Zeila also known as Zaila or Zayla was a historical Muslim region in the Horn of Africa.[1][2][3][4] The region was named after the port city of Zeila in modern day Somaliland.[5]

Geography

Map of Zeila region circa 1744 alternatively known as Kingdom of Adal, bordering Oromo (Galla) to its immediate west and Mogadishu in the south

In the medieval Arab world the Muslim inhabited domains in the Horn of Africa were often referred to as Zeila to differentiate them from the Christian territories designated Habasha.[6][7][8][9] According to Ibn Battuta, a journey through the whole of Zeila and the Mogadishu region would take eight weeks to complete.[10]

Fourteenth century Arab historian Ibn Fadlallah al-Umari recounted on the usage of the term and its origin being the city of Zeila, a vital port in the region.[11]

this is the region which is called in Egypt and Syria the land of Zaila. This however is only one of their coastal towns and one of their islands, whose name has been extended to the whole

— Ibn Fadlallah al-Umari, Masālik al-abṣār fī Mamālik al-amṣār

History

The term Zeila in the thirteenth century was often interchangeable with the Ifat Sultanate which ruled over the entire region and later in the fourteenth century onwards used to denote its successor state the Adal Sultanate as well as Adal region.[12][13][14] Throughout this period the attribution "al-Zaylai" frequently signified an individual from this region however it was not made consistently clear whether it referred to the denizens of city specifically or the Muslims further inland.[15]

In the fourteenth century Egyptian historian al-Maqrizi mentions the inhabitants of Zeila country were fond of the narcotic khat leaf grown in the region.[16] One of the earliest accounts of coffee in text is by the sixteenth century Islamic scholar Ibn Hajar al-Haytami who writes about its development from a tree in the Zeila region.[17]

The fifteenth century empress Eleni of Ethiopia was styled as "queen of Zeila" due to her Muslim upbringing and connection to the Hadiya Sultanate.[18] The leaders of Adal were also often referred to as Zeila kings in texts most notably Ahmad ibn Ibrahim al-Ghazi conqueror of Abyssinia.[19][20]

Inhabitants

According to John Fage the inhabitants of Zayla were mostly Somalis who spoke the Somali language[21]

Al Umari’s account of Ifat mentions that the people of Zayla spoke the Somali language which he refers to Zayla’i in his account.[22] He also states that in the land of Zayla

“they cultivate two times annually by seasonal rains … The rainfall for the winter is called ‘Bil’ and rainfall for the ‘summer’ is called ‘Karam’.”

It appears that the historian was referring to these still used Somali terms, Karan and Bil. This indicates that the Somali solar calendar citizens of Zeila was using to farm with at that time was very similar to the one they use today and gives us further insight into the local farming practices during that period.[23]

References

  1. ^ Østebø, Terje. Islam, Ethnicity, and Conflict in Ethiopia The Bale Insurgency, 1963–1970. Cambridge University Press. p. 52.
  2. ^ Levtzion, Nehemia. The History of Islam in Africa. Ohio University Press. p. 228.
  3. ^ Alpers, Edward (1997). "The African Diaspora in the Northwestern Indian Ocean: Reconsideration of an Old Problem, New Directions for Research". Comparative Studies of South Asia, Africa and the Middle East (CSSAAME). 17 (2): 71.
  4. ^ Adal. Encyclopedia Aethiopica.
  5. ^ Trimingham, J. Spencer. Islam in Ethiopia. Taylor & Francis.
  6. ^ Pierrepont, Zacharie. The Abyssinian connection? Abyssinian-related scholars in the Yemeni and Medieval Red Sea environment (6th–9th/12th-15th centuries). Marseille Université.
  7. ^ Mukhtar, Mohamed. Historical Dictionary of Somalia. Scarecrow Press. p. 268.
  8. ^ Erlikh, Ḥagai. The Cross and the River Ethiopia, Egypt, and the Nile. L. Rienner. p. 39.
  9. ^ Meri, Josef. Medieval Islamic Civilization An Encyclopedia. Taylor & Francis. p. 12.
  10. ^ Burton, Richard. First Footsteps in East Africa. B & R Samizdat Express.
  11. ^ Trimingham, J. Spencer. Islam in Ethiopia. Taylor & Francis.
  12. ^ Ogilby, John. AN ACCURATE DESCRIPTION OF AFRICA. p. 620.
  13. ^ Cerulli, Enrico. Islam yesterday and today. p. 344.
  14. ^ Brill, E. J. E.J. Brill's First Encyclopaedia of Islam 1913–1936. A – Bābā Beg · Volume 1. Brill. p. 126.
  15. ^ Hirsch, Bertrand. The port of Zeyla and its hinterland in the Middle Ages. French Center for Ethiopian Studies.
  16. ^ Radt, Charlotte. Contribution à l'histoire ethnobotanique d'une plante stimulante : le Kat. Le Kat au Yemen (Note Préliminaire). Journal d'agriculture traditionnelle et de botanique appliquée. p. 232.
  17. ^ Waines, David. Food Culture and Health in Pre-Modern Muslim Societies. BRILL. p. 144.
  18. ^ Braukämper, Ulrich. Islamic History and Culture in Southern Ethiopia Collected Essays. Lit. p. 61.
  19. ^ The Portuguese expedition to Abyssinia in 1541–1543 as narrated by Castanhoso (PDF). p. 79.
  20. ^ S.C., Munro-Hay. Ethiopia, the unknown land : a cultural and historical guide. I.B. Tauris. p. 28.
  21. ^ Fage, John. Cambridge History of Africa (PDF). Cambridge University Press. p. 139.
  22. ^ Fage, John. Cambridge History of Africa (PDF). Cambridge University Press. p. 139.
  23. ^ Said M-Shidad Hussein, The Somali Calendar: An Ancient, Accurate Timekeeping System
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