Adal Sultanate

The Adal Sultanate or Kingdom of Adal (Arabic: عدل ʿadl‎ "justice") was a medieval Muslim state located in the Horn of Africa. It flourished from around 1415 to 1577. At its height, the polity controlled large parts of modern-day Somalia, Ethiopia, Djibouti and Eritrea.

Name

The word “Adal” is a historical anglicisation of the name of Abdal, the ruler of the region in the 11th century. Abdal’s name in turn was derived from Abd al- عبد ال of Arabic origin. In modern Ethiopia, Aussa region which was the last seat of the Adal Sultanate is still known as Adal. In modern Somalia the Awdal region takes its name from Adal.

History

Establishment

Islam was introduced to the Horn region early on from the Arabian peninsula, shortly after the hijra. Zeila's two-mihrab Masjid al-Qiblatayn dates to about the 7th century, and is the oldest mosque in the city. In the late 9th century, Al-Yaqubi wrote that Muslims were living along the northern Somali seaboard. He also mentioned that the Adal kingdom had its capital in the city, suggesting that the Adal Sultanate with Zeila as its headquarters dates back to at least the 9th or 10th century. According to I.M. Lewis, the polity was governed by local dynasties consisting of Somalized Arabs or Arabized Somalis, who also ruled over the similarly-established Sultanate of Mogadishu in the Benadir region to the south. Adal's history from this founding period forth would be characterized by a succession of battles with neighbouring Abyssinia.