Adale (; ), also known as Cadaley, is a coastal town in the southern
Middle Shabelle (Shabeellaha Dhexe) region of
Somalia
Somalia, officially the Federal Republic of Somalia, is the easternmost country in continental Africa. The country is located in the Horn of Africa and is bordered by Ethiopia to the west, Djibouti to the northwest, Kenya to the southwest, th ...
.
History
Adale was mentioned in the
Periplus of the Erythraean Sea
The ''Periplus of the Erythraean Sea'' (), also known by its Latin name as the , is a Greco-Roman world, Greco-Roman periplus written in Koine Greek that describes navigation and Roman commerce, trading opportunities from Roman Egyptian ports lik ...
, written by an anonymous writer who lived in the first century AD when Egypt was occupied by the Romans. Adale then appeared in the reports of
Ibn Batuta
Ibn Battuta (; 24 February 13041368/1369), was a Maghrebis, Maghrebi traveller, explorer and scholar. Over a period of 30 years from 1325 to 1354, he visited much of Africa, the Middle East, Asia and the Iberian Peninsula. Near the end of his ...
and other explorers from Andulus. When the trade between East Africa, Arabia, and India boomed in the 1700s-1800s, Adale bordered the 10-mile strip of the Benadir Coast in which Zanzibar’s Omani rulers claimed. With exception to 5 nautical miles of Warsheikh, the rest of the strip included Mogadishu, Marka, Baraawe, and Kismayo – all the way to Zanzibar. The later ruins of Filonardi's fort can also be found in the Adale.
During the pre-independence period in
Italian Somaliland
Italian Somaliland (; ; ) was a protectorate and later colony of the Kingdom of Italy in present-day Somalia, which was ruled in the 19th century by the Sultanate of Hobyo and the Majeerteen Sultanate in the north, and by the Hiraab Imamate and ...
, the city was chosen by
Vincenzo Filonardi as the headquarters of his newly created "Somalia Italiana". There was fierce anti-colonial resistance to this in Adale and around the surrounding areas that left 40
Abgaal
The Abgaal (Somali language, Somali: Abgaal; Arabic: أبگال) are a Somali clan, Somali sub-clan of the Hawiye and the even larger Samaale clan. This prominent Somali clan, despite being one of the youngest in Somalia, is one of the most ...
men and 7 Italian men dead commemorated by a monument in Adale.
On 3 October 2014 the town was liberated from the jihadist group
Al-Shabaab by the
Somalia National Army and
AMISOM
The African Union Mission in Somalia (AMISOM) was a Multinational force formed by the African Union. The operation deployed to Somalia soon after the Islamic Courts Union was deposed by troops from Ethiopia during War in Somalia (2006–2009), ...
forces. Al-Shabaab had occupied the town for several years. According to AMISOM-sources Al-Shabaab did not mount any resistance because they had lost support from the public in Adale.
[See]
Somalia National Army and AMISOM forces liberate Adale town in Middle Shabelle region
AMISOM Press Statement, 3 Oct. 2014. Accessed on 6 October 2014.
Demographics
Adale has a population of around 14,600 inhabitants.
The broader
Adale District has a total population of 46,720 residents.
It is inhabited by
Abgaal
The Abgaal (Somali language, Somali: Abgaal; Arabic: أبگال) are a Somali clan, Somali sub-clan of the Hawiye and the even larger Samaale clan. This prominent Somali clan, despite being one of the youngest in Somalia, is one of the most ...
.
See also
*
Mogadishu-Villabruzzi Railway
Notes
{{Reflist
References
Adale
Populated places in Middle Shabelle