Adal Sultanate

The Adal Sultanate, also known as the Adal Empire, was a medieval Sunni Muslim empire located in the Horn of Africa. Founded by Sabr ad-Din III on the Harar plateau around 1415 after the fall of the Sultanate of Ifat, it flourished until 1577. At its height, under Sultan Badlay, it controlled territory from Cape Guardafui to Suakin. The empire engaged in frequent wars with its Christian rival, the Solomonic Dynasty of Abyssinia, notably under Imam Ahmed ibn Ibrahim al-Ghazi, which drew in the Portuguese and Ottoman Empires. Adal maintained strong ties with the Ottomans and acquired wealth through trade in commodities like millet, gold, and ivory, with important ports and inland cities such as Harar, Berbera, and Zeila.