Gran’s wars triggered Turkish foothold and redirected Somali expansion southward.

Evidence

Ahmad Gran’s campaigns had at least two major effects on the history of Abyssinia and the Horn. First, Ahmad’s appeal to the Turks led to the Turkish occupation in 1557 of Massawa and Arkikio in what is now Eritrea. And although the initial Turkish attempt to extend their authority into Abyssinia was defeated to the extent that in 1633 the Turkish garrison was withdrawn from Massawa, and a local Beja chieftain installed as Ottoman representative, Turkish pretensions to the coast lingered on to become extremely important again in the nineteenth century. Secondly, and more immediately, Ahmad’s campaigns seem to some extent to have prepared the ground for the great Galla invasion from the south-west which followed his death. — I.M. Lewis, I. M. Lewis, A Modern History of the Somali_ Nation…, 104 (#corroborates, via linked claim)

As might readily have been anticipated, this extraordinary outburst of Muslim enterprise was not long sustained. Both sides invoked foreign aid; the Abyssinians turning to the Portuguese now at the height of their power in the Red Sea, while the Muslims sought support from the Turks. After some further successes, Imam Ahmad unwisely dismissed his Turkish contingents and in 1542 was routed near Lake Tana by Galawdewos, the reigning Emperor of Abyssinia. The Imam was killed and Galawdewos’s victory marked the turning point in the fortunes of Abyssinia. — I.M. Lewis, I. M. Lewis, A Modern History of the Somali_ Nation…, 101 (#corroborates, via linked claim)

Categorization

  • XREF: connects to: Ahmad Gran’s campaigns triggered Turkish coastal occupation and the Galla invasion — I.M. Lewis, I. M. Lewis, A Modern History of the Somali_ Nation…, 104; Darod clans formed the bulk of Gran’s Somali fighting force — I.M. Lewis, I. M. Lewis, A Modern History of the Somali_ Nation…, 99; Ahmad Gran’s dismissal of Turkish forces led to his 1542 defeat and Adal’s decline (+1 more)

Broader Connections