Zeila ( so, Saylac, ar, زيلع, Zayla), also known as Zaila or Zayla, is a historical port town in the western
Awdal
Awdal ( so, Awdal, ar, أودَل) is an administrative region (''Administrative divisions of Somaliland, gobol'') in western Somaliland. It was separated from Woqooyi Galbeed and became a province in 1984 and is the most northwesterly provinc ...
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 ...
.
In the
Middle Ages
In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire a ...
, the Jewish traveller
Benjamin of Tudela
Benjamin of Tudela ( he, בִּנְיָמִין מִטּוּדֶלָה, ; ar, بنيامين التطيلي ''Binyamin al-Tutayli''; Tudela, Kingdom of Navarre, 1130 Castile, 1173) was a medieval Jewish traveler who visited Europe, Asia, an ...
identified Zeila (or Hawilah) with the Biblical location of
Havilah
Havilah ( ''Ḥăwīlāh'') refers to both a land and people in several books of the Bible; the one mentioned in , while the other is mentioned in .
Biblical mentions
In one case, Havilah is associated with the Garden of Eden, that mentioned in ...
. Most modern scholars identify it with the site of
Avalites
Avalites ( grc, Αὐαλίτης or ) was a small port in what is today Somalia that dominated trade in the Red Sea and Mediterranean.
Location
There has been a series of disputes as to the location of Avalites According to the ''Periplus of th ...
mentioned in the 1st-century Greco-Roman travelogue the ''
Periplus of the Erythraean Sea
The ''Periplus of the Erythraean Sea'' ( grc, Περίπλους τῆς Ἐρυθρᾶς Θαλάσσης, ', modern Greek '), also known by its Latin name as the , is a Greco-Roman periplus written in Koine Greek that describes navigation and ...
'' and in
Ptolemy
Claudius Ptolemy (; grc-gre, Πτολεμαῖος, ; la, Claudius Ptolemaeus; AD) was a mathematician, astronomer, astrologer, geographer, and music theorist, who wrote about a dozen scientific treatises, three of which were of importanc ...
, although this is disputed. The town evolved into an early Islamic center with the arrival of Muslims shortly after the
Hijrah
The Hijrah or Hijra () was the journey of the Islamic prophet Muhammad and his followers from Mecca to Medina. The year in which the Hijrah took place is also identified as the epoch of the Lunar Hijri and Solar Hijri calendars; its date eq ...
. By the 9th century, Zeila was the capital of the early
Adal
Adal may refer to:
*A short form for Germanic names in ''aþala-'' (Old High German ''adal-''), "nobility, pedigree"; see Othalan
**Adál Maldonado (1948-2020), Puerto Rican artist
**Adal Ramones (born 1969), Mexican television show host
**Adal He ...
Kingdom and
Ifat Sultanate
The Sultanate of Ifat, known as Wafāt or Awfāt in Arabic texts, was a medieval Sunni Muslim state in the eastern regions of the Horn of Africa between the late 13th century and early 15th century. It was formed in present-day Ethiopia around ...
in the 13th century; and also a capital for its successor state 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 ...
, it would attain its height of prosperity a few centuries later in the 16th century. The city subsequently came under
Ottoman and
British
British may refer to:
Peoples, culture, and language
* British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies.
** Britishness, the British identity and common culture
* British English, ...
protection in the 18th century.
Up until recently Zeila was surrounded by a large wall with five gates: Bab al Sahil and Bab al-jadd on the North. Bab Abdulqadir on the East: Bab al-Sahil on the west and Bab Ashurbura on the south.
Zeila falls in the traditional territory of the ancient Somali
Dir clan. The town of Zeila and the wider
Zeila District
Zeila District ( so, Degmada Saylac) is a district in western Somaliland. Its capital is at Zeila.
Demographics
The town of Zeila is primarily inhabited by people from the Somali ethnic group, with the Gadabuursi subclan of the Dir especially ...
is inhabited by the
Gadabuursi
The Gadabuursi ( Somali: ''Gadabuursi'', Arabic: جادابورسي), also known as ''Samaroon'' (Arabic: ''قبيلة سَمَرُون)'', is a northern Somali clan, a sub-division of the Dir clan family.
The Gadabuursi are geographically s ...
and
Issa, both subclans of the
Dir clan family.
Geography
Zeila is situated in the
Awdal
Awdal ( so, Awdal, ar, أودَل) is an administrative region (''Administrative divisions of Somaliland, gobol'') in western Somaliland. It was separated from Woqooyi Galbeed and became a province in 1984 and is the most northwesterly provinc ...
region in
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 ...
. Located on the
Gulf of Aden
The Gulf of Aden ( ar, خليج عدن, so, Gacanka Cadmeed 𐒅𐒖𐒐𐒕𐒌 𐒋𐒖𐒆𐒗𐒒) is a deepwater gulf of the Indian Ocean between Yemen to the north, the Arabian Sea to the east, Djibouti to the west, and the Guardafui Channe ...
coast near the
Djibouti
Djibouti, ar, جيبوتي ', french: link=no, Djibouti, so, Jabuuti officially the Republic of Djibouti, is a country in the Horn of Africa, bordered by Somalia to the south, Ethiopia to the southwest, Eritrea in the north, and the Red ...
border, the town sits on a
sandy spit surrounded by the sea. It is known for its
coral reef
A coral reef is an underwater ecosystem characterized by reef-building corals. Reefs are formed of colonies of coral polyps held together by calcium carbonate. Most coral reefs are built from stony corals, whose polyps cluster in groups.
Co ...
,
mangrove
A mangrove is a shrub or tree that grows in coastal saline water, saline or brackish water. The term is also used for tropical coastal vegetation consisting of such species. Mangroves are taxonomically diverse, as a result of convergent evoluti ...
s and offshore islands, which include the
Sa'ad ad-Din archipelago named after the Somali
Sultan
Sultan (; ar, سلطان ', ) is a position with several historical meanings. Originally, it was an Arabic abstract noun meaning "strength", "authority", "rulership", derived from the verbal noun ', meaning "authority" or "power". Later, it ...
Sa'ad ad-Din II
Sa'ad ad-Din II ( ar, سعد الدين زنكي), reigned – c. 1403 or c. 1414, was a Sultan of the Ifat Sultanate. He was the brother of Haqq ad-Din II, and the father of Mansur ad-Din, Sabr ad-Din II and Badlay ibn Sa'ad ad-Din. The histori ...
of the
Sultanate of Ifat
The Sultanate of Ifat, known as Wafāt or Awfāt in Arabic texts, was a medieval Sunni Muslim state in the eastern regions of the Horn of Africa between the late 13th century and early 15th century. It was formed in present-day Ethiopia around ea ...
. Landward, the terrain is unbroken desert for some fifty miles.
Borama
Borama ( so, Boorama, ar, بورما) is the Second capital city of Somaliland and the largest city of the northwestern Awdal region of Somaliland The commercial seat of the province, it is situated near the border with Ethiopia.
During the Mid ...
lies southeast of Zeila,
Berbera
Berbera (; so, Barbara, ar, بربرة) is the capital of the Sahil region of Somaliland and is the main sea port of the country. Berbera is a coastal city and was the former capital of the British Somaliland protectorate before Hargeisa. It ...
lies east of Zeila, while 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 ...
in
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 ...
is to the west.
Foundation
Zeila, along with
Mogadishu
Mogadishu (, also ; so, Muqdisho or ; ar, مقديشو ; it, Mogadiscio ), locally known as Xamar or Hamar, is the capital and List of cities in Somalia by population, most populous city of Somalia. The city has served as an important port ...
and other Somali coastal cities, was founded upon an indigenous network involving hinterland trade, which happened even before significant Arab migrations or trade with the Somali coast. That goes back approximately 4 thousand years.
According to textual and archeological evidence, Zeila, founded by Sh. Saylici was one of many small towns developed by the Somali pastoral and trading communities which flourished through the trade that gave birth to other coastal and hinterland towns such as
Heis,
Maydh
Maydh (also transliterated as Mait or Meit) (, ) is an ancient port city in the eastern Sanaag region of Somaliland.
History
Antiquity
According to Augustus Henry Keane, Maydh represents an early center of dispersal of the Somali people. Nationa ...
,
Abasa
ʻAbasa ( ar, عبس, "He Frowned") is the 80th chapter ('' sura'') of the Qur'an, with 42 verses ('' ayat''). It is a Meccan sura. The Surah is so designated after the word `abasa with which it opens.
Summary
*1-11 Muhammad rebuked for frown ...
, Derbiga Cad Cad, Qoorgaab, Fardowsa,
Maduna
Maduna ( so, Maduuna) is a medieval town in western Sanaag region of Somaliland, near El Afweyn.
History
The ruined Islamic city of Maduna is considered the most substantial and most accessible ruin of its type in Somaliland. The main feature of ...
and
Amud
Amud or Amoud ( so, Camuud, ar, عمود) is an ancient, ruined town in the Awdal region of Somaliland.Damtew Teferra, ''African higher education: an international reference handbook'', (Indiana University Press: 2003) Named after its patron Sain ...
in the western region,
Aw-Barkhadle in the Hargeisa region and
Fardowsa, near Sheikh.
Ancient Zeila was divided into five residential districts; Khoor-doobi, Hafat al-Furda, Asho Bara, Hafat al-Suda and Sarrey.
History
Avalites
During antiquity, Zeila was part of the Somali city-states that in engaged in a lucrative trade network connecting
Somali merchants with
Phoenicia
Phoenicia () was an ancient thalassocratic civilization originating in the Levant region of the eastern Mediterranean, primarily located in modern Lebanon. The territory of the Phoenician city-states extended and shrank throughout their histor ...
,
Ptolemaic Egypt,
Greece
Greece,, or , romanized: ', officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the southern tip of the Balkans, and is located at the crossroads of Europe, Asia, and Africa. Greece shares land borders with ...
,
Parthian Persia,
Saba Saba may refer to:
Places
* Saba (island), an island of the Netherlands located in the Caribbean Sea
* Şaba (Romanian for Shabo), a town of the Odesa Oblast, Ukraine
* Sabá, a municipality in the department of Colón, Honduras
* Saba (river), L ...
,
Nabataea
The Nabataean Kingdom (Nabataean Aramaic: 𐢕𐢃𐢋𐢈 ''Nabāṭū''), also named Nabatea (), was a political state of the Arab Nabataeans during classical antiquity.
The Nabataean Kingdom controlled many of the trade routes of the region, ...
, and the
Roman Empire
The Roman Empire ( la, Imperium Romanum ; grc-gre, Βασιλεία τῶν Ῥωμαίων, Basileía tôn Rhōmaíōn) was the post-Republican period of ancient Rome. As a polity, it included large territorial holdings around the Mediterr ...
. Somali sailors used the ancient Somali maritime vessel known as the ''
beden
The Beden, badan, or alternate type names Beden-seyed and Beden-safar, is a fast, ancient Somali single or double-masted maritime vessel and ship, typified by its towering stern-post and powerful rudder. It is also the longest surviving sewn boa ...
'' to transport their cargo.
[Journal of African History pg.50 by John Donnelly Fage and Roland Anthony Oliver]
Zeila is an ancient Somali city and has been identified with what was referred to in
classical antiquity
Classical antiquity (also the classical era, classical period or classical age) is the period of cultural history between the 8th century BC and the 5th century AD centred on the Mediterranean Sea, comprising the interlocking civilizations of ...
as the town of
Avalites
Avalites ( grc, Αὐαλίτης or ) was a small port in what is today Somalia that dominated trade in the Red Sea and Mediterranean.
Location
There has been a series of disputes as to the location of Avalites According to the ''Periplus of th ...
( el, Αβαλίτες, link=no), situated in the erstwhile
Barbara geographical region on the northern Somali coast. Along with the neighboring ''Habash'' (
Habesha
am, ሐበሻ, አበሻ, translit=Häbäša, 'äbäša ti, ሓበሻ, translit=Ḥabäša
, regions =
, languages = Ethiopian Semitic languages
, religions = Predominantly Oriental Orthodox Christianity (Orthodox Te ...
or Abyssinians) of
Al-Habash
Al-Habash ( ar, الحبشة, al-habāsha) was an ancient region in the Horn of Africa situated in the northern highlands of modern-day Ethiopia and Eritrea.Sven Rubenson, The survival of Ethiopian independence, (Tsehai, 2003), p.30.
Origin
The ...
to the west, the Barbaroi or Berber (ancestral
Somalis
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 ...
) who inhabited the area was recorded in the 1st century CE Greek document the ''
Periplus of the Erythraean Sea
The ''Periplus of the Erythraean Sea'' ( grc, Περίπλους τῆς Ἐρυθρᾶς Θαλάσσης, ', modern Greek '), also known by its Latin name as the , is a Greco-Roman periplus written in Koine Greek that describes navigation and ...
'' as engaging in extensive commercial exchanges with
Egypt
Egypt ( ar, مصر , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a transcontinental country spanning the northeast corner of Africa and southwest corner of Asia via a land bridge formed by the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Mediter ...
and pre-Islamic
Arabia
The Arabian Peninsula, (; ar, شِبْهُ الْجَزِيرَةِ الْعَرَبِيَّة, , "Arabian Peninsula" or , , "Island of the Arabs") or Arabia, is a peninsula of Western Asia, situated northeast of Africa on the Arabian Plate. ...
. The travelogue mentions the Barbaroi trading
frankincense
Frankincense (also known as olibanum) is an aromatic resin used in incense and perfumes, obtained from trees of the genus ''Boswellia'' in the family Burseraceae. The word is from Old French ('high-quality incense').
There are several species o ...
, among various other commodities, through their port cities such as Avalites (modern Zeila). Competent seamen, the Periplus' author also indicates that they sailed throughout the
Red Sea
The Red Sea ( ar, البحر الأحمر - بحر القلزم, translit=Modern: al-Baḥr al-ʾAḥmar, Medieval: Baḥr al-Qulzum; or ; Coptic: ⲫⲓⲟⲙ ⲛ̀ϩⲁϩ ''Phiom Enhah'' or ⲫⲓⲟⲙ ⲛ̀ϣⲁⲣⲓ ''Phiom ǹšari''; T ...
and
Gulf of Aden
The Gulf of Aden ( ar, خليج عدن, so, Gacanka Cadmeed 𐒅𐒖𐒐𐒕𐒌 𐒋𐒖𐒆𐒗𐒒) is a deepwater gulf of the Indian Ocean between Yemen to the north, the Arabian Sea to the east, Djibouti to the west, and the Guardafui Channe ...
for trade. The document describes the Barbaroi's governance system as decentralized and essentially consisting of a collection of autonomous city-states.
[Mohamed Diriye Abdullahi, Culture and Customs of Somalia, (Greenwood Press, 2001), pp.13–14] It also suggests that "the Berbers who live in the place are very unruly,"
Wilfred Harvey Schoff
Wilfred Harvey Schoff (1874–1932) was an early twentieth-century American antiquarian and Roman empire, classical scholar.
Career
Schoff was responsible for translating a number of important ancient texts. Among these works was the 1st cen ...
, The ''Periplus of the Erythraean Sea'': travel and trade in the Indian Ocean, (Longmans, Green, and Co., 1912) p.25 an apparent reference to their independent streak.
[
]
Ifat & Adal Sultantes
Islam was introduced to the area early on from the Arabian Peninsula
The Arabian Peninsula, (; ar, شِبْهُ الْجَزِيرَةِ الْعَرَبِيَّة, , "Arabian Peninsula" or , , "Island of the Arabs") or Arabia, is a peninsula of Western Asia, situated northeast of Africa on the Arabian Plate ...
, shortly after the Hijrah
The Hijrah or Hijra () was the journey of the Islamic prophet Muhammad and his followers from Mecca to Medina. The year in which the Hijrah took place is also identified as the epoch of the Lunar Hijri and Solar Hijri calendars; its date eq ...
. Zeila's two-mihrab
Mihrab ( ar, محراب, ', pl. ') is a niche in the wall of a mosque that indicates the ''qibla'', the direction of the Kaaba in Mecca towards which Muslims should face when praying. The wall in which a ''mihrab'' appears is thus the "qibla w ...
Masjid al-Qiblatayn
The Masjid al-Qiblatayn ( ar, مسجد القبلتين, lit=Mosque of the Two Qiblas), also spelt Masjid al-Qiblatain, is a mosque in Medina believed by Muslims to be the place where the final Islamic prophet, Muhammad, received the command to ...
dates to the 7th century, and is the oldest mosque
A mosque (; from ar, مَسْجِد, masjid, ; literally "place of ritual prostration"), also called masjid, is a place of prayer for Muslims. Mosques are usually covered buildings, but can be any place where prayers ( sujud) are performed, ...
in the city. In the late 9th century, Al-Yaqubi
ʾAbū l-ʿAbbās ʾAḥmad bin ʾAbī Yaʿqūb bin Ǧaʿfar bin Wahb bin Waḍīḥ al-Yaʿqūbī (died 897/8), commonly referred to simply by his nisba al-Yaʿqūbī, was an Arab Muslim geographer and perhaps the first historian of world cult ...
wrote that Muslims were living along the northern Somali seaboard. He also mentioned that the Adal kingdom had its capital in the city, suggesting that 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 ...
with Zeila as its headquarters dates back to at least the 9th or 10th centuries. According to I.M. Lewis, the polity was governed by local dynasties consisting of Somalized 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 ...
or Arabized Somalis, who also ruled over the similarly-established Sultanate of Mogadishu
The Sultanate of Mogadishu ( so, Saldanadda Muqdisho, ar, سلطنة مقديشو) (fl.9th- 13th centuries), also known as the Kingdom of Magadazo, was a medieval Somali sultanate centered in southern Somalia. It rose as one of the pre-eminent po ...
in the Benadir region to the south. Adal's history from this founding period forth would be characterized by a succession of battles with neighbouring Abyssinia
The Ethiopian Empire (), also formerly known by the exonym Abyssinia, or just simply known as Ethiopia (; Amharic and Tigrinya: ኢትዮጵያ , , Oromo: Itoophiyaa, Somali: Itoobiya, Afar: ''Itiyoophiyaa''), was an empire that historica ...
.
By the year (1214-17), Ibn Said
Abū al-Ḥasan ʿAlī ibn Mūsā ibn Saʿīd al-Maghribī ( ar, علي بن موسى المغربي بن سعيد) (1213–1286), also known as Ibn Saʿīd al-Andalusī, was an Arab geographer, historian, poet, and the most important collector o ...
referred to both Zeila and Berbera
Berbera (; so, Barbara, ar, بربرة) is the capital of the Sahil region of Somaliland and is the main sea port of the country. Berbera is a coastal city and was the former capital of the British Somaliland protectorate before Hargeisa. It ...
. Zeila, as he tells us, was a wealthy city of considerable size and its inhabitants were completely Muslims. Ibn Said
Abū al-Ḥasan ʿAlī ibn Mūsā ibn Saʿīd al-Maghribī ( ar, علي بن موسى المغربي بن سعيد) (1213–1286), also known as Ibn Saʿīd al-Andalusī, was an Arab geographer, historian, poet, and the most important collector o ...
's description gives the impression that Berbera
Berbera (; so, Barbara, ar, بربرة) is the capital of the Sahil region of Somaliland and is the main sea port of the country. Berbera is a coastal city and was the former capital of the British Somaliland protectorate before Hargeisa. It ...
was of much more localized importance, mainly serving the immediate Somali, hinterland while Zeila was clearly serving more extensive areas. But there is no doubt that Zeila was also predominantly Somali, and Al-Dimashqi, another thirteen-century Arab writer, gives the city name its Somali name Awdal (Adal), still known among the local Somali. By the fourteen century, the significance of this Somali port for the Ethiopian interior increased so much so that all the Muslim communities established along the trade routes into central and south-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 ...
were commonly known in Egypt
Egypt ( ar, مصر , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a transcontinental country spanning the northeast corner of Africa and southwest corner of Asia via a land bridge formed by the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Mediter ...
and Syria
Syria ( ar, سُورِيَا or سُورِيَة, translit=Sūriyā), officially the Syrian Arab Republic ( ar, الجمهورية العربية السورية, al-Jumhūrīyah al-ʻArabīyah as-Sūrīyah), is a Western Asian country loc ...
by the collective term of "the country of Zeila."
Historian Al-Umari
The al-Omari (also spelt Alomari or el-Umari or omary) ( ar, العمري) is a family that are descent from Umar, the second caliph, or leader, of the Islamic empire.
The Jordanian Omaris produced a number of Sunni religious scholars and Otto ...
in his study in the 1340s about the history of Awdal
Awdal ( so, Awdal, ar, أودَل) is an administrative region (''Administrative divisions of Somaliland, gobol'') in western Somaliland. It was separated from Woqooyi Galbeed and became a province in 1984 and is the most northwesterly provinc ...
, the medieval state in western and northern parts of historical Somalia
Somalia, , Osmanya script: 𐒈𐒝𐒑𐒛𐒐𐒘𐒕𐒖; ar, الصومال, aṣ-Ṣūmāl officially the Federal Republic of SomaliaThe ''Federal Republic of Somalia'' is the country's name per Article 1 of thProvisional Constituti ...
and some related areas, Al-Umari of Cairo states that in the land of Zayla’ (Awdal
Awdal ( so, Awdal, ar, أودَل) is an administrative region (''Administrative divisions of Somaliland, gobol'') in western Somaliland. It was separated from Woqooyi Galbeed and became a province in 1984 and is the most northwesterly provinc ...
) “they cultivate two times annually by seasonal rains … The rainfall for the winter is called ‘Bil’ and rainfall for the ‘summer’ is called ‘Karam’ in the language of the people of Zayla’ wdali Somalis”
The author’s description about seasons generally corresponds to the local seasons in historical Awdal
Awdal ( so, Awdal, ar, أودَل) is an administrative region (''Administrative divisions of Somaliland, gobol'') in western Somaliland. It was separated from Woqooyi Galbeed and became a province in 1984 and is the most northwesterly provinc ...
where Karan or Karam is an important rainy season at the beginning of the year. The second half of the year is called ‘Bilo Dirir’ (Bil = month; Bilo = months). It appears that the historian was referring, in one way or another, to these still used terms, Karan and Bil. This indicates that the ancient Somali solar calendar citizens of Zeila were using was very similar to the one they use today. This also gives further credence to how the medieval inhabitants of Zeila were predominantly Somali, spoke Somali, and had Somali farming practices.
In the following century, the Moroccan historian and traveller Ibn Battuta
Abu Abdullah Muhammad ibn Battutah (, ; 24 February 13041368/1369),; fully: ; Arabic: commonly known as Ibn Battuta, was a Berbers, Berber Maghrebi people, Maghrebi scholar and explorer who travelled extensively in the lands of Afro-Eurasia, ...
describes the city being inhabited by Somalis
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 ...
, followers of the Shafi‘i
The Shafii ( ar, شَافِعِي, translit=Shāfiʿī, also spelled Shafei) school, also known as Madhhab al-Shāfiʿī, is one of the four major traditional schools of religious law (madhhab) in the Sunnī branch of Islam. It was founded by ...
school, who kept large numbers of camels, sheep and goats. His description thus indicates both the ingenious nature of the city, as indicated by the composition of its population, and, by implication through the presence of the livestock, the existence of the nomads in its vicinity. He also describes Zeila as a big metropolis city and many great markets filled with many wealthy merchants. Zayla has also been known to be home to a number of Hanafis, but no research has been conducted as to how large the Hanafi population was in premodern Zayla.
Through extensive trade with Abyssinia and Arabia, Adal attained its height of prosperity during the 14th century.[I. M. Lewis, ''A pastoral democracy: a study of pastoralism and politics among the Northern Somali of the ]Horn of Africa
The Horn of Africa (HoA), also known as the Somali Peninsula, is a large peninsula and geopolitical region in East Africa.Robert Stock, ''Africa South of the Sahara, Second Edition: A Geographical Interpretation'', (The Guilford Press; 2004), ...
'', (LIT Verlag Münster: 1999), p.17 It sold incense
Incense is aromatic biotic material that releases fragrant smoke when burnt. The term is used for either the material or the aroma. Incense is used for aesthetic reasons, religious worship, aromatherapy, meditation, and ceremony. It may also be ...
, myrrh
Myrrh (; from Semitic, but see '' § Etymology'') is a gum-resin extracted from a number of small, thorny tree species of the genus ''Commiphora''. Myrrh resin has been used throughout history as a perfume, incense and medicine. Myrrh mi ...
, slaves, gold
Gold is a chemical element with the symbol Au (from la, aurum) and atomic number 79. This makes it one of the higher atomic number elements that occur naturally. It is a bright, slightly orange-yellow, dense, soft, malleable, and ductile met ...
, silver
Silver is a chemical element with the Symbol (chemistry), symbol Ag (from the Latin ', derived from the Proto-Indo-European wikt:Reconstruction:Proto-Indo-European/h₂erǵ-, ''h₂erǵ'': "shiny" or "white") and atomic number 47. A soft, whi ...
and camel
A camel (from: la, camelus and grc-gre, κάμηλος (''kamēlos'') from Hebrew or Phoenician: גָמָל ''gāmāl''.) is an even-toed ungulate in the genus ''Camelus'' that bears distinctive fatty deposits known as "humps" on its back. C ...
s, among many other commodities. Zeila had by then started to grow into a huge multicultural metropolis, with Somalis
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 ...
(Predominantly), Afar, Harari, and even 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 ...
and Persian
Persian may refer to:
* People and things from Iran, historically called ''Persia'' in the English language
** Persians, the majority ethnic group in Iran, not to be conflated with the Iranic peoples
** Persian language, an Iranian language of the ...
inhabitants. The city was also instrumental in bringing Islam to the Oromo and other Ethiopian ethnic groups.
I.M. Lewis gives an invaluable reference to an Arabic Manuscript on the history of the Gadabuursi Somali. "This Chronicle opens," Lewis tells us, ‘with an account of the wars of Imam ‘Ali Si’id (1392), from whom the Gadabuursi today trace their descent, and who is described as the only Muslim leader fighting on the western flank in the armies of Se’ad ad-Din, ruler of Zeila.’ Se’ad ad-Din was the joint founder of the Kingdom of Adal along with his brother Haqedin II.
In 1332, the Zeila-based King of Adal was slain in a military campaign aimed at halting the Abyssinian Emperor Amda Seyon
Amda Seyon I ( gez, ዐምደ ፡ ጽዮን , am, አምደ ፅዮን , "Pillar of Zion"), throne name Gebre Mesqel (ገብረ መስቀል ) was Emperor of Ethiopia from 1314 to 1344 and a member of the Solomonic dynasty.
He is best known i ...
's march toward the city. When the last Sultan of Ifat, Sa'ad ad-Din II
Sa'ad ad-Din II ( ar, سعد الدين زنكي), reigned – c. 1403 or c. 1414, was a Sultan of the Ifat Sultanate. He was the brother of Haqq ad-Din II, and the father of Mansur ad-Din, Sabr ad-Din II and Badlay ibn Sa'ad ad-Din. The histori ...
, was also killed by Dawit I of Ethiopia
Dawit I ( gez, ዳዊት) was Emperor of Ethiopia from 1382 to 6 October 1413, and a member of the Solomonic dynasty. He was the younger son of Newaya Krestos.
Reign
Taddesse Tamrat discusses a tradition that early in his reign, Dawit campaigned ...
in Zeila in 1410, his children escaped to Yemen
Yemen (; ar, ٱلْيَمَن, al-Yaman), officially the Republic of Yemen,, ) is a country in Western Asia. It is situated on the southern end of the Arabian Peninsula, and borders Saudi Arabia to the Saudi Arabia–Yemen border, north and ...
, before later returning in 1415. In the early 15th century, Adal's capital was moved further inland to the town of Dakkar
Dakkar or Doggor, also known as Aw-Barkhadle () was a historical town located near Hargeisa in modern-day Somaliland. It was part of the Muslim empires in the Horn of Africa during the middle ages and served as the capital of the Adal Sultanate ...
, where Sabr ad-Din II
Sabr ad-Din III ( ar, الصبر الدين الثاني) (died 1422 or 1423) was a Sultan of Adal and the oldest son of Sa'ad ad-Din II. Sabr ad-Din returned to the Horn of Africa from Yemen to reclaim his father's realm. He defeated the Ethiop ...
, the eldest son of Sa'ad ad-Din II, established a new base after his return from Yemen. Adal's headquarters were again relocated the following century, this time to 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 ...
. From this new capital, Adal organised an effective army led by Imam 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 ...
(Ahmad "Gurey" or "Gran") that invaded the Abyssinian empire. This campaign is historically known as the Conquest of Abyssinia (''Futuh al Habash''). During the war, Imam Ahmad pioneered the use of cannon
A cannon is a large- caliber gun classified as a type of artillery, which usually launches a projectile using explosive chemical propellant. Gunpowder ("black powder") was the primary propellant before the invention of smokeless powder ...
s supplied by the Ottoman Empire
The Ottoman Empire, * ; is an archaic version. The definite article forms and were synonymous * and el, Оθωμανική Αυτοκρατορία, Othōmanikē Avtokratoria, label=none * info page on book at Martin Luther University) ...
, which he imported through Zeila and deployed against Abyssinian forces and their Portuguese allies led by Cristóvão da Gama
Cristóvão da Gama ( 1516 – 29 August 1542), anglicised as Christopher da Gama, was a Portuguese military commander who led a Portuguese army of 400 musketeers on a crusade in Ethiopia (1541–1543) against the Adal Muslim army of Imam Ahmad ...
. Some scholars argue that this conflict proved, through their use on both sides, the value of firearm
A firearm is any type of gun designed to be readily carried and used by an individual. The term is legally defined further in different countries (see Legal definitions).
The first firearms originated in 10th-century China, when bamboo tubes ...
s like the matchlock
A matchlock or firelock is a historical type of firearm wherein the gunpowder is ignited by a burning piece of rope that is touched to the gunpowder by a mechanism that the musketeer activates by pulling a lever or trigger with his finger. Before ...
musket
A musket is a muzzle-loaded long gun that appeared as a smoothbore weapon in the early 16th century, at first as a heavier variant of the arquebus, capable of penetrating plate armour. By the mid-16th century, this type of musket gradually d ...
, cannons and the arquebus
An arquebus ( ) is a form of long gun that appeared in Europe and the Ottoman Empire during the 15th century. An infantryman armed with an arquebus is called an arquebusier.
Although the term ''arquebus'', derived from the Dutch word ''Haakbus ...
over traditional weapons.
Legendary Arab explorer Ahmad ibn Mājid
Aḥmad ibn Mājid ( ar, أحمد بن ماجد), known as "Amīr al-Baḥr al-ʿArabī" in Arabic ( ar, أمير البحر العربي), “Prince of the Sea” and known also as the ''Lion of the Sea'', was an Arab navigator and cartographer ...
wrote of Zeila and other notable landmarks and ports of the northern Somali coast during 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 ...
period, including Berbera
Berbera (; so, Barbara, ar, بربرة) is the capital of the Sahil region of Somaliland and is the main sea port of the country. Berbera is a coastal city and was the former capital of the British Somaliland protectorate before Hargeisa. It ...
, Siyara
Siyara ( so, Siyaara) was a historic coastal settlement and fort located in the Sahil region of Somaliland. It served as the first capital of the Adal Sultanate following the Muslim resurgence spearheaded by Sabr ad-Din II.Pankhurst, Richard. ''T ...
, the Sa'ad ad-Din islands
The Sa'ad ad-Din Islands ( so, Jasiirada Sacadadiin, ar, جزر سعد الدين), also Sa'ad ad-Din Islands#Etymology, Romanized as and known as the Zeila Archipelago, are a group of islands off the northern coast of Somaliland. They are sit ...
aka the Zeila Archipelago, El-Sheikh
El-Sheikh ( so, Ceel-Sheekh) is a coastal settlement in the western edge of the Sahil region of Somaliland.
History
El-Sheikh was also known historically as ''Buurta Almis'' or جبل ألمس ''Jebel Amis'' after the nearby Mount Almis just s ...
, Alula
The alula , or bastard wing, (plural ''alulae'') is a small projection on the anterior edge of the wing of modern birds and a few non-avian dinosaurs. The word is Latin and means "winglet"; it is the diminutive of ''ala'', meaning "wing". The al ...
, Ruguda
Ruguda, also known as Rakudah ( so, Ruguuda) is a historic coastal port town located in the Sanaag region of Somaliland, near Heis.
Overview
Ruguda is a coastal town approximately 38km away from the larger Heis town nearby. Other nearby cities ...
, Maydh
Maydh (also transliterated as Mait or Meit) (, ) is an ancient port city in the eastern Sanaag region of Somaliland.
History
Antiquity
According to Augustus Henry Keane, Maydh represents an early center of dispersal of the Somali people. Nationa ...
, Heis and El-Darad
El-Darad ( so, Ceel Daraad) was a historic coastal settlement and fort located in the Sahil region of Somaliland.
History
Legendary 15th century Arab explorer Ahmad ibn Mājid wrote of El-Darad and several other notable landmarks and ports of ...
.
Travellers' reports, such as the memoirs of the Italian Ludovico di Varthema
Ludovico di Varthema, also known as Barthema and Vertomannus (c. 1470 – 1517), was an Italian traveller, diarist and aristocrat known for being one of the first non-Muslim Europeans to enter Mecca as a pilgrim. Nearly everything that is known ...
, indicate that Zeila continued to be an important marketplace during the 16th century, despite being sacked by the Portuguese in 1517 and 1528. Later that century, separate raids by nomad
A nomad is a member of a community without fixed habitation who regularly moves to and from the same areas. Such groups include hunter-gatherers, pastoral nomads (owning livestock), tinkers and trader nomads. In the twentieth century, the popu ...
s from the interior eventually prompted the port's then ruler, 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 ...
Lado, to enlist the services of 'Atlya ibn Muhammad to construct a sturdy wall around the city. Zeila, however, ultimately began to decline in importance following the short-lived conquest of Abyssinia.
Early Modern Period
16th-century Zeila, along with several other settlements on the East African coast, had been visited by the Portuguese explorer and writer Duarte Barbosa
Duarte Barbosa (c. 14801 May 1521) was a Portuguese writer and officer from Portuguese India (between 1500 and 1516). He was a Christian pastor and scrivener in a ''feitoria'' in Kochi, and an interpreter of the local language, Malayalam. Barbosa ...
, describing the city as such: "Having passed this town of Berbara, and going on, entering the Red Sea, there is another town of the Moors, which is named Zeyla, which is a good place of trade, whither many ships navigate and sell their clothes and merchandise. It is very populous, with good houses of stone and white-wash and good streets; the houses are covered with terraces, the dwellers in them are black. They have many horses and breed many cattle of all sorts, which they use for milk, butter, and meat. There is in this country abundance of wheat, millet, barley, and fruits, which they carry thence to Aden."
Beginning in 1630, the city became a dependency of the ruler of Mocha, who, for a small sum, leased the port to one of the office-holders of Mocha. The latter, in return, collected a toll on its trade. Zeila was subsequently ruled by an Emir, whom Mordechai Abir suggested had "some vague claim to authority over all of the ''Sahil'', but whose real authority did not extend very far beyond the walls of the town." Assisted by cannons and a few mercenaries armed with matchlock
A matchlock or firelock is a historical type of firearm wherein the gunpowder is ignited by a burning piece of rope that is touched to the gunpowder by a mechanism that the musketeer activates by pulling a lever or trigger with his finger. Before ...
s, the governor succeeded in fending off incursions by both the disunited nomads of the interior, who had penetrated the area, as well as brigands in the Gulf of Aden. By the first half of the 19th century, Zeila was a shadow of its former self, having been reduced to "a large village surrounded by a low mud wall, with a population that varied according to the season from 1,000 to 3,000 people." The city continued to serve as the principal maritime outlet for Harar and beyond it in Shewa
Shewa ( am, ሸዋ; , om, Shawaa), formerly romanized as Shua, Shoa, Showa, Shuwa (''Scioà'' in Italian language, Italian), is a historical region of Ethiopia which was formerly an autonomous monarchy, kingdom within the Ethiopian Empire. The ...
. However, the opening of a new sea route between Tadjoura
Tadjoura ( aa, Tagórri; ar, تاجوراء ''Tağūrah''; so, Tajuura) is one of the oldest towns in Djibouti and the capital of the Tadjourah Region. The town evolved into an early Islamic center with the arrival of Muslims shortly after the ...
and Shewa cut further into Zeila's historical position as the main regional port.
Haji Sharmarke and Pre Colonial Era
Sharifs of Mocha exercised nominal rule on behalf of the Ottoman Empire
The Ottoman Empire, * ; is an archaic version. The definite article forms and were synonymous * and el, Оθωμανική Αυτοκρατορία, Othōmanikē Avtokratoria, label=none * info page on book at Martin Luther University) ...
over Zeila.
''Hajji'' Sharmarke Ali Saleh
Sharmarke Ali Saleh ( so, Sharma'arke Cali Saalax ) was a leading 19th century Somali leader, captain, and merchant. He was known as "The African Rothschild " which indicates he was one of the richest man in Africa at that time and also the 'Polit ...
came to govern Zeila after the Turkish governor of Mocha and Hodeida
Al-Hudaydah ( ar, الْحُدَيْدَة, al-ḥudayda), also transliterated as Hodeda, Hodeida, Hudaida or Hodeidah, is the fourth-largest city in Yemen and its principal port on the Red Sea.
As of 2004, its population was 402,560 and it is ...
handed governorship from Mohamed El Barr to him. Mohamed El Barr would not leave peacefully and Sharmarke departed for Zeila with a contingent of fifty Somali musketeers
A musketeer (french: mousquetaire) was a type of soldier equipped with a musket. Musketeers were an important part of early modern warfare particularly in Europe as they normally comprised the majority of their infantry. The musketeer was a pre ...
and two cannons. Arriving outside the city, he instructed his men to fire the cannons close to the walls. Intimidated and not having seen such weapons before, El Barr and his men would flee and leave Zeila for Sharmarke. Sharmarke's governorship had an instant effect on the city, as he maneuvered to monopolize as much of the regional trade as possible, with his sights set as far as 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 ...
and 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 ...
. In 1845, he deployed a few matchlock men to wrest control of neighboring Berbera
Berbera (; so, Barbara, ar, بربرة) is the capital of the Sahil region of Somaliland and is the main sea port of the country. Berbera is a coastal city and was the former capital of the British Somaliland protectorate before Hargeisa. It ...
from that town's then feuding Somali authorities. The Emir of Harar Ahmad III ibn Abu Bakr already been at loggerheads with Sharmarke over fiscal matters. He was concerned about the ramifications that these movements might ultimately have on his own city's commerce. The Emir consequently urged Berbera's leaders to reconcile and mount a resistance against Sharmarke's troops in 1852. Sharmarke was later succeeded as Governor of Zeila by Abu Bakr Pasha, a local Afar statesman in 1855 but would return and depose Abu Bakr in 1857 before finally being ousted in 1861 after Sharmarke's implication in the death of a French Consul.[I.M. Lewis, ''A Modern History of the Somali'', fourth edition (Oxford: James Currey, 2002), p.43 & 49]
In 1874–75, the Egyptians obtained a ''firman
A firman ( fa, , translit=farmân; ), at the constitutional level, was a royal mandate or decree issued by a sovereign in an Islamic state. During various periods they were collected and applied as traditional bodies of law. The word firman com ...
'' from the Ottomans by which they secured claims over the city. At the same time, the Egyptians received British recognition of their nominal jurisdiction as far east as Cape Guardafui
Cape Guardafui ( so, Gees Gardafuul, or Raas Caseyr, or Ras Asir, it, Capo Guardafui) is a headland in the autonomous Puntland region in Somalia. Coextensive with Puntland's Gardafuul administrative province, it forms the geographical apex of th ...
.[E. H. M. Clifford]
"The British Somaliland-Ethiopia Boundary," ''Geographical Journal''
87 (1936), p. 289 In actuality, however, Egypt had little authority over the interior. Their period of rule on the coast was brief, lasting only a few years (1870–84). When the Egyptian garrison in Harar was evacuated in 1885, Zeila became caught up in the competition between the Tadjoura-based French and the British for control of the strategic Gulf of Aden littoral. I. M. Lewis mentions that "by the end of 1885 Britain was preparing to resist an expected French landing at Zeila." However, the two powers decided instead to turn to negotiations.
British Somaliland
On 9 February 1888, France and Britain concluded an agreement defining the boundary between their respective protectorate
A protectorate, in the context of international relations, is a State (polity), state that is under protection by another state for defence against aggression and other violations of law. It is a dependent territory that enjoys autonomy over m ...
s. As a result, Zeila and its eastern neighbor Berbera came to be part of British Somaliland
British Somaliland, officially the Somaliland Protectorate ( so, Dhulka Maxmiyada Soomaalida ee Biritishka), was a British Empire, British protectorate in present-day Somaliland. During its existence, the territory was bordered by Italian Soma ...
.
The construction of a railway from Djibouti
Djibouti, ar, جيبوتي ', french: link=no, Djibouti, so, Jabuuti officially the Republic of Djibouti, is a country in the Horn of Africa, bordered by Somalia to the south, Ethiopia to the southwest, Eritrea in the north, and the Red ...
to Addis Ababa
Addis Ababa (; am, አዲስ አበባ, , new flower ; also known as , lit. "natural spring" in Oromo), is the capital and largest city of Ethiopia. It is also served as major administrative center of the Oromia Region. In the 2007 census, t ...
in the late 19th century continued the neglect of Zeila. At the beginning of the next century, the city was described in the ''1911 Encyclopædia Britannica
A notable ongoing event was the Comparison of the Amundsen and Scott Expeditions, race for the South Pole.
Events January
* January 1 – A decade after federation, the Northern Territory and the Australian Capital Territory ...
'' as having a "good sheltered anchor
An anchor is a device, normally made of metal , used to secure a vessel to the bed of a body of water to prevent the craft from drifting due to wind or current. The word derives from Latin ''ancora'', which itself comes from the Greek ἄγ ...
age much frequented by Arab sailing craft. However, heavy draught steamers are obliged to anchor a mile and a half from the shore. Small coasting boats lie off the pier and there is no difficulty in loading or discharging cargo. The water supply of the town is drawn from the wells of Takosha, about three miles distant; every morning camels, in charge of old Somali women and bearing goatskins filled with water, come into the town in picturesque procession. ... eila'simports, which reach Zaila chiefly via Aden, are mainly cotton
Cotton is a soft, fluffy staple fiber that grows in a boll, or protective case, around the seeds of the cotton plants of the genus ''Gossypium'' in the mallow family Malvaceae. The fiber is almost pure cellulose, and can contain minor perce ...
goods, rice
Rice is the seed of the grass species ''Oryza sativa'' (Asian rice) or less commonly ''Oryza glaberrima
''Oryza glaberrima'', commonly known as African rice, is one of the two domesticated rice species. It was first domesticated and grown i ...
, jowaree, dates
Date or dates may refer to:
*Date (fruit), the fruit of the date palm (''Phoenix dactylifera'')
Social activity
*Dating, a form of courtship involving social activity, with the aim of assessing a potential partner
**Group dating
*Play date, an ...
and silk
Silk is a natural protein fiber, some forms of which can be woven into textiles. The protein fiber of silk is composed mainly of fibroin and is produced by certain insect larvae to form cocoons. The best-known silk is obtained from the coc ...
; the exports, 90% of which are from Abyssinia, are principally coffee
Coffee is a drink prepared from roasted coffee beans. Darkly colored, bitter, and slightly acidic, coffee has a stimulant, stimulating effect on humans, primarily due to its caffeine content. It is the most popular hot drink in the world.
S ...
, skins, ivory
Ivory is a hard, white material from the tusks (traditionally from elephants) and teeth of animals, that consists mainly of dentine, one of the physical structures of teeth and tusks. The chemical structure of the teeth and tusks of mammals is ...
, cattle
Cattle (''Bos taurus'') are large, domesticated, cloven-hooved, herbivores. They are a prominent modern member of the subfamily Bovinae and the most widespread species of the genus ''Bos''. Adult females are referred to as cows and adult mal ...
, ghee
Ghee is a type of clarified butter, originating from India. It is commonly used in India for cooking, as a traditional medicine, and for religious rituals.
Description
Ghee is typically prepared by simmering butter, which is churned from c ...
and mother-of-pearl
Nacre ( , ), also known as mother of pearl, is an organicinorganic composite material produced by some molluscs as an inner shell layer; it is also the material of which pearls are composed. It is strong, resilient, and iridescent.
Nacre is f ...
".[
Buralle Robleh the subinspector of police of Zeila was described by Major Rayne as one of the most important men in Zeila along with 2 others. He is featured on the image to the right with General Gordon, Governor of British Somaliland.
In August 1940, Zeila was captured by advancing Italian troops. It would remain under their occupation for over six months.
]
Present
In the post-independence period, Zeila was administered as part of the official Awdal
Awdal ( so, Awdal, ar, أودَل) is an administrative region (''Administrative divisions of Somaliland, gobol'') in western Somaliland. It was separated from Woqooyi Galbeed and became a province in 1984 and is the most northwesterly provinc ...
region of Somaliland.
Following the outbreak of the civil war
A civil war or intrastate war is a war between organized groups within the same state (or country).
The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government policies ...
in the early 1990s, much of the city's historic infrastructure was destroyed and many residents left the area. However, remittance
A remittance is a non-commercial transfer of money by a foreign worker, a member of a diaspora community, or a citizen with familial ties abroad, for household income in their home country or homeland. Money sent home by migrants competes wit ...
funds sent by relatives abroad have contributed toward the reconstruction of the town, as well as the local trade and fishing industries.
Demographics
The town of Zeila is primarily inhabited by people from the Somali ethnic group, with the Gadabuursi
The Gadabuursi ( Somali: ''Gadabuursi'', Arabic: جادابورسي), also known as ''Samaroon'' (Arabic: ''قبيلة سَمَرُون)'', is a northern Somali clan, a sub-division of the Dir clan family.
The Gadabuursi are geographically s ...
subclan of the Dir especially well represented.[Samatar, Abdi I. (2001) "Somali Reconstruction and Local Initiative: Amoud University," , p. 132.] The Issa subclan of the Dir are especially well represented in the wider Zeila District
Zeila District ( so, Degmada Saylac) is a district in western Somaliland. Its capital is at Zeila.
Demographics
The town of Zeila is primarily inhabited by people from the Somali ethnic group, with the Gadabuursi subclan of the Dir especially ...
.
Tim Glawion (2020) describes the clan demographics of both the town of Zeila and the wider Zeila District
Zeila District ( so, Degmada Saylac) is a district in western Somaliland. Its capital is at Zeila.
Demographics
The town of Zeila is primarily inhabited by people from the Somali ethnic group, with the Gadabuursi subclan of the Dir especially ...
:
"Three distinct circles can be distinguished based on the way the security arena is composed in and around Zeila: first, Zeila town, the administrative centre, which is home to many government institutions and where the mostly ethnic Gadabuursi/Samaron inhabitants engage in trading or government service activities; second, Tokhoshi, an artisanal salt mining area eight kilometres west of Zeila, where a mixture of clan and state institutions provide security, and two large ethnic groups (Ciise and Gadabuursi/Samaron) live alongside one another; third the southern rural areas, which are almost universally inhabited by the Ciise clan, with its long, rigid culture of self-rule."
Elisée Reclus (1886) describes the two main ancient routes leading 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 ...
to Zeila, one route passing through the country of the Gadabuursi
The Gadabuursi ( Somali: ''Gadabuursi'', Arabic: جادابورسي), also known as ''Samaroon'' (Arabic: ''قبيلة سَمَرُون)'', is a northern Somali clan, a sub-division of the Dir clan family.
The Gadabuursi are geographically s ...
and one route passing through Issa territory. The author describes the town of Zeila and its immediate environs as being inhabited by the Gadabuursi
The Gadabuursi ( Somali: ''Gadabuursi'', Arabic: جادابورسي), also known as ''Samaroon'' (Arabic: ''قبيلة سَمَرُون)'', is a northern Somali clan, a sub-division of the Dir clan family.
The Gadabuursi are geographically s ...
, whereas the wider Zeila District
Zeila District ( so, Degmada Saylac) is a district in western Somaliland. Its capital is at Zeila.
Demographics
The town of Zeila is primarily inhabited by people from the Somali ethnic group, with the Gadabuursi subclan of the Dir especially ...
and countryside south of the town, as being traditional Issa clan territory:
"Two routes, often blocked by the inroads of plundering hordes, lead from Harrar to Zeila. One crosses a ridge to the north of the town, thence redescending into the basin of the Awash by the Galdessa Pass and valley, and from this point running towards the sea through Issa territory, which is crossed by a chain of trachytic rocks trending southwards. The other and more direct but more rugged route ascends north-eastwards towards the Darmi Pass, crossing the country of the Gadibursis or Gudabursis. The town of Zeila lies south of a small archipelago of islets and reefs on the point of the coast where it is hemmed in by the Gadibursi tribe. It has two ports, one frequented by boats but impracticable for ships, whilst the other, not far south of the town, although very narrow, is from 26 to 33 feet deep, and affords safe shelter to large craft."
References
Sources
*
External links
Sir Richard Burton's account of Zeila in the late 19th century
{{Authority control
Populated places in Awdal
Archaeological sites in Somaliland
History of Ethiopia
Cities of the Adal Sultanate
Cities in Somaliland
Ancient Greek geography of East Africa