Was Ifta/Adal the Somali Ummyads and Ajuran the Somali Abbasids

Idilinaa

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I'm feeling Generous today Gaala @Barkhadle1520 Here's another

I never understood the obsession with Oromos either or why some people use it as an insult. The beef seems random and played out. Even appropiating the term ''Galla".

Since you quoted me . I’ll just clarify that “Ajuuran” is more of a placeholder term. Locally, it was used more like a nickname for the tax-collecting administrators, not tied to any specific clan back then.

If we’re being historically accurate, you could just call it the Mogadishu Sultanate or Kingdom, since that’s what a lot of external sources actually referred to it as. They also used “Mogadishu” to refer to the hinterland/interior regions and webi shabelle as the ''Mogadishu Nile/River" as well in those same sources, although in Futuh and others it's simply known as ''Wabi"
 
As far as I can tell the two pouplation centers of Somalia both back in the medieval period and now where where basically eastern somaliland and crossing the border into Ethiopia and the region around Mogadishu.

Screenshot_20250726_115408_Maps.jpg


Im curious about the middle sanaag-nugaal-bari region which also seems to have medieval ruined towns. I think there might have been a sultanate there but if there was it seems like it was smaller and doesnt come up much in the sources.
 

Idilinaa

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As far as I can tell the two pouplation centers of Somalia both back in the medieval period and now where where basically eastern somaliland and crossing the border into Ethiopia and the region around Mogadishu.

View attachment 368405

Im curious about the middle sanaag-nugaal-bari region which also seems to have medieval ruined towns. I think there might have been a sultanate there but if there was it seems like it was smaller and doesnt come up much in the sources.

The Sanaag–Nugaal–Bari medieval ruins are massively understudied. The entire region has seen little to no proper archaeological work, so there’s probably a lot we still don’t know. From the limited references we do have, it looks like there may have been a smaller vassal sultanate tied to the Waqooyi-Galbeed region, which seemed to be more of a central power hub back then.

Hopefully with more research and excavations, we’ll get a clearer picture of how that whole network functioned.
 
The Sanaag–Nugaal–Bari medieval ruins are massively understudied. The entire region has seen little to no proper archaeological work, so there’s probably a lot we still don’t know. From the limited references we do have, it looks like there may have been a smaller vassal sultanate tied to the Waqooyi-Galbeed region, which seemed to be more of a central power hub back then.

Hopefully with more research and excavations, we’ll get a clearer picture of how that whole network functioned.
That would make a lot of sense. I think if the climate was slightly wetter back then . The pouplation must have been much larger especially in the nugaal Valley region.
It was also proably a much more interior based sultnate since even the large ruined town in sanaag called madunna is close to the border of sool and sanaag.
 

Idilinaa

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That would make a lot of sense. I think if the climate was slightly wetter back then . The pouplation must have been much larger especially in the nugaal Valley region.
It was also proably a much more interior based sultnate since even the large ruined town in sanaag called madunna is close to the border of sool and sanaag.
It definitely was wetter back then. I think it was Ibrahim Awale who explained how they climate was different in that area.

A lot of coastal ruins probably got buried under shifting sands or eroded by the sea over time, while interior towns like Maduna stayed more intact and visible because they were built higher up and inland. It would also makes sense that the sultanate had more presence in the valleys and highlands if those were the more fertile and stable zones back then.
 
It definitely was wetter back then. I think it was Ibrahim Awale who explained how they climate was different in that area.

A lot of coastal ruins probably got buried under shifting sands or eroded by the sea over time, while interior towns like Maduna stayed more intact and visible because they were built higher up and inland. It would also makes sense that the sultanate had more presence in the valleys and highlands if those were the more fertile and stable zones back then.
The biggest reason you have much more surviving anicent architecture in yemen or ethiopia. Is that they can build into the rocks or on top of mountains. So the structures are much more durable.
 

Araabi

Awdalite
Awfat/Awdal/Bar Sa’ad-Din actually did build public infrastructure cisterns, water supply and drainage systems, road networks, caravan stations, workshops, even mining ops across Waqooyi-Galbeed, based on what archaeology shows. So they weren’t just a frontier defense project.

You're right though they did focus on frontier security too. They built what is called ''amsar' (garrison towns/cities) to act as a buffers between the Muslim lowlands and the Christian highlands. A smart military and settlement strategy.

Their structure and balance between defense, trade, and local development is honestly underrated. So you are touching on something really interesting there, that is worth exploring more in the future down the line.

Relates to what you said:

Harar2.jpg
 

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