Emirate of Harar
The Emirate of Harar was founded in 1647 when the Harari people refused to accept Imām ʿUmardīn Ādan as their ruler and broke away from the Imamate of Awsa to form their own state under `Ali ibn Da`ud. Like all Muslim states in the area, the Emirate of Harar was technically under the protection of the Ottoman Empire as a de jure part of Habesh Eyalet after 1554, and this vague suzerainty would be transferred to the Egypt Eyalet in 1818 following the Ottoman–Saudi War and would, along with the Sudan, become part of the Khedivate of Egypt. Egypt pressed its claim to Harar and annexed the city state in 1875. The British Empire defeated the Khedivate and occupied its territories in 1882 including Harar, but the British agreed to evacuate Harar and essentially cede the city to Abyssinia's sphere of influence in exchange for assistance against Mahdist forces in Sudan (the Hewett treaty). As per the terms of their agreement, the British withdrew from Harar in 1884, leaving the city to the son of the former Emir of Harar with a few hundred rifles, some cannon and a handful of British trained officers. The Emirate would be finally destroyed and annexed by the armies of Negus Sahle Maryam of Showa (the future Emperor Menelik II) in 1887 following the Emirate's defeat at the Battle of Chelenqo.
Emirs of Harar (Ali Dynasty)
Name | Reign | Note | |
---|---|---|---|
1 | Emīr ʿAli ibn Dā'ūd | 1647–1662 | Founder of the Emirate of Harar |
2 | Emīr Hāshim ibn ʿAli | 1662–1671 | Son of Emīr ʿAli |
3 | Emīr ʿAbdullah ibn ʿAli | 1671–1700 | Son of Emīr ʿAli |
4 | Emīr Ṭalḥa ibn ʿAbdullah | 1700–1721 | Son of Emīr ʿAbdullah |
5 | Emīr Abūbakar ibn ʿAbdullah | 1721–1732 | Son of Emīr ʿAbdullah |
6 | Emīr Khalaf ibn Abūbakar | 1732–1733 | Son of Emīr Abūbakar |
7 | Emīr Ḥāmid ibn Abūbakar | 1733–1747 | Son of Emīr Abūbakar |
8 | Emīr Yūsuf ibn Abūbakar | 1747–1755 | Son of Emīr Abūbakar |
9 | Emīr Aḥmed ibn Abūbakar | 1755–1782 | Son of Emīr Abūbakar |
10 | Emīr Maḥamed ibn Yūsuf | 1782–1783 | Son of Emīr Yūsuf |
11 | Emīr ʿAbdalshakūr ibn Yūsuf | 1783–1794 | Son of Emīr Yūsuf |
12 | Emīr Aḥmed ibn Maḥamed | 1794–1821 | Son of Emīr Maḥamed |
13 | Emīr ʿAbdalraḥmān ibn Maḥamed | 1821–1825 | Son of Emīr Maḥamed |
14 | Emīr ʿAbdulkarīm ibn Maḥamed | 1825–1834 | Son of Emīr Maḥamed |
15 | Emīr Abūbakar ibn ʿAbdalmanān | 1834–1852 | Grandson of Emīr Maḥamed |
16 | Emīr Aḥmed ibn Abūbakar | 1852–1866 | Son of Emīr Abūbakar |
17 | Emīr Maḥamed ibn ʿAbdalshakūr | 1866–1875 | Son of Emīr ʿAbdalshakūr, deposed by the Khedivate of Egypt |
-- | Khedivate of Egypt | 1875–1884 | Egypt annexed Harar in 1875, withdrawing in 1884 due to the British takeover of Egypt and subsequent British-Abyssinian agreements |
18 | Emīr ʿAbdullah ibn Maḥamed | 1884–1887 | Son of Emīr Maḥamed (17), his rule and Harar's briefly renewed independence were both ended by the invasion of Harar by the Shewa kingdom in 1887. |