The ruined stone towns of medieval Somaliland and the empire of Adal (ca. 1415–1577)

[NidarNidar]

At the end of the Middle Ages, a flourishing network of urban sites and stone settlements was integrated into the empire of Adal which covered large parts of western and central Somaliland.

Historical accounts of the Adal period, which describe the empire’s entanglement in the Portuguese-Ottoman wars of the 16th century in great detail, say little about the stone towns of Somaliland, whose ‘mysterious’ ruins first appear in the documentary record in the mid-19th century.

Recent archeological research across dozens of ruined towns has established that most were founded during the Adal period before they were gradually abandoned and transformed into pilgrimage sites.

This article explores the history of the ruined towns of Somaliland and their significance in the historiography of the medieval empires of the region.

Map showing the medieval ruined towns of the northern Horn of Africa.

The ruined stone towns of medieval Somaliland and the empire of Adal (ca. 1415–1577)

At the end of the Middle Ages, a flourishing network of urban sites and stone settlements was integrated into the empire of Adal which covered large parts of western and central Somaliland.

www.africanhistoryextra.com

 

[balanbalis]

Another mention of Coptic Christianity in SL, wasn't there a second interpretation to the usage of cross imagery?

(Not denying that Christianity may have existed in SL, but its just odd to assume that first thing)

 

[NidarNidar]

Another mention of Coptic Christianity in SL, wasn't there a second interpretation to the usage of cross imagery?

(Not denying that Christianity may have existed in SL, but its just odd to assume that first thing)

Yeah, the cross can be viewed as the southern cross aswell, I doubt Christianity nor Judasim penetrate deep into the interior, we deeply distrust foreigners.

 

[Arabsiyawi]

Yeah, the cross can be viewed as the southern cross aswell, I doubt Christianity nor Judasim penetrate deep into the interior, we deeply distrust foreigners.

I think it really needs to be more and thoroughly researched. So many things don’t add up

 

[Araabi]

@NidarNidar

There is only one mistake with the article which refers to Queen Kola of Abasa as an 'Oromo queen'. She was a proto Somali queen. They got thrown off by the word 'Galla'.

Even Jorge the Spanish researcher made the same mistake in his paper called:
The Territory of Abasa (Western Somaliland) during the Medieval Period:

"In 1852, the British traveler Richard Burton took a short detour from his route through Somali lands to visit the ruins of a city close to the river Abasa. The local tales talked about Kola, a local Galla queen who ruled this city in the sixteenth century and fought against the neighboring town of Aw Boba, until both cities were consumed in the struggle (Burton 1894:146–147). (A derogative term Oromo people, now rejected as it is considered offensive but included here to respect Burton’s original expression in the text.) The following day Burton visited Aw Boba, where he contemplated the tomb of Sheikh Boba and described two mosques and a large graveyard (Burton 1894:150–151), before continuing south to the Marar Prairies and, eventually, Harar."

Kola’s Kingdom: The Territory of Abasa (Western Somaliland) during the Medieval Period - International Journal of Historical Archaeology

During the thirteenth to sixteenth centuries, the territory of western Somaliland was integrated into a series of Muslim states which controlled large areas of the southeastern Horn of Africa. One of the ways this control manifested itself was in the emergence of a network of permanent...

link.springer.com

In early Somali, the name gaal was used to refer to the people from the same ethnicity who Islam did not reach or were considered somewhat evil. To prove this point further, there are Gadabursi tombs in Abasa that are very old that date to around the same period Queen Kola died according to Jorge. So she could never have been Oromo but definitely Somali. The term Galla needs more clarification in these studies.

Jorge is referring to this statement on Burton’s trip to Abasa:

 

[NidarNidar]

@NidarNidar

There is only one mistake with the article which refers to Queen Kola of Abasa as an 'Oromo queen'. She was a proto Somali queen. They got thrown off by the word 'Galla'.

Even Jorge the Spanish researcher made the same mistake in his paper called:
The Territory of Abasa (Western Somaliland) during the Medieval Period:



In early Somali, the name gaal was used to refer to the people from the same ethnicity who Islam did not reach or were considered somewhat evil. To prove this point further, there are Gadabursi tombs in Abasa that are very old that date to around the same period Queen Kola died according to Jorge. So she could never have been Oromo but definitely Somali. The term Galla needs more clarification in these studies.

Jorge is referring to this statement on Burton’s trip to Abasa:

View attachment 363018

I blame the elders, the number of times they spout random bs, always giving away our past achievements to the unknown, I especially dislike Burton, I'll need to piss on his grave if I ever go to the UK..

 

[Riftvalley]

@NidarNidar

There is only one mistake with the article which refers to Queen Kola of Abasa as an 'Oromo queen'. She was a proto Somali queen. They got thrown off by the word 'Galla'.

Even Jorge the Spanish researcher made the same mistake in his paper called:
The Territory of Abasa (Western Somaliland) during the Medieval Period:



In early Somali, the name gaal was used to refer to the people from the same ethnicity who Islam did not reach or were considered somewhat evil. To prove this point further, there are Gadabursi tombs in Abasa that are very old that date to around the same period Queen Kola died according to Jorge. So she could never have been Oromo but definitely Somali. The term Galla needs more clarification in these studies.

Jorge is referring to this statement on Burton’s trip to Abasa:

View attachment 363018

A sixth century non Muslim queen does not really correlate with the archeology and written sources covering the region.

 

[NidarNidar]

A sixth century non Muslim queen does not really correlate with the archeology and written sources covering the region.

I hope we can get DNA samples of the Walashma necropolis in Awfat.

 

[Barkhadle1520]

Another mention of Coptic Christianity in SL, wasn't there a second interpretation to the usage of cross imagery?

(Not denying that Christianity may have existed in SL, but its just odd to assume that first thing)

It's not a christian cross that was debunked

 

[Barkhadle1520]

A sixth century non Muslim queen does not really correlate with the archeology and written sources covering the region.

They made up that tale it's bs

 

[NidarNidar]

They made up that tale it's bs

It's fucking Burton, fucking hate the dispicable weasel, nigga had a dislike for the Gadabuursi since we didn't accomodate him.

We need to restrict foreign archaeologist and historian from our land, and cultivate our own, to tell our story.

 

[Barkhadle1520]

It's fucking Burton, fucking hate the dispicable weasel, nigga had a dislike for the Gadabuursi since we didn't accomodate him.

We need to restrict foreign archaeologist and historian from our land, and cultivate our own, to tell our story.

Wait are we talking about the same thing ? That pagan pre islamic queen story they made up just because they saw some medieval ruins in Awdal ? I think the spanish team made a paper on it, hate those people

 

[NidarNidar]

Wait are we talking about the same thing ? That pagan pre islamic queen story they made up just because they saw some medieval ruins in Awdal ? I think the spanish team made a paper on it, hate those people

She wasn't pagan, the Abasa site had a central mosque. At the time, Abasa was one of the larger trading towns, it had about 200 stone houses and a central mosque in the middle of the town. It also served as the capital of Adal at some point.

Abasa and Awbube, another similarly sized settlement, fought a war; Awbube is northwest of Borama, while Abasa is northeast, at the time the Gadabuursi were fractured; I wouldn't be surprised if it was two different subclans that fought over the trade in the area and to assert their power. Hopefully, with more archaeological digs, we can de-mystify the history of the region, anytime I asked my grandfather, he would say those were shameful times and best forgotten. He did mention that after the war with Abyssinians, our numbers were much reduced, and there was a huge reconciliation to unify and consolidate into Harawo and modern day Awdal.

 

[Midas]

A 16th century queen cant really be proto somali.

I think there's probably been multiple queens in the region in multiple historical periods and rhey seem to have been sort of fused together.

Gudit for example who lived in the 10th century is not the same as arawello which I've seen people very much try to combine. But this makes no sense since I highly doubt oral traditions of a foreign queen would become so widespread and foundational in somali society.

 

[Araabi]

A sixth century non Muslim queen does not really correlate with the archeology and written sources covering the region.

She was ruling in the 16th century, not the 6th. There is some evidence to show she was also Muslim because the old Mosque of Abasa dates to the same time period as this Queen. Either way she was definitely not 'Oromo'.

I sometimes use the word proto Somali loosely. Definitely doesn't apply here.

 

[NidarNidar]

She was ruling in the 16th century, not the 6th. There is some evidence to show she was also Muslim because the old Mosque of Abasa dates to the same time period as this Queen. Either way she was definitely not 'Oromo'.

I sometimes use the word proto Somali loosely. Definitely doesn't apply here.

The men probably didn't like having a woman ruler, and made stories about her to discredit her religion, this spread to the rest of the population and became a myth, before the collapse of trade, another remarkable discovery was the town had no walls, usually tells you one thing, the people in the region would of been related and the only reason to fight would of been a dispute of some sort.

Both towns slowly became deserted over time, with no signs of fighting in the towns atleast.

 

[Araabi]

Wait are we talking about the same thing ? That pagan pre islamic queen story they made up just because they saw some medieval ruins in Awdal ? I think the spanish team made a paper on it, hate those people

It's not a given that she was a pagan. But did she exist? Absolutely.

2 main evidences to support that:

1. The area still bears her name as Abasa is also called 'Darbiga Kola' and her tomb is there.

2. She fought against Shaykh Awbuube who is named in Futuh al Habasha, until they both destroyed each other:

It states in Kola’s Kingdom: The Territory of Abasa (Western Somaliland) during the Medieval Period:

"Aw Boba is, indeed, the town described as the bitterest enemy of Queen Kola, Auboba being a revered holy man whose descendants fought alongside Ahmed Gragn in the first half of the sixteenth century (Stenhouse and Pankhurst 2003:281). Therefore, the story written down by Burton could actually have merged two different processes: the expansion of the Somalis to the west and the arrival of Islam to the region, which seems to have occurred around the thirteenth century (Fauvelle-Aymar and Hirsch 2011:42)."

It corresponds with the spread of Islam:

"Finally, some indirect hints about who the inhabitants of Abasa and the other medieval settlements were come from the legend of Queen Kola written down by Burton in 1852. The existence of powerful individuals—usually magicians—named generically “Galla,” who ruled the territory before their defeat by Muslim holy men, has strong roots in Somali oral traditions (Lewis 1998)."

She definitely existed but she wasn't a '6th century pagan queen.'

 

[Midas]

Somali mythical figures are honestly pretty intresting. Its pretty clear that female somali rulers used to be a legitimate tradition. Arawello is a clearly preislamic figure. Aw barkhadhle who's an early islamic figure is clearly not a universal figure in the same way she is.

Although hes also intresting to me because his alleged 500 year lifespan is very intresting since extreme supernatural longevity isn't really attached to islamic saints even in oral traditions

 

[Araabi]

She wasn't pagan, the Abasa site had a central mosque. At the time, Abasa was one of the larger trading towns, it had about 200 stone houses and a central mosque in the middle of the town. It also served as the capital of Adal at some point.

Abasa and Awbube, another similarly sized settlement, fought a war; Awbube is northwest of Borama, while Abasa is northeast, at the time the Gadabuursi were fractured; I wouldn't be surprised if it was two different subclans that fought over the trade in the area and to assert their power. Hopefully, with more archaeological digs, we can de-mystify the history of the region, anytime I asked my grandfather, he would say those were shameful times and best forgotten. He did mention that after the war with Abyssinians, our numbers were much reduced, and there was a huge reconciliation to unify and consolidate into Harawo and modern day Awdal.

Abasa and Awbube are actually quite close to each other. They're both northwest of Borama. Awbube is just across the border into Ethiopia. We definitely need more research into the local history there.

 

[Midas]

Abasa and Awbube are actually quite close to each other. They're both northwest of Borama. Awbube is just across the border into Ethiopia. We definitely need more research into the local history there.

View attachment 363021

I can never get over how total the collapse of urban life in early modern somalia was.

Hanafism compelelty disappeared. Our craftsmanship declined ( i also suspect large somali ships that might have also existed at one time dissappeared because of this) . Whatever nacsecent somali literary traditions that existed disappeared for the most part.