The Battle of Benadir was an armed engagement between the

Ajuran Sultanate The Ajuran Sultanate ( so, Saldanadda Ajuuraan, ar, سلطنة الأجورانية), also natively referred-to as Ajuuraan, and often simply Ajuran, was a Somali Empire in the Middle Ages in the Horn of Africa that dominated the trade in the ...

and the

Portuguese Empire The Portuguese Empire ( pt, Império Português), also known as the Portuguese Overseas (''Ultramar Português'') or the Portuguese Colonial Empire (''Império Colonial Português''), was composed of the overseas colonies, factories, and the l ...

Background

After the Portuguese conducted a large-scale naval expedition to Suez in 1541, 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) ...

dedicated greater resources into protecting the

Red Sea The Red Sea ( ar, البحر الأحمر - بحر القلزم, translit=Modern: al-Baḥr al-ʾAḥmar, Medieval: Baḥr al-Qulzum; or ; Coptic: ⲫⲓⲟⲙ ⲛ̀ϩⲁϩ ''Phiom Enhah'' or ⲫⲓⲟⲙ ⲛ̀ϣⲁⲣⲓ ''Phiom ǹšari''; T ...

from Portuguese intrusion. To such effect, about 25 galleys were armed and stationed at

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. ...

. The Portuguese captain of

Sofala Sofala, at present known as Nova Sofala, used to be the chief seaport of the Mwenemutapa Kingdom, whose capital was at Mount Fura. It is located on the Sofala Bank in Sofala Province of Mozambique. It was founded by Somali merchants. This name wa ...

, João de Sepúlveda, was informed of the presence of these forces by allied Swahili city-states, mainly

Malindi Malindi is a town on Malindi Bay at the mouth of the Sabaki River, lying on the Indian Ocean coast of Kenya. It is 120 kilometres northeast of Mombasa. The population of Malindi was 119,859 as of the 2019 census. It is the largest urban centre ...

, who also reported that the hostile Ajuran Sultanate had appealed to the Ottomans for military support, in preparation for a rebellion against Portuguese suzerainty in the region. João de Sepúlveda thus set out with 6 small galleys and 100 soldiers to conduct a preemptive strike against the coastal cities of the Ajuran Sultanate. He was joined by an unrecorded number of vessels and warriors from Malindi."Letter from João de Sepúlveda to the King, Mozambique, 1542 August 10", in ''Documents on the Portuguese in Mozambique and Central Africa 1497-1840'' Vol. III (1540-1560). National Archives of Rhodesia, Centro de Estudos Históricos Ultramarinos. Lisbon, 1971 p.133

Battle

According to João de Sepúlveda's own account, having arrived at

Mogadishu Mogadishu (, also ; so, Muqdisho or ; ar, مقديشو ; it, Mogadiscio ), locally known as Xamar or Hamar, is the capital and List of cities in Somalia by population, most populous city of Somalia. The city has served as an important port ...

he "destroyed the city and did them great damage and injury". Moving a few leagues north, he reached a popular anchorage for tradeships coming from the Red Sea, where he learned that the Turks would not be sailing to East Africa that year. Thus he returned to what remained of Mogadishu, and made a peace deal with its rulers. However, according to modern historians it's not likely that João de Sepúlveda's small fleet actually destroyed Mogadishu. Instead, it appears that the capture of one Ottoman ship and a brief firing upon the city was enough to compel the sultan of Mogadishu to sign a peace deal with the Portuguese. Passing by

Barawa Barawa ( so, Baraawe, Maay Maay, Maay: ''Barawy'', ar, ﺑﺮﺍﻭة ''Barāwa''), also known as Barawe and Brava, is the capital city, capital of the South West State of Somalia, South West State of Somalia.Pelizzari, Elisa. "Guerre civile et ...

, the city was sacked, in retaliation for its inhabitants having delivered a few Portuguese prisoners to the Turks. After also sealing a peace with Barawa,. João de Sepúlveda returned to Malindi. The word benadir means coast in Somali referring to the richness of southern Somali coast.

References

Sources

* (translation from the German original ''Franz Xaver: Sein Leben und Seine Zeit II.1'', Freiburg im Breisgau: Herder, 1963) * {{coord missing, Somalia Ajuran Sultanate Conflicts in 1542 Medieval Somalia Benadir 1542 in the Portuguese Empire

Background

Battle

See also

References

Sources