Harar (Harari: ሀረር / Old Harari: هَرَرْ; Amharic: ሐረር; Oromo: Adare Biyyo; Somali: Harar; Arabic: هرر), known historically by the indigenous as Harar-Gey or simply Gey (Harari: ጌይ, Old Harari: ݘٛىيْ, romanized: Gēy, lit. 'the city'), is a walled city in eastern Ethiopia. It is also known in Arabic as the City of Saints (Arabic: مدينة الأولياء, romanized: Madīnat al-ʾAwliyāʾ).
Harar is the capital city of the Harari Region. The ancient city is located on a hilltop in the eastern part of the country and is about 500 kilometres (310 mi) from the Ethiopian capital Addis Ababa at an elevation of 1,885 metres (6,184 ft).
For centuries, Harar has been a major commercial center, linked by the trade routes with the rest of Ethiopia, the entire Horn of Africa, the Arabian Peninsula, Asia, and through its ports, the outside world. Harar Jugol, the old walled city, was listed as a World Heritage Site in 2006 by UNESCO in recognition of its cultural heritage. Because of Harar's long history of involvement during times of trade in the Arabian Peninsula, the Government of Ethiopia has made it a criminal offence to demolish or interfere with any historical sites or fixtures in the city. These include stone homes, museums and items discarded from war. According to UNESCO, it is "considered 'the fourth holiest city' of Islam" with 82 mosques, three of which date from the 10th century, and 102 shrines.
Yahyá Naṣrallāh's Fatḥ Madīnat Harar, an unpublished history of the city in the 13th century, records that the legendary saint Abadir Umar ar-Rida and several other religious leaders settled in the Harar plateau c. 1216 (612 AH). Harar was later made the new capital of the Adal Sultanate in 1520 by the Sultan Abu Bakr ibn Muhammad. The city saw a political decline during the ensuing Emirate of Harar, only regaining some significance in the Khedivate of Egypt period. During the Ethiopian Empire, the city decayed while maintaining a certain cultural prestige.
Etymology
The etymology of the name "Harar" remains ambiguous; however, archaeologist Timothy Insoll suggests that it may be derived from Harla, an ancient group that existed prior to the arrival of the Oromo people in the area. Other possible etymologies include ones put forth by British explorer Richard Francis Burton who states Harar is an extract of the name of a plain located south of the town or a specific tree.
Harar and its residents were also historically known as Hadharee by outsiders in the region. In the Arabic language, حضاري (ḥaḍārī) serves as both the noun and the adjective that refers to an urban inhabitant and everything associated with a permanent settlement.
History
Origins
When Harar was founded is unclear and various dates have been suggested, some state the city was founded by Qurayshi settlers in the late 7th century or a local creation in the 10th century. Islam had gained a foothold on the Harar plateau by the 10th–11th centuries CE via trade with Zeila. By the 13th century, Islam had become the predominant religion in the region.
It is likely the original inhabitants of the region were the Harla people. Harar was part of the Harla Kingdom's domain in the sixth century. In the Islamic period, the city was under an alliance called the confederated states of Zeila. According to the 12th-century Jewish traveler Benjamin of Tudela, the Zeila was the land of the Havilah, confined by al-Habash in the west. In the ninth century, Harar was under the Maḥzūmī dynasty's Sultanate of Shewa.
According to the semi-legendary text Fatḥ Madīnat Harar, the founder of the city was saint Abadir Umar ar-Rida, who along with 405 other saints such as Aw Barkhadle, Isma'il al-Jabarti and Umardin bin Qutbaddan came from the Arabian Peninsula to settle in the Harar plateau and founded the city circa 612H (1216 CE). Abadir was supposedly met by the Argobba, the Gaturi and the Harla people who accepted his leadership. In 1234, Abadir returned to Mecca where he stayed until 1279. In the meantime Harar was ruled by several other saints, most of whom were killed fighting the Christians. Coming back from Mecca, Abadir continued to fight the Christians until his final victory over them in 1301. According to tradition, Abadir's brother Fakr ad-Din founded the Sultanate of Mogadishu, while one of his descendants founded the Hadiya Sultanate.
The first mention of Harar comes from the 14th-century chronicles of Amda Seyon I, according to this text, in 1332 Gēt (Harar) sent 3 governors to support Salih against the Emperor's invasion of Adal at the Battle of Das. This reference suggests that Harar had obtained some importance by the first half of the 14th century. The region became the base for the Walashma after their return from Yemen in 1415 with the foundation of the Adal Sultanate. The Walashma rulers established their residence in nearby Dakkar, which was likely in very close proximity to Harar.
Tradition states the Siltʼe, Wolane, Halaba and Harari people lived in Harar, while the former three moved to the Gurage region.
Adal Sultanate era (Late Middle Ages)
In 1520, the city became the capital of the Adal Sultanate under Sultan Abu Bakr ibn Muhammad after his victory over the religious faction led by Abun Adashe. At this point, the religious faction fighting against the Walashma came under the control of Imam Ahmad ibn Ibrahim al-Ghazi also known as "Gragn" or "Gurey", both meaning "the Left-handed". The town's clergy attempted to mediate between both sides, but the Imam was strengthened by a recent victory over an Ethiopian raid, and was able to defeat and killed the Sultan in 1525. Imam Ahmad then installed Umar Din as a puppet sultan and made Harar the center of his various campaigns which ravaged most of Christian Ethiopia.
After Imam Ahmad's defeat in 1543, his men were dispersed back to the region of Harar. The dead leader's widow, Bati del Wambara, undertook to renew jihad against the Christians. She invaded the highlands in 1548, but repulsed by Ras Fanu'el. In 1551, Nur ibn Mujahid married Bati del Wambara and became the new ruler of Harar. In 1559 he departed on a jihad (holy war) to Fatagar, during his absence, the Ethiopians under Ras Hamalmal breached the city and killed the last Walashma Sultan Barakat ibn Umar Din. However this victory was short-lived as Nur was able to defeat and kill Gelawdewos at the Battle of Fatagar, and brought his head back to Harar in triumph.
The following years were very difficult for Harar, as the Oromo were able to intrude on Hararghe and defeated Nur's army at the Battle of Hazalo. This prompted Nur to construct a large wall around Harar, which served as a successful bulwark against the Oromo who devastated only the lands around Harar and forced Nur to fight them multiple times. Because of the influx of refugees into the town and the devastation of the region by the Oromo, Harar experienced two severe famines. The prices of food and livestock rose significantly: one sa'a (a unit equal to four handfuls) of sorghum cost 12 ashrafis, and an equal amount of salt cost 15. A cow cost over 300 ashrafis. The second famine was followed by a plague which eventually killed Nur in 1568, three months after he conducted a campaign against the Oromo.
After the death of Nur ibn Mujahid, for the next following decade Harar would fall into a state of political instability, mainly due to the pressures of the Oromo. Nur was succeeded by Uthman the Abyssinian, who soon came into conflict with the ulama as he did not strictly observe sharia among the nobility and had made a humiliating peace agreement with the pagan Oromo by granting them special privileges. A local official of Aussa named Jibril denounced what he considered Uthman's transgressions against Islamic law. The conflict came to a head when a local Muslim woman who had been taken by the pagan Oromos arrived as a refugee to Aussa. Uthman ordered Jibril to return the woman to the Oromos, Jibril refused, declaring that doing so would be contrary to God's law. Uthman dispatched an army against Jibril, who was defeated and killed. However, while Uthman was gone the clergymen of Harar elected Talha ibn Abbas as the new leader, he was then able to ambush and defeat Uthman, which led to much rejoicing in the city.
However Tahla Abbas was again overthrown by some of his very fanatical subjects who still longed for a jihad against Ethiopia. He was replaced by Nasir ibn Uthman, who was almost immediately succeeded by his son, Muhammad ibn Nasir. He led an unsuccessful fight against the Christians, he met Emperor Sarsa Dengel at the Battle of Webi River but was betrayed by his own officers, which led him to get captured and executed by the Emperor with other Harari officials. While he was gone, Harar was attacked by the Oromos, his brother, wazir Hamid ibn Nasir was not able to repulse him, and was wounded in the fight. As a result, a local official named Mansur ibn Muhammad, recruited bands of Somali warriors and repel the Oromo attack, and then subsequently declared himself sultan. After repelling the Oromos, he then turned north against the governor of Aussa, but was attacked and killed by his own soldiers. Muhammad Gasa, a descendant of Ahmad Gragn, took advantage of the situation and moved the capital to Aussa, thus founding the Imamate of Aussa, from then on Harar was ruled by a local wazir.
The first wazir to govern Harar under the Imamate of Aussa was Muhammad Gasa's own brother, Muhammad Gasa II, who later became the Imam in Aussa in 1584. The next year, Harar was ruled by wazir Saddadin, who participated in the war between Muhammad Gasa II and his minister Abbas ibn Muhammad. After this, mentions of Harar in the historical record is sporadic, with the exception of the names of some of its rulers, the first being Sabraddin ibn Adam (1620–5), Sadiq (1632–46) and his son Abram, who only ruled for eleven months.
Harar Emirate (Dawud dynasty 17th century onwards)
A certain Emir Ahmed, the son of Wazir Abram, had reigned for 10 days when `Ali ibn Da`ud assumed the throne of Harar, thus founding the Emirate of Harar. `Ali ibn Da`ud had risen through the ranks with previous occupations such as being a head of a district and the minister, had declared independence and founded a dynasty that would rule the city for the next two centuries. The reign of Ali saw significant problems with the neighboring Oromos, as on 1 September 1662 Emir Ali ibn Da'ud had to face a violent Illamo Oromo raid which, had reached as near as Asmadin gate and killed his son Sabr ad-Din ibn al-Amir 'Ali b. Da'ud. Ali's successor, Abdullah, significantly improved relations with the Oromos through an extensive marriage policy by marrying 5 of his sons to Oromo women. The Oromos by now had adopted agriculture and conducted trade with the inhabitants of Harar, allowing them to buy imported goods at the markets of the town. With this, the economic influence of Harar extended from Shewa to the west and Zeila to the east, with some overseas connections. The Emirate of Harar also began to mint its own currency, the earliest possible issues bearing a date that may be read as 615 AH (1218/19 CE); but the first coins were definitely issued by 1789 CE, and more were issued into the 19th century.
Harar began to develop into a major religious center in the region, serving as a source of Islamic proselytization to the surrounding Oromo tribes. In 1761 Ahmad I ibn Abi Bakr constructed the minaret of the grand mosque, and ʽAbd al-Shakur ibn Yusuf built a mosque in Bale. Abd al-Shakur also reintroduced the register and the chancery in the town, which strengthened the influence of the clergy. The religious importance of Harar can be further seen in the migration of various sharifs from Mecca to the town around the same time.
After the death of Emir Ahmad II ibn Muhammad in 1821, a new conflict arose between the brothers ʽAbd ar-Rahman ibn Muhammad and ʽAbd al-Karim ibn Muhammad, which gave the surrounding Oromo and Somali tribes an opportunity to interfere in Harari politics. In 1825, the Oromo imprisoned ʽAbd ar-Rahman in Fedis, he then fled to the Somali tribe of Bersub. In the end, ʽAbd ar-Rahman was deposed and forty villages are listed as having been destroyed by the Oromo to the north, west and south of Harar during the civil war. Harar became the home of numerous Somali scholars who came to the city to study the most notable being Sheikh Madar founder of Hargeisa. According to information gathered from the locals about the emirate in 1843, British Capt. S.B. Hanes asserts Harar lies within a couple days of Habash. Until the 1840s, the balance between Oromo and Somali influence led Harar to significantly expand economically, developing ties with Sharmarke Ali Saleh on the Somali coast. During this period slaves of Sidama and Gurage stock were important commodities exported to the coast. However, at the end of Abu Bakr II ibn ʽAbd al-Munan's reign in 1852, the Oromo once again attacked Harar, possibly due to drought. Abu Bakr was forced to pay tribute to the Oromo, which led to an economic crisis and a devaluation in the Harari currency. During the reign of Ahmad III ibn Abu Bakr, Harar was once more besieged by the Oromo for 18 months until Ahmad III agreed to let the Oromo merchants enter the town with their weapons. When Ahmad III died without an heir to his throne, the Oromo helped place Muhammad ibn 'Ali 'Abd ash-Shakur in power.
Around this time, Harar was visited by the famous British traveler Richard Francis Burton, he describes Harar during his visit in 1855:
"The ancient metropolis of a once mighty race, the only permanent settlement in Eastern Africa, the reported seat of Moslem learning, a walled city of stone houses, possessing its independent chief, its peculiar population, its unknown language, and its own coinage, the emporium of the coffee trade, the head-quarters of slavery, the birth-place of the Chat plant"