Editing History of Somalia (section)

===Somali City States===
{{Main|Maritime history of Somalia|Ancient Somali City-States|Aromata}}Ancient urban centers and trade networks in Somalia have long attracted scholarly attention. Archaeological surveys in northern Somalia have identified over seventy ruined towns, including four urban centers that date to around 2,000 years ago: Salweyn (Mundus), Daamo (Cape of Spices), and two settlements in Xaafun (Opone).<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Mire |first=Sada |date=2015-03-01 |title=Mapping the Archaeology of Somaliland: Religion, Art, Script, Time, Urbanism, Trade and Empire |journal=African Archaeological Review |language=en |volume=32 |issue=1 |pages=129 |doi=10.1007/s10437-015-9184-9 |issn=1572-9842|doi-access=free }}</ref> Archaeological research indicates a culture of literacy in these city-states, as hundreds of ancient inscriptions have been uncovered, including as-yet-undeciphered indigenous scripts.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Dadweynaha |first=Somalia Wasaaradda Warfaafinta iyo Hanuuninta |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=v-GwAAAAIAAJ |title=The Writing of the Somali Language: A Great Landmark in Our Revolutionary History |date=1974 |publisher=Ministry of Information and National Guidance |pages=1–3 |language=en}}</ref>

Little is known about the dynasties that ruled these city-states. One local tradition recounts a King of Barbary who had two daughters, “Hoobaal” and “Heelley,” stating that the king’s love for them was so great that it compelled future generations of Somali composers and poets to introduce their names at the beginning or end of their works.<ref name="Mohamed-Abdi 1992"/> Additionally, some depictions of rulers from these city-states, dating to roughly 2,000 years ago, have been identified, potentially offering visual evidence of their reigns.<ref name="robertk.space">{{Cite web |title=Mysterious sculptures from Somaliland {{!}} Politics and Art from the Edge |url=https://robertk.space/2018/11/mysterious-sculptures-from-somaliland/ |access-date=2025-02-20 |website=robertk.space}}</ref> [[File:Silk route.jpg|right|thumb|The [[Silk Road]] extending from southern Europe through [[Arabian Peninsula|Arabia]], Somalia, [[Egypt]], [[Iran|Persia]], [[India]] and [[Java]] until it reaches China.]]

In the [[Classical antiquity|classical period]], the [[Ancient Somali City-States|Somali city-states]] of [[Mosylon]], [[Opone]], [[Malao]], [[Sarapion]], [[Heis (town)|Mundus]], [[Essina]] and Tabae in Somalia developed a lucrative [[Trade route|trade network]] connecting with merchants from [[Phoenicia]], [[Ptolemaic Kingdom|Ptolemic Egypt]], Greece, [[Parthian Empire|Parthian Persia]], [[Sheba]], [[Nabataeans|Nabataea]] and the [[Roman Empire]].<ref name="robertk.space"/> They used the ancient Somali maritime vessel known as the ''[[beden]]'' to transport their cargo. By around 300 BC, certain historical records identify Somali sailors as among the most active in the Indian Ocean, surpassing Arab mariners in maritime trade.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Mire |first=Sada |date=2015-03-01 |title=Mapping the Archaeology of Somaliland: Religion, Art, Script, Time, Urbanism, Trade and Empire |journal=African Archaeological Review |language=en |volume=32 |issue=1 |pages=111–136 |doi=10.1007/s10437-015-9184-9 |issn=1572-9842|doi-access=free }}</ref>

After the [[Nabatea#Roman annexation|Roman conquest of the Nabataean Empire]] and the Roman naval presence at [[Aden]] to curb pillaging, Somali and Gulf Arab merchants by agreement barred Indian ships from trading in the free port cities of the [[Arabian Peninsula]]<ref>Eric Herbert Warmington, ''The Commerce Between the Roman Empire and India'', p. 54.</ref> to protect the interests of Somali and Arab merchants in the extremely lucrative ancient [[Red Sea]]–[[Mediterranean Sea]] commerce.<ref name="EHW">Eric Herbert Warmington, ''The Commerce Between the Roman Empire and India'', p. 229.</ref> However, Indian merchants continued to trade in the port cities of the [[Somali Peninsula]], which was free from Roman interference.<ref>Eric Herbert Warmington, ''The Commerce Between the Roman Empire and India'', p. 187.</ref>

For centuries, the Indian merchants brought large quantities of [[cinnamon]] from [[Sri Lanka]] and [[Indonesia]] to Somalia and Arabia. This is said to have been the best kept secret of the Somali and Gulf Arab merchants in their trade with the [[Ancient Rome|Roman]] and [[Greeks|Greek]] world. The Romans and Greeks believed the source of cinnamon to have been the Somali peninsula, but in reality, the highly valued product was brought to Somalia by way of Indian ships.<ref>Eric Herbert Warmington, ''The Commerce Between the Roman Empire and India'', pp. 185–186.</ref> Through collusive agreement by Somali and Gulf Arab traders, Indian/Chinese cinnamon was also exported for far higher prices to North Africa, the [[Near East]] and Europe, which made the cinnamon trade a very profitable revenue generator, especially for the Somali merchants through whose hands large quantities were shipped across ancient sea and land routes.<ref name="EHW"/>