The Adal Sultanate was one of the earliest Islamic Sultanates in the Somali region. The Adal, which was part of the Walasma Dynasty, was originally established in the late 9th or early 10th centuries based at the costal port city of Zelia on the Gulf of Aden.
[1]
During this time the dynasty was under the confederation of a larger Ifat Sultanate. It was not until the last quarter of the 14th century that the Adal became a powerful Sultanate that controlled vast swaths of territory from the Harar reigion to the Gulf of Aden up through present-day Eritrea.
[2]
The Adal Sultanate was frequently in conflict with the Christian kingdoms in Ethiopia, most notably from the 14th through the 16th centuries. The most powerful leader of the Adal Sultanate was Ahmād Ibrāhīm al Ghāzī also known as Ahmad Gurey (1506-1543). Gurey titled himself as imām and declared jihad on Christian Ethiopia. During his rule, he was supplied with military supplies from the Ottoman Empire which helped his army conquer over three-quarters of Ethiopia and even defeat early attacks from the Portuguese. His farthest inland campaign reached south-eastern Sudan. In 1543, imam Ahmad was mortally wounded in battle by Ethiopian and Portuguese forces at Lake Tana whom defeated the imam’s army. After the imam’s death the Adal Sultanate disintegrated and was absorbed into different kingdoms.
[3]
[1]: (Mukhtar 2016, Encyclopedia of Empire) Mukhtar, Mohamed H. 2016. ‘Adal Sultanate.’ In J. Mackenzie Encyclopedia of Empire. Wiley. Seshat URL: https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/FM8D55XW/library
[2]: (Tamrat 2008, 149) Tamrat, Taddesse. 2008. ‘Ethiopia, the Red Sea and the Horn’ In the Cambridge History of Africa: c. 1050 – c.1600 vol. 3. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Pp 98-182. Seshat URL: https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/search/Tamrat/titleCreatorYear/items/A68FCWWI/item-list
[3]: (Mukhtar 2016, Encyclopedia of Empire) Mukhtar, Mohamed H. 2016. ‘Adal Sultanate.’ In J. Mackenzie Encyclopedia of Empire. Wiley. Seshat URL: https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/FM8D55XW/library
| 39 N |
| Adal Sultanate |
| Zeila | |
| Harar | |
| Aussa |
| Awdal Sultanate | |
| Adel Sultanate | |
| Adl Sultunate |
| none |
| Ajuran Sultanate |
| elite migration |
| Preceding: Ifat Sultanate (so_ifat_sultanate) [elite migration] |
| confederated state |
| present |
| present |
| inferred present |
| present |
| inferred present |
| present |
| present |
| present | |
| present |
| Year Range | Adal Sultanate (so_adal_sultanate) was in: |
|---|
“It was founded by Sa’duddin in the early days of Islam, around the late 9th or early 10th century, based at Zayla or Zeila, an ancient port and trade center on the Gulf of Aden.” [1] In the early fourteenth century under the leadership of Imam Ahmad Gurey the capital moved to Harar in present-day Ethiopia. In the fourteenth century the Adal Sultanate was at war with the Christian Kingdom of Abyssinia under the Solomonid Dynasty. “The Imam reorganized the Muslim armies of the sultanate, transferred the headquarters from Zayla to Harar for strategic reason, and made successful diplomatic contacts with the wider Islamic world particularly with the Ottoman Empire.” [2] During the late sixteenth century Cassanelli noted that again the capital of the Adal Sultanate moved from Harar to Aussa. “However, the history of that unique town is something of a self-contained one after 1577, when the ruling dynasty of the once-powerful Adal Sultanate transferred its capital from Harar to the oasis of Aussa in the Danakil desert.” [3]
[1]: (Mukhtar 2016, Encyclopedia of Empire) Mukhtar, Mohamed H. 2016. ‘Adal Sultanate.’ In J. Mackenzie Encyclopedia of Empire. Wiley. Seshat URL: https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/FM8D55XW/library
[2]: (Mukhtar 2003, 44-45) Mukhtar, Mohamed H. 2003. Historical Dictionary of Somalia. Lanham, Maryland: Scarecrow Press. Seshat URL: https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/search/Mukhtar/titleCreatorYear/items/J8WZB6VI/item-list
[3]: (Cassanelli 1982, 120) Cassanelli, Lee. V. 1982. The Shaping of Somali Society: Reconstructing the History of a Pastoral People, 1600-1900. Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press. Seshat URL: https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/TKPH7Z89/library
“It was founded by Sa’duddin in the early days of Islam, around the late 9th or early 10th century, based at Zayla or Zeila, an ancient port and trade center on the Gulf of Aden.” [1] In the early fourteenth century under the leadership of Imam Ahmad Gurey the capital moved to Harar in present-day Ethiopia. In the fourteenth century the Adal Sultanate was at war with the Christian Kingdom of Abyssinia under the Solomonid Dynasty. “The Imam reorganized the Muslim armies of the sultanate, transferred the headquarters from Zayla to Harar for strategic reason, and made successful diplomatic contacts with the wider Islamic world particularly with the Ottoman Empire.” [2] During the late sixteenth century Cassanelli noted that again the capital of the Adal Sultanate moved from Harar to Aussa. “However, the history of that unique town is something of a self-contained one after 1577, when the ruling dynasty of the once-powerful Adal Sultanate transferred its capital from Harar to the oasis of Aussa in the Danakil desert.” [3]
[1]: (Mukhtar 2016, Encyclopedia of Empire) Mukhtar, Mohamed H. 2016. ‘Adal Sultanate.’ In J. Mackenzie Encyclopedia of Empire. Wiley. Seshat URL: https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/FM8D55XW/library
[2]: (Mukhtar 2003, 44-45) Mukhtar, Mohamed H. 2003. Historical Dictionary of Somalia. Lanham, Maryland: Scarecrow Press. Seshat URL: https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/search/Mukhtar/titleCreatorYear/items/J8WZB6VI/item-list
[3]: (Cassanelli 1982, 120) Cassanelli, Lee. V. 1982. The Shaping of Somali Society: Reconstructing the History of a Pastoral People, 1600-1900. Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press. Seshat URL: https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/TKPH7Z89/library
“It was founded by Sa’duddin in the early days of Islam, around the late 9th or early 10th century, based at Zayla or Zeila, an ancient port and trade center on the Gulf of Aden.” [1] In the early fourteenth century under the leadership of Imam Ahmad Gurey the capital moved to Harar in present-day Ethiopia. In the fourteenth century the Adal Sultanate was at war with the Christian Kingdom of Abyssinia under the Solomonid Dynasty. “The Imam reorganized the Muslim armies of the sultanate, transferred the headquarters from Zayla to Harar for strategic reason, and made successful diplomatic contacts with the wider Islamic world particularly with the Ottoman Empire.” [2] During the late sixteenth century Cassanelli noted that again the capital of the Adal Sultanate moved from Harar to Aussa. “However, the history of that unique town is something of a self-contained one after 1577, when the ruling dynasty of the once-powerful Adal Sultanate transferred its capital from Harar to the oasis of Aussa in the Danakil desert.” [3]
[1]: (Mukhtar 2016, Encyclopedia of Empire) Mukhtar, Mohamed H. 2016. ‘Adal Sultanate.’ In J. Mackenzie Encyclopedia of Empire. Wiley. Seshat URL: https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/FM8D55XW/library
[2]: (Mukhtar 2003, 44-45) Mukhtar, Mohamed H. 2003. Historical Dictionary of Somalia. Lanham, Maryland: Scarecrow Press. Seshat URL: https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/search/Mukhtar/titleCreatorYear/items/J8WZB6VI/item-list
[3]: (Cassanelli 1982, 120) Cassanelli, Lee. V. 1982. The Shaping of Somali Society: Reconstructing the History of a Pastoral People, 1600-1900. Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press. Seshat URL: https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/TKPH7Z89/library
It was not until the last quarter of the 14th century that Adal Sultanate formed. [1] After a decisive military loss and the death of the ruler imam Ahmad Gurey, the Adal Sultanate was absorbed into other kingdoms. “From 1529 to 1542, he conquered almost all of Ethiopia, but in 1543 his armies were defeated by the allied Ethiopian-Portuguese forces and retreated and finally dispersed. [2]
[1]: (Tamrat 2008, 149) Tamrat, Taddesse. 2008. ‘Ethiopia, the Red Sea and the Horn’ In the Cambridge History of Africa: c. 1050 – c.1600 vol. 3. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Pp 98-182. Seshat URL: https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/search/Tamrat/titleCreatorYear/items/A68FCWWI/item-list
[2]: (Mukhtar 2003, 45) Mukhtar, Mohamed H. 2003. Historical Dictionary of Somalia. Lanham, Maryland: Scarecrow Press. Seshat URL: https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/search/Mukhtar/titleCreatorYear/items/J8WZB6VI/item-list
The Adal dynasty originated in the late 9th or early 10th centuries. At this stage the Adal was part of a larger Ifat Sultanate. It was not until the last quarter of the 14th century that Adal Sultanate formed. [1] After a decisive military loss and the death of the ruler imam Ahmad Gurey, the Adal Sultanate was absorbed into other kingdoms. “From 1529 to 1542, he conquered almost all of Ethiopia, but in 1543 his armies were defeated by the allied Ethiopian-Portuguese forces and retreated and finally dispersed. [2]
[1]: (Tamrat 2008, 149) Tamrat, Taddesse. 2008. ‘Ethiopia, the Red Sea and the Horn’ In the Cambridge History of Africa: c. 1050 – c.1600 vol. 3. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Pp 98-182. Seshat URL: https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/search/Tamrat/titleCreatorYear/items/A68FCWWI/item-list
[2]: (Mukhtar 2003, 45) Mukhtar, Mohamed H. 2003. Historical Dictionary of Somalia. Lanham, Maryland: Scarecrow Press. Seshat URL: https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/search/Mukhtar/titleCreatorYear/items/J8WZB6VI/item-list
“The Ajuuraan state is regarded as the successor to its more influential and resilient predecessors such as the Adal and Ifat – both of which spearheaded resistance against Christian Ethiopian and Portuguese aggression on the Horn of Africa.” [1]
[1]: (Njoku 2013, 40) Njoku, Raphael C. 2013. The History of Somalia. Santa Barbara: Greenwood Press. Seshat URL: https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/search/njoku/titleCreatorYear/items/U9FHBPZF/item-list
“It seems from this that when Haqedin and Se’adedin abandoned Ifat, they established themselves in an area which had formerly been called Adal. As militant leaders of a new anti-Christian movement in the whole area, the two Walasma princes probably overshadowed in importance the descendants of the original ’king of Adal’, who may have abandoned the title in favour of their more successful Muslim brethren either by agreement or even by force. But there is no doubt that a new Walasma dynasty was then established in Adal by the great-great-grandsons of ’Umar Walasma of Ifat.” [1]
[1]: (Tamrat 2008, 149) Tamrat, Taddesse. 2008. ‘Ethiopia, the Red Sea and the Horn’ In the Cambridge History of Africa: c. 1050 – c.1600 vol. 3. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Pp 98-182. Seshat URL: https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/search/Tamrat/titleCreatorYear/items/A68FCWWI/item-list
(Relationship): “It seems from this that when Haqedin and Se’adedin abandoned Ifat, they established themselves in an area which had formerly been called Adal. As militant leaders of a new anti-Christian movement in the whole area, the two Walasma princes probably overshadowed in importance the descendants of the original ’king of Adal’, who may have abandoned the title in favour of their more successful Muslim brethren either by agreement or even by force. But there is no doubt that a new Walasma dynasty was then established in Adal by the great-great-grandsons of ’Umar Walasma of Ifat.”
[1]
(Entity): “It seems from this that when Haqedin and Se’adedin abandoned Ifat, they established themselves in an area which had formerly been called Adal. As militant leaders of a new anti-Christian movement in the whole area, the two Walasma princes probably overshadowed in importance the descendants of the original ’king of Adal’, who may have abandoned the title in favour of their more successful Muslim brethren either by agreement or even by force. But there is no doubt that a new Walasma dynasty was then established in Adal by the great-great-grandsons of ’Umar Walasma of Ifat.”
[2]
[1]: (Tamrat 2008, 149) Tamrat, Taddesse. 2008. ‘Ethiopia, the Red Sea and the Horn’ In the Cambridge History of Africa: c. 1050 – c.1600 vol. 3. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Pp 98-182. Seshat URL: https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/search/Tamrat/titleCreatorYear/items/A68FCWWI/item-list
[2]: (Tamrat 2008, 149) Tamrat, Taddesse. 2008. ‘Ethiopia, the Red Sea and the Horn’ In the Cambridge History of Africa: c. 1050 – c.1600 vol. 3. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Pp 98-182. Seshat URL: https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/search/Tamrat/titleCreatorYear/items/A68FCWWI/item-list
“In the 11th century, the sultanate expanded southwards to the boundaries of modern Kenya and included most of the Islamic territories of the Horn of Africa. The growth of the sultanate in territory and population required the establishment of emirates and subdivisions. From the early 1200s, there were seven Islamic emirates: Ifat, Dawaro, Arabini, Hadya, Sharkha, Bali, and Dara. Muslim geographers called them Mamalik al-Tiraz al-Islami (the Hemstitch kingdoms of Islam), because they were the buffer line between Christian Abyssinian and Islamic Somalia in the Horn of Africa.” [1]
[1]: (Mukhtar 2016, Encylopedia of Empire) Mukhtar, Mohamed H. 2016. ‘Adal Sultanate.’ In J. Mackenzie Encyclopedia of Empire. Wiley. Seshat URL: https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/FM8D55XW/library
Before Harar became the Adalite capital in the early fourteenth century, it was still an important trading town in the Adal Sultanate interior. “Some of the Arabic inscriptions on tombstones collected between the modern towns of Harar and Dire Dawa bear thirteenth-century dates, and show the existence of fairly well-developed Muslim communities in the region of Harar, which probably was an important centre of dispersal for many of the founders of other Muslim settlements further inland.” [1] Not only was Arabic spoken in the region, but local Ethio-Semitic languages were also used. “Again, the names of the princes in the Arabic documents published by Enrico Cerulli regarding the early Sultanate of Shoa and the Walasma dynasty of both Ifat and Adal, indicate that some sort of Ethio-Semitic was spoken by the early Muslims in these areas. The implication of all this is that early Islam, in the Shoan region at least, had its first roots among the Ethio-Semitic speakers of the area, who later formed and ran the sultanate of Shoa and consequently the Walasma Kingdoms of Ifat and Adal.” [2] “But the fourteenth-century rise of a Walasma dynasty in the Harar region, led by large numbers of people who were clearly of Ifat origin, must have had a considerable role to play in the planting and development, in and around Harar of the communities speaking Harari and Argobba – both of which belong, with Amharic, as we have seen earlier, to what is currently called Transversal South Ethio-Semitic.” [3]
[1]: (Tamrat 2008, 140) Tamrat, Taddesse. 2008. ‘Ethiopia, the Red Sea and the Horn’ In the Cambridge History of Africa: c. 1050 – c.1600 vol. 3. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Pp 98-182. Seshat URL: https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/search/Tamrat/titleCreatorYear/items/A68FCWWI/item-list
[2]: (Tamrat 2008, 147) Tamrat, Taddesse. 2008. ‘Ethiopia, the Red Sea and the Horn’ In the Cambridge History of Africa: c. 1050 – c.1600 vol. 3. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Pp 98-182. Seshat URL: https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/search/Tamrat/titleCreatorYear/items/A68FCWWI/item-list
[3]: (Tamrat 2008, 150) Tamrat, Taddesse. 2008. ‘Ethiopia, the Red Sea and the Horn’ In the Cambridge History of Africa: c. 1050 – c.1600 vol. 3. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Pp 98-182. Seshat URL: https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/search/Tamrat/titleCreatorYear/items/A68FCWWI/item-list
Before Harar became the Adalite capital in the early fourteenth century, it was still an important trading town in the Adal Sultanate interior. “Some of the Arabic inscriptions on tombstones collected between the modern towns of Harar and Dire Dawa bear thirteenth-century dates, and show the existence of fairly well-developed Muslim communities in the region of Harar, which probably was an important centre of dispersal for many of the founders of other Muslim settlements further inland.” [1] Not only was Arabic spoken in the region, but local Ethio-Semitic languages were also used. “Again, the names of the princes in the Arabic documents published by Enrico Cerulli regarding the early Sultanate of Shoa and the Walasma dynasty of both Ifat and Adal, indicate that some sort of Ethio-Semitic was spoken by the early Muslims in these areas. The implication of all this is that early Islam, in the Shoan region at least, had its first roots among the Ethio-Semitic speakers of the area, who later formed and ran the sultanate of Shoa and consequently the Walasma Kingdoms of Ifat and Adal.” [2] “But the fourteenth-century rise of a Walasma dynasty in the Harar region, led by large numbers of people who were clearly of Ifat origin, must have had a considerable role to play in the planting and development, in and around Harar of the communities speaking Harari and Argobba – both of which belong, with Amharic, as we have seen earlier, to what is currently called Transversal South Ethio-Semitic.” [3]
[1]: (Tamrat 2008, 140) Tamrat, Taddesse. 2008. ‘Ethiopia, the Red Sea and the Horn’ In the Cambridge History of Africa: c. 1050 – c.1600 vol. 3. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Pp 98-182. Seshat URL: https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/search/Tamrat/titleCreatorYear/items/A68FCWWI/item-list
[2]: (Tamrat 2008, 147) Tamrat, Taddesse. 2008. ‘Ethiopia, the Red Sea and the Horn’ In the Cambridge History of Africa: c. 1050 – c.1600 vol. 3. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Pp 98-182. Seshat URL: https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/search/Tamrat/titleCreatorYear/items/A68FCWWI/item-list
[3]: (Tamrat 2008, 150) Tamrat, Taddesse. 2008. ‘Ethiopia, the Red Sea and the Horn’ In the Cambridge History of Africa: c. 1050 – c.1600 vol. 3. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Pp 98-182. Seshat URL: https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/search/Tamrat/titleCreatorYear/items/A68FCWWI/item-list
Before Harar became the Adalite capital in the early fourteenth century, it was still an important trading town in the Adal Sultanate interior. “Some of the Arabic inscriptions on tombstones collected between the modern towns of Harar and Dire Dawa bear thirteenth-century dates, and show the existence of fairly well-developed Muslim communities in the region of Harar, which probably was an important centre of dispersal for many of the founders of other Muslim settlements further inland.” [1] Not only was Arabic spoken in the region, but local Ethio-Semitic languages were also used. “Again, the names of the princes in the Arabic documents published by Enrico Cerulli regarding the early Sultanate of Shoa and the Walasma dynasty of both Ifat and Adal, indicate that some sort of Ethio-Semitic was spoken by the early Muslims in these areas. The implication of all this is that early Islam, in the Shoan region at least, had its first roots among the Ethio-Semitic speakers of the area, who later formed and ran the sultanate of Shoa and consequently the Walasma Kingdoms of Ifat and Adal.” [2] “But the fourteenth-century rise of a Walasma dynasty in the Harar region, led by large numbers of people who were clearly of Ifat origin, must have had a considerable role to play in the planting and development, in and around Harar of the communities speaking Harari and Argobba – both of which belong, with Amharic, as we have seen earlier, to what is currently called Transversal South Ethio-Semitic.” [3]
[1]: (Tamrat 2008, 140) Tamrat, Taddesse. 2008. ‘Ethiopia, the Red Sea and the Horn’ In the Cambridge History of Africa: c. 1050 – c.1600 vol. 3. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Pp 98-182. Seshat URL: https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/search/Tamrat/titleCreatorYear/items/A68FCWWI/item-list
[2]: (Tamrat 2008, 147) Tamrat, Taddesse. 2008. ‘Ethiopia, the Red Sea and the Horn’ In the Cambridge History of Africa: c. 1050 – c.1600 vol. 3. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Pp 98-182. Seshat URL: https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/search/Tamrat/titleCreatorYear/items/A68FCWWI/item-list
[3]: (Tamrat 2008, 150) Tamrat, Taddesse. 2008. ‘Ethiopia, the Red Sea and the Horn’ In the Cambridge History of Africa: c. 1050 – c.1600 vol. 3. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Pp 98-182. Seshat URL: https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/search/Tamrat/titleCreatorYear/items/A68FCWWI/item-list
“The Adalite imams played a significant role in the spread of Islam in East Africa.” [1]
[1]: (Mukhtar 2016, Encyclopedia of Empire) Mukhtar, Mohamed H. 2016. ‘Adal Sultanate.’ In J. Mackenzie Encyclopedia of Empire. Wiley. Seshat URL: https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/FM8D55XW/library
“With a long tradition of trading connections to the Arabian Peninsula, the Somalis were converted to Islam at an early date[...].” [1]
[1]: (Lewis 2008, 1-2) Lewis, Ioan, M. 2008. Understanding Somalia and Somaliland: Culture, History, Society. New York: Columbia University Press. Seshat URL: https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/7J425GTZ/library
levels. Five known levels, but might be more. Needs confirmation by an expert King - “It appears that at that stage there were two contending political factions in Adal, with different views about relations with Christian Ethiopia. The Walasma king Muhammad (c. 1488-1518) led the moderate party, which apparently favoured a policy of coexistence. This was strongly opposed by the militant group led by his general, Mahfūz, who preferred to continue the old tradition of conflict, and who actually aimed at the effective restoration of Muslim control over the eastern frontier provinces of Ifat, Fetegar, Dawaro, and Bali.” [1] General/imām/amīr/garad - “ Precisely at the time when the Ethiopian throne was occupied by a series of under-aged princes, Adal was in the most capable hands of a powerful general called Mahfūz, who had dominated the political scene in Adal since the 1480s and who is variously given the title of imām, amīr, and garad.” [2] Cavalry - “Reference has already been made to the campaigns of Fanu’el in Adal which ended up in the Christian army’s being routed by the followers of Garad Abun, among whom Ahmad was still a junior cavalry officer.” [3] Knights - “Among the defiant troops who fought against Abū Bakr, there was a young man, Ahmad Ibrāhīm al Ghāzī, who was originally a knight in the service of Garad Abun.” [4] Army Soldiers - “There seems to be no doubt now that the new Walasma rulers of the Harar plateau began to annex extensive Somali tribal areas to the east and south-east. The Somali interior of the Horn was used by them as an inexhaustible source of manpower for their growing army, which was always kept active in the perennial frontier clashes with the Christian empire.” [5]
[1]: (Tamrat 2008, 166) Tamrat, Taddesse.2008. ‘Ethiopia, the Red Sea and the Horn’ In the Cambridge History of Africa: c. 1050 – c.1600 vol. 3. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Pp 98-182. Seshat URL: https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/search/Tamrat/titleCreatorYear/items/A68FCWWI/item-list
[2]: (Tamrat 2008, 166) Tamrat, Taddesse. 2008. ‘Ethiopia, the Red Sea and the Horn’ In the Cambridge History of Africa: c. 1050 – c.1600 vol. 3. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Pp 98-182. Seshat URL: https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/search/Tamrat/titleCreatorYear/items/A68FCWWI/item-list
[3]: (Tamrat 2008, 176) Tamrat, Taddesse. 2008. ‘Ethiopia, the Red Sea and the Horn’ In the Cambridge History of Africa: c. 1050 – c.1600 vol. 3. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Pp 98-182. Seshat URL: https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/search/Tamrat/titleCreatorYear/items/A68FCWWI/item-list
[4]: (Tamrat 2008, 168) Tamrat, Taddesse. 2008. ‘Ethiopia, the Red Sea and the Horn’ In the Cambridge History of Africa: c. 1050 – c.1600 vol. 3. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Pp 98-182. Seshat URL: https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/search/Tamrat/titleCreatorYear/items/A68FCWWI/item-list
[5]: (Tamrat 2008, 153) Tamrat, Taddesse. 2008. ‘Ethiopia, the Red Sea and the Horn’ In the Cambridge History of Africa: c. 1050 – c.1600 vol. 3. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Pp 98-182. Seshat URL: https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/search/Tamrat/titleCreatorYear/items/A68FCWWI/item-list
levels. Four known levels, but might be more. Needs confirmation by an expertKing “It appears that at that stage there were two contending political factions in Adal, with different views about relations with Christian Ethiopia. The Walasma king Muhammad (c. 1488-1518) led the moderate party, which apparently favoured a policy of coexistence. This was strongly opposed by the militant group led by his general, Mahfūz, who preferred to continue the old tradition of conflict, and who actually aimed at the effective restoration of Muslim control over the eastern frontier provinces of Ifat, Fetegar, Dawaro, and Bali.” [1] General/imām/amīr/garad “ Precisely at the time when the Ethiopian throne was occupied by a series of under-aged princes, Adal was in the most capable hands of a powerful general called Mahfūz, who had dominated the political scene in Adal since the 1480s and who is variously given the title of imām, amīr, and garad.” [1] Governors “Thus, the imam gradually consolidated his control of these realms, either by nominating his own Muslim governor over each district or confirming the old local hereditary chiefs to administer the area on his behalf.” [2] Chiefs “Thus, the imam gradually consolidated his control of these realms, either by nominating his own Muslim governor over each district or confirming the old local hereditary chiefs to administer the area on his behalf.” [2]
[1]: (Tamrat 2008, 166) Tamrat, Taddesse. 2008. ‘Ethiopia, the Red Sea and the Horn’ In the Cambridge History of Africa: c. 1050 – c.1600 vol. 3. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Pp 98-182. Seshat URL: https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/search/Tamrat/titleCreatorYear/items/A68FCWWI/item-list
[2]: (Tamrat 2008, 175) Tamrat, Taddesse. 2008. ‘Ethiopia, the Red Sea and the Horn’ In the Cambridge History of Africa: c. 1050 – c.1600 vol. 3. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Pp 98-182. Seshat URL: https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/search/Tamrat/titleCreatorYear/items/A68FCWWI/item-list
“There seems to be no doubt now that the new Walasma rulers of the Harar plateau began to annex extensive Somali tribal areas to the east and south-east. The Somali interior of the Horn was used by them as an inexhaustible source of manpower for their growing army, which was always kept active in the perennial frontier clashes with the Christian empire.” [1]
[1]: (Tamrat 2008, 153) Tamrat, Taddesse. 2008. ‘Ethiopia, the Red Sea and the Horn’ In the Cambridge History of Africa: c. 1050 – c.1600 vol. 3. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Pp 98-182. Seshat URL: https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/search/Tamrat/titleCreatorYear/items/A68FCWWI/item-list
“Precisely at the time when the Ethiopian throne was occupied by a series of under-aged princes, Adal was in the most capable hands of a powerful general called Mahfūz, who had dominated the political scene in Adal since the 1480s and who is variously given the title of imām, amīr and garad.” [1]
[1]: (Tamrat 2008, 166) Tamrat, Taddesse. 2008. ‘Ethiopia, the Red Sea and the Horn’ In the Cambridge History of Africa: c. 1050 – c.1600 vol. 3. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Pp 98-182. Seshat URL: https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/search/Tamrat/titleCreatorYear/items/A68FCWWI/item-list
As a Muslim sultanate, Islamic law and Sharia courts would have likely been used to regulate society. In Islamic law the judges are known as qādī. “Apart from scattered references to qādīs in surviving papyri, our knowledge of judicial practices during the formative period of Islamic history – roughly 600-1000 – is based largely on literary sources: biographical dictionaries of qādīs, treatises devoted to adab al-qādī or ‘the etiquette of judging,’ historical texts, and belles-lettres. Of these sources, biographical dictionaries are especially important, and we are fortunate to have at least three such works that treat the regions of Egypt, Iraq and Syria. The Akhbār al-qudāt of Wakī (d.306/918) is arranged regionally according to garrison towns and chronologically by qādī within those regions. Some of the entries contain lists of judicial rulings that can be used to reconstruct the earliest stages of Islamic judicial practices.” [1]
[1]: (Masud 2006, 2) Masud, Muhammad K. 2006. Dispensing Justice in Islam: Qadis and Their Judgements. Leiden: Brill Publishing. Seshat URL: https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/search/Masud/titleCreatorYear/items/8VRVCUC6/item-list
As a Muslim sultanate, Sharia courts would have likely been used to regulate society. “Since law can only be the pre-ordained system of God’s commands of Sharī’a, jurisprudence is the science of fiqh, or ‘understanding’ and ascertaining that; and the classical legal theory consists of the formulation and analysis of the principles by which such comprehension is to be achieved. Four such basic principles, which represent distinct but correlated manifestations of God’s will and which are known as the ‘roots of jurisprudence’ (usūl al-fiqh), are recognized by the classical theory: the word of God himself in the Qur’ān, the divinely inspired conduct or sunna of the Prophet, reasoning by analogy or qiyās and consensus of opinion or ijmā.” [1]
[1]: (Coulson 1964, 75-76) Coulson, Noel. 1964. A History of Islamic Law. Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press. Seshat URL: https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/search/Coulson/titleCreatorYear/items/S4S75T39/item-list
Within Medieval Islamic law, “Effective organisation of the affairs of state, therefore, necessitated the recognition of jurisdictions other than that of the qādī. Although the scope itself of Sharī’a doctrine meant that certain types of cases fell altogether outside the province of the Sharī’a courts – litigation on fiscal matters, for example, was normally brought before the Master of the Treasury – it was the system of procedure and evidence to which the Sharī’a courts were tied which was chiefly responsible for the curtailment of their jurisdiction.” [1]
[1]: (Coulson 1964, 127) Coulson, Noel. 1964. A History of Islamic Law. Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press. Seshat URL: https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/search/Coulson/titleCreatorYear/items/S4S75T39/item-list
“Ibn Battuta visited Zayla in 1330 and described it as a large town with an important market.” [1]
[1]: (Tamrat 2008, 139) Tamrat, Taddesse. 2008. ‘Ethiopia, the Red Sea and the Horn’ In the Cambridge History of Africa: c. 1050 – c.1600 vol. 3. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Pp 98-182. Seshat URL: https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/search/Tamrat/titleCreatorYear/items/A68FCWWI/item-list
In al-Idrīsī’s twelfth-century writings on Zeila he mentioned “The people drink water [drawn] from wells.” [1]
[1]: (Tamrat 2008, 139) Tamrat, Taddesse. 2008. ‘Ethiopia, the Red Sea and the Horn’ In the Cambridge History of Africa: c. 1050 – c.1600 vol. 3. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Pp 98-182. Seshat URL: https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/search/Tamrat/titleCreatorYear/items/A68FCWWI/item-list
Mosques would have been common communal buildings in the Adal Sultanate. “Some of the Arabic inscriptions on tombstones collected between the modern towns of Harar and Dire Dawa bear thirteenth-century dates, and show the existence of fairly well-developed Muslim communities in the region of Harar, which probably was an important centre of dispersal for many of the founders of other Muslim settlements further inland.” [1]
[1]: (Tamrat 2008, 140) Tamrat, Taddesse. 2008. ‘Ethiopia, the Red Sea and the Horn’ In the Cambridge History of Africa: c. 1050 – c.1600 vol. 3. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Pp 98-182. Seshat URL: https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/search/Tamrat/titleCreatorYear/items/A68FCWWI/item-list
E.g. drinking water supply systems and markets. In al-Idrīsī’s twelfth-century writings on Zeila he mentioned “The people drink water [drawn] from wells.” [1] “Ibn Battuta visited Zayla in 1330 and described it as a large town with an important market.” [2]
[1]: (Tamrat 2008, 140) Tamrat, Taddesse. 2008. ‘Ethiopia, the Red Sea and the Horn’ In the Cambridge History of Africa: c. 1050 – c.1600 vol. 3. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Pp 98-182. Seshat URL: https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/search/Tamrat/titleCreatorYear/items/A68FCWWI/item-list
[2]: (Tamrat 2008, 139) Tamrat, Taddesse. 2008. ‘Ethiopia, the Red Sea and the Horn’ In the Cambridge History of Africa: c. 1050 – c.1600 vol. 3. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Pp 98-182. Seshat URL: https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/search/Tamrat/titleCreatorYear/items/A68FCWWI/item-list
“Zayla gave access to the caravan routes in the Horn of Africa as far as Bali in the Upper Juba valley, and connected the trade routes across the Red Sea to southern Arabia and Southeast Asia.” [1]
[1]: (Mukhtar 2016, Encyclopedia of Empire) Mukhtar, Mohamed H. 2016. ‘Adal Sultanate.’ In J. Mackenzie Encyclopedia of Empire. Seshat URL: Wiley. https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/FM8D55XW/library
“It was founded by Sa’duddin in the early days of Islam, around the late 9th or early 10th century, based at Zayla or Zeila, an ancient port and trade center on the Gulf of Aden.” [1]
[1]: (Mukhtar 2016, Encyclopedia of Empire) Mukhtar, Mohamed H. 2016. ‘Adal Sultanate.’ In J. Mackenzie Encyclopedia of Empire. Wiley. Seshat URL: https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/FM8D55XW/library
Imām Ahmad led many military campaigns along the Awash River in present-day Ethiopia. “In 1531 he returned to the Shoan plateau by way of Dawaro, where he crushed the isolated resistance movements, and marched on to the upper waters of the Awash in pursuit of the emperor.” [1]
[1]: (Tamrat 2008, 173) Tamrat, Taddesse. 2008. ‘Ethiopia, the Red Sea and the Horn’ In the Cambridge History of Africa: c. 1050 – c.1600 vol. 3. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Pp 98-182. Seshat URL: https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/search/Tamrat/titleCreatorYear/items/A68FCWWI/item-list
“By the fourteenth century the significance of this Somali port for the Ethiopian interior had increased so much so that all the Muslim communities established along the trade routes into central and southeastern Ethiopia were commonly known in Egypt and Syria by the collective term of ‘the country of Zeila’.” [1] Within the interior of the Adal Sultanate there were various trade links and settlements on caravan routes. “Outside the highland Muslim principalities of Ifat, Dawaro, Bali and later Adal, and beyond the isolated settlements along the caravan routes, these Ethiopian Bedouin lived in a world entirely of their own.” [2]
[1]: (Tamrat, 2008, 139) Tamrat, Taddesse. 2008. ‘Ethiopia, the Red Sea and the Horn’ In the Cambridge History of Africa: c. 1050 – c.1600 vol. 3. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Pp 98-182. Seshat URL: https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/search/Tamrat/titleCreatorYear/items/A68FCWWI/item-list
[2]: (Tamrat 2008, 146) Tamrat, Taddesse. 2008. ‘Ethiopia, the Red Sea and the Horn’ In the Cambridge History of Africa: c. 1050 – c.1600 vol. 3. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Pp 98-182. Seshat URL: https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/search/Tamrat/titleCreatorYear/items/A68FCWWI/item-list
The honouring of Islamic saints is a big part of Somali society. “Their tombs, which dot the country side, are frequently the sites of annual religious celebrations held to commemorate the life and works of the deceased saint.” [1]
[1]: (Cassanelli 1982, 120) Cassanelli, Lee. V. 1982. The Shaping of Somali Society: Reconstructing the History of a Pastoral People, 1600-1900. Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press. Seshat URL: https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/TKPH7Z89/library
The honouring of Islamic saints is a big part of Somali society. “Their tombs, which dot the country side, are frequently the sites of annual religious celebrations held to commemorate the life and works of the deceased saint.” [1]
[1]: (Cassanelli 1982, 120) Cassanelli, Lee. V. 1982. The Shaping of Somali Society: Reconstructing the History of a Pastoral People, 1600-1900. Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press. Seshat URL: https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/TKPH7Z89/library
The honouring of Islamic saints is a big part of Somali society. “Their tombs, which dot the country side, are frequently the sites of annual religious celebrations held to commemorate the life and works of the deceased saint.” [1]
[1]: (Cassanelli 1982, 120) Cassanelli, Lee. V. 1982. The Shaping of Somali Society: Reconstructing the History of a Pastoral People, 1600-1900. Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press. Seshat URL: https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/TKPH7Z89/library
“The honouring of Islamic saints is a big part of Somali society. “Their tombs, which dot the country side, are frequently the sites of annual religious celebrations held to commemorate the life and works of the deceased saint.” [1]
[1]: (Cassanelli 1982, 120) Cassanelli, Lee. V. 1982. The Shaping of Somali Society: Reconstructing the History of a Pastoral People, 1600-1900. Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press. Seshat URL: https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/TKPH7Z89/library
Before Harar became the Adalite capital in the early fourteenth century, it was still an important trading town in the Adal Sultanate interior. “Some of the Arabic inscriptions on tombstones collected between the modern towns of Harar and Dire Dawa bear thirteenth-century dates, and show the existence of fairly well-developed Muslim communities in the region of Harar, which probably was an important centre of dispersal for many of the founders of other Muslim settlements further inland.” [1]
[1]: (Tamrat 2008, 140) Tamrat, Taddesse. 2008. ‘Ethiopia, the Red Sea and the Horn’ In the Cambridge History of Africa: c. 1050 – c.1600 vol. 3. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Pp 98-182. Seshat URL: https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/search/Tamrat/titleCreatorYear/items/A68FCWWI/item-list
Before Harar became the Adalite capital in the early fourteenth century, it was still an important trading town in the Adal Sultanate interior. “Some of the Arabic inscriptions on tombstones collected between the modern towns of Harar and Dire Dawa bear thirteenth-century dates, and show the existence of fairly well-developed Muslim communities in the region of Harar, which probably was an important centre of dispersal for many of the founders of other Muslim settlements further inland.” [1]
[1]: (Tamrat 2008, 140) Tamrat, Taddesse. 2008. ‘Ethiopia, the Red Sea and the Horn’ In the Cambridge History of Africa: c. 1050 – c.1600 vol. 3. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Pp 98-182. Seshat URL: https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/search/Tamrat/titleCreatorYear/items/A68FCWWI/item-list
The Arabic writing system is phonetic. “The first obvious indication of such interest would be that given by the evidence of attempts to write the language, for if different signs were used to designate different sounds there was at least sufficient phonetic interest present to distinguish one speech-sound from another.” [1]
[1]: (Semaan 1968, 6) Semaan, Khalil I. 1968. Linguistics in the Middle Ages: Phonetic Studies in Early Islam. Leiden: Brill Publishing. Seshat URL: https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/search/Semaan/titleCreatorYear/items/U3W57I6B/item-list
The Quran. “Some of the Arabic inscriptions on tombstones collected between the modern towns of Harar and Dire Dawa bear thirteenth-century dates, and show the existence of fairly well-developed Muslim communities in the region of Harar, which probably was an important centre of dispersal for many of the founders of other Muslim settlements further inland.” [1]
[1]: (Tamrat 2008, 140) Tamrat, Taddesse. 2008. ‘Ethiopia, the Red Sea and the Horn’ In the Cambridge History of Africa: c. 1050 – c.1600 vol. 3. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Pp 98-182. Seshat URL: https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/search/Tamrat/titleCreatorYear/items/A68FCWWI/item-list
The following quote suggests that religious Islamic literature was likely produced within the polity. “Some of the Arabic inscriptions on tombstones collected between the modern towns of Harar and Dire Dawa bear thirteenth-century dates, and show the existence of fairly well-developed Muslim communities in the region of Harar, which probably was an important centre of dispersal for many of the founders of other Muslim settlements further inland.” [1]
[1]: (Tamrat 2008, 140) Tamrat, Taddesse. 2008. ‘Ethiopia, the Red Sea and the Horn’ In the Cambridge History of Africa: c. 1050 – c.1600 vol. 3. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Pp 98-182. Seshat URL: https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/search/Tamrat/titleCreatorYear/items/A68FCWWI/item-list
“I. M. Lewis gives an invaluable reference to an Arabic manuscript on the history of the Gadabursi Somali, who, together with the Isa, form the largest group of the ancient Dir clan-family. ’This Chronicle opens’, Lewis tells us, ’with an account of the wars of Imam ’Ali Si’id (d. 1392) from whom the Gadabursi today trace their descent, and who is described as the only Muslim leader fighting on the western flank in the armies of Se’ad ad-Din, ruler of Zeila.’1 Se’adedin, as we have seen above, was the joint founder of the Walasma kingdom of Adal with his brother Haqedin II.” [1]
[1]: (Tamrat 2008, 153) Tamrat, Taddesse. 2008. ‘Ethiopia, the Red Sea and the Horn’ In the Cambridge History of Africa: c. 1050 – c.1600 vol. 3. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Pp 98-182. Seshat URL: https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/search/Tamrat/titleCreatorYear/items/A68FCWWI/item-list
“For example, the existence of a double recording system of lunar months is clearly documented in Somalia. There was normal usage to distinguish al-sana al-qama-riyya (‘lunar year’) – reckoned on the basis of months corresponding to the effective sightings of the new moon – from al-sana al-ta’ rīh iyya (‘civil year’) – reckoned according to the written Islamic calendar.” [1]
[1]: (Classen 2010, 1654) Classen, Albrecht. 2010. Handbook of Medieval Studies: Terms, Methods, Trends. Berlin: De Gruyter. Seshat URL: https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/search/Classen/titleCreatorYear/items/R727NPC6/item-list
Cowrie shells were a ubiquitous form of currency in East Africa and gradually spread to West Africa during the Middle Ages. “As early as the 13th century, the proliferation of cowry shells as a dominant currency had taken place, mainly because of their import into Africa from different areas. First, Arab traders imported cowry shells from areas around the Maldives islands and the Indian Ocean into North Africa and, later, into other parts of Africa.” [1]
[1]: (Tengan 2012, 122) Tengan, Alexis, B. 2012. ‘Currency (cowry shells).’In Edward Ramsamy Cultural Sociology of the Middle East, Asia, and Africa: an Encyclopedia. London: Sage Publications. Pp 122-123. Seshat URL: https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/search/Tengan/titleCreatorYear/items/FQU6UXTV/item-list
"Islam was unifying element in much of the Indian Ocean, especially on both sides—the east African coast and the Malay world. The east African societies relied on Islam to help create their world since their identity derived not only from commercial links with co-religionists but on specific modes of social and commercial behavior. The Muslim religion gave prescriptions as to everyday conduct. The Koran had specific admonitions on fair practice in the market place. The Koranic injunction to have balance scales led to the appearance of a market inspector called the muhtash whose specific job was to oversee local transactions and check weights and measures among other duties." [1]
[1]: (Rothman 2002: 80) Rothman, Norman C. 2002. “Indian Ocean Trading Links: The Swahili Experience,” Comparative Civilizations Review. Vol 46:6. Seshat URL: https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/search/Rothman/titleCreatorYear/items/3WJ42ET7/item-list
"Islam was unifying element in much of the Indian Ocean, especially on both sides—the east African coast and the Malay world. The east African societies relied on Islam to help create their world since their identity derived not only from commercial links with co-religionists but on specific modes of social and commercial behavior. The Muslim religion gave prescriptions as to everyday conduct. The Koran had specific admonitions on fair practice in the market place. The Koranic injunction to have balance scales led to the appearance of a market inspector called the muhtash whose specific job was to oversee local transactions and check weights and measures among other duties." [1]
[1]: (Rothman 2002: 80) Rothman, Norman C. 2002. “Indian Ocean Trading Links: The Swahili Experience,” Comparative Civilizations Review. Vol 46:6. Seshat URL: https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/search/Rothman/titleCreatorYear/items/3WJ42ET7/item-list
Islamic calendar. “For example, the existence of a double recording system of lunar months is clearly documented in Somalia. There was normal usage to distinguish al-sana al-qama-riyya (‘lunar year’) – reckoned on the basis of months corresponding to the effective sightings of the new moon – from al-sana al-ta’ rīh iyya (‘civil year’) – reckoned according to the written Islamic calendar.” [1]
[1]: (Classen 2010, 1654) Classen, Albrecht. 2010. Handbook of Medieval Studies: Terms, Methods, Trends. Berlin: De Gruyter. Seshat URL: https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/search/Classen/titleCreatorYear/items/R727NPC6/item-list
Due to maritime commerce and religious influences from Arab travellers it is highly plausible that Medieval Islamic ideas on time and science spread through southern Somali society. “Early Muslim authors used the expression ‘science if the stars’ to refer to both astrology and astronomy. Soon, however, a distinction arose. Astrology was defined by Abu Ma’shar, as ‘the knowledge of the effects of the powers of the stars, at a given time, as well as at a future time’, and he labelled it ‘science of the decrees of the stars’. Astronomy proper became ‘science of the spheres’ or ‘(science of the [heavenly] configurations’).” [1]
[1]: (Blake 2016, 25) Blake, Stephen P. 2016. Astronomy and Astrology in the Islamic World. Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press. Seshat URL: https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/search/Blake/titleCreatorYear/items/W2V6MXH8/item-list
"Islam was unifying element in much of the Indian Ocean, especially on both sides—the east African coast and the Malay world. The east African societies relied on Islam to help create their world since their identity derived not only from commercial links with co-religionists but on specific modes of social and commercial behavior. The Muslim religion gave prescriptions as to everyday conduct. The Koran had specific admonitions on fair practice in the market place. The Koranic injunction to have balance scales led to the appearance of a market inspector called the muhtash whose specific job was to oversee local transactions and check weights and measures among other duties." [1]
[1]: (Rothman 2002: 80) Rothman, Norman C. 2002. “Indian Ocean Trading Links: The Swahili Experience,” Comparative Civilizations Review. Vol 46:6. Seshat URL: https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/search/Rothman/titleCreatorYear/items/3WJ42ET7/item-list