Gidaya ( Harari: ጊዳየ ''Gidayä''; Somali: Gidaaya), also known as Gedaya or Jidaya was a historical

Muslim Muslims () are people who adhere to Islam, a Monotheism, monotheistic religion belonging to the Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic tradition. They consider the Quran, the foundational religious text of Islam, to be the verbatim word of the God ...

state located around present-day eastern

Ethiopia Ethiopia, officially the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, is a landlocked country located in the Horn of Africa region of East Africa. It shares borders with Eritrea to the north, Djibouti to the northeast, Somalia to the east, Ken ...

. The state was positioned on the Harar plateau and a district of

Adal Adal may refer to: *A short form for Germanic names in ''aþala-'' (Old High German ''adal-''), "nobility, pedigree"; see Othalan ** Adál Maldonado (1948–2020), Puerto Rican artist ** Adal Ramones (born 1969), Mexican television show host ** A ...

region alongside

Hargaya Hargaya ( Harari: ሀርጋየ ''Härgayä'') was a historical Muslim state in present-day eastern Ethiopia. It was located east of the Awash River on the Harar plateau in Adal alongside Gidaya and Hubat states. It neighbored other polities in the ...

and

Hubat Hubat ( Harari: ሆበት ''Hobät''), also known as Hobat, or Kubat was a historical Muslim state located in present-day eastern Ethiopia. Historically part of the Adal region alongside Gidaya and Hargaya states on the Harar plateau. Hubat is to ...

polities. It neighbored other states in the medieval era including Ifat,

Mora Mora may refer to: People * José Maria Mora (1847–1926), Cuban-American photographer, often credited as "Mora" * Mora (singer) (born 1996), a Puerto Rican singer * Mora (surname), a Spanish name (includes a list of people with the name) Plac ...

, Hadiya,

Fatagar A medieval map of Fatagar and surrounding areas Fatagar (Amharic: ፈጠጋር) was a historical province that separated Muslim and Christian dominions in the medieval Horn of Africa. In the eleventh century it was part of the Muslim states, then ...

Biqulzar Biqulzar ( Harari: ቡቁልዘር) also spelled as Baqulzar or Bequl zar was a historical region located in eastern Ethiopia. According to Taddesse Tamrat, the state was positioned east of the Awash River however historian Hussein Ahmed, proposes ...

, Fedis and

Kwelgora Kwelgora also spelled as Kuelgora was a historical Muslim region located in central Ethiopia, it was bounded by the Ifat and Makhzumi state. The locality was in the vicinity of Aliyu Amba and southward of Ankober. History In the thirteenth centu ...

History

According to Dr. Lapiso Delebo, Gidaya was one of the Islamic states that had developed in the

Horn of Africa The Horn of Africa (HoA), also known as the Somali Peninsula, is a large peninsula and geopolitical region in East Africa.Robert Stock, ''Africa South of the Sahara, Second Edition: A Geographical Interpretation'', (The Guilford Press; 2004), ...

from the ninth to fourteenth centuries. The people of Gidaya were reportedly a sub clan of the

Harla people The Harla, also known as Harala, Haralla were an ethnic group that once inhabited Ethiopia, Somalia, and Djibouti. They spoke the Harla language, which belonged to either the Cushitic languages, Cushitic or Ethiopian Semitic languages, Semitic br ...

. The earliest mention of Gidaya state is during its conflict with the

Makhzumi dynasty The Sultanate of Shewa (also spelled Sultanate of Shoa), sometimes called the Makhzumi dynasty, was a Muslim kingdom in present-day Ethiopia. Its capital Walale was situated in northern Hararghe in Harla country. Its territory extended possibly ...

in 1266. In the thirteenth century the

Arab Arabs (, , ; , , ) are an ethnic group mainly inhabiting the Arab world in West Asia and North Africa. A significant Arab diaspora is present in various parts of the world. Arabs have been in the Fertile Crescent for thousands of years ...

writer al-Mufaḍḍal mentions the king of Gidaya was named Yûsuf ibn Arsamâyah. In 1285

Walasma dynasty The Walashma dynasty was a medieval Muslim dynasty of the Horn of Africa founded in Ifat (historical region), Ifat (modern eastern Shewa). Founded in the 13th century, it governed the Sultanate of Ifat, Ifat and Adal Sultanate, Adal Sultanates in ...

crushed a rebellion led by Gidaya which allied with Shewa to revive the Makhzumi state. In the fourteenth century it was under the

Ifat Sultanate The Sultanate of Ifat, known as Wafāt or Awfāt in Arabic texts, or the Kingdom of Zeila was a medieval Sunni Muslim state in the eastern regions of the Horn of Africa between the late 13th century and early 15th century. It was formed in pres ...

and later the

Adal Sultanate The Adal Sultanate, also known as the Adal Empire or Barr Saʿad dīn (alt. spelling ''Adel Sultanate'', ''Adal Sultanate'') (), was a medieval Sunni Muslim empire which was located in the Horn of Africa. It was founded by Sabr ad-Din III on th ...

with its leader known as the

Garad Garad ( Harari: ገራድ, , , Oromo: ''Garaada'') is a term used to refer to a king, Sultan or regional administrator. It was used primarily by Muslims in the Horn of Africa that were associated with Islamic states, most notably the Adal Sultanat ...

. According to sixteenth century Adal writer Arab Faqīh, the people of Gidaya were part of the army of

Ahmad ibn Ibrahim al-Ghazi Ahmad ibn Ibrahim al-Ghazi (, Harari: አሕመድ ኢብራሂም አል-ጋዚ, ; 21 July 1506 – 10 February 1543) was the Imam of the Adal Sultanate from 1527 to 1543. Commonly named Ahmed ''Gragn'' in Amharic and ''Gurey'' in Somali, ...

during the Ethiopian-Adal war. Ulrich Braukamper suggests that Gidaya may be linked to the Giri clan, which comprises a diverse population of Somali and Oromo descent referenced in the Futuh al Habasha. This group currently resides in the vicinity of

Jigjiga Jijiga (, , ''Jijiga'') is the capital city of Somali Region, Ethiopia. It became the capital of the Somali Region in 1995 after it was moved from Gode. Located in the Fafan Zone with 75 km (37 mi) west of the border with Somali ...

, which is believed to be the historical site of the Gidaya state. Towns within Gidaya were reportedly surrounded by ramparts by the late sixteenth century. The name Gidaya still exists as a surname in

Harar Harar (; Harari language, Harari: ሀረር / ; ; ; ), known historically by the indigenous as Harar-Gey or simply Gey (Harari: ጌይ, ݘٛىيْ, ''Gēy'', ), is a List of cities with defensive walls, walled city in eastern Ethiopia. It is al ...

, and according to researcher Mahdi Gadid, Gidaya state was primarily inhabited by

Harari people The Harari people ( Harari: / , Gēy Usuach, "People of the City") are a Semitic-speaking ethnic group which inhabits the Horn of Africa. Members of this ethnic group traditionally reside in the walled city of Harar, simply called ''Gēy'' "the ...

before being assimilated by the

Oromo Oromo may refer to: * Oromo people, an ethnic group of Ethiopia and Kenya * Oromo language, an Afroasiatic language See also * *Orma (clan), Oromo tribe *Oromia Oromia (, ) is a Regions of Ethiopia, regional state in Ethiopia and the homelan ...

and

Somali people The Somali people (, Wadaad: , Arabic: ) are a Cushitic ethnic group and nation native to the Somali Peninsula. who share a common ancestry, culture and history. The East Cushitic Somali language is the shared mother tongue of ethnic Som ...

. Historian

Merid Wolde Aregay Merid Wolde Aregay (1934 or 1935–2008) was an Ethiopian historian and a scholar of Ethiopian studies. Merid Wolde Aregay was born in Adwa in 1927 according to the Ethiopian calendar. He earned his BA in 1956 from what was called University Col ...

deduced that the Gidaya state language was Harari. According to Harari records Gidaya state collapsed due to the

Oromo migrations The Oromo expansions or the Oromo invasions (in older historiography, Galla invasions), were a series of expansions in the 16th and 17th centuries by the Oromo primarily documented by the ethnic Gamo monk Bahrey, but also mentioned in other Ch ...

and famine.

Legacy

Aw Gidaya is considered a

saint In Christianity, Christian belief, a saint is a person who is recognized as having an exceptional degree of sanctification in Christianity, holiness, imitation of God, likeness, or closeness to God in Christianity, God. However, the use of the ...

in Harar.

References

{{reflist Cities of the Adal Sultanate History of Islam in Ethiopia Islam in Somalia History of Harar History of the Somali Region (Ethiopia)