Wikipedia

Mahfuz

For other uses, seeMahfuz (name).

Mahfuz(orMohammed) (Harari:መሕፉዝ,Arabic:محفوظ,Portuguese:Mafudi,Somali:Maxfuud; died July 1517) was a Garad, Emir ofHararand Governor ofZeilain theAdal Sultanate.[2]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.[3]He is often known as the "Captain ofZeila"in medieval texts.[4]

Mahfuz
ImamofZeila
EmirofHarar
Garad
Leader ofAdal
Reign1490[1]-1517
PredecessorMuhammad ibn Azhar ad-Din
SuccessorMuhammad ibn Azhar ad-Din
DiedJuly 1517
IssueBati del Wambara
Ahmadus bin Mahfuz
Names
Mohammed
ReligionIslam

Life and reign

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According to Ethiopian historianMohammed Hassen,he was either ofHarlaorHarariorigin.[5]However Marco Demichelis claims he was ofSomaliorigin.[6]WhileDaryll Forderegards him as an ethnicAfar.[7]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 ofIfat,Fatagar,Dawaro,andBale,which was in stark contrast to the policy of coexistence favored by SultanMuhammad ibn Azhar ad-Dinand his moderate faction.[8]

By the 1490s, political leadership shifted fromMuhammad ibn Azhar ad-Dinto Mahfuz. Although theWalasma dynastyretained 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 inAdal,Ethiopia's Muslim borderlands, and across theRed Sea,where traders welcomed the rise in war captives for theArab slave markets.[9]He made strong connections with theTurksofArabiaand sent slaves to theSherif 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 ofZeilaby the Sherif, which made Mahfuz responsible for bringing the Key of Abyssinia to him.[10]

Sources differ over the number of years Mahfuz invaded Abyssinia. Francisco Álvares states that his invasions began during the reign ofEskender,and lasted 25 years.[11]However, Beckingham and Huntingford note that the EthiopianParis Chronicle,which draws on contemporary Ethiopian records, dates the beginning of these invasions to the ascension ofDawit II(Lebna Dengel) in 1508.[12]Mahfuz is reported to have caused the deaths of Ethiopian EmperorsNa'odandEskender.[13][14]According to the emperorSarsa Dengelchronicles, Mahfuz was linked to theMalassayarmy unit.[15]He would occupy villages of Abyssinia and take all women, children and men as slaves forIndiaandArabia.[16]

In his later life Mahfuz would also periodically continue to lead raids into the frontier provinces ofAbyssiniafor a number of years. He selected the season ofLentfor his attacks, when the defenders were weakened by theirfasts.He raided theAmhara,Shewa,andFatagarprovinces south of theAwash River.According toPortugueseexplorerFrancisco Álvares,during his raids Mahfuz exclusively targeted Abyssinian soldiers capturing them however left civilians unharmed.[17]He andMuhammad ibn Azhar ad-Dinwould descend upon the regions of Ifat, Dawaro and Fatagar which resulted in the slaying of 19,000 Christians within a year.[18]

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 ofAdalencamped on a plain that was surrounded by mountains. After first sending soldiers out to secure the passes, the Abyssinian Emperor closed upon Imam Mahfuz.[19]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 theGoliathof the Infidels ".[20]After defeating Mahfuz,Dawit IIused appellationWanag Segad,which is a combination ofGe'ezandHarariterms.[21]

Legacy

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His death led to a power struggle between the radical and moderate factions in Adal with the followers of Mahfuz essentially prevailing.[22]Garad AbunarrangedImam Ahmad ibn Ibrahim's marriage with Mahfuz's daughter,Bati del Wambaraas it would help establish a formal alliance and continue Mahfuz's tradition of jihad.[23]Ten years after Mahfuz's death, Imam Ahmad embarked on aConquest of Abyssinia(Futuh al-Habash).[24]Ahmed ibn Ibrahim al-Ghazilater in his invasion of Abyssinia would kill an old Gabra as revenge for his victory against Mahfuz.[25]His son Garad Ahmadus bin Mahfuz participated in the conquest.[26]Garad Ahmadus was later responsible for slaying patrician Limu, the lord ofSharkhaand Nagada Iyasus, the governor of Jinah.[27][28]

See also

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Notes and references

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  1. ^Hassen, Mohammed (2004)."Review of Futuh Al-Habaša: The Conquest of Abyssinia [16th Century]".International Journal of Ethiopian Studies.1(2): 177–193.ISSN1543-4133.JSTOR27828848.
  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.ISBN9783825856717.
  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.JSTOR27828848.
  6. ^Peacock, A. C. S. (2017-03-08).Islamisation: Comparative Perspectives from History.Edinburgh University Press. p. 231.ISBN978-1-4744-1713-6.
  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.ISBN978-0-521-20981-6.
  9. ^Salvadore, Matteo (2016-06-17).The African Prester John and the Birth of Ethiopian-European Relations, 1402-1555.Routledge. p. 108.ISBN978-1-317-04545-8.
  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.JSTOR40732663.
  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.ISBN978-0195382075.
  22. ^Fage, J. D.; Oliver, Roland (1975).The Cambridge History of Africa.Cambridge University Press. p. 67.ISBN978-0-521-20981-6.
  23. ^Hassen, Mohammed (2004)."Review of Futuh Al-Habaša: The Conquest of Abyssinia [16th Century]".International Journal of Ethiopian Studies.1(2): 177–193.ISSN1543-4133.JSTOR27828848.
  24. ^Sihab ad-Din Ahmad, in hisFutuh al-Habasa(translated by Paul Lester Stenhouse with annotations by Richard Pankhurst [Hollywood: Tsehai, 2003]) 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.ISBN9781786560551.
  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.ISBN978-0-9723172-6-9.
  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.ISBN978-0-9723172-6-9.
  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.ISBN978-0-9723172-6-9.
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