Osman Mahamuud
| Osman Mahamuud عثمان محمود |
|
|---|---|
| King of the Majeerteen Sultanate | |
| Reign | mid-1800s-early 1900s |
| Full name | Cismaan Maxamuud |
| Titles | Boqor |
| Dynasty | Majeerteen Dynasty |
| Religious beliefs | Islam |
Osman Mahamuud (Somali: Cismaan Maxamuud, Arabic: عثمان محمود) was a Somali ruler. He was the most prominent King of the Majeerteen Sultanate, leading the polity during its Golden Age in the mid-19th to early 20th centuries.
Majeerteen Sultanate
The Majeerteen Sultanate was established in the mid-18th century by Somalis from the Majeerteen Darod clan. It rose to prominence the following century, under the reign of the resourceful Boqor (King) Osman Mahamuud.[1]
Majeerteen-British agreement
Due to consistent ship crashes along the northeastern Cape Guardafui headland, Boqor Osman's kingdom entered into an informal agreement with Britain, wherein the British agreed to pay the King annual subsidies to protect shipwrecked British crews and guard wrecks against plunder. The agreement, however, remained unratified, as the British feared that doing so would "give other powers a precedent for making agreements with the Somalis, who seemed ready to enter into relations with all comers."[2]
Sultanate of Hobyo
Osman Mahamuud's Sultanate was nearly destroyed in the mid-1800s by a power struggle between himself and his ambitious cousin, Yusuf Ali Kenadid. After almost five years of battle, the young upstart was finally forced into exile in Yemen. A decade later, in the 1870s, Kenadid returned from the Arabian Peninsula with a band of Hadhrami musketeers and a group of devoted lieutenants. With their assistance, he managed to overpower the local Hawiye clans and establish the separate Sultanate of Hobyo in 1878.[1][3]
Majeerteen-Italian treaties
In late 1889, Boqor Osman entered into a treaty with the Italians, making his realm an Italian protectorate. His rival Sultan Kenadid had signed a similar agreement vis-a-vis his own Sultanate the year before. Both rulers had signed the protectorate treaties to advance their own expansionist objectives, with Boqor Osman looking to use Italy's support in his ongoing power struggle with Kenadid over the Majeerteen Sultanate. In signing the agreements, the rulers also hoped to exploit the rival objectives of the European imperial powers so as to more effectively assure the continued independence of their territories.[4]
The terms of each treaty specified that Italy was to steer clear of any interference in the sultanates' respective administrations.[4] In return for Italian arms and an annual subsidy, the Sultans conceded to a minimum of oversight and economic concessions.[5] The Italians also agreed to dispatch a few ambassadors to promote both the sultanates' and their own interests.[4]
Notes
- ^ a b Helen Chapin Metz, Somalia: a country study, (The Division: 1993), p.10.
- ^ David D. Laitin, Politics, Language, and Thought: The Somali Experience, (University Of Chicago Press: 1977), p.71
- ^ Lee V. Cassanelli, The shaping of Somali society: reconstructing the history of a pastoral people, 1600-1900, (University of Pennsylvania Press: 1982), p.75.
- ^ a b c Issa-Salwe (1996:34-35)
- ^ Hess (1964:416-417)
References
- Hess, Robert L. (1964). "The ‘Mad Mullah’ and Northern Somalia". The Journal of African History 5 (3): 415–33.
- Issa-Salwe, Abdisalam M. (1996). The Collapse of the Somali State: The Impact of the Colonial Legacy. London: Haan Associates. ISBN 187420991X.
- Sheik-ʻAbdi, ʻAbdi ʻAbdulqadir (1993). Divine madness: Moḥammed ʻAbdulle Ḥassan (1856-1920). Zed Books. ISBN 0-86232-444-0.
- The Majeerteen Sultanates
