1889-1918







Somalia's Precolonial History



Somalia stands out among the states of Africa, because although it's borders were shaped by the colonial powers, it is a nation-state. The Somali live not only in present-day Somalia and breakaway Somaliland to the north, but also in adjacent stretches of territory in Ethiopia (the OGADEN province) and Kenya.

The coastal region was settled by Arabs between the 7th and 10th century; trading centers such as MOGADISHU and KISIMAYO emerged. Islam became the dominant religion.
Mogadishu was visited by IBN BATTUTA in 1331 and by Chinese explorer ZHENG HE in the 15th century. At that time, Mogadishu was an Islamic Sultanate, ruled by the Muzaffar Dynasty which in the 14th century was succeeded by the Dynasty of Fakhr ad-Din; the latter were dependent on the Ajuran, who in the early 17th century were defeated by the Hawiye Somali, thus becoming the new force dominating Mogadishu. The Portuguese visited the city, but never succeeded in taking it. In 1704, the Omanis established control; Mogadishu never regained it's old position. In the early 19th century, Mogadishu followed Mombasa's example and threw off Omani sovereignty; in 1828, Mogadishu had to surrender to Omani forces. In 1841, with the partitioning of the Sultanate of Oman, Mogadishu became part of the Sultanate of Zanzibar. When Mogadishu was visited by French traveller Charles Guillain in 1846-1848, Mogadishu was dependent on both the Sultanate of Zanzibar and the Somali Geledi Clan.

Further north on the Somali coast were located the MAJEERTEEN SULTANATES - the Sultanates of Migiurtina or Majeerteen, Obbia or Hobyo and Nogal. The Sultanate of Majeerteen emerged in the middle of the 18th century; in the early and middle 19th century Sultan Boqor Ismaan Mahamuud received British 'tribute' for protecting British shipwrecked sailors. In 1878, a disgruntled relative, Keenadiid, broke away from Majeerteen a part of the state, creating the Sultanate of Hobyo.
European colonial powers, notably the British, have shown little interest in the region, the hinterland of which is mostly desert and promised little profit. It was the Italians who finally established a colony here in 1889 : BENADIR.






EXTERNAL
FILES 		History of Somalis, from Malik's Homepage
The Majerteen Sultanates, by Faduma
Articles from Infoplease : Somalia
Links on Somali history, from mogadiscio.com (click : historical notes), and from Somalinet
Mogadishu from the Past, by Enrico Cerulli
Library of Congress, Country Studies : Somalia
DOCUMENTS Mogadishu - Images from the Past, by Rick Davies
Medieval reports from visitors of Kilwa, from University of Minnesota, Dept. of History (also on Mogadishu)
List of Rulers of Majerteen, Hobyo, Jaladi, Nogal, from rulers.org, from World Statesmen by Ben Cahoon
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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