Extracts from Ibn Battuta - On Somalia

[Idilinaa]

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Here's an excerpt from one of the few manuscripts available online.

This was written in the margin of a manuscript on a slave being freed during the time of Sultan Mudhaffar bin Al Malik An- Nasir , as you can see the highlighted part mentions that Mu'allim Mukarram bin Mu'allim 'Umar copied the story from the book of his grandfather Faqih 'Asharow bin Faqih 'Ilmi and he had copied from the book of his early grandparents.

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This occurred in the year 981 Hijri . Clear mention of the period the event is from. Also mentions the witnesses of this event which consisted of 'Ulama, Mashaayikh, Relatives, Neighbours and leaders.

I know of this manuscript which Enrico Cerulli revises and adds his own nonsense speculations on top of, distorting the real information it posses.

Because the name Muzzafar , it does not seem to be a dynasty at all. Al-Muzzafar is a title , you have various muslim emirs and sultans throughout the medieval period in different polities wearing it https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Al-Muzaffar

It's like claiming this random Amir wearing the title Al-Muzzafar who ruled Al-Andalus was from the same Persian/Arab dynasty https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Abd_al-Malik_al-Muzaffar

We get a clarification in the contemporay historical sources because Ibn Hajar mentions Mogadishu Sultan wearing the title Al-Muzafar in the 14th century going back 3 generations wearing their honourifics/titles.

Al-Mansur is also a title or a nickname. Like that Al-Andalus ruler his predecessor was nicknamed it. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Almanzor

Al-Mansoor Al-Muzzafar Al-Muayyad etcs are honorifics meaning ''The Victorious''

And you can clear see that it's not a dynastic name but a title and it doesn't trace back to the 16th century to a made up Arabo-Persian -Somali familly.

 

[Midas]

The confederacy collectively called Reer Xamar are founded by core pastoral lineages. Which migrants later married into and joined. As you have shown from Murshow 5 out of the 7 lineages claim Ajuran or Abdalla Dayle and the two rest are Somali clans with immigrant paternal roots that married into them.

Kinda like how Bosaso the commercial capital of Bari sultanate for example hosts Bah Gareen Majerteen Dishishe Harti, Kaptanlee Harti (founders), Bah Dir Majerteen clans, and later Carab Saleex (Mehri) joined them when the town grew , it would be like claiming Mahra founded Bosaso.

And later claim the proof is that it's called ''Bandar Qasim'' and other settlements have ''Bandar'' in them, shows Arab/Persian influence in the founding of Bari sultanate and the numerous coastal settlements. They also founded the tip of the horn called Ras. You see how ridiculous that sounds?

And Amin Khalafow is the Hawiye clan that founded the Bandawow confederacy, has nothing to do with sicilis which is connected to Abgaal. They are connected to a town in the upper levels of shabelle river called Qalafo in Ogaden and settled in Mogadishu during the towns founding.

It shows the towns connection to the interior and the production around the shabelle zone.

As for Murusola gate named after Murusade proves their importance in controlling that caravan trade route leading up to the town and how the inclusion of them in the towns inhabitants shows that the earliest inhabitants are just those people who set up on the coast as an exchange outlet for the interior. Mogadishu is commercial town after all. Not really that much different from the formation of the Eastern coastal settlements, other than ecology.

There other benadiri clans i have mentioned before like Shaykh Mummin who controlled the caravan route from Luuq/Buur Hakaba & to Mogadishu. There is also the Sheikhaal clan etc.

Only Saddex Geedi, Hirab/Yacuub are clans that arrived recently post 1600 according local traditions as Abgaal clans. and guess what just like the other older clans i mentioned, immigrants married into Yacuub and created Bafadal. So you have, Saddex Geddi, Yacoub and then also Bafadal Somali clans.

You are accusing me of a having no evidence when you provided zero yourself, there is no mention of Persian and Hymyarites in any external sources or local contemporary source, not even periplus that you mentioned which talks about local natives ruling and founding ports and sailing, selling interior products.

We have sources on migrations by merchants and people fleeing persecution like a certain Hatimi from Yemen settling in Mogadishu from the 12th the century, but we equally have mentions of migration of Somalis like Al-Jabarti, Al-Zayla and Al-Maqdishi settling in Aden and other places during the same time frame.

And i am just clarifying benadiri traditions. Which is actually supported by the earliest external refrences to Mogadishu which connects it to the interior inhabitants and production , it never mentions it as a coastal enclave or colony by any outside group in particular.

Went through it here:

I stopped arguing with that guy when I realized he won't even accept your most basic premise . I don't think I've seem him cocende a single point in all his posts.

 

[Mohamed Ali king]

Learned something new, the Eunuch he mentioned was most likely an Ethiopian slave as they were very common throughout the Muslim world.

The legacy of Ethiopian slavery in Mogadishu is reflected on (Xabash) being synonymous with a slave and it's persistence in the southern dialects both on the benadiri coast and in the interriverine interior. Which still continue to call slaves Xabash.

Somali dictionary synonyms:

I also remember reading that Portuguese mentioned Ethiopian slave in Mogadishu, but i can't really find where i read it.
So if anyone could help me out and find it, it will be good.

It will offer strong proof against the false notion that Southern Somalia had Bantu plantation slaves during the medieval period.

What is the name of this book