The Imamate of Aussa also spelled Imamate of Awsa was a medieval Harari

imamate {{expand Arabic, date=April 2021 The term imamate or ''imamah'' ( ar, إمامة, ''imāmah'') means "leadership" and refers to the office of an ''imam'' or a state ruled by an ''imam''. Theology *Imamate, in Sunni doctrine the caliphate :* Naqshb ...

in present-day eastern

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 ...

with its capital in

Asaita Asaita ( am, አሳይታ, Asayəta, aa, Aysaqiita), also known as Aussa (Awsa), is a town in northeastern Ethiopia, and until 2007 served as the capital of the Afar Region of Ethiopia. Located in the Afambo woreda, part of the region's Awsi Ras ...

. It was carved out of the Sultanate of Harar and the Adal Sultanate.

History

This polity was marred with internal conflicts between

Harla The Harla, also known as Harala, or Arla, are an extinct ethnic group that once inhabited Djibouti, Ethiopia and northern Somalia. They spoke the now-extinct Harla language, which belonged to either the Cushitic or Semitic branches of the Afroas ...

and

Arabs The Arabs (singular: Arab; singular ar, عَرَبِيٌّ, DIN 31635: , , plural ar, عَرَب, DIN 31635, DIN 31635: , Arabic pronunciation: ), also known as the Arab people, are an ethnic group mainly inhabiting the Arab world in Wester ...

. In 1647, the rulers of the

Emirate of Harar The Emirate of Harar was a Muslim kingdom founded in 1647 when the Harari people refused to accept Imām ʿUmardīn Ādan as their ruler and broke away from the Imamate of Aussa to form their own state under `Ali ibn Da`ud. Prior to its invasion ...

broke away to form their own polity. Harari imams continued to have a presence in the southern Afar Region until they were overthrown in the eighteenth century by the Mudaito dynasty of

Afar Afar may refer to: Peoples and languages *Afar language, an East Cushitic language *Afar people, an ethnic group of Djibouti, Eritrea, and Ethiopia Places Horn of Africa *Afar Desert or Danakil Desert, a desert in Ethiopia *Afar Region, a region ...

who later established the Sultanate of Aussa. The last ruler of the dynasty, Imam Selman was killed in 1750. According to Heloise Mercier, the inhabitants 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 ...

who had migrated to Aussa were unable to maintain their customs and dialect contrary to those who lingered in Harar. Enrico Cerulli asserts although Aussa became dominated by Afar people, the ancient Semitic speaking Muslim kingdom survived in the form of the Emirate of Harar post 1700s. According to professor Lapiso, the contemporary Semitic

Harari people The Harari people ( Harari: Gēy Usuach, "People of the City") are Semitic-speaking ethnic group inhabiting the Horn of Africa. Members traditionally reside in the walled city of Harar, called simply ''Gēy'' "the City" in Harari, situated in t ...

are the heirs of the former Aussa Adal state which subjugated Cushitic

and

Somali people The Somalis ( so, Soomaalida 𐒈𐒝𐒑𐒛𐒐𐒘𐒆𐒖, ar, صوماليون) are an ethnic group native to the Horn of Africa who share a common ancestry, culture and history. The Lowland East Cushitic Somali language is the shared ...

Rulers

References

{{Medieval Horn of Africa 16th century in Ethiopia 17th century in Ethiopia Former countries in Africa Former monarchies Former theocracies

History

Rulers

See also

References