A long time ago in an Africa far, far away...
Country: Migurtania/Majeerteeniya
Start date: 1836
Patch: Victoria II HoD 3.04 patch
Mod: PDM for 3.04
In the land of the African horn, washed by the salty water of Red sea and Indian ocean, there is an ancient civilization of traders, history of which could be traced up to the trade with an Ancient Egypt. It was the important trade partner of the Roman Empire and the source of cinnamon in there, gaining the name Regio Cinnamonifora. It didn't grow it though, but sold cinnamon from India to the Mediterranean lands. At a certain time this civilization controlled the African Horn and the local trade, making it as far as to fight off Portugal's colonial expansion into the region. It is an important part of the Islam in the Africa and its influence in the Eastern Africa can’t be underestimated. This is the civilization of Somali, which found its own way to shine in history.
Somali soldiers fighting with foreigners
Sadly, the XIX century wasn't happy for them. Their lands weren’t truly populous and many people had a nomadic way of life with a camel trade in the exterior of the region and raising cattle in the arid regions. The maritime trade was basically usurped by other empires, India was a colony. Ottoman Empire was in the decline and Egypt wasn’t as prospering as it used to be, so the trade wasn’t as good. And north to the lands of Somali, Ethiopian lands and lords were way more populous, their Coptic religion rivaling the Sunni Islam in sheer numbers of followers in the East Africa. All while Oman took dominance in the sea trade, controlling many ports from the Sea of Zanj up to the Persian Gulf.
And of course, African Horn was never truly united. It was divided by a few ethnicities and even in case of Somalis it was diveded into the local Somali clans in a traditional way, each bounded with blood and family ties (which was in the Somali traditional legislative codex - xeer), rivalring with neighbors for the limited resources and influence. The most successful clans formed their own states with Suldaans leading their Suldaanads
Suldaan Yusuf Ali Kenadid, first Suldaan of Hobyo,
Yusuf Ali Kenadid - Wikipedia
en.m.wikipedia.org
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