Documents and archives
Futuh al-Habasha: the 16th-century chronicle of Imam Ahmad's wars
Futuh al-Habasha ("The Conquest of Abyssinia") is an Arabic chronicle by Shihab al-Din Ahmad ibn Abd al-Qadir, known as Arab Faqih, who took part in the Adal army. It records the campaigns of Imam Ahmad ibn Ibrahim (Axmed Gurey) from 1529 to 1543 and names many Somali groups who fought in them. It was translated into French in 1897 and English in 2003.
What it is
Futuh al-Habasha ("The Conquest of Abyssinia") is a history written in Arabic in the 16th century. Its author was Shihab al-Din Ahmad ibn Abd al-Qadir ibn Salim ibn Uthman, known as Arab Faqih ("the Arab jurist"), a scholar of Adal-era Harar who took part in the Adal army (Futuh al-Habasha, Wikipedia).
It is a first-hand account of the war between the Adal Sultanate and the Ethiopian kingdom led by Imam Ahmad ibn Ibrahim al-Ghazi, known in Somali as Axmed Gurey, from 1529 to 1543 (Wikipedia). The war itself is told on Imam Ahmad and Adal, 1527 to 1543.
What it records
The chronicle describes the Adal army's campaigns into the northern, central and southern highlands of today's Ethiopia (Wikipedia). The author names his informants, including Emir Hussain ibn Abu Bakr al-Gaturi (Wikipedia).
It is one of the earliest texts to name Somali groups by name. It mentions fighters from several Somali clan groups in the Imam's army, among them the Harti, Marraihan (Marehan), Girri, Jarso, Hawiye and Habr Magadle, and it describes their part in battles (Futuh al-Habasha, English translation by Stenhouse, Tsehai Publishers; I. M. Lewis, A Modern History of the Somali, Internet Archive). Historians use these passages to show where Somali groups lived and how they took part in Adal's wars in the 16th century.
The linguist Giorgio Banti places the work within Harari literature, as it was written in the Harar of the Adal period (Wikipedia).
Translations and editions
- French, 1897 to 1909. René Basset published the Arabic text and a French translation in Paris, Histoire de la conquête de l'Abyssinie (Wikipedia). Later scholars still cite Basset's edition of the Arabic.
- English, 2003. Paul Lester Stenhouse translated it into English as The Conquest of Abyssinia, with annotations by Richard Pankhurst, published by Tsehai Publishers; the publisher describes it as the first complete English translation (Tsehai Publishers).
- Doctoral study, 2013. Amélie Chekroun wrote a doctoral thesis in Paris on the text and the Adal sultanate (CORE, Chekroun thesis PDF; Annales islamologiques, IFAO).
How it has been received
The book is the main written source for the wars of the 1530s, and every major history of Adal and of Imam Ahmad cites it. The Ethiopian historian Hussein Ahmed reviewed the English translation (Wikipedia, references). Ethiopian Christian chronicles, such as the chronicle of Emperor Lebna Dengel, cover the same war from the other side, and historians read the two together.
The text as it survives stops before the Imam's death in battle in 1543. The author refers to a second part, which has not been found (Futuh al-Habasha, Tsehai Publishers).
Where to read it
- English translation: The Conquest of Abyssinia, Tsehai Publishers
- Find it in a library: WorldCat
- French translation by Basset: WorldCat
Related pages
Sources
- Futuh al-Habasha, Wikipedia · en.wikipedia.org
- Futuh al-Habasha, English translation by Stenhouse, Tsehai Publishers · store.tsehaipublishers.com
- I. M. Lewis, A Modern History of the Somali, Internet Archive · archive.org
- CORE, Chekroun thesis PDF · core.ac.uk
- Annales islamologiques, IFAO · ifao.egnet.net
- WorldCat · search.worldcat.org
- WorldCat · search.worldcat.org
Toosoo!
Calankii is made by Toosoo, which works for one united, prosperous Somalia.
Can you help with Futuh al-Habasha: the 16th-century chronicle of Imam Ahmad's wars? Tell us what you can give.
I want to help with this
Where it happened
- Boorama (Borama) and AwdalAwdal is the far north-west region, on the borders with Djibouti and Ethiopia, with Borama (Boorama) as its capital and about 300,000 to 636,000 people.
- Hargeysa (Hargeisa) and Woqooyi GalbeedWoqooyi Galbeed is the north-western region that holds Hargeisa (Hargeysa) and the port of Berbera, with about 1 to 1.45 million people.
Same era
- Imam Ahmad ibn Ibrahim al-Ghazi (Axmed Gurey)Imam Ahmad Gurey (about 1506–1543): leader of Adal in the war with Ethiopia, his life, the debate on his origin and how he is remembered.
- Islam in Somalia: faith, the Sufi orders and religion in lawIslam in Somalia: Sunni and Shafi'i, how Islam arrived, the Sufi orders (Qadiriyya, Ahmadiyya, Salihiyya), great scholars, and what the constitution says.
- Sheikh Uways al-Barawi (Sheekh Uweys)Sheikh Uways al-Barawi (1847–1909), Baraawe scholar who spread the Qadiriyya across East Africa: his life, teaching, poems and death.
- Somali clan tree: DarodEvery Darod clan, sub-clan and lineage in Abbink 2009 and ACLED 2025, level by level, as one part of the Somali clan tree.
- Somali clan tree: DirEvery Dir clan, sub-clan and lineage in Abbink 2009 and ACLED 2025, level by level, as one part of the Somali clan tree.
- Somali clan tree: every clan, sub-clan and lineageThe full Somali clan tree, family by family down to diya-paying groups, from Abbink 2009, ACLED 2025 and the World Bank, with a download.
Keep reading
- Books about Somalis: every era, from the Periplus to todayA guide to books written about Somalis and Somalia across 2,000 years, by era and language, with free links to read them online.
- Books about Somalis before 1500: Greek, Arabic and Chinese writersThe oldest books that describe Somalis: the Periplus, al-Idrisi, Yaqut, Ibn Battuta, Zhao Rugua, Fei Xin and more, with free links.
- Books about Somalis, 1500 to 1884: the Futuh, Portuguese, Ottoman and European travellersBooks on Somalis from 1500 to 1884: Futuh al-Habasha, Duarte Barbosa, Portuguese chronicles, Seydi Ali Reis, Guillain, Burton, Speke and Révoil.
- Books about Somalis, 1884 to 1960: the colonial eraColonial-era books on Somalis, 1884 to 1960: Swayne, Robecchi Bricchetti, Jardine, Drake-Brockman, Cerulli, Trimingham, Laurence, Lewis.
- Books about Somalis, 1960 to 1990: history and research in the Republic yearsKey books on Somali history, society and politics published 1960 to 1990: Lewis, Andrzejewski, Touval, Hess, Laitin, Cassanelli, Samatar.
- Books about Somalis, 1991 to 2005: the fall of the state and new researchKey books on Somalis published 1991 to 2005: The Invention of Somalia, Unraveling Somalia, Black Hawk Down, Saints and Somalis, Economy Without State.