Nur ibn Mujahid ibn ‘Ali ibn ‘Abdullah al Dhuhi Suha (
Harari: ኑር ኢብን ሙጃሂድ, so, Nuur ibn Mujaahid, ar, نور بن مجاهد; died 1567) was a Muslim Emir 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 ruled
Sultanate of Harar
The Sultanate of Harar was a Muslim state centered in present-day Harar, Ethiopia. It succeeded the Adal Sultanate. In this period the Harar Sultanate led by Amīr Nūr continued to carry on the struggle of the Adal leader Imām Aḥmed Gurēy ...
. He was the primary reason for the construction of the five-gated wall that surrounds the city 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 ...
. He was known for marrying
his uncle's widow,
Bati del Wambara
Bati del Wambara fl. 1531, ( Harari: ባቲ ዲል ወምበራ, lit. ''victory is her seat'')Rita Pankhurst Women of Power in Ethiopia: Struggle and Loss was the Harari wife of the 16th-century general, Ahmad ibn Ibrahim, and then his successo ...
, and he also succeeded Imam Ahmad as leader of the
Muslim
Muslims ( ar, المسلمون, , ) are people who adhere to Islam, a monotheistic religion belonging to the Abrahamic tradition. They consider the Quran, the foundational religious text of Islam, to be the verbatim word of the God of Abrah ...
forces fighting
Christian
Christians () are people who follow or adhere to Christianity, a monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. The words ''Christ'' and ''Christian'' derive from the Koine Greek title ''Christós'' (Χρι ...
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 ...
.
Biography
Emir Nur was considered a saint from Harar, Mujahid was called the ''Sahib al-Fath al-Thani'', or "Master of the Second Conquest". When Imam Ahmad, who had led the Muslim conquest of the
Ethiopian Highlands
The Ethiopian Highlands is a rugged mass of mountains in Ethiopia in Northeast Africa. It forms the largest continuous area of its elevation in the continent, with little of its surface falling below , while the summits reach heights of up to . ...
, was killed in 1543, the Muslim forces fell back in confusion to Harar. Nur, the dead leader’s sister’s son, married
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 ...
's widow,
Bati del Wambara
Bati del Wambara fl. 1531, ( Harari: ባቲ ዲል ወምበራ, lit. ''victory is her seat'')Rita Pankhurst Women of Power in Ethiopia: Struggle and Loss was the Harari wife of the 16th-century general, Ahmad ibn Ibrahim, and then his successo ...
, and undertook to renew the fortunes of the Muslim city, which had been sacked in 1550. Promoted to Emir around 1550-51, he spent the next two years reorganizing his forces, and constructing the
defensive wall
A defensive wall is a fortification usually used to protect a city, town or other settlement from potential aggressors. The walls can range from simple palisades or earthworks to extensive military fortifications with towers, bastions and gates ...
which still surrounds the city.
In 1554-55, Nur departed on a
Jihad
Jihad (; ar, جهاد, jihād ) is an Arabic word which literally means "striving" or "struggling", especially with a praiseworthy aim. In an Islamic context, it can refer to almost any effort to make personal and social life conform with Go ...
(holy war), in the eastern Ethiopian lowlands of
Bale, and
Hadiya. In 1559, he invaded
Fatagar
A medieval map of Fatagar and surrounding areas
Fatagar ( Amharic: ፈጠጋር) was a historical province that separated Muslim and Christian dominions in the medieval Horn of Africa. In the eleventh century it was part of the Muslim states, the ...
, where he fought against the Ethiopian emperor
Galawdewos
Galawdewos ( gez, ገላውዴዎስ, 1521/1522 – 23 March 1559) also known as Mar Gelawdewos ( amh, ማር ገላውዴዎስ), was Emperor of Ethiopia from 3 September 1540 until his death in 1559, and a member of the Solomonic dynasty. His ...
, and killed him at the
Battle of Fatagar
The Battle of Fatagar (alternatively known as Nech Sar) was a reprisal war between the participants of the previous Adal Sultanate and Ethiopian Empire in the Ethiopian-Adal war. It was fought between the forces of the Sultanate of Harar led by ...
. Nur continued fighting for 12 years until, according to legend, at
Gibe he said "Kaffa!", or "Enough!", and returned to Harar. Some believe the province is called
Kaffa for this reason.
During Nur’s absence, Harar witnessed internal power struggles, and the unlucky city was disturbed by encroaching
Oromo clans. It was at this time that the walls of Harar were built; tradition attributes them to Nur ibn Mujahid with the help of two chiefs, Aw Abadir and Aw 'Ali. By 1567, repeated Oromo raids had brought
famine
A famine is a widespread scarcity of food, caused by several factors including war, natural disasters, crop failure, Demographic trap, population imbalance, widespread poverty, an Financial crisis, economic catastrophe or government policies. Th ...
to the city. Nur left the city for three months on a punitive raid against the invaders. On his return he found an epidemic afflicting Harar, and he himself died of
typhus
Typhus, also known as typhus fever, is a group of infectious diseases that include epidemic typhus, scrub typhus, and murine typhus. Common symptoms include fever, headache, and a rash. Typically these begin one to two weeks after exposure.
...
that year.
[Richard Pankhurst, ''The Ethiopian Borderlands'' (Trenton: Red Sea Press, 1997), p. 373]
Legacy
Contemporaries described Nur as a man of noble conduct, who was just, strong, and highly principled. Besides the wall which protected the city's inhabitants from invaders over the following centuries, he was noted for a number of buildings he erected in Harar. His tomb stands on a hill surrounded by houses and courtyards, and is a popular place of pilgrimage in Harar.
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Nur Ibn Mujahid
Emirs of Harar
1567 deaths
16th-century monarchs in Africa
People from the Adal Sultanate
Year of birth unknown