Ahmad ibn Ibrahim al-Ghazi
Ahmad ibn Ibrahim al-Ghazi (Arabic: أحمد بن إبراهيم الغازي, Harari: አሕመድ ኢብራሂም አል-ጋዚ, Somali: Axmed Ibraahim al-Qaasi; c. 21 July 1506 – 10 February 1543) was the Imam of the Adal Sultanate from 1527 to 1543. Commonly named Ahmed Gragn in Amharic and Gurey in Somali, both meaning the left-handed, he led the invasion and conquest of Abyssinia from the Sultanate of Adal during the Ethiopian-Adal War. He is often referred to as the "King of Zeila" in medieval texts.: 79
| Ahmad ibn Ibrahim al-Ghazi أحمد بن إبراهيم الغازي | |
|---|---|
| Imam | |
Statue of Imam Ahmad in Mogadishu, Somalia | |
| Leader of Adal | |
| Reign | c. 1527 – 21 February 1543 |
| Predecessor | Abu Bakr ibn Muhammad |
| Successor | Nur ibn Mujahid |
| Born | c. 1506 Hubat, Adal Sultanate |
| Died | 21 February 1543 (aged 36–37) Wayna Daga, Ethiopian Empire |
| Burial | |
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| Issue |
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| Religion | Sunni Islam |
Dubbed "The African Attila" by Orientalist Frederick A. Edwards,: 324 Imam Ahmed‘s conquests reached all the way to the borders of the Sultanate of Funj. Imam Ahmed won nearly all his battles against the Ethiopians before 1541 and after his victory at Battle of Amba Sel, the Ethiopian Emperor, Dawit II was never again in a position to offer a pitched battle to his army: 341 : 329 and was subsequently forced to live as an outlaw constantly hounded by Imam Ahmed's soldiers, the Malassay.