1.
Geographic coordinate system
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A geographic coordinate system is a coordinate system used in geography that enables every location on Earth to be specified by a set of numbers, letters or symbols. The coordinates are chosen such that one of the numbers represents a vertical position. A common choice of coordinates is latitude, longitude and elevation, to specify a location on a two-dimensional map requires a map projection. The invention of a coordinate system is generally credited to Eratosthenes of Cyrene. Ptolemy credited him with the adoption of longitude and latitude. Ptolemys 2nd-century Geography used the prime meridian but measured latitude from the equator instead. Mathematical cartography resumed in Europe following Maximus Planudes recovery of Ptolemys text a little before 1300, in 1884, the United States hosted the International Meridian Conference, attended by representatives from twenty-five nations. Twenty-two of them agreed to adopt the longitude of the Royal Observatory in Greenwich, the Dominican Republic voted against the motion, while France and Brazil abstained. France adopted Greenwich Mean Time in place of local determinations by the Paris Observatory in 1911, the latitude of a point on Earths surface is the angle between the equatorial plane and the straight line that passes through that point and through the center of the Earth. Lines joining points of the same latitude trace circles on the surface of Earth called parallels, as they are parallel to the equator, the north pole is 90° N, the south pole is 90° S. The 0° parallel of latitude is designated the equator, the plane of all geographic coordinate systems. The equator divides the globe into Northern and Southern Hemispheres, the longitude of a point on Earths surface is the angle east or west of a reference meridian to another meridian that passes through that point. All meridians are halves of great ellipses, which converge at the north and south poles, the prime meridian determines the proper Eastern and Western Hemispheres, although maps often divide these hemispheres further west in order to keep the Old World on a single side. The antipodal meridian of Greenwich is both 180°W and 180°E, the combination of these two components specifies the position of any location on the surface of Earth, without consideration of altitude or depth. The grid formed by lines of latitude and longitude is known as a graticule, the origin/zero point of this system is located in the Gulf of Guinea about 625 km south of Tema, Ghana. To completely specify a location of a feature on, in, or above Earth. Earth is not a sphere, but a shape approximating a biaxial ellipsoid. It is nearly spherical, but has an equatorial bulge making the radius at the equator about 0. 3% larger than the radius measured through the poles, the shorter axis approximately coincides with the axis of rotation
2.
Somalia
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Somalia, officially the Federal Republic of Somalia, is a country located in the Horn of Africa. It is bordered by Ethiopia to the west, Djibouti to the northwest, the Gulf of Aden to the north, the Indian Ocean to the east, Somalia has the longest coastline on Africas mainland, and its terrain consists mainly of plateaus, plains and highlands. Climatically, hot conditions prevail year-round, with monsoon winds. Somalia has an population of around 12.3 million. Around 85% of its residents are ethnic Somalis, who have inhabited the northern part of the country. Ethnic minorities are largely concentrated in the southern regions, the official languages of Somalia are Somali and Arabic, both of which belong to the Afroasiatic family. Most people in the country are Muslim, with the majority being Sunni, in antiquity, Somalia was an important commercial centre. It is among the most probable locations of the fabled ancient Land of Punt, during the Middle Ages, several powerful Somali empires dominated the regional trade, including the Ajuran Empire, the Adal Sultanate, the Warsangali Sultanate, and the Geledi Sultanate. The toponym Somalia was coined by the Italian explorer Luigi Robecchi Bricchetti, Italian occupation lasted until 1941, yielding to British military administration. British Somaliland would remain a protectorate, while Italian Somaliland in 1949 became a United Nations Trusteeship under Italian administration, in 1960, the two regions united to form the independent Somali Republic under a civilian government. The Supreme Revolutionary Council seized power in 1969 and established the Somali Democratic Republic, led by Mohamed Siad Barre, this government later collapsed in 1991 as the Somali Civil War broke out. Various armed factions began competing for influence in the power vacuum, during this period, due to the absence of a central government, Somalia was a failed state, and residents returned to customary and religious law in most regions. A few autonomous regions, including the Somaliland and Puntland administrations emerged in the north, the early 2000s saw the creation of fledgling interim federal administrations. The Transitional National Government was established in 2000, followed by the formation of the Transitional Federal Government in 2004, in 2006, the TFG, assisted by Ethiopian troops, assumed control of most of the nations southern conflict zones from the newly formed Islamic Courts Union. The ICU subsequently splintered into more radical groups such as Al-Shabaab, by mid-2012, the insurgents had lost most of the territory that they had seized. In 2011–2012, a political process providing benchmarks for the establishment of permanent democratic institutions was launched, within this administrative framework a new provisional constitution was passed in August 2012, which reformed Somalia as a federation. Somalia has maintained an informal economy, mainly based on livestock, remittances from Somalis working abroad, Somalia has been inhabited since at least the Paleolithic. During the Stone Age, the Doian and Hargeisan cultures flourished here, the oldest evidence of burial customs in the Horn of Africa comes from cemeteries in Somalia dating back to the 4th millennium BCE
3.
Administrative divisions of Somalia
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Somalia is officially divided into eighteen administrative regions, which in turn are subdivided into ninety districts. On a de facto basis, northern Somalia is now divided up among the regions of Puntland and Somaliland. In central Somalia, Galmudug is another entity that emerged just south of Puntland. For these post-civil war divisions, see States and regions of Somalia, in 1931, Italian Somaliland consisted of seven commissariats. Italian Somaliland was one of six governorates of the new colony, the Somalia Governorate, the governorate was subdivided into 10 commissariats, which were themselves divided into residencies. Alto Giuba Basso Giuba Benadir Hiran Migiurtinia Mudugh The British Somaliland protectorate also consisted of two Regions, Burao Hargeisa Upon independence in 1960, the Somali Republic maintained the 12 districts of the former Italian Somaliland and British Somaliland that merged to form the new country. In 1964, a new Northeastern Province was established by merging Burao, Erigavo, and Las Anod and a Northwestern Province was formed from Berbera, Borama, in 1968, the capital of Basso Giuba was moved from Kismayo to Jamame. The 8 provinces at this time were, In 1982, Somalia reorganized from eight provinces into 16 regions, in June 1984, Awdal was split from Woqooyi Galbeed and Sool was split from Nugaal to form the current 18 regions. States and regions of Somalia ISO 3166-2, SO
4.
Lower Shebelle
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Lower Shebelle is an administrative region in southern Somalia. It is bordered by the Somali regions of Banaadir, Middle Shebelle, Hiran, Bay and Middle Juba, lower Shebelle is named after the Shebelle River, which passes through it. Until 1984, when the regions were reassigned, it was part of the larger Benadir region, however, the provincial capital is now Merca
5.
Somali language
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Somali /səˈmɑːli, soʊ-/ is an Afroasiatic language belonging to the Cushitic branch. It is spoken as a mother tongue by Somalis in Greater Somalia, Somali is an official language of Somalia, a national language in Djibouti, and a working language in the Somali Region of Ethiopia. It is used as a language by a few neighboring ethnic minority groups. Somali is classified within the Cushitic branch of the Afroasiatic family, specifically, as Lowland East Cushitic along with Afar, Somali is the best-documented Cushitic language, with academic studies of the language dating back to the late 19th century. Somali is spoken by Somalis in Somalia, Djibouti, Ethiopia, Yemen and Kenya and it is also spoken as an adoptive language by a few ethnic minority groups and individuals in these areas. Somali is the second most widely spoken Cushitic language after Oromo, as of 2006, there were approximately 16.6 million speakers of Somali, of which around 8.3 million resided in Somalia. The language is spoken by an estimated 95% of the countrys inhabitants, constitutionally, Somali and Arabic are the two official languages of Somalia. Somali has been a national language since January 1973, when the Supreme Revolutionary Council declared it the Somali Democratic Republics primary language of administration and education. Somali was thereafter established as the language of academic instruction in forms 1 through 4. It later expanded to include all 12 forms in 1979, in 1972, the SRC adopted a Latin orthography as the official national alphabet over several other writing scripts that were then in use. Concurrently, the Italian-language daily newspaper Stella dOttobre was nationalized, renamed to Xiddigta Oktoobar, the state-run Radio Mogadishu has also broadcast in Somali since 1943. Somali is recognized as a working language in the Somali Region of Ethiopia. Although it is not a language of Djibouti, it constitutes a major national language there. Somali is used in television and radio broadcasts, with the government-operated Radio Djibouti transmitting programs in the language from 1943 onwards and it is officially mandated with preserving the Somali language. As of 2013, Somali is also one of the languages available on Google Translate. Somali linguistic varieties are divided into three main groups, Northern, Benadir and Maay. Northern Somali forms the basis for Standard Somali and it is spoken by more than 60% of the entire Somali population, with its speech area stretching from northern Somalia to parts of the eastern and southwestern sections of the country. This widespread modern distribution is a result of a series of southward population movements over the past ten centuries from the Gulf of Aden littoral
6.
Arabic
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Arabic is a Central Semitic language that was first spoken in Iron Age northwestern Arabia and is now the lingua franca of the Arab world. Arabic is also the language of 1.7 billion Muslims. It is one of six languages of the United Nations. The modern written language is derived from the language of the Quran and it is widely taught in schools and universities, and is used to varying degrees in workplaces, government, and the media. The two formal varieties are grouped together as Literary Arabic, which is the language of 26 states. Modern Standard Arabic largely follows the standards of Quranic Arabic. Much of the new vocabulary is used to denote concepts that have arisen in the post-Quranic era, Arabic has influenced many languages around the globe throughout its history. During the Middle Ages, Literary Arabic was a vehicle of culture in Europe, especially in science, mathematics. As a result, many European languages have borrowed many words from it. Many words of Arabic origin are found in ancient languages like Latin. Balkan languages, including Greek, have acquired a significant number of Arabic words through contact with Ottoman Turkish. Arabic has also borrowed words from languages including Greek and Persian in medieval times. Arabic is a Central Semitic language, closely related to the Northwest Semitic languages, the Ancient South Arabian languages, the Semitic languages changed a great deal between Proto-Semitic and the establishment of the Central Semitic languages, particularly in grammar. Innovations of the Central Semitic languages—all maintained in Arabic—include, The conversion of the suffix-conjugated stative formation into a past tense, the conversion of the prefix-conjugated preterite-tense formation into a present tense. The elimination of other prefix-conjugated mood/aspect forms in favor of new moods formed by endings attached to the prefix-conjugation forms, the development of an internal passive. These features are evidence of descent from a hypothetical ancestor. In the southwest, various Central Semitic languages both belonging to and outside of the Ancient South Arabian family were spoken and it is also believed that the ancestors of the Modern South Arabian languages were also spoken in southern Arabia at this time. To the north, in the oases of northern Hijaz, Dadanitic and Taymanitic held some prestige as inscriptional languages, in Najd and parts of western Arabia, a language known to scholars as Thamudic C is attested
7.
Ajuran Sultanate
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The Ajuran Sultanate, also spelled Ajuuraan Sultanate, and often simply as Ajuran, was a Somali Muslim sultanate that ruled over large parts of the Horn of Africa in the Middle Ages. The sultanate left an architectural legacy, being one of the major medieval Somali powers engaged in castle. During the Ajuran period, many regions and people in the part of the Horn of Africa converted to Islam because of the theocratic nature of the government. The royal family, the House of Garen, expanded its territories and established its rule through a skillful combination of warfare. As an hydraulic empire, the Ajuran monopolized the water resources of the Shebelle, through hydraulic engineering, it also constructed many of the limestone wells and cisterns of the state that are still operative and in use today. The rulers developed new systems for agriculture and taxation, which continued to be used in parts of the Horn of Africa as late as the 19th century, the Ajuran Sultanates sphere of influence in the Horn of Africa was one of the largest in the region. The sultanate covered much of southern Somalia, with its domain extending from Mareeg in the north, to Qelafo in the west, the House of Garen was the ruling hereditary dynasty of the Ajuran Sultanate. Its origin lies in the Garen Kingdom that during the 13th century ruled parts of the Ogaden, through their genealogical Baraka, which came from the saint Balad, the Garen rulers claimed supremacy and religious legitimacy over other groups in the Horn of Africa. Balads ancestors are said to have come from the northern region of Barbara. The Ajuran nobility used many of the typical Somali aristocratic and court titles and these leaders were the sultanates highest authority, and counted multiple Sultans, Emirs, and Kings as clients or vassals. The Garen rulers also had seasonal palaces in Mareeg, Qelafo and Merca, other important cities in the Sultanate were Mogadishu and Barawa. The state religion was Islam, and thus law was based on Sharia, large wells made out of limestone were constructed throughout the state, which attracted Somali and Oromo nomads with their livestock. The centralized regulations of the wells made it easier for the nomads to settle disputes by taking their queries to government officials who would act as mediators, long distance caravan trade, a long-time practice in the Horn of Africa, continued unchanged in Ajuran times. Today, numerous ruined and abandoned towns throughout the interior of Somalia, with the centralized supervision of the Ajuran, farms in Afgooye, Kismayo and other areas in the Jubba and Shabelle valleys increased their productivity. This irrigation system was supported by numerous dikes and dams, to determine the average size of a farm, a land measurement system was also invented with moos, taraab and guldeed being the terms used. The State collected tribute from the farmers in the form of harvested products like durra, sorghum and bun, the collecting of tribute was done by a wazir. Luxury goods imported from foreign lands were presented as gifts to the Garen rulers by the coastal sultans of the state. The rulers would also claim a portion of the brides wealth
8.
Somali aristocratic and court titles
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This is a list of Somali aristocratic and court titles that were historically used by the Somali peoples various sultanates, kingdoms and empires. Below is a list of the court titles historically retained by the Somali monarchies and aristocracies. Suldaan, From the Arabic for Sultan or English Chief, very common title for rulers in the pre-colonial and colonial periods, used throughout the Somali territories. The title was employed by the leaders of the influential Ajuran Sultanate. Ughaz, Authentic Somali term for Sultan, the Gadabuursi in particular is the only clan with a longstanding tradition of Sultan. The Gadabursi gave their sultan the title of Ughaz, however, in practice, it is the primus inter pares or King of Kings. The title is derived from one of the Afro-Asiatic Somali language terms for belt. According to Kobishchanow, Boqor is also related to the style Paqar, various Somali honorifics and designations have Boqor as their root. The latter include Boqortooyo, signifying monarchy, kingdom or empire, Boqornimo, meaning royalty, nobility or dignitaries, Historically, the title was mainly used by rulers in the northeastern Puntland region of Somalia. The most prominent Boqor in recent times was Osman Mahamuud, who governed the Majeerteen Sultanate during its 19th-century heyday, also used among the Gadabuursi as the law of the King and the 100 men. Gerad/Garad, Often employed interchangeably with Suldaan to denote a Sultan, etymologically signifies wisdom, mind or understanding. According to Basset, the title corresponds with the honorific Al-Jaraad, Gerad was historically employed throughout northern Somalia. Notable Gerads include Gerad Dhidhin, the founder of the Warsangali Sultanate, and Gerad Lado, imam, Denotes the Head of State. Style was used especially by rulers in the Sultanate of Adal, notable Imams include Ahmad ibn Ibrahim al-Ghazi, also known as Ahmed Gurey or Gran, who led a military campaign during the Middle Ages known as the Conquest of Abyssinia. Emir, Used by leaders in the Adal Sultanate, also employed by commanders in the Ajuran Sultanates armed forces and navy. Prominent Emirs include Nur ibn Mujahid, the Emir of Harar who built the wall around the city. Honorific set aside for the son of the King or Sultan. Notable Princes include Ali Yusuf Kenadid, the son and heir of Sultan Yusuf Ali Kenadid of the Sultanate of Hobyo, ina Boqor, Alternate court style for the Prince
9.
Ethiopia
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Ethiopia, officially the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, is a country located in the Horn of Africa. It shares borders with Eritrea to the north and northeast, Djibouti and Somalia to the east, Sudan and South Sudan to the west, and Kenya to the south. With nearly 100 million inhabitants, Ethiopia is the most populous landlocked country in the world and it occupies a total area of 1,100,000 square kilometres, and its capital and largest city is Addis Ababa. Some of the oldest evidence for modern humans has been found in Ethiopia. It is widely considered as the region from modern humans first set out for the Middle East. According to linguists, the first Afroasiatic-speaking populations settled in the Horn region during the ensuing Neolithic era, tracing its roots to the 2nd millennium BC, Ethiopia was a monarchy for most of its history. During the first centuries AD, the Kingdom of Aksum maintained a unified civilization in the region, subsequently, many African nations adopted the colors of Ethiopias flag following their independence. It was the first independent African member of the 20th-century League of Nations, Ethiopias ancient Geez script, also known as Ethiopic, is one of the oldest alphabets still in use in the world. The Ethiopian calendar, which is seven years and three months behind the Gregorian calendar, co-exists alongside the Borana calendar. A slight majority of the population adheres to Christianity, while around a third follows Islam, the country is the site of the Migration to Abyssinia and the oldest Muslim settlement in Africa at Negash. A substantial population of Ethiopian Jews, known as Bete Israel, resided in Ethiopia until the 1980s, Ethiopia is a multilingual nation with around 80 ethnolinguistic groups, the four largest of which are the Oromiffa, Amhara, Somali, and Tigrayans. Most people in the country speak Afroasiatic languages of the Cushitic or Semitic branches, additionally, Omotic languages are spoken by ethnic minority groups inhabiting the southern regions. Nilo-Saharan languages are spoken by the nations Nilotic ethnic minorities. Ethiopia is the place of origin for the coffee bean which originated from the place called Kefa and it is a land of natural contrasts, with its vast fertile West, jungles, and numerous rivers, and the worlds hottest settlement of Dallol in its north. The Ethiopian Highlands are Africas largest continuous mountain ranges, and Sof Omar Caves contain Africas largest cave, Ethiopia has the most UNESCO World Heritage Sites in Africa. Ethiopia is one of the members of the UN, the Group of 24, the Non-Aligned Movement, G-77. In the 1970s and 1980s, Ethiopia suffered from civil wars, the country has begun to recover recently however, and now has the largest economy in East Africa and Central Africa. According to Global Fire Power, Ethiopia has the 42nd most powerful military in the world, the origin of the word Ethiopia is uncertain
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Hobyo
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Hobyo, is an ancient port city in the north-central Mudug region of Somalia also known as The Heart of Somalia. Hobyo serves as the main port of Galmudug State. From the 13th to 17th century Hobyo was ruled by the Ajuran Sultanate, however, in the late 17th century the Hiraab successfully revolted against the Ajuran Sultanate and established an independent Hiraab Imamate, which included Hobyo. According to Dr. Bernhard Helander of Uppsala University, the Imam of Hiraab is a position that traditionally is held by a person of the first-born branch. Along with Mareeg, Hobyo developed as a coastal outpost of various Sultanates established by Somali pastoralists between the 15th and 19th centuries, from the 13th to 17th century Hobyo was ruled by the Ajuran Sultanate. However, in the late 17th century the Hiraab successfully revolted against the Ajuran Sultanate and established an independent Hiraab Imamate, According to Dr. Bernhard Helander of Uppsala University, the Imam of Hiraab is a hereditary position that traditionally is held by a person of the first-born branch. Lee Cassanelli in his book The Shaping of Somali society provides a picture of the Hiraab Immate. He writes, According to local tradition, the Hiraab imamate was a powerful alliance of closely related groups who shared a common lineage under the Gorgaarte clan divisions. It successfully revolted against the Ajuran Sultanate and established an independent rule for at least two centuries from the seventeen hundreds and onwards, Hobyo served as a prosperous commercial centre for the Imamate. The agricultural centres of Eldher and Harardhere included the production of sorghum and beans, supplementing with herds of camels, cattle, goats, livestock, hides and skin, whilst the aromatic woods and raisins were the primary exports as rice, other foodstuffs and clothes were imported. Merchants looking for exotic goods came to Hobyo to buy textiles, the commercial goods harvested along the Shabelle river were brought to Hobyo for trade. The Sultanate of Hobyo, led by Yusuf Ali Kenadid, ruled Hobyo in the 1870s, by the late 19th century, the imamate began to decline. Faced with internal problems, the imamate also faced challenges from the imperialist forces as well as the Zanzibari sultan, by then, a young ambitious rebel called Kenadiid managed to invade Hobyo with the aid of the Italians. However, after few years, he was disposed and overthrown by a commander of the Imamate named Guuleed Faarax Jeex who put Hobyo back into the hands of the Imamate for a short period of time. Soon afterwards, the region was snapped up by the fascists Italians. However, the Hiraab hereditary leadership has remained intact up to this day, following independence in 1960, Hobyo was made the center of the official Hobyo District. It was later incorporated into the autonomous Galmudug administration, which was established in 2006 Hobyo has a population of around 11,800 inhabitants, the broader Hobyo District has a total population of 67,249 residents. The city is inhabited by people from the Somali ethnic group
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Kismayo
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Kismayo is a port city in the southern Lower Juba province of Somalia. It is the capital of the autonomous Jubaland region. The town is situated 528 kilometres southwest of Mogadishu, near the mouth of the Jubba River, according to the UNDP the city of Kismayo has a population of around 166,667 in 2005. From 1836 until 1861, Kismayo and other parts of Jubaland were claimed by the Sultanate of Muscat and the Geledi Sultanate, in 1925, Jubaland was ceded to Italy, forming a part of Italian Somaliland. On 1 July 1960, the region, along with the rest of Italian Somaliland and British Somaliland, Kismayo was later the site of numerous battles during the civil war. In late 2006, Islamist militants gained control of most of the city, to reclaim possession of the territory, a new autonomous regional administration dubbed Azania was announced in 2010 and formalized in 2011. In September 2012, the Somali National Army and AMISOM troops re-captured the city from the Al-Shabaab insurgents, the Juba Interim Administration was subsequently officially established and recognized in 2013. The Kismayo area was originally a fishing settlement. During the Middle Ages, the region came under the rule of the influential Ajuran Sultanate, in the latter half of the 19th century, Somali pastoralists from the Marehan Ethiopia Marehan Darod clan settled in Kismayos interior. The city subsequently evolved into a hub of the livestock trade. The main ogaden representatives to establish themselves in Kismayo were Ise, in the first two decades of the 20th century, during Mohammed Abdullah Hassans Dervish resistance, members of the Dhulbahante Harti sub-clan followed suit. On 7 November 1890, Zanzibar became a British protectorate, and on 1 July 1895, together with the Zanzibar Sultanates other former possessions in the area, Jubaland became part of the British East Africa colony. The ascendancy of the Marehan merchant community crystallized under the British administration and they became the first Somali employees of the state, establishing themselves as an educated, urban professional class. In 1925 local authorities from the Marehan Marehan Somali clans reached an agreement, the signatories each had different accounts of the agreed to partition. According to the Marehan, the pact gave their Ugas Hirse control of Jubaland at large, the pact also allowed the Isse access to the port. The territory was ceded to Italy, purportedly as a reward for the Italians having joined the Allies in World War I. The Italians subsequently referred to the city as Chisimaio, Kismayo and the northern half of the Jubaland region were then incorporated into neighboring Italian Somaliland on 30 June 1926. The colony had an area of 87,000 km²
12.
Portuguese Empire
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The Portuguese Empire, also known as the Portuguese Overseas, was one of the largest and longest-lived empires in world history and the first colonial empire. It existed for almost six centuries from the capture of Ceuta in 1415 to the grant of sovereignty to East Timor in 2002, the first era of the Portuguese empire originated at the beginning of the Age of Discovery. Initiated by the Kingdom of Portugal, it would eventually expand across the globe, in 1488, Bartolomeu Dias rounded the Cape of Good Hope, and in 1498, Vasco da Gama reached India. In 1500, either by an accidental landfall or by the secret design. Over the following decades, Portuguese sailors continued to explore the coasts and islands of East Asia, establishing forts, by 1571, a string of naval outposts connected Lisbon to Nagasaki along the coasts of Africa, the Middle East, India and South Asia. This commercial network and the trade had a substantial positive impact on Portuguese economic growth. Though the realms continued to be administered separately, the Council of Portugal ruled the country and its empire from Madrid. As the King of Spain was also King of Portugal, Portuguese colonies became the subject of attacks by three rival European powers hostile to Spain, the Dutch Republic, England, and France. With its smaller population, Portugal was unable to defend its overstretched network of trading posts. Eventually, Brazil became the most valuable colony of the era until, as part of the wave of independence movements that swept the Americas during the early 19th century. The third era represents the stage of Portuguese colonialism after the decolonization of the Americas of the 1820s. The colonial possessions had been reduced to the African coastline, Portuguese Timor, the disastrous 1890 British Ultimatum led to the contraction of Portuguese ambitions in Africa. Macau was returned to China in 1999, the origin of the Kingdom of Portugal lay in the reconquista, the gradual reconquest of the Iberian peninsula from the Moors. There were several motives for their first attack, on the Marinid Sultanate. In 1415 an attack was made on Ceuta, a strategically located North African Muslim enclave along the Mediterranean Sea, although Ceuta proved to be a disappointment for the Portuguese, the decision was taken to hold it while exploring along the Atlantic African coast. At the time, Europeans did not know what lay beyond Cape Bojador on the African coast, under his sponsorship, soon the Atlantic islands of Madeira and Azores were reached and started to be settled producing wheat to export to Portugal. Fears of what lay beyond Cape Bojador, and whether it was possible to return once it was passed, were assuaged in 1434 when it was rounded by one of Infante Henrys captains, Gil Eanes. Once this psychological barrier had been crossed, it became easier to further along the coast
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Socotra
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Socotra, also spelled Soqotra, is an island and a small archipelago of four islands in the Arabian Sea. The territory is part of Yemen, and had long been a subdivision of the Aden Governorate, in 2004, it became attached to the Hadhramaut Governorate, which is much closer to the island than Aden. In 2013, the archipelago became its own governorate, the Soqatra Governorate, the island of Socotra constitutes around 95% of the landmass of the archipelago. It lies some 240 kilometres east of the Horn of Africa and 380 kilometres south of the Arabian Peninsula, the island is very isolated and a third of its plant life is found nowhere else on the planet. It has been described as the most alien-looking place on Earth, the island measures 132 kilometres in length and 49.7 kilometres in width. In the notes to his translation of the Periplus of the Erythraean Sea, huntingford remarks that the name Suqotra is not Greek in origin, but from the Sanskrit dvīpa sukhadhara. Another posited origin of the name is the Arabic suq meaning market, there was initially an Oldowan culture in Socotra. Oldowan stone tools were found in the area around Hadibo by V. A, zhukov, a member of the Russian Complex Expedition in 2008. Socotra appears as Dioskouridou in the Periplus of the Erythraean Sea, in 2001 a group of Belgian speleologists of the Socotra Karst Project investigated a cave on the island Socotra. There, they came across a number of inscriptions, drawings. Further investigation showed that these had left by sailors who visited the island between the 1st century BC and the 6th century AD. Most of the texts are written in the Indian Brāhmī script and this corpus of nearly 250 texts and drawings thus constitutes one of the main sources for the investigation of Indian Ocean trade networks in that time period. A local tradition holds that the inhabitants were converted to Christianity by Thomas the Apostle in AD52, in the 10th century, the Arab geographer Abu Muhammad al-Hasan al-Hamdani stated that in his time most of the inhabitants were Christians. They were Nestorians but also practised ancient magic rituals despite the warnings of their archbishop and he reported in a letter home that the tribesmen, due to lack of missionaries, had only retained a faint knowledge of Christianity. In 1507, a Portuguese fleet commanded by Tristão da Cunha with Afonso de Albuquerque landed at the capital of Suq. Their objective was to set a base in a place on the route to India. Tomás Fernandes started to build a fortress at Suq, the Forte de São Miguel de Socotorá, however, the infertility of the land led to famine and sickness in the garrison. Thus the Portuguese abandoned the island four years later, as it was not advantageous as a base, the islands passed under the control of the Mahra sultans in 1511, and its inhabitants were completely Islamized during their rule
14.
Italy
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Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a unitary parliamentary republic in Europe. Located in the heart of the Mediterranean Sea, Italy shares open land borders with France, Switzerland, Austria, Slovenia, San Marino, Italy covers an area of 301,338 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate and Mediterranean climate. Due to its shape, it is referred to in Italy as lo Stivale. With 61 million inhabitants, it is the fourth most populous EU member state, the Italic tribe known as the Latins formed the Roman Kingdom, which eventually became a republic that conquered and assimilated other nearby civilisations. The legacy of the Roman Empire is widespread and can be observed in the distribution of civilian law, republican governments, Christianity. The Renaissance began in Italy and spread to the rest of Europe, bringing a renewed interest in humanism, science, exploration, Italian culture flourished at this time, producing famous scholars, artists and polymaths such as Leonardo da Vinci, Galileo, Michelangelo and Machiavelli. The weakened sovereigns soon fell victim to conquest by European powers such as France, Spain and Austria. Despite being one of the victors in World War I, Italy entered a period of economic crisis and social turmoil. The subsequent participation in World War II on the Axis side ended in defeat, economic destruction. Today, Italy has the third largest economy in the Eurozone and it has a very high level of human development and is ranked sixth in the world for life expectancy. The country plays a prominent role in regional and global economic, military, cultural and diplomatic affairs, as a reflection of its cultural wealth, Italy is home to 51 World Heritage Sites, the most in the world, and is the fifth most visited country. The assumptions on the etymology of the name Italia are very numerous, according to one of the more common explanations, the term Italia, from Latin, Italia, was borrowed through Greek from the Oscan Víteliú, meaning land of young cattle. The bull was a symbol of the southern Italic tribes and was often depicted goring the Roman wolf as a defiant symbol of free Italy during the Social War. Greek historian Dionysius of Halicarnassus states this account together with the legend that Italy was named after Italus, mentioned also by Aristotle and Thucydides. The name Italia originally applied only to a part of what is now Southern Italy – according to Antiochus of Syracuse, but by his time Oenotria and Italy had become synonymous, and the name also applied to most of Lucania as well. The Greeks gradually came to apply the name Italia to a larger region, excavations throughout Italy revealed a Neanderthal presence dating back to the Palaeolithic period, some 200,000 years ago, modern Humans arrived about 40,000 years ago. Other ancient Italian peoples of undetermined language families but of possible origins include the Rhaetian people and Cammuni. Also the Phoenicians established colonies on the coasts of Sardinia and Sicily, the Roman legacy has deeply influenced the Western civilisation, shaping most of the modern world
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Banaadir
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Banaadir is an administrative region in southeastern Somalia. It covers the area as the city of Mogadishu, Somalias capital. Although by far the smallest administrative region in Somalia, it has the largest population, Banaadir is bordered by the Somali regions of Middle Shebelle and Lower Shebelle, as well as the Indian Ocean. Banaadir is derived from the Persian bandar, which means port, in reference to the cities of Mogadishu. The place name reflects the regions position as a key trade center with Persia. Banaadir is also known for its breed of goats. Its capital is Mogadishu, although the region itself is coextensive with the city. Yusuf Hussein Jimaale serves as the current Governor of Banaadir and Mayor of Mogadishu and he was appointed by Somali President Hassan Sheikh Mohamoud to replace ]. The 1,650,227 residents of Banaadir are 50. 7% female and it has the highest percentage of residents who are internally displaced persons among the regions of Somalia, because of its relative safety and availability of resources. The Banaadir region consists of seventeen districts, warta Nabada District was previously known as Wardhigley District until it was officially renamed in 2012. Kadha District was formed in 2013 and is absent from most maps
16.
Horn of Africa
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The Horn of Africa is a peninsula in Northeast Africa. It juts hundreds of kilometers into the Arabian Sea and Indian Ocean, the area is the easternmost projection of the African continent. The Horn of Africa denotes the region containing the countries of Djibouti, Eritrea, Ethiopia and it covers approximately 2,000,000 km2 and is inhabited by roughly 115 million people. Regional studies on the Horn of Africa are carried out, among others, shell middens 125,000 years old have been found in Eritrea, indicating the diet of early humans included seafood obtained by beachcombing. According to both genetic and fossil evidence, archaic Homo sapiens evolved to modern humans solely in Africa between 200,000 and 100,000 years ago. Evidence to support the theory that recent modern humans originated in East Africa is not conclusive, today at the Bab-el-Mandeb straits, the Red Sea is about 12 miles wide, but 50,000 years ago it was much narrower and sea levels were 70 meters lower. Though the straits were never closed, there may have been islands in between which could be reached using simple rafts. It has been estimated that from a population of 2,000 to 5,000 individuals in Africa, according to linguists, the first Afro-Asiatic-speaking populations arrived in the region during the ensuing Neolithic era from the familys proposed urheimat in the Nile Valley, or the Near East. Other scholars propose that the Afro-Asiatic family developed in situ in the Horn, genetic analysis also indicates that, beginning in the pre-agricultural period, settlers from the Near East founded communities in Northeast Africa. These early settlements eventually gave rise to the Afro-Asiatic-speaking populations in the Horn, dʿmt was a kingdom located in Eritrea and northern Ethiopia, which existed during the 8th and 7th centuries BCE. With its capital at Yeha, the kingdom developed irrigation schemes, used plows, grew millet, the Kingdom of Aksum was an ancient state located in the highlands of present-day Ethiopia and Eritrea, which thrived between the 1st and 7th centuries CE. A major player in the commerce between the Roman Empire and Ancient India, Aksums rulers facilitated trade by minting their own currency. Under Ezana, the kingdom of Aksum became the first major empire to adopt Christianity, northern Somalia was an important link in the Horn, connecting the regions commerce with the rest of the ancient world. Somali sailors and merchants were the suppliers of frankincense, myrrh and spices. The Romans consequently began to refer to the region as Regio Aromatica, in the classical era, several flourishing Somali city-states such as Opone, Mosylon and Malao also competed with the Sabaeans, Parthians and Axumites for the rich Indo-Greco-Roman trade. The city of Mogadishu came to be known as the City of Islam, the Sultanate of Showa, established in 896, was one of the oldest local Muslim states. It was centered in the former Shewa province in central Ethiopia, the polity was succeeded by the Sultanate of Ifat around 1285. Ifat was governed from its capital at Zeila in northern Somalia and was the easternmost district of the former Shewa Sultanate, the Adal Sultanate was a medieval multi-ethnic Muslim state centered in the Horn region
17.
Somalis
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Somalis are an ethnic group inhabiting the Horn of Africa. The overwhelming majority of Somalis speak the Somali language, which is part of the Cushitic branch of the Afro-Asiatic family, ethnic Somalis number around 16-20 million and are principally concentrated in Somalia, Ethiopia, Kenya, and Djibouti. Expatriate Somalis are also found in parts of the Middle East, North America, Oceania, Samaale, the oldest common ancestor of several Somali clans, is generally regarded as the source of the ethnonym Somali. The name Somali is, in turn, held to be derived from the words soo and maal, another plausible etymology proposes that the term Somali is derived from the Arabic for wealthy, again referring to Somali riches in livestock. The first clear reference of the sobriquet Somali, however. Simur was also an ancient Harari alias for the Somali people, Ancient rock paintings, which date back 5000 years, have been found in the northern part of Somalia, these depict early life in the territory. In other places, such as the northern Dhambalin region, a depiction of a man on a horse is postulated as being one of the earliest known examples of a mounted huntsman. Inscriptions have been found many of the rock paintings. During the Stone age, the Doian and Hargeisan cultures flourished here with their industries and factories. The oldest evidence of burial customs in the Horn of Africa comes from cemeteries in Somalia dating back to 4th millennium BC. The stone implements from the Jalelo site in northern Somalia are said to be the most important link in evidence of the universality in palaeolithic times between the East and the West. In antiquity, the ancestors of the Somali people were an important link in the Horn of Africa connecting the regions commerce with the rest of the ancient world. According to most scholars, the ancient Land of Punt and its inhabitants formed part of the ethnogenesis of the Somali people, the ancient Puntites were a nation of people that had close relations with Pharaonic Egypt during the times of Pharaoh Sahure and Queen Hatshepsut. The pyramidal structures, temples and ancient houses of dressed stone littered around Somalia are said to date from this period, the city of Mogadishu came to be known as the City of Islam, and controlled the East African gold trade for several centuries. The Sultanate of Ifat, led by the Walashma dynasty with its capital at Zeila, ruled parts of what is now eastern Ethiopia, Djibouti. The historian al-Umari records that Ifat was situated near the Red Sea coast and its army numbered 15,000 horsemen and 20,000 foot soldiers. Al-Umari also credits Ifat with seven cities, Belqulzar, Kuljura, Shimi, Shewa, Adal, Jamme. The Harla, an early Hamitic group of tall stature who inhabited parts of Somalia, Tchertcher and other areas in the Horn and these masons are believed to have been ancestral to the Somalis
18.
Ikhwaan
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The Society of the Muslim Brothers, shortened to the Muslim Brotherhood, is a transnational Sunni Islamist organization founded in Egypt by Islamic scholar and schoolteacher Hassan al-Banna in 1928. The Brotherhoods stated goal is to instill the Quran and the Sunnah as the reference point for. Ordering the life of the Muslim family, individual, community, as a Pan-Islamic, religious, and social movement, it preached Islam, taught the illiterate, and set up hospitals and business enterprises. The Arab Spring brought it legalization and substantial power at first. The Brotherhood itself claims it is a peaceful, democratic organization, according to a spokesman, the Muslim Brotherhood believe in reform, democracy, freedom of assembly, press, etc. We believe that the reform is the true and natural gateway for all other kinds of reform. We have announced our acceptance of democracy that acknowledges political pluralism, the rotation of power. Its founder, Hassan Al-Banna, was influenced by Islamic modernist reformers Muhammad Abduh and Rashid Rida, with the group structure and it downplayed doctrinal differences between schools emphasizing the political importance of worldwide unity of the Muslim Nation. Al-Banna believed the Quran and Sunnah constitute a perfect way of life, Islamic governments must be based on this system and eventually unified in a Caliphate. The Brotherhood preaches that Islam will bring justice, the eradication of poverty, corruption and sinful behavior. On the issue of women and gender the Muslim Brotherhood interprets Islam conservatively, there have been breakaway groups from the movement, including the Al-Gamaa al-Islamiyya and Al Takfir Wal Hijra. Prominent figures of the Brotherhood include Sayyid Qutb, an influential and anti-Semitic thinker of Islamic supremacism. Osama bin Laden criticized the Brotherhood, and accused it of betraying jihad, the Brotherhoods most frequently used slogan is Islam is the Solution. Another well known slogan is God is our objective, dying in the way of God is our highest hope. On the Brotherhoods green logo is emblazoned وَأَعِدُّواْ - taken from sūrat l-anfāl, according to academic Khalil Yusuf its motto was traditionally Believers are but Brothers. The Muslim Brotherhood position on political participation varied according to the situation of each branch. For many years its stance was collaborationist in Kuwait and Jordan, for pacific opposition in Egypt, armed opposition in Libya, (A book on the document was published under the name, La conquête de lOccident, Le projet secret des Islamistes by Sylvain Besson. These parties are staffed by Brotherhood members but they are independent from the Muslim Brotherhood to some degree
19.
Ulama
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Ulama are those recognized as scholars or authorities in the religious hierarchy of the Islamic religious studies. They are the guardians of legal and religious tradition in Islam, often they are Imams of important mosques, judges, teachers in the religious faculties of universities. Most ulama specialize in fiqh, and are considered the arbiters of law by mainstream Muslims. Ulama may also include specialists in areas such as muhaddith. Ulama is the plural of the word ‘alīm, which is derived from the word ‘ilm, sources used in the development of Sharia such as hadith, Ijma, and Qias, or for Shia ulama aql, are all the province of the ulama. At times in Muslim history the ulama have even served as a branch of government. On the other hand, the term is no longer confined to the Arabic bounds and is now taken with a broader meaning, the word ‘alīm is used twice in the Quran, but not necessarily in the same manner as its application in the Muslim community today. Syed, ‘alīm in the Quran refers to scientists, indicating the high importance afforded by the Quran to the physical sciences, the formative period of Islamic jurisprudence stretches back to the time of the early Muslim communities. In this period, jurists were more concerned with issues of authority. Progress in theory began to develop with the coming of the early Muslim jurist Muhammad ibn Idris ash-Shafii, laws were decided based on the Ijma of the Ummah, which was most often represented by the legal scholars. In order to qualify as a scholar, it was necessary obtain a doctorate known as the ijazat attadris wa l-ifttd from a Madrasah. In many ways, classical Islamic law functioned like a constitutional law, during the Ottoman era, the term ulama was commonly applied to scholars who had completed their madrasa training and gained an icazet. They had to be an expert in all the religious sciences, in addition, the student had to have been tested and approved by higher ranking ulama. Such assessment by experts gave the ulama legitimacy in the eyes of the public, in 14th and 15th century Ottoman Empire, there were not many madrasahs, and so the ulama traveled to countries such as Persia and Egypt to further their education. Upon the conquering of Istanbul, the sultan converted eight churches into madrasahs, Ulama worked as priest-like authorities who had the role of interpreting and enforcing Islamic shariah law. These jobs were distributed between two types of ulama, the Muftis, who interpreted Shariah law, and the Qadi, the Ottomans had a strict hierarchy of ulama, with the Sheikh ul-Islam holding the highest rank. A Sheikh ul-Islam was chosen by a royal warrant amongst the qadis of important cities, the Sheikh ul-Islam had the power to confirm new sultans, but once the sultan was affirmed, the sultan retained a higher authority than the Sheik ul-Islam. The Sheikh ul-Islam issued fatwas, which were written interpretations of the Quran that had authority over the community, the Sheikh ul-Islam represented the law of shariah and in the 16th century its importance rose which led to increased power
20.
Al-Shabaab (militant group)
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Harakat al-Shabaab al-Mujahideen, more commonly known as al-Shabaab, is a Salafist jihadist fundamentalist group based in East Africa. In 2012, it pledged allegiance to the militant Islamist organization Al-Qaeda, in February of the year, some of the groups leaders quarreled with Al-Qaeda over the union, and quickly lost ground. Al-Shabaabs troop strength was estimated at 7,000 to 9,000 militants in 2014, as of 2015, the group has retreated from the major cities, controlling a few rural areas. The group describes itself as waging jihad against enemies of Islam, and is engaged in combat against the Federal Government of Somalia, Al-Shabaab has been designated as a terrorist organization by Australia, Canada, the United Arab Emirates, the United Kingdom and the United States. As of June 2012, the US State Department has open bounties on several of the senior commanders. In early August 2011, the Transitional Federal Governments troops and their AMISOM allies managed to capture all of Mogadishu from the Al-Shabaab militants, an ideological rift within the groups leadership also emerged, and several of the organizations senior commanders were assassinated. Due to its Wahhabi roots, Al Shabaab is hostile to Sufi traditions, the group has also been suspected of having links with Al-Qaeda in Islamic Maghreb and Boko Haram. Additionally, it attracted members from western countries, notably Samantha Lewthwaite. In August 2014, the Somali government-led Operation Indian Ocean was launched to clean up the remaining insurgent-held pockets in the countryside, on 1 September 2014, a U. S. drone strike carried out as part of the broader mission killed Al-Shabaab leader Moktar Ali Zubeyr. U. S. authorities hailed the raid as a symbolic and operational loss for al-Shabaab. Al-Shabaab is also known as Ash-Shabaab, Hizbul Shabaab, and Popular Resistance Movement in the Land of the Two Migrations, for short, the organization is referred to as HSM, which stands for Harakat al-Shabaab al-Mujahideen. The term Shabaab means youth in Arabic, and the group should not be confused with similarly named groups, Al-Shabaabs composition is multiethnic, with its leadership positions mainly occupied by Afghanistan- and Iraq-trained ethnic Somalis and foreigners. According to the National Counterterrorism Center, the groups rank-and-file members hail from disparate local groups, unlike most of the organizations top leaders, its foot soldiers are primarily concerned with nationalist and clan-related affairs as opposed to the global jihad. They are also prone to infighting and shifting alliances, according to the Jamestown Foundation, Al-Shabaab seeks to exploit these vulnerabilities by manipulating clan networks in order to retain power. The group itself is not entirely immune to local politics. More recently, Muslim converts from neighbouring countries have been conscripted, Ahmed Abdi Godane was publicly named as emir of al-Shabaab in December 2007. In August 2011, Godane was heavily criticized by Al-Shabaab co-founder Hassan Dahir Aweys, although not formally announced, Shabaab was effectively split up into a foreign legion, led by Godane, and a coalition of factions forming a national legion under Aweys. The latter group often refused to take orders from Godane and the two groups hardly talked to each other, in February 2012, Godane made Bayah, or an oath of allegiance, to al-Qaeda
21.
Saleh Ali Saleh Nabhan
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Saleh Ali Saleh Nabhan was the leader of al-Qaeda in Somalia. In September 2009, he was killed in a raid undertaken by United States Navy SEALs and he became wanted in 2006 by the United States Department of Justices FBI, for questioning in connection with the 2002 attacks in Mombasa, Kenya, against a hotel and an airliner. That Kenyan hotel bombing followed the shoot down attempt, in near-simultaneous attacks against two Israeli-owned targets. Nabhan was also wanted in Kenya for those crimes, as well as for his involvement in the 1998 United States embassy bombings. The main suspects in all three cases are affiliated with al Qaeda, which claimed responsibility, for his role in the plot Nabhan became listed on the FBIs third major wanted list, the FBI Seeking Information - War on Terrorism list. No one was hurt on the plane, which landed safely in Tel Aviv, about 20 minutes later, in Mombasa, Kenya, three suicide bombers detonated an SUV in the lobby of the Israeli-owned beachfront Paradise Hotel, killing three Israelis and ten Kenyans, and injuring 80. US and Israeli officials suspected a Somali group linked to al-Qaeda was responsible for the bombing, on February 24,2006, the FBI added Saleh Ali Saleh Nabhan among three names to the Seeking Information – War on Terrorism list. With these three additions, as of February 24,2006 the total count on the outstanding Seeking Information list stood at ten, Nabhan might have been protected in Somalia by the Islamic Courts Union prior to their ouster in late 2006. An American air gunship attack near Ras Kamboni on 7 January 2007 targeted al-Qaeda suspects, on March 9,2007 the International Herald Tribune reported that someone connected with the 2002 Mombasa bombing had been apprehended, and speculated that it was Saleh Ali Saleh Nabhan. However it turned out to be Abdulmalik Mohammed, who was transferred to Guantanamo about a month later, on March 2,2008, a U. S. Navy vessel fired two missiles in an attack on an Al Qaeda training camp in southern Somalia. Saleh Ali Saleh Nabhan was killed following a raid by Joint Special Operations Command forces including U. S. Navy SEALs in four helicopters on Monday September 14,2009. Nabhan was driving south of the capital Mogadishu near Baraawe in a two vehicle convoy when attacked by assault helicopters. The raid, code-named Operation Celestial Balance, took place around 1,00 pm local time, with the helicopters arriving from an offshore, firing on the vehicles. President Barack Obama is reported to have signed an Execute Order for the ten days before the attack was launched. Members of Al-Shabaab were also killed, JSOC and the CIA had been trying to kill Nabhan for some time, an AC-130 Gunship was called in during a January 2007 attempt. Nabhans body was buried at sea, a practice later repeated with the disposal of Osama bin Ladens corpse, MSNBC suggested that this killing represents a trend, since remote targeting continues to be more reliable—while locations where captives can be detained without complications have dwindled
22.
United States Navy
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The United States Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the seven uniformed services of the United States. The U. S. Navy is the largest, most capable navy in the world, the U. S. Navy has the worlds largest aircraft carrier fleet, with ten in service, two in the reserve fleet, and three new carriers under construction. The service has 323,792 personnel on duty and 108,515 in the Navy Reserve. It has 274 deployable combat vessels and more than 3,700 operational aircraft as of October 2016, the U. S. Navy traces its origins to the Continental Navy, which was established during the American Revolutionary War and was effectively disbanded as a separate entity shortly thereafter. It played a role in the American Civil War by blockading the Confederacy. It played the role in the World War II defeat of Imperial Japan. The 21st century U. S. Navy maintains a global presence, deploying in strength in such areas as the Western Pacific, the Mediterranean. The Navy is administratively managed by the Department of the Navy, the Department of the Navy is itself a division of the Department of Defense, which is headed by the Secretary of Defense. The Chief of Naval Operations is an admiral and the senior naval officer of the Department of the Navy. The CNO may not be the highest ranking officer in the armed forces if the Chairman or the Vice Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. The mission of the Navy is to maintain, train and equip combat-ready Naval forces capable of winning wars, deterring aggression, the United States Navy is a seaborne branch of the military of the United States. The Navys three primary areas of responsibility, The preparation of naval forces necessary for the prosecution of war. The development of aircraft, weapons, tactics, technique, organization, U. S. Navy training manuals state that the mission of the U. S. Armed Forces is to prepare and conduct prompt and sustained combat operations in support of the national interest, as part of that establishment, the U. S. Navys functions comprise sea control, power projection and nuclear deterrence, in addition to sealift duties. It follows then as certain as that night succeeds the day, that without a decisive naval force we can do nothing definitive, the Navy was rooted in the colonial seafaring tradition, which produced a large community of sailors, captains, and shipbuilders. In the early stages of the American Revolutionary War, Massachusetts had its own Massachusetts Naval Militia, the establishment of a national navy was an issue of debate among the members of the Second Continental Congress. Supporters argued that a navy would protect shipping, defend the coast, detractors countered that challenging the British Royal Navy, then the worlds preeminent naval power, was a foolish undertaking. Commander in Chief George Washington resolved the debate when he commissioned the ocean-going schooner USS Hannah to interdict British merchant ships, and reported the captures to the Congress
23.
SEAL Team Six
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The United States Naval Special Warfare Development Group, commonly known as DEVGRU or SEAL Team Six is a U. S. Navy component of Joint Special Operations Command. It is often referred to as SEAL Team Six or within JSOC as Task Force Blue and it is the U. S. Navy component of the Joint Special Operations Command. DEVGRU is administratively supported by Naval Special Warfare Command and operationally commanded by the Joint Special Operations Command, most information concerning DEVGRU is classified and details of its activities are not usually commented on by either the White House or the Department of Defense. Despite the official changes, SEAL Team Six remains the units widely recognized moniker. It is sometimes referred to in the U. S. media as a Special Mission Unit, DEVGRU and its Army counterpart, Delta Force, are the United States militarys premier counterterrorism units. The Central Intelligence Agencys highly secretive Special Activities Division and more specifically its elite Special Operations Group often works with—and recruits—operators from DEVGRU, the combination of these units led ultimately to the killing of Al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden in Operation Neptune Spear. The origins of DEVGRU are in SEAL Team Six, a unit created in the aftermath of Operation Eagle Claw. During the Iran hostage crisis in 1979, Richard Marcinko was one of two U. S. Navy representatives for a Joint Chiefs of Staff task force known as the TAT, the purpose of the TAT was to develop a plan to free the American hostages held in Iran. In the wake of the disaster at the Desert One base in Iran, the Navy saw the need for a full-time counter-terrorist unit, Marcinko was the first commanding officer of this new unit. At the time there were two SEAL teams, Marcinko named the unit SEAL Team Six in order to confuse Soviet intelligence as to the number of actual SEAL teams in existence. The units plankowners were hand-picked by Marcinko from throughout the UDT/SEAL community, SEAL Team Six became the U. S. Navys premier counter-terrorist unit. It has been compared to the U. S. Armys Delta Force, Marcinko held the command of SEAL Team Six for three years, from 1980 to 1983, instead of the typical two-year command in the Navy at the time. SEAL Team Six was formally created in October 1980, and an intense, SEAL Team Six started with 75 shooters. According to Marcinko, the annual ammunition training allowance for the command was larger than that of the entire U. S. Marine Corps, the unit has virtually unlimited resources at its disposal. In 1987 SEAL Team Six was dissolved, a new unit named the Naval Special Warfare Development Group was formed, essentially as SEAL Team Sixs successor. Reasons for the disbanding are varied, but the name SEAL Team Six is often used in reference to DEVGRU. In the early stages of creating SEAL Team Six, Marcinko was given six months to get ST6 up and running and it has been said that Marcinko regretted not having enough time to set up a proper selection process and course. Originally applicants only came from the east and west coast SEAL teams, although much of the ST6/DEVGRU training pipeline is classified there are some requirements and training exercises that are public knowledge
24.
Somali Armed Forces
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The Somali National Armed Forces are the military forces of Somalia, officially known as the Federal Republic of Somalia. Headed by the President as Commander in Chief, they are mandated to ensure the nations sovereignty, independence. The SAF was initially made up of the Army, Navy, in the post-independence period, it grew to become among the larger militaries in Africa. Due to patrimonial and repressive policies, the military had by 1988 begun to disintegrate. By the time President Siad Barre fled in 1991, the forces had dissolved. As of January 2014, the security sector is overseen by the Federal Government of Somalias Ministry of Defence, Ministry of National Security, the Somaliland, Puntland and Khaatumo regional governments maintain their own security and police forces. Historically, Somali society conferred distinction upon warriors and rewarded military acumen, all Somali males were regarded as potential soldiers, except for the odd religious cleric. Somalias many Sultanates each maintained regular troops, in the early Middle Ages, the conquest of Shewa by the Ifat Sultanate ignited a rivalry for supremacy with the Solomonic dynasty. Many similar battles were fought between the succeeding Sultanate of Adal and the Solomonids, with both sides achieving victory and suffering defeat. However, both polities in the process exhausted their resources and manpower, which resulted in the contraction of both powers and changed regional dynamics for centuries to come, many historians trace the origins of hostility between Somalia and Ethiopia to this war. Some scholars also argue that this conflict proved, through their use on both sides, the value of such as the matchlock musket, cannons and the arquebus over traditional weapons. In Italian Somaliland, eight Arab-Somali infantry battalions, the Ascari and these units served as frontier guards and police. There were also Somali artillery and zaptié units forming part of the Italian Royal Corps of Colonial Troops from 1889 to 1941, between 1911 and 1912, over 1,000 Somalis from Mogadishu served as combat units along with Eritrean and Italian soldiers in the Italo-Turkish War. Most of the troops stationed never returned home until they were transferred back to Italian Somaliland in preparation for the invasion of Ethiopia in 1935. In 1914, the Somaliland Camel Corps was formed in the British Somaliland protectorate and saw service before, during, just prior to independence in 1960, the Trust Territory of Somalia established a national army to defend the nascent Somali Republics borders. A law to that effect was passed on 6 April 1960, thus the Somali Police Forces Mobile Group was formed. 12 April 1960 has since been marked as Armed Forces Day, British Somaliland became independent on 26 June 1960 as the State of Somaliland, and the Trust Territory of Somalia followed suit five days later. On 1 July 1960, the two united to form the Somali Republic
25.
African Union Mission to Somalia
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The African Union Mission in Somalia is an active, regional peacekeeping mission operated by the African Union with the approval of the United Nations in Somalia. As part of its duties, AMISOM also supports the Federal Government of Somalias forces in their battle against Al-Shabaab militants, AMISOM was created by the African Unions Peace and Security Council on 19 January 2007 with an initial six-month mandate. On 21 February 2007 the United Nations Security Council approved the missions mandate, subsequent six-monthly renewals of AMISOMs mandate by the African Union Peace and Security Council have also been authorised by the United Nations Security Council. The duration of AMISOMs mandate has been extended in each period that it has been up for review, the current mandate expires on 30 November 2015. Until that time its maximum allowed strength is 22,126 troops, in August 2014, the Somali government assisted by AMISOM launched Operation Indian Ocean to clean up the remaining Al-Shabaab-held pockets in the countryside. IGASOM was also approved by the United Nations Security Council on December 6,2006, IGASOM was originally proposed for immediate implementation in March 2005 to provide peacekeeping forces for the latest phase of the Somali Civil War. By June, they had established control of the capital, fighting began to spread to other parts of the nation as the ICU gained ground. Plans for IGASOM continued, though by July there were indications of opposition from the ICU, who saw the initiative as a US-backed, Western means to curb the growth of their Islamic movement. Until December 2006, the UN Security Council had imposed an embargo on the group, but the embargo was partially lifted. On 21 February 2007, the United Nations Security Council authorised the African Union to deploy a mission with a mandate of six months. In March 2007, Ugandan military officials arrived on the ground in Somalia, IGASOM was expected to eventually reach 8,000 troops, with an expected cost of $335 million for the first year. According to UN Security Council Resolution 1725, states bordering Somalia would not be eligible to deploy troops under IGASOM, the remaining IGAD member nations include Sudan, Eritrea, and Uganda. Because of the objection of the burden falling on these three nations alone, the mission was expanded to include other Member States of the African Union. As proposed, it is to comprise an initial 3 battalions, growing to a total of 9 battalions of 850 troops each, the mission was to be modelled after the African Union Mission in Burundi. As early as March 25,2005 Sheikh Hassan Dahir Aweys of the Union of Islamic Courts warned any peacekeepers would be unwelcome in the country and he was quoted by the BBC as saying, We will fight fiercely to the death any intervention force that arrives in Somalia. Yet at the time, the ICU was not the political or military force it was to become later, because of regional divisions, there were also UIC resistance to allowing Ethiopian troops be part of the mission. Ethiopia, for its part, was leery of allowing Eritrean troops to be members of the IGAD peacekeeping force. In the face of ICU threats, Uganda, the only IGAD members who had offered to send forces
26.
Swahili language
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Swahili, also known as Kiswahili, is a Bantu language and the first language of the Swahili people. The closely related Comorian language, spoken in the Comoros Islands, is considered a dialect. Estimates of the number of Swahili speakers vary widely, from 50 million to over 100 million. Swahili serves as a language of three nations, Tanzania, Kenya, and the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Shikomor, the language in Comoros and also spoken in Mayotte, is related to Swahili. Swahili is also one of the languages of the African Union. A significant fraction of Swahili vocabulary is derived from Arabic through contact with Arabic-speaking Muslim inhabitants of the Swahili Coast, Swahili is traditionally regarded as being the language of coastal areas of Tanzania and Kenya. It was formalised after independence by presidents of the African Great Lakes region and it spread as a fishermans language to the various islands surrounding the Swahili Coast. Traders from these islands had extensive contact with the peoples from at least the 2nd century A. D. There is also evidence of early Zaramo people settlement on Zanzibar from Dar es Salaam in present-day Tanzania. Clove farmers from Oman and the Persian Gulf farmed the Zanzibar Archipelago, the earliest known documents written in Swahili are letters written in Kilwa in 1711 A. D. in the Arabic script that were sent to the Portuguese of Mozambique and their local allies. The original letters are now preserved in the Historical Archives of Goa, the British did not do so in neighbouring Kenya even though they made moves in that direction. Swahili was the only candidate in the two colonies. In the aftermath of Germanys defeat in the First World War, Swahili was to be subordinate to English, university education, much secondary education and governance at the highest levels would be conducted in English. One key step in spreading Swahili was to create a written language. In June 1928, a conference took place at Mombasa, at which the Zanzibar dialect. Swahili has become a language spoken by tens of millions in three African Great Lakes countries where it is an official or national language. In 2016 it was made a subject in all Kenyan schools
27.
International Standard Book Number
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The International Standard Book Number is a unique numeric commercial book identifier. An ISBN is assigned to each edition and variation of a book, for example, an e-book, a paperback and a hardcover edition of the same book would each have a different ISBN. The ISBN is 13 digits long if assigned on or after 1 January 2007, the method of assigning an ISBN is nation-based and varies from country to country, often depending on how large the publishing industry is within a country. The initial ISBN configuration of recognition was generated in 1967 based upon the 9-digit Standard Book Numbering created in 1966, the 10-digit ISBN format was developed by the International Organization for Standardization and was published in 1970 as international standard ISO2108. Occasionally, a book may appear without a printed ISBN if it is printed privately or the author does not follow the usual ISBN procedure, however, this can be rectified later. Another identifier, the International Standard Serial Number, identifies periodical publications such as magazines, the ISBN configuration of recognition was generated in 1967 in the United Kingdom by David Whitaker and in 1968 in the US by Emery Koltay. The 10-digit ISBN format was developed by the International Organization for Standardization and was published in 1970 as international standard ISO2108, the United Kingdom continued to use the 9-digit SBN code until 1974. The ISO on-line facility only refers back to 1978, an SBN may be converted to an ISBN by prefixing the digit 0. For example, the edition of Mr. J. G. Reeder Returns, published by Hodder in 1965, has SBN340013818 -340 indicating the publisher,01381 their serial number. This can be converted to ISBN 0-340-01381-8, the check digit does not need to be re-calculated, since 1 January 2007, ISBNs have contained 13 digits, a format that is compatible with Bookland European Article Number EAN-13s. An ISBN is assigned to each edition and variation of a book, for example, an ebook, a paperback, and a hardcover edition of the same book would each have a different ISBN. The ISBN is 13 digits long if assigned on or after 1 January 2007, a 13-digit ISBN can be separated into its parts, and when this is done it is customary to separate the parts with hyphens or spaces. Separating the parts of a 10-digit ISBN is also done with either hyphens or spaces, figuring out how to correctly separate a given ISBN number is complicated, because most of the parts do not use a fixed number of digits. ISBN issuance is country-specific, in that ISBNs are issued by the ISBN registration agency that is responsible for country or territory regardless of the publication language. Some ISBN registration agencies are based in national libraries or within ministries of culture, in other cases, the ISBN registration service is provided by organisations such as bibliographic data providers that are not government funded. In Canada, ISBNs are issued at no cost with the purpose of encouraging Canadian culture. In the United Kingdom, United States, and some countries, where the service is provided by non-government-funded organisations. Australia, ISBNs are issued by the library services agency Thorpe-Bowker
28.
Voice of America
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Voice of America is a United States government-funded multimedia news source and the official external broadcasting institution of the United States. VOA provides programming for broadcast on radio, television, and the Internet outside of the U. S. in English and some foreign languages. The VOA charter—signed into law in 1976 by President Gerald Ford—requires VOA to serve as a reliable and authoritative source of news and be accurate. The Voice of America headquarters is located at 330 Independence Avenue SW, Washington, the VOA is fully funded by the U. S. government, the Congress appropriates funds for it annually under the same budget for embassies and consulates. In 2016 the network reportedly had an annual budget of $218.5 million,1000 people of personnel. VOA radio and television broadcasts are distributed by satellite, cable and on FM, AM and they are streamed on individual language service websites, social media sites and mobile platforms. VOA has affiliate and contract agreements with radio and television stations, some scholars and commentators consider Voice of America to be a form of propaganda, although this label is disputed by others. The Voice of America website has five English language broadcasts as of 2014, additionally, the VOA website has versions in 42 foreign languages, The number of languages varies according to the priorities of the United States Government and the world situation. Before World War II, all American shortwave stations were in private hands, experimental programming began in the 1930s, but there were then fewer than 12 transmitters in operation. Any program solely intended for, and directed to an audience in the continental United States does not meet the requirements for this service. Washington observers felt this policy was to enforce the State Departments Good Neighbor Policy, in 1940, the Office of the Coordinator of Interamerican Affairs, a semi-independent agency of the U. S. State Department headed by Nelson Rockefeller, began operations. Shortwave signals to Latin America were regarded as vital to counter Nazi propaganda, initially, the Office of Coordination of Information sent releases to each station, but this was seen as an inefficient means of transmitting news. It was introduced by The Battle Hymn of the Republic and included the pledge, Today, the news may be good or bad for us – We will always tell you the truth. It was Sherwood who actually coined the term The Voice of America to describe the network that began its transmissions on February 1. The Office of War Information, when organized in the middle of 1942, the OWI also set up the American Broadcasting Station in Europe. Asian transmissions started with one transmitter in California in 1941, services were expanded by adding transmitters in Hawaii and, after recapture, by the end of the war, VOA had 39 transmitters and provided service in 40 languages. Programming was broadcast from production centers in New York and San Francisco, programming consisted of music, news, commentary, and relays of U. S. domestic programming, in addition to specialized VOA programming. About half of VOAs services, including the Arabic service, were discontinued in 1945, in late 1945, VOA was transferred to the Department of State
29.
Wayback Machine
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The Internet Archive launched the Wayback Machine in October 2001. It was set up by Brewster Kahle and Bruce Gilliat, and is maintained with content from Alexa Internet, the service enables users to see archived versions of web pages across time, which the archive calls a three dimensional index. Since 1996, the Wayback Machine has been archiving cached pages of websites onto its large cluster of Linux nodes and it revisits sites every few weeks or months and archives a new version. Sites can also be captured on the fly by visitors who enter the sites URL into a search box, the intent is to capture and archive content that otherwise would be lost whenever a site is changed or closed down. The overall vision of the machines creators is to archive the entire Internet, the name Wayback Machine was chosen as a reference to the WABAC machine, a time-traveling device used by the characters Mr. Peabody and Sherman in The Rocky and Bullwinkle Show, an animated cartoon. These crawlers also respect the robots exclusion standard for websites whose owners opt for them not to appear in search results or be cached, to overcome inconsistencies in partially cached websites, Archive-It. Information had been kept on digital tape for five years, with Kahle occasionally allowing researchers, when the archive reached its fifth anniversary, it was unveiled and opened to the public in a ceremony at the University of California, Berkeley. Snapshots usually become more than six months after they are archived or, in some cases, even later. The frequency of snapshots is variable, so not all tracked website updates are recorded, Sometimes there are intervals of several weeks or years between snapshots. After August 2008 sites had to be listed on the Open Directory in order to be included. As of 2009, the Wayback Machine contained approximately three petabytes of data and was growing at a rate of 100 terabytes each month, the growth rate reported in 2003 was 12 terabytes/month, the data is stored on PetaBox rack systems manufactured by Capricorn Technologies. In 2009, the Internet Archive migrated its customized storage architecture to Sun Open Storage, in 2011 a new, improved version of the Wayback Machine, with an updated interface and fresher index of archived content, was made available for public testing. The index driving the classic Wayback Machine only has a bit of material past 2008. In January 2013, the company announced a ground-breaking milestone of 240 billion URLs, in October 2013, the company announced the Save a Page feature which allows any Internet user to archive the contents of a URL. This became a threat of abuse by the service for hosting malicious binaries, as of December 2014, the Wayback Machine contained almost nine petabytes of data and was growing at a rate of about 20 terabytes each week. Between October 2013 and March 2015 the websites global Alexa rank changed from 162 to 208, in a 2009 case, Netbula, LLC v. Chordiant Software Inc. defendant Chordiant filed a motion to compel Netbula to disable the robots. Netbula objected to the motion on the ground that defendants were asking to alter Netbulas website, in an October 2004 case, Telewizja Polska USA, Inc. v. Echostar Satellite, No.02 C3293,65 Fed. 673, a litigant attempted to use the Wayback Machine archives as a source of admissible evidence, Telewizja Polska is the provider of TVP Polonia and EchoStar operates the Dish Network
Somalia
