ES-SHAKUR, ABDULLAHI ALI ABD

Abdullahi Ali Abd Es-Shakur (18?-1930) was the last emir of Harar, ruling from 1885-87. The son of Muhammad Abd. Es-Shakur, emir of Harar from 1856-75, he was appointed to the throne by the Egyptians on May 20, 1885, on their withdrawal from East Africa. They left him arms and a small trained army.

Abdullahi adopted the traditional policy of isolating Harar, abolishing several improvements made by the Egyptians. Foreign imports were greatly limited, and a strict religious rule was established. He encouraged the conversion to Islam of the Oottu Galla, who inhabited the countryside around Harar. He also followed his father’s policy of issuing relatively worthless tin and silver coins, and attacked the surrounding Galla in 1885, selling the captives into slavery.

Abdullahi’s policy of isolation culminated in his destruction of an Italian expedition led by Count Gian Pietro Porro in May 1886. The possibility of reprisals caused King Menilek of Shawa, later to become Emperor Menilek II, to claim the Harar area. When the king advanced, in November 1886, with an army of 20,000 men, Abdullahi proclaimed a Holy War, and mustered some 5,000 warriors.

On January 7, 1887, the two armies met at Chellenego, and the Harari and their Galla allies were quickly routed. Abdullahi, who fled from the battle, ‘sent a message to Menilek, proposing his surrender, but when the king called upon him to appear, Abdullahi escaped from Harar to Giré, in Ogaden. Harar was surrendered, on January 10, by his uncle, Ali Abu-Bakar, whom Abdullahi had imprisoned during his reign. Abdullahi was captured in Gire, and exiled for some years in Ankober, 75 mi (120 km) northeast of Addis Ababa. He was then allowed to return to Harar, given a pension and supplies of goods, and his properties were freed from taxes. He lived there as a private citizen, and devoted himself to religious practices until his death in 1930.

STANISLAW CHOJNACKI.