Harti

Sub clan of the Somali Darod clan

Harti (, هرتي), meaning "strong man", is a Somali clan confederation, part of the larger Darod clan. The major sub clans include the Majeerteen, Warsangeli, Dishiishe and Dhulbahante while the minor sub clans consist of Kaskiqabe, Geesaguule and Liibaangashe. The clan settles the apex of the Horn of Africa and its peripheries, and in the south, the clan settles on both sides of the Kenya Somalia border.

The extended formal name of the Harti clan is Saleh Abdi Mohamed Abdirahman bin Isma'il al Jabarti. The primary homeland of the Harti is the state of Puntland in northeastern Somalia. The clan is well represented in the regions of Sool, Sanaag, Togdheer, Bari, Nugaal and Mudug. There is also a significant trading Harti community in the state of Jubaland particularly in the port city of Kismayo. In Ethiopia, they are well represented in the Dollo Zone, whilst they have a notable presence in the North Eastern Province of Kenya.

The Majeerteen Sultanate (Migiurtinia) was founded in the mid 18th century. It rose to prominence the following century, under the reign of the resourceful Boqor (King) Osman Mahamuud. Centred in Aluula, it controlled much of northern and central Somalia in the 19th and early 20th centuries. The polity maintained a robust trading network, entered into treaties with foreign powers, and exerted strong centralized authority on the domestic front. With the gradual extension of European colonial rule into northern Somalia, all three sultanates were annexed to Italian Somaliland and British Somaliland in the early 20th century.

The Darawiish, mostly hailed from the Dhulbahante and drew the majority of its followers from this clan; the four major Darawiish administrative divisions, i. e. Dooxato, Shiikhyaale, Golaweyne and Miinanle were near exclusively Dhulbahante. The Dhulbahante in Buuhodle were particularly the first and most persistent supporters of the Dervish chieftainship emirate sultanate. The poet Aadan Carab noted that the Dhulbahante experienced a genocide at the hands of European colonialists due to their Darawiish adherence, noting the Dhulbahante genocide in his poem Diidda Ama Yeella. The Dervish chieftainship sultanate resisted colonial occupation, especially the British who were aided by other Somali clans.

In 1998, the Harti community convened at Garowe to discuss their political future. The conference lasted for a period of three months. Attended by the area's political elite, traditional elders (Issims), members of the business community, intellectuals and other civil society representatives, the autonomous Puntland State of Somalia was established to deliver services to the population, offer security, facilitate trade, and interact with domestic and international partners. Abdullahi Yusuf Ahmed served as the fledgling state's founding president.