The Adal Sultanate, also known as the Adal Empire or Barr Saʿad dīn, was a medieval Sunni Muslim empire which was located in the Horn of Africa. It was founded by Sabr ad-Din III on the Harar plateau
The Sultan of Adal (right) and his troops battling King Yagbea-Sion and his men. From Le Livre des Merveilles, 15th century.
Early 20th century folk drawing of Cristóvão da Gama and Ahmad Gragn's deaths.
The surrounding walls of the fortified city of Harar built by Emir Nur ibn Mujahid
A sword symbol on a stele at Tiya
Ahmad ibn Ibrahim al-Ghazi was the Imam of the Adal Sultanate from 1527 to 1543. Commonly named Ahmed Gragn in Amharic and Gurey in Somali, both meaning the left-handed, he led the invasion and conque
Adal Sultanate
…one of saints, and were as a result regularly supplied with arms, horses and other articles of war. In the 16th century under the leadership of Imam Ahmed ibn Ibrahim al-Ghazi and his successor Nur ibn Mujahid, Adal embarked on the Conquest of Abyssinia deploying muskets and cannons. The war would eventually draw in the…
Statue of Imam Ahmad in Mogadishu, Somalia
Ruins of Hubat near Dire Dawa
Early 20th century illustration of Imam Ahmad
Ahmad ibn Ibrahim al-Ghazi's pioneering use of cannons figured in his conquest of Ethiopian territories.