Adal Sultanate

This article is about the sultanate in the Horn of Africa. For the historical region, see Adal (historical region).

The Adal Sultanate, or the Adal Empire or the ʿAdal or the Bar Saʿad dīn (alt. spelling Adel Sultanate, Adal Sultanate) (Somali: Saldanadda Cadal) was a medieval Sunni Muslim Empire which was located in the Horn of Africa.^[3] It was founded by Sabr ad-Din II on the Harar plateau after the fall of the Sultanate of Ifat.^[4] The kingdom flourished circa 1415 to 1577.^[5] At its height, the polity under Sultan Badlay controlled the territory stretching from Somaliland to the port city of Suakin in Sudan.^[6][7] The Adal Empire maintained a robust commercial and political relationship with the Ottoman Empire.^[8]

Sultanate of Adal سلطنة العدلية
1415–1577
The combined three banners used by Ahmad al-Ghazi's forces
The Adal Sultanate at its peak in 1540
Capital	Dakkar (1415–1520)^[1]^[2] Harar (1520–1577) Aussa (1577)
Official languages	Arabic
Religion	Islam
Government	Kingdom
Sultan, Imam, Emir
Historical era	Middle Ages
• Established	1415
• Sabr ad-Din III returns from exile in Yemen	1415
• War with Yeshaq I	1415–1429
• Succession Crisis	1518–1526
• Ethiopian–Adal war	1529–1543
• Disestablished	1577
Preceded by Succeeded by Ifat Sultanate Imamate of Aussa

Etymology

Adal is believed to be an abbreviation of Havilah.^[9]

Eidal or Aw Abdal, was the Emir of Harar in the eleventh century which the lowlands outside the city of Harar is named.^[10][11] In the thirteenth century, the Arab writer al-Dimashqi refers to the capital of Adal, Zeila,^[12] by its Somali name "Awdal" (Somali: "Awdal").^[13] The modern Awdal region of Somaliland, which was part of the Adal Sultanate, bears the kingdom's name.

Locally the empire was known to the Muslims as Bar Sa'ad ad-din meaning "The country of Sa'ad ad-din" ^[14]

History

Early history

Main article: Adal (historical region)

Adal Kingdom (also Awdal, Adl, or Adel)^[15] was centred around Zeila, its capital.^[16][17][18] Zeila attracted merchants from around the world, contributing to the wealth of the city. Zeila is an ancient city and it was one of the earliest cities in the world to embrace Islam.^[19][15][20]

In 1288, the region of Adal was conquered by the Ifat Sultanate. Despite being incorporated into the Ifat Sultanate, Adal managed to maintain a source of independence under Walashma rule, alongside the provinces of Gidaya, Dawaro, Sawans, Bali, and Fatagar.^[21] In 1332, the King of Adal was slain in a military campaign aimed at halting Amda Seyon's march toward Zeila.^[22][23]

In the fourteenth century Haqq ad-Din II transferred Ifat's capital to the Harar plateau thus he is regarded by some to be the true founder of the Adal Sultanate.^[24] In the late 14th century, the Ethiopian Emperor Dawit I collected a large army, branded the Muslims of the surrounding area "enemies of the Lord", and invaded Adal.^[25] After much war, Adal's troops were defeated in 1403 or 1410^[26] (under Emperor Dawit I or Emperor Yeshaq I, respectively), during which the Walashma ruler, Sa'ad ad-Din II, was captured and executed in Zeila, which was sacked.^[23] His children and the remainder of the Walashma dynasty would flee to Yemen where they would live in exile until 1415.^[27][28]

 

The Sultan of Adal (right) and his troops battling King Yagbea-Sion and his men. From Le Livre des Merveilles, 15th century.

Rise of the Sultanate

In 1415, Sabr ad-Din III, the eldest son of Sa'ad ad-Din II, would return to Adal in the Harar plateau from his exile in Arabia to restore his father's throne.^[29] He would proclaim himself "king of Adal" after his return from Yemen, and established his new capital at Dakkar near Harar city.^[30] Sabr ad-Din III and his brothers would defeat an army of 20,000 men led by an unnamed commander hoping to restore the lost "Amhara rule". The victorious king then returned to his capital, but gave the order to his many followers to continue and extend the war against the Christians.^[31][32][33] The Emperor of Ethiopia Tewodros I was soon killed by the Adal Sultanate upon the return of Sa'ad ad-Din's heirs to the Horn of Africa.^[34][35][36] Sabr ad-Din III 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 I 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 Mansur's favour. During this period, Adal emerged as a centre of Muslim resistance against the expanding Christian Abyssinian kingdom.^[12] Adal would thereafter govern all of the territory formerly ruled by the Ifat Sultanate,^[37][38] as well as the land further east all the way to Cape Guardafui, according to Leo Africanus.^[39]

Later on in the campaign, the Adalites were struck by a catastrophe when Sultan Mansur and his brother Muhammad were captured in battle by the Solomonids. Mansur was immediately succeeded by the youngest brother of the family Jamal ad-Din II. Sultan Jamal reorganized the army into a formidable force and defeated the Solomonic armies at Bale, Yedeya and Jazja. Emperor Yeshaq I responded by gathering a large army and invaded the cities of Yedeya and Jazja but was repulsed by the soldiers of Jamal. Following this success, Jamal organized another successful attack against the Solomonic forces and inflicted heavy casualties in what was reportedly the largest Adalite army ever fielded. As a result, Yeshaq was forced to withdraw towards the Blue Nile over the next five months, while Jamal ad Din's forces pursued them and looted much gold on the way, although no engagement ensued.

After returning home, Jamal sent his brother Ahmad with the Christian battle-expert Harb Jaush to successfully attack the province of Dawaro. Despite his losses, Emperor Yeshaq was still able to continue field armies against Jamal. Sultan Jamal continued to advance further into the Abyssinian heartland. However, Jamal on hearing of Yeshaq's plan to send several large armies to attack three different areas of Adal (including the capital), returned to Adal, where he fought the Solomonic forces at Harjai and, according to al-Maqrizi, this is where the Emperor Yeshaq died in battle. The young Sultan Jamal ad-Din II at the end of his reign had outperformed his brothers and forefathers in the war arena and became the most successful ruler of Adal to date. Within a few years, however, Jamal was assassinated by either disloyal friends or cousins around 1432 or 1433, and was succeeded by his brother Badlay ibn Sa'ad ad-Din. Sultan Badlay continued the campaigns of his younger brother and began several successful expeditions against the Christian empire. He reconquered Bali and began preparations of a major Adalite offensive into the Ethiopian Highlands. He successfully collected funding from surrounding Muslim kingdoms as far away as the Sultanate of Mogadishu.^[40] However, these ambitious plans were thrown out the war chamber when King Badlay was killed during the invasion of Dawaro.

Badlay ibn Sa'ad ad-Din was succeeded by his son Muhammad ibn Badlay, who in 1468 signed a peace treaty with Baeda Maryam of Ethiopia and agreed to pay tribute to the empire. This was done to achieve peace in the region, though tribute was never sent. Adal's Emirs, who administered the provinces, interpreted the agreement as a betrayal of their independence and a retreat from the polity's long-standing policy of resistance to Abyssinian incursions. Emir Laday Usman of Harar subsequently marched to Dakkar and seized power in 1471. However, Usman did not dismiss the Sultan from office, but instead gave him a ceremonial position while retaining the real power for himself. Adal now came under the leadership of a powerful Emir who governed from the palace of a nominal Sultan.^[41] Mohammad Hassan states Adal Sultans had lost control of the state to Harar's aristocracy.^[42][43]

Emir Mahfuz, who would fight with successive emperors, caused the death of Emperor Na'od, but he was in turn killed by the forces of Emperor Dawit II (Lebna Dengel) in 1517.^[44] After the death of Mahfuz, a civil war started for the office of Highest Emir of Adal. Five Emirs came to power in only two years. But at last, a matured and powerful leader called Garad Abuun Addus (Garad Abogne) assumed power. When Garad Abogne was in power he was defeated and killed by Sultan Abu Bakr ibn Muhammad, and In 1520, under his initiative, Harar became the capital of Adal.^[12] This time not only the young Emirs revolted, but the whole country of Adal rose against Sultan Abu Bakr, because Garad Abogne was loved by the people of the sultanate. Many people went to join the force of a young imam called Ahmad ibn Ibrahim al-Ghazi, who claimed revenge for Garad Abogne. Al-Ghazi assumed power in Adal in 1527, however he did not remove the Sultan, but instead left him in his nominal office. Yet, when Abu Bakr waged war on him, Ahmad ibn Ibrahim killed Abu Bakr, and replaced him with Abu Bakr's younger brother Umar Din.^[45] They fought under a combination of three banners used by Ahmad al-Ghazi^[46]

In the 16th century, Adal organised an effective army led by Imam Ahmad ibn Ibrahim al-Ghazi that invaded the Abyssinian empire.^[12] 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.^[47]

Abyssinian–Adal conflict

Main article: Ethiopian–Adal war

 

Early 20th century folk drawing of Cristóvão da Gama and Ahmed Gurey's deaths.

In the mid-1520s, Imam Ahmad ibn Ibrahim al-Ghazi assumed control of Adal and launched a war against Abyssinia, which was then under the leadership of Dawit II (Lebna Dengel). Supplied by the Ottoman Empire with firearms, Ahmad was able to defeat the Abyssinians at the Battle of Shimbra Kure in 1529 and seize control of the wealthy Ethiopian highlands, though the Abyssinians continued to resist from the highlands. In 1541, the Portuguese, who had vested interests in the Indian Ocean, eventually sent aid to the Abyssinians in the form of 400 musketeers. Adal, in response, received 900 from the Ottomans.

Imam Ahmad was initially successful against the Abyssinians while campaigning in the Autumn of 1542, killing the Portuguese commander Cristóvão da Gama in August that year. However, Portuguese musketry proved decisive in Adal's defeat at the Battle of Wayna Daga, near Lake Tana, in February 1543, where Ahmad was killed in battle. The Abyssinians subsequently retook the Amhara plateau and recouped their losses against Adal. The Ottomans, who had their own troubles to deal with in the Mediterranean, were unable to help Ahmad's successors. When Adal collapsed in 1577, the seat of the Sultanate shifted from Harar to Aussa^[48] in the desert region of Afar and a new sultanate began.^[49][50]

Collapse of the sultanate

Main article: Oromo migrations

 

Ruins of the Sultanate of Adal in Zeila

After the death of Imam Ahmad, the Adal Sultanate lost most of its territory in Abyssinian lands. In 1550, the Ethiopians led by Dejazmatch Hamalmal attacked the capital of Adal, Harar. Sultan Barakat ibn Umar Din attempted to defend Harar but was defeated and killed, ending the Walashma dynasty. In 1552 Nur ibn Mujahid became the Emir of Harar and the de facto ruler of Adal, the Emir immediately decided to construct a protective wall around the city to protect it from future Ethiopian raids. In 1559 he invaded the Ethiopian Empire and killed Ethiopian Emperor Gelawdewos in the Battle of Fatagar.^[51] At the same time, Barentu Oromos who had been migrating north attacked the Adal Sultanate. The forces of Nur ibn Mujahid, were virtually annihilated by the Oromo and according to Bahrey, there had been "no such slaughter since the Oromo first invaded".^[52] Most of the Muslim population fled to the walled city of Harar. The Oromos then occuiped and settled on the lands of the Hararghe highlands which had been abandoned by the local population.^[53][54] After the Oromos had settled in the surrounding countryside of Harar, the city experienced a severe famine J. Spencer Trimingham describes, Emir Nur "exerted every effort to help his people to recover, but after every respite the Oromo would again descend like locusts and scourge the country, and Nur himself died of the pestilence which spread during the famine."^[55]

In 1577 due to constant Oromo raids the headquarters were relocated to the oasis of Aussa under the leadership of Mohammed Jasa, effectively ending the Adal Sultanate. The Imamate of Aussa declined gradually in the next century and was destroyed by internal rebellions led by the Afars against their Harla rulers in 1672.^[56] Enrico Cerulli states, eventually Harar broke free from Aussa as it deteriorated, the Semitic Adal nobility now viewed the state as nothing more than a savage Afar domain that pillaged caravans.^[57]

Ethnicity

 

Medieval map of peoples, kingdoms and regions alongside major trade routes in the Horn

Ethiopian historian Taddesse Tamrat Adal's central authority in the fourteenth century consisted of the Argobba, Harari people and Silt'e people.^[58] According to Patrick Gikes, Adal in the sixteenth century designated the ancient Harla and Somali people.^[59] Marriage alliances between Argobba, Harari and Somali people were also common within the Adal Sultanate.^[60]

During the Kingdom of Adal, when it was centered on the city of Zeila in the present-day northwestern Awdal region, was primarily composed mostly of Somalis as well as Afars, Harari people, and Arabs.^{[61][62][63][64][65][66]} Ethiopian historian Bahru Zewde and others however state the Walasma led Sultanates of Ifat and Adal primarily included the Ethiopian Semitic speaking Argobba and Harari people, it later expanded to comprise Afar and Somali peoples.^[67][68] Between the late 1400s to mid 1500s there was a large scale migration of Hadhrami people into Adal.^[69]

Among the earliest mentions of the Somali by name has come through a victory poem written by Emperor Yeshaq I of Abyssinia against the king of Adal, as the Simur are said to have submitted and paid tribute. As Taddesse Tamrat writes: "Dr Enrico Cerulli has shown that Simur was an old Harari name for the Somali, who are still known by them as Tumur. Hence, it is most probable that the mention of the Somali and the Simur in relation to Yishaq refers to the king's military campaigns against Adal, where the Somali seem to have constituted a major section of the population."^[70]

According to Leo Africanus (1526) and George Sale (1760), the Adelites were of a tawny brown or olive complexion on the northern littoral, and grew swarthier towards the southern interior. They generally had long, lank hair. Most wore a cotton sarong but no headpiece or sandals, with many glass and amber trinkets around their necks, wrists, arms and ankles. The king and other aristocrats often donned instead a body-length garment topped with a headdress. All were Muslims.^[39][71] In the southern hinterland, the Adelites lived beside pagan "Negroes", with whom they bartered various commodities.^[72][73]

Languages

Various languages from the Afro-Asiatic family were spoken in the vast Adal Sultanate. Arabic served as a lingua franca, and was used by the ruling Walashma dynasty.^[74] According to the 19th-century Ethiopian historian Asma Giyorgis suggests that the Walashma dynasty themselves spoke Arabic.^[75]

Economy

 

Awash River was the main river of Adal/Ifat sultanates and provided abundant agricultural produce and fresh water.

 

Ibn Majid's notes on Berbera which was a large port of the sultanate

One of the empire's most wealthy provinces was Ifat it was well watered, by the large river Awash. Additionally, besides the surviving Awash River, at least five other rivers in the area between Harar and Shawa plateau existed.^[76] The general area was well cultivated, densely populated with numerous villages adjoining each other. Agricultural produce included three main cereals, wheat, sorghum and teff, as well as beans, aubergines, melons, cucumbers, marrows, cauliflowers and mustard. Many different types of fruit were grown, among them bananas, lemons, limes, pomegranates, apricots, peaces, citrons mulberries and grapes. Other plants included sycamore tree, sugar cane, from which kandi, or sugar was extracted and inedible wild figs.

The province also grew the stimulant plant Khat. Which was exported to Yemen. Adal was abundant in large numbers of cattle, sheep, and some goats. There was also chickens. Both buffaloes and wild fowl were sometimes hunted. The province had a great reputation for producing butter and honey. .^[77]

Whereas provinces such as Bale, surrounding regions of Webi Shabelle was known for it cotton cultivation and an age old weaving industry. While the El Kere region produced salt which was an important trading item ^[78]

Zeila the headquarters of the Kingdom was a wealthy city and abundantly supplied with provisions. It possessed grain, meat, oil, honey and wax. Furthermore, the citizens had many horses and reared cattle of all kinds, as a result they had plenty of butter, milk and flesh, as well as a great store of millet, barley and fruits; all of which was exported to Aden. The port city was so well supplied with victuals that it exported it's surplus to Aden, Jeddah, Mecca and "All Arabia"" which then was dependent on the supplies/produce from the city which they favoured above all. Zeila was described as a "Port of much provisions for Aden, and all parts of Arabia and many countries and Kingdoms".

The Principal exports, according the Portuguese writer Corsali, were gold, ivory and slaves. A "great number" of the latter was captured from the Ethiopian Empire, then were exported through the port of Zeila to Persia, Arabia, Egypt and India.

As a result of this flourishing trade, the citizens of Zeila accordingly lived "extremely well" and the city was well built guarded by many soldiers on both foot and horses.^[79]

Historian Al-Umari in his study in 1340s about the history of Adal, the medieval state in western and northern parts of historical Somalia and some related areas, Al-Umari of Cairo states that in the land of Zayla’ (Awdal):

“they cultivate two times annually by seasonal rains … The rainfall for the winter is called ‘Bil’ and rainfall for the ‘summer’ is called ‘Karam’ in the language of the people of Zayla.”

It appears that the historian was referring, in one-way or another, to these still used Somali terms, Karan and Bil. This indicates that the Somali solar calendar citizens of Zeila was using to farm with at that time was very similar to the one they use today and gives us further insight into the local farming practices during that period.^[80]

The kingdoms agricultural and other produce was not only abundant but also very cheap according to Maqrizi thirty pounds of meat sold for only half a dirhem, while for only four dirhems you could purchase a bunch of about 100 Damascus grapes.^[81]

Trade on the upland river valleys themselves connected with the coast to the interior markets. Created a lucrative caravan trade route between Ethiopian interior, the Hararghe highlands, Eastern Lowlands and the coastal cities such as Zeila and Berbera.^[82] The trade from the interior was also important for the reason that included gold from the Ethiopian territories in the west, including Damot and an unidentified district called Siham. The rare metal sold for 80 to 120 dirhems per ounce.^[83] The whole empire and the wider region was interdependent on each other and formed a single economy and at the same time a cultural unit interconnected with several important trade routes upon which the economy and the welfare of the whole area depended ^[84]

During its existence, Adal had relations and engaged in trade with other polities in Northeast Africa, the Near East, Europe and South Asia. Many of the historic cities in the Horn of Africa such as Abasa, Amud, Awbare and Berbera flourished under its reign with courtyard houses, mosques, shrines, walled enclosures and cisterns. Adal attained its peak in the 14th century, trading in slaves, ivory and other commodities with Abyssinia and kingdoms in Arabia through its chief port of Zeila.^[12] The cities of the empire imported intricately coloured glass bracelets and Chinese celadon for palace and home decoration.^[85] Adal also used imported currency such as Egyptian dinars and dirhems.^[86]

According to Sada Mire, the flourishing medieval cities and towns in Adal Sultanate such as Zeila, Berbera, Abasa, Amud, Awbube, Awbare, Qoorgaab, Gogesa (near Gabiley), Aw-Barkhaadle (near Hargeisa) Fardowsa (near Sheikh), Maduna, Derbiga, Cad Cad and others were founded and developed by Somali pastoral and trading communities.^[87] While Somali locals state ancient towns were built by the Harla people.^[88]

Military

The Adalite military was divided into several sections such as the infantry consisting of swordsmen, archers and lancers that were commanded by various generals and lieutenants. These forces were complemented by a cavalry force and eventually, later in the empire's history, by matchlock-technology and cannons during the Conquest of Abyssinia. The various divisions were symbolised with a distinct flag.

Elite unit of military warriors in the Adal army was branded with the title Malassay or Malachai (Portuguese spelling). The term often became synonymous with Muslims in Ethiopia to outsiders, but contrary to popular beliefs it did not denote a tribe or clan. Reading the Futūḥ al-Ḥabaša, the Malasāy appear as the basic unit of the army of the imām. Unlike the other groups that make up this army, the Malasāy were a group social and not a tribe or a clan. Unlike the Balaw, Somali or Ḥarla, a man Malasāy is not born. He obtained this title after demonstrating his military capabilities. ‘Arab Faqīh gives a relatively precise definition of what he means by "malasāy:^[89]

وفرقة الملساي اھل الغزو والجھاد ا c صلي المعتمد عليھم في القتال والصناديد ا c بطال فيھم ا c مام

And the Malasāy troop, who are people of raids and ğihād, worthy men of confidence, who could be trusted during the fighting, of the army chiefs who not only do not flee from the battlefield but who protect the retreat of his family.

(بطال c ا والصناديد.)

The imām was with them.

The Adal soldiers donned elaborate helmets and steel armour made up of chain-mail with overlapping tiers.^[90] The Horsemen of Adal wore protective helmets that covered the entire face except for the eyes, and breastplates on their body, while they harnessed their horses in a similar fashion. In siege warfare, ladders were employed to scale buildings and other high positions such as hills and mountains.^[91]

M. Hassan states:

Arab Faqih makes it very clear that the sedentary agriculturalists population of Harar provided both the leadership in the jihadic war and that they were the majority of the fighters at least during the early days of the jihad. All the four Wazirs appointed by Imam Ahmad were members of the landed Adare (Harari) and Harla hereditary nobility. Of the fifty or so Amirs appointed by Imam Ahmad between 1527 and 1537, the overwhelming majority were members of the hereditary landed Adare or Harla aristocracy.^[92]

M. Lewis writes:

Somali forces contributed much to the Imām’s victories. Shihāb ad-Dīn, the Muslim chronicler of the period, writing between 1540 and 1560, mentions them frequently (Futūḥ al-Ḥabasha, ed. And trs. R. Besset Paris, 1897). The most prominent Somali groups in the campaigns were the Geri, Marrehān, and Harti – all Dārod clans. Shihāb ad-Dīn is very vague as to their distribution and grazing areas, but describes the Harti as at the time in possession of the ancient eastern port of Mait. Of the Isāq only the Habar Magādle clan seem to have been involved and their distribution is not recorded. Finally, several Dir clans also took part.^[93]

Ethnic Somalis are stated to be the majority of the army according to the Oxford History of Islam:

The sultanate of Adal, which emerged as the major Muslim principality from 1420 to 1560, seems to have recruited its military force mainly from among the Somalis.^[94]

According to Merid Wolde Aregay:

At Shembra-Kuré the issue was determined most nearly by the superiority of Ahmad's cavalry. This consisted of personal followers, carefully chosen from amongst the young men of Harar, who were well trained and experienced. Ahmad had armed his horsemen with good sabres from the markets of Zayla and Arabia. The cavalry included a number of Arabs who had responded to Ahmäd's call for help in what he considered was a holy war against the unbelievers of Ethiopia. Many of these Arabs were especially skilled in the use of the sabre and they probably had shared this skill with the Harari horseman.^[95]

Legacy

 

A sword symbol on a stele at Tiya

The Adal Sultanate left behind many structures and artefacts from its heyday. Numerous such historical edifices and items are found in the northwestern Awdal province of Somaliland, as well as other parts of the Horn region where the polity held sway.^[96]

Archaeological excavations in the late 19th century and early 20th century at over fourteen sites in the vicinity of Borama in modern-day northwestern Somaliland unearthed, among other artefacts, silver coins identified as having been derived from Qaitbay (1468–89), the eighteenth Burji Mamluk Sultan of Egypt.^[96][97] Most of these finds are associated with the medieval Adal Sultanate.^[98] They were sent to the British Museum for preservation shortly after their discovery.^[97]

In 1950, the British Somaliland protectorate government commissioned an archaeological survey in twelve desert towns in present-day Republic of Somaliland, near the border with Ethiopia. According to the expedition team, the sites yielded the most salient evidence of late medieval period affluence. They contained ruins of what were evidently once large cities belonging to the Adal Sultanate. Towns such as Awbare, Awbube, Amud, Abasa and Gogesa, featured between 200 and 300 stone houses. The walls of certain sites still reportedly stood 18 meters high. Excavations in the area yielded 26 silver coins, unlike the copper pieces that were more common in polities below the Horn region. The earliest of these recovered coins had been minted by Sultan Barquq (1382–99), also of the Egyptian Burji dynasty, and the latest were again Sultan Qaitbay issues. All of the pieces had been struck in either Cairo or Damascus. A few gold coins were also discovered during the expedition, making the area the only place in the wider region to yield such pieces. Besides coinage, high quality porcelain was recovered from the Adal sites. The fine celadon ware was found either lying on the surface, or buried at a depth of seven and a half inches, or ensconced within dense middens four to five feet high. Among the artefacts were grey granular sherds with a cracked blue-green or sea-green glaze, and white crystalline fragments with an uncracked green-white glaze. Some Ming dynasty ware was also discovered, including many early Ming blue-and-white bowl sherds. They were adorned with tendril scrolls on a bluish ground and ornamented with black spotting, while other bowls had floral patterns outlined by grey or black-blue designs. Additionally, a few Ming red-and-white sherds were found, as well as white porcelain fragments with bluish highlights. The Adal sites appeared to reach an Indian Ocean terminus at the Sa'ad ad-Din Islands, named for Sultan Sa'ad ad-Din II of the Ifat Sultanate.^[99]

Additionally, local tradition identifies the archaeological site of Tiya in central Ethiopia as Yegragn Dingay ("Gran's stone") in reference to Imam Al-Ghazi. According to Joussaume (1995), who led archaeological work there, the site is relatively recent. It has been dated to between the 11th and 13th centuries CE. Tiya contains a number of megalithic pillars, including anthropomorphic and non-anthropomorphic/non-phallic stelae. Flat in form, these structures are characterized by distinctive, elaborate decorations, among which are swords, a standing human figure with arms akimbo, and plant-like symbols.^[100]

Sultans of Adal

	Name	Reign	Note
1	Sulṭān SabiradDīn SaʿadadDīn	1415–1422	Son of SaʿadadDīn Aḥmed, He returned to the Horn of Africa from Yemen to reclaim his father's realm. He defeated the Ethiopians and proclaimed himself "King of Adal". He subsequently became the first ruler and founder of the new Adal dynasty.
2	Sulṭān Mansur SaʿadadDīn	1422–1424	Son of SaʿadadDīn Aḥmed. Defeated the Abyssinians at their royal seat of Yadeya, captured and killed the Solomonic Emperor Dawit. The tides of war changed him and his brother Muhammad was eventually captured by Yeshaq
3	Sulṭān JamaladDīn SaʿadadDīn	1424–1433	He increased the riches of Adal, brought numerous land under its rule and during his reign a multitude of Amhara Christians embraced Islam. He won important battles against the Abyssinians defeating them at Bale, Yedeya and Jazja before his forces being defeated after an exhausted puruit back to protect the capital.
4	Sulṭān Sihab ad-Din Ahmad Badlay "Arwe Badlay"	1433–1445	Son of SaʿadadDīn Aḥmed, known to the Abyssinians as "Arwe Badlay" ("Badlay the Monster"). Badlay turned the tide of war against the Abyssinians and decisively defeated the forces of Emperor Yeshaq and expanded the power & reach of Adal. Manage to capture the province of Bale and brought numerous Christian land under his rult. Badlay founded a new capital at Dakkar in the Adal region, near Harar. He was killed in battle after he had launched a jihad to push the Abyssinians back out of Dawaro.
5	Sulṭān Maḥamed AḥmedudDīn	1445–1472	Son of AḥmedudDīn "Badlay" SaʿadadDīn, Maḥamed asked for help from the Mameluk Sultanate of Egypt in 1452, though this assistance was not forthcoming. He ended up signing a very short-lived truce with Baeda Maryam.
6	Sulṭān ShamsadDin Maḥamed	1472–1488	Son of Maḥamed AḥmedudDīn, he was attacked by Emperor Eskender of Abyssinia in 1479, who sacked Dakkar and destroyed much of the city, though the Abyssinians failed to occupy the city and were ambushed on the way home with heavy losses and no more incursions happened for the remainder of Eskender's reign.
7	Sulṭān Maḥamed ʿAsharadDīn	1488–1518	Great-grandson of SaʿadadDīn Aḥmed of Ifat, he continued to fight to liberate Dawaro along with Garad Maḥfūẓ of Zeila. He was assassinated after a disastrous campaign in 1518 and the death of Garad Maḥfūẓ.
8	Sultan Maḥamed Abūbakar Maḥfūẓ	1518–1519	Seized the throne, sparking a conflict between the Karanle and Walashma
9	Sulṭān Abūbakar Maḥamed	1518–1526	He killed Garād Abūn and restored the Walashma dynasty, but Garād Abūn's cousin Imām Aḥmed Gurēy avenged his cousin's death and killed him. While Garād Abūn ruled in Dakkar, Abūbakar Maḥamed established himself at Harar in 1520, and this is often cited as when the capital moved. Abūbakar Maḥamed was the last Walashma sultan to have any real power.
10	Garad Abun Adashe	1519–1525	Successor to Maḥamed Abūbakar Maḥfūẓ and the Karanle party of the struggle for the throne.
11	Sulṭān ʿUmarDīn Maḥamed	1526–1553	Son of Maḥamed ʿAsharadDīn, Imām Aḥmed Gurēy put Maḥamed ʿAsharadDīn's young son ʿUmarDīn on the throne as puppet king in Imām Aḥmed Gurēy's capital at Harar. This essentially is the end of the Walashma dynasty as a ruling dynasty in all but name, though the dynasty hobbled on in a de jure capacity. Many king lists don't even bother with Walashma rulers after this and just list Imām Aḥmed Gurēy and then Amīr Nūr Mujahid.
12	Sulṭān ʿAli ʿUmarDīn	1553–1555	Son of ʿUmarDīn Maḥamed
13	Sulṭān Barakat ʿUmarDīn	1555–1559	Son of ʿUmarDīn Maḥamed, last of the Walashma Sultans, assisted Amīr Nūr Mujahid in his attempt to retake Dawaro. He was killed defending Harar from Emperor Gelawdewos, ending the dynasty.

See also

• List of Sunni Muslim dynasties
• Isaaq Sultanate

Notes

1. Wagner, Ewald (1991). "The Genealogy of the later Walashma' Sultans of Adal and Harar". Zeitschrift der Deutschen Morgenländischen Gesellschaft. Harrassowitz Verlag. 141 (2): 376–386. JSTOR 43378336.
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Works cited

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