Ughaz Nur II' or Ugas Nur II' ( so, Ugaas Nuur Ugaas Rooble , ar, سلطان نور سلطان روبلي ) also known as ''Ughaz'' ''Nur Robleh'' (1835–1898), was a famous Somali

King King is the title given to a male monarch in a variety of contexts. The female equivalent is queen, which title is also given to the consort of a king. *In the context of prehistory, antiquity and contemporary indigenous peoples, the tit ...

and

poet A poet is a person who studies and creates poetry. Poets may describe themselves as such or be described as such by others. A poet may simply be the creator ( thinker, songwriter, writer, or author) who creates (composes) poems ( oral or wri ...

of the Gadabuursi tribe.

History

The 11th in line of the

Gadabursi 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 sp ...

Sultanate (''Boqortooyadda ama Ugaasyadda Gadabuursi'') or Sultanate. The term Ughaz is an authentic Somali term for Sultan, the paramount leader. He was born in

Zayla Zeila ( so, Saylac, ar, زيلع, Zayla), also known as Zaila or Zayla, is a historical port town in the western Awdal region of Somaliland. In the Middle Ages, the Jewish traveller Benjamin of Tudela identified Zeila (or Hawilah) with the Bibl ...

in the year 1835 and crowned in Bagi in 1848. He was from the Reer Ugaas subclan of the Makayl-Dheere. Of stature a tall and brown man with a short beard. He was known to have tall legs and long arms. During his youth, he loved riding, hunting and the traditional arts and memorized a great number of proverbs, stories and poems. He was the type to speak words that would never be forgotten once they entered people's ears. He was a brave and masculine man. Apart from that he was also a great and famous poet and during his reign there was not a man alive that could compete with him in poetry.Nur, Sheikh Abdurahman 1993 Eventually, Nur II came on to create his own store of sayings, poems and stories that are quoted to this day. He knew by heart the

'' heer''(customary law) and amended or added new ''heer'' during his reign. He was known for fair dealing to friend and stranger alike. It is said that he was the first

Ughaz to introduce guards and askaris armed with arrows and bows. During the time of Nur II both Egypt and Ethiopia were contending for power and supremacy in the Horn of Africa. To add the European colonial powers were also competing for strategic territories and ports in the Horn of Africa. In the year 1876 Egypt using Islam as a bargaining chip signed a treaty with Ughaz Nuur and came to occupy the northern Somali coast which included Zayla, the seat of the Gadabuursi sultanate, but also to occupy the town of Harar and the Harar-Zeila-Berbera caravan route. Ughaz_Nur_II_(Ugaas_Nuur_Ugaas_Rooble)

Ughaz Nuur went to Egypt to meet Ismail Pasha, the khedive, belonging to 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) ...

, who honored the

of the Gadabuursi with medals and expensive gifts. The Ughaz there signed a treaty accepting Egyptian protection of Muslims in Somaliland and Ethiopia. The Ughaz had established strong relations with the Emir of Harar, Abdallah II ibn Ali . In 1887, when Harar was occupied by Menelik II of Ethiopia, Ughaz Nur sent Gadabursi askaris to support Abdallah II ibn Ali. The emir of Harar was eventually defeated and

Ras Makonnen Ras or RAS may refer to: Arts and media * RAS Records Real Authentic Sound, a reggae record label * Rundfunk Anstalt Südtirol, a south Tyrolese public broadcasting service * Rás 1, an Icelandic radio station * Rás 2, an Icelandic radio stati ...

was appointed "Ethiopian governor of Harar". Menelik II continued to turn his attention to the Gadabuursi and offered the King (Ughaz Nur) and his people protection and military support for collaboration, seemingly a trap Ughaz Nur refused and fought until he died in 1898. He was buried in Dirri. Even at old age of almost 80 Major Leckie writes about the King's aquiline features and graceful figure:

"Ugaz Nur was a old man of around almost 80 years. Although somewhat stiffened by age, he was tall, straight, and well built. Even the weight of his many years could not alter the King’s graceful figure. His aquiline Somali features that were so frequent among these people were, save his very dark skin, noticeably absent. His face indicated intelligence and a pleasant, affable nature "

Poetry

Ugas Nur was a famous poet and ranked among the greatest. He has created many poems and saying of which really explain the politics and knowledge of that time. How through patience and clever dealing one could be able to entrap one's enemy. He also used to say that whenever he heard a poem he would never forget it. His work was and is still taught in Somali Poetry classes (''Suugaan Fasalka Koobaa'') among other Somali poets. Many poets sampled Ugas Nur his work, for example, Professor Togane. Ugas Nur his poetry is described as the following in the Horn of Africa journal:

"I am taken back to the magnificent oral poetry (witness Ugaas Nuur's lines), to the idyllic sweetness of the pastoral world in which I was born and spent my adolescent years, and to which I yearn to return"

Poems

The poem was first recorded in the "Gadabuursi Somali Script", by I.M. Lewis in 1958 but he omitted some lines. It was covered in its entirety in "War and Peace an Anthology of Somali Literature".

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Nur, Ughaz 1835 births 1898 deaths Gadabuursi Somalian poets