Sultanate of Shewa | |||||||||||||
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896–1286 | |||||||||||||
Capital | Walalah (northern Hararghe) [1] | ||||||||||||
Official languages | Arabic | ||||||||||||
Common languages | Harla Argobba Somali | ||||||||||||
Religion | Sunni Islam | ||||||||||||
Government | Absolute monarchy | ||||||||||||
Sultan | |||||||||||||
• 896–928 (first) | Haboba | ||||||||||||
• 1279 (last) | ʿAbdallah | ||||||||||||
History | |||||||||||||
• Established | 896 | ||||||||||||
1278–1285 | |||||||||||||
• Sultanate of Shewa annexed by Ifat | 1285 | ||||||||||||
• Disestablished | 1286 | ||||||||||||
Currency | Dinar | ||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||
Today part of | Ethiopia |
The Sultanate of Shewa (also spelled Sultanate of Shoa), sometimes called the Makhzumi dynasty, was a Muslim kingdom in present-day Ethiopia. Its capital Walale was situated in northern Hararghe in Harla country. [1] [2] [3] Its territory extended possibly to areas west of the Awash River. [4] The port of Zeila may have influenced the kingdom. [5] The rise of the Makhzumi state at the same time resulted in the decline of the Kingdom of Axum. [6] Several engravings dating back to the 13th century showing the presence of the kingdom are found in Chelenqo, Bate, Harla near Dire Dawa and Munesa near Lake Langano. [7]
It has recently[ when? ] been proposed that Shewa was not a unified Sultanate but rather a collection of smaller, autonomous political entities. [8]
The Shewa sultanate was one of the oldest documented Muslim states in the region. The state ran along Muslim trade lines and dominions known to the Arab world as the country of Zeila . [9] Its founding dynastic family, the Makhzumis, is said to have consisted of Arab immigrants who arrived in Shewa during the 7th century. [10] This ruling house governed the polity from AH 283/AD 896 to 1285–86, a period of three hundred and ninety years. The Makhzumi dynasty reigned until it was deposed by the Walashma dynasty of Ifat (1285–1415). Ifat was once the easternmost district of Shewa Sultanate. In 1285 Ali b. Wali Asma deposed the kings of Shewa and installed a certain MHz. [11] [12] According to historian Mohammed Hassen, one of the main reasons for Shewa's decline was due to conflict with the Kingdom of Damot. [13] [14]
Shewa Sultanate, established in 896, is the first Muslim state inland and according to the chronicle of the sultanate no major report of conversion to Islam was reported before the beginning of the 12th century. [15] [11] [12] However, beginning with the conversion of the Gbbh people in 1108, whom Trimingham suggested them being the ancestors of Argobba, other people were converted. By mid fourteenth century Islam expanded in the region and the inhabitants leaving north of Awash river were the Muslim people of Zaber and Midra Zega (located south of modern Merhabete); the Argobba (Gabal), the Werji people); Tegulat & Menz people whom at that time were Muslims. [16] [17] [15] The chronicle of Shewa sultanate also mentions that in 1128 the Amhara fled from the land of Werjih people whom at that time were pastoralist people and lived in the Awash valley east of Shoan plateau. [18] According to medieval Islamic manuscripts, Makhzumis governed Al-Habash for four centuries. [19]
Ifat or Yifat, established in early medieval times, was the easternmost district of Shewa Sultanate and was located in the strategic position between the central highlands and the Sea, especially the port of Zeila. [20] [21] In 1285 Ifat's ruler Wali Asma deposed Shewan kings and established the Walasma dynasty and Shewa with its districts including its centers, Walalah and Tegulat, became one of the seven districts of Ifat sultanate. [12] [22] [23] Welela, previously the capital of Shewa Sultanate, is situated on a mountain 24 km north of Debre Berhan, located in today's North Shewa Zone (Amhara), and was known by Muslims as mar'ade which later became the seat of emperor Amda Tsion. [24] [25] [26] The chronicle of Amde Sion mentions Khat being widely consumed by Muslims in the city of Marade. [27]
Based on Cerulli's study of the names of the princes J. D. Fage and Roland Oliver were convinced that the inhabitants of Shewa spoke Ethiopian Semitic language likely Argobba language. [28] Argobba are widely believed to be the first to accept Islam collectively, in the Horn of Africa, and lead expansions into various regions under the Sultanate of Shewa. [29] Argobba and Harla seem to have relied on each other in the Islamic period. [30] After Shewa was incorporated into Ifat an Egyptian courtier, Al Umari, would describe Ifat Sultanate as one of the largest as well as the richest of Ethiopias Muslim provinces, and Shewa, Adal, Jamma, Lao and Shimi are places incorporated into Ifat. [22]
There were nine recorded Sulṭāns of Shewa, who asserted descent from Wudd ibn Hisham al-Makhzumi. [31] Although Makhzumi rulers names found initially in Harar are Arabic, other texts found elsewhere at a later date use traditional Ethiopian Semitic names alternatively. [32]
Ruler Name | Reign | Note | |
---|---|---|---|
1 | Amir Haboba | 896–928 | Earliest documented ruler of Hararghe. Haboba is unable to quell tribal conflicts, appeals to the Abbasid caliphate for mediators. Abdicates in favor of Abbasid mediating party leader Abadir. [33] |
2 | Amir Umar | ???–??? | Known as Father (Aw) Abadir Umar ar-Rida. Resolves tribal issues. Proselytized as far as Mogadishu. [34] Several tribes in the Horn of Africa venerate Abadir. The beginning of the Harari dynasty of rulers. [35] Tomb in Harar. [36] |
3 | Amir Muhiaddin | ???–??? | Known as Father (Aw) Barkhedle Yusuf bin Ahmad al-Kawneyn. Proselytized as far as Maldives and Sri Lanka. Venerated by various tribes in the Horn of Africa and South Asia. Tomb near Hargeisa. [37] |
4 | Amir Eidal | ???–??? | Known as Father (Aw) Abdal. [38] |
5 | Amir Maya | ???–??? | He is succeeded by his daughter. |
6 | Queen Badit | ???–1063 | Daughter of King Maya, possibly Gudit who destroyed the Axum state [39] [40] Harar chronicles lists her as Tedin Bint Maya Lama [41] Badit is stated to be a usurper as Islamic law prohibits female rulers. [42] The Emirate in Harar transitions from emirate to sultanate after the death of Badit. |
7 | Sulṭān Malasmaʿī | 1180–1183 | |
8 | Sulṭān Ḥusein | 1183–1193 | He is from Gidaya state. [43] [44] |
10 | Sulṭān ʿAbdallah | 1193–1235 | |
11 | Sulṭān Maḥamed | 1235–1239 | Son of Sulṭān Ḥusein. |
12 | Sulṭān Ganah | 1252–1262 | The qāḍī of the state Faqih Ibrahim al-Hassan of Sawa writes about the fall of the Abbasid caliphate to the Mongol Empire in 1258. [8] |
13 | Sulṭān Mālzarrah | 1239–1252 | Son of Sulṭān Maḥamed. Married Fatimah Aydargun, daughter of Sulṭān ʿAli "Baziwi" ʿUmar of Ifat in 1245, and mother of Sultan Dilmārrah. |
14 | Sulṭān Girām-Gaz'i | 1262–1263 | Son of Sulṭān Ganah. The only other ruler in the region to hold the title Gazi "conqueror", aside from Ahmad ibn Ibrahim al-Ghazi. Abdicated in favor of his elder brother. |
15 | Sulṭān Dilmārrah | 1263–1278 | Dil Mārrah literally "Guide to the victory" in Harari and Argobba as well as other Ethiopian Semitic languages spoken by Christians of northern Ethiopia. [32] The state was in conflict with the people of Gidaya, Mora and Gabarge. [45] Son of Sulṭān Mālzarrah. Internal conflict, he was deposed by Dil Gamis. He was half-Walashma on his mother's side, and also married a Walashma princess. According to Harari texts a drought hit the Sultanate in 1272 killing a large number of the aristocracy and its rulers within two years. [46] |
16 | Sulṭān Dil-Gāmis | 1269–1283 | Assumes the Christian Axumite royal title "Dil" last used by Dil Na'od. [47] In 1270 Yekuno Amlak establishes Solomonic dynasty in the west with the assistance of Gafat mercenaries and Dil Gamis, whom provided aid to Amlak giving him an advantage over Zagwe. [48] [49] According to Arabic texts found in Harar the previous ruler Dil-Marrah sought assistance from Yekuno Amlak in restoring his rule, and was briefly restored to the throne in July 1278, but was deposed again by August. [50] The Axumite title "Dil" would not be used again until the 16th century by Bati del Wambara. |
17 | Sulṭān ʿAbdallah | 1279–1279 | Son of Sulṭān Ganah. Briefly deposed Sulṭān Dilmārrah to restore the rule of the sons of Ganah. However, this rebellion was short lived, and Shewa would be annexed into Ifat the following year. |
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.
Shewa, formerly romanized as Shua, Shoa, Showa, Shuwa, is a historical region of Ethiopia which was formerly an autonomous kingdom within the Ethiopian Empire. The modern Ethiopian capital Addis Ababa is located at its center.
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 Somaliland, with Zeila as its prominent center, and later expanded via conquest reaching as far as Shewa. 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, Djibouti, Somaliland, 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.
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. The Hadiya Muslim state mainly composed of Cushitic Hadiyya proper, Halaba, Kebena people as well as Semitic Sil'te and other tongues related to Harari language. Hadiya was historically a vassal state of the Adal federation and then became an autonomous province of Abyssinia in the fourteenth century while still remaining a member of the Zeila union. 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 Argobba are an ethnic group inhabiting Ethiopia. A Muslim community, they 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.
Arsi Oromo is an ethnic Oromo branch, inhabiting the Arsi, West Arsi and Bale Zones of the Oromia Region of Ethiopia, as well as in the Adami Tullu and Jido Kombolcha woreda of East Shewa Zone.The Arsi are made up of the Sikkoo-Mandoo branch of Barento Oromo. The Arsi in all zones speaks Oromo share the same culture, traditions and identity with other subgroup Oromo.
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.
Chercher was a province in Hararghe now part of Oromia Region, Ethiopia. Also known as Ittuu and West Hararghe, Chercher is the name given mainly to the eastern escarpment highland areas of Oromia state's West Hararaghe Zone, where the chains of Checher or higher mountains rise and extend inland from the Great Rift Valley in its northwest. The capital of the former Chercher province was Chiro.
The Harla kingdom was a sixth-century Harla state centered around what is present day eastern Ethiopia. The kingdom had trading relations with the Ayyubid and Tang dynasties. It also established its own currency and calendar. The kingdom is mentioned by Ethiopian as well as Arab medieval writers including al-Mufaddal ibn Abi al-Fada'il and Ibn Sa'id al-Maghribi. Timothy Insoll identifies the Harlaa ruins to be Hubat the capital of the Harla state, a subordinate of Ifat Sultanate in the thirteenth century and later under the Adal Sultanate as an autonomous tribal confederation in the fifteenth century. Early Muslim states in the Horn of Africa such as the Makhzumi dynasty had their bases within Harla territories. According to historian Mohammed Hassen a power struggle had developed in the early sixteenth century between Harla state leaders and the Walashma dynasty. Researcher Dominico Patassini states the Harla kingdom was succeeded by Harar city-state in the sixteenth century.
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.
The Gaturi, also spelled as Gatouri are an extinct ethnic group that once inhabited present-day eastern Ethiopia.
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.
Gidaya, also known as Gedaya or Jidaya was a historical Muslim state located around present-day eastern Ethiopia. The state was positioned on the Harar plateau and a district of Adal region alongside Hargaya and Hubat polities. It neighbored other states in the medieval era including Ifat, Mora, Hadiya, Fatagar, Biqulzar, Fedis and Kwelgora.
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.
Bale, also known as Bali, was a historical Muslim region 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."
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