Awsa sultanate
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The Sultanate of Aussa was a kingdom that existed in the Afar Region in 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 ...
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 primacy. The
Ethiopian Empire 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 historical ...
nominally laid claim to the region but were met with harsh resistance as is known with the Afars and their skilled desert warfare in contrast to other areas of the empire and thus Aussa remained independent. The Sultan Yayyo visited Rome along with countless other nobility from across East Africa to support the creation of
Italian East Africa Italian East Africa ( it, Africa Orientale Italiana, AOI) was an Italian colony in the Horn of Africa. It was formed in 1936 through the merger of Italian Somalia, Italian Eritrea, and the newly occupied Ethiopian Empire, conquered in the Seco ...
. This marked the end of the region's independence and it was disestablished and incorporated into Italian East Africa as a part of the Eritrean Governorate and the
Harar Governorate Harar Governorate was one of the six governorates of Italian East Africa. It was formed in 1936 from parts of the conquered Ethiopian Empire following the Second Italo-Ethiopian War. The capital of governorate was Harar, but Dire Dawa was the m ...
. The Sultanate was then incorporated into the Ethiopian Empire after
World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
, but enjoyed considerable autonomy under Ethiopia until the rise of the
Derg The Derg (also spelled Dergue; , ), officially the Provisional Military Administrative Council (PMAC), was the military junta that ruled Ethiopia, then including present-day Eritrea, from 1974 to 1987, when the military leadership formally " c ...
in the 1970s.


History


Imamate of Aussa

Afar society has traditionally been divided into petty kingdoms, each ruled by its own
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 ...
.Matt Phillips, Jean-Bernard Carillet, ''Lonely Planet Ethiopia and Eritrea'', (Lonely Planet: 2006), p.301. The Imamate of Aussa was carved out of the Sultanate of Harar and the Adal Sultanate in 1577, when Muhammed Jasa moved his capital 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 Aussa (Asaita) with the split of the Adal Sultanate into Aussa and the Sultanate of Harar.Abir, p. 23 n.1. 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. The Imamate of Awsa was later destroyed by the local Mudaito
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 ...
in 1672. Following the Awsa Imamate's demise, the Mudaito Afars founded their own kingdom, the Sultanate of Aussa. At some point after 1672, Aussa declined in conjunction with Imam Umar Din bin Adam's recorded ascension to the throne.


Sultanate

In 1734, the
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 ...
leader Data Kadafo, head of the Mudaito clan, seized power and established the Mudaito dynasty. This marked the start of a new and more sophisticated polity that would last into the colonial period. The primary symbol of the Sultan was a silver
baton Baton may refer to: Stick-like objects *Baton, a type of club *Baton (law enforcement) *Baston (weapon), a type of baton used in Arnis and Filipino Martial Arts *Baton charge, a coordinated tactic for dispersing crowds of people *Baton (conductin ...
, which was considered to have magical properties. The influence of the sultanate extended into the Danakil lowlands of what is now
Eritrea Eritrea ( ; ti, ኤርትራ, Ertra, ; ar, إرتريا, ʾIritriyā), officially the State of Eritrea, is a country in the Horn of Africa region of Eastern Africa, with its capital and largest city at Asmara. It is bordered by Ethiopia ...
. After 15 years of rule, Kadafo's son, Muhammäd Kedafu, succeeded him as Sultan. Muhammäd Kadafo three decades later bequeathed the throne to his own son, Aydahis, who in turn would reign for another twenty-two years. According to Richard Pankhurst, these relatively long periods of rule by modern standards pointed to a certain degree of political stability within the state. Sultan Mahammad ibn Hanfadhe defeated and killed
Werner Munzinger Werner Munzinger (4 April 1832 in Olten, Switzerland – 14 November 1875 in Awsa, Ethiopia) was a Swiss administrator and explorer of the Horn of Africa. Life and career He was born in Olten, and studied science and history at the Univer ...
in 1875, who was leading an Egyptian army into Ethiopia.


Colonial period

In 1865, the newly unified
Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical re ...
bought Asseb from a local Sultan (which became the colony of
Eritrea Eritrea ( ; ti, ኤርትራ, Ertra, ; ar, إرتريا, ʾIritriyā), officially the State of Eritrea, is a country in the Horn of Africa region of Eastern Africa, with its capital and largest city at Asmara. It is bordered by Ethiopia ...
in 1890), and led Sultan Mahammad to sign several treaties with that country. As a result, the Ethiopian Emperor
Menelik II , spoken = ; ''djānhoi'', lit. ''"O steemedroyal"'' , alternative = ; ''getochu'', lit. ''"Our master"'' (pl.) Menelik II ( gez, ዳግማዊ ምኒልክ ; horse name Abba Dagnew (Amharic: አባ ዳኘው ''abba daññäw''); 17 A ...
stationed an army near Aussa to "make sure the Sultan of Awsa would not honor his promise of full cooperation with Italy" during the First Italo–Ethiopian War. During the Second Italian-Ethiopian War, the Sultan Mahammad Yayyo (grandson of Mohammed Hanfade illalta) agreed to cooperate with the Italian invaders. By 1st April 1936, Italian troops completed the occupation of the rich Sultanate of Aussa, bordering on French Somaliland. As a result, in 1943 the reinstalled Ethiopian government sent a military expedition that captured Sultan Muhammad Yayyo and made one of his relatives Sultan.


Revival within modern Ethiopia

Sultan Alimirah often came into conflict with the central government over its encroachment on the authority of the Sultanate. Aussa, which had been more-or-less self-governing until the Sultan's ascension in 1944, had been greatly weakened in power by the centralising forces of Haile Selassie's government. In 1950 he withdrew from Asaita for two years in opposition, returning only two after following mediation by ''Fitawrari'' Yayyo. The Sultan sought to unite the Afar people under an autonomous Sultanate, while remaining part of Ethiopia; they had been divided amongst the provinces of
Hararghe Hararghe ( am, ሐረርጌ ''Harärge''; Harari language, Harari: ሀረርጌይ ''Harärgeyi'', Oromo language, Oromo: Harargee, so, Xararge) was a provinces of Ethiopia, province of eastern Ethiopia with its capital in Harar. History Hararg ...
,
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 ...
, Tigray, and Wollo. In 1961, when it was clear the Eritrean federal arrangement was headed towards its demise, 55 Afar chieftains in Eritrea met and endorsed the idea of an Ethiopian Afar autonomy. Following the dissolution of Eritrea's federal government and its transformation into a centrally-administered province, Afar leaders met again in
Assab Assab or Aseb (, ) is a port city in the Southern Red Sea Region of Eritrea. It is situated on the west coast of the Red Sea. Languages spoken in Assab are predominantly Afar, Tigrinya, and Arabic. Assab is known for its large market, beaches an ...
in 1963 and supported the creation of an autonomous region. In 1964, Afar leaders went to Addis Ababa to present Haile Selassie with their proposal, but the effort came up empty-handed. Despite these encroachments and conflicts, the Sultan remained fundamentally loyal to the Emperor and Ethiopia; in turn, while he did not achieve the autonomous sultanate he desired, he enjoyed an appreciable level of autonomy in the areas of the Sultanate, almost unique amongst the many petty kingdoms incorporated into the Ethiopian state in the late 19th century. For example, while the government appointed a governor to the ''
awrajja Awrajja ( am, አውራጃ) were the third-level country subdivisions which subdivided the Provinces of Ethiopia prior to 1996. Awrajja roughly translates to "county" or "sub-province", and contained a number of "woreda" or districts, the fourth le ...
'' (district) of Aussa proper, the governor, rather than taking up residence in the capital of
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 ...
, instead sat in Bati, which was outside the district entirely. In 1975, Sultan Alimirah Hanfare was exiled to
Saudi Arabia Saudi Arabia, officially the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA), is a country in Western Asia. It covers the bulk of the Arabian Peninsula, and has a land area of about , making it the fifth-largest country in Asia, the second-largest in the A ...
, but returned after the fall of the
Derg The Derg (also spelled Dergue; , ), officially the Provisional Military Administrative Council (PMAC), was the military junta that ruled Ethiopia, then including present-day Eritrea, from 1974 to 1987, when the military leadership formally " c ...
regime in 1991. Upon Alimirah Hanfere's death in 2011, his son Hanfere Alimirah was named his successor as sultan.AFAR News Toronto v.01 (July 2011)


List of Sultans

* Kandhafo 1734–1749 * Kadhafo Mahammad ibn Kadhafo 1749–1779 * Aydahis ibn Kadhafo Mahammad 1779–1801 * Aydahis ibn Mahammad ibn Aydahis 1801–1832 * Hanfadhe ibn Aydahis 1832–1862 * Mahammad "Illalta“ ibn Hanfadhe 1862–1902 * Mahammad ibn Aydahis ibn Hanfadhe 1902–1910 * Yayyo ibn Mahammad ibn Hanfadhe 1902–1927 * Mahammad Yayyo 1927–1944 * Alimirah Hanfare 1944–1975, 1991–2011 * Hanfare Alimirah 2011-2020 *Ahmed Alimirah 2020


See also

* Afar Region *
List of Sunni Muslim dynasties The following is a list of Sunni Muslim dynasties. Asia Middle East Arabian Peninsula * Banu Wajih (926–965) *Sharif of Mecca (967–1925) * Al Uyuniyun (1076–1253) *Sulaymanids (1063–1174) *Mahdids (1159–1174) *Kathiri (Hadhramaut) ( ...
* Afar people


Notes


References

*Mordechai Abir, ''The era of the princes: the challenge of Islam and the re-unification of the Christian empire, 1769-1855'' (London: Longmans, 1968). *J. Spencer Trimingham, ''Islam in Ethiopia'' (Oxford: Geoffrey Cumberlege for the University Press, 1952). {{DEFAULTSORT:Aussa, Sultanate of Afar people History of Ethiopia Sultanates 1734 establishments in Africa Former monarchies