Abdullahi Ali Sadiq was an influential Harari businessman and governor of

Ogaden Ogaden (pronounced and often spelled ''Ogadēn''; so, Ogaadeen, am, ውጋዴ/ውጋዴን) is one of the historical names given to the modern Somali Region, the territory comprising the eastern portion of Ethiopia formerly part of the Harargh ...

Ethiopia Ethiopia, , om, Itiyoophiyaa, so, Itoobiya, ti, ኢትዮጵያ, Ítiyop'iya, aa, Itiyoppiya officially the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, is a landlocked country in the Horn of Africa. It shares borders with Eritrea to the ...

Early days

Abdullahi in the early 20th century had business ties with the

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 Bibli ...

Aden Aden ( ar, عدن ' Yemeni: ) is a city, and since 2015, the temporary capital of Yemen, near the eastern approach to the Red Sea (the Gulf of Aden), some east of the strait Bab-el-Mandeb. Its population is approximately 800,000 people. ...

, and various other trading routes south of the red sea, where he built his wealth. He was an orphan whose Treasury inheritance Rites have been restored from the Barkhlay guardian and gained the confidence by the Emperor of Ethiopia

Menelik II , spoken = ; ''djānhoi'', lit. ''"O steemedroyal"'' , alternative = ; ''getochu'', lit. ''"Our master"'' (pl.) Menelik II ( gez, ዳግማዊ ምኒልክ ; horse name Abba Dagnew ( Amharic: አባ ዳኘው ''abba daññäw''); 17 ...

and was sent as an envoy to leader of the

Dervish state The Dervish Movement ( so, Dhaqdhaqaaqa Daraawiish) was a popular 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 independe ...

Mohammed Abdullah Hassan Sayid Mohamed Abdullahi Hassan ( so, Sayid Maxamed Cabdulle Xasan; 1856–1920) was a Somali religious and military leader of the Dervish movement, which led a two-decade long confrontation with various colonial empires including the British, ...

. He is the Prince of Commerce, aka sovereign Treasurer - from Ge, Harar Empire - to Emperor Minilik II who is sent to the united States of America by Emperor Minilik II as evidenced b
New York Times of November 26, 1905
Abdullahi is also regarded as leader of the Muslims of

Harar Harar ( amh, ሐረር; Harari: ሀረር; om, Adare Biyyo; so, Herer; ar, هرر) known historically by the indigenous as Gey (Harari: ጌይ ''Gēy'', ) is a walled city in eastern Ethiopia. It is also known in Arabic as the City of Saint ...

and helped then governor of

Hararghe Hararghe ( am, ሐረርጌ ''Harärge''; Harari language, Harari: ሀረርጌይ ''Harärgeyi'', Oromo language, Oromo: Harargee, so, Xararge) was a provinces of Ethiopia, province of eastern Ethiopia with its capital in Harar. History Hararg ...

Haile Selassie Haile Selassie I ( gez, ቀዳማዊ ኀይለ ሥላሴ, Qädamawi Häylä Səllasé, ; born Tafari Makonnen; 23 July 189227 August 1975) was Emperor of Ethiopia from 1930 to 1974. He rose to power as Regent Plenipotentiary of Ethiopia (' ...

foster good relations between Muslims and Christians within the province.

Political career

He became land administrator in

under governor

Ras Makonnen Ras or RAS may refer to: Arts and media * RAS Records Real Authentic Sound, a reggae record label * Rundfunk Anstalt Südtirol, a south Tyrolese public broadcasting service * Rás 1, an Icelandic radio station * Rás 2, an Icelandic radio statio ...

in 1889 but was suspended a year later. In 1905 he was leader of the envoy representing emperor Menelik to the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

. In 1906 while visiting

British India The provinces of India, earlier presidencies of British India and still earlier, presidency towns, were the administrative divisions of British governance on the Indian subcontinent. Collectively, they have been called British India. In one ...

, he was subsequently arrested by British officers and detained in Zeila. Britain accused Abdullah of supplying weapons to the Dervish State. Abdullahi was assigned governorship of Ogaden by

Lij Iyasu ''Lij'' Iyasu ( gez, ልጅ ኢያሱ; 4 February 1895 – 25 November 1935) was the designated Emperor of Ethiopia from 1913 to 1916. His baptismal name was Kifle Yaqob (ክፍለ ያዕቆብ ''kəflä y’aqob''). Ethiopian emperors traditio ...

in 1914. Iyasu used Abdullahi to interact with Dervish leader Mohammed Hassan, which would lead to an alliance between the Dervish and

Ethiopian Empire The Ethiopian Empire (), also formerly known by the exonym Abyssinia, or just simply known as Ethiopia (; Amharic and Tigrinya: ኢትዮጵያ , , Oromo: Itoophiyaa, Somali: Itoobiya, Afar: ''Itiyoophiyaa''), was an empire that historical ...

. Dervish State at the time had revolted on the British and this concerned UK about the role Abdullahi was playing.

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies. ** Britishness, the British identity and common culture * British English, ...

officer

Charles Doughty-Wylie Lieutenant Colonel Charles Hotham Montagu "Richard" Doughty-Wylie, (23 July 1868 – 26 April 1915) was a British Army officer and an English recipient of the Victoria Cross, the highest award for gallantry in the face of the enemy that can be ...

claimed Iyasu's appointment of Abdullahi was signs the Ethiopian government was shifting towards an anti British policy. Abdullahi was also accused of being an international pan Islamic conspirator against the British empire, evidenced by his attempts to reach out to the Emir of

Afghanistan Afghanistan, officially the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan,; prs, امارت اسلامی افغانستان is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central Asia and South Asia. Referred to as the Heart of Asia, it is bordere ...

. According to professor

Haggai Erlich Haggai Erlich (born 1942) is professor emeritus at Tel Aviv University and an academic adviser at the Open University of Israel where he is the head of Middle Eastern History studies. He is the Landau Prize recipient for 2010 in African Studies. ...

Abdullahi was one of the key figures fostering ties with the

Ottoman empire The Ottoman Empire, * ; is an archaic version. The definite article forms and were synonymous * and el, Оθωμανική Αυτοκρατορία, Othōmanikē Avtokratoria, label=none * info page on book at Martin Luther University) ...

to bring Ethiopia into

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

on the side of the

Central Powers The Central Powers, also known as the Central Empires,german: Mittelmächte; hu, Központi hatalmak; tr, İttifak Devletleri / ; bg, Централни сили, translit=Tsentralni sili was one of the two main coalitions that fought in ...

Death

After the overthrow of Lij Iyasu, he was arrested in Harar along with several Somali leaders. Abdullahi was later released from prison, however prior to his release he was allegedly poisoned under the orders of Haile Selassie and died in 1920.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Sadiq, Abdullah People from Harari Region Ethiopian government officials 20th-century Ethiopian people 1920 deaths