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El-Darad
El-Darad () 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 the northern Somali coast, including Berbera, the Sa'ad ad-Din islands (aka the Zeila Archipelago near Zeila), Alula, Ruguda, Maydh, Heis, Siyara and El-Sheikh. In the 19th century, El-Darad was a seasonal coastal trading settlement with a fort made of adobe (earth) and stone masonry, which was surrounded by Somali Aqal and Areesh (traditional nomadic and coastal dwellings respectively). The fort was erected in circa 1826 and was owned by Muhammad Diban, a Habr Je'lo ( Adan Madobe) pirate and slave trader based in El-Darad who garrisoned the fort with slaves armed with matchlock rifles. Muhammad Diban also had cordial relations with Sharmarke Ali Saleh – governor and ruler of Zeila, Berbera and Tadjoura – who provided Muhammad with five cannons ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Heis (town)
Heis (, ) is a historic coastal town located in the Sanaag region of Somaliland. The town was important for trade and communication with the Somali interior and was used to export frankincense to Arabia. History Antiquity The site said to be identical with the ancient trading post of Mundus () that is described in the ''Periplus of the Erythraean Sea'', an anonymous account by a Greek Alexandrian salesman from the 1st century CE. A large collection of cairns of various types lie near the city. Excavations here have yielded pottery and sherds of Roman glassware from a time between the 1st and 5th centuries. Among these artefacts is high-quality millefiori glass. Dated to 0-40 CE, it features red flower disks superimposed on a green background. Additionally, an ancient fragment of a footed bowl was discovered in the surrounding area. The sherd is believed to have been made in Aswan (300-500 CE) or Lower Nubia (500-600 CE), suggesting early trading ties with kingdoms in the Nile Va ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Berbera
Berbera (; , ) is the capital of the Sahil, Somaliland, Sahil region of Somaliland and is the main sea port of the country, located approximately 160 km from the national capital, Hargeisa. Berbera is a coastal city and was the former capital of the British Somaliland protectorate before Hargeisa. It also served as a major port of the Ifat Sultanate, Ifat, Adal Sultanate, Adal and Isaaq Sultanate, Isaaq sultanates from the 13th to 19th centuries. In antiquity, Berbera was part of a chain of commercial port cities along the Somali seaboard. During the early modern period, Berbera was the most important place of trade in the Somali Peninsula. It later served as the capital of the British Somaliland protectorate from 1884 to 1941, when it was replaced by Hargeisa. In 1960, the British Somaliland protectorate gained independence as the State of Somaliland and united five days later with the Trust Territory of Somalia (the former Italian Somalia) to form the Somali Republic.Encyclopædi ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Siyara
Siyara () 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. ''The Ethiopian Borderlands: Essays in Regional History from Ancient Times to the End of the 18th Century'' (Asmara, Eritrea: Red Sea Press, 1997), pp.56 Etymology The name of Siyara derives from the Somali word ''Siyaaro'', a term used to describe a localized annual pilgrimage to a holy site where the ancestor of a clan or a saint is buried. The Somali word ultimately derives from the Arabic word of the same meaning: ''ziyārah'' (زيارة). History Medieval Siyara was the site of the return of the Walashma dynasty. Sa'ad ad-Din II the last Sultan of Ifat had been slain in Zeila after losing the city to Emperor Dawit I after a siege. His sons had fled to Yemen and would soon return led by Sultan Sabr ad-Din II. Sabr crossed the Gulf of Aden ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Maydh
Maydh (also transliterated as Maedh, Mette, 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. National genealogies collected by the scholars Cox and Abud assert that many clan patriarchs are buried in or nearby the town.A.H. Keane, Man, Past and Present', (Cambridge University Press: 1920), p.485. Medieval The city of Maydh was home to Sheikh Isaaq ibn Ahmed Al Hashimi (''Sheekh Isaxaaq''), who moved to Somaliland from the Arabian Peninsula in the 12th or 13th century CE. He is considered to be the founding father of the large Somali Isaaq clan family that predominantly inhabits Somaliland, as well as parts of Djibouti and Ethiopia. Sheikh Isaaq's domed tomb is also located here.I.M. Lewis"The Somali Conquest of the Horn of Africa", ''Journal of African History'' 1 (1960), pp. 219-220 According to tradition, the old town ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ruguda
Ruguda, also known as Rakudah () 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 and towns include Erigavo (134km), Burao (389km), and Xagal (108km). History Ruguda was a well known landmark to navigators and legendary Arab explorer Ahmad ibn Mājid wrote of Ruguda and a few other notable landmarks and ports of the northern Somali coast, including Berbera, the Sa'ad ad-Din islands aka the Zeila Archipelago near Zeila, Siyara, Maydh, Alula, El-Sheikh, Heis and El-Darad. John Hanning Speke, an English explorer who made an exploratory expedition to the area in an attempt to reach the Nugaal Valley, described the port town: Demographics Ruguda is populated by the Sanbuur sub-division of the Habr Je'lo Isaaq The Isaaq (, , ''Banu Ishaq'') is a major Somali clans, Somali clan. It is one of the largest Somali clan familie ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Alula, Somalia
Alula (, ), also spelled Aluula, is a coastal town in the northeastern Ra'as Aseir region and is part of the state of Puntland, on the coast of the Guardafui Channel. In the late 19th and early 20th centuries, it served as the main capital of the Majeerteen Sultanate. It is ten miles east of Ras Filuk and 100 nautical miles from Bosaso. History The Majeerteen Sultanate was established possibly around 1600s by Somalis from the Majeerteen Darod clan. It reached prominence during the 19th century, under the reign of the resourceful Boqor (King) Osman Mahamuud.Helen Chapin Metz, ed., ''Somalia: a country study'', (The Division: 1993), p.10. In the mid-17th to early 20th centuries, the city was the main capital city of the Majeerteen Sultanate Migiurtinia. Later forming a part of Italian Somaliland.S. B. Miles, ''On the Neighbourhood of Bunder Marayah'', Vol. 42, (Blackwell Publishing on behalf of The Royal Geographical Society (with the institute of British Geographers): 1872), p ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Zeila Archipelago
The Sa'ad ad-Din Islands (, ), also Romanized as and known as the Zeila Archipelago, are a group of islands off the northwestern coast of Somalia. They are situated near the ancient city of Zeila. The Zeila Archipelago is made of six small islands all of which are low-lying and have sandy beaches. The largest of these islands are '' Sacadin'' and '' Aibat'', which are six and nine miles off the coast of Zeila, respectively. There is also a lighthouse at Aibat. Etymology & History The name for the archipelago comes from the Sultan Sa'ad ad-Din II who was killed by the Emperor of Abyssinia on the main island in 1403. Along with his name, there are many different spellings for the island such as , , and . The archpeligo is also known as the ''Zeila Archipelago'' and the ''Sa'ad ad-Din group''. Legendary Arab explorer Ahmad ibn Mājid wrote of the archipelago and a few other notable landmarks and ports of the northern Somali coast, including Zeila, Berbera, Xiis, Alula, Rug ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ceel-Sheekh
El-Sheikh () 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 south of the settlement. It was a well known landmark to navigators and legendary Arab explorer Ahmad ibn Mājid wrote of El-Sheikh and a few other notable landmarks and ports of the northern Somali coast, including Berbera, Siyara, the Sa'ad ad-Din islands aka the Zeila Archipelago near Zeila, Alula, Maydh, Ruguda, Heis and El-Darad. Richard Burton visited the settlement and noted the mountain in his map. After the Habr Awal massacre of Richard Burton's travel party and death of a number of British officers in 1854 led the Royal Navy to blockad the Ciise Muuse coast. The blockade was established from Mount Almis to Siyara and crippled trade in Berbera and Bulhar with a settlement being reached in 1856. El-Sheikh remained a well used by the Habr Awa ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Somaliland
Somaliland, officially the Republic of Somaliland, is an List of states with limited recognition, unrecognised country in the Horn of Africa. It is located in the southern coast of the Gulf of Aden and bordered by Djibouti to the northwest, Ethiopia to the south and west, and Somalia to the east. Its claimed territory has an area of , with approximately 6.2 million people as of 2024. The capital and largest city is Hargeisa. Various Somali Muslim kingdoms were established in the area during the early Islamic period, including in the 14th to 15th centuries the Zeila-based Adal Sultanate. In the early modern period, successor states to the Adal Sultanate emerged, including the Isaaq Sultanate which was established in the middle of the 18th century. In the late 19th century, the United Kingdom signed agreements with various clans in the area, establishing the British Somaliland, Somaliland Protectorate, which was formally granted independence by the United Kingdom as the Sta ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Zeila
Zeila (, ), 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 with the Biblical location of Havilah. Most modern scholars identify it with the site of Avalites mentioned in the 1st-century Greco-Roman travelogue the ''Periplus of the Erythraean Sea'' and in Ptolemy, although this is disputed. The town evolved into an early Islamic center with the arrival of Muslims shortly after the Hijrah. By the 9th century, Zeila was the capital of the early Adal (historical_region), Adal Kingdom and Ifat Sultanate in the 13th century, it would attain its height of prosperity a few centuries later in the 16th century. The city subsequently came under Ottoman Empire, Ottoman and British Empire, British 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 Ea ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Habr Je'lo
The Habr Je'lo (), , Full Name: ''Mūsa ibn ash-Shaykh Isḥāq ibn Aḥmad,'' historically known as the Habr Toljaala () is a major Northern Somali clan of the wider Isaaq family. Its members form the Habr Habusheed () confederation along with the Imran, Sanbur and Tolje’lo. The Habr Je'lo are divided into five further sub-tribes: the Mohamed Abokor, Musa Abokor, Samane Abokor, Reer dood and Omar. Historically, the Mohamed Abokor, Samane Abokor and Reer Dood are chiefly nomadic pastoralists, whereas the Musa Abokor and Omar obtained much of their wealth via their frankincense plantations in the mountainous interior adjacent to the coastline. The Habr Je'lo played a prominent role in the livestock and frankincense trade during the pre-colonial period. The Habr Je'lo also partook in a major organised front to oppose British rule in the late 19th and early 20th centuries under the leadership of Haji Sudi, Sheikh Bashir, Haji Farah Omar, Michael Mariano and other subseque ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Tadjoura
Tadjoura (; ; ) is one of the oldest towns in Djibouti and the capital of the Tadjourah Region. The town rose to prominence in the early 19th century as an alternative port to nearby Zeila. Lying on the Gulf of Tadjoura, it is home to a population of around 19,000 inhabitants. It is the third-largest city in the country after Djibouti and Ali Sabieh. Tadjoura has an airstrip and is linked by ferry with Djibouti City. It is also known for its whitewashed buildings and nearby beaches, along with its mosques. Etymology The Afar name ''Tagórri'' derives from the noun ''tágor'' or ''tógor'', (pl. ''tágar'' meaning "outre à puiser" ("goatskin flask for drawing water"). The name ''Tagórri'' is specifically derived from *''tagór-li'', which means "qui a des outre à puiser" ("that which has goatskin flasks to draw water"), in effect meaning "abondante en eau" ("abundant with water"). History The emergence of Tadjoura occurred following the rise of the Adoimara or "white h ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
