The Dahlak Sultanate: A Medieval History (8th-16th AD)
The Dahlak Sultanate was a small yet strategically important medieval power that thrived on its position along Red Sea trade routes. Becoming a trading hub for merchants across the Islamic World.
During this early period, the Dahlak Islands were likely within the sphere of influence of Adulis, a major port city situated just a few kilometres away on the Buri Peninsula. However, as the Aksumite Empire rose to dominance in the Horn of Africa, the islands likely came under its suzerainty. This is evidenced by architectural remnants found on the islands, which exhibit distinct Aksumite-style features (possibly remnants of a Christian Church)3, which were also sometimes found re-used in structures dated to later periods4.
Possible Spiral column in the Aksumite building (Source: Dahlak Kebir, Eritrea: From Aksumite to Ottoman. Timothy Insoll, Figure 5).
However, this article focuses on the medieval era of the Dahlak Islands, spanning from the 8th to the 16th century AD—a period during which the islands rose to prominence and established themselves as an Islamic sultanate. Its strategic location near the Bab el-Mandeb Strait in the Red Sea enabled it to levy taxes on goods from across the Islamic world passing through. Initially a place of exile for dissidents, Dahlak later transformed into an independent sultanate, powerful enough to influence conflicts in both Yemen and Abyssinia.
8th-9th Century AD
The Early Caliphates Of Islam (Note the size of the Umayyad & Abyassid Caliphates). Source
During the rise of Islam across the Middle East and North Africa in the 7th and 8th centuries AD, the Dahlak Islands played an increasingly significant role in the Red Sea. As the Aksumite Empire’s naval dominance vis-à-v the port city of Adulis weakened, naval battles for control of the Red Sea then ensued. The loss of Aksumite maritime authority led to diminished law enforcement at sea, resulting in a surge of piracy. This reached its peak around 702 AD when “Abyssinian pirates” raided Jeddah5, a crucial port city of the Umayyad Caliphate, dangerously close to Mecca. Given the city’s proximity to Islam’s spiritual centre, the Umayyads responded decisively.
A naval force sent by Sulayman ibn Abd al-Malik6 swiftly retaliated, capturing the Dahlak Islands (an event that likely coincided with the sacking of Adulis). Under Umayyad control, the islands were transformed into a remote prison, earning the nickname “Island of Thorns”7, where dissidents and criminals were exiled throughout the 8th century AD. This practice continued under the Abbasid Caliphate. Among the notable prisoners were the sons of Abd al-Jabbar, the vice-regent of Khorasan8 (a region encompassing parts of present-day Afghanistan, eastern Iran, and Turkmenistan), who were exiled by the Abbasid Dynasty. One of them later managed to survive and escape the island.
Rebellions against foreign occupation might have occurred even as early as the late 8th century AD9.
A man-made cistern in the Dahlak islands (Reportedly over 365 such cisterns exist, one for each day). Source
After the collapse of the Umayyad Caliphate and the rise of the Abbasids, several influential Umayyad officials sought refuge in places like the Dahlak Islands or used them as stepping stones to reach areas such as Nubia11.
10th-Mid 12th Century AD
Various Funerary Inscriptions At Dahlak Kebir. Source
زياديون/Ziyadid Dynasty
By the 10th century AD, the Dahlak Islands were under the suzerainty of the Ziyadid dynasty in Yemen, it’s during this era that the Dhalak Islands would transform into a Sultanate, and become an important trading centre in the Red Sea region. For example during the reign of Abū al-Jayš Isḥāq b. Ibrāhīm of the Ziyadid dynasty (one of the longest-reigning monarchs in history), the export of over 1,000 female slaves from Abyssinia and Nubia was recorded as tribute from the Dahlak Islands, likely sourced through trade with Abyssinia.
This time period coincides with Empress Gudit’s rebellion and the subsequent rise of the Zagwe dynasty, a time of considerable upheaval in Abyssinia, that probably facilitated the increased acquisition of slaves from the region.
The importance of the Dhalak Sultnates in the red-sea trade is also highlighted by the 10th-century Arab geographer al-Hamdānī who stated its significance in the gold trade. In fact, it was connected to other gold-producing trading hubs, including Badi (also known as Massawa), and Suakin, all the way to the trading port of Aydhāb in Egypt12. In addition to gold and slaves, the trade of Leopard Skins & Pearl Fishing likely also occurred13.
Trade with Egypt might have been considerable, besides several references to trade with Egypt found in Arabic writings around this era, a funerary inscription of the same merchant was found both in Qus, Egypt & in the Dahlak Islands14.
Inscriptions
A Stelae Found In The Dhalak Islands, Containing An Arabic Funerary Inscription. Source: Encyclopaedia Aethiopica D-Ha, Volume 2, pg 65.
Further evidence of the growth of the Dahlak Islands is by the over 89 stone inscription stelae, successfully dated to 864–1010 AD15 (out of the total 26716). Specifically, the surnames, or “Nisbas” (e.g., al-Yemeni, al-Tunisi), inscribed on the stelae, indicated the presence of traders from places such as Spain, Tunisia, Persia, Syria, Iraq, and more locally, the Islamic community of Bilat in eastern Tigray.
One such example is the following inscriptions found at Dahlak:
Fun Fact: Much of the architecture on the Dahlak Islands is built using locally sourced coral stone! 😯
زَبِيد/Zabid (specifcally the university), Yemen. Capital Of The Najahid Dynasty. Source
By 1021/22 AD, a dynasty of Abyssinian origin (the Najahid dynasty) would rise to power in southwestern Yemen, founded by two former Abyssinian slaves (working as administrators), Nafis and Najah. It’s very possible that these slaves were originally traded/passed through the Dahlak Islands before they arrived in Yemen, as we will see soon the Najahids would establish a close relationship with the Dhalak Islands.
How did the Najah dynasty come to rule Yemen? After the death of the last ruler of the Ziyadid Dynasty, Marjan served as a vizier with the assistance of two Abyssinian administrators – Nafis and Najah, as the heir was too young to govern. However, Nafis grew concerned that the heir and his aunt were favouring Najah, so he brought both the heir and the aunt to his court (with the permission of Marjan). Later he killed them both. This act provoked Najah to declare war, rallying allies against Nafis. The conflict culminated in Nafis’s defeat and death. After capturing the capital, Zabid, Najah buried Marjan alive alongside Nafis’s corpse before proclaiming himself king and establishing the Najah dynasty17.
Rough Map of the Dahlak Sultanate and Surrounding Territories in the Early 12th Century AD. (Own Work)
During the Najah Dynasty, the Dahlak Sultanate existed not only as a trading hub but actively played a militaristic role in the affairs of Arabia, it first served as a strategic base for the Najah dynasty’s ambitions. Following the assassination of Najah in 1060AD( reportedly poisoned by a slave girl gifted to him by the rival Sulayhid dynasty, located north at Sana’a) the capital Zabid would be invaded and captured by the Sulayhid Dynasty18, and Najah’s sons, Sa’id and Jayyash, sought refuge in the Dahlak Sultanate. The Ruler of the Dahlak Sultanate allowed them to not only hide in his territory but also to plan their re-capture of Yemen.
Sa’id’s stay in the Dahlak Islands was likely cut short, possibly due to forced expulsion following his betrayal of the local ruler. It is plausible that Sa’id sought to eclipse and overthrow the ruler of Dahlak, aiming to take full control of the sultanate and use it more effectively as a base for his campaign to recapture Zabid in Yemen. His ambitions may have threatened the political stability of Dahlak, leading to his eventual removal.
“He departed from Dahlak for Zabid in anger with his brother Jayyash, who had prevented him from practising treachery against the Prince of Dahlak.” – Source:ʿUmārah b. ʿAlī al-Ḥakamī, Yaman, its early medieval history by Nadjm al-Dīn ʿOmarah alHakamī, trans. Henry Cassels Kay, pg 82
After the recapture of Zabid and subsequent rule, Sa’id is said to have acquired twenty thousand Abyssinian spearmen from Dahlak for his campaigns in Arabia19. While this figure is likely exaggerated, it does highlight one of the dimensions the Dahlak Sultnate played in geo-politics – a supply of Abyssinian soldiers, likely very lucrative.
The Dahlak ruler wasn’t always a vassal or puppet of foreign empires, such as nearby Islamic dynasties. Instead, evidence suggests that it maintained its independence throughout some of the 11th to 13th centuries. For example, a Jewish merchant on a Muslim trading vessel (presumably from an adjacent Islamic Sultanate), documented in a letter that the ruler of the Dahlak Islands demanded taxes from merchant ships in exchange for access to its territorial waters; when this demand was refused, the ship was subsequently impounded.
“When we reached the Bāb al-Mandāb, the ruler of Dahlak sent his jilāb (Red Sea vessels) against us. He had imposed unreasonable demands on us, and took some of our possessions, so we were fleeing from him. They fought us a great battle, and they injured the goyim (Muslims) and plundered the ship. They took the ship (?) and let us go, and took the bales of cloth that were in it.” – The Red Sea Region During the ‘Long’ Late Antiquity, pg 297
A funerary inscription mentioning the Sultan al-Mubarak (Sultan, The Blessed/Blessing) has been found at Dahlak Kebir, dated to 1093AD, it’s the earliest evidence of a named ruler in the Dahlak Islands20.
Relationship with Abyssinia
Remains Of Buildings At The Dhalak Islands.
Around 1075 AD, a priest named Cyril, lacking the proper credentials, was consecrated as the Patriarch of the Orthodox Church of Abyssinia and sent from Egypt. However, his lack of legitimacy was soon discovered in Abyssinia. In an attempt to secure his position, Cyril urged Archbishop Gabra Krestos to send a messenger to the King of Egypt, offering annual tributes of gold in exchange for the Egyptian Sultan’s support (which was then given).
Some years later, Cyril had accumulated wealth and decided to flee Abyssinia, escaping to the Dahlak Islands. However, the Sultan of Dahlak seized him, confiscated his wealth, and sent him back to Egypt, where he was executed in 1086 AD.
“Command thou the Archbishop, Abba GABRA KRESTOS, to send a messenger to appoint me bishop whilst I am in my country Ethiopia, and each year I will send thee much gold as a present.” And the King of Egypt summoned Abba GABRA KRESTOS to him, and he said unto him, “Send a man on thy behalf to the country of Ethiopia to appoint CYRIL bishop.” And the archbishop answered and said unto him, “This is [fol. 99a2] undesirable, unless he cometh here.” And the king said unto him, “Do as I have commanded thee,” and the archbishop said unto him, “Thy will shall be done.”
And the archbishop went forth from the king sorrowfully, and he grieved exceedingly about the matter, and he gathered together all the bishops and told them what the king had said unto him; and when they heard it they were exceedingly sorry. And the archbishop prayed and entreated God to deliver him from brotherhood with CYRIL, the Liar.
And CYRIL took much money and fled from the country of Ethiopia and came to the country of DAHLOKA, and the King of DAHLOKA seized him and took away all [his money], and bound him in fetters and sent him to the King of Egypt, who shut him up in prison for seven months and after this period cut off his head with the sword.
The Dahlak Sultanate took a smart approach to handling Cyril’s escape. Rather than granting refuge to a fugitive with stolen wealth—an act that could have strained its relations with Abyssinia—it chose a more strategic option. The sultanate seized all of Cyril’s stolen riches, ensuring its financial gain, while simultaneously appeasing the Abyssinians by ensuring his capture. By sending Cyril to Egypt, where he was ultimately executed for his crimes, the Dahlak Sultanate also secured favour with the Egyptian authorities, by allowing them to carry out their judicial process without interference.
Mid 12th – 16th Century AD
Funerary Stelae Dated To 1188AD, Found At The Dhalak Islands and reads: ‘‘This is the tomb of the cultured man (adib)’ and his name: Isa ibn (son of) Ahmad ibn Muhammad ibn Ibrahim ibn Yusuf ibn Hamid ibn Yahya al-Makki. He died in the evening on the 29th day of the month of Safar AH584 (28 April, AD1188), a Friday”. Source
With the fall of the friendly Najahid dynasty around the mid-12th century AD, the rise of the Mamluks in Egypt and the growing prominence of the port of Zeila in the southeast of modern-day Ethiopia, the importance of the Dhalak in Red Sea trade started to decrease. This may have led to increased tolerance or even direct involvement in piracy by the Dahlak sultanate, as a means of compensating for lost revenue. For instance, in 1265/6 AD, the Mamluks of Egypt issued a diplomatic warning to the ruler of the Dahlak Islands, demanding an end to pirate activity21.
Although weakened, the Dahlak Sultanate likely remained independent, as the Arabic geographer Ibn Saʿīd al-Maghribī recounts that the Sultan of Dahlak continuously resisted attempts by the Sultans of Yemen to assert control over the islands22.
From the 13th century AD onwards, the Dahlak Sultanate increasingly became entangled in the geopolitical affairs of the Abyssinian region, specfically the region known as Medri-Bahri (Serae, Akele Guzay & Hamasien). The rise of the Solomonic Empire in the late 13th century AD and the expansionist campaigns of its formidable warrior-ruler, Amda Seyon, in the early 14th century, brought the Abyssinian state into conflict with the Dahlak Sultanate. However, any victories achieved by Abyssinia proved short-lived. By the late 14th century AD, hagiographies at Debre Bizen, of Abuna Filappos and Yohannes, recorded ongoing conflicts with the Dahlak Sultanate23. In these accounts, the Dahlak ruler was known as Sayyuma Bahar (or “Shum/Governor of the Sea”) throughout the region24. Around this time, the Sultanate might have also gained access to Massawa and appointed a Naib to govern it25.
By the 15th century, during the reign of Emperor Zara Yaqob, a series of wars were waged against the Dahlak Sultanate26. The sultanate was first invaded and pillaged (possibly in retaliation for an earlier attack on Gura – a town in Medri Bahri) in around 1443 AD. A few decades later, both the city of Massawa and the Dahlak Sultanate were again pillaged by the Abyssinians at around 1462AD.
Map Of Massawa In 1541ADMap Of The Bab-el-Mandeb Strait
However, Abyssinian control over the Dahlak Islands was short-lived. By the early 16th century AD, the islands had fallen under the suzerainty of the Sultan of Aden27. Around 1526 AD, the Portuguese briefly occupied Dahlak during the reign of Sultan Aḥmad bin Ismāʿīl. By the 1530s, during the invasion of the infamous Imām Aḥmad Gragn of the Adal Sultanate, Sultan Aḥmad bin Ismāʿīl had allied with him28 against the Abyssinians—likely targeting the adjacent Medri Bahri. In return for his support, the Sultanate of Dahlak was granted control over Arkiko (also known as Dokono).
On 24 February 1540 CE, Sultan Aḥmad bin Ismāʿīl died, and a stela was erected in his honour, inscribed with: muǧāhid murābiṭ sulṭān al-islām bi-taġr Dahlak almaḥrūs—”fighter for the faith, warrior of the frontier, Sultan of Islam in the march of the well-protected Dahlak”29.
Finally, with the fall of Imam Gragn, which had also weakened and drained the resources of the Bahr Negus, the Ottomans, under Özdemir Pasha, captured the Dahlak Islands and Massawa in 1557 AD, making Massawa the capital of the newly established إيالة الحبشة (Habesh Eyalet). Consequently, the Dahlak Islands became increasingly depopulated30.
16th Century Tomb Of “Sheikh Durbush”, In Massawa Eritrea. Likely Of Özdemir Pasha
Known Rulers Of The Dahlak Islands:
Sulṭān al-Mubārak or “the blessed sultan”, died in 1093AD.
Abū s-Sadād al-Muwaffaq, died in 1147/48 AD.
Yaḥyā (I) b. Abī s-Sadād al-Muwaffaq, died in 1167AD.
Abū l-Faḍl al-Mālik, died in 1172 AD.
Abū s-Sadād (II) al-Muwaffaq, died in 1193AD.
Abū ʿAbdallāh Muḥammad, died in 1230AD.
Fāḍil b. Sulaymān, died in 1240AD.
Abū s-Sadād (III), died in 1249AD.
Dahlak Kebir, Eritrea: From Aksumite to Ottoman. Timothy Insoll, pg 39 ↩︎
