Ajuran Sultanate

Origin of Ajuran Sultanate

The House of Garen was the ruling hereditary dynasty of the Ajuran Sultanate. Its origin lies in

the Garen Kingdom that during the 13th century ruled parts of the Ogaden, the Somali

region of Ethiopia.

With the migration of Somalis from the northern half of the Horn region to the southern half,

new cultural and religious orders were introduced that influenced the administrative structure of

the dynasty, a system of governance which began to evolve into an Islamic government. Through

their genealogical Baraka, which came from the saint Balad (who was known to have come from

outside the Garen Kingdom)

Was a Somali Muslim sultanate that ruled over large parts of the Horn of Africa in the middle

ages. Through a strong centralized administration and an aggressive military stance towards

invaders, the Ajuran Sultanate successfully resisted an Oromo invasion from the west and

a Portuguese incursion from the east during the Gaal Madow and the Ajuran-Portuguese wars.

Trading routes dating from the ancient and early medieval periods of Somali maritime

enterprise were strengthened or re-established, and foreign trade and commerce in the coastal

provinces flourished with ships sailing to and coming from many kingdoms and empires in East

Asia, South Asia, Europe, the Near East, North Africa and East Africa.

The sultanate left an extensive architectural legacy, being one of the major medieval Somali

powers engaged in castle and fortress building. Many of the ruined fortifications dotting the

landscapes of southern Somalia today are attributed to the Ajuran Sultanate's engineers including

a number of the pillar tomb fields, necropolises and ruined cities built in that era.

The royal family, the House of Garen, expanded its territories and established its hegemonic rule

through a skillful combination of warfare, trade linkages and alliances.

The Ajuran monopolized the water resources of the Shebelle and Jubba rivers. Through

hydraulic engineering, it also constructed many of the limestone wells and cisterns of the state

that are still operative and in use today.

Location of Ajuran Sultanate:

The Ajuran Sultanate's sphere of influence in the Horn of Africa was one of the largest in the

region. The sultanate covered much of southern Somalia, with its domain extending

from Mareeg in the north, to Qelafo in the west, to Kismayo in the south.

The House of Garen was the ruling hereditary dynasty of the Ajuran Sultanate. Its origin lies in

the Garen Kingdom that during the 13th century ruled parts of the Ogaden, the Somali

region of Ethiopia.

Administration Chart of Ajuran Sultanate:

Imam (Iimaam) – Head of the State.

Emir (Amiir) – Commander of the armed forces and navy.

Na'ibs (Naa’ib) – Viceroys.

Wazirs' (Wasiir) – Tax and revenue collectors.

Qadis' (Qadiis) – Chief Judges.

The Economy of Ajuran Sultanate:

The Ajuran sultanate depend on on agriculture and trade for most of its income. Major agricultural towns were located on the Shebelle and Jubba rivers, including Kismayo and Afgooye.

Located at the joint of some of the hardest medieval trade routes, the Ajuran and its clients were

active participants in the East African gold trade, the Silk Road commerce, trade in the Indian Ocean, and commercial enterprise as far as East Asia.

The Ajuran Sultanate also minted its own Ajuran currency. Many ancient figure coins celebrated

with the names of Ajuran Sultans have been found in the coastal Benadir province, in addition to pieces from Muslim rulers of Southern Arabia and Persia. Additionally, Mogadishu coins have been found as far as the United Arab Emirates in the Middle East.

Major towns of Ajuran Sultanate:

Mogadishu: The largest commercial city and current capital of Somalia.

Mareeg: initial town in Galgaduud (Central Somalia).

Hobyo: Commercial port and harbor city in Mudug (Central Somalia).

Qelafe: Center for the administration of Ajuran Sultanate in Somali Region of Ethiopia.

Afgooye: Town in the loyer Shabelle prominent for farming and agricultural products.

Islam and Ajuran Sultanate:

During the Ajuran period, many regions and people in the southern part of the Horn of

Africa converted to Islam because of the theocratic nature of the government.

Due to their strong tradition in religious learning and conducting a business with foreign Muslin

countries saw the arrival of Muslim families in Somali from Arabia, Persia (Faaris), India and Spain (Andalus). the majority of whom settled in the coastal provinces. Some migrated because of the instability in their respective regions, as was the case with the Hadhrami families from the Yemen and the Muslims from Spain fleeing the Inquisition.

Military of Ajuran Sultanate:

In the early Ajuran period, the army's weapons consisted of traditional Somali weapons such

asswords, daggers, spears, battle axe, and bows. The Sultanate received assistance from its close ally the Ottoman Empire, with the import of firearms through the Muzzaffar port of Mogadishu, the army began acquiring muskets and cannons.

The Ajuran State had a standing army with which the Garen imams and the governors ruled and protected their subjects. The bulk of the army consisted of mamluke soldiers,[36] who did not

have any loyalties to the traditional Somali clan system, thereby making them more reliable. The soldiers were recruited from the inter-riverine area; other recruits came from the surrounding nomadic region.Arab, Persian and Turkish mercenaries were at times employed as well.

The Ottomans would also remain a key ally during theAjuran-Portuguese wars. Horses used for military purposes were also raised in the interior, and numerous stone fortifications were erected to provide shelter for the army in the coastal districts.[39] In each province, the soldiers were

under the supervision of a military commander known as an emir,[36] and the coastal areas and the Indian ocean trade were protected by a navy.

The soldiers of the Ajuran Sultanate were Mamluks, a traditional form of military for the area.

Slaves were purchased and trained as soldiers, gaining their freedom (of a sort) when they completed training, becoming instead indentured as soldiers. It was a good way to get an

independent military with loyalty to the state and to their fellow soldiers, rather than to their tribe. Mamluks were common in many kingdoms, but one tradition that was famously begun by the Ajurans was the festival of Istunka. To this day in the town of Afgooye two teams will

assemble on either side of the dried-up Shabelle River, armed with sticks (Istunka literally translates as “stick fight”) and supported by poets and cheering supporters to battle. Nowadays

the prize is simply renown, and the battle has become a tourist attraction. Tradition has it, however, that the original battle was for control of the river, and the precious water it bore once the rainy season began.

Ajuran Sultanate and Portuguese War

Lastly Ajuran Sultanate Faced many problem and struggled with a European Countries such as Portuguese in the Indian Ocean (1538- 1557) and (1580-1589) via aiding the Ottoman.

What they are remembered for, however, is for being one of the few states strong enough to hold of the Europeans. The Portuguese commander Tristão da Cunha had raided his way down the coast of Africa, but the Ajuran-controlled city state of Moghadishu held him at bay. Moghadishu

was culturally the centre of the empire, a powerful city-state in its own right, and its currency was the de facto trading scrip of the empire with foreign powers. Da Cunha did not even attempt

an attack, while his countryman João de Sepúlveda would try to do so unsuccessfully. Eventually in the 1580s the Ajurans allied with the Ottoman Empire, and wound up warring with the Portuguese for control of the Indian Ocean.Over the next two hundred years the conflict would continue, with cities trading hands throughout the conflict.

Lastly Ajuran Sultanate Faced many problem and struggled with a European Countries such as Portuguese in the Indian Ocean (1538- 1557) and (1580-1589) via aiding the Ottoman.

Decline and successor states:

The Ajuran Sultanate slowly declined in power at the end of the 17Th century, which paved the way for the ascendance of new Somali power. The most prominent setbacks against the state were the dethronement of the muzzaffar client in Mogadishu and other coastal cities. The Loss of

the port cities and fertile farms meant that much needed sources of revenue were lost the protestors. Former Ajuran General ibrahim Adeer Established the Gobroon Dynasty, similar to that Silis Kingdom was established in portal cities by Hawiye hiraab King.

In the end, then, it was not external enemies who destroyed the Sultanate, but internal ones. High taxes and the exercise of the imam’s “droit de seigneur” bred resentment, and the fall of the client-state of Moghadishu started a domino effect that ended in the breakdown of the kingdom

back into separate warring clans. Each has their own tradition of how they were the ones who overthrew the Ajurans, with the final decisive battle fought in their territory. There are more

stories told of the defeat of the Ajurans than of their rule, and even tales of a child born wearing a golden ring destined to overthrow them. If it were not for the tangible evidence of their constructions left behind, and the memories of the Portugese who fought them, they might be

considered legends. As it is, in the end we know little more than nothing about what must have been one of the most powerful confederations in African history.