Osman Mahamuud

Osman Mahamuud (Somali: Cismaan Maxamuud, Arabic: عثمان محمود‎), also known as `Uthman III ibn Mahmud, was a Somali ruler. He led the Majeerteen Sultanate during its Golden Age in the mid-19th to early 20th centuries. Along with Sultan Yusuf Ali Kenadid of the Sultanate of Hobyo and Sultan Mohamoud Ali Shire of the Warsangali Sultanate, Boqor Osman was one of the three prominent rulers of present-day Somalia at the turn of the 20th century.

Majeerteen Sultanate

The Majeerteen Sultanate was established around 1600 CE by Somalis from the Majeerteen Darod clan. Osman Mahamuud was the son of Mahmud V ibn Yusuf, who had ruled the Sultanate from 1844 to 1860. Mahmud fils thereafter assumed the throne, governing under the regal title of Boqor (King). The Majeerteen Sultanate rose to prominence that century under Boqor Osman's guidance.

Majeerteen-British agreement

Due to consistent ship crashes along the northeastern Cape Guardafui headland, Boqor Osman's kingdom entered into an informal agreement with Britain, wherein the British agreed to pay the King annual subsidies to protect shipwrecked British crews and guard wrecks against plunder. The agreement, however, remained unratified, as the British feared that doing so would "give other powers a precedent for making agreements with the Somalis, who seemed ready to enter into relations with all comers."