The Kitāb Futūḥ Al-Buldān & Ummayads/Abbasids ruling Somali lands?

Helios

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AQOONYAHAN
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This is an update to my earlier thread regarding interactions between Somalis and the two Caliphates that followed the Prophet SAW and the first 4 Caliphs

The Kitāb Futūḥ Al-Buldān was written by Aḥmad b. Yaḥyā al-Balādhūrī (d. c. 892 CE). The work offers an account of the early conquests of the Islamic polity. It has the form of a geographical survey of the Caliphate’s territories, describing how each location came under Muslim rule. It was translated into English by Philip Khûri Ḥitti (volume I: 1916) and Francis Clark Murgotten (volume II: 1924). - this is the Brill description

So we have a very early and precise historical account of where the Caliphate reached and its conquests. If you were to read the chapter list below from Brill you'll see that Somali territory or the coast of Zanj is not included, I couldn't get my hands on their translation since it's behind a paywall but you can still get the 1914 one here.
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The Kitab Al Zunuj and the other text Kawkab Al Duriyya state a period of Ummayad and Abbasid rule over the Banadir specifically Mogadishu. Remember these two are 19th and 20th century compilations vs the Kitāb Futūḥ Al-Buldān which is 9th century.
- Ummayad arrival on the coast with an army and kharāj given to them by Mogadishu and Kilwa without bloodshed

- Nomination of an Ummayad Emir that ruled the coast until the ouster of the dynasty by the Abbasids

- An Abbasid delegation to the Sultans of the coast cities in 766-767 (Mogadishu, Kilwa etc) and gained new kharāj for the Abbasid Caliph

- In 804-805 there was a refusal to pay kharaj to the Caliph Harun Ar Rashid and Persian muslims would govern after being installed in every city

- Caliph Harun Ar-Rashid's son Caliph Al Mamun had to also pacify the area and collect kharāj


Keep in mind I am listing big things from all 3 manuscripts and some claims may conflict*


I think due to the omission from the Kitāb Futūḥ Al-Buldān that this Ummayad/Abbasid rule over Mogadishu is a false oral tradition attempting to tie itself to the early emergence of Islam.
 
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They may have partially controlled Somali lands, but I doubt they had full authority over it. Somalis must've had somewhat of an autonomy. The idea of Somalis being forcefully conquered by Califates is fanciful and, in all honesty, intellectually dishonest.

Interesting find, btw. :nvjpqts:
 

madaxweyne

madaxweyne
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This is an update to my earlier thread regarding interactions between Somalis and the two Caliphates that followed the Prophet SAW and the first 4 Caliphs

The Kitāb Futūḥ Al-Buldān was written by Aḥmad b. Yaḥyā al-Balādhūrī (d. c. 892 CE). The work offers an account of the early conquests of the Islamic polity. It has the form of a geographical survey of the Caliphate’s territories, describing how each location came under Muslim rule. It was translated into English by Philip Khûri Ḥitti (volume I: 1916) and Francis Clark Murgotten (volume II: 1924). - this is the Brill description

So we have a very early and precise historical account of where the Caliphate reached and its conquests. If you were to read the chapter list below from Brill you'll see that Somali territory or the coast of Zanj is not included, I couldn't get my hands on their translation since it's behind a paywall but you can still get the 1914 one here.
You don't have permission to view the spoiler content. Log in or register now.


The Kitab Al Zunuj and the other text Kawkab Al Duriyya state a period of Ummayad and Abbasid rule over the Banadir specifically Mogadishu. Remember these two are 19th and 20th century compilations vs the Kitāb Futūḥ Al-Buldān which is 9th century.



I think due to the omission from the Kitāb Futūḥ Al-Buldān that this Ummayad/Abbasid rule over Mogadishu is a false oral tradition attempting to tie itself to the early emergence of Islam.
You said it youreself
If you were to read the chapter list below from Brill you'll see that Somali territory or the coast of Zanj is not included,

Its a fake translation which was later added by colonialist western historians seeking to curropt the history of islam in east africa to submission slavery and conquest

Thier is only one source claiming that the lands of somalia were under the caliphate and its a fake translation from the 19th century by colonialist historians

But for the caliphates invasion of pakistan thier are at least two sources thier kind of week but thier mostly accepted i will go in deep on this subject as pakistani scholars rely heavily on it to create a distinction between them and hindu dominated india prior to the creation of the pakistani state
 
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Factz

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The mistranslation of Mogadishu being part of Al-Zanj can be traced back to a single 19th-century document called the Kitab Al-Zunuj, which has been discredited by modern scholars as unreliable.

Muslim writers and geographers throughout medieval times explicitly differentiate the Somali coast from the Swahili coast of Al-Zanj both culturally and physically and refer to it as Bilad Al-Barbar (Land of The Berbers).

1616856607112.png


Kitab Al-Zanj has been said to be a politically motivated propaganda piece filled with fabrications written in the 19th century with made-up narratives spanning from Bantus existing in Somalia before Somalis to Arab founding the coastal settlements. The whole premise from this book was to justify slavery during the colonial interruption and was probably fabricated to create some sort of Arab claim on Mogadishu. Where they got this information from remains to be unknown. However, none of the contemporary Ummayyad and Abbasid historians of the time, nor modern experts that research about that period ever include Mogadishu or the Somali coast in the realms of the caliphates.

1616857114364.png
 
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