Adal

Adal was a Muslim sultanate in the Horn of Africa, founded on the Harar plateau after the fall of Ifat. Its towns and ports, including Harar and Zeila, linked inland trade to the Red Sea and Indian Ocean.

In 1529 Imam Ahmad ibn Ibrahim al-Ghazi began a war against Christian Ethiopia, conquering much of the empire with forces that used firearms. Ethiopian troops, aided by Portuguese soldiers, defeated and killed him in 1543. Adal moved its capital to Aussa in 1577.