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
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 ...
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
See also
*
Aussa Sultanate
The Sultanate of Aussa was a kingdom that existed in the Afar Region in eastern Ethiopia in the 18th and 20th centuries.
It was considered to be the leading monarchy of the Afar people, to whom the other Afar rulers nominally acknowledged primac ...
*
Mudaito dynasty
*
Sultanate of Ifat
*
Ajuran Sultanate
References
{{Medieval Horn of Africa
16th century in Ethiopia
17th century in Ethiopia
Former countries in Africa
Former monarchies
Former theocracies