la gente e con sei volatili (aeroplani). Per tal fatto ci siamo sabandati e non c’e’ stato piu’ accordo fra di noi: i Dulbohanta nella maggior parte si sono arresi agli inglesi c han loro consegnato ventisette garese case) ricolme di fucili, munizioni e danaro | The English who knew about our situation pounced upon us with all their men and with six birds (airplanes). Because of this, we (Dervishes) scattered and dispersed as there was no longer agreement between us: most of the Dhulbahante tribe surrendered to the British and had twenty-seven towering forts full of rifles, ammunition and money confiscated and appropriated from them. |
The Habar Yoonis alternatively spelled as Habr Yunis is a major clan part of the wider Isaaq clan. As descendants of Ismail bin Sheikh Isaaq, its members form a part of the wider Habar Magaadle confederation which constitutes the largest sub-clan of the Isaaq.
The Dhulbahante is a Somali clan family, part of the Harti clan which itself belongs to the largest Somali clan-family — the Darod. They are the traditional inhabitants of the physiographic Nugaal in its topographic sense, and its pre-independence administrative sense, which included Doollo. The clan's progenitor is buried at Badweyn.
Sayyid Muḥammad ibn 'Abdallāh Hassan was a Somali religious, political, and military leader who founded and headed the Dervish movement, which led a Holy war against British, Italian, and Ethiopian intrusions in the Horn of Africa. He was famously known by the British Empire as the Mad Mullah. In 1917, the Ottoman Empire referred to Hassan as the "Emir of the Somali". Due to his successful completion of the Hajj to Mecca, his complete memorization of the Quran and his purported descent from the Islamic prophet Muhammad, his name is sometimes preluded with honorifics such as Hajji, Hafiz, Emir or Sayyid. His influence led him to being regarded the “Father of Somali nationalism”.
Eyl is an ancient port town in the northeastern Nugal region of Somalia in the autonomous Puntland region, also serving as the capital of the Eyl District. Eyl, also called Illig, was the capital of the Dervish from 1905 onwards, until superseded by Taleh, which became Dervish capital in 1909.
Taleh is a historical town in Sool region of Somalia. The town served as the capital of the pre-independence Dervish movement.
Goryasan, also known as Goriasan was the headquarters of the Dervish movement in 1910, and is contemporarily a ruin and vestige located seven kilometers to the northeast of the town of Taleh. It was the former location of the Xarun in 1910 after it moved from Gaulo, which is also in the Taleh District. There are also other Darawiish heritage sites immediately to the east of Taleh such as Halin, and Dhummay which is halfway between Taleh and Halin, both of which used to have Darawiish fortifications. The year when the Darawiish xarun was settled at Goryasan was known as the Xaaraamacune era.
The Dervish Movement was an armed resistance movement between 1899 and 1920, which was led by the Salihiyya Sufi Muslim poet and militant leader Mohammed Abdullah Hassan, also known as Sayyid Mohamed, who called for independence from the British and Italian colonisers and for the defeat of Ethiopian forces. The Dervish movement aimed to remove the British and Italian influence from the region and restore an "Islamic system of governance with a Sufi doctrine as its foundation", according to Mohamed-Rahis Hasan and Salada Robleh.
Somali nationalism is a nationalist ideology advocating for the unification of all Somali people who share a common ethnicity, language, and culture, under a single banner. Its earliest manifestations has its roots in the Middle Ages with the Adal Sultanate and the Ajuran Sultanate whilst in the contemporary era its often traced back to the “Mad Mullah”, as he was known by the British Empire during the Scramble for Africa. The Somali Youth League, a political organisation founded in 1943 was one of the most influential political parties in Somalia prior to the country’s unification and independence. The Somali guerilla militia Al-Shabab is noteworthy for incorporating Somali nationalism into its Islamist ideology.
Haroun, also called Fadhiweyn, and natively transliterated as Xarunta in Somali, was a government and headquarters of the Dervishes, headed by Faarax Mahmud Sugulle. According to Claude Edward Marjoribanks Dansey, the political officer in the British Somali Coast Protectorate consisted of 400 individuals. The capture of the haroun was regarded as conceivably resulting in the Sayyid's surrender. In the third expedition, major Paul Kenna was tasked "by every means" to find where the haroun is.
Haji Yusuf Barre was the commander at the battle of Jidbali, the largest and deadliest engagement between the dervishes and the British empire in the Horn of Africa. Haji Yusuf Barre is also noted for being the person whom held the last stand at the Dhulbahante garesa at Taleh, in the aftermath of the bombings at Taleh wherein Taleh became the first place to be targeted in Africa through aerial attacks.
Dalyare fort is an open-top Dhulbahante garesa of the Darawiish era which was ordered built by the Dervish as a strategy for countering the colonization efforts of the Europeans. The building is located in the Nugaal Valley a few miles east of Las Anod. The purpose of the Dalyare fort was to serve as a refuge and escape route for Darawiish retreating from colonial forces who intend to head south towards the Shabelle River. However, retrospectively, some analysts have described the building as a setback to the previous tactic of maneuverability on the part of the Darawiish. Cali Jalax was the builder. The native Darawiish referred to the building as Sool-Daryare. On the other hand, the colonialists who launched attacks against the Darawiish referred to the building as Dariali.
Adan Ali Gurey was a political advisor in the Darawiish, an anti-colonial instigator, the commander of Golaweyne, a chieftain of the Dhulbahante, and an arms supplier.
Dhowre Ali Sheneeleh was the castellan of the Darawiish fort / Dhulbahante garesa of Eyl, whilst the governor of Nugaaleed-Bari for the Darawiish was Ali Meggar. He was also the primary commander which spearheaded opposition to Abyssinian expansionism towards the east in the 1900s.
Afbakayle is a 1905 poem by the Sayid Mohammed Abdullah Hassan made while he was in exile. The poem is a political poem which primarily deals with the topic of treachery and two-facedness, known as jeesjeesnimo in Somali. According to scholar Abdulqadir Sheik Abdi, the poem is a direct denunciation of those described as "friendly tribes" by the British, whom he describes as the Sayid's sworn arch-enemies. A repeated mantra in the poem used to describe the Somali colonial collaborators is naga ajoon waayey, meaning won't even flinch.
The Reer Caynaashe also spelled Reer Caynaanshe are a royal Somali clan and were the dynastic rulers of the Habr Yunis Sultanate. They divide into 17 major sub-clans that together form the Baha Ainanshe and Rer Sugulle, from the latter descend the rulers of the Habr Yunis Sultanate. They inhabit the Togdheer and Maroodi Jeex regions of Somaliland and the Daroor, Danot and Misraq Gashamo regions of Ethiopia
Haji Mohamed Bullaleh commonly known as Haji Warabe was an early 20th century Akil (chief) of the Habr Yunis Rer Ainanshe.
Jidali is a town in the Sanaag region of Somalia.
The Mohamoud Garad is a Somali clan. Its members form a part of the Dhulbahante, a sub-division of the Harti/Darod clan-family. The clan is divided into three main sub-clans ― namely the Jama Siad, the Ugaadhyahan and Omar Wa’eys.
The Dhulbahante Garadship begun in the 16th century, as a successor to the Sultanate of Adal with Garad Shishore assuming the royal title in approximately 1530. The current Garad, Garad Jama Garad Ali hails from this long line of succession.
The Battle of Agaarweyne was fought on 15 April 1903, in Agaarweyne between the British under Colonel Plunkett and the forces of Haji Muhammad Abdullah Hassan. Reinforced with a superiority in firearms, Hassan was victorious and defeated the allied force.
i Dulbohanta nella maggior parte si sono arresi agli inglesi e han loro consegnato ventisette garese (case) ricolme di fucili, munizioni e danaro. ( the Dhulbahante surrendered for the most part to the British and handed twenty-seven garesas (houses) full of guns, ammunition and money over to them)
Per tal fatto ci siamo sabandati e non c'e ' stato piu ' accordo fra di noi : i Dulbohanta nella maggior parte si sono arresi agli inglesi c han loro consegnato ventisette garese case ) ricolme di fucili , munizioni e danaro .
Besides his strongholds in the Nogal valley, the Mullah had another series of strong forts in the north, at Baran, Jidali, Medishe, the Surud Hills, Ershida, and Galbaribur