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Sultanate of Dahlak
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<h2 id="history">History</h2> <h3>Origins and early history</h3> <p>After the <a href="/facts/Umayyad_Caliphate/gdW8JwoK">Umayyads</a> seized <a href="/facts/Dahlak_archipelago/mmUt1VeT">Dahlak</a> in 702, they made it a prison and place of forced exile, as did the early <a href="/facts/Abbasids/mPeLAbXt">Abbasids</a> who succeeded them. By the 9th century the Dahlak islands had come under the rule of the king of <a href="/facts/Ethiopian_Empire/tDLkYzkb">Abyssinia</a>. Around 900 he concluded a treaty of friendship with the <a href="/facts/Ziyadid_dynasty/eVbCXusv">Ziyadid</a> sultan of <a href="/facts/Zabid/BVGBBebC">Zabid</a> in <a href="/facts/Yemen/eDyoh4qV">Yemen</a>, and by the mid 10th century it is recorded that Dahlak was forced to pay tribute to <a href="/facts/Ziyadid_dynasty/eVbCXusv">Sultan Ishaq ibn Ibrahim</a>.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:1" href="#fn:1"><sup>1</sup></a> A century later, Dahlak was involved in a power struggle between the Ziyadids and the <a href="/facts/Najahids/9PJrkVn6">Najahids</a>, as the latter had fled to there in 1061. Battles were fought until 1086, when the Najahids managed to restore their rule in Zabid.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:2" href="#fn:2"><sup>2</sup></a> It was in the second half of the 11th century, under the rule of the Najahids, when the Dahlak archipelago prospered the most.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:3" href="#fn:3"><sup>3</sup></a> </p><p>The first sultan who is attestable is Sultan Mubarak, whose funerary stele states died in 1093. His dynasty apparently lasted until 1230<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:4" href="#fn:4"><sup>4</sup></a>/1249.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:5" href="#fn:5"><sup>5</sup></a> It was during this period, the 11th–mid 13th century, that the Sultanate enjoyed its greatest prosperity. This prosperity was mostly based on the monopoly of the external trade of the Ethiopian interior,<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:6" href="#fn:6"><sup>6</sup></a> but also involvement in the transit trade between <a href="/facts/Egypt/8Ttg0JwB">Egypt</a> and <a href="/facts/India/1kKHcnxM">India</a>.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:7" href="#fn:7"><sup>7</sup></a> It was also through Dahlak that Ethiopia maintained diplomatic relations with Yemen.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:8" href="#fn:8"><sup>8</sup></a> In the mid 13th century, however, the <a href="/facts/Zagwe_dynasty/Vuuuy8UD">Zagwe kings</a> began to make use of a new trading route in the south, with the port town <a href="/facts/Zeila/DnK9eNVF">Zeila</a> as its final destination. Thus Dahlak lost its trading monopoly.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:9" href="#fn:9"><sup>9</sup></a> Around the same time, <a href="/facts/Ibn_Sa%2527id_al-Maghribi/Jmg2ytqY">Ibn Sa'id al-Maghribi</a> records that the Dahlak sultans struggled to stay independent from the <a href="/facts/Rasulid/VEzGmYIj">Rasulids</a>.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:10" href="#fn:10"><sup>10</sup></a> </p><p>From the 12th century the sultans of Dahlak controlled the important trading town of <a href="/facts/Massawa/TPug4yBh">Massawa</a> on the African <a href="/facts/Red_Sea/0dKWSgEe">Red Sea</a> coast,<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:11" href="#fn:11"><sup>11</sup></a> which was governed by a deputy titled the <i>Nai'b</i>. Other coastal settlements on the African continent might have been controlled by the Dahlak sultans as well, at least temporarily.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:12" href="#fn:12"><sup>12</sup></a> To the Ethiopians, the sultan of Dahlak was known as <i>Seyuma Bahr</i> ("Prefect of the Sea"), in contrast to the <i>Bahr Negash</i> ("Lord of the Sea") of <a href="/facts/Medri_Bahri/HIw4cStm">Medri Bahri</a>.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:13" href="#fn:13"><sup>13</sup></a> </p><p>It was shortly after the death of Sultan Mubarak that the Dahlak sultanate began to mint coins, which were used to pay for imported goods such as Egyptian textiles and <a href="/facts/Storax_balsam/HQ8jDNYU">storax balsam</a>.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:14" href="#fn:14"><sup>14</sup></a> </p><p>The Muslims of Dahlak were probably not successful in <a href="/facts/Proselytism/ztV95ns4">proselytizing</a> northern Abyssinia. The <a href="/facts/Orthodox_Tewahedo/NhgFXdhj">Ethiopian Church</a> had been well-established for centuries. Muslims were tolerated only as traders.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:15" href="#fn:15"><sup>15</sup></a> </p> <h3>Demise</h3> <p>By the 15th century, the economy of the sultanate was not only in decline, but it was also forced to pay tribute to the <a href="/facts/Ethiopian_Empire/tDLkYzkb">emperors of Ethiopia</a>.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:16" href="#fn:16"><sup>16</sup></a> In 1464–1465, Massawa and the Dahlak archipelago were pillaged by emperor <a href="/facts/Zara_Yaqob/afAm3Usw">Zara Yaqob</a>. By 1513 Dahlak had become a vassal of the <a href="/facts/Tahirids_(Yemen)/VHTeuAFK">Tahirids</a>. In 1517 and 1520 it came into conflict with the <a href="/facts/Portuguese_empire/nxn2wnHj">Portuguese empire</a>, resulting in much destruction.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:17" href="#fn:17"><sup>17</sup></a> By 1526 the Dahalik sultan, Ahmad, had been degraded to a tributary.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:18" href="#fn:18"><sup>18</sup></a> There was a short revival of the sultanate during the <a href="/facts/Ethiopian-Adal_war/oete2f78">Ethiopian-Adal war</a>, where the <a href="/facts/Sultanate_of_Adal/dqgUa5MI">sultanate of Adal</a> waged a temporarily successful <a href="/facts/Jihad/DerLM18J">jihad</a> against the <a href="/facts/Ethiopian_Empire/tDLkYzkb">Ethiopian Empire</a>.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:19" href="#fn:19"><sup>19</sup></a> Sultan Ahmad joined Adal and was rewarded with the port town of <a href="/facts/Arkiko/haVw6WPv">Arkiko</a>.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:20" href="#fn:20"><sup>20</sup></a><a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:21" href="#fn:21"><sup>21</sup></a> However, in 1541, one year after the death of sultan Ahmad, the Portuguese returned and destroyed Dahlak yet again.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:22" href="#fn:22"><sup>22</sup></a> Sixteen years later, the islands were occupied by the <a href="/facts/Ottoman_Empire/6QvfTRsg">Ottoman Empire</a>, who made them part of the <a href="/facts/Habesh_Eyalet/43snDJ7r">Habesh Eyalet</a>. Under the rule of the Ottomans, the Dahlak islands lost their significance.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:23" href="#fn:23"><sup>23</sup></a> </p> <h2 id="dahlak-kebir">Dahlak Kebir</h2> <p><a href="/facts/Dahlak_Kebir/jr1NGGVm">Dahlak Kebir</a>, a site on the same-named Dahlak Kebir Island, contains material dating to the era of the sultanate.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:24" href="#fn:24"><sup>24</sup></a> Nearly 300 tombstones have been discovered. They attest the presence of a cosmopolitan population originating from all over the Islamic world.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:25" href="#fn:25"><sup>25</sup></a> Several, now deteriorating, <a href="/facts/Qubba/XaB9V2nt">qubbas</a> have been noted.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:26" href="#fn:26"><sup>26</sup></a> The settlement itself consisted of well-built stone houses made of <a href="/facts/Corals/j7fBLrpw">coral</a>. The site also contains several settlement mounds.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:27" href="#fn:27"><sup>27</sup></a> The medieval population used sophisticated <a href="/facts/Cisterns/pyhHNWmx">cisterns</a> to ensure a continuous supply of <a href="/facts/Freshwater/xMP2TxwI">freshwater</a>.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:28" href="#fn:28"><sup>28</sup></a> </p> <h2 id="sources">Sources</h2> <ul><li>Bosworth, Clifford Edmund (2007). <i>Historic Cities of the Islamic World</i>. Brill. <a href="/facts/ISBN_(identifier)/15AdSPa9">ISBN</a> 9789004153882.</li> <li>Chekroun, Amélie; Hirsch, Bertrand (2020). "The Sultanates of Medieval Ethiopia". <i>A Companion to Medieval Ethiopia and Eritrea"</i>. Brill. pp. 86–112.</li> <li>Connel, Dan; Killion, Tom (2011). <i>Historical Dictionary of Eritrea</i>. The Scarecrow. <a href="/facts/ISBN_(identifier)/15AdSPa9">ISBN</a> 9780810859524.</li> <li>Insoll, Timothy (1997). "An Archaeological Reconnaissance made to Dahlak Kebir, the Dahlak Islands, Eritrea: Preliminary Observations". <a href="https://www.academia.edu/13045916"><i>Ethiopia in Broader Perspective: Papers of the 13th International Conference of Ethiopian Studies. Volume 1</i></a>. pp. 382–388. <a href="/facts/ISBN_(identifier)/15AdSPa9">ISBN</a> 4879749761.</li> <li>Margariti, Roxolani Eleni (2009). "Thieves of Sultans? Dahlak and the Rulers and Merchants of Indian Ocean Port Cities, 11th-13th Centuries AD". <a href="https://www.academia.edu/4260086"><i>Connected Hinterlands. Proceedings of Red Sea Project IV</i></a>. pp. 155–163. <a href="/facts/ISBN_(identifier)/15AdSPa9">ISBN</a> 9781407306315.</li> <li>Pankhurst, Richard (1997). <a href="https://books.google.com/books?id=zpYBD3bzW1wC&pg=PR3"><i>The Ethiopian Borderlands: Essays in Regional History from Ancient Times to the End of the 18th Century</i></a>. <a href="/facts/ISBN_(identifier)/15AdSPa9">ISBN</a> 9780932415189.</li> <li>Tamrat, Tadesse (1977). "Ethiopia, the Red Sea and the Horn". In Roland Oliver (ed.). <i>The Cambridge History of Africa</i>. Vol. 3. Cambridge University. pp. 89–182. <a href="/facts/ISBN_(identifier)/15AdSPa9">ISBN</a> 0521209811.</li> <li>van Donzel, Emeri; Kon, Ronald E. (2005). "Dahlak islands. History of the Dahlak islands until 1945". <i>Encyclopedia Aethiopica. D-Ha</i>. Harrassowitz. pp. 64–69. <a href="/facts/ISBN_(identifier)/15AdSPa9">ISBN</a> 3447052384.</li></ul> <h2 id="references">References</h2> <ol> <li id="fn:1"><p>van Donzel & Kon 2005, p. 65. - van Donzel, Emeri; Kon, Ronald E. (2005). "Dahlak islands. History of the Dahlak islands until 1945". Encyclopedia Aethiopica. D-Ha. Harrassowitz. pp. 64–69. ISBN 3447052384. <a href="#fnref:1" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:2"><p>van Donzel & Kon 2005, p. 67. - van Donzel, Emeri; Kon, Ronald E. (2005). "Dahlak islands. History of the Dahlak islands until 1945". Encyclopedia Aethiopica. D-Ha. Harrassowitz. pp. 64–69. ISBN 3447052384. <a href="#fnref:2" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:3"><p>Chekroun & Hirsch 2020, p. 91. - Chekroun, Amélie; Hirsch, Bertrand (2020). "The Sultanates of Medieval Ethiopia". A Companion to Medieval Ethiopia and Eritrea". Brill. pp. 86–112. <a href="#fnref:3" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:4"><p>Margariti 2009, p. 158. - Margariti, Roxolani Eleni (2009). "Thieves of Sultans? Dahlak and the Rulers and Merchants of Indian Ocean Port Cities, 11th-13th Centuries AD". Connected Hinterlands. Proceedings of Red Sea Project IV. pp. 155–163. ISBN 9781407306315. <a href="https://www.academia.edu/4260086" target="_blank">https://www.academia.edu/4260086</a> <a href="#fnref:4" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:5"><p>van Donzel & Kon 2005, p. 67. - van Donzel, Emeri; Kon, Ronald E. (2005). "Dahlak islands. History of the Dahlak islands until 1945". Encyclopedia Aethiopica. D-Ha. Harrassowitz. pp. 64–69. ISBN 3447052384. <a href="#fnref:5" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:6"><p>Tamrat 1977, p. 121. - Tamrat, Tadesse (1977). "Ethiopia, the Red Sea and the Horn". In Roland Oliver (ed.). The Cambridge History of Africa. Vol. 3. Cambridge University. pp. 89–182. ISBN 0521209811. <a href="#fnref:6" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:7"><p>van Donzel & Kon 2005, p. 67. - van Donzel, Emeri; Kon, Ronald E. (2005). "Dahlak islands. History of the Dahlak islands until 1945". Encyclopedia Aethiopica. D-Ha. Harrassowitz. pp. 64–69. ISBN 3447052384. <a href="#fnref:7" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:8"><p>Tamrat 1977, p. 152. - Tamrat, Tadesse (1977). "Ethiopia, the Red Sea and the Horn". In Roland Oliver (ed.). The Cambridge History of Africa. Vol. 3. Cambridge University. pp. 89–182. ISBN 0521209811. <a href="#fnref:8" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:9"><p>Tamrat 1977, p. 122. - Tamrat, Tadesse (1977). "Ethiopia, the Red Sea and the Horn". In Roland Oliver (ed.). The Cambridge History of Africa. Vol. 3. Cambridge University. pp. 89–182. ISBN 0521209811. <a href="#fnref:9" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:10"><p>van Donzel & Kon 2005, p. 68. - van Donzel, Emeri; Kon, Ronald E. (2005). "Dahlak islands. History of the Dahlak islands until 1945". Encyclopedia Aethiopica. D-Ha. Harrassowitz. pp. 64–69. ISBN 3447052384. <a href="#fnref:10" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:11"><p>Bosworth 2007, p. 339. - Bosworth, Clifford Edmund (2007). Historic Cities of the Islamic World. Brill. ISBN 9789004153882. <a href="#fnref:11" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:12"><p>van Donzel & Kon 2005, p. 68. - van Donzel, Emeri; Kon, Ronald E. (2005). "Dahlak islands. History of the Dahlak islands until 1945". Encyclopedia Aethiopica. D-Ha. Harrassowitz. pp. 64–69. ISBN 3447052384. <a href="#fnref:12" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:13"><p>Bosworth 2007, p. 339. - Bosworth, Clifford Edmund (2007). Historic Cities of the Islamic World. Brill. ISBN 9789004153882. <a href="#fnref:13" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:14"><p>Margariti 2009, p. 159. - Margariti, Roxolani Eleni (2009). "Thieves of Sultans? Dahlak and the Rulers and Merchants of Indian Ocean Port Cities, 11th-13th Centuries AD". Connected Hinterlands. Proceedings of Red Sea Project IV. pp. 155–163. ISBN 9781407306315. <a href="https://www.academia.edu/4260086" target="_blank">https://www.academia.edu/4260086</a> <a href="#fnref:14" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:15"><p>Tamrat 1977, pp. 121–122. - Tamrat, Tadesse (1977). "Ethiopia, the Red Sea and the Horn". In Roland Oliver (ed.). The Cambridge History of Africa. Vol. 3. Cambridge University. pp. 89–182. ISBN 0521209811. <a href="#fnref:15" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:16"><p>Connel & Killion 2011, p. 160. - Connel, Dan; Killion, Tom (2011). Historical Dictionary of Eritrea. The Scarecrow. ISBN 9780810859524. <a href="#fnref:16" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:17"><p>van Donzel & Kon 2005, pp. 68–69. - van Donzel, Emeri; Kon, Ronald E. (2005). "Dahlak islands. History of the Dahlak islands until 1945". Encyclopedia Aethiopica. D-Ha. Harrassowitz. pp. 64–69. ISBN 3447052384. <a href="#fnref:17" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:18"><p>van Donzel & Kon 2005, p. 69. - van Donzel, Emeri; Kon, Ronald E. (2005). "Dahlak islands. History of the Dahlak islands until 1945". Encyclopedia Aethiopica. D-Ha. Harrassowitz. pp. 64–69. ISBN 3447052384. <a href="#fnref:18" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:19"><p>Connel & Killion 2011, p. 160. - Connel, Dan; Killion, Tom (2011). Historical Dictionary of Eritrea. The Scarecrow. ISBN 9780810859524. <a href="#fnref:19" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:20"><p>van Donzel & Kon 2005, p. 69. - van Donzel, Emeri; Kon, Ronald E. (2005). "Dahlak islands. History of the Dahlak islands until 1945". Encyclopedia Aethiopica. D-Ha. Harrassowitz. pp. 64–69. ISBN 3447052384. <a href="#fnref:20" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:21"><p>Pankhurst 1997, pp. 104–105. - Pankhurst, Richard (1997). The Ethiopian Borderlands: Essays in Regional History from Ancient Times to the End of the 18th Century. ISBN 9780932415189. <a href="https://books.google.com/books?id=zpYBD3bzW1wC&pg=PR3" target="_blank">https://books.google.com/books?id=zpYBD3bzW1wC&pg=PR3</a> <a href="#fnref:21" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:22"><p>van Donzel & Kon 2005, p. 69. - van Donzel, Emeri; Kon, Ronald E. (2005). "Dahlak islands. History of the Dahlak islands until 1945". Encyclopedia Aethiopica. D-Ha. Harrassowitz. pp. 64–69. ISBN 3447052384. <a href="#fnref:22" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:23"><p>Connel & Killion 2011, p. 160. - Connel, Dan; Killion, Tom (2011). Historical Dictionary of Eritrea. The Scarecrow. ISBN 9780810859524. <a href="#fnref:23" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:24"><p>Insoll 1997, p. 383. - Insoll, Timothy (1997). "An Archaeological Reconnaissance made to Dahlak Kebir, the Dahlak Islands, Eritrea: Preliminary Observations". Ethiopia in Broader Perspective: Papers of the 13th International Conference of Ethiopian Studies. Volume 1. pp. 382–388. ISBN 4879749761. <a href="https://www.academia.edu/13045916" target="_blank">https://www.academia.edu/13045916</a> <a href="#fnref:24" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:25"><p>Margariti 2009, p. 157. - Margariti, Roxolani Eleni (2009). "Thieves of Sultans? Dahlak and the Rulers and Merchants of Indian Ocean Port Cities, 11th-13th Centuries AD". Connected Hinterlands. Proceedings of Red Sea Project IV. pp. 155–163. ISBN 9781407306315. <a href="https://www.academia.edu/4260086" target="_blank">https://www.academia.edu/4260086</a> <a href="#fnref:25" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:26"><p>Insoll 1997, p. 383. - Insoll, Timothy (1997). "An Archaeological Reconnaissance made to Dahlak Kebir, the Dahlak Islands, Eritrea: Preliminary Observations". Ethiopia in Broader Perspective: Papers of the 13th International Conference of Ethiopian Studies. Volume 1. pp. 382–388. ISBN 4879749761. <a href="https://www.academia.edu/13045916" target="_blank">https://www.academia.edu/13045916</a> <a href="#fnref:26" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:27"><p>Insoll 1997, pp. 384–385. - Insoll, Timothy (1997). "An Archaeological Reconnaissance made to Dahlak Kebir, the Dahlak Islands, Eritrea: Preliminary Observations". Ethiopia in Broader Perspective: Papers of the 13th International Conference of Ethiopian Studies. Volume 1. pp. 382–388. ISBN 4879749761. <a href="https://www.academia.edu/13045916" target="_blank">https://www.academia.edu/13045916</a> <a href="#fnref:27" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:28"><p>Insoll 1997, p. 385. - Insoll, Timothy (1997). "An Archaeological Reconnaissance made to Dahlak Kebir, the Dahlak Islands, Eritrea: Preliminary Observations". Ethiopia in Broader Perspective: Papers of the 13th International Conference of Ethiopian Studies. Volume 1. pp. 382–388. ISBN 4879749761. <a href="https://www.academia.edu/13045916" target="_blank">https://www.academia.edu/13045916</a> <a href="#fnref:28" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> </ol>