Editing History of Africa (section)

===== c. 1250–1500 =====
The 13th century saw power balanced between the [[Zagwe dynasty]], [[Sultanate of Shewa]], and [[Kingdom of Damot]], with the Ajuran Sultanate on the Horn's eastern coast.

In 1270, supported by the [[Kebra Nagast]] painting the [[Zagwe dynasty|Zagwe]] as illegitimate usurpers, [[Yekuno Amlak]] rebelled with assistance from [[Shewa]] and defeated the [[Yetbarak|Zagwe king]] in [[Battle of Ansata|battle]], establishing the [[Solomonic dynasty]] of the nascent [[Ethiopian Empire]].<ref name=":1" />{{Rp|page=131}} In accordance with the Kebra Negast, they claimed their descent from the [[Dil Na'od|last king of Aksum]], and ultimately from Aksumite queen [[Queen of Sheba|Makeda]] and the [[Israelites|Israelite]] king [[Solomon]]. Fifteen years later, in the [[Sultanate of Shewa]], which was exhausted following wars with [[Kingdom of Damot|Damot]] and suffering internal strife, was conquered by [[Umar Walasma]] of the [[Walashma dynasty]], who established the [[Sultanate of Ifat]].<ref name=":1" />{{Rp|page=143}} Over the following decades [[Sultanate of Ifat|Ifat]] incorporated the polities of [[Adal (historical region)|Adal]], [[Gidaya]], [[Sultanate of Bale|Bale]], [[Mora (historical region)|Mora]], [[Hargaya]], [[Hubat]], and [[Fatagar]] among others.<ref>{{cite journal|last1=Cerulli|first1=Enrico|year=1941|title=Il Sultanato dello Scioa nel Secondo XIII Secondo un Nuovo Documento Storico|url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/41460159|journal=Rassegna di Studi Etiopici|volume=1|issue=1|page=26|jstor=41460159}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book|last1=Mukhtar|first1=Mohamed Haji|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=DPwOsOcNy5YC&dq=Sultanate+of+Ifat&pg=PR27|title=Mukhtar Haji|date=25 February 2003|publisher=Scarecrow Press|isbn=9780810866041}}</ref> In the 13th century the [[Afar people|Afar]] founded the [[Dankali Sultanate]] north of Ethiopia.

In Ethiopia [[Amda Seyon I]] came to the throne in 1314 and conquered [[Harla Kingdom|Harla]], [[Gojjam]], [[Hadiya Sultanate|Hadiya]], and crucially [[Kingdom of Damot|Damot]], with [[Ennarea]] splitting from the latter.<ref>Taddesse, ''Church and State'', pp. 135ff.</ref><ref>{{cite book|last1=Walker|first1=Bethany|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=yCsDEAAAQBAJ&dq=amda+seyon+harla&pg=PA427|title=The Oxford Handbook of Islamic Archaeology|date=2020|publisher=Oxford University Press|isbn=978-0-19-998787-0|page=427}}</ref> He also campaigned in the north where [[Beta Israel]] had been gaining prominence, and reconquered the Tigrayan [[Enderta Province]].<ref name="Pankhurst 1997">{{Cite book|last=Pankhurst|first=Richard|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=zpYBD3bzW1wC|title=The Ethiopian Borderlands: Essays in Regional History from Ancient Times to the End of the 18th Century|date=1997|publisher=The Red Sea Press|isbn=978-0-932415-19-6|language=en}}</ref> In 1321, a religious dispute between Amda Seyon and the [[Al-Nasir Muhammad|Mamluk sultan]] which involved threats to tamper with the [[Nile]] gave [[Sultanate of Ifat|Ifat's]] [[Haqq ad-Din I]] pretext to invade and execute an Ethiopian envoy. Seven years later, Amda Seyon's forces overwhelmed Ifat's outposts, defeated Ifat's armies and killed Haqq ad-Din, with lack of unity among the Muslims proving fatal.<ref name="Trimingham 2013" />

The Ethiopian emperor raided the Muslim states and made them tributaries.<ref name="Trimingham 2013">{{Cite book|last=Trimingham|first=J. Spencer|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=UfrcAAAAQBAJ&pg=PA71|title=Islam in Ethiopia|date=2013-09-13|publisher=Routledge|isbn=978-1-136-97022-1|language=en}}</ref> Following this, sultan [[Sabr ad-Din I]] led a [[Sultanate of Ifat#Ifat rebellion|rebellion]] and ''[[jihad]]'' in 1332 seeking to restore prestige and rule a Muslim Ethiopia, garnering widespread support in the early stages from the Muslim states and even from nomads.<ref name=":1" />{{Rp|page=145}} They were defeated by Amda Seyon, ushering in a golden age for the [[Ethiopian Empire]].<ref>Pankhurst, Richard K.P. ''The Ethiopian Royal Chronicles.'' Addis Ababa: Oxford University Press, Inc., 1967, p. 15.</ref> Ethiopia incorporated [[Ifat (historical region)|Ifat]], [[Hadiya (historical region)|Hadiya]], [[Dawaro]], [[Fatagar]], and [[Shewa]] as one vassal headed by the [[Walashma dynasty]].<ref name="Trimingham 2013" /> The Ethiopian emperor ruled the Muslim states by [[divide and rule]], and had the final say on succession, with various sultans and [[sheikh]]s drawn to his court.<ref name=":1" />{{Rp|page=148}}

Successive sultans rebelled and struggled to shake off Ethiopian vassalage, moving Ifat's capital to [[Adal (historical region)|Adal]] in an attempt to escape Ethiopia's sphere of control. To the south-west according to oral traditions,  Amda Seyon expanded into the [[Gurage people|Gurage]].<ref name="Pankhurst 1997" />{{Rp|pages=75–76}} According to oral traditions, the [[Kingdom of Kaffa]] was established in 1390 after "ousting a dynasty of 32 kings".<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Orent|first=Amnon|date=1970|title=Refocusing on the History of Kafa prior to 1897: A Discussion of Political Processes|url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/216217|journal=African Historical Studies|volume=3|issue=2|pages=263–293|doi=10.2307/216217|issn=0001-9992|jstor=216217}}</ref> In the late 14th century the sultans began to expand eastwards into the decentralised Somali interior. [[Sa'ad ad-Din II]] propagated insecurity on Ethiopia's eastern frontier, however was defeated by [[Dawit I]]. The sultan was repeatedly pursued by the Ethiopian emperor to [[Zeila]] on the coast and killed in 1415, leaving the former [[Sultanate of Ifat]] fully occupied.<ref name=":1" />{{Rp|pages=150–154}}

In 1415 [[Sabr ad-Din III]] of the [[Walashma dynasty]] returned to the region from exile to establish the [[Adal Sultanate]]. The Ethiopian armies were defeated, and he and his successors expanded to regain the territory of the former sultanate. [[Jamal ad-Din II]]'s reign saw a sharp rise in the slave trade, with [[India]], [[Arabian Peninsula|Arabia]], [[Hormuz Island|Hormuz]], [[Hejaz]], [[Egypt]], [[Syria]], [[Greece]], [[Iraq]], and [[Iran|Persia]] reportedly becoming "full of Abyssinian slaves".<ref name="Pankhurst 1997" />{{Rp|page=59}} In 1445 [[Badlay ibn Sa'ad ad-Din|Badlay]] attempted an invasion into the Ethiopian Highlands, supported by [[Sultanate of Mogadishu|Mogadishu]], however he was defeated by [[Zara Yaqob]], with the successor sultan securing peace between the two states.<ref name=":1" />{{Rp|pages=154–156}}

In the 1440s Ethiopia conquered much of the [[Tigray Province|Tigray]], placing the land under a [[Medri Bahri|vassal]] ruled by the [[Bahr Negus]].<ref name="Henze" />{{Rp|page=71}} [[Baeda Maryam I]] campaigned against the [[Dobe'a]] with the support of [[Dankali Sultanate|Dankalia]], resulting in their defeat and incorporation into the empire.<ref name="Pankhurst 1997" />{{Rp|pages=106–111}} In 1471, a [[Harari people|Harari]] [[emir]] leading a militant faction seized power in [[Adal Sultanate|Adal]] with the [[Muhammad ibn Azhar ad-Din|sultan]] retaining a ceremonious role. [[Mahfuz|His successor]] raided the Ethiopian frontier against the sultan's wishes, and was defeated by the emperors in 1507 and finally in 1517.<ref name=":1" />{{Rp|pages=166–167}} For the Ethiopians, the end of the 15th century saw a period of conquest and expansion come to close, and one of defence begin.