Walashma dynasty

The Walashma dynasty was a medieval Muslim dynasty of the Horn of Africa. It governed the Ifat and Adal Sultanates in what are present-day northern Somalia, Djibouti and eastern Ethiopia.

The Walashma princes of Ifat and Adal all possessed Arab genealogical traditions. According to both Maqrizi and the chronicle of the Walashma, ʿUmar Walashma, the founder of the dynasty, was of Quraysh or Hashimite origin.

In terms of lineage, Walashma traditions trace descent from Akīl ibn Abī Tālib, the brother of the Caliph ʿAlī and Djaʿfar ibn Abī Tālib. The latter was among the earliest Muslims to settle in the Horn region. However, the semi-legendary apologetic History of the Walasma' asserts that ʿUmar ibn-Dunya-hawz had as a progenitor Caliph ʿAlī's son al-Hasan with this genealogy being owed to their supposed ancestor Yusuf bin Ahmad al-Kawneyn, a famous Somali saintly figure.

The 19th century Ethiopian historian Asma Giyorgis suggests that the Walashma themselves spoke Arabic. He additionally describes the family as among the first Muslims to enter Abyssinia ("Habasha"), which he writes was originally inhabited by the Saba, Balaw, Kalaw and Noba.

According to Maqrizi, the forefathers of 'Umar Walashma first settled in the Zeila-controlled Jabarta region. From there, they slowly expanded into the hinterland.

Despite being described as a 'successor' to the Sultanate of Showa, the Sultanate of Ifat and Showa state were founded around the same time. ʿUmar DunyaHuz founded Ifat at Zeila in 1185, one of eight Sultanates that were established in the Horn of Africa during this period. The other sultanates were the aforementioned Showa along with the sultanates of Arbabni, Dawaro, Hadiya, Sharka, Bale and Dara). The original borders of the Sultanate of Ifat roughly correspond with the present-day Awdal region in northwestern Somalia. In 1278, the Walashma conquered the Sultanate of Showa. The dynasty later annexed the sultanate into Ifat in 1280, making Ifat the largest and most powerful of its peers. This annexation is usually attributed to ʿUmar, but he had been dead for 50 years by the time Showa was annexed. More likely, it was his grandson Jamal ad-Dīn or perhaps even his great-grandson Abūd.

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