EU5 Horn of Africa

[Step a side]

@Garaad Awal

The majority of geographical descriptions points to Southern Somalia but sometimes encompasses the wider region. The linguistic definition points to a "Ajan Coast", with the only vivid description of this coast given by early Arab travellers who noted its ferocity in heat aka Haawiyah according to Dimiqshi. This is in sharp difference to an "Adal Kingdom" consistently stated as a kingdom which shows the Hawiye coast had a somewhat decentralised form of rule in comparison as one source states "the king(s) of Ajan" declare war on the Abysinnians regularly. This narrative fits in with the Ajuran being less operative in the international sphere as Adal's Walashma, the Ajuran had leaders from the north to the south over a long stretch but would have been powerful in some periods more than others but were quite weak nearing their downfall.

 

[Burqad]

Ajan is just

Ajan is not a term for Ajuran, it's a European mispelling/pronunciation of Ajam which meant non-Arab speakers. Can't stress this enough. They would even apply it other non-arab speaking lands not just Somalia.

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Ajuuran traditions is not purely oral , it is documented in text. For example Le Cassaneli qoutes a a translation of arabic document under it that describes their rulership.

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You can kinda see from this , that the name was actually attributed to taxing and administrative authorities that collected taxes and coordinated rural production and labour. It wasn't a name for a state per say, the way authors misrepresent in modern time.

Its not really different from how Imam Ahmed sent out administrators in the same way or acted out the role himself.
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Wether you call it Mogadishu sultanate or Ajuuran sultanate, people should view it as placeholder names.


And there is even local Arabic documents of an individual like the one about Sheikh Ali Burale who lived in the 1600s who rebelled against the rule



We also have external collaboration from a letter in 1624 that refers to a ruler using the title "Imam" much like how it is remembered.
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not a European misspelling but how Somalis would pronounce Ajam, Somali drops the M at the end of words.