A Malassay ( Harari: መለሳይ ''Mäläsay'') was a member of the elite

infantry Infantry is a military specialization which engages in ground combat on foot. Infantry generally consists of light infantry, mountain infantry, motorized infantry & mechanized infantry, airborne infantry, air assault infantry, and marine i ...

units that formed the

Adal Sultanate The Adal Sultanate, or the Adal Empire or the ʿAdal or the Bar Saʿad dīn (alt. spelling ''Adel Sultanate, ''Adal ''Sultanate'') () was a medieval Sunni Muslim Empire which was located in the Horn of Africa. It was founded by Sabr ad-Din ...

household troops Household Division is a term used principally in the Commonwealth of Nations to describe a country's most elite or historically senior military units, or those military units that provide ceremonial or protective functions associated directly with ...

. According to Manfred Kropp, Malassay were the Harari armed forces.

Etymology

Malassay appears to refer to a military rank or warrior in Afar and Harari languages. According to Dr.

Duri Mohammed Duri Mohammed (1936– 2015) was an Ethiopian government official. He is known for co-founding the Harari National League. Duri Mohammed was born in Harar in 1936. He earned his BA in 1959 from what was called University College of Addis Ababa, n ...

and others, Malassay in ancient times attributed to Harari serviceman however in the present day it refers to a brotherhood or member of a fraternity. According to Harari scholar Abdurrahman Qorram, Malassay derives from the root Harari term ''mälä'' meaning to provide solutions.

History

Early Ge'ez and

Portuguese Portuguese may refer to: * anything of, from, or related to the country and nation of Portugal ** Portuguese cuisine, traditional foods ** Portuguese language, a Romance language *** Portuguese dialects, variants of the Portuguese language ** Portu ...

texts indicate Muslim soldiers were known as the Malassay. In the thirteenth century the Malassay appear to back the Amhara rebel

Yekuno Amlak Yekuno Amlak ( Ge’ez: ይኩኖ አምላክ); throne name Tasfa Iyasus (ተስፋ ኢየሱስ; died 19 June 1285) was Emperor of Ethiopia, and the founder of the Solomonic dynasty, which lasted until 1974. He was a ruler from Bete Amhara (in ...

in his conflict with the

Zagwe dynasty The Zagwe dynasty ( Ge'ez: ዛጔ ሥርወ መንግሥት) was an Agaw medieval dynasty that ruled the northern parts of Ethiopia and Eritrea, after the historical name of the Lasta province. Centered at Lalibela, it ruled large parts of the t ...

. Historians have identified the Gafat regiments of the Malassay played a key role in founding the Christian

Solomonic dynasty The Solomonic dynasty, also known as the House of Solomon, was the ruling dynasty of the Ethiopian Empire formed in the thirteenth century. Its members claim lineal descent from the biblical King Solomon and the Queen of Sheba. Tradition asserts ...

Ahmad ibn Ibrahim al-Ghazi Ahmad ibn Ibrahim al-Ghazi ( so, Axmed Ibraahim al-Qaasi or Axmed Gurey, Harari: አሕመድ ኢብራሂም አል-ጋዚ, ar, أحمد بن إبراهيم الغازي ; 1506 – 21 February 1543) was an imam and general of the Adal Sultana ...

was originally a Malassay serving under a

Garad Garad ( Harari: ገራድ, , , Oromo: ''Garaada'') is a term used to refer to a clan leader or regional administrator. It was used primarily by Muslims in the Horn of Africa that were associated with Islamic states, most notably the Adal Sultanate ...

named Abun Adashe prior to becoming leader of the Adal Sultanate. In the sixteenth century the main troops of Adal Sultanate's leader Ahmad ibn Ibrahim al-Ghazi were the Malassay during the invasion of Abyssinia. One of the leaders of the Muslim forces of Malassay was a

Gaturi Gaturi is a settlement in Kenya ) , national_anthem = " Ee Mungu Nguvu Yetu"() , image_map = , map_caption = , image_map2 = , capital = Nairobi , coordinates = , ...

named Amir Husain bin Abubaker. The Malassay participated in the conquest of Abyssinia at the decisive

Battle of Shimbra Kure The Battle of Shimbra Kure ("chickpea swamp") was fought on 9 March 1529 between the forces of Adal led by Imam Ahmad ibn Ibrahim al-Ghazi, and the Abyssinian army, under Dawit II (Lebna Dengel). Arab Faqīh states that many Somalis on the l ...

. Emperor Lebna Dengel chronicles states the Malassay alongside Qecchin were the Muslim enemy that invaded. According to Mohammed Hassan the Malassay under Ahmed consisted of the

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 Harari ethnic groups. Ethiopian historian

Merid Wolde Aregay Merid Wolde Aregay (1934 or 1935 – 2008) was an Ethiopian historian and a scholar of Ethiopian studies. Merid Wolde Aregay was born in Adwa in 1927 according to the Ethiopian calendar. He earned his BA in 1956 from what was called Unive ...

associated the Malassay with Semitic speakers. In the reign of Emperor

Sarsa Dengel Sarsa Dengel ( gez, ሠርጸ ድንግል ; 1550 – 4 October 1597), also known as Sarsa the Great, was Emperor of Ethiopia, and a member of the Solomonic dynasty. His throne name was throne name Malak Sagad I (መለክ ሰገድ ). Biograp ...

, the Hadiya Kingdom was supported by 500 Malassay donning

cuirass A cuirass (; french: cuirasse, la, coriaceus) is a piece of armour that covers the torso, formed of one or more pieces of metal or other rigid material. The word probably originates from the original material, leather, from the French '' cuira ...

who had arrived from

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 ...

territory to battle Ethiopia. Sarsa Dengel chronicles mentions Malassay rebels of Elmag (an unidentified group) and the Somali under their Harari moniker ''Tumur'' had deserted thus Manfred Kropp argues the Malassay were of diverse ethnic backgrounds. Under the seventeenth century

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 ...

, the entire army was commanded by a

who had several militias under him labeled the Malassay. In the contemporary era, the term Malassay survives as a subgroup of the Harari people. According to Umar, Malga-Gello the forefather of the

Siltʼe people The Siltʼe people are an ethnic group An ethnic group or an ethnicity is a grouping of people who identify with each other on the basis of shared attributes that distinguish them from other groups. Those attributes can include common sets o ...

's clan Ulbareg was a captain of the Malassay.

References

{{reflist Adal Sultanate Military history of Africa Infantry units and formations Warfare of the Middle Ages Military units and formations of the Middle Ages

Etymology

History

See also

References