Why did no major clan manage to unify Somalia before the Europeans arrived?

[SixthAbdi]

The hawiye and RX tribes did under a very centralized Ajuran for over 800 years.
The Ajuran could have expanded but chose not to as cuz there was a lil economic value in doing so. They only focused on securing the inland trade route that connected Harar to their capital qalaafe. They ignored the entire northeastern region.


It’s also important to note that the Somali regions combined covers slightly over 1 million square kilometers. For comparison, Germany is 349,000 square kilometers, and Japan is 349,250 square kilometers, with half of its terrain being mountainous. The Somali region’s vast landmass, mostly sparsely populated (excluding the south), had very limited economic activities.

Ajuran ruled for 800 years? Do you have a source for that?

 

[Midas]

To unify somalia it would have to be a mainly settled pouplation or at least be equally divided between settled and pastoralists. But the problem is that outside of the 2 rivers . There's no large permenat water source in somalia. All we have are wells. Combine this with semi arid land that receives very little rainfall with droughts every decade .

Even the jubba and shabelle rivers don't have a particularly large discharge rate. (Which is what's important when it comes to rivers)

This is why you don't really see any huge cities emerge in somalia outside the south.

 

[Thegoodshepherd]

Somali inhabited territory in the Horn is roughly the size of South Africa ~1.15 million sq km.
This is how large South Africa is in comparison with Western Europe:

More than 98% oft this land was inhabited by constantly moving nomads with no history of centralized rule. Establishing a Somali state prior to colonization was impossible. It may even be impossible in the future when a majority of Somalis are urbanized, literate and familiar with centralized rule. The territory in question is probably too large for all Somalis to be in one state.

We should nonetheless try to create a Somali nation-state encompassing all of this as the potential benefits are too big to ignore.

 

[GemState]

Somali inhabited territory in the Horn is roughly the size of South Africa ~1.15 million sq km.
This is how large South Africa is in comparison with Western Europe:
View attachment 354490

More than 98% oft this land was inhabited by constantly moving nomads with no history of centralized rule. Establishing a Somali state prior to colonization was impossible. It may even be impossible in the future when a majority of Somalis are urbanized, literate and familiar with centralized rule. The territory in question is probably too large for all Somalis to be in one state.

We should nonetheless try to create a Somali nation-state encompassing all of this as the potential benefits are too big to ignore.

Somalia + Galbeed is good enough imo and realistic.

 

[Aurelian]

Japan was able to achieve this with their own type of clan system.

Sparsely populated area where more than half of the population is bedouin, you can't tax them or be able to control them from Djibouti to Kenya to Ethiopian highlands.

 

[Thegoodshepherd]

Somalia + Galbeed is good enough imo and realistic.

Somalia’s future is bleak without Galbeed. It is the only country in Africa whose geographic center is in another country.

https://gavinr.github.io/geojson-vi...countries-centroids@v1/dist/countries.geojson

 

[TheLand]

The area had been under several empires way before Genghis Khan. Sharing borders with sophisticated China helped them a lot.

There are so many of them. I will list just a few

Spoiler

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I think it was just Ghengis sxb, cause they were nothing before him even living next to those empires. He made it a meritocracy where the best people were put in roles as generals, administrators, etc. regardless of tribe. If we had a Ghengis Khan type people would be saying we came out of nowhere too

 

[NordicSomali]

Because “unifying” always means by force.

 

[Garaad Awal]

Clans can’t even unite within themselves let alone with other clans. Everybody hates everyone.

HA vs HY, Mx vs OG, Abgaal vs HG even the Samarone beef with Ciise. Only those enlightened and deeply understand Somalis know that this ethnicity is doomed. Somalis are low iq and need to accept their fate.

 

[Itsnotthateasy]

Somalia’s future is bleak without Galbeed. It is the only country in Africa whose geographic center is in another country.

https://gavinr.github.io/geojson-vi...countries-centroids@v1/dist/countries.geojson

The centre is the middle normally.

 

[berberaboy66]

Every major clan is langaab af they can barely sustain themselves let alone xoog others

 

[Thegoodshepherd]

View attachment 354546

The centre is the middle normally.

A defeated people in demographic decline.