Tomb of Sultan Sa’ad ad-Din the Great and the original city of Zayla?

[Three Moons]

Apparently the original city was located on the Sa’ad Din Islands or stretched all the way there, since 500 years ago the area would have looked completely different, with much of the land and ruins currently lying submerged;

Letters from the Horn of Africa, 1923–1942
Sandy Curle, Soldier and Diplomat Extraordinary

 

[Emir of Zayla]

So it seems the theories that many ancient coastal cities in Somalia were hit with tidal waves and went deep underwater centuries ago was true?

 

[Three Moons]

So it seems the theories that many ancient coastal cities in Somalia were hit with tidal waves and went deep underwater centuries ago was true?

Sea encroachment is a reality even today, just like how Merca is slowly being encircled by Dunes. If nothing is done about this in the next 100 years, a lot of coastal and even interior cities will look very different from today.

 

[Emir of Zayla]

Sea encroachment is a reality even today, just like how Merca is slowly being encircled by Dunes. If nothing is done about this in the next 100 years, a lot of coastal and even interior cities will look very different from today.

It’d be cool if archaeologists dig underground or look underwater for remains of ancient cities. Like Mosylon up north near El Ayo that was described as the capital of Aethiopia (Northeast Africa) that handled the bulk of spices and cinnamon bought from India and shipped it to the Roman Empire.

 

[Three Moons]

^Mosylon like ancient Opone is really interesting because not only did it have the largest ships in the region to ferry its own namesake brand of cinnamon, close to two thousand years ago, it also became so dominant as an emporium that at one point the entire ancient Somali coastline was named after it.

Future archaeologists will make their names and careers in Somalia with new discoveries, no question about it.

 

[Juke]

So it seems the theories that many ancient coastal cities in Somalia were hit with tidal waves and went deep underwater centuries ago was true?

The main issue with sinking coastal towns is probably subsidence. Buildings naturally sink over time. The problem is exacerbated by the extraction of ground water.

 

[daljirkadahsoon]

I KNEW IT thank you for sharing this. I heard something about this a long time ago. I believe the current island is also where Sacad-ad-din (not sure which one) had his last stand before he died fighting.

The position of Saylac appears to have changed a few times. There is a more ancient part of the current Saylac underground submerged.

 

[daljirkadahsoon]

So it seems the theories that many ancient coastal cities in Somalia were hit with tidal waves and went deep underwater centuries ago was true?

Yes it is almost 100% certain. There are likely more inland towns too- a lot of the 'arid' areas now in the north just a century were green and had decent soil.

 

[Three Moons]

I KNEW IT thank you for sharing this. I heard something about this when I was little so this is fascinating. I believe the current island is also where Sacad-ad-din (not sure which one) had his last stand before he died fighting.

The position of Saylac appears to have changed a few times. There is a more ancient part of the current Saylac underground submerged.

The islands were most likely physically connected to the current city of Zayla. There is nothing in the medieval chronicles about Abyssinians using boats to reach the modern Islands to fight the Sultan, so there was probably a land bridge (perhaps similar to modern Hafun).

 

[daljirkadahsoon]

So it seems the theories that many ancient coastal cities in Somalia were hit with tidal waves and went deep underwater centuries ago was true?

There was at least one devastating tsunami like the 2004 one about 600 years ago and another 1000 years ago

A 1000-yr-old tsunami in the Indian Ocean points to greater risk for East Africa | Geology | GeoScienceWorld

pubs.geoscienceworld.org

National Geographic

Explore National Geographic. A world leader in geography, cartography and exploration.

www.nationalgeographic.co.uk

 

[Emir of Zayla]

The islands were most likely physically connected to the current city of Zayla. There is nothing in the medieval chronicles about Abyssinians using boats to reach the modern Islands to fight the Sultan, so there was probably a land bridge (perhaps similar to modern Hafun).

The Sa’ad ad-Din Islands land bridge separating from the Somali mainland reminds me of when a Shirazi Persian prince by the name of Ali ibn Al-Hassan purchased the island of Kilwa from a Bantu chief who due to a falling out with the prince, tried to invade his purchased island, so he dug out the land bridge which connected Kilwa to Africa and it became an island. A similar occurrence may have happened in Saylac, it could’ve been on purpose probably because they wanted to expand the city or smth.

 

[Three Moons]

Looks like the Zaylans for a considerable period of time were fighting a similar battle against the sea like Venice by raising their buildings through refraction. Zayla’s foundations by Burton’s time were already fully underwater;

The Periplus of the Erythræan sea. Travel and trade in the Indian Ocean By Wilfred Harvey Schoff · 1912

 

[Midas]

Damn thats crazy. Although what does that say about the possibility of mansucript persecution if these cities went underwater.

 

[Three Moons]

Damn thats crazy. Although what does that say about the possibility of manuscript persecution if these cities went underwater.

Best bet is private libraries, anything before the 16th century probably got lost in the fires during the wars against Abyssinia and the Portuguese Empire, but the centuries after, whatever was preserved and written, was most likely handed down to caretakers. The same goes for the South, which as late as the 19th century was still known in the wider region as being a place with many books locally produced by learned men;

Page 218 - The Races of Man And Their Geographical Distribution By Charles Pickering, John Charles Hall · 1854

 

[Midas]

Best bet is private libraries, anything before the 16th century probably got lost in the fires during the wars against Abyssinia and the Portuguese Empire, but the centuries after, whatever was preserved and written, was most likely handed down to caretakers. The same goes for the South, which as late as the 19th century was still known in the wider region as being a place with many books locally produced by learned men;

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Page 218 - The Races of Man And Their Geographical Distribution By Charles Pickering, John Charles Hall · 1854

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