It's interesting to read how diverse Hobyo Sultanate was. The first Sultan preferred diplomacy and making the sultanate cosmopolitan. So as with all Somali history there some truth in what they say but it's not all the truth.
It's great to know most Somali territories were using Osmanya script until Siyad adopted the latin. The SYL party was all Osmanya script based.
This was a great read. Source:
Founded in 1867, the Sultanate of Hobyo is one of the historic Somali realms that predate the era of colonialism. It is named after its capital city, the coastal town of Hobyo. The town of Hobyo is located in the Mudug province, in the central part of Somalia. Inception It was established by Yusuf Ali Yusuf Boqor, nicknamed Keenadiid.
In fact, his nickname explains the kind of rebel he was. If we break down the name Keenadiid, it’ll be a combination of “Keeno” and “Diid”. When herding Camels, there are two kinds of ropes fastened and used together on the pack animal to make sure it doesn’t unleash and cut loose. One of the ropes is called “Hoggaan” while the second is called “Keeno”. After a personal row between him and his cousin the King, some friends and family members reached out to him to ask him about the strife, to which he then replied with the following: “Awal baannu hoggaan ugu jirnaye, haddana ma keeno ayuu noogu daray”?. This roughly translates to “We (the governed) were in his tight grip before, and now he wants to tighten it furthermore”. And on the spot one of the visitors uttered the name “Keenadiid”, meaning the objector.
After years of feuds, he, along with some trusted friends and relatives, decided that since he couldn’t take the throne here (Majerteniya Kingdom), they should go and create their own realm someplace else. There is a story that, while searching for a place for a new kingdom, two places were the favourites; HOBYO and SOCOTRA (an island between Guardafui Channel and Arabian Sea under the rule of Yemen).
Hobyo was selected because its outstanding landscape offered fertile soil for agriculture, offered pastures for livestock to graze, and had both a sea and a port that allowed traders to import and export merchandise and fishermen to fish. People have always believed that coastal cities are the cradle and bedrock of civilizations.
As the entourage arrived at Hobyo, they were transporting a ship full of commodities, food supplements, and weapons. They spent days meeting the inhabitants who mostly hailed from The Habargidir clan, a sub-clan of the larger Hawiye tribe. Hobyo was then inhabited primarily by the Sacad, a sub-clan of Habargidir. Meetings were held to persuade the populace to form an alliance, a Sultanate, where they were not only ruled but also involved in decision-making. Using his prior experiences, Kenadid explained why he would make a great leader. His emissaries included poets who did an excellent job of persuading people with poetic words filled with wisdom. Eventually, the locals agreed to form the Sultanate. That result came solely from negotiations; no form of violence or subjugation was used. Hobyo was the capital and administrative center for the newly-born Sultanate’s rule, but later became just one of many cities the Sultanate’s authority would control.
Executive-wise; he appointed governors to the cities called in Somali (Naa’ibbo in plural form, Naa’ib in singular). Those governors were reporting their duties to a Chief of Governors (Primo-Naa’ib) who was in turn also reporting to the head of the realm, the (SULTAN). The chief of the governors was Osman Sharmarke, a cousin of the Sultan and the father of SYL’s founding father, Yasin Osman Sharmarke.
Judiciary-wise, one key factor which made this Sultanate dissimilar to the other realms was the fact that the Sultan adopted Islamic Sharia as their constitution, whereas the Majerteniya Kingdom for example used “Xeer-Soomaali”, a traditional legal system of Somalis derived from the Somali culture as the basis for it’s judicial rulings.
The Sultan brought many Islamic Somali scholars from Soomaali-Galbeed/Ogadenya. Most of them hailed from Ogaden, a sub-clan of Darod. They were appointed judges in various cities under the Sultanate’s rule. Some of those judges and the cities whose courts they steered include;
▪ Sheikh Ahmed Dheere, Ogaden. A judge in Hobyo.
▪ Sheikh Abdi, Ogaden. A judge in Hobyo.
▪ Sheikh Qasim, Ogaden. A judge in Hobyo.
▪ Sheikh Nuurre, Ogaden. A judge in Hobyo (Sheikh Nuurre didn’t serve that long and was an interim judge).
▪ Sheikh Aadan Yare, Ogaden. A judge in Galkacyo.
▪ Sheikh Xaaji Xasan, Ogaden. A judge in Xarardheere.
One may wonder and ask themselves why all of those judges came from the same tribe. The answer put simply is that among Somalis, Soomaali-Galbeed was known to be the favoured destination of anyone aspiring to get well-versed in Islam. There were a great number of well-known Islamic clerics who studied Islam in that region.
The Sultanate also managed to build a robust inclusive army. The army’s commander was Omar Samatar, a veteran warrior and tactician. Omar had deputies like Hersi Guushaa with whom he consulted whenever carrying out a raid or resisting one. This army consisted of the Hawiye, Dir, Darod and even some of the marginalized Somali clans. The fact that they were diverse and depoliticized made this army defeat many more powerful enemies. One famous battle they won was the fight against the Omani Sultan of Zanzibar, Sultan Barqash Sayyid Bin Al-Busaid who ruled many coastal towns in east Africa and tried to make Hobyo a territory under his rule. He and his troops were fought tooth and nail by the Sultanate’s army and were embarrassingly defeated. This army will also eventually fight against the Italian colonizer and will kill many of their high-ranking officers in the battlefields, eventhough they’ll lose the big war at the end.
It's great to know most Somali territories were using Osmanya script until Siyad adopted the latin. The SYL party was all Osmanya script based.
This was a great read. Source:
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HOBYO SULTANATE; A Historical Reflection.
Founded in 1867, the Sultanate of Hobyo is one of the historic Somali realms that predate the era of colonialism. It is named after its capital city, the coastal town of Hobyo. The town of Hobyo is located in the Mudug province, in the central part of Somalia. Inception It was established by Yusuf Ali Yusuf Boqor, nicknamed Keenadiid.
Background
The future Sultan Yusuf was born in the year 1837 in Alula, a historic coastal town in the province of Bari in the far eastern part of the Somali Peninsula. He was born into a royal family that back then ruled roughly two of Somalia’s 18 provinces, namely Bari (Somalia’s largest province), Nugal and some parts of Sanag. The kingdom was called “The Majerten Kingdom” or in Somali, “Boqortooyada Majeerteeniya”. From a young age, Yusuf developed a talent for conducting business, forming solid alliances, and fighting and winning battles.It was obvious early on that he stood out from his contemporaries, given his ambition and ardor. As the result of his desire for the throne, he twice assembled a group of loyal troops and orchestrated coups in an attempt to overthrow the king.In fact, his nickname explains the kind of rebel he was. If we break down the name Keenadiid, it’ll be a combination of “Keeno” and “Diid”. When herding Camels, there are two kinds of ropes fastened and used together on the pack animal to make sure it doesn’t unleash and cut loose. One of the ropes is called “Hoggaan” while the second is called “Keeno”. After a personal row between him and his cousin the King, some friends and family members reached out to him to ask him about the strife, to which he then replied with the following: “Awal baannu hoggaan ugu jirnaye, haddana ma keeno ayuu noogu daray”?. This roughly translates to “We (the governed) were in his tight grip before, and now he wants to tighten it furthermore”. And on the spot one of the visitors uttered the name “Keenadiid”, meaning the objector.
After years of feuds, he, along with some trusted friends and relatives, decided that since he couldn’t take the throne here (Majerteniya Kingdom), they should go and create their own realm someplace else. There is a story that, while searching for a place for a new kingdom, two places were the favourites; HOBYO and SOCOTRA (an island between Guardafui Channel and Arabian Sea under the rule of Yemen).
Hobyo was selected because its outstanding landscape offered fertile soil for agriculture, offered pastures for livestock to graze, and had both a sea and a port that allowed traders to import and export merchandise and fishermen to fish. People have always believed that coastal cities are the cradle and bedrock of civilizations.
As the entourage arrived at Hobyo, they were transporting a ship full of commodities, food supplements, and weapons. They spent days meeting the inhabitants who mostly hailed from The Habargidir clan, a sub-clan of the larger Hawiye tribe. Hobyo was then inhabited primarily by the Sacad, a sub-clan of Habargidir. Meetings were held to persuade the populace to form an alliance, a Sultanate, where they were not only ruled but also involved in decision-making. Using his prior experiences, Kenadid explained why he would make a great leader. His emissaries included poets who did an excellent job of persuading people with poetic words filled with wisdom. Eventually, the locals agreed to form the Sultanate. That result came solely from negotiations; no form of violence or subjugation was used. Hobyo was the capital and administrative center for the newly-born Sultanate’s rule, but later became just one of many cities the Sultanate’s authority would control.
Structure of the Sultanate
Unlike the other realms in use at the time including Kenadid’s own (the Majerteniya Kingdom), this one was a bit different in terms of its structure. It reflected contemporary modes of government.Executive-wise; he appointed governors to the cities called in Somali (Naa’ibbo in plural form, Naa’ib in singular). Those governors were reporting their duties to a Chief of Governors (Primo-Naa’ib) who was in turn also reporting to the head of the realm, the (SULTAN). The chief of the governors was Osman Sharmarke, a cousin of the Sultan and the father of SYL’s founding father, Yasin Osman Sharmarke.
Judiciary-wise, one key factor which made this Sultanate dissimilar to the other realms was the fact that the Sultan adopted Islamic Sharia as their constitution, whereas the Majerteniya Kingdom for example used “Xeer-Soomaali”, a traditional legal system of Somalis derived from the Somali culture as the basis for it’s judicial rulings.
The Sultan brought many Islamic Somali scholars from Soomaali-Galbeed/Ogadenya. Most of them hailed from Ogaden, a sub-clan of Darod. They were appointed judges in various cities under the Sultanate’s rule. Some of those judges and the cities whose courts they steered include;
▪ Sheikh Ahmed Dheere, Ogaden. A judge in Hobyo.
▪ Sheikh Abdi, Ogaden. A judge in Hobyo.
▪ Sheikh Qasim, Ogaden. A judge in Hobyo.
▪ Sheikh Nuurre, Ogaden. A judge in Hobyo (Sheikh Nuurre didn’t serve that long and was an interim judge).
▪ Sheikh Aadan Yare, Ogaden. A judge in Galkacyo.
▪ Sheikh Xaaji Xasan, Ogaden. A judge in Xarardheere.
One may wonder and ask themselves why all of those judges came from the same tribe. The answer put simply is that among Somalis, Soomaali-Galbeed was known to be the favoured destination of anyone aspiring to get well-versed in Islam. There were a great number of well-known Islamic clerics who studied Islam in that region.
The Sultanate also managed to build a robust inclusive army. The army’s commander was Omar Samatar, a veteran warrior and tactician. Omar had deputies like Hersi Guushaa with whom he consulted whenever carrying out a raid or resisting one. This army consisted of the Hawiye, Dir, Darod and even some of the marginalized Somali clans. The fact that they were diverse and depoliticized made this army defeat many more powerful enemies. One famous battle they won was the fight against the Omani Sultan of Zanzibar, Sultan Barqash Sayyid Bin Al-Busaid who ruled many coastal towns in east Africa and tried to make Hobyo a territory under his rule. He and his troops were fought tooth and nail by the Sultanate’s army and were embarrassingly defeated. This army will also eventually fight against the Italian colonizer and will kill many of their high-ranking officers in the battlefields, eventhough they’ll lose the big war at the end.
Challenges
There were many internal and external challenges for this sultanate. For one thing, the inception process was not easy. Somalis have a long history of inter-clan fighting, and the clan of the Sultan and some of his people weren’t the best of friends. When dealing with delicate matters like forming an authority, distrust and suspiciousness play a major role. Yusuf had a tough time forming an alliance with the diverse tribes living in Mudug, Galgadud, and Hawd reserve areas, as well as parts of Hiiraan. Once the establishment was over and the ruling began, it only became tougher as he was under scrutiny and in the spotlight. It was always a possibility to expect wars, either from other rival Somali authorities like the Dervishes, or sometimes from foreign enemies like the Omani Sultan. It’s fair to say that the leaders didn’t perform as badly as they could have considering the situation and the capabilities at the time.