Political and Socio-Economic Dynamics in

Muslim Sultanates
A number of strong sultanates emerged since the fourteenth century. Trade played a significant role in the rise and
development of these states. It served as a major source of livelihood and acted as a catalyst in the formation of Muslim
sultanates, while also becoming a major source of conflict between the Christian Kingdom and the Muslim sultanates.
One notable Muslim sultanate that emerged along trade routes and became a center of resistance against the Christian
Kingdom until the second half of the sixteenth century was the Sultanate of Adal.

The Rise of Adal

After its establishment, Ifat conducted a series of campaigns against neighboring sultanates, extending its hegemony
over these areas and resisting the expansion of the Christian Kingdom. However, one branch of the Walasma family,
realizing that Ifat was vulnerable to attacks from the Christian Kingdom due to its location, moved further southeast to the
lowlands and established the new and vigorous Muslim Sultanate of Adal in the highland districts around Harar in 1367.
The initial center of this extended Walasma Dynasty was Dakar, located southeast of Harar. The Walasma family
consolidated its power in the new center and launched military campaigns against the frontiers of the Christian Kingdom.
The center of Adal shifted to the city of Harar in 1520, and after the defeat of Imam Ahmed, a growing threat from a new
force—the Oromo—forced the sultanate to move its capital to Awsa in 1576/7, in the present-day Afar region.

Trade and the Expansion of Islam

Islam spread into the central and southwestern parts of the Ethiopian region through Muslim merchants and preachers.
Trade served as a channel for the expansion of Islam in the Muslim sultanates and formed the basis of their economies.
The most well-known Muslim sultanates during this period were Ifat (1285-1415) and Adal (1415-1577). The main trade
outlet shifted to Zeila, and the old city-states of Mogadishu, Brava, and Merca served as ports for their hinterland. In the
northeast, Massawa served as a trade outlet.

With the revival of trade, various towns and trade centers emerged along the route from Zeila to the interior. Travelers'
accounts and chronicles mentioned these towns, and ruins of mosques and residences bear witness to the existence of
market centers that facilitated trade along the coasts. The ruins around Jigjiga and the highlands of Harar and Charchar
indicate the market towns that served the Zeila route. These include Weez-Gebeya in western Shewa, a famous market
on the Fatagar-Dawaro-Harar route, Suq-Wayzaro in old Damot, Suq-Amaja, and the renowned market center
Gandabalo on the Ifat-Awsa route. Gandabalo was predominantly inhabited by Muslim and Christian merchants who
served as agents for kings and sultans.

Other significant market towns included those linking medieval Amhara with Awsa, such as Wasel near present-day
Ware-Illu, Qorqora/Qoreta north of Waldiya, and Mandalay in southern Tigray. The towns of Dabarwa, the seat of the
Bahre-Negash ("Lord of the Sea"), and Asmara were important caravan entrepots in the hinterland of Massawa. Muslim
states exerted significant control over trade routes passing through Zeila due to their geographical proximity, although the
"Solomonic" Kingdom contested this control, especially after its revival and consolidation.