Ajuran SultanateThe Ajuran Sultanate (Saldanadda Ajuuraan, سلطنة الأجورانية), also natively referred-to as Ajuuraan, and often simply Ajuran, was a Somali Empire in the Middle Ages in the Horn of Africa that dominated the trade in the northern Indian ocean. They belonged to the Somali Muslim sultanate that ruled over large parts of the Horn of Africa in the Middle Ages. Through a strong centralized administration and an aggressive military stance towards invaders, the Ajuran Empire successfully resisted an Oromo incursion from the west and a Portuguese incursion from the east during the Gaal Madow and the Ajuran-Portuguese wars.
MogadishuMogadishu (ˌmɒ, also USˌmoʊɡ-,_ˌmɔːɡ-; Muqdisho, Wadaad: mʉq'dɪ:ʃɔ or Xamar, Wadaad: ħɑmɑr; ), locally known as Xamar or Hamar, is the capital and most populous city of Somalia. The city has served as an important port connecting traders across the Indian Ocean for millennia, and has an estimated urban population of 6,610,483. Mogadishu is located in the coastal Banadir region on the Indian Ocean, which unlike other Somali regions, is considered a municipality rather than a (federal state).
JowharJowhar (Jowhar, جوهر) is the capital city of Hirshabelle state of Somalia. Jowhar is also the administrative capital of Middle Shabelle region of Somalia. Along with Baidoa, it used to form the joint administrative capital of the Transitional Federal Government, which it captured from the Islamic Courts Union. The city lies 90 km (50 mi) along a major road north of the national capital of Mogadishu. During the Middle Ages, Jowhar and much of the surrounding area in southern Somalia was governed by the Ajuran Empire.
Somali architectureSomali architecture is the engineering and designing of multiple different construction types such as stone cities, castles, citadels, fortresses, mosques, temples, aqueducts, lighthouses, towers and tombs during the ancient, medieval and early modern periods in Somalia and other regions inhabited by Somalis, as well as the fusion of Somalo-Islamic architecture with Western designs in contemporary times. Some of the oldest known structures in the territory of modern-day Somalia consist of burial cairns (taalo).
MajeerteenThe Majeerteen (Majeerteen, ماجرتين; also spelled Majerteen, Macherten, Majertain, or Mijurtin) is a prominent Somali sub-clan of the Harti, which falls under the Darod clan. Traditionally, they inhabit extensive territories in the Bari, Nugaal, and Mudug regions of Somalia, spanning from Bosaso to Garacad, mainly in Puntland state. Additionally, Majeerteen populations are present in southern towns such as Kismayo. The Majeerteen Sultanates played an important role in the pre-independence era of Somalia.
BimaalThe Bimaal or Bimal, is a sub-clan of the major Dir clan family. This clan is widely known for leading a resistance against the colonials in southern Somalia for decades which can be -in a little way- compared to the war of the Sayyid in Somaliland. The Biimaal mainly lives in southern Somalia, the Somali region of Ethiopia, which their Gaadsen sub-clan mainly inhabits and in the NEP region of Kenya. The Bimal are the dominant clan in Merca district of Lower Shabelle region and make up the majority in Jammaame district of Lower Jubba region.
JubalandJubaland (Jubbaland, , Oltregiuba), the Juba Valley (Dooxada Jubba) or Azania (Asaaniya, ), is a Federal Member State in southern Somalia. Its eastern border lies east of the Jubba River, stretching from Gedo to the Indian Ocean, while its western side flanks the North Eastern Province in Kenya, which was carved out of Jubaland during the colonial period. Jubaland has a total area of . As of 2005, it had a total population of 953,045 inhabitants. The territory consists of the Gedo, Lower Juba and Middle Juba provinces.
KismayoKismayo (Kismaayo, كيسمايو, Kīsmāyū; Chisimaio) is a port city in the southern Lower Juba (Jubbada Hoose) province of Somalia. It is the commercial capital of the autonomous Jubaland region. The city is situated southwest of Mogadishu, near the mouth of the Jubba River, where the waters empty into the Indian Ocean. According to the United Nations Development Programme, the city of Kismayo had a population of around 89,333 in 2005.
BardereBardere (بارديرا, Bardhere) is a district in the southwestern Gedo region in Jubaland State of Somalia. It is the second largest and most populous city in Jubaland with Kismayo being the largest and most densely populated city in the region. Bardera sits on the Jubba River around 250 km west of the city of Baidoa and is in a highland area with fertile soil. The city experiences extremely hot temperatures from December to April and heavy rainfalls from April to May knowns as Gu (spring) The city was formerly known as the "Onion capital of the World" for its production of the vegetable, the name Bardere means tall palm trees.
BanaadirBanaadir (Banaadir, بنادر, Benadir) is an administrative region (gobol) in southeastern Somalia. It covers the same area as the city of Mogadishu, which serves as the capital. It is bordered to the northwest by the Shabelle river, and to the southeast by the Indian Ocean. Although by far the smallest administrative region in Somalia, it has the largest population, estimated at 1,650,227 (including 369,288 internally displaced persons) in 2014.
