Can someone tell me who built the Shangani old city?

convincation

Soomaali waa Hawiyah Iyo Hashiyah
VIP
Are the reer xamar ashraaf the same as the Raxanweyn Ashraafs in other parts of Somalia? Ashraafs don't look that mixed
From my understanding they’re a confederation of gibil cad and gibil madow who are politically alligned with rahanweyn. The asharaf in shingaani specifically are described as being gibil cad by the Italians
 
The name sounds Swahili.

My knowledge of Medieval coastal Southern Somali history isn't so great, but many of these coastal areas seem to have town names that aren't Cushitic. Biggest of all Kismaayo.
There's a neighbourhood called Shangani in Zanzibar city
 
The clans that are typically considered reer shingani are amudi, asharaf and yacqub. First 2 are mixed last one is abgaal in origin but now heavily mixed
Hyperpatriotic Somalis will kindly ignore this post.

  • "Abu Bakar Ibn Fakr ad-Din
  • Omar Ibn Abu Bakar
  • Abu Bakar Ibn Omar
  • Abd al-Aziz
  • Al-Rahman bin al-Musa’id
  • Yusuf bin Sa’id
  • Ali bin Yusuf
  • Rasul bin Ali
During the early 16th century, the reign of Muzaffar dynasty started in Mogadishu. The available list of rulers of this dynasty includes;

  • Mudhafar
  • Mahamuud Omar Hilowle
In the mid of 16th century the Abgal Yaquub, a Somali clan, overthrew the rule of Muzaffar dynasty and started the Abgal Yaquub dynasty. The Sultanate continued to exist until the end of 16th century, and at the start of 17th century, the city was conquered by the Sultan of Oman Sayyid Sa’id ibn Sultan al-Sa’id. The region went under the control of Oman, and the Sultanate of Mogadishu was abolished."

--------------------------------------------------------------------

The Fakr ad-Din mosque was built in 1269 AD, which dates the first Sultan of the Fakr ad-Din Dynasty. Per Scott Reese (Renewers of the Age, pp 42-43) Abu Bakar was an unknown foreign merchant, married to the wealthy daughter of the local Shaykh 'Abd al-Jabbar. After events demonstrated the stranger's Islamic worth, the Banu Qahtan traded a perpetual monopoly over the qadi and khatib positions in the city in perpetuity for the Sultancy. Several sources say Abu Bakar was an Arab, which would make the dynasty Arab, in spite if being dark, if we follow Samaale traditions.

Ibn Batuttta's visit was to Sultan Abu Bakr Ibn Omar, two generations later. With a marriage to a local woman, and a second dark marriage or more possible if the Shaykh married a local or had a local mother, Abu Bakr Ibn Omar could easily have been darker than an Arab and have spoken a local language. Note that his clan is never mentioned and the court protocols are definitely Arab and NOT Samaale. Check what the Omanis on Zanzibar looked like after only one generation!

The cadet branch of the Abgal only enter Shingani after about 1600 AD (The Portuguese say 1625, others say as early as 1590.) and immediately begin creating allies through marriages with Arab families, especially the Yemeni BaFadel and the Abdi Semed. The vast majority of the Abgal remained in the Bush (Lee V Cassanelli, The Shaping of Somali Society, pp 72-73. The center of the Primary Abgal lineage was at Ceel Dheere.
-----------------------------------------------------------

"Aerial view of Hamar-Weine (old city), 1923. "Examining this urban process the exhibition reflects on how under Italian colonial rule the former compact, traditional Arab style city was transformed into a cosmopolitan modern African city at the beginning of the 20th century."

Photograph: Italian Geographic Society

1635482702299.png



1635482842227.png
 

Factz

Factzopedia
VIP
Let's start with a few facts.
What we know as Mogadishu was actually only Xamarweyne+ Shingaani and a few other degmos (cabducaziz etc) the rest of the city didn't exist until the early 19th century.
The oldest inscription in Xamar and all of Somalia is actually frim Shangaani and was found by italian scholar of Ethiopian and Somali studies. Enrico Cerulli. The inscription is on the tomb of a man named Ahmed Al Naysaburi Al Khorasani, he died in 1217 and as his name suggests he was probably from Persia modern day Iran.
This means that arabs and persians lived in Mogadishu since the middle ages, however this doesn't mean that somalis were not part of the city on the contrary ibn battuta says that the ruler of Mogadishu was a Black "barbar" (somali) who spoke both Mogadishan(probably af soomaali) and arabic. This indicates Mogadishu started as a mixed multicultural city with a somali element and an arab/persian element that later gave birth to benadiris. We need to distinguish the urbanized somalis who were culturally arabized and the Nomadic somalis who were warriors.
In the 15th-16th century on the arabized somalis of Xamar allied with the Ajuuraan who controlled the outskirts of the City.
In the 16th century nomadic somalis from (mainly Abgaal) conquered Xamar from the joint benadiri- Ajuuraan alliance, many stuff was also built under the nomadic lamagoodle rule.So we can say that the city and the old quarters of Shingaani and X/weyne were built by both groups as both groups ruled the city jointly. Actually benadiris aren't exclusively descendants of arabs and persians. As you may know there's many benadiris who are predominantly somalis, the early somali nomadic clans that lived in xamar in the middle ages joined arabs to found a confederation qabil.


I was going to ignore this thread simply because people weren't serious but have you not learned anything I showed you? Why do you still continue to follow your own thoughts without accepting the sources I publish?

There was no such thing as "arabized somalis". The Muslim migrants who came to Mogadishu were actually the ones who became "Somalinized". They adopted the local language and culture. In fact, the local Somalis managed to retain their political control over the city while the Muslim immigrants only had religious influence. I'll line it for you.

1635501404972.png


No one is denying there were Arab, Persian, and Indians living in these coastal towns. However, the problem is when you give them too much credit. This source confirms the immigrants but tells you at the same time Somalis were the majority in the coastal regions.

1635500432701.png


According to Ross E. Dunn, neither Mogadishu nor any other city on the coast could be considered alien enclaves of Arabs or Persians but were in-fact African towns even explains to you who actually built Mogadishu. I can show you many modern historians and even archaeologists saying the same damn thing. I can publish studies from universities and give you books you can read from that I've recently discovered. This has already been debunked. I don't know why people are still discussing something that has already been done?

1635501914271.png


As for the mudaffar dynasty. Again, they were an Ajuran family that ruled over Mogadishu province.

1635502166041.png


Mogadishu was actually a province of Ajuran.

1635502737134.png


After the fall of Ajuran, Mogadishu came under Hiraab Imamate rule in the late 17th century and in the 19th century fell under Geledi sphere influence but the Hiraab still reigned over Mogadishu. Oman/Zanzibar only had a nominal influence which was insignificant.

So in conclusion Mogadishu was predominantly Somali, ruled by Somalis, and did most of the contribution. The Muslim immigrants were a minority with no political power but their influence has never been denied. They were just like any regular sizeable immigrants around the world who brought their influence.
 
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Factz

Factzopedia
VIP
The inhabitants of the the old town before it become cosmopolitan during colonial rule. The city was surrounded by walled stone fortifications before the Italians destroyed it. There was a curfew for outsiders and they were usually only allowed inside for trade.

The walled cities were never unique in Somali history. These were known trading centers so in order to protect themselves they had to fortify themselves to prevent bandits from raiding.

When the Italians came to Mogadishu they signed a colonial treaty with Imaam Maxamuud who was a Hiraab Imam that reigned over Mogadishu.

Bardhera part of the Geledi federation had a citadel.

1635503274820.png


The Bimal held Merca had a wall.

1635503205597.png



Other cities such as Baydhabo, Barawa, Afgooye, Berbera, Zeila and etc were all fortified cities before colonialism.
 

Factz

Factzopedia
VIP
The name sounds Swahili.

My knowledge of Medieval coastal Southern Somali history isn't so great, but many of these coastal areas seem to have town names that aren't Cushitic. Biggest of all Kismaayo.

Many? Not really. Many cities in southern Somalia have Somali names such as Muuqdisho, Merca, Barawe, Gondershe, Hannassa, Ras Bar Balla, Warsheikh and Adale,

Kismayo and the Bajuni islands were originally Bajuni. The term Benadir coast meant from the Jubba River to Hobyo but the modern definition has changed from Ras Kamboni to Adele.

As for Shingani. I think that was the quarter of the town were Benadiris settled. It is believed when the Muslim immigrants gained permission from local Somali rulers to stay. They were not allowed to live everywhere and had to settle in a particular quarter.

1635504731961.png


The reason why I make this conclusion is because the major part of Mogadishu called "Xamarweyne" is Somali and is where the Ajuran clan resided.

1635506973846.png
 
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Based

VIP
The walled cities were never unique in Somali history. These were known trading centers so in order to protect themselves they had to fortify themselves to prevent bandits from raiding.

When the Italians came to Mogadishu they signed a colonial treaty with Imaam Maxamuud who was a Hiraab Imam that reigned over Mogadishu.

Bardhera part of the Geledi federation had a citadel.

View attachment 205328

The Bimal held Merca had a wall.

View attachment 205327


Other cities such as Baydhabo, Barawa, Afgooye, Berbera, Zeila and etc were all fortified cities before colonialism.
What is the story behind afgoye's name?
 

convincation

Soomaali waa Hawiyah Iyo Hashiyah
VIP
What is the story behind afgoye's name?
I’m not 100% sure if the story is exactly like this but from what I know this is how it went:

Back when afgooye was ruled by the ajuran empire, afgooye and most of south central was under the control of gorgarte hawiye, afgooye specifically by silcis gorgarte

Silcis we’re bad rulers and the sultan would tax the geledi population of the city heavily so one day they decided to rebel with the help of wacdaan cisman (another gorgarte clan)

The sultan of the silcis would send his daughter with her slaves to collect tax from the geledi and one day the geledi refused to pay after she came to collect it and then they killed her

The silcis were then kicked out of afgooye and the sultans last words before he was banished was “waa lay afgooye” meaning my mouth was cut to signify either his daughters death or his loss of geledi taxes

Original name of afgooye before this was lama jidle which means two roads.
 

convincation

Soomaali waa Hawiyah Iyo Hashiyah
VIP
Didn’t really bother explaining it because some of you are too insecure to even acknowledge your own history. The most accurate early clan counting in Mogadishu we have is by the Italians. Everything else is broad and just travellers who may have only visited a single neighbourhood saying what they think they saw.

It’s also necessary to point out that this census is just old Mogadishu which is just shingani and Xamar weyne and possibly a few neighbourhoods in xamar jajab. For context this is old mog compared to the rest of the city
D3B95745-0302-4B14-A271-62345A56F44A.jpeg

It’s also important to note that this small box is the only ancestral homeland of the cad cads, outside of this box they have no claim to as this land was always settled by local nomadic groups before it urbanised (specifically mudulood and some murusade/sheekhaal nomads).

Another thing to note before reading on is that benadiri and cadcad are not the same thing. Benadiris break down into gibil cad (cadcads) and gibil madow (natives). Benadiri is just any clan who are native to the benadiri coast, at times clans like abgaal and tunni are considered benadiri. All cadcads are benadiri but not all benadiris are cadcad

This is the results of the italian census:
92F41FD7-D02F-4EA1-9F82-2A791A186656.jpeg


The first group are the Jacub e Bafadal. Jacub is yacqub which is a harti abgaal subclan. Yacqub we’re the sultans of the hiraab sultanate which is sometimes called the yacqubi immate. Yacqub are to this day still the heads of not only mudulood but hiraab as a whole although they’re today pretty small. The second group, Bafadal are “indigenous priests” according to the Italians who are small in numbers and dependant on the yacqub
319E6F34-B92C-46C6-A964-68EB3AEB7373.jpeg


we can conclude that the 580 Jacub e Bafadal count are indigenous Somalis, specifically hawiye

Next group are the Asharaf who are explicitly mentioned as being gibil cad by the Italians.
0EAB09E3-97EE-49A0-A3BD-874458E67B6A.jpeg
For the sake of this census, I’ll count them as cad cads although the asharaf of today look just as somali as any other clan and claim to be a rahanweyn subclan. This could easily be a case of a somali clan claiming to be from arabia to up their status which is common throughout the country. So far that’s 600 for cadcads

Next group are the amudi who are most definitely a gibil cad tribe and not somali in origin. The amudi in Somalia come from the al-amoudi clan of the hadhrami tribe in Yemen, this is apparent in both their claimed lineage and looks. This puts the cad cad numbers at 1270

Next group is reer seek a sedda ghedi (reer sheik and sadex gheedi). Reer shayk origins are not explicitly pointed out but they’re said to be small in numbers which means we can take the origins of the saddex ghedi as the main bulk of the population of this confederacy.
D7684FAB-C172-4CBE-9ADB-9822FFD7E279.jpeg


The saddex gheddi are said to be as follows:
C69EF457-FBBB-4AE7-B6F9-3101A7E8D97D.jpeg


So we can conclude that the 650 for saddex ghedi are also indigenous somalis specifically hawiye.

So far the numbers are 1,230 for hawiye, 1,270 for cadcads

Next group are reer mango (reer maanyo). The Italians describe them as such:
58869951-6F26-4B12-A23C-C738D3D75CDF.jpeg


They’re origins are not specifically mentioned however they are separated from the “indigenous people” so I’ll take them as cadcads. This boosts cadcads to 1,825

Next group are reer fakhi (reer fiqi) are mentioned as Arabs so I’ll take them as cadcads. This puts cadcads at 2,165
81F5C5D5-7D19-4572-B0B9-EDE8E3EF9BCA.jpeg


Next group is dabaruena e scansia (Dhabarweyne and Shanshiyo). Shanshiyo are the most Typical cadcads so no need to get into them. Dhabarweyne however are gibil madow and are said to be xawadle in origin
5CFD9577-6DF9-4E38-AF27-A5CD808271A7.jpeg

Since we don’t know how the Dhabarweyne-Shanshiyo confederacy breaks down, let’s break it down by half and add to each part. This puts cadcads at 2,733 and hawiye at 1,798

Next 2 are Morscia and iscasciat (Morsho and iskashato). Iskashato is a subclan of Morsho and Morsho are said to be ajuran in origin. They are also the earliest settlers in xamar and are consistently called the true natives.

Together these put the hawiye number at 3,403

Next clan is mursola (murusade). This puts the hawiye number at 4,133

Next clan is bandabow e guzmani (bandabow). This clan is silcis in origin (gorgarte hawiye).

This puts the hawiye number at 5,383

Next clan is gesira (jazeera). They are sheekhaal in origin. This puts hawiye at 5,635

Next clan is somali immigranti. This is most likely local nomadic tribes that settled in over time. The local nomadic tribes of be

This puts the hawiye number at 7,065

The next two groups, arabi and indiani, are foreign Arabs and Indians. Their combined numbers are 1,160

The final group (Truppe indigene) are indigenous troops. For argument sake, I won’t count them in any group since this is only about the settled populous.

Finally the statistics:

Somali (hawiye): 7,065
Foreigners:1,160
Cadcads: 2733

Total settled population: 10,958


64.5% somali (specifically hawiye)
24.9% cadcad
10.6% foreigners


An argument certain insecure folk love to use is that the hawiye/ethnic somalis started moving in after the cadcads had already built the city. This argument is just illogical so I’ll just answer it with a quote
6E225EAD-9792-49A5-B7A9-CC7F4CB40622.jpeg


As Mogadishu expanded much deeper into hawiye tribal territory, the percentage count of hawiye has also drastically increased and is probably somwhere around the region of 80-85% now. The percentage of ethnic Somalis has also increased drastically since the formation of Somalia with mog at its capital and is probably over 90-95% now

In conclusion:

Old Mogadishu and new Mogadishu are both ethnic Somali urban areas in ethnic Somali territory. Cadcad folk are not native to either and were invited to the city by ethnic Somalis (specifically hawiye clans)
 

Som

VIP
I was going to ignore this thread simply because people weren't serious but have you not learned anything I showed you? Why do you still continue to follow your own thoughts without accepting the sources I publish?

There was no such thing as "arabized somalis". The Muslim migrants who came to Mogadishu were actually the ones who became "Somalinized". They adopted the local language and culture. In fact, the local Somalis managed to retain their political control over the city while the Muslim immigrants only had religious influence. I'll line it for you.

View attachment 205323

No one is denying there were Arab, Persian, and Indians living in these coastal towns. However, the problem is when you give them too much credit. This source confirms the immigrants but tells you at the same time Somalis were the majority in the coastal regions.

View attachment 205322

According to Ross E. Dunn, neither Mogadishu nor any other city on the coast could be considered alien enclaves of Arabs or Persians but were in-fact African towns even explains to you who actually built Mogadishu. I can show you many modern historians and even archaeologists saying the same damn thing. I can publish studies from universities and give you books you can read from that I've recently discovered. This has already been debunked. I don't know why people are still discussing something that has already been done?

View attachment 205324

As for the mudaffar dynasty. Again, they were an Ajuran family that ruled over Mogadishu province.

View attachment 205325

Mogadishu was actually a province of Ajuran.

View attachment 205326

After the fall of Ajuran, Mogadishu came under Hiraab Imamate rule in the late 17th century and in the 19th century fell under Geledi sphere influence but the Hiraab still reigned over Mogadishu. Oman/Zanzibar only had a nominal influence which was insignificant.

So in conclusion Mogadishu was predominantly Somali, ruled by Somalis, and did most of the contribution. The Muslim immigrants were a minority with no political power but their influence has never been denied. They were just like any regular sizeable immigrants around the world who brought their influence.
I mostly agree with you. I got the arabized somali term from I.M Lewis who said the ruling dinasties in Xamar were arabized somalis or somalized arabs. It's fair to say somali nomads who became muslim partially arabized because of this contact with arab traders, this was common throughout the Muslim world.
Turks, Persians, Indians etc kinda "arabized" in the same way when they became muslims
 

Som

VIP
Hyperpatriotic Somalis will kindly ignore this post.

  • "Abu Bakar Ibn Fakr ad-Din
  • Omar Ibn Abu Bakar
  • Abu Bakar Ibn Omar
  • Abd al-Aziz
  • Al-Rahman bin al-Musa’id
  • Yusuf bin Sa’id
  • Ali bin Yusuf
  • Rasul bin Ali
During the early 16th century, the reign of Muzaffar dynasty started in Mogadishu. The available list of rulers of this dynasty includes;

  • Mudhafar
  • Mahamuud Omar Hilowle
In the mid of 16th century the Abgal Yaquub, a Somali clan, overthrew the rule of Muzaffar dynasty and started the Abgal Yaquub dynasty. The Sultanate continued to exist until the end of 16th century, and at the start of 17th century, the city was conquered by the Sultan of Oman Sayyid Sa’id ibn Sultan al-Sa’id. The region went under the control of Oman, and the Sultanate of Mogadishu was abolished."

--------------------------------------------------------------------

The Fakr ad-Din mosque was built in 1269 AD, which dates the first Sultan of the Fakr ad-Din Dynasty. Per Scott Reese (Renewers of the Age, pp 42-43) Abu Bakar was an unknown foreign merchant, married to the wealthy daughter of the local Shaykh 'Abd al-Jabbar. After events demonstrated the stranger's Islamic worth, the Banu Qahtan traded a perpetual monopoly over the qadi and khatib positions in the city in perpetuity for the Sultancy. Several sources say Abu Bakar was an Arab, which would make the dynasty Arab, in spite if being dark, if we follow Samaale traditions.

Ibn Batuttta's visit was to Sultan Abu Bakr Ibn Omar, two generations later. With a marriage to a local woman, and a second dark marriage or more possible if the Shaykh married a local or had a local mother, Abu Bakr Ibn Omar could easily have been darker than an Arab and have spoken a local language. Note that his clan is never mentioned and the court protocols are definitely Arab and NOT Samaale. Check what the Omanis on Zanzibar looked like after only one generation!

The cadet branch of the Abgal only enter Shingani after about 1600 AD (The Portuguese say 1625, others say as early as 1590.) and immediately begin creating allies through marriages with Arab families, especially the Yemeni BaFadel and the Abdi Semed. The vast majority of the Abgal remained in the Bush (Lee V Cassanelli, The Shaping of Somali Society, pp 72-73. The center of the Primary Abgal lineage was at Ceel Dheere.
-----------------------------------------------------------

"Aerial view of Hamar-Weine (old city), 1923. "Examining this urban process the exhibition reflects on how under Italian colonial rule the former compact, traditional Arab style city was transformed into a cosmopolitan modern African city at the beginning of the 20th century."

Photograph: Italian Geographic Society

View attachment 205312


View attachment 205313
Ibn battuta described the sultan as a "barbar" which indicates a non-arab origin and likely a somali origin. The guy wasn't arab, if he was a mixed afro-arab like the ones in Zanzibar Ibn battuta would have identified him as such.
Also having arab customs doesn't make one an arab, somalis today still share many arab cultural practices but that doesn't mean we are arab.
I think both camps in this discussion are extreme. Denying the Somali element in Xamar is crazy, denying arabs technically founded the city is also incorrect based on available evidence
 
Didn’t really bother explaining it because some of you are too insecure to even acknowledge your own history. The most accurate early clan counting in Mogadishu we have is by the Italians. Everything else is broad and just travellers who may have only visited a single neighbourhood saying what they think they saw.

It’s also necessary to point out that this census is just old Mogadishu which is just shingani and Xamar weyne and possibly a few neighbourhoods in xamar jajab. For context this is old mog compared to the rest of the city View attachment 205335
It’s also important to note that this small box is the only ancestral homeland of the cad cads, outside of this box they have no claim to as this land was always settled by local nomadic groups before it urbanised (specifically mudulood and some murusade/sheekhaal nomads).

Another thing to note before reading on is that benadiri and cadcad are not the same thing. Benadiris break down into gibil cad (cadcads) and gibil madow (natives). Benadiri is just any clan who are native to the benadiri coast, at times clans like abgaal and tunni are considered benadiri. All cadcads are benadiri but not all benadiris are cadcad

This is the results of the italian census:
View attachment 205337

The first group are the Jacub e Bafadal. Jacub is yacqub which is a harti abgaal subclan. Yacqub we’re the sultans of the hiraab sultanate which is sometimes called the yacqubi immate. Yacqub are to this day still the heads of not only mudulood but hiraab as a whole although they’re today pretty small. The second group, Bafadal are “indigenous priests” according to the Italians who are small in numbers and dependant on the yacqubView attachment 205338

we can conclude that the 580 Jacub e Bafadal count are indigenous Somalis, specifically hawiye

Next group are the Asharaf who are explicitly mentioned as being gibil cad by the Italians.View attachment 205340For the sake of this census, I’ll count them as cad cads although the asharaf of today look just as somali as any other clan and claim to be a rahanweyn subclan. This could easily be a case of a somali clan claiming to be from arabia to up their status which is common throughout the country. So far that’s 600 for cadcads

Next group are the amudi who are most definitely a gibil cad tribe and not somali in origin. The amudi in Somalia come from the al-amoudi clan of the hadhrami tribe in Yemen, this is apparent in both their claimed lineage and looks. This puts the cad cad numbers at 1270

Next group is reer seek a sedda ghedi (reer sheik and sadex gheedi). Reer shayk origins are not explicitly pointed out but they’re said to be small in numbers which means we can take the origins of the saddex ghedi as the main bulk of the population of this confederacy.View attachment 205341

The saddex gheddi are said to be as follows:View attachment 205342

So we can conclude that the 650 for saddex ghedi are also indigenous somalis specifically hawiye.

So far the numbers are 1,230 for hawiye, 1,270 for cadcads

Next group are reer mango (reer maanyo). The Italians describe them as such:View attachment 205343

They’re origins are not specifically mentioned however they are separated from the “indigenous people” so I’ll take them as cadcads. This boosts cadcads to 1,825

Next group are reer fakhi (reer fiqi) are mentioned as Arabs so I’ll take them as cadcads. This puts cadcads at 2,165View attachment 205344

Next group is dabaruena e scansia (Dhabarweyne and Shanshiyo). Shanshiyo are the most Typical cadcads so no need to get into them. Dhabarweyne however are gibil madow and are said to be xawadle in originView attachment 205345
Since we don’t know how the Dhabarweyne-Shanshiyo confederacy breaks down, let’s break it down by half and add to each part. This puts cadcads at 2,733 and hawiye at 1,798

Next 2 are Morscia and iscasciat (Morsho and iskashato). Iskashato is a subclan of Morsho and Morsho are said to be ajuran in origin. They are also the earliest settlers in xamar and are consistently called the true natives.

Together these put the hawiye number at 3,403

Next clan is mursola (murusade). This puts the hawiye number at 4,133

Next clan is bandabow e guzmani (bandabow). This clan is silcis in origin (gorgarte hawiye).

This puts the hawiye number at 5,383

Next clan is gesira (jazeera). They are sheekhaal in origin. This puts hawiye at 5,635

Next clan is somali immigranti. This is most likely local nomadic tribes that settled in over time. The local nomadic tribes of be

This puts the hawiye number at 7,065

The next two groups, arabi and indiani, are foreign Arabs and Indians. Their combined numbers are 1,160

The final group (Truppe indigene) are indigenous troops. For argument sake, I won’t count them in any group since this is only about the settled populous.

Finally the statistics:

Somali (hawiye): 7,065
Foreigners:1,160
Cadcads: 2733

Total settled population: 10,958


64.5% somali (specifically hawiye)
24.9% cadcad
10.6% foreigners


An argument certain insecure folk love to use is that the hawiye/ethnic somalis started moving in after the cadcads had already built the city. This argument is just illogical so I’ll just answer it with a quote View attachment 205348

As Mogadishu expanded much deeper into hawiye tribal territory, the percentage count of hawiye has also drastically increased and is probably somwhere around the region of 80-85% now. The percentage of ethnic Somalis has also increased drastically since the formation of Somalia with mog at its capital and is probably over 90-95% now

In conclusion:

Old Mogadishu and new Mogadishu are both ethnic Somali urban areas in ethnic Somali territory. Cadcad folk are not native to either and were invited to the city by ethnic Somalis (specifically hawiye clans)
The Bafadal were a Yemeni merchant house that intermarried with the Yacqub Abgal.
Do you have a date for the Italian census? It is probably 1920 or 1930 and can't be before 1905. The Hiraab don't beat the Mudaffar and gain access to the city until about 1600 AD, after which the vast majority remain in the bush centered around Ceel Dherre. (The Hawiiye Oral Traditions)
The Portuguese estimated the 16th century population of Mog at 5,000. By 1940 Italians accounted for 40 % of Mogadishu's population of 50,000. (Welch and Wiki)
You need to back the census up to deal with specific periods. The Hiraab were recent comers to the Lower Shabelli in the 16th century.
 
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Som

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The Bafadal were a Yemeni merchant house that intermarried with the Yacqub Abgal.
Do you have a date for the Italian census? It is probably 1920 or 1930 and can't be before 1905. The Hiraab don't beat the Mudaffar and gain access to the city until about 1600 AD, after which the vast majority remain in the bush centered around Ceel Dherre. (The Hawiiye Oral Traditions)
The Portuguese estimated the 16th century population of Mog at 5,000. By 1940 Italians accounted for 40 % of Mogadishu's population of 50,000. (Welch and Wiki)
You need to back the census up to deal with specific periods. The Hiraab were recent comers to the Lower Shabelli in the 16th century.
Arab sources mention Hawiye people living in Merca in the 12-13th century , they didn't just show up in the 16th century.
 
Ibn battuta described the sultan as a "barbar" which indicates a non-arab origin and likely a somali origin. The guy wasn't arab, if he was a mixed afro-arab like the ones in Zanzibar Ibn battuta would have identified him as such.
Also having arab customs doesn't make one an arab, somalis today still share many arab cultural practices but that doesn't mean we are arab.
I think both camps in this discussion are extreme. Denying the Somali element in Xamar is crazy, denying arabs technically founded the city is also incorrect based on available evidence
I think Ibn Battuta's powers of discernment have been overestimated. The version of the founding of the Fakr ad Din dynasty given to Cerulli by the Abu Qahtan/Reer Faqi is that the founder was an unknown foreigner, not a Samaale.
See above or Scott Reese, 2008, pp 42-44.
 
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Arab sources mention Hawiye people living in Merca in the 12-13th century , they didn't just show up in the 16th century.
We are talking specifically about the Hiraab, who came from the north. The southern Hawiiye became part of the Ajuraan, who were defeated by the Geledi/Wacdaan and Hiraab and moved south, ending up in Gedo.
 

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I think Ibn Battuta's powers of discernment have been overestimated. The version of the founding of the Fakr ad Din dynasty given to Cerulli by the Abu Qahtan/Reer Faqi is that the founder was an unknown foreigner, not a Somali.
See above or Scott Reese, 2008, pp 42-44.
I'm not disputing that. I'm saying the sultan that met with ibn battuta was most likely a somali or at least a non-arab. Cerulli says this as well. Arab sources and Portuguese sources also describe black/brown people living with whites. As for the ruling dinasties the fakr ad din arabs could have been mixed with local somalis later in time. The Muzzafars themselves have been described as associated with somali ajuuraans.
You should also bee very careful of Reer Faqis oral and even written accounts. In the book of zanj (written by benadiris) mentioned by Cerulli there are many obvious mistakes , for example it says ethnic somalis were arabs and oromos also had Arab ancestry. The arab element in Mogadishu history shouldn't be underestimated but it's also wrong to describe it as an exclusively arab before hawiye conquered it in the 1600s. This is not supported by the evidence we have, the city was mixed and the ethnic identity of the medieval dinasties is most likely a mixture between arabs and somalis.
Any time you say arab in somalia there's no definitive proof that arabs are really involved, if we believed all oral traditions then many somali clans like daroods would be considered arab
 
I'm not disputing that. I'm saying the sultan that met with ibn battuta was most likely a somali or at least a non-arab. Cerulli says this as well. Arab sources and Portuguese sources also describe black/brown people living with whites. As for the ruling dinasties the fakr ad din arabs could have been mixed with local somalis later in time. The Muzzafars themselves have been described as associated with somali ajuuraans.
You should also bee very careful of Reer Faqis oral and even written accounts. In the book of zanj (written by benadiris) mentioned by Cerulli there are many obvious mistakes , for example it says ethnic somalis were arabs and oromos also had Arab ancestry. The arab element in Mogadishu history shouldn't be underestimated but it's also wrong to describe it as an exclusively arab before hawiye conquered it in the 1600s. This is not supported by the evidence we have, the city was mixed and the ethnic identity of the medieval dinasties is most likely a mixture between arabs and somalis.
Any time you say arab in somalia there's no definitive proof that arabs are really involved, if we believed all oral traditions then many somali clans like daroods would be considered arab
Please read my post above, again. Abu Bakar Ibn Fakr ad-Din married the daughter of a local Shaykh. The Shaykh's wife was probably local, which would have left his daughter darker than he was. If her child, Omar, also married local, there would be at least two and possibly more local, darker marriages before getting to Abu Bakar Ibn Omar. My entire theory depends on few Arab women making the trip to Africa, and the population becoming heavily mixed, and tending towards a Samaale appearance.

There are three versions of the Book of the Zanj. See An Azanian Trio, Ritchie and Sicard, 2020.

MS K ends with Bargash in 1888 and before bin Sa'id bin Sultan. From the qadi of Kismayu. A copy was made by Shaykh Aba Bakr bin Muhyi l'Din Mukarram, paramount shaykh of Mogadishu in 1923.

MS L ends with Ali bin Hamud bin Sa'id in 1911. Origin not stated. A copy was sent to Cerulli through the British embassy in Ethiopia.

The Kawkab al-durriya, part one, ends in 1847. It has significant marginal notes by another author. It was written on Pate. The author is known. He died in 1913.

Taken altogether, the three are remarkably similar. They cover somewhat different subjects and periods, but they do not contradict each other. The translators describe the Arabic as uniformly abysmal. The translators are of the opinion the information in all three books originated north of Lamu, probably Somalia, but they do not pin it down.
 

Som

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Please read my post above, again. Abu Bakar Ibn Fakr ad-Din married the daughter of a local Shaykh. The Shaykh's wife was probably local, which would have left his daughter darker than he was. If her child, Omar, also married local, there would be at least two and possibly more local, darker marriages before getting to Abu Bakar Ibn Omar. My entire theory depends on few Arab women making the trip to Africa, and the population becoming heavily mixed, and tending towards a Samaale appearance.

There are three versions of the Book of the Zanj. See An Azanian Trio, Ritchie and Sicard, 2020.

MS K ends with Bargash in 1888 and before bin Sa'id bin Sultan. From the qadi of Kismayu. A copy was made by Shaykh Aba Bakr bin Muhyi l'Din Mukarram, paramount shaykh of Mogadishu in 1923.

MS L ends with Ali bin Hamud bin Sa'id in 1911. Origin not stated. A copy was sent to Cerulli through the British embassy in Ethiopia.

The Kawkab al-durriya, part one, ends in 1847. It has significant marginal notes by another author. It was written on Pate. The author is known. He died in 1913.

Taken altogether, the three are remarkably similar. They cover somewhat different subjects and periods, but they do not contradict each other. The translators describe the Arabic as uniformly abysmal. The translators are of the opinion the information in all three books originated north of Lamu, probably Somalia, but they do not pin it down.
You are assuming Abu Bakr was a direct descendant of Fakr Addin which we don't know.
Also having a paternal arab founder with multiple somali mixture would still make the dinasty as somali as the sheekhaal or the Ajuuraan who have an arab ancestor.

As for the book of Zanj it's an interesting piece of litterature but not very reliable for example it says QUOTE : As to the origin of the Somali, they are without doubt the Arabs, as is said in the book Sabaik al-Dahab, they are descended from the son of son of Bur son of Qaydar son of Ishmael son of Abraham - to their health and blessing
 

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