The Sultanate of Ifat, or Awfat was a medieval Sunni Muslim state in the eastern regions of the Horn of Africa between the late 13th century and early 15th century.J. Gordon Melton and Martin Baumann, Religions of the World, Second Edition: A Comprehensive Encyclopedia of Beliefs and Practices, page 2663Asafa Jalata, State Crises, Globalisation, And National Movements In North-east Africa page 3-4 It was formed in present day Ethiopia around eastern Shewa. Led by the Walashma dynasty, the polity stretched from Zequalla to the port city of Zeila. The kingdom ruled over parts of what are now Ethiopia, Djibouti and Somaliland. The Somalis led by Yemeni immigrants founded a state which they called Ifat with its principal center in Zeila. A Concise History of Islam Hardcover page 164 According to I.M. Lewis, the Zeila polity was governed by local dynasties consisting of Somalized Arabs or Arabized Somalis, dynasties, who also ruled over the similarly-established Sultanate of Mogadishu in the Benadir region to the south. Many centuries of trade relation with Arabia began with the establishment of commercial colonies along the coast by the Himmyrati Kingdom and these eventually developed into two small states of Zeila or Adal in the north and Mogadishu in the south, gradually local dynasties of Somalized Arabs or Arabized Somali ruled." In due time these converts [Somali-Arabs] even established the Muslim sultanates of Ifat, Dawaro, Adal, and Dahlak and put pressure on the highland Ethiopian Christians by controlling trade through the main seaports of Suakin, Aydhab, Zeila, and Berbera. Encyclopedia of Africa south of the Sahara page 62 The Walashma dynasty of Ifat is more commonly linked with the Sheikh Yusuf bin Ahmad al-Kawneyn who is described as a Somali.Macrocultures, Migration, and Somali Malls: A Social History of Somali Dress and Aesthetics page 53
The Sultanate of Ifat, or Awfat was a medieval Sunni Muslim state in the eastern regions of the Horn of Africa between the late 13th century and early 15th century.J. Gordon Melton and Martin Baumann, Religions of the World, Second Edition: A Comprehensive Encyclopedia of Beliefs and Practices, page 2663Asafa Jalata, State Crises, Globalisation, And National Movements In North-east Africa page 3-4 It was formed in present-day Ethiopia around eastern Shewa. Led by the Walashma dynasty, the polity stretched from Zequalla to the port city of Zeila. The kingdom ruled over parts of what are now Ethiopia, Djibouti and Somaliland. The Somalis led by Yemeni immigrants founded a state which they called Ifat with its principal center in Zeila. According to I.M. Lewis, the Zeila polity was governed by local dynasties consisting of Somalized Arabs or Arabized Somalis, dynasties, who also ruled over the similarly established Sultanate of Mogadishu in the Benadir region to the south. Many centuries of trade relation with Arabia began with the establishment of commercial colonies along the coast by the Himmyrati Kingdom and these eventually developed into two small states of Zeila or Adal in the north and Mogadishu in the south, gradually local dynasties of Somalized Arabs or Arabized Somali ruled." In due time these converts [Somali-Arabs] even established the Muslim sultanates of Ifat, Dawaro, Adal, and Dahlak and put pressure on the highland Ethiopian Christians by controlling trade through the main seaports of Suakin, Aydhab, Zeila, and Berbera. The Walashma dynasty of Ifat is more commonly linked with the Sheikh Yusuf bin Ahmad al-Kawneyn who is described as a Somali.Macrocultures, Migration, and Somali Malls: A Social History of Somali Dress and Aesthetics page 53
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present day
present-day
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A Concise History of Islam Hardcover page 164
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similarly-established
similarly established
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Encyclopedia of Africa south of the Sahara page 62