# Bargaal (Bargal)

> Bargaal (Bargal): coastal town in Bari, Puntland, south of Cape Guardafui; seat of the Majeerteen Sultan until Italy destroyed it in 1925.

Source page: https://calankii.com/en/regions/bargaal/
Last checked: 2026-11-12
Publisher: Calankii (https://calankii.com)

## Where it is

Bargaal is the centre of Bargaal district in the [Bari](/en/regions/bari/) region of [Puntland](/en/states/puntland/). It faces the Guardafui Channel of the Indian Ocean, 26 nautical miles north of Gumbah, 11 north of Ras Binnah, 30 south of Tohen and 35 south of Cape Guardafui ([Wikipedia: Bargal](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bargal)), at about 11.29°N, 51.08°E and 6 m above sea level ([Wikidata](https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q808131)). Wikipedia gives the district about 6,798 people ([Wikipedia: Bargal](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bargal)).

## Seat of the Majeerteen Sultan

Bargaal may date from the early modern period, when it served as the seasonal seat of the Majeerteen Sultanate ([Wikipedia: Bargal](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bargal)). The Italian study *Migiurtinia ed il Territorio del Nugál*, written in early 1925, describes it as the usual home of [Boqor Osman Mahamud](/en/people/boqor-osman-mahamud/) ([Wikipedia: Bargal](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bargal); [Roma Tre University archive](https://web.archive.org/web/20200923105434/https://arcadia.sba.uniroma3.it/handle/2307/2725)).

That study recorded ([Wikipedia: Bargal](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bargal)):

- about 800 people of the Adan Abdirahman and 150 of the Osman Mahmud, both Majeerteen
- four forts, the king's house, about 120 brick buildings and about 200 huts
- drinking water on site, slightly salty
- two parts: Old Bargaal and Eirod, where the Sultan lived

## Destruction in 1925

Italian forces bombed and destroyed Bargaal on 28–29 October 1925, during the campaign to bring the northern sultanates under direct Italian rule ([Wikipedia: Bargal](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bargal)). Caluula, [Hafun](/en/history/ancient-port-of-opone-ras-hafun/), Qandala and Habo were also heavily damaged in that campaign ([Wikipedia: Alula, Somalia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alula,_Somalia)). See [Caluula](/en/regions/caluula/) and [Qandala](/en/regions/qandala/).

See also [the Majeerteen and Hobyo sultanates](/en/history/majeerteen-and-hobyo-sultanates/).

## Since 2000

- **June 2007:** fighting at Bargaal, known as the Battle of Bargal ([Wikipedia: Bargal](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bargal)).
- **2012:** the Puntland Highway Authority announced a project to connect Bargaal and other towns to the 750 km main road linking Bosaso, Garowe and [Galkacyo](/en/regions/mudug/) ([Sabahi, June 2012](http://sabahionline.com/en_GB/articles/hoa/articles/newsbriefs/2012/06/28/newsbrief-07)).

## Schools

Puntland's education ministry lists three primary schools, one secondary school and an institute in Bargaal district, among them Wadikhayr, Taageer, Qorraxad, Abdehan and Bargaal Primary ([Puntland Ministry of Education](http://www.moepuntland.com/primary/)).

## Sources

- [Wikipedia: Bargal](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bargal)
- [Wikidata Q808131](https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q808131)
- [*Migiurtinia ed il Territorio del Nugál*, Roma Tre University archive](https://web.archive.org/web/20200923105434/https://arcadia.sba.uniroma3.it/handle/2307/2725)
- [Puntland Ministry of Education, schools](http://www.moepuntland.com/primary/)

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