El-Darad ( so, Ceel Daraad) was a historic coastal settlement and fort located in the Sahil region of

Somaliland Somaliland,; ar, صوماليلاند ', ' officially the Republic of Somaliland,, ar, جمهورية صوماليلاند, link=no ''Jumhūrīyat Ṣūmālīlānd'' is a ''de facto'' sovereign state in the Horn of Africa, still conside ...

History

Legendary 15th century Arab explorer

Ahmad ibn Mājid Aḥmad ibn Mājid ( ar, أحمد بن ماجد), known as "Amīr al-Baḥr al-ʿArabī" in Arabic ( ar, أمير البحر العربي), “Prince of the Sea” and known also as the ''Lion of the Sea'', was an Arab navigator and cartographer ...

wrote of El-Darad and several other notable landmarks and ports of the northern Somali coast, including

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 ...

, the

Sa'ad ad-Din islands 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 Z ...

(aka the Zeila Archipelago near Zeila),

Alula The alula , or bastard wing, (plural ''alulae'') is a small projection on the anterior edge of the wing of modern birds and a few non-avian dinosaurs. The word is Latin and means "winglet"; it is the diminutive of ''ala'', meaning "wing". The al ...

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 citie ...

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. Nationa ...

, Heis,

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. ''T ...

and

El-Sheikh 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 s ...

. In the 19th century, El-Darad was a seasonal coastal trading settlement with a

fort A fortification is a military construction or building designed for the defense of territories in warfare, and is also used to establish rule in a region during peacetime. The term is derived from Latin ''fortis'' ("strong") and ''facere'' ...

made of

adobe Adobe ( ; ) is a building material made from earth and organic materials. is Spanish for ''mudbrick''. In some English-speaking regions of Spanish heritage, such as the Southwestern United States, the term is used to refer to any kind of e ...

(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 The Habr Je'lo ( so, Habar Jeclo, ar, هبر جعلو , Full Name: ''Mūsa ibn ash-Shaykh Isḥāq ibn Aḥmad,'' historically known as the Habr Toljaala ( so, Habar Toljeclo) is a major sub-tribe of the wider Isaaq family. Its members form p ...

(

Adan Madobe The Mohamed Abokor ( so, Maxamed Abokor, Full Name:'' Muḥammad ibn Abū Bakr ibn Jibrīl ibn Abū Bakr ibn Mūsa ibn ash-Shaykh Isḥāq ibn Aḥmad'') is a Somali clan, and a major sub-division of the Habr Je'lo clan of the Isaaq. The Mohame ...

) pirate and slave trader based in El-Darad who garrisoned the fort with slaves armed with

matchlock A matchlock or firelock is a historical type of firearm wherein the gunpowder is ignited by a burning piece of rope that is touched to the gunpowder by a mechanism that the musketeer activates by pulling a lever or trigger with his finger. Before ...

rifles. Muhammad Diban also had cordial relations with

Sharmarke Ali Saleh Sharmarke Ali Saleh ( so, Sharma'arke Cali Saalax ) was a leading 19th century Somali leader, captain, and merchant. He was known as "The African Rothschild " which indicates he was one of the richest man in Africa at that time and also the 'Polit ...

– governor and ruler of

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 ...

and

Tadjoura Tadjoura ( aa, Tagórri; ar, تاجوراء ''Tağūrah''; so, Tajuura) is one of the oldest towns in Djibouti and the capital of the Tadjourah Region. The town evolved into an early Islamic center with the arrival of Muslims shortly after the ...

– who provided Muhammad with five

cannons A cannon is a large- caliber gun classified as a type of artillery, which usually launches a projectile using explosive chemical propellant. Gunpowder ("black powder") was the primary propellant before the invention of smokeless powder dur ...

after Sharmarke lost control of Berbera in 1852.

References

Populated places in Sahil, Somaliland {{Somaliland-geo-stub