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Somali Empire |
Somalia today may look like a country ravaged by poverty and disease but in the past Somalia has produced some of the most successful maritime kingdoms in history. One kingdom in particular was the Ajuran Sultanate. It was founded in the 13th century and would begin to decline in the late 17th century. There are a vast number of reasons why this empire was so successful. During the 13th century the Ajuran empire was the only empire in Africa to use hydraulic engineering. Using hydraulics allowed the kingdom to create limestone wells and cisterns so advanced that they are still used in Somalia today. During the height of its power it was able to trade with China, Arabia, India, Venice, Egypt, Persia and Portugal. A Portuguese explorer passing through one of the empire's cities described seeing buildings four to five stories tall. Zebras. Giraffes, and incense were also exported to China. Some it's cities included Mogadishu, Barawa, Hobyo, and Kismayo just to name a few. All of these cities are still standing and are in use today. Many complex structures were also built such as castles, necropolises, fortresses, and pillar tomb fields. The military used weapons such as axes, bows, spears, daggers, and swords. However the Ottoman empire was an extremely close ally of the Ajuran empire and as a result the Somali military also received many guns and cannons to use in their armies. This partnership would prove to be very valuable to the Somalians when the Portuguese started invading parts of East Africa. The Somalians were very aggressive towards invaders and inflicted many defeats against the Portuguese army and navy. The Somalian naval forces would also join Ottoman naval forces in battles against the Portuguese. Arab, Persian, and Turkish mercenaries were also used in battle. The Ajuran empire's war with the Portuguese would last for decades but the Somalian forces would eventually defeat the Portuguese for good and also defied the Portuguese economic monopoly in the Indian ocean. In the end the Ajuran empire would become weakened by tyrannical rule and did collapse but other Somali kingdoms would rise up to fill the void.
