Ibn Battuta's favorite city in East Africa was Mogadishu, and his most disliked city was Zeila.

[𐒋𐒖𐒆𐒔𐒖𐒕𐒈]

I can't read Arabic but a quick rudimentary google translation says this:

I arrived at the city of Zaila, which is the city of the Berbers, who are a Shafi’i sect from Sudan. They live in the Egyptian desert for two months, the first of which is Zaila’ and the last of which is Maqdishu, and their livestock are camels and they have sheep. Umm is famous for its ghee, and the people of Zaila’ are black, and most of them are Rafidah. It is a large city with a wall. It is a great city, but it is the dirtiest city in The world is the most monstrous and most stinky, and the reason for its stench is the abundance of its fish and the blood of the camels that They slaughter them in the alleys

I linked up the translated English version for better reading. The Arabic word for 'negro' is ' زنجي '.

Translation is ' People of Zeila are dark in colour'

'
وأﻫﻞ زﻳﻠﻊ ﺳﻮد اﻷﻟﻮان
'​

Here is the relevant excerpt:
'The inhabitants are modest and religious. I then went from Aden by sea, and after four days came to the city of Zaila. This is a city of the Berbers, a people of Sudan, of the Shafia sect. Their country is a desert of two months’ extent. The first part is termed Zaila, the last Makdashu [Mogadishu?]. The greatest part of the inhabitants of Zaila, however, are of the Rafiza sect. Their food is, for the most part, camel's flesh and fish. The stench of the country is extreme, as is also its filth, from the stink of the fish, and the blood of camels which are slaughtered in its streets. I then proceeded by sea for fifteen days, and came to Makdashu, which is an exceedingly large city. '

 

[𐒋𐒖𐒆𐒔𐒖𐒕𐒈]

Lol a quick google translate would debunk this

I do not rely on google for anything.

 

[Zak12]

People of Zeila are dark in colour'

​

Semantics really. To a Moroccan like Ibn Battuta, a dark skinned person would be black

 

[𐒋𐒖𐒆𐒔𐒖𐒕𐒈]

Semantics really. To a Moroccan like Ibn Battuta, a dark skinned person would be black

Amazighis people are mixed of Central Asia, Arab, and Africa.

 

[Zak12]

Amazighis people are mixed of Central Asia, Arab, and Africa.

Yes but compared to East Africans, they aren't very dark skinned

 

[𐒋𐒖𐒆𐒔𐒖𐒕𐒈]

Yes but compared to East Africans, they aren't very dark skinned

The farther South one travels in Maghreb, the more Amazighis look very much like Somalis. In the Fez area and its environs, they look more Central Asian.

 

[Zak12]

The farther South one travels in Maghreb, the more Amazighis look very much like Somalis. In the Fez area and its environs, they look more Central Asian.

Around Mauritania? I agree but the average Moroccan looks nothing like a Somali.

Anyways, there are different translations for Ibn Battuta such as this one https://sourcebooks.fordham.edu/source/1354-ibnbattuta.asp that says the negro line so I'm not sure which is more accurate. Regardless, its clear that Somalis were inhabiting the place since both translations called Zeila a city of Berbers

 

[Al Adnani]

Around Mauritania? I agree but the average Moroccan looks nothing like a Somali.

Anyways, there are different translations for Ibn Battuta such as this one https://sourcebooks.fordham.edu/source/1354-ibnbattuta.asp that says the negro line so I'm not sure which is more accurate. Regardless, its clear that Somalis were inhabiting the place since both translations called Zeila a city of Berbers

19th century british sources claim Zeila was under Arab rule until Haji Sharmarke

 

[𐒋𐒖𐒆𐒔𐒖𐒕𐒈]

Around Mauritania? I agree but the average Moroccan looks nothing like a Somali.

Anyways, there are different translations for Ibn Battuta such as this one https://sourcebooks.fordham.edu/source/1354-ibnbattuta.asp that says the negro line so I'm not sure which is more accurate. Regardless, its clear that Somalis were inhabiting the place since both translations called Zeila a city of Berbers

Have you met any Tuareg, Shilwah people of Morocco (Maghreb)? In Morocco, S Egypt, Mauritania etc. no matter how much I insisted I was not from there, locals would not believe it.

 

[killerxsmoke]

I do not rely on google for anything.

Lol it literally says sudan

 

[killerxsmoke]

19th century british sources claim Zeila was under Arab rule until Haji SharmarkeView attachment 307840

Yes the governor was an arab

 

[ibrahym]

qadi Mogadishu is Egyptian, as mentioned by Ibn Battuta
He has nothing to do with Qahtan
and His name is ibn Burhan

 

[𐒋𐒖𐒆𐒔𐒖𐒕𐒈]

Lol it literally says sudan

Did you read the text in bold, and underlined?

qadi Mogadishu is Egyptian, as mentioned by Ibn Battuta
He has nothing to do with Qahtan
and His name is ibn Burhan

Correct, Qadhi is Masri, but he does not specify the Suldan except to say he speaks local language.

 

[attash]

19th century british sources claim Zeila was under Arab rule until Haji SharmarkeView attachment 307840

The city fell under Ottoman control at one point, and they appointed Yemeni governors. Saylac was in great decline at this point and was overtaken by Berbera as the main trading town in Waqooyi. Before the Ottoman period, there is no evidence of Arab control of the city and all accounts indicate that the city was inhabited and controlled by Somalis.

 

[Zak12]

The city fell under Ottoman control at one point, and they appointed Yemeni governors. Saylac was in great decline at this point and was overtaken by Berbera as the main trading town in Waqooyi. Before the Ottoman period, there is no evidence of Arab control of the city and all accounts indicate that the city was inhabited and controlled by Somalis.

IIRC, Zeila was already under Yemeni control in the 17th century until it passed to Ottoman control. Regardless the city was past his heyday by that point

 

[killerxsmoke]

Did you read the text in bold, and underlined?

Correct, Qadhi is Masri, but he does not specify the Suldan except to say he speaks local language.

He literally said his race is barbara which is somali

 

[𐒋𐒖𐒆𐒔𐒖𐒕𐒈]

He literally said his race is barbara which is somali

Mate, please stop. take a deep breath, and read the bloody book in whatever language you might be fluent in. I linked up both Arabic and English.

 

[HabarSteven12]

"...reached Zayla, the town of the Berberah, who are a negro people. Their land is a desert extending for two months' journey from Zayla to Maqdashaw."

Very ambiguous . Please attempt to name just one ethnic group who fits this description other than the Somalis. Just one.

Also, Ibn Battuta is clearly refering to the town itself, not the region.

You actually contradicted yourself. Barbara was never used to describe negros by the Arabs. The word zinj was used to describe negros by Arabs. The description of Ibn Battuta could very well describe other communities that once inhabited the coast of Zeila or further inland.

It's intellectually dishonest for you to assert that it's unquestionably referring to Somalis. There is no credible academic source to show that Somali Shias once existed in the north or in the domain of the kingdom of Ifat.

 

[HabarSteven12]

The city fell under Ottoman control at one point, and they appointed Yemeni governors. Saylac was in great decline at this point and was overtaken by Berbera as the main trading town in Waqooyi. Before the Ottoman period, there is no evidence of Arab control of the city and all accounts indicate that the city was inhabited and controlled by Somalis.

Okay, name the Somali rulers and their clans that controlled Zeila before the 19th century. I already named the Arab tribes that inhabited Zeila, and they are well documented in the Book of Aqeeliyoon. Hussein Al Zaylici, which is a subclan of the Banu Aqeel, Makhzumi, and Mawyanni, controlled Zeila.

 

[ibrahym]

Did you read the text in bold, and underlined?

Correct, Qadhi is Masri, but he does not specify the Suldan except to say he speaks local language.

وسلطان مقديشو كما ذكرناه ، إنما يقولون له الشيخ ، واسمه أبو بكر ابن الشيخ عمر . وهو في الأصل من ""البرابرة ، وكلامه بالمقدشي ، ويعرف اللسان العربي

Among these Berbers mentioned by Ibn Battuta, says Sharif Aydarus, the Banaadiri historian
The Berbers are the same as Somali