Somalia histry Somalia ( Somali : Soomaaliya ; Arabic: ﺍﻟﺼﻮﻣﺎﻝ aṣ-Ṣūmāl ), officially the Federal Republic of Somalia ( Somali : Jamhuuriyadda Federaalka Soomaaliya , Arabic: ﺟﻤﻬﻮﺭﻳﺔ ﺍﻟﺼﻮﻣﺎﻝ ﺍﻟﻔﺪﺭﺍﻟﻴﺔ Jumhūriyyat aṣ-Ṣūmāl al- Fideraaliya ) and formerly known as the Somali Democratic Republic , is a country located in the Horn of Africa . In antiquity , Somalia was an important centre for commerce with the rest of the ancient world, [1][2] and according to most scholars, [3] [4] it is among the most probable locations of the fabled ancient Land of Punt .[5][6] During the Middle Ages, several powerful Somali empires dominated the regional trade, including the Ajuran Sultanate , Adal Sultanate , Warsangali Sultanate , and Geledi Sultanate . In the late nineteenth century, through a succession of treaties with these kingdoms, the British and Italians gained control of parts of the coast, and established British Somaliland and Italian Somaliland.[7][8] In the interior, Muhammad Abdullah Hassans Dervish State successfully repulsed the British Empire four times and forced it to retreat to the coastal region, [9] but the Dervishes were finally defeated in 1920 by British airpower. [10] Italy acquired full control of the northeastern, central and southern parts of the territory after successfully waging a Campaign of the Sultanates against the ruling Majeerteen Sultanate and Sultanate of Hobyo. [8] This occupation lasted until 1941, when it was replaced by a British military administration. Northwestern Somalia would remain a protectorate , while northeastern, central and southern Somalia by agreement became a United Nations Trusteeship on 1 April 1950, with a promise of independence after 10 years. On 1 July 1960, the two regions united as planned to form the independent Somali Republic under a civilian government. The Somali National Assembly, headed by Haji Bashir Ismail Yusuf , approved the act uniting former Italian Somaliland with British Somaliland, establishing the Republic of Somalia. [11] Neolithic rock art at the Laas Geel complex depicting a camel . Somalia has been inhabited since at least the Paleolithic age. During the Stone Age, the Doian and Hargeisan cultures flourished here. [12] The oldest evidence of burial customs in the Horn of Africa comes from cemeteries in Somalia dating back to the 4th millennium BCE. [13] The stone implements from the Jalelo site in the north were also characterized in 1909 as important artefacts demonstrating the archaeological universality during the Paleolithic between the East and the West. [14] The Neolithic Laas Geel complex on the outskirts of Hargeisa in northwestern Somalia dates back around 5,000 years, and has rock art depicting both wild animals and decorated cows. [15] Other cave paintings are found in the northern Dhambalin region, which feature one of the earliest known depictions of a hunter on horseback. The rock art is in the distinctive Ethiopian-Arabian style, dated to 1,000 to 3,000 BCE. [16][17] Additionally, between the towns of Las Khorey and Elaayo in northern Somalia lies Karinhegane, the site of numerous cave paintings of real and mythical animals. Each painting has an inscription below it, which collectively have been estimated to be around 2,500 years old. [18][19] Ancient Main articles: Somalian architecture , Military history of Somalia and Macrobians Land of Punt Main article: Land of Punt Ancient pyramidical structures , mausoleums, ruined cities and stone walls found in Somalia (such as the Wargaade Wall) are evidence of an old sophisticated civilization that once thrived in the Somali peninsula. [20][21] The findings of archaeological excavations and research in Somalia show that this civilization enjoyed a lucrative trading relationship with Ancient Egypt and Mycenaean Greece since the second millennium BC. This supports the hypothesis of Somalia and/or the adjacent Horn territories corresponding with the ancient Land of Punt .[20][22] The Puntites traded myrrh , spices, gold, ebony, short-horned cattle, ivory and frankincense with the Ancient Egyptians, Phoenicians, Babylonians, Indians, Chinese and Romans through their commercial ports. An Ancient Egyptian expedition sent to Punt by the 18th dynasty Queen Hatshepsut is recorded on the temple reliefs at Deir el- Bahari , during the reign of the Puntite King Parahu and Queen Ati.[20] Ancient maritime history Main article: Maritime history of Somalia The Silk Road extending from southern Europe through Arabia, Somalia, Egypt , Persia , India and Java until it reaches China. Ancient Somalis domesticated the camel somewhere between the third millennium and second millennium BC from where it spread to Ancient Egypt and North Africa. [23] In the classical period , the Somali city-states of Mosylon, Opone, Malao , Sarapion , Mundus , Essina and Tabae in Somalia developed a lucrative trade network connecting with merchants from Phoenicia, Ptolemic Egypt , Greece, Parthian Persia , Sheba , Nabataea and the Roman Empire . They used the ancient Somali maritime vessel known as the beden to transport their cargo. After the Roman conquest of the Nabataean Empire and the Roman naval presence at Aden to curb pillaging, Somali and Gulf Arab merchants by agreement barred Indian ships from trading in the free port cities of the Arabian peninsula [24] to protect the interests of Somali and Arab merchants in the extremely lucrative ancient Red Sea –Mediterranean Sea commerce. [25] However, Indian merchants continued to trade in the port cities of the Somali peninsula , which was free from Roman interference. [26] The Indian merchants for centuries brought large quantities of cinnamon from Sri Lanka and Indonesia to Somalia and Arabia. This is said to have been the best kept secret of the Somali and Gulf Arab merchants in their trade with the Roman and Greek world. The Romans and Greeks believed the source of cinnamon to have been the Somali peninsula, but in reality, the highly valued product was brought to Somalia by way of Indian ships. [27] Through collusive agreement by Somali and Gulf Arab traders, Indian/Chinese cinnamon was also exported for far higher prices to North Africa, the Near East and Europe, which made the cinnamon trade a very profitable revenue generator, especially for the Somali merchants through whose hands large quantities were shipped across ancient sea and land routes. [25] Medieval Main articles: Ifat Sultanate , Adal Sultanate , Ajuran Sultanate and Warsangali Sultanate Ruins of the Sultanate of Adal in Zeila , Somalia. The history of Islam in the Horn of Africa is as old as the religion itself.[28] The early persecuted Muslims fled to the Axumite port city of Zeila in present-day Somalia to seek protection from the Quraysh at the court of the Axumite Emperor in modern Ethiopia. Some of the Muslims that were granted protection are said to have settled in several parts of the Horn of Africa to promote the religion. [29] The victory of the Muslims over the Quraysh in the 7th century had a significant impact on Somalias merchants and sailors, as their Arab trading partners had now all adopted Islam and the major trading routes in the Mediterranean and the Red Sea now became part of a trade network known as Pax Islamica. Through commerce, Islam spread amongst the Somali population in the coastal cities of Somalia. Instability in the Arabian Peninsula saw several migrations of Arab families to Somalias coastal cities, who then contributed another significant element to the growing popularity of Islam in the Somali peninsula. [30] Engraving of the 13th century Fakr ad- Din Mosque built by Fakr ad-Din, the first Sultan of the Sultanate of Mogadishu . For many years, Mogadishu stood as the pre- eminent city in the ﺑﻼﺩ ﺍﻟﺒﺮﺑﺮ , Bilad-al-Barbar (Land of the Berbers), which was the medieval Arabic term for the Horn of Africa. [31] [32][33] The Sultanate of Mogadishu became the center of Islam on the East African coast, and Somali merchants established a colony in Mozambique to extract gold from the Monomopatan mines in Sofala. [34] In northern Somalia, Adal was in its early stages a small trading community established by the newly converted Horn of Africa Muslim merchants, who were predominantly Somali according to Arab and Somali chronicles . The century between 1150 and 1250 marked a decisive turn in the role of Islam in Somali history. Following his visit to the city, the 12th century Syrian historian Yaqut al-Hamawi wrote that Mogadishu was inhabited by dark-skinned Berbers, the ancestors of the modern Somalis. [35][36] The Adal Sultanate was now a center of a commercial empire stretching from Cape Guardafui to Hadiya. The Adalites then came under the influence of the expanding Horn African Kingdom of Ifat, and prospered under its patronage. The capital of the Ifat was Zeila, situated in northern present-day Somalia, from where the Ifat army marched to conquer the ancient Kingdom of Shoa in 1270. The Warsangali Sultanate was a kingdom centered in northeastern and in some parts of southeastern Somalia. It was one of the largest sultanates ever established in the territory, and, at the height of its power, included the Sanaag region and parts of the northeastern Bari region of the country, an area historically known as Maakhir or the Maakhir Coast. The Sultanate was founded in the late 13th century in northern Somalia by a group of Somalis from the Warsangali branch of the Darod clan, and was ruled by the descendants of the Gerad Dhidhin. Mogadishan currency - The Sultanate of Mogadishu was an important monetary supporter of Adal . The Muslim and Christian communities of modern Somalia and Ethiopia enjoyed friendly relations for centuries. The conquest of Shoa ignited a rivalry for supremacy between the Christian Solomonids and the Muslim Ifatites which resulted in several devastating wars and ultimately ended in a Solomonic victory over the Kingdom of Ifat. Parts of northwestern Somalia came under the rule of the Solomonids in medieval times, especially during the reign of Amda Seyon I (r. 1314-1344). In 1403 or 1415 (under Emperor Dawit I or Emperor Yeshaq I , respectively) measures were taken against the Muslim Sultanate of Adal. The Emperor eventually captured King Saad ad- Din II of the Walashma dynasty in Zeila and had him executed. The Walashma Chronicle, however, records the date as 1415, which would make the Ethiopian victor Emperor Yeshaq I. After the war, the reigning king had his minstrels compose a song praising his victory, which contains the first written record of the word Somali. Saad ad-Din IIs family was subsequently given safe haven at the court of the King of Yemen, where his sons regrouped and planned their revenge on the Solomonids. The oldest son Sabr ad-Din II built a new capital eastwards of Zeila known as Dakkar and began referring to himself as the King of Adal. He continued the war against the Solomonic Empire . Despite his armys smaller size, he was able to defeat the Solomonids at the battles of Serjan and Zikr Amhara and consequently pillaged the surrounding areas. Many similar battles were fought between the Adalites and the Solomonids with both sides achieving victory and suffering defeat but ultimately Sultan Sabr ad-Din II successfully managed to drive the Solomonic army out of Adal territory. He died a natural death and was succeeded by his brother Mansur ad-Din who invaded the capital and royal seat of the Solomonic Empire and drove Emperor Dawit II to Yedaya where according to al-Maqrizi , Sultan Mansur destroyed a Solomonic army and killed the Emperor. He then advanced to the mountains of Mokha where he encountered a 30,000 strong Solomonic army. The Adalite soldiers surrounded their enemies and for two months besieged the trapped Solomonic soldiers until a truce was declared in Mansurs favour.
Posted on: Tue, 14 Oct 2014 15:25:37 +0000
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