Lists of office-holders

Sultans of Ifat and Adal, 1197 to 1577

The Walashma dynasty ruled Ifat from about 1197 to 1403 and Adal from 1415 to 1559. After 1559 the emirs of Harar led Adal until Imam Muhammad Jasa moved the capital to Awsa in 1577. Imam Ahmad ibn Ibrahim led Adal's armies from 1527 to 1543. Many early reign dates are not known.

Last checked 2026-11-12 3 sources Reading time: 5 min

In short

Ifat and Adal were Muslim states of the Horn of Africa whose lands ran from Zeila on the coast inland toward Harar and Shewa. The Walashma dynasty's last ruler of Ifat, Sa'ad ad-Din II, was killed near Zeila about 1403; his sons returned from Yemen and founded the Adal sultanate in 1415. The reign dates below follow the Wikipedia articles on the Walashma dynasty and the Adal Sultanate, which rest on al-Maqrizi and later historians. (Wikipedia, Walashma dynasty, Wikipedia, Adal Sultanate)

Each row below gives the holder's name in English and Somali spelling, dates in office and the source for that row. Dates are from Wikipedia, Walashma dynasty, Wikipedia, Adal Sultanate; where sources give different dates, the note says so. How we source: How we check facts.

Sultans of Ifat (Walashma dynasty), about 1197 to 1403

Name In office Note Source
Umar Walasma (Umar Dunya-Hawaz) 1197 to 1276 founder of the dynasty Wikipedia, Walashma dynasty
Ali Baziyu 1276 to 1299 son of Umar Wikipedia, Walashma dynasty
Haqq ad-Din Umar 13th century to 13th century son of Umar; dates not known Wikipedia, Walashma dynasty
Husein Umar 13th century to 13th century son of Umar; dates not known Wikipedia, Walashma dynasty
Nasr ad-Din Umar 13th century to 13th century son of Umar; dates not known Wikipedia, Walashma dynasty
Mansur Ali 13th century to 13th century dates not known Wikipedia, Walashma dynasty
Jamal ad-Din Ali 13th century to 13th century dates not known Wikipedia, Walashma dynasty
Abud Jamal ad-Din 13th century to 13th century dates not known Wikipedia, Walashma dynasty
Zubayr Abud 13th or 14th century to 14th century dates not known Wikipedia, Walashma dynasty
Mati Layla Abud 14th century to 14th century daughter of Abud; dates not known Wikipedia, Walashma dynasty
Haqq ad-Din I 14th century to 1328 Wikipedia, Walashma dynasty
Sabr ad-Din I 1328 to 1332 defeated by Emperor Amda Seyon of Ethiopia Wikipedia, Walashma dynasty
Jamal ad-Din I 1332 to 14th century ruled as a vassal of Amda Seyon Wikipedia, Walashma dynasty
Nasr ad-Din Nahwi 14th century to 14th century Wikipedia, Walashma dynasty
Ali ibn Sabr ad-Din 14th century to 14th century Wikipedia, Walashma dynasty
Ahmad ibn Ali 14th century to 14th century Wikipedia, Walashma dynasty
Haqq ad-Din II 14th century to 1374 Wikipedia, Walashma dynasty
Sa'ad ad-Din II 1374 to 1403 killed about 1403 Wikipedia, Walashma dynasty

Sultans and emirs of Adal, 1415 to 1577

Name In office Note Source
Sabr ad-Din II 1415 to 1422 son of Sa'ad ad-Din II Wikipedia, Adal Sultanate
Mansur ad-Din 1422 to 1424 son of Sa'ad ad-Din II Wikipedia, Adal Sultanate
Jamal ad-Din II 1424 to 1433 son of Sa'ad ad-Din II Wikipedia, Adal Sultanate
Shihab ad-Din Ahmad Badlay 1433 to 1445 son of Sa'ad ad-Din II Wikipedia, Adal Sultanate
Muhammad ibn Badlay 1445 to 1472 Wikipedia, Adal Sultanate
Shams ad-Din ibn Muhammad 1472 to 1488 Wikipedia, Adal Sultanate
Muhammad ibn Azhar ad-Din 1488 to 1518 Wikipedia, Adal Sultanate
Garad Abun Adashe 1518 to 1525 emir; the Walashma dynasty article gives 1519 to 1525 Wikipedia, Adal Sultanate
Mahfuz 1518 to 1519 listed in the Walashma dynasty article Wikipedia, Adal Sultanate
Abu Bakr ibn Muhammad 1525 to 1526 the Walashma dynasty article gives 1518 to 1526 Wikipedia, Adal Sultanate
Umar Din 1526 to 1553 sultan at Harar while Imam Ahmad led the state Wikipedia, Adal Sultanate
Ahmad ibn Ibrahim al-Ghazi (Axmed Ibraahim al-Gaasi (Axmed Gurey)) 1527 to 1543 Imam and leader of Adal's armies Wikipedia, Ahmad ibn Ibrahim al-Ghazi
Ali ibn Umar Din 1553 to 1555 Wikipedia, Adal Sultanate
Barakat ibn Umar Din 1555 to 1559 last Walashma sultan Wikipedia, Adal Sultanate
Nur ibn Mujahid 1559 to 1567 Emir of Harar Wikipedia, Adal Sultanate
Uthman the Abyssinian 1567 to 1569 Emir Wikipedia, Adal Sultanate
Talha Abbas 1569 to 1571 Wikipedia, Adal Sultanate
Nasir ibn Uthman 1571 to 1572 Wikipedia, Adal Sultanate
Muhammad ibn Nasir 1572 to 1576 Wikipedia, Adal Sultanate
Mansur ibn Muhammad 1576 to 1577 Emir Wikipedia, Adal Sultanate
Muhammad Jasa 1577 to 1583 Imam; moved the capital to Awsa Wikipedia, Adal Sultanate

Sources

We also publish every row of every office-holder list as one open data file: office-holders.csv.

Sources

  1. Wikipedia, Walashma dynasty · en.wikipedia.org
  2. Wikipedia, Adal Sultanate · en.wikipedia.org
  3. Wikipedia, Ahmad ibn Ibrahim al-Ghazi · en.wikipedia.org

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