Ahmad ibn Ibrahim al-Ghazi

Ahmad ibn Ibrahim al-Ghazi ( Arabic أحمد بن إبراهيم الغازي, DMG Aḥmad b. Ibrāhīm al-Ġāzī ; * 1506 ; † February 21, 1543 ), also called Mohammed Gran ( granye - "left-handed"), was a Muslim - Ethiopian ruler of the pre-colonial period, who was probably of Somali descent. From 1529 until his death in 1543 he led the Sultanate of Adal in a campaign of conquest against the Abyssinian Empire . He is known as Gurey among the Somali people .

Life

He was the son of General Ibrahim at the court of the Sultan of Adal ( Harar ). After the defeat by the Emperor of Abyssinia in 1516, the sultan wanted to capitulate and pay tribute. There were fierce power struggles at court, in the course of which Ibrahim was killed by the sultan, Prince Mahfuz of Zeila seized power and appointed a new sultan as a front man . Mahfuz fell in 1517 in the ongoing battle against Abyssinia.

At the age of just 14, Ahmad married Mahfuz's daughter Bati del Wambara in 1520 against the protests of the soldiers , killed the sultan, who had again considered surrender, and first made Barakat the new sultan. In 1525 he accepted the title himself and in 1527 - now at the age of 21 - declared jihad to resist the Ethiopian attackers .

During his absence for the campaigns, he made Barakat sultan again, defeated the emperor in 1529 and conquered at least three quarters of the Abyssinian Empire (according to other information five sixths) until he was defeated and killed by Emperor Claudius in the battle of Wayna Daga in 1543 .

His widow, the daughter of Mahfuz, was taken prisoner but was exchanged for the Ethiopian crown prince captured by Ahmad . Wambara initially took over the reign and married Ahmad's nephew Nur al-Mudjahid , she is considered one of the uncrowned queens and true rulers in the Islamic world. Together, after Barakat's death, they continued the fight without success. Wambara fell in 1552, just 1567 after defeating and killing Emperor Claudius in 1559. Ahmad's sons, born in 1531 and 1533, were also believed to have died during the fighting.