Bargal (, ) is a town in the northeastern

Bari Bari ( ; ; ; ) is the capital city of the Metropolitan City of Bari and of the Apulia Regions of Italy, region, on the Adriatic Sea in southern Italy. It is the first most important economic centre of mainland Southern Italy. It is a port and ...

region of

Puntland Puntland is an autonomous state that considers itself to be part of Somalia, despite not accepting the legitimacy of Somalia's current governing administration. It was formed in 1998, and was a federal member state of Somalia from its fou ...

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 ...

Location

Bargal is situated in the mountainous

province of the autonomous

state. It serves as the center of the Bargal District. A coastal town, Bargal faces the

Guardafui Channel The Guardafui Channel (, ) is an oceanic strait off the tip of the Horn of Africa that lies between the Puntland region of Somalia and the Socotra governorate of Yemen to the west of the Arabian Sea. It connects the Gulf of Aden to the north ...

in the

Indian Ocean The Indian Ocean is the third-largest of the world's five oceanic divisions, covering or approximately 20% of the water area of Earth#Surface, Earth's surface. It is bounded by Asia to the north, Africa to the west and Australia (continent), ...

. It lies 26

nautical miles A nautical mile is a unit of length used in air, marine, and space navigation, and for the definition of territorial waters. Historically, it was defined as the meridian arc length corresponding to one minute ( of a degree) of latitude at the eq ...

(30 miles) north of Gumbah, 11

(13 miles) north of Ras Binnah, 30

(35 miles) south of Tohen, and 35

(40 miles) south of

Cape Guardafui Cape Guardafui is a headland in Somalia, in the federal state of Puntland. It forms the geographical apex of the Horn of Africa. Its shore at 51°27'52"E is the second easternmost point on mainland Africa after Ras Hafun. The offshore oceanic st ...

and the entrance to the

Gulf of Aden The Gulf of Aden (; ) is a deepwater gulf of the Indian Ocean between Yemen to the north, the Arabian Sea to the east, Djibouti to the west, and the Guardafui Channel, the Socotra Archipelago, Puntland in Somalia and Somaliland to the south. ...

Overview

The book ''Migiurtinia Ed Il Territorio Del Nugál'' says the following: "Bargaal is the habitual residence of Boqor Osman Mahmud. The village is mainly inhabited by

Majeerteen The Majeerteen, (, ; also spelled Majerteen, Macherten, Majertain, or Mijurtin) alternately known as Mohammed Harti, are a Somali sub-clan part of the Harti branch of the Darod, Darod clan. Traditionally, they inhabit extensive territories in ...

800 Adan Abdirahman and 150 Osman Mahmud. There are four forts, the Kings house, 120 other brick buildings and about 200 huts. Drinking water, slightly brackish, is available on site. The village is divided into two parts: old Bargal and Eirod; the Sultan lives in the latter. ^(Footnote) This monograph was written in early 1925, that is, before the military occupation of the Sultanate took place. Bargal no longer exists: it was bombed and razed to the ground on the 28 and 29 of October, 1925." In June 2007, it was the location of the Battle of Bargal. In 2012, the Puntland Highway Authority (PHA) announced a project to connect Bargal and other cities in Puntland to the main regional highway. The 750 km thoroughfare links major cities in the northern part of Somalia, such as

Bosaso Bosaso (, ), historically known as Bender Qassim is a city in the northeastern Bari province ('' gobol'') of Somalia. It is the seat of the Bosaso District. Located on the southern coast of the Gulf of Aden, the municipality serves as the region ...

, Galkayo and Garowe, with towns in the south.

History

The Majeerteen Sultanate was established possible around 1600s by

Somalis The Somali people (, Wadaad's writing, Wadaad: , Arabic: ) are a Cushitic peoples, Cushitic ethnic group and nation native to the Somali Peninsula. who share a common ancestry, culture and history. The Lowland East Cushitic languages, East ...

from the

Darod The Darod (, ) is a Somali clan. The forefather of this clan is Sheikh Abdirahman bin Isma'il al-Jabarti, more commonly known as Darod. The clan primarily settles the apex of the Horn of Africa and its peripheries, the Somali hinterlands adjacent ...

clan. It reached prominence during the 19th century, under the reign of the resourceful

Boqor This is a list of Somali aristocratic and court titles that were historically used by the Somali people's various sultanates, kingdoms and empires. Also included are the honorifics reserved for Islamic notables as well as traditional leaders and o ...

(King) Osman Mahamuud.

Helen Chapin Metz Helen Chapin Metz (April 12, 1928 – May 13, 2011) was an American editor and Middle East analyst. Life Helen Chapin was born on April 12, 1928, in Peking, China. She was the daughter of diplomat Selden Chapin and Mary Paul Noyes. Her brother, ...

, ed., ''Somalia: a country study'', (The Division: 1993), p.10. In the mid-17th to early 20th centuries city was among the area ruled by

Majeerteen Sultanate The Majeerteen Sultanate (, ), or Majerteen Kingdom also known as Majeerteenia and/or Migiurtinia, was a Somali kingdom centered in the Horn of Africa. Ruled by Boqor Osman Mahamuud during its golden age, the sultanate controlled the areas co ...

Migiurtinia. Later forming a part of

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 ...

.S. B. Miles, ''On the Neighbourhood of Bunder Marayah'', Vol. 42, (Blackwell Publishing on behalf of The Royal Geographical Society (with the institute of British Geographers): 1872), p.61-63. Bargal was seasonal headquarters of the

.Bargal likewise had a number of

castle A castle is a type of fortification, fortified structure built during the Middle Ages predominantly by the nobility or royalty and by Military order (monastic society), military orders. Scholars usually consider a ''castle'' to be the private ...

s and

forts A fortification (also called a fort, fortress, fastness, or stronghold) is a military construction designed for the defense of territories in warfare, and is used to establish rule in a region during peacetime. The term is derived from ...

in various areas within its realm, including a fortress at

Alula The alula , or bastard wing, (plural ''alulae'') is a small projection on the anterior edge of the wing of modern birds and a few non-avian dinosaurs. The word is Latin and means "winglet"; it is the diminutive of ''ala'', meaning "wing". The a ...

Demographics

Bargal District has a population of around 6,798 inhabitants.

Education

Bargal has a number of academic institutions. According to the Puntland Ministry of Education, there are three primary schools, one secondary school and institute in the Bargal District. These include Wadikhayr, Taageer, Qorraxad, Abdehan and Bargaal Primary.

References

{{Reflist Bari, Somalia Populated places in Bari, Somalia Populated coastal places in Somalia Cities in Somalia Historic districts in Somalia