page_title: Harar
section_title: The decline of Harar
hierarchical_section_title: Harar / The decline of Harar
caption_attribution_description: English: Title: Street scene: Harar-High St. leading to market, Abyssinia [Ethiopia] Abstract/medium: 1 negative&#160;: glass&#160;; 5 x 7 in. or smaller.
context_page_description: Harar.
  Harar is the capital of the East Hararghe Zone and the capital of the Harari Region of Ethiopia. The city is located on a hilltop in the eastern extension of the Oromia, about five hundred kilometers from the national capital Addis Ababa at an elevation of 1,885 metres (6,184 ft). Based on figures from the Central Statistical Agency in 2005, Harar had an estimated total population of 122,000, of whom 60,000 were male and 62,000 were female. According to the census of 1994, on which this estimate is based, the city had a population of 76,378.
  For centuries, Harar has been a major commercial center, linked by the trade routes with the rest of Ethiopia, the entire Horn of Africa, the Arabian Peninsula, and, through its ports, the outside world. Harar Jugol, the old walled city, was listed as a World Heritage Site in 2006 by UNESCO in recognition of its cultural heritage. Because of Harar's long history of involvement during times of trade in the Arabian Peninsula, the Government of Ethiopia has made it a criminal offence to demolish or interfere with any historical sites or fixtures in the city. These include stone homes, museums and items discarded from war.
context_section_description: Following the death of Emir Nur, Harar began a steady decline in wealth and power. A later ruler, Imam Muhammed Jasa, a kinsman of Ahmad Gragn, yielded to the pressures of increasing Oromo raids and in 1577 abandoned the city, relocating to Aussa and making his brother ruler of Harar. The new base not only failed to provide more security from the Oromos, it attracted the hostile attention of the neighboring Afar people, who raided caravans traveling between Harar and the coast. The Imamate of Aussa declined over the next century while Harar regained its independence under `Ali ibn Da`ud, the founder of a dynasty that ruled the city from 1647 until 1875, when it was conquered by Egypt.
  Harar was very dependent on Berbera for trade since the Middle Ages. According to Richard Francis Burton, who visited both Berbera and Harar during his travels, he repeated a famous Harari saying he heard in 1854: "He who commands at Berbera, holds the beard of Harar in his hands." A significant portion of the trade between the two historic towns was controlled by merchants belonging to the Habr Awal Somali clan, who also partook in the trade of the renowned Harari coffee bean, which were named Berbera Coffee in the international market.
caption: A scene on the road to the market in Harar, between 1900 and 1920.
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