Sultanate of Mohamoud Ali Shire

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Contents 1 Northern Somali sultanates 2 British Treaty With Warsangeli 3 Civilization and Society 4 Sultan's Assistance to the leader of the Dervishes 5 A touching Glimpse of history and the reunion of a Somali Royalty 6 Chronological order of events in North Somalia 7 References

[edit] Northern Somali sultanates

The late Nineteenth Century, an influential Sultan and Akil (tribal chief) emerged and ruled the Northern part of Somalia, an area stretching as far west to Burco from Las Khorey. One of the most respected heroes among Warsangeli Sultanates was Mohamoud Ali Shire. Akil Dhahar of Warsangeli, ruled south of Sanaag and some portions of Bari region. Both men were valiant, aristocratic in nature and had an incredible leadership quality. Though there are insufficient writings available on Akil Dhahar, from oral tradition, he was said to have fought against the Abyssinians and uprooted Christian communities in Galgala, a town that used to have churches and temples. The edifices are still present as historical landmarks. In honor of his accomplishments Akil Dhahar's name bears not ephemerally but eternally on the great valley and mountains of the city known as Dhahar.

I.M Lewish, in his book "Pastoral Democracy: A study on Pastoralism and Politics of Northern Somali," refers to the Sultan from the colonial literature sources as a ""Man of unusual influence," "A man of mercurial image," and "A man of unusual strength." Several Somali Sultanates did exist in Somalia prior to the European imperialism of the 19th Century, such as the Majeerteen Sultanates, but the Warsangeli Sultanate, together with Majerten Sultanate were the only two Sultanates with tax base centralized adminstration. I.M Lewis writes,

Vestiges of a similar degree of centralized administration on the pattern of a Muslim Sultanate, survive today in the Protectorate amongst the Warsangeli. Prior to 1920, the Garaad had at his command a small standing army with which, with British support, he fought Sayid Mahamad Abdille Hassan’s forces. But Garad’s powers’ are dwindling under modern adminstration.

Sultanates such as these, generally only arose on the coast or through commanding an important trade route, and were largely dependent on the possession and control of a pot or other exploitable economic resources. They were in direct trade and diffuse political relations with Arabia, received occasional Arab immigrants, and were the centres from Islam expanded with trade into the interior. They had to fight to maintain their positions of supremacy against the periodic incursions of raiding parties of nomads, and their authority was never great.

In 1896, Internal conflict amongst Warsangeli clans started and had an effect on Sultan Mohamoud Ali Shirre and his rise to an internationally popular and powerfully known Sultan. First, Bihidor clan (Warsangeli subclan) withdrew their loyalty and support from the Sultan As an upstart and young authority figure, he made, once, an unflinching decision to ally his Sultanate with the Dervishes in an attempt to defeat the British and Ethiopia. In Robert L Hess's article, "The 'Mad Mullah'And Northern Somalia," cites this alliance. "In attempt to break out of Obbian-Mijertein circle, the Mullah sought closer alliances with the Bihidor Warsangeli of British Somaliland and Bah Geri of Ethiopia" (Hess, 423). The Dervishes and their lots planned ahead their venom routes and strategy of destruction. (In fact this was their gravest mistake in attacking a country that the English treated different from the way it treated the rest of the protectorate). The Sultan was said to ordered his army to retreat from their main military posts in Erigavo(which was at that time a reserve well for the sultan horses and base for his army), following an unexpected onslaught. Sayid Mohamed Abdule Hassan's alliance with Bihidor clan was instrumental in strechting the Dervish sphere of influence and expanding his dominions. On March, 3 1905, Italy was very close to sign a treaty with the Mad Mullah at Illig. They offered him the Nogal territory. Unfortunately, the new territory, which was recognized as a protectorate wasn't established due to the Dervish resistance. In its early proposal, both the Mijertein and Warsangeli sultanates opposed to its implementation as they foresaw potential wave of threats immersing their political interest. once again, Hess cites the first Anglo-Italian success against the Dervishes, a scheme masterminded by the MIjertein and Warsangeli Sultanates.

The first success in this Anglo-Italian cooperation came in December 1910. In that month, the British Warsangeli and the Italian Mijertain peacefully resolved all their outstanding disputes and, convening in Bander Kasim, agreed to act jointly in combating Muhammed Abdullah and his Dervishes.....The Mijertain--Warsangeli Accord led to a common offensive against the Mullah, whose forces were cut off from arms and munitions smuggled in from the coast, (Hess, 427.

In 1920, the Dervishes unexpectedly captured Badhan and besieged Las khorreh. The British Governor at Aden soon sent RAF biplanes to contain the advance of the Dervish army into the Warsangeli country. Though the air strikes that bombarded Badhan, Jidali and Talex never did a considerable harm to the Dervishes. The Dervishes were still powerful but disorganizd and dispersed into unknown areas. Finally, forces of Warsangeli and Dervishes met at Jidali and this was in fact the final decimation of the Dervish movement.

The Mijertein Somalis who in June succeeded launching counter-attack with the aid of their Warsangeli allies....Mullah and his followers were driven out of Italian Somaliland into British Somaliland, where they occupied Buhotleh with great cruelty and oppressed the Dolbahante who had shifted their allegiance back to British Somaliland. (Hess, 428)

The Dervishes deserted the Nogal Protectorate as a result and disappeared into the deep jungle of Hawd Reserve Area.

[edit] British Treaty With Warsangeli

Historically, The British used Indirect Rule for their colonial advantages to control and exploit clans. Just subsequent to British treaty with Warsangeli in 1886, the Somaliland protectorate was formed. Much of the country’s economic dependency was the trade relationship it had with Aden, Yemen, which was chiefly based on the export of livestock, frankincense, and myrrh in return for food, cloth, and other materials. Since then, the protectorate was administered from Aden till 1898 just before the rise of Sayid Mohammed Abdulle Hassan. The British also realized that the effort to pacify native authority with treaties was not sufficient and it could insinuate mischief within the protectorate. In 1884, the British government made protection treaties with Ciise, Gudabirsi and Isaaq, all at once. This particular tripartite treaty was beneficial to the English colony in operating internally and in harmony with the clan social systems of North Western Somalia. Sultan Mohamoud Ali Shire, however, and his independent operation in his country was a nonpareil and a historically remarkable organized administration. How his Regency wielded such power to exercise independent operation and rule is still a baffling question to most historians. In article five of British treaty with Warsangeli states the historical context of Warsangeli territory as a legitimate country that in which the British government appointed an ambassador and was in the process of building an office there:

Article V. The British Government shall have the power to appoint an Agent or Agents to reside in the Territories of the Warsangali, and every such Agent shall be treated with respect and consideration, and be entitled to have for this protection such guard as the British Government deem sufficient.” (Art V).

In another article of the treaty entered by British with Warsangeli highlights the independence of Warsangeli from colonial interventions against their territories:

III. The Warsnagali are bound to render assistance to any vessel, whether British or belonging to any other nation, that may be wrecked on the shores under their jurisdiction and control, and to protect the crew, passengers, and cargo of such vessels, giving speedy intimation to the Resident at Aden of the circumstances; for which act of friendship and good-will a suitable reward will be given by the British Government.

[edit] Civilization and Society

Laskhorey and Celanyo formed a growing international hub because of the significance of the ancient settlements in these two cities. The Sultan's revolt against the British led to the decline and significance of these coastal areas after the British shifted their administration to the west side of North Somalia. Therefore, the commercial centers of Celanyo and Laskhorey diminished as an International hub. (Title 1Pre-Independency Socio-Economic of British Somaliland). The ascendancy of Northern society in Somalia in terms of trade, civilization, contact with ancient pharaohs continued for many centuries. For example, the Land of Punt (currently Warsangeli territory), Makhir, (commercial center of the North also territory of Warsangeli), were all societies that excelled in the art of architecture, agricultural and civil engineering. Irrefutable evidence is the present 15 storey towers in Las Khorreh that were built during the Makhir dynasty. From 15th century, Somalis were already engaged in profitable commercial activities with the rest of the world. In addition, they discovered a gum producing tree that aided architectures build towers and big boats.

The gum-producing trees grow on the sterile hills near the coast in the Sanaag and Bari regions. In this districts there also grows a tree known in Somali as 'damask,' a species of willow which is valuable for house- and boat-building purposes. It grows along the banks of the 'tugs' or dry water-courses which in the rainy season drain the interior." (Burale).

In the Land of Punt (Sanaag), when Hatshepsut, the well known 18th Dynasty Queen visited these areas, it was mentioned in the journal of her expedition a very remarkable supply of frankincense, (in Somali it is called Maydi, Adaad, Beeyo, Malmal Murre, Murkud) myrrh, spices, diamond and gold that were provided as gift to her kingdom in exchange of other goods and services. The land of Punt was also known as the land of Gods. Hathor and Bes, which are two deities that Egyptians worshipped, had their origin in Eastern Sanaag in a city now known as Galgala. Hatshepsut writes in her journal,

It is the sacred region of God's Land; it is my place of distraction; I have made it for myself in order to cleanse my spirit, along with my mother, Hathor...the lady of Punt."

Moreover, according to Lieutenant Speke in his journal of “What led to the Discovery of the Source of the Nile” states the decline of the empire of Warsangeli 31 years before the British treaty with Warsangeli in 1886 of which the English provided military and logistical support to the clans of Isaaq near Aden in Yemen:

The Warsangeli complained to me sadly of their decline in power since the English had interfered in their fights with the (Isaaq), which took place near Aden about seven years ago, and had deprived them of their vessels for creating a disturbance, which interfered with the ordinary routine of Traffic. They said that on that occasion, they had not only beaten (Isaaq) but had seized their vessels; and that prior to this rupture, they had enjoyed paramount superiority over all the tribes of the Somali; but now they were forbidden to transport Soldiers or make reprisals on the sea, every tribe was on an equality with them.” (Chapter II the Voyage-Somali Shore, Gerad Mohamoud ali Shire).

The traveler also recounted the administration of the sultan, which was an impeccable source for the security, and the general weal of every foreigner visiting Warsangeli country. "Of course no Mortal man was like their Gerad Mohamoud Ali in leading them to war. He was like the English or the French, and in settling disputes, he required no writing office, but sitting on the woolsack."

[edit] Sultan's Assistance to the leader of the Dervishes

The two sultanates of Majerten, Sultan Mohamoud Ali Shirreh, and Sayid Mohamed Addule Hassan were on the spotlight. The colonial administration had dealt with each one of them secretly and worked to prevent from a possible tripartite unison of power-sharing and common economic and political integration. A noticeable incident took place In 1908, when the British air jets bombarded Jidali, Badhan and Taleh, it led to the Dervish dispersal into many areas, and it took a long period for the Sayid to recoup his strength. However, Sultan Mohamoud Ali Shirreh and his army within the British Somaliland Protectorate's claimed areas of Sanaag were severely disturbed by the decline of the Dervish movements despite the rift between them. To show his concerns, he ordered his army to shoot a British ship that was landing on LasQorey port. According to I.M Lewis, in his book, “Modern History of Somalia”, cites this brief incidence, “

The Warsangeli clan within the British protectorate on the eastern coast who under their spirited leader Gerad Mohamoud Ali Shire had now decided to throw in their lot with the Dervishes and in Jan 1908, fired on a British dhow as it was landing on their coast. This incident has led to a hostile exchange of letters with the consul at Berbera and it was evident that the Dervishes would soon be on the March again.”(Lewis, 55).

Furthermore, The Sultan's association with Sayid Mohammed Abdulle Hassan as a brother in law gave the Dervishes access to the Makhir Coast, a door to the Arabian peninsula to import firearms and ammunition. Therefore, Dervishes marched again and once again, their movement had intensified. The British hitherto got extremely anxious of the return of the Dervishes with vengeance. Moreover, his colonial alliance with clans of Isaaq proved unsuccessful after signing treaty with them in 1885 (all of the Dir clans, Isaaq, Gudabirsi, and Cise). Now, the British run out of options and were impelled to collaborate with Italian Somaliland and the Majerten Sultanates for comprehensive incursion, which retreated the Dervishes from their main strongholds such as Taleh and Jidali. Then, sporadic resistance of guerilla tactics ensued, and the fall of their empire was crystal clear from this point. However, Gerad Mohamoud Ali Shire’s establishment of governance feared the British and mainly clans in Somalia. Some clans of Warsangeli also viewed the Sultan’s government with suspicious eye of cruelty. They, therefore, declared independence from his dominions and began commencing a rebellion to topple him. This internal conflict occurred amongst the Warsangeli clans during the struggle of the Dervishes for the expulsion of the British and Italian imperialists. The Sayid was said to have composed a poem for this incident in an attempt to lure supporters to side with him. The poem follows like this:

Mar hadday kudoortan isku diirad ma ihin

Dabcigaygu maoggola nin ku dallaasa e

War sow deero iyo cawl adigukamadhigin?

Iney se Kuududahayaan sow ma ba dareensanid?

Sow dukaammadoodi daarahaaga kuma guran?

Sow doonyahodii dukhan naar ahkamashidin

Our visionary are varied once they chose you

My nature is averse to those who contempt you

Didn't I turn you into gazelle and antelope

(refers to the internal conflict among the Warsangeli clans)

Hast thou sense their fierce resentment

Hadn't you taken their stores into your houses

(this line refers to the English)

Hadn't I shelled their ships into plumes of smoke

Historically, the Sultan killed many men of this clan Bihidoor,(Subclan of Warsangeli) which later nurtured the internal defiance and hostility based on facts I gathered from the 1855 journal of Speke(an English traveler) and elders of Warsangeli tribe through cautious inquiries. They settle, nonetheless, in Xiingalol (the most populated city in Sanag) and the long Plateau of "Xadeed" in great number even majority than Adan Sicid clan who dwell on the mountains and are said to be a majority clan. Despite the lack of stability and the pursuit of imperialists to defeat what they perceived to be their enemies, The Sultan was secretly invited a conference in Yemen to discuss issues of solving their differences. After short session before the conference began, scores of armed infidels who took him into custody surrounded him. Later, he was tried without prosecution and defense on his case. The verdict was to deport him out of his native country for at least seven years based on accusations for forming his own government. However, truth is that the British did not want to face the Sultan in a battle but fulfilled their mission in a tactics of malicious mischief. During his long years of exile, the Sultan left behind a family saga:

[edit] A touching Glimpse of history and the reunion of a Somali Royalty

Introduction Few people know that the British exiled the most illustrious and influential Sultan of the former British Protectorate of Somaliland, Sultan Mohamoud Ali Shireh, in 1920, soon after the defeat of Sayid Mohamed Abdullah Hassan. Sultan Mohamoud Ali Shireh was exiled to the Seychelles – the islands to which many prominent anti-colonial leaders used to be exiled. Although the Sultan fought against the Sayid, the British thought that he would be their next source of trouble because he was vehemently and actively opposed to British rule of Somaliland. Moreover, having just emerged from debilitating wars, not only with the Sayid but also with some European powers (WWI), the British viewed with awe the prospect of another twenty years of costly and protracted conflict against yet another local potentate. The Sultan – it is worth mentioning – was the brother in law of the Sayid but the two could not see eye to eye on many political, religious and social issues, and the Sultan fiercely defended the independence of his Sultanate against the incursions of the Dervish Movement. In a similar vein, he never allowed the British Administration to establish itself in his Sultanate and even after his return from exile, the Administration never intefered in the internal affairs of his Sultanate. As a matter of fact, there is ample documentary evidence to show that the British Administration was so careful to avoid his alienation that it sought out his support for any major policy changes before they were introduced. To that end, the Sultan continued to play a prominent role in the affairs of the country until his death a few months after independence. To begin a long term and cruel exile, the Sultan of British Somaliland protectorate, Sultan Mohamoud Ali Shireh arrived in Seychelles from Bombay (India) on May 3 rd, 1920 on board HMS Odin. At the time when the Sultan began to serve his exile in Seychelles, two African Kings, King Prempeh of Ashanti (Ghana) and king Kabarego of Bunyoro (Uganda), and a former Prime Minister of Egypt, Sa'ad Zaghlul Pasha, as well as other luminaries of leaders in the wars of African resistance to the British colonialism were also there as exilees. It is related that the Sa'ad Zaghlul Pasha told the Sultan “your father had spoiled your chances by not educating you; otherwise you would have been a king.” Of course, this was true because his lack of education severely circumscribed the development of his area into a properly organized and administered Sultanate over which his suzerainty would be recognized. But, mind you, there were nonetheless, the rudiments of organized administration which comprised of a protocol and decorum (which included a certain manner of addressing the Sultan), a council of elders which he summoned from time to time and presided over; guards equipped with rifles, a large cavalry under his overall command, but also with their subsidiary commanders; extensive animal wealth which included more than a hundred, if not more, thoroughbred Arabian horses which both British teams from England and the Italians used to buy from him. The Sultan also maintained a fortress, which is now, dilapidated but still remains a historical landmark and a huge two-story building (which was his palace) in Las Qoray. The Sultan also maintained files, which contained correspondence, not only with the British but also with the Sultans of South Arabia. The Sultan, apart from his strong and charismatic personality, was after all, the product of a six-hundred-year-old tradition, which saw a long succession of Sultans of which he was the twenty-fourth. However, the Seychelles saga in the Sultan's journey in life gives us a very interesting human story today, which, because it resembles a fairy tale, shows a rare instance in which real life plagiarizes fiction. During the long years of exile, the Sultan left behind in Seychelles a son and a daughter. No one heard about them and not many relatives of the Sultan knew about them. As always true with well kept secrets, the days that the Sultan lived in the Seychelles and his family life remained an enigma to all the subsequent decedents of the Sultan in Somalia. Those who knew about these secrets did not and could not know what became of them. From Fiction to Fact – Stumbling across a lost blood ties Now, here is what might look like a fairy tale but happens to be a true family tale. On a particularly auspicious day in far away Tokyo, Japan, a Djiboutian diplomat (the late Fuad Awaleh) saw, while walking along a main street, a slender Somali-looking girl, who was going the other way. He turned around and dogged her until she stopped at the crossroads and he confidently greeted her in Somali, which she could not understand. Mr. Awaleh told that he had thought she was a Somali woman. On hearing that her face lightened up and she told him that she was from Seychelles but that her paternal grandfather was the “Sultan of Somaliland” (as he was then known in those Islands) that his name was Sultan Ina Ali Shire,” as she put it. He told her that he knows a Somali family in Tokyo and he would ask them if they knew about him but that he would need to know first what clan the Sultan came from. The young lady, Ms. Amia Jovanovic-Desir who was a senior officer in the Ministry of Tourism and Transport in Seychelles, called her office and asked them to look in to the files and fax her the name of her grandfather's clan. That was done immediately, and she told Mr. Awaleh of Djibouti that her grandfather was from the Warsengali clan of Somalia. The Somali family in Tokyo happened to be that of Ibrahim Meygaag Samatar, former Somali ambassador in Germany and a resident of Somaliland. To Ibrahim a prominent Somali and some one with a broad knowledge of the history of Somaliland had no doubt whom Ambassador Awale was talking about. Ibrahim's wife, Amina Cadhoole, equally an educated Somali woman from the region where the Sultan hails from, took the job of finding members of the lost tribe. She quickly got hold of the telephone number of Ambassador Mohammed Garad (better known as “Garad”), the best known of the many surviving sons of the Sultan Mohamoud Ali Shireh. Garad thereafter quickly moved on to help establish, for the first time ever, the long-sought linkage of blood ties between the two branches of the Sulatan Mohamoud Ali Shire family. That was in 2000 and after so many telephone conversations, Ambassador Garad was able to answer a long-standing invitation to visit his brother, sister as well as his many nephews, nieces (and the children of the children of Sultan Ali Shire) in 2004 in Seychelles.

[edit] Chronological order of events in North Somalia

1884 - Egypt evacuated Somali Coast, British Garrison to Berbera from Bombay.
1885 - British treaties with Esa, Gadabuursi, and Isaaq tribes.
1886 - British treaty with Warsengeli.
1895 - Mohamed Abdalla Hassan's Saleher religious revival in Berbera failed.
1898 - The British Foreign Office took over administration of British Somaliland Protectorate from the India Office. The Protectorate was then only self-supporting British dependency in eastern Africa.
1899 - First truculent letter from "Mullah" at Kirit to Protectorate Administration.
1900 - Abyssinians fought Mullah at Haradigit. Mullah took 2,000 Eidegalla camels.
1900, November - Swayne's first expedition: engagements at Kirit, Samala, Welahed, Anahadigli, Kurgerad, Ferdidin.
1901, October - Swayne's second expedition: Erago.
1904, March - Jidbali occupied: Higligab, and Las Khoreh.
1904, 21st March - Illig (Eil).
1904, October Restalloza Peace.
1909, November - British withdrawal to coast.(as a result of the Sultan)
1913, 9th August - Dul Madoba(Corfield killed).
1913, 5th September Mullah raided Burao.
1914, 12th March - Mullah raided Berbera. Somaliland Camel Corps started.
1914, November Shimbir Beris.
1916, May - Dervishes shelled from sea whilst besieging Las Khoreh.
1919, November - Fifth and "final" expedition.
1920, January - Defeat of Mullah: Medishe, Jidali, Badan, Taleh,. 3,000 H.Y. Warsangeli, and Dolbahantaattacked Mullah at Gorah near Shinileh. The year of aeroplanes (Daiurada).
1920, November - Mullah died of influenza, or perhaps smallpox. Gerad Mahamud Ali Shirreh of Warsengeli deported to Seychelles for seven years for exerting his own form of "native authority".

[edit] References

• Lewis. I. M. A Modern History of Somalia: Nation and State in Horn of Africa. Ohio: Ohio University Press, 1960.
• Hess. Robert L. “The ‘Mad Mullah’ and Northern Somalia.” The Journal of African History, Vol 5, No.3 P.415-433. Cambridge: Ohio Cambridge University Press, 1964.
• Speke. John Hanning. “Sultan/Garad Mohamoud Ali—Hidden Treasure—Royal Reception—Sultan Tries my Abban.” What Led to the Discovery of the Source of the Nile. Edinburgh: Edinburgh William Blackwood and Sons 1864.
• British Empire. “Protection treaties with Somaliland tribes.” Edinburgh: William Blackwood and sons, 1887.

Lewis. I.M. "Pastoral Democracy: A study on Pastoralism and Politics among the Northern Somali clans." Ohio: Ohio University Press, 1958. If you are interested in reading a complete articles of the treaty entered by the British with clans of Somalia, visit[1] Note: All other treaties are similar and have the same precepts of contract articles. They therefore, indicate a control of British over the territories of other clans, for example, the Isaaq clans such as Habar Awal, and Dir clans such as Gudabirsi and Easa. The Warsangeli treaty with British is totally different from the rest. No tribal area is called Country except the Warsangeli one. The British dealt with Warsangeli as a nation and did not dare to tamper with their power and control over their territories.