Mohammed Abdullah Hassan (Somali: Sayid Maxamed Cabdille Xasan or Sayyid Mahammad Abdille Hasan) (born April 7, 1856, in the north of Somalia, died December 21, 1920 in Imi, Ethiopia) was Somalia's religious and nationalist leader (called the "Mad Mullah" by the British) who for 20 years led armed resistance to the British, Italian, and Ethiopian forces in Somalia. Somali ( Af Soomaali, الصوماليه is a member of the East Cushitic branch of the Afro-Asiatic language family spoken by ethnic Somalis Events 529 - First draft of Corpus Juris Civilis (a fundamental work in Jurisprudence) is issued by Eastern Roman Emperor Year 1856 ( MDCCCLVI) was a Leap year starting on Tuesday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian Calendar (or a Leap year Somalia ( Soomaaliya; الصومال) officially the Somali Republic ( Jamhuuriyadda Soomaaliya, جمهورية الصومال) and formerly known Events 69 - The end of the Year of the four emperors: Following Galba, Otho and Vitellius, Vespasian Year 1920 ( MCMXX) was a Leap year starting on Thursday (link will display 1920 of the Gregorian calendar Imi (also transliterated as Imay and Hinna) is a village in the Somali Region of Ethiopia. NOTE This intro is the result of careful NPOV work Please do not make potentially controversial edits to it without first discussing on the talk page The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland was the formal name of the United Kingdom from 1 January 1801 until 12 April 1927 Italy (Italia officially the Italian Republic, (Repubblica Italiana is located on the Italian Peninsula in Southern Europe, and on the two largest

Youth

Hassan, who belonged to the Ogaden sub-clan of the Darod was born in 1856 at the valley of Sa'Madeeq, some say at Kirrit in the north of Somalia. See also Somali clan The Ogaden ( Ogaadeen, أوجادين is one of the Somali clans and the largest Darod subclan See also Somali clan The Darod ( Darood or Daarood, بني داوود is a Somali clan. This part of Somalia was a protectorate of the United Kingdom and was known as British Somaliland from 1884 to 1960. In International law, a protectorate is a autonomous territory that is "protected" by a stronger state or entity hense the protector which engages to protect British Somaliland was a British Protectorate in the north part of the Horn of Africa.

Hassan was the eldest son of Sheikh Abdille who was an Ogaden Somali and his mother a Somali of the Dhulbahante tribe. Sheikh, also rendered as Sheik, Cheikh, Shaikh, and other variants ( Arabic:, shaykh Somalis ( Soomaaliyeed, الصوماليون are an ethnic group located in the Horn of Africa, also known as the Somali Peninsula. See also Somali clan The Dhulbahante is a Somali sub clan of the Harti part of the Koombe and of Kablalax, of the His great grandfather, Sheikh Ismaan of Bardee, was a reputed pious man who left his homeland slightly north of Qallafo along the Shebelle River valley in what is now the Ogaden and migrated southwards and settled with the religious community at Bardera along the Jubba River. The Shebelle River ( Webi Shabeelle) begins in the highlands of Ethiopia, and then flows southeast into Somalia towards Mogadishu Bardera City ( Somali Baardheere) is an important agricultural and academic city in the Gedo region of Somalia. The Jubba River (Webi Jubba is a River in southern Somalia which begins at the border with Ethiopia where the Dawa and Gebele His grandfather Hasan Nur left his home moving towards the Dhulbahante clan in north-eastern Somalia. There he founded religious centres and devoted himself to the worship of God. His father Abdille had also adopted the religious style of his father's life. He married several Dulbahante women by whom he had about 30 children of which Hassan was the eldest. His mother Timiro Sade came from the Ali Geri sublineage of the Dhulbahante clan, which was an alliance to the Ogaden.

Hassan grew up in among the Dulbahante pastoralists who were good herdsmen and warriors and who used camels as well as horses. See also Somali clan The Dhulbahante is a Somali sub clan of the Harti part of the Koombe and of Kablalax, of the Pastoralism or pastoral farming is the branch of Agriculture concerned with the raising of Livestock. A herder is a worker who lives a possibly semi- Nomadic life caring for various domestic Animals in places where these animals wander Pasture lands According to the Random House Dictionary, the term warrior has two meanings Camels are Even-toed ungulates within the Genus Camelus. The Dromedary, one-humped or Arabian camel has a single hump and the The horse ( Equus caballus) is a hoofed ( Ungulate) Mammal, one of eight living species of the family Equidae. Young Hassan's hero was his maternal grandfather Sade Mogan who was a great warrior chief. By the age of eleven, he had learnt the Qur'an by heart and displayed qualities of a promising leader and a good horseman. The Qur’an ( القرآن, literally "the recitation" also sometimes transliterated as Qur’ān, Koran, Alcoran He continued his religious education. In 1875, his grandfather died, and he was shocked by this loss. After 1875, he worked as a Quranic teacher for two years. His thirst for Islamic learning was so intense that he left his job and devoted about ten years to visiting many famous centres of Islamic learning including Harar and Mogadishu and even some centres in Kenya and Sudan. For other meanings including people named 'Islam' see Islam (disambiguation. Harar (var Harrar, Hārer, Harer; Adari) is an eastern city in Ethiopia, and the capital of the modern Harari Mogadishu ( Somali: Muqdisho, popularly Xamar, Hamar; مقديشو Maqadīshū The Republic of Kenya is a country in East Africa. It is bordered by Ethiopia to the north Somalia to the northeast Tanzania to the south Sudan (officially the Republic of Sudan) ( السودان al-Sūdān is a country in northeastern Africa. He received education from as many as seventy-two Somali and Arab religious teachers. The araB gene Promoter is a bacterial promoter activated by e L-arabinose binding In 1891, returning to his home, he married an Ogadeni woman. Three years later along with two of his uncles and eleven other companions some of whom were his maternal kin, he went to Mecca to perform Hajj. Mecca ˈmɛkə also spelled Makkah ˈmækə (in full Makkah Al-Mukarramah (Arabic mækːæ(t ælmʊkarˑamæ مكّة المكرمة, literally Honored The Hajj (حج is a pilgrimage to Mecca (Makkah It is the largest annual pilgrimage in the world The party stayed there for a year and half and came under the charismatic influence of the newly developing Saalihiya order under the leadership of the great mystic Mohammed Salih who was a Sudanese. Hassan received initiation and very rigorous spiritual training under Salih.

Hassan emerged a changed man — a spiritually transformed man 'shaken and overawed', determined to spread the teachings of the Saalihiya order in Somalia.

Religious Mission

In 1895, Hassan returned to Berbera which was then considered by the British merely as 'Aden's butcher's shop', since they were interested only in getting regular supplies of meat from Somalia through this port for their British India outpost of Aden. History The city was first described in the eighth chapter of the Periplus of the Erythraean Sea written by a Greek merchant in the first century CE For usage see British rule in India British Raj ( rāj, lit "reign" in Hindustani) primarily refers to the British The Colony of Aden (مستعمرة عدن Mustaʿmarat ʿAdan) was a British Crown colony from 1937 to 1963 and consisted of the port city

Taking advantage of such a limited and weak attitude of the British, Emperor Menelek II of Ethiopia asked Ras Makonnen, the Governor of his newly conquered Hararghe Province, to send armed bands to plunder and occupy Ogaden politically. Emperor Menelik II GCB, GCMG, ( Ge'ez ምኒልክ baptized as Sahle Maryam ( August 17, 1844 &ndash December 12 Ras Mäkonnen Wäldä-Mika'él KCMG ( May 8, 1852 &ndash March 21, 1906) was a general and the governor of Harar province Hararghe ( Xararge) was a province in the eastern part of Ethiopia, with its capital in Harar. The British withdrew from this area of their territory in Somalia.

In Berbera, Hassan could not succeed in spreading the teaching of the Saalihiya order due to the hostility of the local Qadiriyyah inhabitants who did not like him criticising their eating khat and gorging on the fat of sheep's tail and for following their traditional Qadiriyyah order. Qadiriyyah ( Arabic: القادريه, Turkish: Kadirilik) (also Transliterated Kadri, Elkadry, Kadray KHAT (1210 AM) is a Radio station broadcasting a Sports format So, in 1897, he left Berbera to be with his Dulbahante kinsmen. On the way, at a place called Daymoole, he met some Somalis who were being looked after by a Catholic Mission. When he asked them about their tribe and parents, the Somali orphans replied that they belonged to the "clan of the (Catholic) Fathers. " This reply shook his conscience, for he felt that the "Christian Overlordship in his country was tantamount to the destruction of his people's faith. "

Reaching his region, Hassan established his first headquarters at Qoryawaye and started preaching religious reform according to the Saalihaya order among the pastoral nomads. Nomadic people, (from the νομάδες nomádes, "those who let pasture herds" also known as nomads, are communities of people that He started calling himself and his followers 'dervishes'. Darvesh or Dervish ( Arabic and Persian: درویش) as it is known in European languages refers to members of Sufi The Arabic word Dervish means a Muslim believer who has taken vows of poverty and a life of austerity in the service of God and soon his influence spread over the majority of the Habar Tol Jaalo and the eastern Habar Yoonis clans. Arabic (ar الْعَرَبيّة (informally ar عَرَبيْ) in terms of the number of speakers is the largest living member of the Semitic language A Muslim (مسلم pronounced Muslim, not Muzlim) is an adherent of the Religion See also Somali clan The Habar Tol Jaalo ( Habartoljeclo) is a Somali clan, part of the larger Isaaq group See also Somali clan The Habar Yoonis ( Habaryoonis The British officials appreciated his role of settling the tribal disputes and of maintaining peace in the area.

In 1899, an unfortunate event took place. Some soldiers of the British armed forces met Hassan and sold him an official gun. When questioned about the loss of the gun, they told their British masters that Hassan had stolen or snatched it from them. On 29 March 1899, the British Vice Consul wrote a very insulting and stern letter to him asking him to return the gun immediately, which someone in Hassan's camp had reported stolen. Events 1461 - Wars of the Roses: Battle of Towton - Edward of York defeats Queen Margaret to become King Year 1899 ( MDCCCXCIX) was a Common year starting on Sunday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Common A Vice Consul a subordinate officer authorized to exercise consular functions in some particular part of a district controlled by a consulate. This enraged Hassan and he sent a very brief and curt reply refuting the allegation.

While Hassan had really been against the Ethiopian imperialist plunderers of Somalia, this small incident made him clash with the British. The British and Ethiopian Emperor Menelek II joined together to crush the Dervish movement of Hassan and some antagonistic Somali Ogadeni also cooperated with Menelek II against him.

Armed struggle

In several of his poems and speeches, Hassan emphasized that the British infidels "have destroyed our religion and made our children their children" and that the Christian Ethiopians in league with the British were bent upon plundering the political and religious freedom of the Somali nation. Infidel (literally "one without faith" is an English word meaning "one who doubts or rejects central tenets of a Religion or A Christian is a person who adheres to Christianity, a monotheistic Religion centered on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth Thus he soon emerged as "a champion of his country's political and religious freedom, defending it against all Christian invaders. " He issued a religious ordinance that any Somali national who did not accept the idea of unity of Somalia and fight under his leadership be considered as kafir or gaal. This article is on the Islamic religious term For the pejorative racial slur see Kaffir (ethnic slur. He acquired weapons from Turkey, Sudan, and other Islamic and/or Arabian countries. Turkey (Türkiye known officially as the Republic of Turkey ( is a Eurasian Country that stretches He appointed his ministers and advisers in charges of different areas or sectors of Somalia. He gave a clarion call for Somali unity and independence.

Hassan organized his follower-warriors. His 'Dervish' movement had essentially a military character and the Dervish state was fashioned on the model of a Saalihiya brotherhood. It had rigid hierarchy and rigid centralization.

Though Hassan threatened to drive the Christians into the sea, he committed the first attack by launching his first major military offensive with his 1500 Dervish equipped with 20 modem rifles on the British soldiers stationed in the region.

Hassan sent one of his men to Yemen in disguise for reconnaissance activities to report the new aeroplanes preparedness for attack. Yemen ( Arabic: اليَمَن al-Yaman officially the Republic of Yemen ( Arabic: الجمهورية اليمنية al-Jumhuuriyya Overview Fixed-wing aircraft range from small training and recreational aircraft to Wide-body aircraft and military cargo aircraft. He sent his emissaries all over the country appealing for Somali people to join his movement and many responded to him enthusiastically.

Against Ethiopia, Britain and Italy

In 1900, an Ethiopian expedition which had been sent to arrest or kill Hassan, looted a large number of camels of the Mohammed Subeer tribe of Ogaden. Mohamed Subeer is one of the largest Somali sub-clans of Ogaden. In answer to his appeal, Hassan attacked the Ethiopian garrison at Jijiga on 4 March of that year and successfully recovered all the looted animals. Jijiga ( Jigjiga) is a city in eastern Ethiopia Events 51 - Nero, later to become Roman Emperor, is given the title Princeps iuventutis (head of the youth This success emboldened Hassan and also enhanced his reputation.

In June, three months later, Hassan raided the British protected northern Somali clans of Eidagale and Isaaq and looted about 2,000 camels. Daud Garxajis Sheekh Isaxaaq Bin Ahmed (also known as Eidagale Ciidagale or Ciidangale) is one of the major subclans of the Isaaq See also Somali clan The Isaaq (also Isaq, Ishaak) ( Reer Sheikh Isaxaaq, اسحاق is one of the main Somali clans The He gained great prestige in recovering the looted stock from the Ethiopians and he used it along with his charisma and powers of oratory to improve his undisputed authority on the Ogaden. To harness Ogaden enthusiasm into final commitment, Hassan married the daughter of a prominent Ogaden chieftain and in return gave his own sister, Toohyar Sheikh Adbile, to Abdi Mohammed Waale, a notable Mohammed Subeer elder.

However, soon angered by his autocratic rule, Hussen Hirsi Dala Iljech' - a Mohammed Subeer chieftain plotted to kill him. The news of the plot leaked to Hassan. He escaped but his prime minister and friend, Aw 'Abbas, was killed in the plot. Some weeks later, Mohammed Subeer sent a peace delegation of 32 men to Hassan, but he had all the members of the delegation arrested and killed. Shocked by this heinous crime, Mohammed Subeer sought the help of the Ethiopians and the Dervish withdrew to Nugaal. Nugaal (Nugaal is one of the smaller administrative regions ( gobol) of Somalia.

Hassan (by now better known by his honorific title of "Sayyid") patched up with the Dulbahante temporarily by paying huge blood monies. For the Lost character please see Sayid Jarrah Sayyid ( ar سيد) (plural Saadah is an Honorific title Blood money is Money paid as a fine to the next of kin of somebody who was killed intentionally This frightened the British protected North Somali pastorals. Towards the end of 1900, Ethiopian Emperor Menelik proposed a joint action with the British against the Dervish. Accordingly, British Lt. Col. E. J. Swayne assembled a force of 1,500 Somali soldiers led by 21 European officers and started from Burco on 22 May 1901, while an Ethiopian army of 15,000 soldiers started from Harar to join the British forces, to crush the Dervish movement of about 20,000 Dervish (of whom 40 percent were cavalry). Burao (Burco is the capital city of the Togdheer province of Somalia. Events 334 BC - The Greek army of Alexander the Great defeats Darius III of Persia in the Battle of the Granicus. Year 1901 ( MCMI) was a Common year starting on Tuesday (link will display calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Common year starting The Cavalry (from French cavalerie) is the second oldest of the Combat Arms, and as Soldiers or Warriors who fought mounted on

During 1901 and 1904, the Dervish army inflicted heavy losses to their enemies - the Ethiopians and the British as well as the Italian forces. "His successes attracted to his banner even Somalis who did not follow his religious beliefs. " On 9 January 1904 at the Jidaale plain the British Commander, General Charles Egerton killed 7,000 Dervish. Events 475 - Byzantine Emperor Zeno is forced to flee his capital at Constantinople. Year 1904 ( MCMIV) was a Leap year starting on Friday (link will display calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Leap year starting on Field Marshal Sir Charles Comyn Egerton, KCB DSO (10 November 1848 Parsonstown, King's County, Ireland -1921 was a senior This defeat forced Sayyid and his remaining men to flee to Majeerteen country. See also Somali clan The Majeerteen, Majerteen or Macherten (Majerteen ماجرتين Muhammad Harti Amaleh Abdi Muhammad Abdirahman

Around 1910, about 600 Dervish followers decided to stop follow Sayyid due to his high-handedness, in a secret meeting under a big tree later nicknamed "Anjeel-tale-waa" (The tree-of-Bad-Counsel). Their departure weakened, demoralized and angered Sayyid, and at this juncture he composed his most famous poem entitled. "The Tree of Bad Counsel".

Sayyid Mohamed's Push To The South With The Help Of Marehan

Marehan forces from the Hinterland in Northern Somalia to the length of the entire Jubba inside Somalia, from Serinley, near Bardera, to the coast, Sayyed Mohamed received enormous support from Marehan population for his push to gather fighting men in the south of Somalia. The Marehan ( Somali: Mareexaan Arabic:مريحان Marehan bin Ahmed bin Abdirahman bin Is'mail bin Ibrahim al Jaberti) are a Somali The Marehan ( Somali: Mareexaan Arabic:مريحان Marehan bin Ahmed bin Abdirahman bin Is'mail bin Ibrahim al Jaberti) are a Somali For the river see Jubba River. Jubba is an Indian dress for men a piece of Clothing for the Trunk of the Body. Bardera City ( Somali Baardheere) is an important agricultural and academic city in the Gedo region of Somalia. [1]

The freedom fighter Sayyid Mohamed Abdulle Hassan's own Ogaden clansmen weren't entirely on his side when the Marehan saw the importance of siding with nationalist leader on the mission of getting rid the colonial power. Ogaden (pronounced and often spelled Ogadēn ]] is the international name of the Somali Regional State in Ethiopia. From Serinley onwards to Dolow, the second arm of the Marehan wasn't happy with new dynamics of giving the British a second front for confrentation. The peacful communities between Bardera and Dolow to the River Tana in East Africa was long established before the late 19th century uprising of Sayyed Mohamed Abdulle Hassan. [2]

The Marehan Rer Guri were content and basically wanted to herd their livestock from the grasslands of Jubba to Tana River peacfully, where they have been settled at the time. The Marehan Galti from the north and central Somalia was in the struggle mood. Northern Gedo Sheikh of Ali Dheere, who was at the time in concert with the rer Guri, was content with the status quo in terms of not wanting to be part of armed struggle against the British and their proxy fighters, the East Africa Riflery.

Consolidation

Mohammed Abdullah Hassan's fort Taleh.

During 1910-1914, Sayyid's capital moved from Illig to Taleex in the heart of Nugaal where he built three garrison forts of massive stone work and a number of houses. Taleex or Taleh ( Taleex) is a small town and administrative center of the district of the same name located in northeast Somalia. He built a luxurious palace for himself and kept new guards for his palace drawn from outcast clans. By 1913, he had dominated the entire hinterland of the Somali peninsula by building forts at Jildali and Mirashi in Warsangali country, at Werder and Qorahy in the Ogaden and Belet-Weyn in southern Somalia. The Warsangali (also Warsengeli or Warsingeli) ("Son of Mohamoud Harti" is a Somali clan of the Harti group part of the Darod Werder ( Wardheer) is a town in eastern Ethiopia Beledweyne ( Beledweyne)(بليث وين is a city in central Somalia. On 9 August 1913, at the Battle of Dul Madoba, a Dervish force raided the Habar Yoonis tribe near Burco and killed or wounded 57 members of the 110-man "Somaliland Camel Constabulary. Events 48 BC - Caesar's civil war: Battle of Pharsalus - Julius Caesar decisively defeats Pompey at Pharsalus Year 1913 ( MCMXIII) was a Common year starting on Wednesday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Common Dul Madoba ( Dul Madooba) is a hill ridge some 25 miles south-east of Burao in northwestern Somalia. " The dead included the British officer who commanded the constabulary, Colonel Richard Corfield. Colonel ( RP ˈkɜnəl GA ˈkɜrnəl is a Military rank of a Commissioned officer, with corresponding ranks existing in almost every country Hassan memorialized this action in his poem simply entitled "The Death of Richard Corfield. " In the same year, the Dervish attacked Berbera and looted and destroyed it. In 1914, the "Somaliland Camel Corps" was founded. The Somaliland Camel Corps was a unit of the British Army based in British Somaliland.

By 1919, despite the British having built large stone forts to guard the passes to the hills, Hassan and his armed bands were at large, robbing and killing. ^[1]

The Sayyed and his followers in Marehanland of Jubba vision was similar to that of people in Sudan and Egypt when Ottoman Sultanate was retreating from North and East Africa territories.

Defeat

Main article: 1920 conflict between British forces and Somaliland dervishes

In the beginning of 1920, the British struck the Dervish settlements with a well-coordinated land, sea and air attack and gave them a stunning defeat. The 1920 conflict between British forces and Somaliland dervishes was the fifth and final British expedition against the dervish forces of Mohammed Abdullah Hassan The forts of Hassan were damaged and his army suffered great losses. They hastily fled to Ogaden. Here, again with the help of his patriotic poetry and charisma, he tried to rebuild his army and accomplish the coalition of Ogadeen clans which made him a power in the land once again. The British sent a peace delegation to him offering to give a government subsidy and a land grant in the west of the British Somaliland where he could settle with his followers, but he spurned the proposal. He even raided the returning delegation. Then smallpox and rinderpest broke out in Ogaden and about half of the Dervish died therefrom. Smallpox is an Infectious disease unique to humans caused by either of two virus variants named Variola major and Variola minor. Rinderpest is an infectious viral Disease of Cattle, domestic buffalo, and some Species of Wildlife. Soon thereafter, a tribal raid under the leadership of Haaji Waraabe (Haji the Hyena) armed and organized by the British killed the remaining Dervish and took away about 60,000 animals in loot but failed to catch Hassan. Along with some of his followers, he escaped to the Arsi Oromo in Ethiopia where he tried to contract marriages to stabilize his position.

Death

On 21 December 1920, Hassan died of influenza at the age of 64. Events 69 - The end of the Year of the four emperors: Following Galba, Otho and Vitellius, Vespasian Year 1920 ( MCMXX) was a Leap year starting on Thursday (link will display 1920 of the Gregorian calendar

See also

• John Gough - Awarded a Victoria Cross for his actions as a column commander during the Third Somaliland Expedition. Brigadier General Sir John Edmond Gough VC, KCB, CMG ( 25 October 1871 - 22 February 1915) known as See below the section "Separate Commonwealth awards" Note that since
• Mohamoud Ali Shire

References

• Abdisalam Issa-Salwe, The Failure of The Daraawiish State, The Clash Between Somali Clanship and State System, paper presented at the 5th International Congress of Somali Studies, December 1993 [3]
• Abdi Sheik Abdi, Divine Madness: Mohammed Abdulle Hassan (1856-1920), Zed Books Ltd. Dr Abdisalam Mohamed Issa-Salwe (PhD is a lecturer in Information Systems at Thames Valley University in the United Kingdom Abdi Abdulkadir Sheik-Abdi (Cabdi Sheekh Cabdi (born 15 October 1942, Somalia) is a Somali author who currently resides in the United States of America , London, 1993
• Jaamac Cumar Ciise, Taariikhdii Daraawiishta iyo Sayid Maxamed Cabdulle Xasan, (1895-1921), Wasaaradda Hiddaha iyo Tacliinta Sare, edited by Akadeemiyaha Dhaqanka, Mogadishu, 1976. Sheik Jaamac Cumar Ciise is a Somali veteran historian and collector of Oral literature of Somalia
• Jardine, Douglas J. , The Mad Mullah of Somaliland, London: Jenkins, 1923. Reprint. New York: Negro Universities Press, 1969 (one of the main sources of this article)
• Said S. Samatar, Oral Poetry and Somali Nationalism: The Case of Sayyid Mahammad Abdille Hasan, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1982 (analyzes Mahammad Abdille's poetry and assesses his nationalist and literary contributions to the Somali heritage)

East Africa Stamdard May 4th, 1914