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Somali clan family

The Isaaq (also Ishaak, Isaac) is a major Somali clan family. It is one of the largest Somali clan families in the Horn of Africa, with a large and densely populated traditional territory. The Isaaq people claim in a traditional legend to have descended from the peninsular Arabian Sheikh Ishaaq bin Ahmed, an Islamic scholar who traveled to Somaliland in the 12th or 13th century and married two women; one from the local Dir clan. and the other from neighboring Harari people. He is said to have sired eight sons who are the common ancestors of the clans of the Isaaq clan family. He remained in Maydh until his death.

Somali genealogical tradition places the origin of the Isaaq tribe in the 12th or 13th century with the arrival of the Sheikh Ishaaq Bin Ahmed (Sheikh Ishaaq) from Arabia. Sheikh Ishaaq purportedly settled in the coastal town of Maydh in modern day northeastern Somaliland, where he married into the local Magaadle clan. There are also numerous existing hagiographies in Arabic which describe Sheikh Ishaaq's travels, works and overall life in modern Somaliland, as well as his movements in Arabia before his arrival. Besides historical sources, one of the more recent printed biographies of Sheikh Ishaaq is the Amjaad of Sheikh Husseen bin Ahmed Darwiish al Isaaqi as Soomaali, which was printed in Aden in 1955. Sheikh Ishaaq's tomb is in Maydh, and is the scene of frequent pilgrimages. The dialect of the Somali language that the Isaaq speak has the highest prestige of any other Somali dialect.

The Isaaq have a very wide and densely populated traditional territory and make up 80% of Somaliland's population, and live in all of its six regions (Awdal, Marodi Jeh, Togdheer, Sahil, Sanaag and Sool). The Isaaq have large settlements in the Somali Region of Ethiopia, mainly on the eastern side of Somali Region also known as the Hawd and formerly Reserve Area which is mainly inhabited by the Isaaq residents. A subclan of the Habr Yunis, the Damal Muse (also known as the Dir Rooble), also inhabit the Mudug region of Somalia. The Habarnoosa, a clan of the Hadiya people in the Hadiya Zone claim descent from the Habr Yunis subclan of Isaaq. The Isaaqs also have large settlements in Naivasha, Kenya, where the Ishaakia make up a large percentage of the Kenyan population, and in Djibouti, where the Isaaq is the fourth largest group after the Issa, the Afar, and the Gadabuursi, accounting for 20% of Djibouti's population. The Isaaq are estimated to number 3 4 million according to a 2015 estimate. The Isaaq tribe are the largest group in Somaliland. The populations of five largest cities in Somaliland – Hargeisa, Burao, Berbera, Erigavo and Gabiley – are all predominantly Isaaq. They exclusively dominate the Marodi Jeh region, and the Togdheer region, and form a majority of the population inhabiting the western and central areas of Sanaag region, including the regional capital Erigavo. The Isaaq also have a large presence in the western and northern parts of Sool region as well, with Habr Je'lo sub clan of Isaaq living in the Aynabo district whilst the Habr Yunis subclan of Garhajis lives in the eastern part of Xudun district and the very western part of Las Anod district. They also live in the northeast of the Awdal region, with Saad Muse sub clan being centered around Lughaya and its environs. The Isaaq also has a sizable diaspora around the world, mainly residing in Western Europe, the Middle East, North America, and several other African countries. The Isaaq were among the first Somalis to arrive in the United Kingdom in the 1880s, and have since then formed large communities across the country, especially in Cardiff, Sheffield, Bristol and eastern London boroughs like Tower Hamlets and Newham. In Canada the Isaaq form large communities in the North York and Scarborough districts of Toronto.

As the Isaaq grew in size and numbers during the 12th century, the clan family migrated and spread from their core area in Mait (Maydh) and the wider Sanaag region in a southwestward expansion over a wide portion of present day Somaliland by the 15th and 16th centuries. By the 1300s the Isaaq clans united to defend their inhabited territories and resources during clan conflicts against migrating clans. The Habr Magadle division (Ayoub, Garhajis, Habr Awal and Arap) of the Isaaq were mentioned in chronicles of that war written by Shihab Al Din Ahmad Al Gizany known as Futuh Al Habash. I. M. Lewis states: The Marrehan and the Habr Magadle [Magādi] also play a very prominent role ( ) The text refers to two Ahmads's with the nickname 'Left handed'. One is regularly presented as 'Ahmad Guray, the Somali' ( ) identified as Ahmad Guray Xuseyn, chief of the Habr Magadle. Another reference, however, appears to link the Habr Magadle with the Marrehan. The other Ahmad is simply referred to as 'Imam Ahmad' or simply the 'Imam'. This Ahmad is not qualified by the adjective Somali ( ) The two Ahmad's have been conflated into one figure, the heroic Ahmed Guray ( )

Long after the collapse of the Adal Sultanate, the Isaaq established successor states, the Isaaq Sultanate and the Habr Yunis Sultanate. These two Sultanates possessed some of the organs and trappings of a traditional integrated state: a functioning bureaucracy, regular taxation in the form of livestock, as well as an army (chiefly consisting of mounted light cavalry). These sultanates also maintained written records of their activities, which still exist. The Isaaq Sultanate ruled parts of the Horn of Africa during the 18th and 19th centuries and spanned the territories of the Isaaq clan in modern day Somaliland and Ethiopia. The sultanate was governed by the Rer Guled branch of the Eidagale clan and is the pre colonial predecessor to the modern Republic of Somaliland. The modern Guled Dynasty of the Isaaq Sultanate was established in the middle of the 18th century by Sultan Guled of the Eidagale line of the Garhajis clan. His coronation took place after the victorious battle of Lafaruug in which his father, a religious mullah Abdi Eisa successfully led the Isaaq in battle and defeated the Absame tribes near Berbera where a century earlier the Isaaq clan expanded into. After witnessing his leadership and courage, the Isaaq chiefs recognized his father Abdi who refused the position instead relegating the title to his underage son Guled while the father acted as the regent till the son come of age. Guled was crowned the as the first Sultan of the Isaaq clan in July 1750. Sultan Guled thus ruled the Isaaq up until his death in 1839, where he was succeeded by his eldest son Farah full brother of Yuusuf and Du'ale, all from Guled's fourth wife Ambaro Me'ad Gadid. Sultan Deria Hassan remained de facto master of Hargeisa and its environs.

The Isaaq also played a major role in the Dervish movement, with Sultan Nur Aman of the Habr Yunis being fundamental in the inception of the movement. Sultan Nur was the principle agitator that rallied the dervish behind his anti French Catholic Mission campaign that would become the cause of the dervish uprise. Haji Sudi of the Habr Je'lo was the highest ranking Dervish after Mohammed Abdullah Hassan, he died valiantly defending the Taleh fort during the RAF bombing campaign. The Isaaq tribes most well known for joining the Dervish movement were from the eastern tribes such as the Habr Yunis and Habr Je'lo. These two sub tribes were able to purchase advanced weapons and successfully resist both British Empire and Ethiopian Empire for many years. The fourth Isaaq Grand Sultan Deria Hassan exchanged letters with Muhammad Abdullah Hassan in the first year of the movement's foundation, with the sultan inciting an insurrection in Hargeisa in 1900 as well as supplying the Mullah with vital information.

The Isaaq people along with other northern Somali tribes were under British Somaliland protectorate administration from 1884 to 1960. On gaining independence, the Somaliland protectorate decided to form a union with Italian Somalia. The Isaaq clan spearheaded the greater Somalia quest from 1960 to 1991. The Isaaq played a massive role to push for unification and independence. They selected to join the Trust Territory of Somaliland to form the Somali Republic. During the civilian government from 1960 to 1969, they held dominant positions. Jama Mohamed Ghalib (1960 4) and Ahmed Mohamed Obsiye (1964 6), both belonging to the Isaaq clan, served as the president of the National Assembly, while a notable Isaaq member named Muhammad Haji Ibrahim Egal served as the Prime Minister of Somalia from 1967 to 1969. Furthermore, when English became one of the official languages, the ministries of Foreign Trade, Foreign Affairs, Education, and Information were mainly held by the Isaaq members. They were still powerful in the early years of the military dictatorship (1969–91). However, from the late 1970s, Marehan became politically powerful under the leadership of the military dictator Siad Barre. The Isaaq began to face political and economic marginalization and in response, they organized the Somali National Movement to over his regime. Thus the Somaliland War of Independence began and this struggle movement forced the Isaaq clan to become a victim to a genocidal campaign by Siad Barre's troops (which also included armed Somali refugees from Ethiopia); the death toll has been estimated to be between 50,000 and 250,000. After the collapse of the Somali Democratic Republic in 1991 the Isaaq dominated Somaliland declared independence from Somalia as a separate nation.

Historically (and presently to a degree), the wider Isaaq clan were relatively more disposed to trade than their tribal counterparts due in part to their centuries old trade links with the Arabian Peninsula. In view of this imbalance in mercantile experience, other major Somali clans tended to resort to tribal slang terms such as "iidoor", an enviable pejorative roughly meaning trader/exchanger:

Somalis bandied about numerous stereotypes of clan behavior that mirrored these emerging social inequalities. The pejorative slang terms iidoor or kabadhe iidoora (loosely meaning "exchange") reflect Somali disdain for the go between, the person who amasses wealth through persistence and mercantile skills without firm commitments to anyone else. As the Isaaq became more international and cosmopolitan, their commercial success and achievement ideology aroused suspicion and jealousy, notably among rural Darod who disliked Isaaq self confidence and made them the target of stereotypes. The Habr Awal clan of the Isaaq have a rich mercantile history largely due to their possession of the major Somali port of Berbera, which was the chief port and settlement of Habr Awal clan during the early modern period. The clan had strong ties to the Emirate of Harar and Emirs would hold Habr Awal merchants in their court with high esteem with Richard Burton noting their influence in Emir Ahmad III ibn Abu Bakr's court and discussions with the Vizier Mohammed. The Habr Awal merchants had extensive trade relations with Arab and Indian merchants from Arabia and the Indian subcontinent respectively, and also conducted trade missions on their own vessels to the Arabian ports. Berbera, in addition to Berbera being described as “the freest port in the world, and the most important trading place on the whole Arabian Gulf, was also the main marketplace in the entire Somali seaboard for various goods procured from the interior, such as livestock, coffee, frankincense, myrrh, acacia gum, saffron, feathers, wax, ghee, hide (skin), gold and ivory. The Habr Je'lo clan of the Isaaq derived a large supply of frankincense from the trees south in the mountains near port town of Heis. This trade was lucrative and with gum and skins being traded in high quantity, Arab and Indian merchants would visit Habr Je'lo ports early in the season to get these goods cheaper than at Berbera or Zeyla before continuing westwards along the Somali coast. Heis, in addition to being a leading exporter of tanned skins also exported a large quantity of skins and sheep to Aden as well as imported a significant amount of goods from both the Arabian coast and western Somali ports, reaching nearly 2 million rupees by 1903. The Habr Je’lo coastal settlements and ports, stretching from near Siyara in the west to Heis (Xiis) in the east, were important to trade and communication with the Somali interior, with Kurrum (Karin), the principle Habr Je’lo port, being a major market for livestock and frankincense procured from the interior, and was a favorite for livestock traders due to the close proximity of the port to Aden. Starting in the middle of the 19th century, Isaaq clans became more connected to the European commercial world as historic ties between southern Somali towns along the Benadir coast with India and Oman were being reoriented southward toward Zanzibar. Isaaq trade and migration patterns were skewed by British imperial control of Aden more toward Europe and colonies like India, Egypt, and the Sudan, enabling the Isaaq to maintain a variety of contacts across the British Empire.</blockquote>

Nevertheless, in the 1970s and 1980s, nearly all of the livestock exports went out through the port of Berbera via Isaaq livestock traders, with the towns of Burao and Yirowe in the interior being home to the largest livestock markets in the Horn of Africa. The entire livestock exports accounted to upwards of 90% of the Somali Republic's entire export figures in a given year, and Berbera's exports alone provided over 75% of the nation's recorded foreign currency income at the time.

Abdul Majid Hussein, Economist, Former Permanent Representative of Ethiopia to the United Nations, 2001–2004. Leader of Ethiopian Somali Democratic League (ESDL) party in the Somali Region of Ethiopia from 1995 to 2001
Jamal Ali Hussein, Somali Politician and Economists expert. He was former presidential candidate of Somaliland UCID party
Dr. Saad Ali Shire, British Somali politician, agronomist and economist, who is currently serving as the Minister of Finance of Somaliland. Shire formerly served as the Foreign Minister of Somaliland. He also served as the Minister of Planning and National Development of Somaliland.