Taleh ( so, Taleex, ar, تليح) is a historical town in the eastern

Sool Sool ( so, Sool, ar, صول) is an administrative region ('' gobol'') in south eastern Somaliland/north western Somalia. It borders Togdheer to the west, Sanaag to the north, Ethiopia to the south and Nugal, Bari to the east. Its capital city ...

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 ...

.Regions of Somalia
/ref> As of September 2015, both

Puntland Puntland ( so, Puntland, ar, أرض البنط, it, Terra di Punt or ''Paese di Punt''), officially the Puntland State of Somalia ( so, Dowlad Goboleedka Puntland ee Soomaaliya, ar, ولاية أرض البنط الصومالية), is a F ...

and

had nominal influence or control in Taleh and it's vicinity. The town served as the capital of the pre-independence Dervish movement.Laurence, p.47. The Dalyare fort and the Taleh complex built between 1909 and 1910 are among the least disfigured Dervish era structures that remain in Sool province, whom altogether comprise 27 Dervish era structures. The oldest or first of these forts was the Ugaadhyahan Dhulbahante-inhabited fort at Halin and destroyed by Eric Swayne in 1902; the second-oldest was the Bah Ali Gheri Dhulbahante-inhabited fort at

Eyl Eyl ( it, Eil) is an ancient port town in the northeastern Nugal region of Somalia in the autonomous Puntland region, also serving as the capital of the Eyl District. Eyl, also called Illig, was the capital of the Dervishes from 1905 onwards, unt ...

built in 1903. Taleh succeeded the city of

(Illig) as the Dervish capital for four years from 1905 onwards. According to the concurrent London Gazette, Taleh and Jidali were the two main Dhulbahante garesas inhabited by Dervish.

History

Dervish State

Dhulbahante garesa

In the Dervish-written letter's description of the fall of Taleh in February 1920, in an April 1920 letter transcribed from the original Arabic script into Italian by the incumbent ''Governatori della Somalia'', the various Dervish-built installations are described as ''garesas'' taken from the Dhulbahante clan by the British: The Mogadishu governor was later inspired to similarly refer to his resident mansion as a ''garesa''.

Choice as capital

Mohamud Xoosh, the last castellan of Silsilad

According to Dervish veteran Ciise Faarax Fikad, Taleh was chosen as the Dervish capital because the Nugaal Valley lies at the heartland of Dhulbahante territory, its distance from colonial administrative centers and to generate geographical distance from the hostile bodies such as

Rayid Ciid or 'Iid ( so, Arlo Ciideed) is an archaic native geographic name for the land between the region of Mudug and the Nugaal Valley, roughly congruous with the northern Bookh district in Ethiopia. As such, Ciid constitutes the tripoint of the fo ...

signatories to British treaties, the Majeerteen, those under

Mohamoud Ali Shire Sultan Mohamoud Ali Shire, MBE ( so, Maxamuud Cali Shire, ar, محمود علي شري) was a Somali elder of the Warsangali clan. He bore the title Sultan * (also referred to as Senior Akil) of the Warsangali. He was centered at Las Khorey. Re ...

and the Ogaden who were in general opposed to the Dervish:Ciise, Jama. Taariikhdii Daraawiishta iyo Sayid Maxamed Cabdulle Xasan. 2005, p 251 Colonial sources concur with Somali sources that non-Dhulbahante clans were hostile towards the Dervish:

=Dervish forts/Dhulbahante garesas

Darawiish territory according to Somali historian Muxamed Ibraahim Muxamed,

Taleh is home to several historic structures dating to the Dervish era. Of these, there are five forts erected by

Mohammed Abdullah Hassan Sayid Mohamed Abdullahi Hassan ( so, Sayid Maxamed Cabdulle Xasan; 1856–1920) was a Somali religious and military leader of the Dervish movement, which led a two-decade long confrontation with various colonial empires including the British, ...

's former Dervish movement in present-day

and

Sanaag Sanag ( so, Sanaag, ar, سَنَاج) is an administrative region (''Administrative divisions of Somaliland, gobol'') in north eastern Somaliland.Dalyare fort,

Jidali fort Jidali fort was a cross-shaped fort of the Dervish era located in the town of Jidali in Sanaag, Somaliland and is also the first place in Africa to be bombed via aerial bombardment by a tally of four sorties of De Havilland DH-9's on 21 January ...

, Midhisho, Shimbir Bariis and Badhan. Taleh/Taleex is the largest of the structures. According to Cabdi-Yaar Cali Guuleed, a Dervish veteran, the largest Dhulbahante fort from the Dervish era is the Dhulbahante fort of Taleh which according to him was built between 1909 and 1910 and he said the following: It was built around a collection of Dervish tombs, the earliest of which belongs to Sultan

Nur Ahmed Aman Sultan Nur Ahmed Aman ( so, Suldaan Nuur Axmed Amaan; (1841–1907); Somali nickname Nuur Dheere), was a learned religious leader and the 5th Sultan of the Habr Yunis Sultanate and later also one of the leaders behind the Somali Dervish movement a ...

and Carro Seed Magan, the mother of the emir of

Diiriye Guure Diiriye may refer to: * Diriye Osman, Somali-British writer * Abdillahi Diiriye Guled, Somali scholar * Diiriye Guure, king of the Darawiish sultanate *Asha Gelle Dirie, activist for Puntite and Puntland women *Waris Dirie Waris may refer to: ...

, i.e. the Sayid. From 1909 to 1910, the Dervish constructed the main fort around the older tombs. They spent the next two years in the mountainous regions of Sanaag building three more smaller forts.The Geographical Journal, Vol. 78, No. 2 (Aug., 1931), pp. 125-128 Maxamuud Xoosh Cigaal was the last Dervish man to be resident at the Taleh fort, whilst the six-year old Jaamac Biixi Kidin was the last Dervish person in the fort overall. A 1931 diary-book by former governor of Italian Somaliland

Francesco Caroselli Francesco, the Italian (and original) version of the personal name " Francis", is the most common given name among males in Italy. Notable persons with that name include: People with the given name Francesco * Francesco I (disambiguation), sev ...

notes an April 1920 letter by the Sayid to the then Italian-Somalia governor which states the Taleh fort was one of 27 forts built by Dervish and that they're called ''Dhulbahante garesas''.Ferro e Fuoco in Somalia, da Francesco Saverio Caroselli, Rome, 1931; p. 272.

Fall of Taleh

In 1919–1920, the British

Royal Air Force The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the United Kingdom's air and space force. It was formed towards the end of the First World War on 1 April 1918, becoming the first independent air force in the world, by regrouping the Royal Flying Corps (RFC) and ...

(RAF) bombarded the Sanaag forts, where most of the Dervish had operated since 1913. Having destroyed the structures and driven out

's men to Taleh in 1920, they finally attacked the town, assisted by horsemen and Somali personalities. The settlement was bombarded by the Royal Air Force on 4 February and taken days later, with the British having defeated the last pockets of Dervish resistance. Among the casualties at Taleh were Ibrahim Buqul and

Haji Sudi Ahmed Warsama, more commonly known as Haji Sudi ( so, Xaaji Suudi Shabeel) was one of the leaders behind the Somali Dervish movement. He was also the movement's right-hand man and chief lieutenant till its demise in 1920. He is described as the ...

, two of the closest men to the Mullah and both being of the

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 ...

sub-division of the

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 ...

. The former was the commander of the Dervish at Taleh, and the latter was a long-standing member of the movement according to Douglas Jardin (1923) and Henry Rayne (1921). Another Dervish leader, Yusuf Xayle, was captured alive and later executed by former Dervish Abdi Dhere, who had defected to the opposition in 1919. Muhammad Abdullah Hassan himself managed to escape to the

Ogaden Ogaden (pronounced and often spelled ''Ogadēn''; so, Ogaadeen, am, ውጋዴ/ውጋዴን) is one of the historical names given to the modern Somali Region, the territory comprising the eastern portion of Ethiopia formerly part of the Harargh ...

, where his Dervishes were later routed in a 1921 raid led by the clan leader Haji Warabe.

After the Somali civil war

At the beginning of the Somali civil war, the Sool region was in a drought, and the area around Taleh was particularly affected. Local nomads lost much of their assets and migrated to nearby cities such as Las Anod. In 2009, women reportedly have no voting or suffrage rights in Taleh at this time. In March 2011, elders of Taleh resolved to call for the withdrawal of Somaliland troops from Sool. On December 26, 2011, an SSC meeting was held in Taleh, attended by elder Haji Abdikarim Hussein and others. In August 2011, fighting between Somaliland and Puntland forces occurred in Taleh, with at least 3 killed and 7 wounded. In January 2012, Somaliland police arrested a reporter from Universal TV in

Las Anod Las Anod ( so, Laascaanood; ar, لاسعانود) is the administrative capital of the Sool region of Somaliland. Territorial dispute The city is disputed by Puntland and Somaliland. The former bases its claim due to the kinship ties between ...

who broadcast news about the Taleh clan meeting for allegedly distorting the content of the meeting.

Conflict between Somaliland and Khatumo

In January 2012, the Dhulbahante clan proclaimed the independence of

Khatumo State Khatumo State ( so, Khaatumo; ar, ولاية خاتمة, translit=wilāyat khātimah), officially the Khatumo State of Somalia ( so, Dowlad Goboleedka Khaatumo ee Soomaaliya), was a successor to the SSC Movement. Centred on the Sool, Sanaag reg ...

with Taleh as its capital. However, this was not recognized internationally, nor by neighboring countries Somaliland and Puntland. In November 2012, Somaliland municipal elections were held, but voting did not take place in Taleh for security reasons. In November 2013, there were clashes between Puntland and Khatumo forces, which also killed several civilians. Many of Taleh's residents were evacuated to nearby neighborhoods. Epidemics of diarrhea, pneumonia, and other diseases occurred in evacuated areas. In mid-April 2014, Somaliland sent hundreds of troops to occupy Taleh, the main town in Khatumo. The Special Representative of the UN Secretary-General for Somali Affairs,

Nicholas Kay Sir Nicholas Peter Kay (born 8 March 1958) is a British diplomat. He has served as the British ambassador to Afghanistan, Sudan and the Democratic Republic of the Congo. From 2013 to 2016 he was the United Nations Special Representative for Som ...

, expressed concern about the conflict between Somaliland and Puntland and urged mediation by the United Nations Assistance Mission in Somalia (UNSOM). Somaliland troops withdrew one day after occupation. In June 2014, Somaliland also temporarily occupied Taleh. In April 2015, five people were injured in a confrontation between the Samakab Ali and Farah Ali clans in Taleh. In December 2015, the Somaliland government granted a foreign company a permit to conduct oil exploration in the Sool region, and when that company conducted oil exploration in Taleh and Hudun, Puntland condemned this as a provocation by Somaliland. In May 2016, Puntland's Minister of Insurance visited Taleh to lay the cornerstone for the birth center. In December 2016, the region was in drought and a delegation, including Somaliland's Interior Minister, has visited several towns in the Sool region, including Taleh, to survey the drought situation. In 2017, the Puntland President

Abdiweli Gaas Abdiweli Mohamed Ali GaasBriefi ...

appointed Mohamed Roble Isse as Taleh District Commissioner. The

2017 Somaliland presidential election Presidential elections were held in Somaliland on 13 November 2017, the third direct presidential election since 2003. General elections had been scheduled to be held in Somaliland on 27 March 2017 to elect both the President and House of Represe ...

saw Taleh become a constituency for the first time. In June 2018, a SOMNEWS TV reporter was arrested by Somaliland police for reporting on a press conference held by elders in the Taleh district. In April 2019, Somaliland forces and pro-Somaliland militias took control of the Taleh district. Khatumo forces withdrew without fighting. In April 2019, diarrhea symptoms caused by

water shortage Water scarcity (closely related to water stress or water crisis) is the lack of fresh water resources to meet the standard water demand. There are two types of water scarcity: physical or economic water scarcity. Physical water scarcity is where ...

occurred in Taleh. Taleh has no hospital and is coping with traditional home remedies, with some patients being taken to

, which is dominated by Somaliland, and others to

Garoowe Garowe ( so, Garoowe, ar, غَاْرَّوْؤَيَ,

, the capital of Puntland.

Policies by Somaliland

In December 2019, Somaliland's Minister of Information visited Taleh. In January 2021, the Somaliland government begins voter registration for

municipal elections In many parts of the world, local elections take place to select office-holders in local government, such as mayors and councillors. Elections to positions within a city or town are often known as "municipal elections". Their form and conduct vary ...

and

parliamentary election A general election is a political voting election where generally all or most members of a given political body are chosen. These are usually held for a nation, state, or territory's primary legislative body, and are different from by-elections ( ...

in Sool region, including Taleh. One polling station was set up in the Taleh area, and the distribution of ballots was scheduled for three days until March 15, but a one-week postponement was announced. In June, preliminary results from the regional parliaments were announced and Kulmiye 6, Wadani 3, UCID 0 are selected in Taleh.

Silsilad

Jama Biixi Kidin, the last known Darwiish

Conception

The notion of the building of fortresses for Dervish inhabitation pre-existed 1902 as Eric Swayne encountered a fort at Halin during the second expedition in 1902, as such, arguably timeframing the building of the Halin fort at 1901. The British War Office stated that Eric Swayne destroyed the fort in 1902, and that it was inhabited by the Ugaadhyahan Dhulbahante subclans of Naleye Ahmed and Nur Ahmed:Official History of the Operations in Somaliland, 1901-04 Great Britain. War Office. General Staff · 1907 , PAGE 100 The second-oldest Dhulbahante fort of the Dervish era is the Dhowre Sheneeleh fort which was constructed at

(Illig) in 1903. According to the British War Office, the castle at Illig was exclusively inhabited by the Dhulbahante clan, and in particular by the Bah Ali Gheri subclan of the Dhulbahante:Official History of the Operations in Somaliland, 1901-04 Great Britain. War Office. General Staff · 1907 , PAGE 264 Historian Douglas Jardine concurs with the British War Office that the Dervish capital at

Illig Eyl ( it, Eil) is an ancient port town in the northeastern Nugal region of Somalia in the autonomous Puntland region, also serving as the capital of the Eyl District. Eyl, also called Illig, was the capital of the Dervishes from 1905 onwards, unt ...

(Eyl) was exclusively inhabited by the

Dhulbahante The Dhulbahante ( so, Dhulbahante, ar, دلبةنتئ) is a Somali clan family, part of the Harti clan which itself belongs to the largest Somali clan-family — the Darod. They are the traditional inhabitants of the physiographic Nugaal in its ...

:Mad Mullah of Somaliland, Douglas Jardine, p 148

Human habitation

Although the term ''Taleh'' or ''Taleex'' is often used to describe the entire Dervish fort complex in the town, it more strictly applies to only one of the structures in a four-part compound. The latter complex includes Falat, Silsilad, Dar Ilaalo and Taleh. According to Jardine, prior to Taleh becoming Dervish capital, the Dervish capital had for four years from 1905 onwards been at

, also known as

Horse stable

Besides the human habitation, Silsilad also had a horse stable whose substance commonly features in Somali popular culture: Like other poems, horses as a symbol of love can also eruptly turn to belligerence: One Dervish war tactic was hit-and-run, exemplified by dispersion in all directions:Douglas Jardine, Mad Mulah of Somaliland, page 64 Counter-tactics used by colonial forces were dehydrating when blocking Dervish horses' access to wells: Dervish subdivided their horses into Barroor, a beige color, and Xamar, a chest-nut colored horse, alternating each depending on the intensity of the sun or heat. The largest Dervish horse stableyard outside Taleh was arguably Damot, also called

Docmo Docmo or Damot is a town in Werder Zone of the Somali Region in Ethiopia. The exact district or woreda of Docmo is ''Bookh'' also called ''Boh''. The locality is often incorrectly transliterated in various ways, including ''Damot'' by Europeans, or ...

, with large assemblages reported between 1900 and 1903. Notable horses included Shan-maray, owned by Gaanni Gaalleef Cali Xaad which was the fastest horse in the Nugaal, Isxal was the main stallion used for breeding Dervish-owned horses,

Demographics

The town of Taleh has a total population of 4,374 residents.

Climate

Education

Taleh has a number of academic institutions. According to the Somaliland

Ministry of Education An education ministry is a national or subnational government agency politically responsible for education. Various other names are commonly used to identify such agencies, such as Ministry of Education, Department of Education, and Ministry of Pub ...

, there are eight primary schools in the Taleh District. Among these are Kalad, Labas, Aroley and Halin.

Notable residents

Abdisamad Ali Shire Abdisamad Ali Shire Abdisamad Ali Shire ( so, Cabdisamad Cali Shiire, ar, عبد الصمد علي شيري) is a former Vice President of Puntland.

– former Vice President of Puntland *

Abdihakim Abdullahi Haji Omar Abdihakim Abdullahi Haji Omar ( so, Cabdihakiin Cabdulaahi Xaaji Cumar, ar, عبد الحكيم عبد الله حاجي عمر), also known as Abdihakin Abdullahi Omar Amey, is a Somali politician. Former Vice President of Puntland. Personal l ...

– current Vice President of Puntland *

Saado Ali Warsame Saado Ali Warsame ( so, Saado Cali Warsame, ar, سادو علي ورسمه; 1950 – 23 July 2014) was a Somali-American singer-songwriter and politician. She served as a lawmaker in the Federal Parliament of Somalia representing Puntland State o ...

– a Somali singer-songwriter and former politician

Notes

References

*{{cite book , last = Laurence , first = Margaret , author-link = , author2=Nora Foster Stovel , title = Heart of a stranger , publisher = University of Alberta , year = 2003 , location = , pages = , url = https://books.google.com/books?id=57fNUsaD7HIC , doi = , id = , isbn = 9780888644077
Taleex
Populated places in Sool, Somaliland