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Adal Sultanate

Sultanate of Adal
1415–1577


combination of three banners used by Ahmad al-Ghazi

Capital Zeila (original capital, as Emirate under Ifat Sultanate from 1415-1420)
Dakkar (new capital, as Sultanate from 1420-1520)
Harar (1520-1577)Aussa (1577-1577
Languages Somali, Harari, Arabic, Ge'ez, Afar, Harla
Government Kingdom
Historical era Middle Ages
 •  Established 1415
 •  War against Yeshaq I 1415–1429
 •  Capital moved to Dakkar 1433
 •  Succession Crisis 1518–1526
 •  Capital moved to Harar 1520
 •  Abyssinian–Adal war 1529–1543
 •  Disestablished 1577
Preceded by
Succeeded by
Ifat Sultanate
Ottoman Empire
Sultanate of Harar
Today part of  Djibouti
 Eritrea
 Ethiopia
 Somaliland
 Somalia


combination of three banners used by Ahmad al-Ghazi

The Adal Sultanate or Kingdom of Adal (alt. spelling Adel Sultanate) was a multi-ethnic medieval Muslim state located in the Horn of Africa. It was founded by Sabr ad-Din II after the fall of Sultanate of Ifat. The kingdom flourished from around 1415 to 1577. The sultanate and state was established by the inhabitants of the Harar Plateau. At its height, the polity controlled large parts of Somaliland, Ethiopia, Djibouti and Eritrea.

The origins of the name Adal are obscure. But al-'Umari mentions it with Shoa and Zeila as being an integral part of the Muslim confederation led by Ifat.

In the thirteenth century, Arab writer, Al Dimashqi, refers to the Adal Sultanate's capital, Zeila, by its Somali name "Awdal" (Somali: "Awdal").

The modern Awdal region, which was part of the Adal Sultanate, bears the kingdom's name.

According to Leo Africanus, the Adal Sultanate's realm encompassed the geographical area between the Bab el Mandeb and Cape Guardafui. It was thus flanked to the south by the Mogadishu Sultanate and to the west by the Abyssinian Empire.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. The polity was governed by local dynasties established by the Adelites. Adal's history from this founding period forth would be characterized by a succession of battles with neighbouring Abyssinia.


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