Sheikh Hassan Barsane

Sheikh Hassan Barsame الشيخ حسن البرصمي
Born	1853 Ubaadi, Somalia
Died	1924 Mogadishu, Somalia
Organization	Salihiyah
Known for	military leadership

Sheikh Hassan Barsame (Somali: Sheekh Xasan Barsame; Arabic: الشيخ حسن البرصمي‎‎) was a Somali cleric and religious scholar. He was best known for having led a revolt against Italian colonial forces after World War I.

Barsame was born 1853 in Ubaadi, a village 68 km west of Jowhar in the Middle Shebelle region of southern Somalia. He hailed from the Gaalje'el clan.

After memorizing the Quran during his youth, Barsame sought to further his religious education.

He traveled to Mecca to perform the Hajj. Barsame stayed there for three years, meeting along the way Sheikh Mohammed Salih, the leader of the Salihiyah. Barsame thereafter joined Salih's movement.

Sheikh Barsame's forces owned an estimated 16,000 rifles. In 1905, they stopped an attempted Ethiopian expansion into southern Somalia during the battle of Gumar Sheel.

The Sheikh and his men also fought various battles against Italian troops, including:

In October 1923, Cesare Maria De Vecchi was appointed the first Fascist Governor of Italian Somaliland, marking a change in Italian administration in the Horn of Africa. De Vecchi set out to subdue all who opposed his government's desire to establish a "La Grande Somalia". However, the Somalis were heavily armed and led by men who had been given advanced training during the preparation for the First World War. De Vecchi consequently adopted a policy of disarmament, particularly vis-a-vis the clans in the inter-riverine region.

In March 1924, Sheikh Barsame convoked a shir (meeting of elders), where the participants, inflamed with militant zeal, denounced the Governor's order. On behalf of the Shir, Barsame wrote the following to the Governor:

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