Sultanate of Shoa
12th - 14th Century 		Somaliland
before 1884






The Sultanate of Adal, 14th and 15th Century



After The SULTANATE OF SHOA had been destroyed by the Abyssinians during the rule of Negus Amda Siyon (1314-1344), the SULTANATE OF IFAT, ruled by the Walashma dynasty, emerged as Shoa's successor state; it included Adal and the trading city of ZEILA (SAYLAC).
In 1415 the Abyssinians routed Ifat and conquered Zeyla; Sultan Sa'd ad-Din was killed. The Abyssinians withdrew and the Sultanate, now named ADAL, was reestablished by the descendants of Sa'd ad-Din. The capital was moved to Dakkar, east of Harar.
In 1506-1543, Adal was ruled by Imam Ahmad Ibrahim al-Ghazi; he imported cannons and waged war against Abyssinia, which brought the country close to collapse. Yet meanwhile the Portuguese established contact with Abyssinia (CRISTOPHER DA GAMA, 1541) and Portuguese military aid to the latter saved Abyssinia. Imam al-Ghazi's force was routed in 1542 near Lake Tana, the Imam killed in battle. The capital of Adal was moved to Harar, in 1577 to the oasis of Aussa, located in the Danakil depression.
Adal, from an expanding power, had become the subject of foreign raids - therefore the relocation of the capital to a remote location in a hostile climate. In the later 16th century, both Abyssinia and Adal experienced raids by the Galla. In the late 17th century, the dynasty ruling the Sultanate of Adal was overthrown by the Afar; this event terminates the history of Adal.

Former British Somaliland, which recently declared it's secession from Somalia, calls itself the Republic of Awdal (Adal).






EXTERNAL
FILES
DOCUMENTS Historical travelogues on Zeila (Seylac), from Djiboutian Sightings
Dialog on Imam Ahmad ibn Ibrahim (Gran) of Adal, from World History Archives (early 16th century)
REFERENCE Ioan Myrddin Lewis, The Modern History of Somaliland, from Nation to State, London : Weidenfeld and Nicolson 1965



This page is part of World History at KMLA
First posted in 2001, last revised on November 7th 2004

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