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79-498: The name refers to the airstrip's location on the country's main NE/SW road, about 50 kilometres south-west of Mogadishu . In the late 2000s, K50 served as Mogadishu's main airport while Aden Adde International Airport was briefly shut down due to the 2006–2009 War in Somalia . The Somali-owned, Dubai Airport -based Daallo Airlines operated routes to and from K50 at one time. The airstrip

158-748: A Greek travel document dating from the first century AD, as one of a series of commercial ports on the Somali littoral. According to the Periplus , maritime trade already connected peoples in the Mogadishu area with other communities along the Indian Ocean. During ancient times Mogadishu was part of the Somali city-states that engaged in a lucrative trade network connecting Somali merchants with Phoenicia , Ptolemic Egypt , Greece, Parthian Persia , Sabaeans , Nabataea and

237-453: A Muslim medieval geographer in the year 1220 describes Mogadishu as the most prominent town on the coast. Yaqut also mentioned Mogadishu as being a town inhabited by Berbers, described as "dark-skinned" and considered ancestors of modern Somalis. By the thirteenth century, Ibn Sa'id described Mogadishu, Merca and Barawa located in the Benadir coast had become Islamic and commercial centers in

316-566: A bloodless takeover. The putsch was spearheaded by Major General Mohamed Siad Barre , who at the time commanded the army. Alongside Barre, the Supreme Revolutionary Council (SRC) that assumed power after President Sharmarke's assassination was led by Lieutenant Colonel Salaad Gabeyre Kediye and Chief of Police Jama Ali Korshel . Kediye officially held the title of "Father of the Revolution," and Barre shortly afterwards became

395-553: A diplomatic mission to Constantinople on behalf of the Sultan of Fez Muhammad II he found himself in the port of Rosetta during the Ottoman conquest of Egypt . He continued with his journey through Cairo and Aswan and across the Red Sea to Arabia , where he probably performed a pilgrimage to Mecca . On his way back to Tunis in 1518 he was captured by Spanish corsairs either near

474-463: A historic ally of Somalia. In October 2017, over 500 people were killed by a truck bombing . In March 2022, al-Shabaab killed over 60 people in a series of attacks . In October 2022, an al-Shabaab double car bombing killed over 120 people. On 14 March, militants attacked and sieged the SYL Hotel in Mogadishu . In July 2024, At least eight people are killed and twenty-one others injured in

553-493: A king over it, and is a place of great trade in merchandise. Ships come there from the kingdom of Cambay (India) and from Aden with stuffs of all kinds, and with spices. And they carry away from there much gold, ivory, beeswax, and other things upon which they make a profit. In this town there is plenty of meat, wheat, barley, and horses, and much fruit: it is a very rich place. In 1542, the Portuguese commander João de Sepúvelda led

632-457: A new technocratic government was elected to office, which enacted numerous reforms, especially in the security sector. By August 2011, the new administration and its AMISOM allies had managed to capture all of Mogadishu from the Al-Shabaab militants. Mogadishu has subsequently experienced a period of intense reconstruction spearheaded by the Somali diaspora, the municipal authorities, and Turkey,

711-566: A period of decline and disarray near the end of the Hiraab Imamate . Following a struggle between the two leading figures of each respective quarter ( Shingani and Hamarweyn ) Sultan Yusuf marched into the city with an 8,000 strong army and ruled in favour of the Shingani leader, with the loser fleeing the city. Yusuf would nominate a relative of the deposed chief to lead the Hamarweyn quarter ending

790-426: A period of major reconstruction commenced. The origins of the name Mogadishu (Muqdisho) have many theories but it is most likely derived from a morphology of the Somali words Muuq and Disho which mean "Sight Killer" or "Blinder", possibly referring to the city's blinding beauty. Magh'ad-e shāh ( Persian : مقعد شاه ) is another phrase from which the name of Mogadishu is believed to be derived, meaning "seat of

869-519: A shootout between security forces and inmates in a Mogadishu prison during an escape attempt. The prisoners who attempted to escape were members of Al-Shabaab. On 14 July, 10 people were injured in a cafe due to a car bombing done by Al-Shabaab. In August 2024, 37 people were killed by an Al-Shabaab suicide bomber at Lido Beach. Leo Africanus Johannes Leo Africanus (born al-Hasan Muhammad al-Wazzan al-Fasi , Arabic : الحسن محمد الوزان الفاسي ; c.  1494 – c.  1554 )

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948-462: A small fleet on an expedition to the Somali coast . During this expedition, he briefly attacked Mogadishu, capturing an Ottoman ship and firing upon the city, which compelled the sultan of Mogadishu to sign a peace treaty with the Portuguese. According to the 16th-century explorer, Leo Africanus indicates that the native inhabitants of the Mogadishu polity were of the same origins as the denizens of

1027-677: A small team of African Union troops, the coalition government also began a counteroffensive in February 2009 to retake control of the southern half of the country. To solidify its control of southern Somalia, the TFG formed an alliance with the Islamic Courts Union, other members of the Alliance for the Re-liberation of Somalia , and Ahlu Sunna Waljama'a , a moderate Sufi militia. In November 2010,

1106-608: A translation of his Christian name, John-Leo, or Johannes Leo (Latin), or Giovanni Leone (Italian). He was also given the family name Medici after his patron, Pope Leo X's family. The same manuscript also contained his original name al-Hasan ibn Muhammad al-Wazzan al-Fasi. al-Hasan ibn Muhammad was a patronymic name meaning "al-Hasan, son of Muhammad", and al-Fasi is the Arabic demonym for someone from Fez, Morocco . Cosmographia et geographia de Affrica , later published by Giovanni Battista Ramusio as Description of Africa in 1550,

1185-466: A vast trading network, dominated the regional gold trade, minted its own currency , and left an extensive architectural legacy in present-day southern Somalia. A local city-state which much influence over the hinterland neighbouring coastal towns. For many years Mogadishu functioned as the pre-eminent city in the بلد البربر ( Bilad al Barbar – "Land of the Berbers "), as medieval Arabic-speakers named

1264-506: A willing collaborator could provide useful information on North Africa. Leo Africanus left Rome and spent the next three or four years traveling in Italy. The death of his patron Leo X in 1521, and suspicions from the new Pope Adrian VI against a Muslim in court, was likely the reason for his leaving Rome. While staying in Bologna he wrote an Arabic-Hebrew-Latin medical vocabulary , of which only

1343-657: Is Leo's most famous work. He wrote an Arabic-Hebrew-Latin medical vocabulary for the Jewish physician Jacob Mantino . He also wrote an Arabic translation of the Epistles of St. Paul , which is dated in January 1521; the manuscript belongs to the Biblioteca Estense in Modena. Another surviving work is a biographical encyclopedia of 25 major Islamic scholars and 5 major Jewish scholars which

1422-503: Is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . Mogadishu Mogadishu , locally known as Xamar or Hamar , is the capital and most populous city of Somalia . The city has served as an important port connecting traders across the Indian Ocean for millennia and has an estimated urban population of 2,610,483. Mogadishu is located in the coastal Banaadir region on the Indian Ocean, which, unlike other Somali regions,

1501-531: Is considered a municipality rather than a maamul goboleed (federal state). Mogadishu has a long history, which ranges from the ancient period up until the present, serving as the capital of the Sultanate of Mogadishu in the 9th-13th century, which for many centuries controlled the Indian Ocean gold trade and eventually came under the Ajuran Sultanate in the 13th century which was an important player in

1580-625: Is traditionally inhabited by four clans. These are the Moorshe, Iskashato, DhabarWeyne, and the Bandawow. Moorshe is regarded the oldest group in Mogadishu and is considered to be a sub-clan of Ajuran who established one of the most powerful medieval kingdoms in Africa, the Ajuran Sultanate . The Gibil Madow (Dark Skins) faction of the Benadiri are said to hail from the Somali clan groups from inland which make up

1659-520: Is unlikely that Leo Africanus visited all the places that he describes and he must therefore have relied on information obtained from other travellers. It is doubtful whether he visited Hausaland and Bornu and it is even possible that he never crossed the Sahara but relied on information from other travellers that he met in Morocco. The historian Pekka Masonen has argued that the belief of his further travels

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1738-603: The Battle of Ras Kamboni , raged, TFG President and founder Abdullahi Yusuf Ahmed , a former colonel in the Somali Army, entered Mogadishu for the first time since being elected to office. The government then relocated to Villa Somalia in Mogadishu from its interim location in Baidoa , marking the first time since the fall of the Barre regime in 1991 that the federal government controlled most of

1817-555: The Indian Ocean . He said the local people in the Benadir coast and the interior were predominantly inhabited by Somalis with a minority of Arab, Persian and Indian merchants living in the coastal towns. Ibn al-Mujawir mentions the Banu Majid who fled the Mundhiriya region in Yemen in the year 1159 and settled in Mogadishu and also traders from the port towns of Abyan and Haram. Mogadishu

1896-558: The Islamic Courts Union (ICU), an Islamist organization, assumed control of much of the southern part of the country and imposed sharia law. The new Transitional Federal Government (TFG), established two years earlier, sought to establish its authority. With the assistance of Ethiopian troops , AMISOM peacekeepers and air support by the United States, it drove out the rival ICU and solidified its rule. On 8 January 2007, as

1975-590: The Italian Empire after 1906, British Military Administration of Somalia after World War II and the Trust Territory of Somaliland administered by Italy in the 1950s. This was followed by independence in 1960, the Somali Democratic Republic era during Siad Barre 's presidency (1969–1991). The three-decade long Somali Civil War afterwards devastated the city. As of the late 2010s and 2020s,

2054-513: The Ottoman Empire , and with the import of firearms such as muskets and cannons . Most were Muslims, although a few adhered to pre-Islamic beliefs ; there were also some Orthodox Tewahedo Christians further inland. Mogadishu itself was a wealthy, and well-built city-state, which maintained commercial trade with kingdoms across the world. The metropolis city was surrounded by walled stone fortifications. The Ajuran Sultanate collapsed in

2133-575: The Roman Empire . Somali sailors used the ancient Somali maritime vessel known as the beden to transport their cargo. The founding ethnicity of Mogadishu and its subsequent sultanate has been a topic of intrigue in Somali Studies . Ioan Lewis and Enrico Cerulli believed that the city was founded and ruled by a council of Arab and Persian families. However, the reference I.M Lewis and Cerulli received traces back to one 19th century text called

2212-511: The State of Somaliland , and the Trust Territory of Somalia (the former Italian Somaliland) followed suit five days later. On 1 July 1960, the two territories united to form the Somali Republic, with Mogadishu serving as the nation's capital. A government was formed by Abdullahi Issa and other members of the trusteeship and protectorate governments, with Haji Bashir Ismail Yusuf as President of

2291-516: The Sultanate of the Geledi 's sphere of influence. In 1894, the Somali chief had signed a treaty of peace, friendship, and protection with Filonardi of the Commercial Company of Benadir. The onset of Italian colonial rule occurred in stages, with treaties signed in the 1880s followed by economic engagement between Somali clans and the Commercial Company of Benadir, and then direct governance by

2370-596: The United Nations Operation in Somalia II several gun battles took place in Mogadishu between Somali factions, volunteers and peacekeepers . Among these was the Battle of Mogadishu of 1993 , a US apprehension of two high-ranking lieutenants of the Somali National Alliance . The UN soldiers withdrew altogether from the country on 3 March 1995, having incurred more significant casualties. In 2006,

2449-462: The Venetian publisher Giovanni Battista Ramusio . The book proved to be extremely popular and was reprinted five times. It was also translated into other languages. French and Latin editions were published in 1556 while an English version was published in 1600 with the title A Geographical Historie of Africa . The Latin edition, which contained many errors and mistranslations, was used as the source for

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2528-491: The 16th century, Duarte Barbosa noted that many ships from the Kingdom of Cambaya sailed to Mogadishu with cloths and spices for which they in return received gold , wax and ivory . Barbosa also highlighted the abundance of meat, wheat, barley, horses, and fruit on the coastal markets, which generated enormous wealth for the merchants. Mogadishu, the center of a thriving weaving industry known as toob benadir (specialized for

2607-745: The 17th century due to heavy taxation against their subjects, which started a rebellion. The ex-subjects became a new wave of Somali migrants, the Abgaal , moved both into the Shebelle River basin and Mogadishu. A new political elite led by Abgaal Yaquub imams , with ties to the new leaders in the interior, moved into the Shangani District of the city. Remnants of the Ajuran lived in the other key-quarters of Hamar Weyne District . Ajuran merchants began to look for new linkages and regional trade opportunities since

2686-526: The Abgaal had commandeered the existing trading networks. By the 17th century, the Hiraab Imamate was a powerful kingdom that ruled large parts of southern and central Somalia. It successfully revolted against the Ajuran Sultanate and established an independent rule for at least two centuries from the seventeen hundreds and onwards. By the late 19th century, the Imamate began to decline due to internal problems,

2765-520: The Arabic part has survived, and a grammar of Arabic of which only an eight-page fragment has survived. He returned to Rome in 1526 under the protection of the new Pope Clement VII , a cousin of Leo X who replaced Adrian. According to Leo, he completed his manuscript on African geography in the same year. The work was published in Italian with the title Della descrittione dell'Africa et delle cose notabili che ivi sono, per Giovan Lioni Africano in 1550 by

2844-690: The English translation. There are several theories of his later life, but none of them are certain. According to one theory, he spent it in Rome until he died around 1550, the year Description of Africa was published. This theory was based on indirect allusion in a later preface to this book. According to another theory, he left shortly before the Sack of Rome by Charles V 's troops in 1527. He then returned to North Africa and lived in Tunis until his death, some time after 1550. This

2923-566: The Hiraab Imam to acquiesce to the decision. Omani and later Zanzibari officials were mere representatives of the Sultan to collect customs and needed the fort for their own security rather than control of the city. The Fort of Garessa was eventually constructed in 1870. The Sultan of Zanzibar later leased and then sold the infrastructure that he had built to the Italians, but not the land itself, which

3002-772: The Imamate also faced challenges from Imperialist kingdoms, the Zanzibari Sultan from the coast and Geledi Sultanate , and Hobyo Sultanate from the interior from both directions. The Sultanate of Geledi and the Omani Empire vied over who would be the superior power on the Benadir Coast, with Sultan Yusuf Mahamud ultimately being the dominant force with the Omanis having a nominal presence and Said bin Sultan even paying tribute to him in order to keep Omani representatives in Mogadishu. Mogadishu under Abgaal control had been in

3081-694: The Kitab Al-Zunuj, which has been discredited by modern scholars as unreliable and unhistorical. More importantly, it contradicts oral, ancient written sources and archaeological evidence on the pre-existing civilizations and communities that flourished on the Somali coast, and to which were the forefathers of Mogadishu and other coastal cities. Thus, the Persian and Arab founding "myths" are regarded as an outdated false colonialist reflection on Africans ability to create their own sophisticated states. It has now been widely accepted that there were already communities on

3160-616: The Middle East and another for Europe. He also planned to write an exposition of the Islamic faith and a history of North Africa. None of these books survived nor has there been any proof that he completed them, which might have been due to his possible return to North Africa. A fictionalized account of his life, Leo Africanus , by the Lebanese-French author Amin Maalouf , fills in key gaps in

3239-566: The Mogadishu-based new regime's foreign policy placed an emphasis on Somalia's traditional and religious links with the Arab world , eventually joining the Arab League in 1974. After fallout from the unsuccessful Ogaden campaign of the late 1970s, the Barre administration began arresting government and military officials under suspicion of participation in the 1978 coup d'état attempt . Most of

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3318-495: The Re-liberation of Somalia (ARS) group of Islamist rebels participated in peace talks in Djibouti brokered by the UN. The conference ended with a signed agreement calling for the withdrawal of Ethiopian troops in exchange for the cessation of armed confrontation. Parliament was subsequently expanded to 550 seats to accommodate ARS members, which then elected a new president. With the help of

3397-576: The Shah/merchant Shah" which reflects the city's early Persian influence. The Arabic ' mads ', meaning "hallowed (place)" may also be a root after establishment. The 16th century explorer Leo Africanus knew the city as Magadazo (alt. Magadoxo ). The ancient city of Sarapion is believed to have been the predecessor state of Mogadishu. It is mentioned in the Periplus of the Erythraean Sea ,

3476-542: The Somali National Assembly, Aden Abdullah Osman Daar as President of the Somali Republic , and Abdirashid Ali Shermarke as Prime Minister (later to become president from 1967 to 1969). On 20 July 1961 and through a popular referendum , the people of Somalia ratified a new constitution , which was first drafted in 1960. In 1967, Muhammad Haji Ibrahim Egal became Prime Minister, a position to which he

3555-412: The Somali coast with ethnic Somali leadership, to whom the Arab and Persian families had to ask for permission to settle in their cities. It also seems the local Somalis retained their political and numerical superiority on the coast while the Muslim immigrants would go through an assimilation process by adopting the local language and culture. Mogadishu along with Zeila and other Somali coastal cities

3634-421: The Somali coast. Following his visit to the city, the 12th-century Syrian historian Yaqut al-Hamawi (a former slave of Greek origin) wrote a global history of many places he visited Mogadishu and called it the richest and most powerful city in the region and was an Islamic center across the Indian Ocean . During his travels, ibn Sa'id al-Maghribi (1213–1286) noted that Mogadishu city had already become

3713-465: The city's population of 50,000 residents. Mogadishu remained the capital of Italian Somaliland throughout the latter polity's existence. In World War II it was captured by British forces in February 1941. After World War II Mogadishu was made the capital of the Trust Territory of Somaliland , an Italian administered fiduciary political entity under the UNO mandate, for ten years (1950–1960). British Somaliland became independent on 26 June 1960 as

3792-464: The country. Following this defeat, the Islamic Courts Union splintered into factions. Some of the more radical elements, including a youth milita within the courts military wing known as al-Shabaab , regrouped to continue their insurgency against the TFG and oppose the Ethiopian military 's presence in Somalia. Throughout 2007 and 2008, al-Shabaab scored military victories, seizing control of key towns and ports in both central and southern Somalia. At

3871-406: The country. Mogadishu saw its first major outbreak of violence during the 14 July 1989 riots , during the crackdown Barres forces killed approximately 400 civilians. The July 1989 riots resulted in a large exodus of foreigners from the city and intensification of opposition towards the regime. This incident and other events over the following months led to the outbreak of the civil war in 1991,

3950-451: The dispute. Sultan Yusuf is even referred to as the governor of Mogadishu in some sources, highlighting the power he exerted over the city. Despite the Somali political decline, trade with Geledi Sultanate flourished during Geledi Sultan Ahmed Yusuf 's reign. British explorer John Kirk visited the region in 1873 and noted a variety of things. Roughly 20 large dhows were docked in both Mogadishu and Merka filled with grain produced from

4029-404: The end of 2008, the group had captured Baidoa but not Mogadishu. By January 2009, al-Shabaab and other militias had managed to force the Ethiopian troops to retreat, leaving behind an under-equipped African Union peacekeeping force to assist the Transitional Federal Government's troops. Between 31 May and 9 June 2008, representatives of Somalia's federal government and the moderate Alliance for

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4108-415: The farms of the Geledi in the interior. Kirk met the Imam Mahmood who reigned over Mogadishu. The Shabelle river itself was referred to as the 'Geledi river' by Kirk, perhaps in respect of the volume of produce that the Sultanate output. In Barawa there was little grain instead a large quantity of ivory and skins which had already been loaded onto ships destined for Zanzibar . The Geledi Sultans were at

4187-434: The head of the SRC. The SRC subsequently renamed the country the Somali Democratic Republic , arrested members of the former civilian government, banned political parties, dissolved the parliament and the Supreme Court, and suspended the constitution. The revolutionary army established large-scale public works programmes, including the Mogadishu Stadium . In addition to a nationalization programme of industry and land,

4266-435: The height of their power. They dominated the East African ivory trade, and also held sway over the Jubba and Shebelle valleys in the hinterland. The Omani Sultans' authority in Mogadishu, however, was largely nominal (existing by name only). When Imam Azzan bin Qais of Oman sought to build a fort in the city, he was thus obligated to request permission from Sultan Ahmed Yusuf the real power broker who in turn convinced

4345-534: The hospitality of the people of Mogadishu and how locals would put travellers up in their home to help the local economy. Battuta added that the city was ruled by a Somali sultan , Abu Bakr ibn Shaikh 'Umar, He noted that Sultan Abu Bakr had dark skin complexion and spoke in his native tongue (Somali) but was also fluent in Arabic. The Sultan also had a retinue of viziers , legal experts, commanders, royal eunuchs , and other officials at his beck and call. Ibn Khaldun (1332 to 1406) noted in his book that Mogadishu

4424-466: The identification of ancient Sarapion with the city that would later be known as Mogadishu. When Ibn Battuta visited the Sultanate in the 14th century, he identified the Sultan as being of Barbara origin, an ancient term to describe the ancestors of the Somali people . According to Ross E. Dunn neither Mogadishu, or any other city on the coast could be considered alien enclaves of Arabs or Persians, but were in-fact African towns. Yaqut al-Hamawi ,

4503-432: The island of Djerba or more probably near Crete , and imprisoned on the island of Rhodes , the headquarters of the Knights Hospitaller . The usual fate of unransomed Muslim captives was slavery in Christian galleys , but when his captors realized his intelligence and importance, he was moved to the Castel Sant'Angelo in Rome and presented to Pope Leo X . He was soon freed and given a pension to persuade him to stay. He

4582-419: The leading Islamic centre in the region. By the time of the Tangier -born traveller ibn Battuta 's appearance on the coastline of Somalia in 1331, the city was at the zenith of its prosperity. He described Mogadishu as "an exceedingly large city" with many rich merchants, which was famous for its high quality fabric that it exported to Mamluk Sultanate -ruled Egypt , among other places. He also describes

4661-420: The majority of Benadiris with a small minority being Gibil Cads (Light Skins) which descend from Muslim immigrants. The Mogadishu Sultanate was a medieval Somali sultanate centered in southern Somalia . It rose as one of the pre-eminent powers in the Horn of Africa under the rule of Fakhr ad-Din before becoming part of the expanding Ajuran Empire in the 13th century. The Mogadishu Sultanate maintained

4740-421: The markets in Egypt and Syria ), together with Merca and Barawa also served as transit stops for Swahili merchants from Mombasa and Malindi and for the gold trade from Kilwa . Jewish merchants from Ormus also brought their Indian textile and fruit to the Somali coast in exchange for grain and wood. Duarte Barbosa , the famous Portuguese traveller, wrote about Mogadishu (c 1517–1518): It has

4819-411: The medieval Silk Road maritime trade. Mogadishu enjoyed the height of its prosperity during the 14th and 15th centuries and was during the early modern period considered the wealthiest city on the East African coast, as well as the center of a thriving textile industry. In the 17th century, Mogadishu and parts of southern Somalia fell under the Hiraab Imamate . In the 19th century, it came under

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4898-456: The modern exploration of Africa . For this work, Leo became a household name among European geographers. He converted from Islam to Christianity and changed his name to Johannes Leo de Medicis ( يوحنا الأسد ). Leo possibly returned to North Africa in 1528, reverting to Islam. Most of what is known about his life is gathered from autobiographical notes in his own work. Leo Africanus was born as al-Hasan, son of Muhammad in Granada around

4977-496: The northern people of Zeila the capital of Adal Sultanate . They were generally tall with an olive skin complexion, some darker. They would wear traditional rich white silk wrapped around their bodies and have Islamic turbans, and coastal people only wore sarongs and wrote in Arabic as a lingua franca . Their weaponry consisted of traditional Somali weapons such as swords , daggers , spears , battle axe , and bow and arrows . However, they received assistance from its close ally,

5056-428: The people who had allegedly helped plot the putsch were summarily executed. However, several officials escaped abroad and started to form dissident groups dedicated to ousting Barre's regime by force. By the late 1980s, Barre's regime had become increasingly unpopular. The authorities became ever more totalitarian , and resistance movements , encouraged by Ethiopia's communist Derg administration, sprang up across

5135-440: The south near the capital, such as Janale and the Villaggio duca degli Abruzzi (present-day Jowhar ). In the 1930s, new buildings and avenues were built. A 114 km (71 mi) narrow-gauge railway was laid from Mogadishu to Jowhar. An asphalt road, the Strada Imperiale , was also constructed and intended to link Mogadishu to Addis Ababa . In 1940, the Italo-Somali population numbered 22,000, accounting for over 44% of

5214-408: The toppling of Barre's government, and the disbandment of the Somali National Army . Many of the opposition groups began competing for influence in the power vacuum that followed the ouster of Barre's regime. Armed factions led by United Somali Congress commanders General Mohamed Farah Aidid and Ali Mahdi Mohamed , in particular, clashed as each sought to exert authority over the capital. During

5293-448: The year 1494. The year of birth can be estimated from his self-reported age at the time of various historical events. His family moved to Fez soon after his birth. In Fez he studied at the University of al-Qarawiyyin (also spelled al-Karaouine). As a young man he accompanied an uncle on a diplomatic mission , reaching as far as the city of Timbuktu ( c.  1510 ), then part of the Songhai Empire . In 1517 when returning from

5372-412: Was baptized in the Basilica of Saint Peter's in 1520. He took the Latin name Johannes Leo de Medicis ( Giovanni Leone in Italian). In Arabic, he preferred to translate this name as Yuhanna al-Asad al-Gharnati (literally means John the Lion of Granada). It is likely that Leo Africanus was welcomed to the papal court as the Pope feared that Turkish forces might invade Sicily and southern Italy, and

5451-477: Was Somali owned. In 1905, Italy made Mogadishu the capital of the newly established Italian Somaliland . The Italians subsequently spelled the name of the city as Mogadiscio . After World War I , the surrounding territory came under Italian control with some resistance. Thousands of Italians and other people from the Italian empire began to settle in Mogadishu and founded small manufacturing companies across Somalia. They also developed some agricultural areas in

5530-428: Was a massive metropolis . He also claimed that the city was very populous with many wealthy merchants . This period gave birth to notable figures like Abd al-Aziz of Mogadishu who was described as the governor and island chief of Maldives by ibn Battuta. After him is named the Abdul-Aziz Mosque of Mogadishu, which survived for centuries. The island's appellation "Madagascar" is not of local origin but rather

5609-407: Was an Andalusi diplomat and author who is best known for his 1526 book Cosmographia et geographia de Affrica , later published by Giovanni Battista Ramusio as Descrittione dell'Africa ( Description of Africa ) in 1550, centered on the geography of the Maghreb and Nile Valley . The book was regarded among his scholarly peers in Europe as the most authoritative treatise on the subject until

5688-468: Was appointed by Shermarke. On 15 October 1969, while paying a visit to the northern town of Las Anod , Somalia's then President Abdirashid Ali Shermarke was assassinated by one of his own bodyguards. His assassination was quickly followed by a military coup d'état on 21 October 1969 (the day after his funeral), in which the Somali Army seized power without encountering armed opposition — essentially

5767-475: Was based on misreadings by modern scholars who interpreted his book as an itinerary. At the time Leo visited the city of Timbuktu , it was a thriving Islamic city famous for its learning. Home to many scholars and learned men, Timbuktu also possessed a Great Mosque , renowned for its expansive library. The town was to become a byword in Europe as the most inaccessible of cities. At the time of Leo's journey there, it

5846-697: Was based on records by German orientalist Johann Albrecht Widmannstetter , who arrived in Italy and planned (but ultimately failed) to travel to Tunis to meet Leo who had since reconverted to Islam. Yet another theory said that he left Tunis after it was captured by Charles V in 1535 for Morocco, his second home country after Granada where his relatives were still living. This was based on the assumption that Leo, having left Granada, would not have wanted to live under Christian Spanish rule again, and his wish (recorded in Description of Africa ) that he wanted to ultimately return to his home country "by God's assistance". It

5925-523: Was completed in Rome before he left the city in 1527 and published for the first time in Latin by Johann Heinrich Hottinger in 1664. Unlike Description of Africa , this biographical work was hardly noticed in Europe; the book contains various erroneous information, likely due to his lack of sources when he was in Italy, forcing him to rely on memory. In Description of Africa , he referred to plans to write other books. He planned two descriptions of places, one for

6004-437: Was founded upon an indigenous network involving hinterland trade and that happened even before significant Arab migrations or trade with the Somali coast. That goes back approximately four thousand years and are supported by archaeological and textual evidences. This is corroborated by the first century AD Greek document the Periplus of the Erythraean Sea , detailing multiple prosperous port cities in ancient Somalia, as well as

6083-441: Was mentioned in the book Quiet Warriors: Veteran's Military Service Memories, written by Blake E. Edwards. The airstrip resides at an elevation of 100 feet (30 m) above mean sea level . It has one runway designated 04/22 with a compacted sand surface measuring 1,850 by 20 metres (6,070 ft × 66 ft). The following airlines offer scheduled passenger service: This article about an airport in Somalia

6162-536: Was popularized in the Middle Ages by Europeans. The name Madageiscar was first recorded in the memoirs of 13th-century Venetian explorer Marco Polo as a corrupted transliteration of the name Mogadishu, the famous port with which Polo had confused the island. Vasco da Gama , who passed by Mogadishu in the 15th century, noted that it was a large city with houses of four or five storeys high and large palaces in its centre and many mosques with cylindrical minarets. In

6241-497: Was the centre of a busy trade carried on by traders in African products, gold, printed cottons , slaves and in Islamic books. In an autograph in one of his surviving manuscripts, a fragment of an Arabic-Hebrew-Latin medical vocabulary he wrote for the Jewish physician Jacob Mantino , he signed his name in Arabic as Yuhanna al-Asad al-Gharnati (literally means John the Lion of Granada),

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