ABSTRACT
A sultan is a Muslim leader of a state or area, and a sultanate is an area ruled by said leader. It is mostly used in reference to the Ottoman Empire; however, Somalia had many sultanates from the 9th to the 17th century that were ruled by varying dynasties. The creation of sultanates is heavily linked to Islam. It made its way into Somali territory via the Arabian Peninsula, where many Arab-Persian families migrated to Somali territory and sparked a mass conversion to Islam starting from the 7th century. This is so much so that the word Mogadishu means ‘Seat of the Shah (Sultan)’ in Persian. Due to its unfaltering military strength, the Ajuran Sultanate was one of the only mediaeval powerhouses to be involved in castle and fortress building; the ruins of which can still be seen dotted around the Somali coast today.
