# Boqor Osman Mahamud (Boqor Cismaan Maxamuud)

> Boqor Osman Mahamud (1854–1943), king of the Majeerteen Sultanate at Alula: the 1889 treaty, the 1909 flag refusal and the end of his state in 1927.

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Last checked: 2026-11-12
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## Who was he?

Boqor Osman Mahamud was the best-known ruler of the Majeerteen Sultanate, a Somali state in the north-east, today's [Bari](/en/regions/bari/) region ([Wikipedia, Osman Mahamuud](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Osman_Mohamoud_(king))). Castagno's dictionary calls him "a powerful sultan" who "is remembered for his resistance to the Italians" ([Castagno, *Historical Dictionary of Somalia*, 1975, "Bogor Osman Mahmoud"](https://archive.org/details/historical-dictionary-of-somalia-1)).

*Boqor* is a Somali title for a king. Castagno explains that it means "belt", one who binds the people together ([Castagno 1975](https://archive.org/details/historical-dictionary-of-somalia-1)).

## The Majeerteen Sultanate

The sultanate may date back to the 15th or 16th century. Its rulers sat at [Alula](/en/regions/caluula/), on the [Gulf of Aden](/en/relations/yemen/) coast, and controlled the sea trade of the area ([Castagno 1975, "Mijerteyn"](https://archive.org/details/historical-dictionary-of-somalia-1)). Ships often ran aground on the rocky coast near Cape Guardafui. In 1866 the British paid the sultan to let them rescue disabled ships and bring them to Aden (same source).

He was the son of Mahmud ibn Yusuf, who ruled from 1844 to 1860 ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Osman_Mohamoud_(king))). He took the throne as a young man.

## The split with Hobyo

About 1870 a dispute with his relative and father-in-law, [Yusuf Ali Kenadid](/en/people/yusuf-ali-kenadid/), led to fighting and split the sultanate. Yusuf Ali left and founded the Sultanate of Hobyo on the [Mudug](/en/regions/mudug/) coast ([Castagno 1975, "Mijerteyn"](https://archive.org/details/historical-dictionary-of-somalia-1)). The two states stayed rivals for decades. See [the Majeerteen and Hobyo sultanates](/en/history/majeerteen-and-hobyo-sultanates/).

## The 1889 treaty and the flag at Alula

In 1889 he signed a treaty of protection with the Italian consul at Zanzibar, Vincenzo Filonardi. Italy paid him a yearly subsidy and promised not to interfere in his rule ([Castagno 1975](https://archive.org/details/historical-dictionary-of-somalia-1); [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Osman_Mohamoud_(king))).

He tried to keep his country independent in practice. In 1909 he refused to let the Italian flag fly at Alula. Italy stopped his subsidy and bombarded coastal villages ([Castagno 1975, "Mijerteyn"](https://archive.org/details/historical-dictionary-of-somalia-1)). In 1910 rivalries inside the sultanate forced him to accept Italian residents in the coastal towns (same source).

## The end of the sultanate

After Mussolini came to power, Italy moved to rule the north-east directly. In 1927 the Majeerteen were disarmed and their land brought under Italian administration, after battles with heavy losses on both sides ([Castagno 1975, "Mijerteyn"](https://archive.org/details/historical-dictionary-of-somalia-1)). See [fascist rule and the war, 1923 to 1941](/en/history/fascist-rule-and-the-war-1923-1941/).

He died in 1943 ([Castagno 1975](https://archive.org/details/historical-dictionary-of-somalia-1)).

## In short

King of the Majeerteen Sultanate for over fifty years, until Italian forces took the sultanate in the 1920s.

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