Somalis
Gunpowder Civilization
Civilization Bonuses:
Hunters don’t need Mill or Town Center to drop off food
Military units +5 hitpoints and 10% cheaper (except Ships)
Bombard Towers are 15% cheaper
Unique Technologies:
Mogadishu Colonies: Town Centers and Docks work 50% faster
Abyssinian War: Hand Cannonneer +2 projectiles
Unique Unit:
Malassay: Infantry that can dodge Siege projectiles and deals bonus damage vs Siege
Yemeni Muskeeter: Hand Cannoneer Upgrade
Team Bonus:
Hunters +1 range and +2 vs deer
Historical Justification for bonuses:
- Somalis were skilled nomadic hunters
- They were forever in war vs Ethiopia and had basically everything from Infantry to Heavy Cavalry
- Somalis built towers and many fortifications
- Mogadishu colonized Maldives and parts of South Africa
- During the Abyssian War, gunpowder was introduced by Yemeni and Ottoman Mercenaries
- Malassay was the elite troop of the Adal Sultanate, siege bonus is a reference against Ethiopia
Missing: Heavy Cavalry Archer, Elephant Archer Thumb Ring, Halberdier, Paladin, Steppe Lancer, Battle Elephant, Block Printing, Fervor, Theocracy, Heresy, Siege Onager, Heavy Scorpion, Crop Rotation
History:
Somali, Harari, Harla, Argobba and Afar people founded various sultanates in Horn of Africa. The most important were Shewa, Mogadishu, Ajuran, Ifat and Adal. The people of Horn of Africa were nomadic pastoralists and skilled hunters. Islam was introduced between the 7-8th centuries by Arabic immigrants. Arabs who were assimilated by the local Somali population built coastal trading cities like Mogadishu which became a strong sultanate. It colonized the Maldives and built a major trading port in South Africa. The sultanate was eventually annexed by the Ajuran Sultanate which became one of the strongest powers in the region. They were a part of the Indian trade. Later they were attacked by the Portuguese, but resisted and drove out the invaders from their cities. They allied with the Ottomans and imported artillery. The Ajuran had the most powerful navy in all of Africa and they joined the Ottoman expedition in Southeast Asia and also drove out the Portuguese from the Swahili coast briefly. Ajuran declined in the 17th century. The Oromo people migrated to the north which caused the end of the Ajuran Sultanate. Shewa was founded after the decline of the Axumite Empire. It was conquered by the emerging Ifat Sultanate. Later Ifat declared Jihad on Ethiopia. They pushed Ethiopia back to the highlands, but things turned and they ended up being conquered by them. They gained independence later but were annexed by the new Adal Sultanate. The Sultanate allied with the Ottoman Empire against the Portuguese expansion in the Indian Ocean and Red Sea. Adal peaked in the 16th century where they nearly conquered Ethiopia. Both states were severely weakened after the war. The Adal Sultante ended and many smaller states were established.
Campaign:
Ahmad Gragn, imam and general of the Adal Sultanate
- Abun Adashe was a great sultan, he was loved by Adal people and was respected by everyone but usurper Abu Bakr ibn Muhammad organized troops, killed the sultan and took the throne. In 1526 Ahmad Gragn rebelled against king. He gathered troops, unified Adal against the sultan. The sultan was killed by Ahmad Gragn in a battle next to Harar.
- Ethiopians and Somalis are enemies since forever. In 1529 Ahmad Gragn invaded Southern Ethiopia. Turkish and Yemeni soldiers also served under him. They annihilated the Ethiopian army and annexed Southern Ethiopia. Adal rule was welcomed because many Muslims lived in Southern Ethiopia.
- Two years later the Adal forces attacked the Ethiopian highlands, conquered Axum and burned churches. After the war 75% of Ethiopia was under Adal.
- The Ethiopian Emperor asked for Portuguese help. The Ethiopian-Portuguese forces recovered some regions, but were annihilated at the Battle of Wofla where the Portuguese commander Cristóvão da Gama was captured and killed
- Portuguese and Ethiopians returned to the Ethiopian capital where they recovered. Adal marched towards the capital but they were caught off guard by the enemy’s strategy and were defeated. Ahmad Gragn lost his life and Ethiopia reclaimed all its lost territories.
- The wife of Ahmad married to the new sultan Nur ibn Mujahid who declared Jihad on Ethiopia. Ethiopia and Adal invaded each other’s land at the same time. Gelawdewos Ethiopian Emperor was killed in 1559, at the same time Harar, the capital of Adal was sacked by the Ethiopian Army, ending the war.
