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Ceel-Sheekh
El-Sheikh ( so, Ceel-Sheekh) is a coastal settlement in the western edge of the Sahil region of Somaliland. History El-Sheikh was also known historically as ''Buurta Almis'' or جبل ألمس ''Jebel Amis'' after the nearby Mount Almis just south of the settlement. It was a well known landmark to navigators and legendary Arab explorer Ahmad ibn Mājid wrote of El-Sheikh and a few other notable landmarks and ports of the northern Somali coast, including Berbera, Siyara, the Sa'ad ad-Din islands aka the Zeila Archipelago near Zeila, Alula, Maydh, Ruguda, Heis and El-Darad. Richard Burton visited the settlement and noted the mountain in his map. After the Habr Awal massacre of Richard Burton's travel party and death of a number of British officers in 1854 led the Royal Navy to blockad the Habr Awal coast. The blockade was established from Mount Almis to Siyara and crippled trade in Berbera and Bulhar with a settlement being reached in 1856. El-Sheikh remained a well used by the ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Siyara
Siyara ( so, Siyaara) was a historic coastal settlement and fort located in the Sahil region of Somaliland. It served as the first capital of the Adal Sultanate following the Muslim resurgence spearheaded by Sabr ad-Din II.Pankhurst, Richard. ''The Ethiopian Borderlands: Essays in Regional History from Ancient Times to the End of the 18th Century'' (Asmara, Eritrea: Red Sea Press, 1997), pp.56 Etymology The name of Siyara derives from the Somali word ''Siyaaro'', a term used to describe a localized annual pilgrimage to a holy site where the ancestor of a clan or a saint is buried. The Somali word ultimately derives from the Arabic word of the same meaning: ''ziyārah'' (زيارة). History Medieval Siyara was the site of the return of the Walashma dynasty to Somali lands. Sa'ad ad-Din II the last Sultan of Ifat had been slain in Zeila after losing the city to Emperor Dawit I after a siege. His sons had fled to Yemen and would soon return led by Sultan Sabr ad-Din II. Sabr ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Berbera
Berbera (; so, Barbara, ar, بربرة) is the capital of the Sahil region of Somaliland and is the main sea port of the country. Berbera is a coastal city and was the former capital of the British Somaliland protectorate before Hargeisa. It also served as a major port of the Ifat, Adal and Isaaq sultanates from the 13th to 19th centuries. In antiquity, Berbera was part of a chain of commercial port cities along the Somali seaboard. During the early modern period, Berbera was the most important place of trade in the Somali Peninsula. It later served as the capital of the British Somaliland protectorate from 1884 to 1941, when it was replaced by Hargeisa. In 1960, the British Somaliland protectorate gained independence as the State of Somaliland and united five days later with the Trust Territory of Somalia (the former Italian Somalia) to form the Somali Republic.Encyclopædia Britannica, ''The New Encyclopædia Britannica'', (Encyclopædia Britannica: 2002), p.835 Located s ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Alula, Somalia
Alula ( so, Caluula, ar, علولة), also spelled Aluula, is a coastal town in the northeastern Bari region and is part of the autonomous state of Puntland, on the coast of the Guardafui Channel. In the late 19th and early 20th centuries, it served as the main capital of the Majeerteen Sultanate. It is ten miles east of Ras Filuk and 100 nautical miles from Bender Cassim. Etymology ''Alula'' is derived from the Somali term "lul", which means pearl. Overview Alula is located about west of Cape Guardafui, at the extremity of the Horn of Africa. 20 nautical miles (23 miles) east of Alula lies the coastal town of Bereeda. 7 nautical miles (8 miles) west lies Ras Filuk, the likely Cape Elephant (Elephas) of Strabo and the ''Periplus of the Erythraean Sea''. Adjacent to Alula is a shallow lagoon lined by mangrove bushes, which appears to correspond with the "large laurel-grove called Acannae" also described by the ''Periplus''. The Acrocephalus warbler has been heard singing in ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Heis (town)
Heis ( so, Xiis, ) is a historic coastal town located in the Sanaag region of Somaliland. The town was important for trade and communication with the Somali interior and was used to export frankincense to Arabia. History Antiquity The site said to be identical with the ancient trading post of Mundus ( grc, Μούνδος) that is described in the ''Periplus of the Erythraean Sea'', an anonymous account by a Greek Alexandrian salesman from the 1st century CE. A large collection of cairns of various types lie near the city. Excavations here have yielded pottery and sherds of Roman glassware from a time between the 1st and 5th centuries. Among these artefacts is high-quality millefiori glass. Dated to 0-40 CE, it features red flower disks superimposed on a green background. Additionally, an ancient fragment of a footed bowl was discovered in the surrounding area. The sherd is believed to have been made in Aswan (300-500 CE) or Lower Nubia (500-600 CE), suggesting early trading tie ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Zeila Archipelago
The Sa'ad ad-Din Islands ( so, Jasiirada Sacadadiin, ar, جزر سعد الدين), also Romanized as and known as the Zeila Archipelago, are a group of islands off the northern coast of Somaliland. They are situated near the ancient city of Zeila. The Zeila Archipelago is made of six small islands all of which are low-lying and have sandy beaches. The largest of these islands are '' Sacadin'' and '' Aibat'', which are six and nine miles off the coast of Zeila, respectively. There is also a lighthouse at Aibat. Etymology & History The name for the archipelago comes from the Sultan Sa'ad ad-Din II who was killed by the Emperor of Abyssinia on the main island in 1415. Along with his name, there are many different spellings for the island such as , , and . The archpeligo is also known as the ''Zeila Archipelago'' and the ''Sa'ad ad-Din group''. Legendary Arab explorer Ahmad ibn Mājid wrote of the archipelago and a few other notable landmarks and ports of the northern Somal ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Zeila
Zeila ( so, Saylac, ar, زيلع, Zayla), also known as Zaila or Zayla, is a historical port town in the western Awdal region of Somaliland. In the Middle Ages, the Jewish traveller Benjamin of Tudela identified Zeila (or Hawilah) with the Biblical location of Havilah. Most modern scholars identify it with the site of Avalites mentioned in the 1st-century Greco-Roman travelogue the ''Periplus of the Erythraean Sea'' and in Ptolemy, although this is disputed. The town evolved into an early Islamic center with the arrival of Muslims shortly after the Hijrah. By the 9th century, Zeila was the capital of the early Adal Kingdom and Ifat Sultanate in the 13th century; and also a capital for its successor state the Adal Sultanate, it would attain its height of prosperity a few centuries later in the 16th century. The city subsequently came under Ottoman and British protection in the 18th century. Up until recently Zeila was surrounded by a large wall with five gates: Bab al Sahil and B ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
El-Darad
El-Darad ( so, Ceel Daraad) was a historic coastal settlement and fort located in the Sahil region of Somaliland. History Legendary 15th century Arab explorer Ahmad ibn Mājid wrote of El-Darad and several other notable landmarks and ports of the northern Somali coast, including Berbera, the Sa'ad ad-Din islands (aka the Zeila Archipelago near Zeila), Alula, Ruguda, Maydh, Heis, Siyara and El-Sheikh. In the 19th century, El-Darad was a seasonal coastal trading settlement with a fort made of adobe (earth) and stone masonry, which was surrounded by Somali Aqal and Areesh (traditional nomadic and coastal dwellings respectively). The fort was erected in circa 1826 and was owned by Muhammad Diban, a Habr Je'lo (Adan Madobe) pirate and slave trader based in El-Darad who garrisoned the fort with slaves armed with matchlock rifles. Muhammad Diban also had cordial relations with Sharmarke Ali Saleh – governor and ruler of Zeila, Berbera and Tadjoura – who provided Muhammad with fi ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Maydh
Maydh (also transliterated as Mait or Meit) (, ) is an ancient port city in the eastern Sanaag region of Somaliland. History Antiquity According to Augustus Henry Keane, Maydh represents an early center of dispersal of the Somali people. National genealogies collected by the scholars Cox and Abud assert that many clan patriarchs are buried in or nearby the town.A.H. Keane, Man, Past and Present', (Cambridge University Press: 1920), p.485. Medieval The city of Maydh was home to Sheikh Isaaq Bin Ahmed Al Hashimi (''Sheekh Isaxaaq''), who, according to tradition, moved to Somaliland from the Arabian Peninsula in the 12th or 13th century CE. He is considered to be the founding father of the large Somali Isaaq clan family that predominantly inhabits Somaliland, as well as parts of Djibouti and Ethiopia. Sheikh Isaaq's domed tomb is also located here.I.M. Lewis"The Somali Conquest of the Horn of Africa", ''Journal of African History'' 1 (1960), pp. 219-220 According to tradition, the ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ruguda
Ruguda, also known as Rakudah ( so, Ruguuda) is a historic coastal port town located in the Sanaag region of Somaliland, near Heis. Overview Ruguda is a coastal town approximately 38km away from the larger Heis town nearby. Other nearby cities and towns include Erigavo (134km), Burao (389km), and Xagal (108km). History Ruguda was a well known landmark to navigators and legendary Arab explorer Ahmad ibn Mājid wrote of Ruguda and a few other many notable landmarks and ports of the northern Somali coast, including Berbera, the Sa'ad ad-Din islands aka the Zeila Archipelago near Zeila, Siyara, Maydh, Alula, El-Sheikh, Heis and El-Darad. John Hanning Speke, an English explorer who made an exploratory expedition to the area in an attempt to reach the Nugaal Valley, described the port town: Demographics Ruguda is populated by the Sanbuur sub-division of the Habr Je'lo Isaaq The Isaaq (also Isaq, Ishaak, Isaac) ( so, Reer Sheekh Isxaaq, ar, بني إسحاق, Banī Isḥ ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Sacad Muuse
The Sa'ad Musa or Saad Musa ( so, Sacad Muuse, ar, سعد موسى, Full Name:'' Saad ibn Musa ibn Zubayr ibn Abd al-Raḥmān ibn ash- Shaykh Isḥāq ibn Aḥmad'') is a northern Somali clan. Its members form a part of the Habr Awal clan of the Isaaq clan family. The Sa'ad Musa traditionally consists of nomadic pastoralists, coastal people, merchants and farmers. The clan inhabits Somaliland, including Maroodi Jeex, and Sahil as well as Djibouti, the Somali Region of Ethiopia and Kenya. Distribution The Sa'ad Musa clan make up a significant percentage of the population in Maroodi Jeex region, which is considered the most populous region in Somaliland, forming a sizeable portion of the population in the national capital Hargeisa as well as exclusively dominating the agricultural towns and settlements of Gabiley, Wajaale, Arabsiyo, and Kalabaydh. The Sa'ad Musa are also prevalent in western Sahil region. The Sa'ad Musa also partially inhabit the neighbouring region of Awd ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
British Somaliland
British Somaliland, officially the Somaliland Protectorate ( so, Dhulka Maxmiyada Soomaalida ee Biritishka), was a British Empire, British protectorate in present-day Somaliland. During its existence, the territory was bordered by Italian Somalia, French Somali Coast and Ethiopian Empire, Abyssinia (temporarily Italian Ethiopia). From 1940 to 1941, it was occupied by the Kingdom of Italy, Italians and was part of Italian East Africa. On 26 June 1960, British Somaliland declared independence as the State of Somaliland. Five days later, on 1 July 1960, the State of Somaliland voluntarily political union, united with the Trust Territory of Somalia (the former Italian Somalia) to form the Somali Republic. The government of Somaliland, a self-declared sovereign state that is internationally Diplomatic recognition, recognised as an autonomous region of Somalia, regards itself as the successor state to British Somaliland. History Treaties and establishment In the late 19th centur ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Bulhar
Bulhar ( so, Bulaxaar) is a historic port town in the Sahil region of Somaliland with routes dating back to antiquity. The port was rejuvenated in the 19th century and was a rival to nearby Berbera. History Antiquity Bulhar is situated near Berbera. The site is believed to correspond with the ancient commercial Port of Isis described by the Roman scholar Pliny the Elder. Pliny also associated the area with the toponym Abalito, which Said M-Shidad Hussein writes is likely the Avalite of the ''Periplus of the Erythraean Sea''. According to Pliny, the Port of Isis was a center for myrrh commerce. He likewise noted that the Egyptian Pharaoh Sesostris led his forces passed the region en route to the northeastern port of Mosylon, a cinnamon hub that is believed to have been in or close to present-day Bosaso. Additionally, Pliny indicated that the Port of Isis was located near stone pillars on which unknown letters were engraved. Samuel Sharpe suggests that these old inscriptions were ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
