# 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. Source page: https://calankii.com/en/people/ahmad-ibn-ibrahim-al-ghazi/ Last checked: 2026-11-12 Publisher: Calankii (https://calankii.com) ## Who was he? Imam Ahmad ibn Ibrahim al-Ghazi was the imam of the Adal Sultanate from 1527 to 1543 ([Wikipedia, Ahmad ibn Ibrahim al-Ghazi](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ahmad_ibn_Ibrahim_al-Ghazi)). Somalis call him Axmed Gurey and Amharic speakers call him Gragn, both meaning "the left-handed" (same source). He led Adal's invasion of the Christian kingdom of Ethiopia (same source). This page records his life without taking sides. For the full war, battle by battle, see [Imam Ahmad and the Adal campaigns, 1527 to 1543](/en/history/imam-ahmad-and-adal-1527-1543/). ## Birth and origin Wikipedia gives his birth as 1506, in the lowlands of Hubat in Adal ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ahmad_ibn_Ibrahim_al-Ghazi)). He spent much time in the city of Harar (same source). Whiteway, who edited the Portuguese records in 1902, writes that he was the son of Ibrahim al-Ghazi, and that father and son were ordinary soldiers under Garad Aboun ([Whiteway, *The Portuguese Expedition to Abyssinia*, 1902, p. xxxiii](https://archive.org/details/portugueseexpedi00whitrich)). His ethnic origin is disputed. Historians variously describe him as Somali, as [Harla](/en/history/the-harla-and-harlaa/) or Harari, or as Balaw ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ahmad_ibn_Ibrahim_al-Ghazi)). Whiteway thought him "probably" Somali, because of his close ties to many Somalis, but wrote that the evidence "does not appear decisive" ([Whiteway 1902, p. xxxiii](https://archive.org/details/portugueseexpedi00whitrich)). The historian Didier Morin says he is often confused with one of his commanders, Ahmed Gurey ibn Husayn "the Somali" ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ahmad_ibn_Ibrahim_al-Ghazi)). ## Rise to power He served under [Garad Abun](/en/history/harar-capital-of-adal-1520-1577/) Adashe in a power struggle with the [Walashma](/en/history/sultanate-of-shewa-and-founding-of-ifat/) dynasty of Adal ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ahmad_ibn_Ibrahim_al-Ghazi)). He defeated an Ethiopian force sent under the general Degelhan at the battle of Hubat (same source). He then fought and killed Sultan Abu Bakr ibn Muhammad, and set up [Umar Din](/en/history/end-of-adal-1543-1583/) as sultan while he himself held power as imam (same source). He took the religious title of imam rather than the royal title of sultan ([Basset, *Histoire de la conquête de l'Abyssinie*, 1897, introduction](https://archive.org/details/histoiredelacon00bassgoog)). After taking power in 1527 he banned wine, gambling and drum dances ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ahmad_ibn_Ibrahim_al-Ghazi)). The Adal chronicle says he sold his wives' jewellery and his household goods to buy arms for the army ([Basset 1897, p. 73](https://archive.org/details/histoiredelacon00bassgoog)). ## The war with Ethiopia In March 1529 he defeated a much larger Ethiopian army at Shimbra Kure ([Whiteway 1902, pp. xxxv–xxxvi](https://archive.org/details/portugueseexpedi00whitrich)). Somali communities formed much of his army, and the Adal chronicle names the Habr Magadi, the Geri and the Marehan among them ([Basset 1897, pp. 72–73](https://archive.org/details/histoiredelacon00bassgoog)). His brother-in-law Garad Matan ibn Uthman, called "the Somali" in the chronicle, was one of his commanders (same source). By 1540 Adal held most of Ethiopia, and Emperor Lebna Dengel died a fugitive ([Whiteway 1902](https://archive.org/details/portugueseexpedi00whitrich)). The chronicle and other sources record mass killings, forced conversions and the burning of churches, including Debre Libanos and the church of Mary of Zion at Aksum ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ahmad_ibn_Ibrahim_al-Ghazi); [Whiteway 1902](https://archive.org/details/portugueseexpedi00whitrich)). The Adal chronicle also says he built mosques and towns in Begemder and Dembiya, and taught the Quran himself to new converts ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ahmad_ibn_Ibrahim_al-Ghazi)). ## Death Portugal sent about 400 musketeers under Christovão da Gama in 1541 ([Whiteway 1902](https://archive.org/details/portugueseexpedi00whitrich)). The Imam defeated them in August 1542, and da Gama was captured and executed (same source). The Imam was killed at the battle of [Wayna Daga](/en/history/imam-ahmads-son-and-the-end-of-the-war-1543-1560/), near Lake Tana, on 21 February 1543 ([Whiteway 1902, pp. lxix–lxx](https://archive.org/details/portugueseexpedi00whitrich)). Wikipedia gives his death date as 10 February 1543 in its opening line ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ahmad_ibn_Ibrahim_al-Ghazi)). His wife, Bati del Wambara, led the rest of the army back to Harar (same source). ## How he is remembered Memories of him differ sharply. In Ethiopia he is remembered for a devastating invasion. The historian Paul Henze wrote, "Every Christian highlander still hears tales of Gragn in his childhood" ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ahmad_ibn_Ibrahim_al-Ghazi)). In Somali histories he appears as a national hero; one Somali history book titles its chapter on him "Somali Hero - Ahmad Gurey (1506-43)" ([*Somalia: From the Dawn of Civilization to the Modern Times*, chapter 8](https://web.archive.org/web/20050309121250/http://www.civicwebs.com/cwvlib/africa/somalia/1994/dawn_of_civilization/chapter_8.htm)). The Imam Ahmed Stadium is named after him ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ahmad_ibn_Ibrahim_al-Ghazi)). Somali Wikipedia shows a statue of him in Mogadishu ([Somali Wikipedia, Imaam Axmed Qaasi](https://so.wikipedia.org/wiki/Imaam_Axmed_Qaasi)). See [Saad ad-Din II](/en/people/saad-ad-din-ii/), whose sons founded the Sultanate of Adal. ## In short Imam of Adal from 1527 to 1543, who led the war against Ethiopia and was killed at Wayna Daga in 1543. --- I want to help with this: email hello@calankii.com. Fix this page: email hello@calankii.com with the page link and your source.