Muhammad ibn Azhar ad-Din (Arabic: محمد بن الأزهر الدين) (reigned 1488–1518) was a Sultan of the Sultanate of Adal. Sihab ad-Din Ahmad states in his Futuh al-Habasha that he was the son of Azhar, the second son of Abu Bakr, one of the ten sons of Sa'ad ad-Din II, and ruled for 30 years.[1] He was of a Somali ethnic background.[2][3][4][5]
| Muhammad ibn Azhar ad-Din محمد بن الأزهر اد الدين | |
|---|---|
| Sultan of the Sultanate of Adal | |
| Reign | 1488–1518 |
| Predecessor | Muhammad ibn Badlay |
| Successor | Abun Adashe |
| Dynasty | Walashma dynasty |
| Religion | Islam |
Reign edit
Sultan Muhammad attempted to remain at peace with the Emperor Na'od, but his efforts were foiled by the frequent raids of Imam Mahfuz. He was present with Imam Mahfuz when Emperor Lebna Dengel attacked and destroyed the Imam's army in Dawaro in 1516. Lebna Dengel would then proceed to lay waste to Muhammad Azhar ad-Din's residence in Dakkar during his invasion of Adal.[6]
Muhammad was murdered upon his return from an expedition against Ethiopia a few years after the Imam's death. J. Spencer Trimingham states that he was succeeded as Sultan of Adal by Garad Abun ibn Adash, who was not a member of the Walashma dynasty; Sihab ad-Din, however, writes that it was his relative in marriage, Muhammad bin Abu Bakr bin Mahfuz, who succeeded him as Sultan.[7] Richard Pankhurst follows Trimingham's general account, noting that Adal "was then torn apart by intestinal struggles, five sultans succeeding one another within two years."[8]
See also edit
Notes edit
- ^ Sihab ad-Din Ahmad bin 'Abd al-Qader, Futuh al-Habasa: The conquest of Ethiopia, translated by Paul Lester Stenhouse with annotations by Richard Pankhurst (Hollywood: Tsehai, 2003), pp. 7f.
- ^ Cerulli, Enrico (1926). Le popolazioni della Somalia nella tradizione storica locale. L'Accademia. "Cerulli suggests that the Saint "Aw Barkhdale" (Yusuf Al Kownayn) can be associated with "Yusuf Barkatla", ancestor of Umar' Walashma, founder of the Ifat dynasty"
- ^ Lewis, I. M. (1998). Saints and Somalis: Popular Islam in a Clan-based Society. The Red Sea Press. ISBN 9781569021033.
- ^ Levtzion, Nehemia; Pouwels, Randall L. (2000-03-31). The History of Islam in Africa. Ohio University Press. p. 242. ISBN 978-0-8214-4461-0.
- ^ Mire, Sada (2015). "Wagar, Fertility and Phallic Stelae: Cushitic Sky-God Belief and the Site of Saint Aw-Barkhadle, Somaliland". The African Archaeological Review. 32 (1): 93–109. ISSN 0263-0338.
- ^ Ullendorff, Edward. The Ethiopians; an Introduction to Country and People. Oxford University Press. p. 72.
- ^ J. Spencer Trimingham, Islam in Ethiopia (Oxford: Geoffrey Cumberlege for the University Press, 1952), pp. 82-84.
- ^ Richard Pankhurst, The Ethiopian Borderlands (Lawrenceville: Red Sea Press, 1997), p. 125