mankush
Member
- Apr 12, 2018
- 13
- 6
*THE SOMALI EMPIRE IN 1000 worldwide
Last week, my colleagues and I were traveling from Nakuru to Nairobi; and, along the way, we talked about the quarrel between Kenya and Somalia over their Indian Ocean border.
My colleagues, just like many Kenyans, do not know much about Somalia. They talked of her only in terms of the wars, the chaos, and the lawlessness of the last three decades; and they were surprised when I told them that our next-door neighbor was once a global superpower.
By 14th century, Somalia was a modern state with government, infrastructure, economy, and military comparable to other world powers of the time.
In 15th Century, Vasco Da Gama passed by Mogadishu; and he wrote that it was a large city that had buildings of four or five storeys, large palaces, and many mosques with cylindrical minarets.
For centuries, the Somali Empire was one of the main players in the Indian Ocean trade between East and West.
Historians use the term “Somali Empire” to refer to the dozens of kingdoms, empires, and sultanates that existed at various times in history in the area currently occupied by the Somali-speaking people of Somalia, Kenya, Ethiopia, and Djibouti.
Over the course of the last 2,500 years, the empire has taken different shapes and sizes; expanded and contacted several times; and changed its ruling dynasties many times.
Her strategic location next to the Gulf of Aden and the Red Sea gave her immense power and control over the nature and volume of trade that took place between east and west.
Centuries before the Christian era, Somali traders were doing business with Egypt, Greece, Phoenix (present-day Lebanon), Babylon (present-day Iraq), Persia (present-day Iran), Levant (present-day Syria), and the Roman Empire.
But the golden age of Somali Empire was between the 13th and 17th centuries when Somali ports flourished as a result of lucrative international trade. During this period, Somali ports operated like today’s port of Dubai. Ships from India and the Far East offloaded their cargo on Somali ports, and Somali traders reexported it to Europe and the Arab world.
During the 16th Century, Duarte Barbosa, a Portuguese sailor, stopped over in Mogadishu on his way to the far east. Barbosa wrote that during his stay there, many ships from India and China brought fabrics and spices; and they returned with gold, ivory, giraffes, and zebras.
Most of the items that the ships carried back to the east were sourced by Somali traders from Egypt, Mombasa, Zanzibar, Yemen, Mozambique, Madagascar, and other Indian Ocean islands.
So strong was the Somali economy during this period that she had her own currency that at times served as legal tender in the Arab world and the Far East. Its economic power was reinforced by a powerful navy that called shots in the Arabian Sea and the Gulf of Aden, a strong army that kept its inland enemies at bay, and an efficient taxation system that enabled the government to invest heavily in infrastructure and social services.
The Somali Empire’s economic strength enhanced her international prestige so much that she had diplomatic relations with the Ottoman Empire and with China. Her close ties with the Ottoman Empire helped her acquire the arms she used to repulse several Portuguese attempts to colonize her; and her relationship with China gave Somali traders easy access to Chinese goods and markets.
When the Berlin Conference of 1885 to 1886 was called to partition Africa, most of the European powers wanted to colonize Somalia – because of her strategic location; but it is three of them that divided her up among themselves.
France took French Somalia (today’s Djibouti), Britain took British Somaliland, and Italy took Italian Somali. By that time, the Somali empire had become weak. Although she tried to fight off attempts to colonize her; she was defeated.
At independence, in 1960, French Somali opted to become independent nation called Djibouti; but British Somaliland and Italian Somali chose to merge into one nation called Republic of Somalia.
Through most of 1960s, the Republic of Somalia was a vibrant democracy. Worldwide, she was referred to as Africa’s Switzerland - because her economy was the best-performing in Africa, and the glorious days of past centuries were beginning to return.
However, two unfortunate events in 1969 started her on the road to the shattered state she is in today.
On 15 October 1969, Somalia’s democratically elected president, Abdirashid Ali Sharmarke was shot dead by his bodyguard; and he was replaced by an interim president, Sheikh Mukhtar Mohamed Hussein.
Six days later, on 21 October 1969, Siad Barre led a coup d'état, and he declared himself president.
Within a short time, Barre became dictatorial and oppressive. He suppressed dissent, jailed opponents, and carried out public executions of critics. This made him unpopular; and, to survive, he played divide-and-rule politics among clans. He incited and armed some clans against others, which made Somalia a very divided nation.
In 1977, Barre invaded Ethiopia. His objective was to reclaim Ethiopia’s Ogaden region for Somalia. Ogaden is a predominantly Somali region that Ethiopia had annexed from Somalia in the 19th Century. The war, however, ended in defeat for Siad Barre, and his soldiers returned home demoralized - to an economy that had been devastated by the war.
Before long, many of them formed or joined opposition groups that tried to topple Barre.
In 1991, a civil war broke out that toppled Barre; and he fled to Kenya and then Nigeria, where he died in 1995.
Following Barre's ouster, British Somaliland declared herself independent from Somalia and named herself Somaliland. Somaliland has a functioning elected government, but it’s not recognized worldwide.
On the other hand, Italian Somalia descended into chaos, and she has not had a stable government since – except the last seven years.
Sent using Jamii Forums mobile app
Last week, my colleagues and I were traveling from Nakuru to Nairobi; and, along the way, we talked about the quarrel between Kenya and Somalia over their Indian Ocean border.
My colleagues, just like many Kenyans, do not know much about Somalia. They talked of her only in terms of the wars, the chaos, and the lawlessness of the last three decades; and they were surprised when I told them that our next-door neighbor was once a global superpower.
By 14th century, Somalia was a modern state with government, infrastructure, economy, and military comparable to other world powers of the time.
In 15th Century, Vasco Da Gama passed by Mogadishu; and he wrote that it was a large city that had buildings of four or five storeys, large palaces, and many mosques with cylindrical minarets.
For centuries, the Somali Empire was one of the main players in the Indian Ocean trade between East and West.
Historians use the term “Somali Empire” to refer to the dozens of kingdoms, empires, and sultanates that existed at various times in history in the area currently occupied by the Somali-speaking people of Somalia, Kenya, Ethiopia, and Djibouti.
Over the course of the last 2,500 years, the empire has taken different shapes and sizes; expanded and contacted several times; and changed its ruling dynasties many times.
Her strategic location next to the Gulf of Aden and the Red Sea gave her immense power and control over the nature and volume of trade that took place between east and west.
Centuries before the Christian era, Somali traders were doing business with Egypt, Greece, Phoenix (present-day Lebanon), Babylon (present-day Iraq), Persia (present-day Iran), Levant (present-day Syria), and the Roman Empire.
But the golden age of Somali Empire was between the 13th and 17th centuries when Somali ports flourished as a result of lucrative international trade. During this period, Somali ports operated like today’s port of Dubai. Ships from India and the Far East offloaded their cargo on Somali ports, and Somali traders reexported it to Europe and the Arab world.
During the 16th Century, Duarte Barbosa, a Portuguese sailor, stopped over in Mogadishu on his way to the far east. Barbosa wrote that during his stay there, many ships from India and China brought fabrics and spices; and they returned with gold, ivory, giraffes, and zebras.
Most of the items that the ships carried back to the east were sourced by Somali traders from Egypt, Mombasa, Zanzibar, Yemen, Mozambique, Madagascar, and other Indian Ocean islands.
So strong was the Somali economy during this period that she had her own currency that at times served as legal tender in the Arab world and the Far East. Its economic power was reinforced by a powerful navy that called shots in the Arabian Sea and the Gulf of Aden, a strong army that kept its inland enemies at bay, and an efficient taxation system that enabled the government to invest heavily in infrastructure and social services.
The Somali Empire’s economic strength enhanced her international prestige so much that she had diplomatic relations with the Ottoman Empire and with China. Her close ties with the Ottoman Empire helped her acquire the arms she used to repulse several Portuguese attempts to colonize her; and her relationship with China gave Somali traders easy access to Chinese goods and markets.
When the Berlin Conference of 1885 to 1886 was called to partition Africa, most of the European powers wanted to colonize Somalia – because of her strategic location; but it is three of them that divided her up among themselves.
France took French Somalia (today’s Djibouti), Britain took British Somaliland, and Italy took Italian Somali. By that time, the Somali empire had become weak. Although she tried to fight off attempts to colonize her; she was defeated.
At independence, in 1960, French Somali opted to become independent nation called Djibouti; but British Somaliland and Italian Somali chose to merge into one nation called Republic of Somalia.
Through most of 1960s, the Republic of Somalia was a vibrant democracy. Worldwide, she was referred to as Africa’s Switzerland - because her economy was the best-performing in Africa, and the glorious days of past centuries were beginning to return.
However, two unfortunate events in 1969 started her on the road to the shattered state she is in today.
On 15 October 1969, Somalia’s democratically elected president, Abdirashid Ali Sharmarke was shot dead by his bodyguard; and he was replaced by an interim president, Sheikh Mukhtar Mohamed Hussein.
Six days later, on 21 October 1969, Siad Barre led a coup d'état, and he declared himself president.
Within a short time, Barre became dictatorial and oppressive. He suppressed dissent, jailed opponents, and carried out public executions of critics. This made him unpopular; and, to survive, he played divide-and-rule politics among clans. He incited and armed some clans against others, which made Somalia a very divided nation.
In 1977, Barre invaded Ethiopia. His objective was to reclaim Ethiopia’s Ogaden region for Somalia. Ogaden is a predominantly Somali region that Ethiopia had annexed from Somalia in the 19th Century. The war, however, ended in defeat for Siad Barre, and his soldiers returned home demoralized - to an economy that had been devastated by the war.
Before long, many of them formed or joined opposition groups that tried to topple Barre.
In 1991, a civil war broke out that toppled Barre; and he fled to Kenya and then Nigeria, where he died in 1995.
Following Barre's ouster, British Somaliland declared herself independent from Somalia and named herself Somaliland. Somaliland has a functioning elected government, but it’s not recognized worldwide.
On the other hand, Italian Somalia descended into chaos, and she has not had a stable government since – except the last seven years.
Sent using Jamii Forums mobile app