Ahmad ibn Ibrahim al-Ghazi

Ahmad ibn Ibrahim al-Ghazi (1506–1543) served as the Imam of the Adal Sultanate from 1527 until his death. Known in Amharic as Ahmed Gragn and in Somali as Gurey—both terms meaning "the left-handed"—he commanded the Adal invasion of Abyssinia, sparking the Ethiopian–Adal War. Medieval writings often refer to him as the "King of Zeila." Orientalist Frederick A. Edwards called him "The African Attila." His campaigns pushed as far as the borders of the Funj Sultanate. Before 1541, he won nearly every battle against the Ethiopians.

Invasion of Abyssinia

After his victory at the Battle of Amba Sel, Emperor Dawit II could no longer meet him in open battle and was forced to live as an outlaw, constantly pursued by Ahmad’s soldiers, the Malassay. Ahmad was eventually defeated after Portuguese forces intervened, pulling his war into a larger conflict between the Portuguese and Ottoman empires. His invasion left a lasting memory in both modern Ethiopia and Somalia.

Early years

Born in 1506, Ahmad came from the lowlands of Hubat in the Adal Sultanate. Historians disagree on his ethnicity, considering him either Somali, Harla or Harari, son of a Garad of Sim, or Balaw. He spent much time in Harar. According to the sixteenth-century Adal writer Arab Faqīh, Ahmad left Harar for Hubat due to the secular rule of Sultan Abu Bakr ibn Muhammad.

After the death of Imam Mahfuz, Garad Abun Adashe became the most popular ruler in Adal, sparking a seven-year conflict with the ruling Walashma dynasty. As a Malassay under Garad Abun, Ahmad joined Adashe’s power struggle against the Walashma. During this conflict, Ahmad showed courage, intelligence, and military skill.

Garad Abun, impressed, arranged for him to marry Mahfuz’s youngest daughter, Bati del Wambara. Sultan Abu Bakr ibn Muhammad established his capital at Harar and recruited many Somalis into his army. With Somali allies, Abu Bakr defeated and killed Adashe near Zeila in 1525.

The remnants of Adashe’s Harla forces retreated to Hubat, where their numbers grew to over 100. The Sultan pursued them, but Ahmad defeated him in battle, forcing Abu Bakr to take refuge in Ogaden with his Somali allies. Ahmad did not follow. After raising another large Somali force, Abu Bakr met Ahmad a second time. The clash was indecisive, and the Sultan again retreated to Ogaden, leaving Ahmad as independent governor of the rebel province of Hubat.

Hearing of the power struggle, Emperor Dawit II sent his general Degelhan to confront Ahmad. The Abyssinian campaign initially seemed successful: Degelhan captured many women and children from Adal, including the mother of Ahmad’s commander Abu Bakr Qatin. But Ahmad laid a trap in Hubat, splitting his unit into three. After the Abyssinians sacked Harar and entered the region, Ahmad ambushed them at the Battle of Hubat.

The surviving Abyssinians fled in panic, and Ahmad’s troops won decisively, recovering stolen booty. This victory strengthened his forces and spread his fame. The Sultan gathered a large Somali force and besieged Ahmad at Hubat. Unprepared, Ahmad camped in the mountains on Gara Muleta.

The Sultan besieged him for ten days, hoping to starve him out. At this critical moment, the sheikhs of Harar intervened and reconciled the two leaders. For the first time in his career, Ahmad recognized the authority of the Adalite state. The peace was soon broken when Abu Bakr tried to assassinate Ahmad in Harar.

Ahmad fled back to Hubat and continued his struggle. Around this time, a swarm of bees landed on Ahmad’s head. This was considered miraculous, and people gave him the title of Imam.

After much fighting, the Imam defeated and killed Abu Bakr, who had fled to Ogaden among his Somali supporters. Ahmad then returned to Harar and placed Umar Din on the throne as his puppet. Over the next months, he subjugated surrounding Somali clans through diplomacy and war, uniting the warring Muslim nomads under his authority. He also began stockpiling firearms—matchlock muskets, cannons, and arquebuses—obtained from Arabia via the port of Zeila.

Before invading Ethiopia, he had access to several cannons and well-armed soldiers from Yemen through ties with the Ba 'Alawiyya. He invited Somali chiefs to join his jihad against Ethiopia. Besides Somalis, his army included Harla, Argobba, Afar, and Arabs—peoples who had long been in conflict with the Christian empire. By around 1527–1529, the Imam led a strong state with growing influence in the Horn of Africa, ready to launch a major offensive against the Christian empire.