Proto-Somali

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Proto-Somalis were the ancient people and ancestors of Somalis who lived in present-day Somalia. [1] Literature on proto-Somalis largely uses a time-frame pertaining to the 1st millennium BC and 1st millennium AD. [2]

Contents

History

The Puntites were ancient Cushites who are believed to have traded myrrh, spices, gold, ebony, short-horned cattle, ivory, and frankincense with neighbouring Ancient Egypt and with ancient Mesopotamia through their commercial ports. An Ancient Egyptian expedition sent to Punt by the 18th dynasty Queen Hatshepsut is recorded on the temple reliefs at Deir el-Bahari, during the reign of the Puntite King Parahu and Queen Ati. [3]

In the classical era, the Macrobians, who have been ancestral to the Automoli or ancient Somalis, established a powerful tribal kingdom that ruled large parts of modern Somalia. They were reputed for their longevity and wealth and were said to be the "tallest and handsomest of all men." [4] The Macrobians were warrior herders and seafarers. According to Herodotus' account, the Persian Emperor Cambyses II, upon his conquest of Egypt (525 BC), sent ambassadors to Macrobia, bringing luxury gifts for the Macrobian king to entice his submission. The Macrobian ruler, who was elected based on his stature and beauty, replied instead with a challenge for his Persian counterpart in the form of an unstrung bow: if the Persians could manage to draw it, they would have the right to invade his country; but until then, they should thank the gods that the Macrobians never decided to invade their empire. [4] [5] The Macrobians were a regional power reputed for their advanced architecture and gold wealth, which was so plentiful that they shackled their prisoners in golden chains. [5] The Harla is an extinct people credited for building various monuments in the Horn Africa are possible candidates of Proto-Somali. [6]

After the collapse of Macrobia, several proto-Somali ancient wealthy city-states emerged, such as Malao, Mundus, Mosylon and, Opone, which competed with the Sabaeans, Parthians, and Axumites for the wealthy Indo-Greco-Roman trade also flourished in Somalia. [7] Somali sailors and merchants were the main suppliers of gold, silver, gemstones, frankincense, myrrh, acacia gum, salt, livestock, ivory, feathers, hide (skin), and spices, items that were considered valuable luxuries.

Other notable proto-Somali city-states included Avalite, Bulhar, Botiala, Essina, Damo, Hannassa, Sarapion, Nikon, Toniki, Gondal, Macajilayn, Salweyn, and Miandi. Ancient Greek travelers including the likes of Strabo and Cosmas Indicopleustes made visits to the Somali peninsula between the 1st and 5th century. The Greeks referred to Somalis as the Barbaria and their land as Barbars. [8]

Genetics

In Somalis, the Time to Most Recent Common Ancestor (TMRCA) was estimated to be 4000–5000 years (2,500 BCE) for the haplogroup E-M78 cluster γ and 2100–2200 years (150 BCE) for Somali T-M184 bearers. [9]

Deep subclade E-Y18629 is commonly found in Somalis and has a formation date of 3,600 YBP (years before present) and a TMRCA of 2,600 YBP. [10]

States

There were many examples of proto-Somali states. Some of these include:

Related Research Articles

The year 525 BC was a year of the pre-Julian Roman calendar. In the Roman Empire, it was known as year 229 Ab urbe condita. The denomination 525 BC for this year has been used since the early medieval period, when the Anno Domini calendar era became the prevalent method in Europe for naming years.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Myrrh</span> Aromatic resin from the Commiphora myrrha tree

Myrrh is a gum-resin extracted from a few small, thorny tree species of the Commiphora genus, belonging to the Burseraceae family. Myrrh resin has been used throughout history in medicine, perfumery, and incenses. Myrrh mixed with posca or wine was widely used in many ancient cultures to produce pleasurable feelings and as an anti-inflammatory and analgesic.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Frankincense</span> Aromatic resin from Boswellia trees

Frankincense, also known as olibanum, is an aromatic resin used in incense and perfumes, obtained from trees of the genus Boswellia in the family Burseraceae. The word is from Old French franc encens. There are several species of Boswellia that produce true frankincense: Boswellia sacra, B. frereana, B. serrata, and B. papyrifera. Resin from each is available in various grades, which depends on the time of harvesting. The resin is hand-sorted for quality.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hafun</span> Town in Puntland, Somalia

Hafun is a town in the northeastern Bari province of Somalia. Situated in Ras Hafun on the coast of the Guardafui Channel, it is the centre of the Hafun District, and the easternmost town in continental Africa. It is an ancient town previously known as Opone.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Opone</span> Ancient proto-Somali trading center

Opone was an ancient proto-Somali city situated in the Horn of Africa Hafun, Somalia. It is primarily known for its trade with the Ancient Egyptians, Romans, Greeks, Persians, and the states of ancient India. Through archaeological remains, the historic port has been identified with the city of Hafun on the Hafun peninsula in modern-day Northeast Somalia. It is possible that it corresponds to the Land of Punt as known by the ancient Egyptians during the Old, Middle, and New Kingdom.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Somali people</span> Cushitic ethnic group native to the Horn of Africa

The Somali people are a Cushitic ethnic group native to the Horn of Africa who share a common ancestry, culture and history. The East Cushitic Somali language is the shared mother tongue of ethnic Somalis, which is part of the Cushitic branch of the Afroasiatic language family, and they are predominantly Sunni Muslim. Forming one of the largest ethnic groups on the African continent, they cover one of the most expansive landmasses by a single ethnic group in Africa.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Incense trade route</span> Trade road that connects Mediterranean ports to India via Africa and Arabia

The incense trade route was an ancient network of major land and sea trading routes linking the Mediterranean world with eastern and southern sources of incense, spices and other luxury goods, stretching from Mediterranean ports across the Levant and Egypt through Northeastern Africa and Arabia to India and beyond. These routes collectively served as channels for the trading of goods such as Arabian frankincense and myrrh; Indian spices, precious stones, pearls, ebony, silk and fine textiles; and from the Horn of Africa, rare woods, feathers, animal skins, Somali frankincense, gold, and slaves. The incense land trade from South Arabia to the Mediterranean flourished between roughly the 3rd century BC and the 2nd century AD.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">History of Somaliland</span> Past events that happened, in Somaliland

The history of Somaliland, a country in the eastern Horn of Africa bordered by the Gulf of Aden, and the East African land mass, begins with human habitation tens of thousands of years ago. It includes the civilizations of Punt, the Ottomans, and colonial influences from Europe and the Middle East.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pre-Islamic Arabia</span> Demography of the Arabian Peninsula before 610 CE

Pre-Islamic Arabia, referring to the Arabian Peninsula before Muhammad's first revelation in 610 CE, is referred to in Islam in the context of jahiliyyah, highlighting the prevalence of paganism throughout the region at the time.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Land of Punt</span> Ancient trading confederation in the Horn of Africa (2500 BCE – 980 BCE)

The Land of Punt (Egyptian: pwnt; alternate Egyptological readings Pwene(t) /pu:nt/) was an ancient kingdom known from Ancient Egyptian trade records. It produced and exported gold, aromatic resins, blackwood, ebony, ivory and wild animals. Recent evidence locates it in northwestern Eritrea. It is possible that it includes or corresponds to Opone, as later known by the ancient Greeks, while some biblical scholars have identified it with the biblical land of Put or Havilah.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Qedarites</span> 700s–100s BC northern Arab tribal confederation

The Qedarites were a largely nomadic ancient Arab tribal confederation centred in their capital Dumat al-jandal in the Al-Jawf Province. Attested from the 9th century BC, the Qedarites formed a powerful polity which expanded its territory over the course of the 9th to 7th centuries BC to cover a large area in northern Arabia stretching from Transjordan in the west to the western borders of Babylonia in the east, before later moving westwards during the 6th to 5th centuries BC to consolidate into a kingdom stretching from the eastern limits of the Nile Delta in the west till Transjordan in the east and covering much of southern Judea, the Negev and the Sinai Peninsula.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Maritime history of Somalia</span> Seafaring tradition of the Somalis

Maritime history of Somalia refers to the seafaring tradition of the Somali people. It includes various stages of Somali navigational technology, shipbuilding and design, as well as the history of the Somali port cities. It also covers the historical sea routes taken by Somali sailors which sustained the commercial enterprises of the historical Somali kingdoms and empires, in addition to the contemporary maritime culture of Somalia.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Macrobians</span> Legendary people

The Macrobians (Μακροβίοι) were a legendary people and kingdom positioned in the Horn of Africa mentioned by Herodotus. Later authors place them in India instead. It is one of the legendary peoples postulated at the extremity of the known world, in this case in the extreme south, contrasting with the Hyperboreans in the extreme north.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Barbaria (region)</span> Ancient region

Barbaria was the name used by the ancient Greeks for littoral northeast Africa. The corresponding Arabic term, bilad al-Barbar, was used in the Middle Ages. The name of Barbaria is preserved today in the name of the Somali city of Berbera, the city known to the Greeks as Malao.

Ancient Egyptian trade consisted of the gradual creation of land and sea trade routes connecting the ancient Egyptian civilization with ancient India, the Fertile Crescent, Arabia and Sub-Saharan Africa.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Somali nationalism</span> Political ideology

Somali nationalism is centered on uniting the Somali people who share a common language, religion, culture and ethnicity, and as such constitute a nation unto themselves. The ideology's earliest manifestations in the medieval era are traced to the Adalites whilst in the contemporary era its often traced back to SYL, the first Somali nationalist political organization to be formed was the Somali National League (SNL), established in 1935 in the former British Somaliland protectorate. In the country's northeastern, central and southern regions, the similarly-oriented Somali Youth Club (SYC) was founded in 1943 in Italian Somaliland, just prior to the trusteeship period. The SYC was later renamed the Somali Youth League (SYL) in 1947. It became the most influential political party in the early years of post-independence Somalia. The Somali guerilla militia Al-Shabab is noteworthy for incorporating Somali nationalism into its Islamist ideology.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Malao</span> Ancient name of Berbera city

Malao was an ancient proto-Somali port in present-day Somaliland. The town was situated on the site of what later became the city of Berbera. It was a key trading member involved in the Red Sea-Indian Ocean commerce in the early centuries CE. The town also maintained an important monetary market for merchants exchanging goods in the currencies of the Roman Empire.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Spice use in antiquity</span>

The history of spices reach back thousands of years, dating back to the 8th century B.C. Spices are widely known to be developed and discovered in Asian civilizations. Spices have been used in a variety of antique developments for their unique qualities. There were a variety of spices that were used for common purposes across the ancient world. Different spices hold a value that can create a variety of products designed to enhance or suppress certain taste and/or sensations. Spices were also associated with certain rituals to perpetuate a superstition or fulfill a religious obligation, among other things.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ancient Somali city-states</span> Ancient city-states of Somalia

In antiquity, the ancestors of the Somali people were an important link in the Horn of Africa connecting the region's commerce with the rest of the ancient world. Somali sailors and merchants were the main suppliers of frankincense, myrrh and spices, items which were considered valuable luxuries by the Ancient Egyptians, Phoenicians, Mycenaeans and Babylonians. During the classical era, several ancient city-states competed with the Sabaeans, Parthians and Axumites for the wealthy Indo-Greco-Roman trade.

The ancient history of Africa spans from the ancient period until the medieval and early modern period in the history of Africa.

References

  1. Somalia - Page 53, Mark DeLancey - 1988
  2. Ali, Mohamed Nuuh (1983). "A linguistic outline of early Somali history" (PDF). Ufahamu: A Journal of African Studies. 12 (3). doi:10.5070/F7123017147. ISSN   0041-5715 . Retrieved 2020-04-10.
  3. Abdel Monem A. H. Sayed, Zahi A. Hawass (ed.) (2003). Egyptology at the Dawn of the Twenty-first Century: Archaeology. American Univ in Cairo Press. pp. 432–433. ISBN   9774246748.{{cite book}}: |first= has generic name (help)
  4. 1 2 The Geography of Herodotus: Illustrated from Modern Researches and Discoveries by James Talboys Wheeler, pg 1xvi, 315, 526
  5. 1 2 John Kitto, James Taylor, The popular cyclopædia of Biblical literature: condensed from the larger work, (Gould and Lincoln: 1856), p.302.
  6. Bogale, Wagaw. "A History of Derbé Belanbel Historical and Cultural Site". Journal of Tourism.
  7. Oman in history By Peter Vine Page 324
  8. Abdullahi, Abdurahman (2017). Making Sense of Somali History. London. p. 47. ISBN   978-1909112797.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
  9. Sanchez, Juan J.; Hallenberg, Charlotte; Børsting, Claus; Hernandez, Alexis; Morling, Niels (July 2005). "High frequencies of Y chromosome lineages characterized by E3b1, DYS19-11, DYS392-12 in Somali males". European Journal of Human Genetics. 13 (7): 856–866. doi: 10.1038/sj.ejhg.5201390 . ISSN   1018-4813. PMID   15756297.
  10. "E-Y18629 YTree". www.yfull.com. Retrieved 2019-09-09.