Nur ibn Mujahid ibn ‘Ali ibn ‘Abdullah al Dhuhi Suha (
Harari አሚር ኑር, Somali: Nuur ibn Muujahiid, Arabic: نور بن مجاهد السمروني) (literally, "Light"; died 1567), of the Ahl Suhawyan clan of the Somali tribe of Marehan Darod.
[1] He was known for marrying the widow of Imam
Ahmad ibn Ibrahim al-Ghazi (also known as Ahmed Gurey and Ahmad Gragn), he also succeeded Imam Ahmad as leader of the
Muslim forces fighting
Christian Ethiopia.
Considered a saint from Harar, Mujahid was called the
Sahib al-Fath al-Thani, or "Master of the Second Conquest". When Imam Ahmad, who had led the Muslim conquest of the
Ethiopian Highlands, was killed in 1543, the Muslim forces fell back in confusion to Harar. Nur, the dead leader’s sister’s son, married
Ahmad ibn Ibrahim al-Ghazi's firebrand widow,
Bati del Wambara, and undertook to renew the fortunes of the Muslim city, which had been sacked in 1550. Promoted to Emir around 1550-51, he spent the next two years reorganizing his forces, and constructing the
defensive wall which still surrounds the city.
[3]
In 1554-55, Nur departed on a
Jihad, or Holy War, in the eastern Ethiopian lowlands of
Bale, and
Hadiya. In 1559, he invaded
Fatagar,
where he fought against the Ethiopian emperor Galawdewos, and killed him in battle. Nur continued fighting for 12 years until, according to legend, at
Gibe he said "Kaffa!", or "Enough!", and returned to Harar. Some believe the province is called
Kaffa for this reason.
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The two most feared tribes were of Gerri and Harti. According to the book the Gerri are all horsemen knights whereas the Harti are popular infantry men who are ferocious fighters. The author compares the Harti to a famous Arab knight whose name was Hamzah al-Jufi.
On the left was the Somali tribe of Harti,
from the people of Mait; a people not given to yielding. There were three hundred of them, famous among the infantry as stolid as swordsmen.....One of the Arabs called Hamzah al-Jufi engaged in a battle to the death in front of the Imam of the Muslims. He was one of the footsoldiers and stood his ground and stood the test, confronting war with a full heart. He never struck one infidel whom he did not unhorse, dead. He killed so vast a number of them in the middle of the river, that the river water was turned red by the blood. The whole tribe of Harti was like him. Page 78.