Warsengeli Sultanate

Warsangali Sultanate
Saldanadda Warsangeli سلطنة الورسنجلي
1218–1886
Capital		Las Khorey
Languages		Somali · Arabic
Religion		Islam
Government		Absolute Monarchy
Sultan
•	1298–1311 (first)	Garaad Dhidhin
•	1897–1960 (last)	Mohamoud Ali Shire
History
•	Established	1218
•	Decline	1886
Succeeded by British Somaliland
Today part of		Somaliland  Somalia

The Warsangali Sultanate (Somali: Saldanadda Warsangeli, Arabic: سلطنة الورسنجلي‎‎) was a Somali imperial ruling house centered in northeastern and in some parts of southeastern Somalia. It was one of the largest sultanates ever established in the territory, and, at the height of its power, included the Sanaag region and parts of the northeastern Bari region of the country, an area historically known as Maakhir or the Maakhir Coast. The Sultanate was founded in the late 13th century in northern Somalia by a group of Somalis from the Warsangali branch of the Darod clan, and was ruled by the descendants of the Garaad Dhidhin. In the late 19th century, the influential Sultan Mohamoud Ali Shire governed the Sultanate, assuming control during some of its most turbulent years. The Akil Dhahar ruled south of Sanaag and some portions of the Bari region. In 1884, the United Kingdom established the protectorate of British Somaliland through various treaties with the northern Somali sultanates, including the Warsangali Sultanate.

Although there is a dearth of historical testimony on Akil Dhahar, according to oral tradition, he fought against the Abyssinians. In honor of his accomplishments, Akil Dhahar's name is immortalized in the valley and mountains of the city known as Dhahar.

I. M. Lewis, in his book A Pastoral Democracy: A Study of Pastoralism and Politics Among the Northern Somali of the Horn of Africa, refers to the Sultan from the colonial literature as a "man of unusual influence", a "man of mercurial image", and a "man of unusual strength". Several Somali Sultanates existed in Somalia prior to the European imperialism of the 19th century, but the Warsangali Sultanate was the only one with a robust tax-based centralized administration. Lewis writes:

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