Ahmad ibn Ibrahim al-Ghazi (, Harari: አሕመድ ኢብራሂም አል-ጋዚ, ; 21 July 1506 – 10 February 1543) was the Imam of the Adal Sultanate from 1527 to 1543. Commonly named ግራኝ አህመድ (Grañ Ahmed) 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. He is often referred to as the "King of Zeila" in medieval texts.
Dubbed "The African Attila" by Orientalist Frederick A. Edwards, Imam Ahmed's conquests reached all the way to the borders of the Sultanate of Funj. 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 and was subsequently forced to live as an outlaw constantly hounded by Imam Ahmed's soldiers, the Malassay. Ahmed Gragn was subsequently defeated following a Portuguese intervention, which drew his war into a broader geo-political struggle between the Portuguese and Ottoman empires. The memory and legacy of his invasion nonetheless persists in both modern Ethiopia and Somalia.
Early years
Ahmad ibn Ibrahim al-Ghazi was born in 1506 and hailed from the lowlands of Hubat in the Adal Sultanate. The ethnicity of Ahmad ibn Ibrahim is disputed, with historians regarding him as either an ethnic Somali*
a Harla/Harari, son of Garad of Sim* or a Balaw. Ahmad spent a great deal of time in the city of Harar. According to sixteenth century Adal writer Arab Faqīh, due to the secular rule of Sultan Abu Bakr ibn Muhammad, Ahmad would leave Harar and return to Hubat. After the death of Imam Mahfuz, Garad Abun Adashe would become the most popular ruler of Adal, sparking conflict with the ruling Walashma dynasty for seven years. As a Malassay of Garad Abun, Ahmad joined Adashe in his power struggles against the Walashma. It was during this conflict that Ahmad demonstrated his courage, intelligence and military leadership. Garad Abun, who was astonished by the military valour of Ahmad, arranged for him to marry the late Mahfuz's youngest daughter, Bati del Wambara. The Adal sultan Abu Bakr ibn Muhammad is said to have established his capital at Harar and recruited a large number of Somalis into his army. Together with his Somali allies Abu Bakr defeated and killed Adashe near Zeila in 1525. The remnants of Adashe's Harla forces retreated back to Hubat where their numbers soon rose to over 100. The Sultan attempted to pursue but Ahmad defeated the Sultan in the field; Abu Bakr was forced to take refuge in Ogaden with his Somali allies. Ahmad did not follow him. After raising another large body of Somali followers, Abu Bakr met Ahmad for the second time. It was an indecisive clash that only forced the Sultan to retreat back into the Ogaden and Ahmad remained in Hubat as an independent governor of the rebel province.
Upon hearing that a rebel named Ahmad ibn Ibrahim was in a power struggle with the Adal leaders, the Emperor of Ethiopia Dawit II sent his general Degelhan to confront him. The Abyssinian campaign originally seemed successful as large amounts of women and children of Adal were captured by Degelhan including the mother of Ahmad's commander Abu Bakr Qecchin. Meanwhile, Emir Ahmad had laid a trap in Hubat: splitting his unit into three, he waited for the Abyssinians to enter the region after sacking Harar and ambushed them in the Battle of Hubat. The remaining Abyssinian army who were not killed fled in panic, thus Ahmed's troops won decisively and were able to recover stolen booty. Ahmad's victory not only strengthened his fighting capacity, but also spread his fame far and wide. The Sultan hearing about this gathered a large force of his Somali followers and besieged his capital at Siege of Hubat. Ahmad was unprepared and in a mountain encampment on Gara Muleta. The sultan besieged Ahmad and his small force for ten days, when he hoped to starve them. However, at this critical moment, the sheikhs of Harar intervened and reconciled the two leaders. Ahmad was forced to recognize the authority of the Adalite state for the first time in his career.This peace was immediately broken by Abu Bakr, who tried to assassinate Ahmad while he was in Harar, Ahmad fled back to Hubat where he continued to struggle against the Sultan. At about this time a swarm of bees enlightened on Ahmad's head, this incident was considered so miraculous that people gave him the title of Imam. After much war the Imam defeated and killed Abu Bakr who fled to the Ogaden among his Somali supporters. He then returned to Harar where he placed Umar Din on the throne as his puppet. Imam Ahmad would spend the next several months in subjugating the surrounding Somali clans with diplomacy and war. He had hoped to unite all the warring Muslim nomads under his authority which he had done so successfully. The Imam was also able to start stockpiling on firearms such as the matchlock musket, cannons, and the arquebus, which he obtained from Arabia via the port of Zeila.Cambridge illustrated atlas, Warfare: Renaissance to Revolution, 1492–1792, by Jeremy Black pg 9 Before carrying out his invasion of Ethiopia, it is said he had access to several cannons as well as several well armed soldiers from Yemen through association with the Ba 'Alawiyya. He invited the Somali chiefs of the area to participate in his jihad (holy war) against Ethiopia. Besides the Somalis, Ahmad had also incorporated into his army other peoples in the area who had been in continuous conflict with the Christian empire ever since the fourteenth century, such as the Harla, the Argobba, the Afar and the Arabs. By about 1527–9, the Imam was at the head of a strong state, with an ever-increasing sphere of influence in the interior of the Horn, and ready to lead the crucial military offensive against the Christian empire.
Invasion of Abyssinia
The chronicle of Imam Ahmad's invasion of Abyssinia is depicted in various Arabic, Abyssinian and other foreign sources. In 1529 Imam Ahmad finally decided to embark on a conquest of Abyssinia, he soon met the Abyssinians at the Battle of Shimbra Kure. The Emperor had apparently expected this confrontation, and had mobilized a large army to defend his realms. The troops were recruited from all over the empire and the list of Christian generals who participated in the battle includes the Bahr-Negash and other officials from Medri Bahri, many district governors from Tigray, Amhara, the Agaw territories, Begemder, Gojjam, Shewa, as well as from the frontier provinces of Ifat, Fatagar, Dawaro, Bali and Damot. Although they differ in the corresponding figures which they give, both Christian and Muslim sources are unanimous about the superiority of the Emperor's army in terms of the numbers of soldiers. Despite the enormous size of the Abyssinians' army, the Imam was able to inflict a devastating defeat on the Christians and routed them completely. Richard Pankhurst attributes Imam Ahmad's victory to the presence amongst his followers of matchlockmen. This battle was probably the first time Ethiopian forces had to fight against a force equipped with firearms. He adds that the Abyssinians were unable to endure the “Thunder of the Turkish artillery” and did not know how to cure the wounds which the bullets made.Pankhurst, The Ethiopians, p. 88
However, the Imam wasn't able to take advantage of this victory immediately due to tribal infighting within his army. He was forced to return to Harar to resolve disputes between the different tribes that made up his army. He used this opportunity to build up an army that was loyal to him and not to any specific tribal leaders. Finally in 1531 he reconstructed his forces and was able to begin the definite invasion and occupation of Abyssinia. With the help of his advanced weaponry he was able to inflict another crushing defeat on the Abyssinians during the Battle of Antukyah which allowed the Adalites to occupy Fatagar and Shewa. The Imam then dispatched his Somali brother in law, Garad Matan, to Ifat telling him to struggle against the inhabitants until he had forced them to submit. The Adalites continued to advance northwards securing the province of Bete Amhara by the end of the year. Dawit II fell back behind the Abay River to the relative security of Gojjam. It was here in Amhara that the Adalites came across many churches and palaces built by the Abyssinians. The Imam was stunned by the beauty of these churches and according to Arab Faqih: The Imam asked all the Arabs who were with him, "Is there the like of this church, with its images and its gold, in Byzantium, or in India, or in any other place?" They replied, "We never saw or heard of its like in Byzantium or India or anywhere in the world." Nevertheless, he ordered all of the churches built by the Abyssinians to be destroyed, including Mekane Selassie, Atronsa Maryam, Debre Nagwadgwad and Ganata Giyorgis. He soon campaigned against the people of Bali and Dawaro which was governed by Degalhan who had earlier pillaged Adal. The Imam and his forces would masquerade as Christian adherents of Degalhan to covertly infiltrate Abyssinian lands. Nevertheless, despite the Imam unintentionally communicating in the language of the Muslim Adalites, which historian Pankhurst identifies as Harari, they managed to succeed without raising any alarms. They were able to defeat the Abyssinians in the Battle of Amba Sel but this was quite difficult as the Christians were able to inflict serious losses on the soldiers of the Imam because they held the high ground, among the dead was the Imam's right-hand man, Garad Matan. The Adalites attempted to capture Degalhan but he was able to escape through Hadiya. For the next two years the Adalites would secure the southern Abyssinian provinces of Dawaro, Bali, Fatagar, Hadiya and Wej. After the Adalites conquered Damot and subjugated the pagans of Gafat the Imam marched north with his army.
The Imam was passionately interested in converting newly occupied territories as his men were made up of religious zealots. But many of the conversions were forced. While in the Debre Berhan area the Imam learned that the locals had not converted to Islam nor did they offer to pay jizya. He then ordered that anyone who failed to embrace Islam should be brought before him. Among those brought before the Imam were two Christian chiefs, finding them adamant in their faith, he then declared “We have decided to cut your heads off!” To which the Christians replied “Very well”. The Imam was surprised but ordered them to be put to death. The Imam would then call an assembly of his Emirs, chieftains and all the Muslim leaders to state his intention of staying in Abyssinia, "Praised be God who has conquered the whole of the land of Abyssinia. Now let us send to the land of Sa'd ad-Din, to bring up our wives and our children. Let us make our homes in Abyssinia. It is no longer possible for us to go back down to our country, or to leave this one."
They would then make plans to invade Tigray where the Emperor now resides. He first went through Angot where he was able to convince the people to convert to Islam. He then laid sieged to the fortress of Amba Geshen, around the same time the Adalites captured the Emperor's niece whom the Imam turned into his concubine. The Imam was able to acquire newly purchased cannons imported from Zeila which helped bring down the fortress. Arab Faqih states that thousands of Christians were captured, the Imam ordered those captured to be beheaded. As the Imam marched into Tigray, his cousin Zaharbui Muhammad was killed in an ambush. The Imam grieved over his death and the next day he set out with his army eager to avenge the death of his cousin.