History
Adal is mentioned by name for the first time in the 14th century, during the battles between the Muslims of the northern Somali and Afar seaboard and the Abyssinian King Amda Seyon's Christian troops. Adal originally had its capital in the port city of Zeila, situated in the eponymous Awdal region in modern-day northwestern Somalia. The polity at the time was an Emirate in the larger Ifat Sultanate ruled by the Walashma dynasty.
In 1332, the King of Adal was slain in a military campaign aimed at halting Amda Seyon's march toward Zeila. When the last Sultan of Ifat, Sa'ad ad-Din II, was also killed by Dawit I of Ethiopia at the port city of Zeila in 1410, his children escaped to Yemen, before later returning in 1415. In the early 15th century, Adal's capital was moved further inland to the town of Dakkar, where Sabr ad-Din II, the eldest son of Sa'ad ad-Din II, established a new sultanate after his return from Yemen. The land beyond the Awash River was left to the Ethiopian Solomonic Emperors. During this period, Adal emerged as a center of Muslim resistance against the expanding Christian Abyssinian kingdom.
After 1468, a new breed of rulers emerged on the Adal political scene. The dissidents opposed Walashma rule owing to a treaty that Sultan Muhammad ibn Badlay had signed with Emperor Baeda Maryam of Ethiopia, wherein Badlay agreed to submit yearly tribute. Adal's Emirs, who administered the provinces, interpreted the agreement as a betrayal of their independence and a retreat from the polity's longstanding policy of resistance to Abyssinian incursions. The main leader of this opposition was the Emir of Zeila, the Sultanate's richest province. As such, he was expected to pay the highest share of the annual tribute to be given to the Abyssinian Emperor. Emir Laday Usman subsequently marched to Dakkar and seized power in 1471. However, Usman did not dismiss the Sultan from office, but instead gave made him a ceremonial position while retaining the real power for himself. Adal now came under the leadership of a powerful Emir who governed from a palace of a nominal Sultan.
Amir Mahfuz who would fight with successive Emperors caused the death of the emperor called Na'od in 1508. But he was killed by the forces of Emperor Lebna Dengel in 1517. After Mahfuz, a civil war started for the office of Highest Amir of Adal. Five Amirs came to power in only two years. But at last, a matured and powerful leader called Garad Abuun Addus (Garad Abogn) assumed power. Who was loved by the people of Adal. When Garad Abogne was in power, he was defeated and killed by Abu Bakr ibn Muhammad, In 1554, under the initiative of Sultan Abu Bakr ibn Muhammad, Harar became the capital of Adal. This time, not only the young Amirs revolted but the whole country of Adal raised against the deal of Sultan Abubeker because Garad Abogne was loved by the whole people of the Sultanate. Many people went to join the force of a new young knight called "Ahmad ibn Ibrihim al-Ghazi" who claimed a revenge for the beloved Garad Abogne. And this young man assumed the power of Adal in 1527. But he himself didn't remove the Sultan. He let him in his nominal office. When Abubeker waged war on him, the young Ahmed ibn Ibrahim killed the nominal sultan Abubeker and replaced him by his brother Umar Din.
Adalite armies under the leadership of rulers such as Sabr ad-Din II, Mansur ad-Din, Jamal ad-Din II, Shams ad-Din and general Mahfuz subsequently continued the struggle against Abyssinian expansionism.
In the 16th century, Adal's headquarters were again relocated, this time to Harar. From this new capital, Adal organised an effective army led by Imam Ahmad ibn Ibrihim al-Ghazi that invaded the Abyssinian empire. This campaign is historically known as the Conquest of Abyssinia or Futuh al Habash. During the war, Ahmed pioneered the use of cannons supplied by the Ottoman Empire, which were deployed against Solomonic forces and their Portuguese allies led by Cristóvão da Gama. Some scholars argue that this conflict proved, through their use on both sides, the value of firearms such as the matchlock musket, cannons and the arquebus over traditional weapons.
Read more about this topic: Adal Sultanate
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