Ahmad ibn Ibrahim al-Ghazi

"Ahmad ibn Ibrahim" redirects here. For the Sultan of Fez from 1374–1384 and 1387–1393, see Ahmad ibn Ibrahim, al-Mustansir.

Ahmad ibn Ibrahim al-Ghazi
أحمد بن إبراهيم الغازي
Imam
Statue of Imam Ahmad in Mogadishu, Somalia
Leader of Adal
Reignc. 1527 – 21 February 1543
PredecessorAbu Bakr ibn Muhammad
SuccessorNur ibn Mujahid
Bornc. 1506
Hubat, Adal Sultanate
Died21 February 1543(1543-02-21) (aged 36–37)
Wayna Daga, Ethiopian Empire
Burial
Sentara
Spouse
Issue
  • Mohammad ibn Ahmad[1]: xxxiv 
  • Ahmed ibn Ahmad Al-Najashi
  • Nasr Ad-Din ibn Ahmad
ReligionSunni Islam

Ahmad ibn Ibrahim al-Ghazi (Arabic: أحمد بن إبراهيم الغازي, Harari: አሕመድ ኢብራሂም አል-ጋዚ, Somali: Axmed Ibraahim al-Qaasi;[2] c. 21 July 1506 – 10 February 1543) was the Imam of the Adal Sultanate from 1527 to 1543.[3] Commonly named Ahmed Gragn in Amharic and Gurey in Somali, both meaning the left-handed, he led the invasion and conquest of Abyssinia from the Sultanate of Adal during the Ethiopian-Adal War.[4] He is often referred to as the "King of Zeila" in medieval texts.[1]: 79 

Dubbed "The African Attila" by Orientalist Frederick A. Edwards,[5]: 324  Imam Ahmed‘s conquests reached all the way to the borders of the Sultanate of Funj.[6][7] Imam Ahmed won nearly all his battles against the Ethiopians before 1541 and after his victory at Battle of Amba Sel, the Ethiopian Emperor, Dawit II was never again in a position to offer a pitched battle to his army[5]: 341 [8]: 329  and was subsequently forced to live as an outlaw constantly hounded by Imam Ahmed's soldiers, the Malassay.[9]

  1. ^ a b Cite error: The named reference Whiteway was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  2. ^ R. Michael Feener (2004). Islam in World Cultures: Comparative Perspectives. ABC-CLIO. p. 219. ISBN 9781576075166.
  3. ^ Saheed A. Adejumobi (2008). The History of Ethiopia. Greenwood Publishing Group. p. 178. ISBN 9780313322730. Archived from the original on 2023-04-08. Retrieved 2019-02-11.
  4. ^ The New Encyclopædia Britannica, Volume 1. Encyclopædia Britannica. 1998. p. 163. ISBN 9780852296639. Archived from the original on 2023-04-08. Retrieved 2019-02-11.
  5. ^ a b Cite error: The named reference Edwards was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  6. ^ Burton, Richard. First Footsteps in East Africa. p. 179.
  7. ^ Pal Ruhela, Satya; Farah Aidid, Mohammed (1994). Somalia: From The Dawn of Civilization To The Modern Times. Vikas Pub. House. ISBN 9780706980042.
  8. ^ Cite error: The named reference Budge was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  9. ^ Cite error: The named reference Reidulf was invoked but never defined (see the help page).