sultanate · Horn and East Africa

Majeerteen Sultanate

1750 CE – 1927 CE (approx.) · capital Alula

A Somali sultanate of the Horn's north-eastern tip, rich from the frankincense trade, which held out against Italy until 1927.

Origins

The sultanate took shape in the mid-18th century among the Majeerteen clan of the Darod in the far north-east of Somalia. Its rulers, with the title boqor (king), were based on the coast at Alula and Bargal, near Cape Guardafui.

Rule and society

The boqor ruled through clan elders, collecting revenue from frankincense, livestock and the salvage of ships wrecked on Cape Guardafui, which brought agreements with Britain to protect crews. Boqor Osman Mahamuud fought a long war with his kinsman Yusuf Ali Kenadid, who left to found the Sultanate of Hobyo. In 1889 Osman signed a protectorate treaty with Italy.

Decline and legacy

Italian control remained nominal until 1925 to 1927, when Governor Cesare De Vecchi's forces disarmed and conquered the northern sultanates and annexed them to Italian Somaliland. The region is now part of Puntland.

Connections (3)

More states of Horn and East Africa →

Cite this page
APA
The Epoch Institute. (2026). Majeerteen Sultanate. In The Epoch Institute States Register. https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/majeerteen-sultanate
MLA
“Majeerteen Sultanate.” The Epoch Institute States Register, The Epoch Institute, 2026, https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/majeerteen-sultanate. Accessed .
Chicago
The Epoch Institute. “Majeerteen Sultanate.” The Epoch Institute States Register. 2026. https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/majeerteen-sultanate.
Harvard
The Epoch Institute (2026) ‘Majeerteen Sultanate’, The Epoch Institute States Register. Available at: https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/majeerteen-sultanate (Accessed: ).

Last reviewed October 2026Random state ↻