Editing Mogadishu (section)

===Early Modern period (1700s–1900s)===
==== Hiraab Imamate ====
By the 17th century, the [[Hiraab Imamate]] was a powerful kingdom that ruled large parts of southern and central Somalia. It successfully revolted against the [[Ajuran Sultanate]] and established an independent rule for at least two centuries from the seventeen hundreds and onwards.<ref>{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=X1dDDwAAQBAJ&q=%22hiraab+imamate%22&pg=PA62 |title=Making Sense of Somali History: Volume 1 |isbn=9781909112797 |last1=Abdullahi |first1=Abdurahman |date=18 September 2017 |publisher=Adonis and Abbey Publishers |access-date=6 November 2020 |archive-date=19 November 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201119224403/https://books.google.com/books?id=X1dDDwAAQBAJ&q=%22hiraab+imamate%22&pg=PA62 |url-status=live }}</ref>

By the late 19th century, the Imamate began to decline due to internal problems, the Imamate also faced challenges from Imperialist kingdoms, the Zanzibari Sultan from the coast and [[Geledi Sultanate]], and [[Hobyo Sultanate]] from the interior from both directions.<ref name="Lee V. Cassanelli 1982">Lee V. Cassanelli, The shaping of Somali society., Philadelphia, 1982,</ref>

==== Geledi Sultanate ====
The [[Sultanate of Geledi]] and the [[Omani Empire]] vied over who would be the superior power on the Benadir Coast, with Sultan [[Yusuf Mahamud Ibrahim|Yusuf Mahamud]] ultimately being the dominant force with the Omanis having a nominal presence and [[Said bin Sultan]] even paying tribute to him in order to keep [[Oman|Omani]] representatives in Mogadishu.<ref>{{cite book |title=Encyclopedia of African History, Volume 2 |page=990 |year=2005 |first=Kevin |last=Shillington |isbn=9781579584542 |publisher=Fitzroy Dearborn}}</ref> Mogadishu under [[Abgaal]] control had been in a period of decline and disarray near the end of the [[Hiraab Imamate]]. Following a struggle between the two leading figures of each respective quarter ([[Shangani District|Shingani]] and [[Hamar Weyne District|Hamarweyn]]) Sultan Yusuf marched into the city with an 8,000 strong army and ruled in favour of the Shingani leader, with the loser fleeing the city. Yusuf would nominate a relative of the deposed chief to lead the Hamarweyn quarter ending the dispute.<ref>{{cite thesis |type=PhD |last=Luling |first=Virginia |title=The social structure of southern Somali tribes |publisher=University College London |page=156 |year=1971 |url=https://discovery.ucl.ac.uk/id/eprint/1317929 |access-date=23 March 2023 |archive-date=23 March 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230323193318/https://discovery.ucl.ac.uk/id/eprint/1317929/ |url-status=live }}</ref> Sultan Yusuf is even referred to as the governor of Mogadishu in some sources, highlighting the power he exerted over the city.<ref>{{cite book |title=Somalia:A Chronology of Historical Documents 1827–2000 |year=2001 |page=5 |first=Abdiwahid Osman |last=Haji |publisher=Indiana University |isbn=9780968874301}}</ref>

Despite the Somali political decline, trade with [[Geledi Sultanate]] flourished during Geledi Sultan [[Ahmed Yusuf (Gobroon)|Ahmed Yusuf]]'s reign. British explorer [[John Kirk (explorer)|John Kirk]] visited the region in 1873 and noted a variety of things. Roughly 20 large dhows were docked in both Mogadishu and [[Merka]] filled with grain produced from the farms of the Geledi in the interior. Kirk met the Imam Mahmood who reigned over Mogadishu. The [[Shabelle]] river itself was referred to as the 'Geledi river' by Kirk, perhaps in respect of the volume of produce that the Sultanate output. In [[Barawa]] there was little grain instead a large quantity of ivory and skins which had already been loaded onto ships destined for [[Zanzibar]].<ref>{{cite book |title=Proceedings of the Royal Geographical Society of London, Volume 17; Volumes 1872–1873 |date=1873 |first=John |last=Kirk |page=341 |publisher=Edward Stanford}}</ref>

The Geledi Sultans were at the height of their power. They dominated the East African [[ivory]] trade, and also held sway over the [[Jubba Valley|Jubba]] and [[Shebelle Valley|Shebelle]] valleys in the hinterland. The Omani Sultans' authority in Mogadishu, however, was largely nominal (existing by name only).<ref name="Adonis & Abbey Publishers Ltd">{{Cite book |title=Making Sense of Somali History: Volume 1 |last1=Abdullahi |first1=Abdurahman |page=62 |publisher=Adonis & Abbey Publishers Ltd |year=2017}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |title=Culture and Customs of Somalia (Culture and Customs of Africa) |first=Mohamed |last=Abdullahi |page=18 |publisher=Greenwood Publishing Group; Illustrated edition |year=2001}}</ref> When Imam [[Azzan bin Qais, Sultan of Muscat and Oman|Azzan bin Qais of Oman]] sought to build a fort in the city, he was thus obligated to request permission from Sultan [[Ahmed Yusuf (Gobroon)|Ahmed Yusuf]] the real power broker who in turn convinced the Hiraab Imam to acquiesce to the decision.<ref name="Aitncte">{{cite book |last=Ade Ajayi |first=J. F. |title=Africa in the Nineteenth Century Until the 1880s |url=https://archive.org/details/generalhistoryof00unes |url-access=registration |publisher=UNESCO |page=[https://archive.org/details/generalhistoryof00unes/page/387 387] |isbn=9789231017124 |date=1 January 1989}}</ref> Omani and later Zanzibari officials were mere representatives of the Sultan to collect customs and needed the fort for their own security rather than control of the city.<ref>The Cambridge History of Africa, Volume 5 - Page 88</ref><ref name="Adonis & Abbey Publishers Ltd"/> The  Fort of Garessa was eventually constructed in 1870.<ref>{{Cite book |title=Africa Volumes 27-28 |last1=Cyril |first1=Daryll |page=288 |publisher=Oxford University Press |year=1957}}</ref> The Sultan of Zanzibar later leased and then sold the infrastructure that he had built to the Italians, but not the land itself, which was Somali owned.<ref name="Ghalib25">{{cite book |last=Ghalib |first=Jama Mohamed |title=The Ogaden |date=2014 |publisher=LULU |isbn=978-1483405773 |page=25 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=J_0LAwAAQBAJ |access-date=30 January 2015 |archive-date=4 August 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160804041426/https://books.google.com/books?id=J_0LAwAAQBAJ |url-status=live }}</ref>