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105-504: Harar ( Amharic : ሐረር ; Harari : ሀረር; Oromo : Adare Biyyo ; Somali : Herer ; Arabic : هرر ), known historically by the indigenous as Harar-Gey or simply Gey (Harari: ጌይ 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 :  Madīna al-ʾAwliyāʾ ). Harar

210-513: A holy language by the Rastafari religion and is widely used among its followers worldwide. Early Afro-Asiatic populations speaking proto- Semitic , proto- Cushitic and proto- Omotic languages would have diverged by the fourth or fifth millennium BC. Shortly afterwards, the proto-Cushitic and proto-Omotic groups would have settled in the Ethiopian highlands, with the proto-Semitic speakers crossing

315-513: A pidgin as early as the 4th century AD to enable communication between Aksumite soldiers speaking Semitic, Cushitic, and Omotic languages, but this hypothesis has not garnered widespread acceptance. The preservation in Old Amharic of VSO word order and gutturals typical of Semitic languages, Cushitic influences shared with other Ethio-Semitic languages (especially those of the Southern branch), and

420-673: A Somali nomenclature for the Arabic vowels, this would eventually evolve into Wadaad's writing . The notation system he developed had been described as "too authentically Somali" for an Arab to have completed independently. He is accredited in certain areas for the introduction of black-headed fat-tailed sheep also known as Berbera Blackhead . Described by some as a Sharif , he has been described as "the most outstanding saint in Somaliland". Yusuf's son Muhia ad-Din Yusuf Aw-Barkhadle

525-683: 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

630-453: 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

735-747: A large Oromo presence leading to the town. During his visit in the Khedivate of Egypt occupation of the Emirate of Harar , researcher Paultischke describes Harar as having roughly 40,000 inhabitants with 25,000 of these being Hararis, 6,000 Oromo, 5,000 Somalis, 3,000 Abyssinians as well as a minority of Europeans and Asians. After the conquest of the Emirate of Harar by the Ethiopian Empire , an influx of Amhara settled in Harar and its surroundings. The Somali population of

840-563: A mosque in Dogar. Before Al-Kowneyn's arrival into this town (now named after him) was called Dogor. The residents were not Muslim, but rather pagan, believing and taking part of a pre-Islamic Somaliland religion called Wagar. The Wagar itself is thought to be an anthropomorphic representation of a sacred feature or figure, indicating an indigenous non-Islamic religious fertility practice in Aw Barkhaadle. The word "wagar"/"Waĝa" (or " Waaq ") denotes

945-496: A new policy: instead of simply keeping the Oromo at bay, he "made systematic efforts to convert them to Islam and extend their involvement in commercial agriculture; he thereby attempted to assimilate more of the Oromo and re-establish the balance on which the town's survival depended." Until the 1830s, only the Babile Oromo and groups of mixed Oromo-Somali ethnicity had been converted to Islam to any degree. Nonetheless, Muhammad lack

1050-780: A peak in August, whilst November to February is usually dry. Based on the 2007 national census conducted by the Central Statistical Agency of Ethiopia (CSA), Harar city had a total urban population of 99,368, of whom 49,727 were men and 49,641 women. The six largest ethnic groups reported in Harar were the Amhara (40.55%), the Oromo (28.14%), the Harari (11.83%), the Gurage (2.94%), the Somali (6.82%), and

1155-577: A significant affect as for the first time in history, Hararis began migrating out of the city in large numbers, mainly to Dire Dawa and Addis Ababa , but also eventually abroad to Europe and North America , creating a large Harari diaspora. Following the aftermath of World War II , the city saw the construction of a high school and a military academy. With the rise of the Derg in the 1970s, Harari disatsifcation remained high, Derg officials appropriating Harari property and forcibly conscripting Harari youth into

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1260-400: 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

1365-730: Is a South Ethio-Semitic language, along with Gurage , Argobba , Harari , and others. Due to the social stratification of the time, the Cushitic Agaw adopted the South Ethio-Semitic language and eventually absorbed the Semitic population. Amharic thus developed with a Cushitic substratum and a Semitic superstratum . The northernmost South Ethio-Semitic speakers, or the proto-Amhara, remained in constant contact with their North Ethio-Semitic neighbors, evidenced by linguistic analysis and oral traditions. A 7th century southward shift of

1470-796: Is an Ethiopian Semitic language , which is a subgrouping within the Semitic branch of the Afroasiatic languages . It is spoken as a first language by the Amharas , and also serves as a lingua franca for all other populations residing in major cities and towns in Ethiopia . The language serves as the official working language of the Ethiopian federal government, and is also the official or working language of several of Ethiopia's federal regions . As of 2020, it has over 33,700,000 mother-tongue speakers and more than 25,100,000 second language speakers in 2019, making

1575-571: Is an abugida , and the graphemes of the Amharic writing system are called fidäl . It is derived from a modification of the Ge'ez script . Each character represents a consonant+vowel sequence, but the basic shape of each character is determined by the consonant, which is modified for the vowel. Some consonant phonemes are written by more than one series of characters: / ʔ / , / s / , / tsʼ / , and / h / (the last one has four distinct letter forms). This

1680-658: Is because these fidäl originally represented distinct sounds, but phonological changes merged them. The citation form for each series is the consonant+ ä form, i.e. the first column of the fidäl . The Amharic script is included in Unicode , and glyphs are included in fonts available with major operating systems. As in most other Ethiopian Semitic languages , gemination is contrastive in Amharic. That is, consonant length can distinguish words from one another; for example, alä 'he said', allä 'there is'; yǝmätall 'he hits', yǝmmättall 'he will be hit'. Gemination

1785-493: Is called an abugida ( አቡጊዳ ). The graphemes are called fidäl ( ፊደል ), which means "script", "alphabet", "letter", or "character". There is no universally agreed-upon Romanization of Amharic into Latin script . The Amharic examples in the sections below use one system that is common among linguists specializing in Ethiopian Semitic languages. Amharic has been the official working language of Ethiopia, language of

1890-448: Is divided into 5 quarters: Assum Bari, Argobba Bari , Suqutat Bari, Badro Bari , and Asmadin Bari . These quarters are then further divided into neighborhoods called toya , which are often named after a Muslim shrine or a prominent tree serving as a local landmark. According to S.R. Waldron, there were 59 such neighborhoods around 1975. In the late 1960s, it was still possible to walk around

1995-572: Is in Africa.' ልጁ Lǝǧ-u the boy ተኝቷል täññǝtʷall. asleep is ልጁ ተኝቷል Lǝǧ-u täññǝtʷall. {the boy} {asleep is} 'The boy is asleep.' ( -u is a definite article. Lǝǧ is 'boy'. Lǝǧu is 'the boy') አየሩ Ayyäru the weather ደስ däss pleasant Yusuf bin Ahmad al-Kawneyn Local Somali oral tradition and written Ethiopian history gives reason to believe Aw Barkhadle arrived from Arabia. However, some scholars hold

2100-625: Is listed as Emir of Harar in 1038AD. The sheikh is also known for spreading the Islamic faith to Southeast Asia , after traveling there from Zeila. He is also known as being a member of the Somali 'Diwan al-awliya' (Famous Saints of Somali Origin). Sheikh Yusuf Al Kawneyn is also associated with the Walashma dynasty of Ifat and Adal , which was a medieval Muslim dynasty in the Horn of Africa . It governed

2205-469: Is mostly heard as the affricate sound [ t͡sʼ ]. The rhotic consonant is realized as a trill when geminated and a tap otherwise. The closed central unrounded vowel ⟨ə⟩ /ɨ/ and mid-central vowel ⟨ä⟩ /ə/ are generally fronted to [ ɪ ] and [ ɛ ], respectively, following palatal consonants , and generally retracted and rounded to [ ʊ ] and [ ɔ ], respectively, following labialized velar consonants . The Amharic script

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2310-416: Is not indicated in Amharic orthography, but Amharic readers typically do not find this to be a problem. This property of the writing system is analogous to the vowels of Arabic and Hebrew or the tones of many Bantu languages , which are not normally indicated in writing. Ethiopian novelist Haddis Alemayehu , who was an advocate of Amharic orthography reform , indicated gemination in his novel Love to

2415-550: Is now a museum. The Egyptian occupation of Harar came to an end as a result of the British conquest of Egypt and the Mahdist revolt . These developments produced a crisis in 1884 when the Egyptian government's payments to the troops ceased to arrive, the garrison was forced to raid the Oromos and Somalis for food. In accordance with an agreement with another power in the region namely France,

2520-410: Is still widely in use today, with only minor changes, and Hararis who have moved to other cities try to adhere to a similar style. Hararis take great pride in their houses, and they form an important part of Harari culture. A walled compound ( abāt ) consists of several residences, which share the same walls but are not interconnected. They are arranged around a courtyard, with most of the windows facing

2625-561: 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,

2730-521: Is told, that every year the Isaaq clansmen gather at Aw Barkhadle’s shrine to make offerings in his name. Aw Barkhadle's shrine near Fadis was set alight during the Ogaden War by the Ethiopian militia in 1977. Tradition states Barkhadle travelled extensively from Mogadishu to Berbera, Hargeisa and finally Harar where he allegedly stayed for 300 years of his 500 year life. Towards the end of his reign he built

2835-559: The Abyssinians . The sheikh has shrines dedicated to him in Sri Lanka, in the town of Aw Barkhadle, northeast Hargeisa in Somaliland, in a site called Qoranyale, near the town of Borama . Shrines are also to be found in eastern modern Ethiopia near Fedis as well as in Harar . According to C.J Cruttenden, the tomb of saint Aw Barkhadle, which is located to the southwest of Berbera ,

2940-627: 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 back 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

3045-485: 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

3150-452: 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

3255-715: 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. A certain Emir Ahmed,

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3360-798: The Siltʼe , Wolane , Halaba and Harari people lived in Harar, while the former three moved to the Gurage region. 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

3465-522: The Sinai Peninsula into Asia . A later return movement of peoples from South Arabia would have introduced the Semitic languages to Ethiopia. Based on archaeological evidence, the presence of Semitic speakers in the territory date to some time before 500 BC. Linguistic analysis suggests the presence of Semitic languages in Ethiopia as early as 2000 BC. Levine indicates that by the end of that millennium,

3570-450: The Tigrayans (2.76%); all other ethnic groups together comprised less than 2% of the population. Amharic was spoken as a first language by 49.2% of city inhabitants, Oromo by 23.7%, Harari by 12.2%, and Somali by 6.6%. The plurality of urban inhabitants professed Ethiopian Orthodox Christianity , with 48.54% of the population having reported they practiced that belief, while 44.56% of

3675-504: The total number of speakers over 58,800,000. Amharic is the largest, most widely spoken language in Ethiopia, and the second most spoken mother-tongue in Ethiopia (after Oromo ). Amharic is also the second most widely spoken Semitic language in the world (after Arabic ). Amharic is written left-to-right using a system that grew out of the Geʽez script . The segmental writing system in which consonant-vowel sequences are written as units

3780-462: 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

3885-419: 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

3990-652: The 1948 state-led crackdown on their population. The Somali tribes surrounding Harar are mainly from the Gadabuursi and Issa subclans of the Dir and the Karanle subclan of the Hawiye . They represent the most native Somali clans in the region. The Darod clans of the Geri and Jidwaaq also inhabit areas near Harar. The Gadabuursi and Geri Somali strike immediately north and north eastwards of

4095-455: 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 strengthen the influence of

4200-525: 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 makonnen (governors) to support Salih in his rebellion against

4305-495: 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

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4410-504: The Egyptians were never able to pacify the Oromos, and effective Egyptian control rarely reached further then 40 miles away from the city. To strengthen their tedious control of Harar, the Khedive increased its garrison to 160 officials, 3,411 soldiers and 5,000 of their wives and children. This garrison represented a fifth of Harar's entire population, and the soldiers were usually quartered among

4515-409: The Emperor 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

4620-463: The Ethiopianist tradition they are often transcribed with a dot below the letter. The notation of central vowels in the Ethiopianist tradition is shown in angled brackets. The voiced bilabial plosive /b/ is phonetically realized as a voiced labial approximant [β̞] medially between sonorants in non- geminated form. The fricative ejective / sʼ / is heard as a fricative ejective [ sʼ ], but

4725-519: The Grave by placing a dot above the characters whose consonants were geminated, but this practice is rare. Punctuation includes the following: One may construct simple Amharic sentences by using a subject and a predicate . Here are a few simple sentences: ኢትዮጵያ ʾItyop̣p̣ya Ethiopia አፍሪካ ʾAfrika Africa ውስጥ wǝsṭ in ናት nat is ኢትዮጵያ አፍሪካ ውስጥ ናት ʾItyop̣p̣ya ʾAfrika wǝsṭ nat {Ethiopia} {Africa} {in} {is} 'Ethiopia

4830-564: The HNL was able to seize power. Tensions persist between the Harari people and the neighboring Oromo community, as the Oromo have taken possession of certain agricultural lands belonging to the Harari in the area surrounding Harar. In 2018, Tom Gardner reported that the Qeerroo Oromo nationalists took control of the city, demanding millions of Ethiopian birr as a condition for restoring water supplies to

4935-578: The Hararis large and unpayable loans. To stem the tide of land confiscations, a group of Harari elites established a group called the firmac . The goal of the firmac was to protect Harari property and maintain ethnic unity by discouraging un-Islamic practices. They also opened the first Islamic school in Harar that taught modern subjects. On 22 March, the Regia Aeronautica bombed Harar and Jijiga even though Harar had been declared an " open city ". Harar

5040-585: The Ifat and Adal Sultanates in what are parts of present-day Somaliland , Djibouti and eastern Ethiopia . Sheikh Yusuf is described by some historians as being the ancestor of this royal family. He is also known as representing the spiritual legacy of the Ifat and Adal Sultanates. Some historians trace Sheikh Yusuf Al Kawneyn to the Gadabursi clan, which primarily inhabits the Horn of Africa. According to Somalis of Issa ,

5145-488: 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

5250-403: The Isaaq lineage, a saint deprived of known issue. The striking difference between these two saints is explained in a popular legend, according to which, when Sheikh Isaaq and Aw Barkhadle met, the latter prophesied that Isaaq would be blessed by God with many children. He, however, would not have descendants, but Isaaq’s issue would pay him respect and siyaaro (voluntary offerings). So it is, one

5355-434: 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

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5460-456: 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 . Until

5565-545: The Sky-God adhered to by many Cushitic people (including the Konso) in the Horn of Africa including the Somali in pre-Islamic times both before and during the practice of Christianity and Islam. While completing his studies in Zayla , Al Kowneyn was told of a town in present-day Somalia called Dogor, with an oppressive king called Bu‘ur Ba‘ayr who is believed to be a Yibir . According to

5670-414: The UK was forced to withdraw its Egyptian forces from Harar. The Egyptian troops duly moved out of the city, taking some valuables with them, but leaving most of their local families behind. The Emirate was thus restored under Emir Abdullahi in 1885, however Emir Abdullahi's rule was short lived for in 1887 Menelik II would defeat him at the Battle of Chelenqo and thus conquer the walled city. In 1887,

5775-413: The Wardiiq one of their sub clans are also descendants of this saint. This Issa tradition revolves around the induction of Harla clans into Somali lineage such as Horoone. A few ethnic groups in modern southern Ethiopia claim descent from Aw Barkhadle which include Silt'e and Wolane people . A descendant of Barkhadle was one of the key negotiators during the surrender of Emirate of Harar in 1887 to

5880-401: The alphabet used for writing the Geʽez language. There are 34 basic characters, each of which has seven forms depending on which vowel is to be pronounced in the syllable. There are also 49 "wa" letters, which form compound sounds involving "w." All together, the alphabet has some 280 letters. Until 2020 Amharic was the sole official language of Ethiopia. The 2007 census reported that Amharic

5985-409: The ancestors in Arabia, the headquarters of Islam. Thus Yusuf has been affirmed to have 'exalted origins' through being related to the prophet. Yusuf is described by some scholars as a native of Somalia and as a Somali who studied in his city Zeila and later in Iraq . As a result of his studies in Iraq, he was given the title of "Al Baghdadi" as well. He is also noted for having devised

6090-489: The army of Menelik II would conquer Harar after defeating Emir Abdullahi's troops at Chelenqo , then appointed his nephew Ras Makonnen as governor of the region. According to Jules Borelli, after Menelik's departure many of the Shewan troops quartered in the city were said to have looted the silos in which the inhabitants had stored their grain. Some of those robbed appealed to Makonnen, who promised restitution, but Borelli believes they never received any. Makonnen had ordered

6195-431: The army saw further migration abroad, specifically to Canada and the United States . After the rise of the Ethiopian People's Revolutionary Democratic Front (EPRDF) in the early 1990s, Hararis were encouraged to use their language in official capacities. Considerable effort was taken to develop Harari as an official educational and administrative language. This saw a general cultural revival in Harar, with also stressed

6300-418: 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. When Harar was founded is unclear and various dates have been suggested, some state the city was founded by Hadhrami settlers in the late 7th century or a local creation in

6405-429: The center of gravity of the Kingdom of Aksum and the ensuing integration and Christianization of the proto-Amhara also resulted in a high prevalence of Geʽez sourced lexicon in Amharic. Some time after the 9th century AD, Amharic diverged from its closest relative, Argobba , probably due to religious differences as the Argobba adopted Islam. In 1983, Lionel Bender proposed that Amharic may have been constructed as

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6510-421: 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,

6615-474: The compounds are joined so that they are basically continuous. The outer gate facing the street is usually wooden but sometimes iron, and they are either painted or whitewashed. The walls form an architrave around them. Amharic language Amharic ( / æ m ˈ h ær ɪ k / am- HARR -ik or / ɑː m ˈ h ɑːr ɪ k / ahm- HAR -ik ; native name : አማርኛ , romanized :  Amarəñña , IPA: [amarɨɲːa] )

6720-498: 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

6825-443: The core inhabitants of Greater Ethiopia would have consisted of dark-skinned agropastoralists speaking Afro-Asiatic languages of the Semitic, Cushitic and Omotic branches. Other scholars such as Messay Kebede and Daniel E. Alemu argue that migration across the Red Sea was defined by reciprocal exchange, if it even occurred at all, and that Ethio-Semitic-speaking ethnic groups should not be characterized as foreign invaders. Amharic

6930-471: The courts, the language of trade and everyday communications and of the military since the late 12th century. The Amhara nobles supported the Zagwe prince Lalibela in his power struggle against his brothers which led him to make Amharic Lessana Negus as well as fill the Amhara nobles in the top positions of his Kingdom. The appellation of "language of the king" ( Ge'ez : ልሳነ ነጋሢ ; "Lǝssanä nägaśi," Amharic : የነጋሢ ቋንቋ "Yä-nägaśi qʷanqʷa") and its use in

7035-425: The courtyard instead of the street. Doors to individual residences almost always point east or west; north- or south-facing doors are rare. According to Kabir Abdulmuheimen Abdulnassir, farmers and merchants often have east-facing doors so that they can rise early for work. The several families who live in the same compound share one or two kitchens , which are disconnected from the residences. The walls that surround

7140-402: The form of siyaaro (localized pilgrimage with offerings). As Aw Bardhadle had no known descendants, the descendants of the Saint's friend and contemporary figure, Sheikh Isaaq, will remember Aw Barkhadle in his stead: Since, however, Aw Barkhadle’s precise connection with the rulers of Ifat is not widely known, he appears as an isolated figure, and in comparison with the million or so spears of

7245-525: The head-quarters of slavery, the birth-place of the Chat plant" Muhammad is said to have oppressed his own people by devaluing the city's currency while extracting a special mahalaq al-Oromo or Oromo tax. This tax was needed for Emir Muhammad to meet the demands of hospitality inherent in the status of ilman gosa . Richard Pankhurst also notes that Emir Muhammad forbade his subjects from eating rice or dates , "declaring that they were suitable only for rulers." However, Caulk points that Muhammad engaged in

7350-410: The importance of Islam. The complex social interactions of Sufi rituals at Harar's numerous shrines both refied local Islamic identity and attracted large numbers of Muslim Ethiopian tourists. By 1994, two political parties were vying over power in Harar, one being the Harari National League (HNL) and the Harari Democratic Unity Party. After a tense competition which occasionally descended into violence,

7455-436: 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 ashrafi s, 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

7560-447: 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

7665-473: The legend, Bu‘ur Ba‘ayr married couples by sleeping with the bride during the first six nights of the marriage and engaged in acts of paganism and magic. Local people at Aw-Barkhadle attribute the conversion of locals to Islam, to the defeat by duel of the previous religious leader, Bu‘ur Ba‘ayr, by the Muslim newcomer Aw-Barkhadle, who heard of the oppressive nature of the king and wanted to stop him. The Saint showed

7770-480: The local populace and declining to follow the governor's directives. The Egyptian period witnessed the reconstruction and enlargement of the city's infrastructure. Under the governor Nadi Pasha, the height of the walls were increased. The old palace of the Emirs was demolished and erected in its place was a two-story governor's house which looked over the marketplace and dominated the entire settlement. The town's main mosque

7875-424: The local populace. The imposition of substantial taxes in Harar incited protests from the Harari people against the Egyptian occupation, prompting British administrator Charles George Gordon to intervene in 1878 to remove Governor Rauf Pasha from his position. Researcher Alice Moore-Harell indicates that before Gordon's arrival, the atmosphere had grown strained, with certain Egyptian soldiers aligning themselves with

7980-428: 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

8085-559: 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. 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

8190-475: The number of geographically distinct Cushitic languages that have influenced Amharic at different points in time (e.g. Oromo influence beginning in the 16th century) support a natural evolution of Amharic from a Proto-Ethio-Semitic language with considerable Cushitic influences (similar to Gurage, Tigrinya, etc.). The Amharic ejective consonants correspond to the Proto-Semitic " emphatic consonants ." In

8295-468: The opinion that suggests Arabian origin stories pertaining to ancestral saints such as Yusuf, are potentially a myth by scholars and an Islamification of a pre-Islamic origin story that relates back to Waaq and ancestor worship. These myths would tie the Somalis to the prophets clan (Quraysh). Religious synchronism where the old religion is adapted to reflect the hegemony of the new in that the ancestral home of

8400-412: The outside of the city walls on foot; doing so took about an hour. By the early 1980s, though, this was no longer possible because the city had begun to expand out from the walled city, with some buildings being built directly attached to the outside of the wall. The Old City of Harar with an approximate area of 60 hectares (150 acres) is surrounded by ramparts on the northern and eastern sides and part of

8505-583: 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

8610-473: The population said they were Muslim , and 6.14% were Protestant . Barker Haines reported in 1840 that the majority of the population of Harar were Hararis however a few Oromo , Afar , Somali and Arabian traders of Yemen were also present. In 1855 Richard Francis Burton described Harar as having an approximately 8,000 inhabitants; 3,000 Bedouins (referring to seasonal nomads who "come and go", 2,500 Hararis, and 2,500 Somalis . Burton further reported

8715-481: The power to make much headway in this endeavor, and it was only after the Egyptian conquest that this policy made major strides. Due to the oppressive emir in Harar the Harari opposition requested Egypt intervene to liberate the people in the region. In October 1878, Muhammad Rauf Pasha led a well armed Egyptian force of 1,200 men into the interior of eastern Ethiopia and without encountering any opposition, seized Harar on 11 October 1875. A few days later, Emir Muhammad

8820-608: The primary mosque of Harar torn down and replaced it with an Orthodox Church designed by an Italian architect. The French traveler Charles Michel notes that "the first years of the Abyssinian occupation were far from prosperous" as "the Abyssinian chiefs took for themselves what could have any value", while "the soldiers, several thousand in number, chased the Hararis from their dwellings to install themselves in their place, and devastated everything around them." Traders were driven away and markets becoming impossible in towns were held instead in

8925-455: The religious superiority of his beliefs in contrast to the local beliefs of Bu‘ur Ba‘ayr's followers, whom the former won over in great number. Furthermore, the Aw-Barkhadle site is an important burial site of the Muslim rulers of the Adal Sultanate . Al-Kowneyn himself of the Walashma dynasty of the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries AD is buried in this town. Yusuf bin Ahmad al-Kawneyn

9030-559: The remote countryside. Harar lost some of its commercial importance with the creation of the French-built Addis Ababa–Djibouti Railway , initially intended to run via the city but diverted north of the mountains between Harar and the Awash River to save money. As a result of this, Dire Dawa was founded in 1902 as New Harar . The British planned to revitalise the historic Harar-Berbera trade route by connecting

9135-510: The residents of Harar. According to Sir Richard Burton Harar is the birthplace of the khat plant. The original domesticated coffee plant is also said to have been from Harar. The climate of Harar is classified as subtropical highland climate ( Cwb ) in Köppen-Geiger climate classification system . Throughout the year, afternoon temperatures are warm to very warm, whilst mornings are cool to mild. Rain falls between March and October with

9240-612: The royal court are otherwise traced to the Amhara Emperor Yekuno Amlak . It is one of the official languages of Ethiopia , together with other regions like Oromo , Somali , Afar , and Tigrinya . Amharic is an Afro-Asiatic language of the Southwest Semitic group and is related to Geʽez , or Ethiopic, the liturgical language of the Ethiopian Orthodox church; Amharic is written in a slightly modified form of

9345-558: The season of 1846 this relic was brought to Berbera in charge of the Haber Gerhajis, and on it the rival tribes of Aial Ahmed and Aial Yunus swore to bury all animosity and live as brethren. According to renowned Somali anthropologist I.M. Lewis in his book Saints and Somalis: Popular Islam in a Clan-based Society , the descendants of Sheikh Isaaq (the Isaaq clan) annually gather at the historic shrine of Saint Aw Barkhadle to pay respects in

9450-408: 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

9555-439: The southern side. There are five ancient city gates, These are, clockwise from the north of the citadel: Other gates such as the unofficial modern sixth "Harar gate" was built after the Abyssinian invasion in the 19th century. Known as gey gar ("city house", plural: gey garach ), Harari houses form a distinct archetype that differs from other Muslim regions and from other parts of Ethiopia. The traditional Harari house design

9660-534: The town was decimated following the overthrow of Lij Iyasu by Abyssinian militias. The indigenous Harari natives who once were majority within the walled city are under 15%, due to ethnic cleansing by the Haile Selassie regime. As a result of the repression by the Ethiopian regime, in the late 1970s Hararis residing in Addis Ababa outnumbered those in Harar. According to Feener, the Harari have not recovered from

9765-449: The town. Richard Francis Burton (1856) describes the Gadabuursi and Geri Somali clans as extending to within sight of Harar. The Issa and Karanle Hawiye strike north and north westwards whilst the Jidwaaq strike eastwards. I.M. Lewis (1998) states: "Including the land round Harar and Dire Dawa inhabited by the Somalis of the 'Iise and Gadabuursi clans." The old walled city of Harar

9870-588: The two cities via rail as a means to bolster trade. However, the initiative was vetoed by parliament on the grounds that it would harm the Entente Cordiale between France and Britain. Unlike with most other subjugated lands in the south, Harar's pre-conquest government employed literacy as a tool of governance. Therefore Ras Makonnen did not attempt to destroy them, but choose to inherit the long established administrative structures and official archives. The retention of historically developed administrative structure

9975-541: The use of Arabic was encouraged, Hararis and other Muslim collaborators were hired by the Italian administration and previously confiscated land was returned to their original owners and descendants. Harar would serve as the capital of Harar Governorate , one of the Italian governors of Harar was Enrico Cerulli (1939–1940). During the East African Campaign , Italian rule would almost immediately disintegrate and Harar

10080-523: Was also torn down and replaced with a somewhat larger structure. The Egyptians also built a much needed hospital near the south western gate under Ridwan Pasha. During the period of Egyptian rule, Arthur Rimbaud lived in the city as the local functionary of several different commercial companies based in Aden ; he returned in 1888 to resume trading in coffee, musk , and skins until a fatal disease forced him to return to France. A house said to have been his residence

10185-419: Was an attempt to govern the province as inexpensively as possible. Nevertheless, with the arrival of settlers from Shewa into the region social tensions ensured, especially when Harar became to be regarded as the support base for Lij Iyasu . By the 1920s, the previously dominate position held by Hararis was beginning to be replaced by Christian immigrants, who extended their land holdings in the city by granting

10290-579: Was captured by the 29th Infantry Division "Piemonte" on 8 May 1936 under Marshall Rodolfo Graziani during the Second Italo-Ethiopian War . The Italian invasion of Ethiopia was generally welcomed by Harar, who had grown to resent the Christian Amhara rule, the Italian policy of pitting different ethnic and religious groups had resonated with the Hararis. Under the Italians, mosques were built,

10395-820: Was captured by the 1st battalion of the Nigeria Regiment , advancing from Jijiga by way of the Marda Pass on 29 March 1941. The freedom granted to Harar by the Italians was not quickly forgotten, especially after Emperor Haile Selassie attempted to restore the political and economic power of the Shewan elites. When the Somali Youth League (SYL) began agitating Harari members, they started their own branch known as Kulubi . The Ethiopian government immediately cracked down on this movement, arresting suspected members, confiscating property and imposing travel restrictions. This had

10500-446: 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

10605-455: Was murdered by an Egyptian bashi-bazouk while leading evening prayers, his relatives then fled to the countryside to seek refuge among the neighboring Oromos. The Egyptians spent much of their time establishing their authority over the surrounding Oromo to secure the caravan routes and attempt the agricultural exploitation of Harar's hinterlands. Rauf Pasha conducted brutal expeditions in the countryside from February to March 1876. Despite this,

10710-467: Was spoken by 21.6 million native speakers in Ethiopia. More recent sources state the number of first-language speakers in 2018 as nearly 32 million, with another 25 million second-language speakers in Ethiopia. Additionally, 3 million emigrants outside of Ethiopia speak the language. Most of the Ethiopian Jewish communities in Ethiopia and Israel speak Amharic. Furthermore, Amharic is considered

10815-408: 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

10920-524: Was used by the Isaaq clans to settle disputes and to swear oaths of alliances under a holy relic attributed to Bilal Ibn Rabah . The Eidagale historically acted as mediators. When any grave question arises affecting the interests of the Isaakh tribe in general. On a paper yet carefully preserved in the tomb, and bearing the sign-manual of Belat [Bilal], the slave of one of the early khaleefehs, fresh oaths of lasting friendship and lasting alliances are made...In

11025-475: 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,

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