According to references in Ibn al-Mujawir’s Tarikh al-Mustabsir (1232) (Guide to Arabia), Aden was taken over by sailors from Madagascar, who drove the Arabs into the interior. Later, the Somali Barbars arrived, defeated them, and established an actual city. Prior to that, it had been nothing more than a fishing spot.
Tarikh al-Mustabsir
Taken from: Neville Chittick: East Africa and the Orient.
James Hornell: Journal of the Royal anthropological Institute 64 (1934)
pieterderideaux.jimdofree.com
Aden was a desolate region, and some tribes, expelled from southern Arabia due to rivalries, moved to Africa—either Zanzibar, Somalia, or Sudan.
p121
When this community died out, some Arabs called al-Marabun (from the region of Aden) settled the land and lived there until it became isolated and some were lost. They left. I was told by Rayhan, the client of Ali b. Masud b. Ali as follows. They settled in East Africa (Barbarah) and its regions and their offspring remained in Africa (Barr al Sudan), known as al-Marabun, and they are now organized in tribes and families.
p122
After the Banu Majid (2) people were driven from the Mundhiriyya region of the Yemen in 1159 they split into three sections, one settling in Zafar (3), another in Zaila (Zeila) (4) and the third in Mogadishu.
When the era of the pharaohs came to an end, so did Aden. It was eventually taken over by the people of Al-Komr (modern-day Madagascar) and most likely by the seafaring Southeast Asian Malay, Indonesian, and Polynesian peoples, who then drove the remaining Arabs back inland.
p137-138
Founding of Aden: When the empire of the pharaohs came to an end, this place (Aden) became deserted in consequence. The peninsula was inhabited only by fishermen who plied their craft in the neighboring waters. They lived there for a long time, provided by Allah with the things needful for their material life. This lasted until the arrival of the people of Al-Komr (5) its ships carrying a great number of men. These took possession of the peninsula, expelled the fishermen by force, and established themselves on the heights of Jebel Ahhmar (the red mountain), Hukkat and Jebel Munzhir, which dominate the buildings of the port. The mountains built by this people exist to this day; their construction is durable, being built with stone and cement obtained from the valleys and mountains of this country.
On how the Al-Komr got there through monsoon season
p138-139
These people, sailing from Al-Komr (5) in convoy, reached Aden in a single monsoon. Ibn Al-Mujawir says that these people are dead, their power ended, and the route closed by which they came. There is nobody left who has knowledge of the maritime activities of this people or can tell under what conditions they lived and what they did.
Ibn Al-Mujawir says: From Aden to Mogadishu one monsoon (mawsim) (is required to perform the voyage); from Mogadishu to Kilwa a second monsoon (mawsim) is requisite, and from Kilwa to Al-Komr a third.
Formerly these people (of Al Komr) were accustomed to perform the three seasons (or monsoons) journey in a single monsoon; one ship actually performed the voyage from Al-Komr (5) to Aden in this way in the year 626 A.H. (1228-9 AD); sailing from Al-Komr and bound for Kilwa, the vessel came to anchor at Aden.
Somalis then came over and drove the Al-komr out and built the foundations of civilization there
p138-139
Their ships have outriggers because the seas (of Al-Komr) are narrow, shallow and difficult of navigation on account of the currents.
When the power of these people became enfeebled, the Barabar (Arabians of the neighboring country) who had come to live among them, (rose and ) overpowered them, driving them out. These Barabar occupied the place and settled in the valley, where mat huts are actually now found. They were the first people who constructed mat huts in Aden. Subsequently the place was abandoned, and remained in this state till the immigration of the men of Siraf (7)
It goes on to say that the port city of Qalhat in northeastern Oman, along with Mogadishu and Aden, flourished around the same era, as the ports of Abyan and Haram had been ruined—possibly due to war.
p149
(about Aden) Al-Mutamid Muhammad b. Ali also built a fine bathhouse. Wells were dug there, mosques too and minbars established; it became a fine place. The most accurate information is that it thrived only after the ruin of the port of Abyan (8) and Haram (9). The merchants moved from these two towns and settled in Qalhat (10) and Mogadishu. So the three towns then flourished.
p151
Most of the inhabitants of the town (of Aden) are Arabs,.......; as well as East Africans, Persians, Hadramis (12), Mogadishans, mountain folk, Dhubhanis (13), Zaylais (4),........and Abyssinians. They have come together here from all corners of the earth and have become rich and well-to-do. The majority of the inhabitants are Abyssinians and Somalis
Here is a link to the genetic evidence left by same Al-Komr (south east asian Madagascar) seafarers people who settled in aden that time .
Tarikh al-Mustabsir
Taken from: Neville Chittick: East Africa and the Orient.
James Hornell: Journal of the Royal anthropological Institute 64 (1934)
Ibn-al Mujawir 1232
Back to Table of Contents 5To next page Ibn-al Mujawir(1232)(Tarikh al-Mustabsir)(Guide to Arabia) Iran ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Ibn al-Mujawir, Yusuf ibn Yaʻqub, (1205-1292). The Tarikh al-Mustabsir is an account of the western and southern...
Aden was a desolate region, and some tribes, expelled from southern Arabia due to rivalries, moved to Africa—either Zanzibar, Somalia, or Sudan.
p121
When this community died out, some Arabs called al-Marabun (from the region of Aden) settled the land and lived there until it became isolated and some were lost. They left. I was told by Rayhan, the client of Ali b. Masud b. Ali as follows. They settled in East Africa (Barbarah) and its regions and their offspring remained in Africa (Barr al Sudan), known as al-Marabun, and they are now organized in tribes and families.
p122
After the Banu Majid (2) people were driven from the Mundhiriyya region of the Yemen in 1159 they split into three sections, one settling in Zafar (3), another in Zaila (Zeila) (4) and the third in Mogadishu.
When the era of the pharaohs came to an end, so did Aden. It was eventually taken over by the people of Al-Komr (modern-day Madagascar) and most likely by the seafaring Southeast Asian Malay, Indonesian, and Polynesian peoples, who then drove the remaining Arabs back inland.
p137-138
Founding of Aden: When the empire of the pharaohs came to an end, this place (Aden) became deserted in consequence. The peninsula was inhabited only by fishermen who plied their craft in the neighboring waters. They lived there for a long time, provided by Allah with the things needful for their material life. This lasted until the arrival of the people of Al-Komr (5) its ships carrying a great number of men. These took possession of the peninsula, expelled the fishermen by force, and established themselves on the heights of Jebel Ahhmar (the red mountain), Hukkat and Jebel Munzhir, which dominate the buildings of the port. The mountains built by this people exist to this day; their construction is durable, being built with stone and cement obtained from the valleys and mountains of this country.
On how the Al-Komr got there through monsoon season
p138-139
These people, sailing from Al-Komr (5) in convoy, reached Aden in a single monsoon. Ibn Al-Mujawir says that these people are dead, their power ended, and the route closed by which they came. There is nobody left who has knowledge of the maritime activities of this people or can tell under what conditions they lived and what they did.
Ibn Al-Mujawir says: From Aden to Mogadishu one monsoon (mawsim) (is required to perform the voyage); from Mogadishu to Kilwa a second monsoon (mawsim) is requisite, and from Kilwa to Al-Komr a third.
Formerly these people (of Al Komr) were accustomed to perform the three seasons (or monsoons) journey in a single monsoon; one ship actually performed the voyage from Al-Komr (5) to Aden in this way in the year 626 A.H. (1228-9 AD); sailing from Al-Komr and bound for Kilwa, the vessel came to anchor at Aden.
Somalis then came over and drove the Al-komr out and built the foundations of civilization there
p138-139
Their ships have outriggers because the seas (of Al-Komr) are narrow, shallow and difficult of navigation on account of the currents.
When the power of these people became enfeebled, the Barabar (Arabians of the neighboring country) who had come to live among them, (rose and ) overpowered them, driving them out. These Barabar occupied the place and settled in the valley, where mat huts are actually now found. They were the first people who constructed mat huts in Aden. Subsequently the place was abandoned, and remained in this state till the immigration of the men of Siraf (7)
It goes on to say that the port city of Qalhat in northeastern Oman, along with Mogadishu and Aden, flourished around the same era, as the ports of Abyan and Haram had been ruined—possibly due to war.
p149
(about Aden) Al-Mutamid Muhammad b. Ali also built a fine bathhouse. Wells were dug there, mosques too and minbars established; it became a fine place. The most accurate information is that it thrived only after the ruin of the port of Abyan (8) and Haram (9). The merchants moved from these two towns and settled in Qalhat (10) and Mogadishu. So the three towns then flourished.
p151
Most of the inhabitants of the town (of Aden) are Arabs,.......; as well as East Africans, Persians, Hadramis (12), Mogadishans, mountain folk, Dhubhanis (13), Zaylais (4),........and Abyssinians. They have come together here from all corners of the earth and have become rich and well-to-do. The majority of the inhabitants are Abyssinians and Somalis
Here is a link to the genetic evidence left by same Al-Komr (south east asian Madagascar) seafarers people who settled in aden that time .
