Misplaced Pages

Mahfuz (or Mohammed) (Harari: መሕፉዝ, Arabic: محفوظ, Portuguese: Mafudi, Somali: Maxfuud; died July 1517) was a Garad, Emir of Harar and Governor of Zeila in the Adal Sultanate. Although he was originally only emir of a small region he would rise to become leader of Adal due to his popularity, wielding more power than the sultan of Adal. He is often known as the "Captain of Zeila" in medieval texts.

Life and reign

According to Ethiopian historian Mohammed Hassen, he was either of Harla or Harari origin. However Marco Demichelis claims he was of Somali origin. While Daryll Forde regards him as an ethnic Afar. Mahfuz began to dominate politics in the 1480s, being awarded multiple titles. He preferred to continue the conflicts with the Ethiopian Empire, as he desired to sway influence over the Muslim border provinces of Ifat, Fatagar, Dawaro, and Bale, which was in stark contrast to the policy of coexistence favored by Sultan Muhammad ibn Azhar ad-Din and his moderate faction.

By the 1490s, political leadership shifted from Muhammad ibn Azhar ad-Din to Mahfuz. Although the Walasma dynasty retained nominal control of the sultanate, Adal's power dynamics shifted significantly, impacting Ethiopia. Mahfuz, unhappy with Muhammad's policy of compromise with the Christian neighbor, called for jihad. This gained support in Adal, Ethiopia's Muslim borderlands, and across the Red Sea, where traders welcomed the rise in war captives for the Arab slave markets. He made strong connections with the Turks of Arabia and sent slaves to the Sherif of Mecca. The Sherif rewarded him with a green silk standard and a tent of black velvet embroidered with gold. He was also made the Sheikh of Zeila by the Sherif, which made Mahfuz responsible for bringing the Key of Abyssinia to him.

Sources differ over the number of years Mahfuz invaded Abyssinia. Francisco Álvares states that his invasions began during the reign of Eskender, and lasted 25 years. However, Beckingham and Huntingford note that the Ethiopian Paris Chronicle, which draws on contemporary Ethiopian records, dates the beginning of these invasions to the ascension of Dawit II (Lebna Dengel) in 1508. Mahfuz is reported to have caused the deaths of Ethiopian Emperors Na'od and Eskender. According to the emperor Sarsa Dengel chronicles, Mahfuz was linked to the Malassay army unit. He would occupy villages of Abyssinia and take all women, children and men as slaves for India and Arabia.

In his later life Mahfuz would also periodically continue to lead raids into the frontier provinces of Abyssinia for a number of years. He selected the season of Lent for his attacks, when the defenders were weakened by their fasts. He raided the Amhara, Shewa, and Fatagar provinces south of the Awash River. According to Portuguese explorer Francisco Álvares, during his raids Mahfuz exclusively targeted Abyssinian soldiers capturing them however left civilians unharmed. He and Muhammad ibn Azhar ad-Din would descend upon the regions of Ifat, Dawaro and Fatagar which resulted in the slaying of 19,000 Christians within a year.

According to Alvarez, upon reaching the age of majority, Emperor Lebna Dengel decided to forgo his observance of Lent and oppose the Imam in battle, despite the advice and wishes of his councilors and people. He sent spies out to determine Imam Mahfuz's plans for that year, and learning the Imam was in Fatagar led his army there. He found Imam Mahfuz with the sultan of Adal encamped on a plain that was surrounded by mountains. After first sending soldiers out to secure the passes, the Abyssinian Emperor closed upon Imam Mahfuz. Although Imam Mahfuz managed to enable Sultan Muhammed to escape with but four horsemen, Imam Mafhuz knew he was trapped and sought to die with honor. He called to the Abyssinians a challenge to fight in single combat, and Gabra Endreyas, who had been a follower of Emperor Lebna Dengel's father, accepted and split the Imam's body into two from the lower-part of his neck to his shoulder with a two-handed sword. Mahfuz's head was cut from his body and displayed publicly in the Emperor's court where Gabra exclaimed "There is the Goliath of the Infidels". After defeating Mahfuz, Dawit II used appellation Wanag Segad, which is a combination of Ge'ez and Harari terms.

Legacy

His death led to a power struggle between the radical and moderate factions in Adal with the followers of Mahfuz essentially prevailing. Garad Abun arranged Imam Ahmad ibn Ibrahim's marriage with Mahfuz's daughter, Bati del Wambara as it would help establish a formal alliance and continue Mahfuz's tradition of jihad. Ten years after Mahfuz's death, Imam Ahmad embarked on a Conquest of Abyssinia (Futuh al-Habash). Ahmed ibn Ibrahim al-Ghazi later in his invasion of Abyssinia would kill an old Gabra as revenge for his victory against Mahfuz. His son Garad Ahmadus bin Mahfuz participated in the conquest. Garad Ahmadus was later responsible for slaying patrician Limu, the lord of Sharkha and Nagada Iyasus, the governor of Jinah.

See also

• Ahmad ibn Ibrahim al-Ghazi

Notes and references

1. Hassen, Mohammed (2004). "Review of Futuh Al-Habaša: The Conquest of Abyssinia [16th Century]". International Journal of Ethiopian Studies. 1 (2): 177–193. ISSN 1543-4133. JSTOR 27828848.
2. Bruce, James, Travels to Discover the Source of the Nile (1805 edition), vol. 3, p. 143
3. Braukamper, ul (2002). Islamic History and Culture in Southern Ethiopia. LitVerlag. p. 30. ISBN 9783825856717.
4. Alvares, Francisco (1961). The Prester John of the Indies: A True Relation of the Lands of the Prester John, Being the Narrative of the Portuguese Embassy to Ethiopia in 1520. Published for the Hakluyt Society at the University Press. p. 441.
5. Hassen, Mohammed. "Review work Futuh al habasa". International Journal of Ethiopian Studies: 184. JSTOR 27828848.
6. Peacock, A. C. S. (2017-03-08). Islamisation: Comparative Perspectives from History. Edinburgh University Press. p. 231. ISBN 978-1-4744-1713-6.
7. Forde, Cyril Daryll. Ethnographic Survey of Africa North eastern Africa · Part 4. p. 132.
8. Fage, J. D.; Oliver, Roland (1975). The Cambridge History of Africa. Cambridge University Press. p. 166. ISBN 978-0-521-20981-6.
9. Salvadore, Matteo (2016-06-17). The African Prester John and the Birth of Ethiopian-European Relations, 1402-1555. Routledge. p. 108. ISBN 978-1-317-04545-8.
10. Bruce, James (1813). Travels to Discover the Source of the Nile, in the Years 1768, 1769, 1770, 1771, 1772, & 1773. Constable. p. 169.
11. Alvarez, Francisco (1961) The Prester John of the Indies, translated by C.F. Beckingham and G.W.B. Huntingford. Cambridge: Hakluyt Society, p. 412.
12. Their discussion of Mahfuz is taken from their Introduction to Alvarez, Prester John, pp. 16f.
13. Burton, Richard. First Footsteps in East Africa. p. 179.
14. Huntingford, G.W.B. The historical geography of Ethiopia from the first century AD to 1704. Oxford University Press. p. 105.
15. Kropp, Manfred (1990). "MÄLÄSAY: SELBSTBEZEICHNUNG EINES HARARINER OFFIZIERSKORPS UND IHR GEBRAUCH IN ÄTHIOPISCHEN UND ARABISCHEN CHRONIKEN". Paideuma. 36. Paideuma: Mitteilungen zur Kulturkunde: 108. JSTOR 40732663.
16. Bruce, James (1813). Travels to Discover the Source of the Nile, in the Years 1768, 1769, 1770, 1771, 1772, & 1773. Constable. p. 143.
17. Aregay, Merid. Southern Ethiopia and the Christian kingdom 1508 - 1708, with special reference to the Galla migrations and their consequences. University of London. p. 199.
18. Bruce, James (1813). Travels to Discover the Source of the Nile, in the Years 1768, 1769, 1770, 1771, 1772, & 1773. Constable. p. 163.
19. Alvarez, p. 413.
20. Bruce, James (1813). Travels to Discover the Source of the Nile, in the Years 1768, 1769, 1770, 1771, 1772, & 1773. Constable. pp. 166–167.
21. Gate, Henry (2 February 2012). Dictionary of African Biography. OUP USA. p. 482. ISBN 978-0195382075.
22. Fage, J. D.; Oliver, Roland (1975). The Cambridge History of Africa. Cambridge University Press. p. 67. ISBN 978-0-521-20981-6.
23. Hassen, Mohammed (2004). "Review of Futuh Al-Habaša: The Conquest of Abyssinia [16th Century]". International Journal of Ethiopian Studies. 1 (2): 177–193. ISSN 1543-4133. JSTOR 27828848.
24. Sihab ad-Din Ahmad, in his Futuh al-Habasa (translated by Paul Lester Stenhouse with annotations by Richard Pankhurst ) consistently uses the word "Jihad" to refer to Ahmad Gragn's conquest of Ethiopia.
25. Burton, Richard (6 November 2016). Delphi Collected Works of Sir Richard Francis Burton (Illustrated). Delphi Classics. ISBN 9781786560551.
26. ʻArabfaqīh, Shihāb al-Dīn Aḥmad ibn ʻAbd al-Qādir; Pankhurst, Richard (2003). The Conquest of Abyssinia: 16th Century (PDF). Tsehai Publishers & Distributors. p. 58. ISBN 978-0-9723172-6-9.
27. ʻArabfaqīh, Shihāb al-Dīn Aḥmad ibn ʻAbd al-Qādir; Pankhurst, Richard (2003). The Conquest of Abyssinia: 16th Century (PDF). Tsehai Publishers & Distributors. p. 116. ISBN 978-0-9723172-6-9.
28. ʻArabfaqīh, Shihāb al-Dīn Aḥmad ibn ʻAbd al-Qādir; Pankhurst, Richard (2003). The Conquest of Abyssinia: 16th Century (PDF). Tsehai Publishers & Distributors. p. 239. ISBN 978-0-9723172-6-9.

• 1517 deaths
• Military personnel killed in action
• People from the Adal Sultanate
• People from Harari Region