The federation was succeeded by a sultanate, of which the first ruler was a certain Abu Bakr b. Fakhr ad-Din. This must have occurred before the time of Ibn Battuta (1331) when the Sheikh was one Abu Bakr b. ‘Umar. The mosque of Fakhr ad-Din, referred to below, is reputed to have been founded under this dynasty, so that it was presumably established between the time of Yaqut (say 1230) and 1269, the date of the inscription in that mosque. This dynasty survived until the sixteenth century, when it was succeeded by the Muzaffar dynasty. (from: MEDIAEVAL MOGADISHU by NEVILLE CHITTICK (1982))

2 Abu Bakr b. Muhammad fl 1322-1323.

Coin described by Freeman Grenville (1963)

Billon coin. Weight 3.47 gm. (A billon coin is made of an alloy consisting of gold or silver and a base metal, usually copper, used especially for coinage.)

Obv. Within a circle, a circle of dots and a further circle containing a square:

within the square: trusts / in the One Eternal (God) / Abd Bakr ibn Muhammad

in the four segments between the square and the circle: struck / in the year 722 / (erased) / (erased)

This is the only coin of Medieval Mogadishu found with a date 722AH = 1322AD.

Rev, Within a circle, a square containing the kalima (Islam declaration of faith), with the names of the four Orthodox caliphs in the outer segments, from the top clockwise.

3 Sheikh Abu Bakr bin Omar bin Othman bin Al-Hajj Ismail

No coins are known of him; but two authors mention him:

Najm al-Din Umar ibn Fahd: 'Ithaf alwry bi'Akhbar 'am alqri‏ (Al-Wary Reciting News of Umm Al-Qura) (d1480)

In the year twenty-seven and seven hundred (1327AD) (people who died)

And Sheikh Abu Bakr bin Omar bin Othman bin Al-Hajj Ismail, the Lord of Maqdishuh, for the three days remaining from Rabi` al-Akhir (=fourth month).

Ibn Battuta (1331); Rihala (Travels) (original title was : Tihfat an Nuzzar)

He was the ruling Sultan when Ibn Battuta visited the kingdom in 1331.

On him see my webpage Ibn Battuta Mogadishu 1331:

‘the Sultan of Mogadishu is called Shaikh by his subjects. His name is Abu Bark ibn Shaikh Omar, and by race he is a Berber (huwa fi'l-asl min al-Barbara). He talks in the language of Mogadishu but knows Arabic.’

He is the last one of the rulers of Mogadishu who do not use the title Sultan on their coins. These fits well with the statement of Ibn Battuta (1331) that the sultan was called Sheikh.

6 Plaster cast of an epigraph from an Islamic burial in Mogadishu. Version of the Arabic text:

Verily, we have won for you a signal victory, so that God may forgive what preceded your sin and what followed it, and complete the favors of him over you and guide you in a straight path. The Lord proclaims to them from his mercy, forgiveness and paradise in which they will remain eternally: with God there is a great reward .....

Judgement…..

The mighty king died…..

Ibn al Sultan….. b. al Sultan Ahmad

Ibn al Faqih Ismail on Saturday night

….. in the month of Muharram in the year

Seven hundred ??  (AD13??)

7 Sultan Muhammad al-Mujahid fl somewhere in the two last decades of the 14th century.

But; according to: Checklist of Islamic Coins, 3rd Edition (2011) by Stephen Album: Freeman-Granville dates this piece after 1388, but his reasoning is based on information now regarded as obsolete.

8 Sultan Rasul b. 'Ali fl 14th century

I did not find any of his coins yet.

One of his coins is described by Freeman Grenville (1963)

Weight approximately 0-40 gm. (specimens incomplete).

Obv. Without decoration: The Sultan / Rasul / ibn ‘Ali

Rev. Without decoration: trusts / (erased) / (erased)

10 Sultan Malik b. Sa'd unknown dates, style of 14th century

I did not find any of his coins yet.

One of his coins is described by Freeman Grenville (1963)

Weight 0-34 gm.

Obv. Within traces of two circles, in a very square script: The Sultan / Malik / son of Sa‘id

Rev. Without decoration: who relies / upon God (. . .) / the Eternal

It may be noted that: al-Samad—the Eternal, the sixty-seventh of the ninety-nine Beautiful Names of God recited on the tasbih, or Muslim Rosary, also occurs in the legend of Aba Bakr ibn Muhammad, and likewise in the legend of al-Husain ibn Ahmad, who was probably a fifteenth-century ruler of Zanzibar. Freeman Grenville (1957-1963)

He is also mentioned in the books of four Medieval writers.

Ibn Hajar al-Asqalani: Inba al-Ghumar bi Abna al-Umr (to Immerge the new generation in information) (d1448)

Died in the year 836 AH (1432)

Ali ibn Yusuf ibn 'Umar ibn Anwar, the ruler of Mekdhoh of our time, is known as Muayad-bin-Muzaffar ibn Mansur.

Al-Sakhawi: Al-Daw' al-lami li ahli al-Qarni al-Tasi: (The Light Shining upon the People of the Ninth Century)(d1497) Egypt

Ali ibn Yusuf ibn 'Umar ibn Anwar (2), who the Sheikh mentioned in his sermon, the ruler of our time in Mekdhoh; is known as  Muayad-bin-Muzaffar ibn Mansur. He died in the year (eight hundred) thirty-six (1433AD).

Al Maqrizi: aleuqud alfaridat fi tarajum al'aeyan almufida (Unique Contracts in Useful Librarian Studies) (1441)

Ali ibn Yusuf ibn Umar ibn Abi Bakr ibn Abur, the king the son of King Muzaffar the son of King Mansour, lord of Makdashu.

Abd al Basit ibn Khalil: Nayl al amal fi dhayl al-duwal  (The hope of the tail of states) (1490) Egypt

In the year 1433

Things that happened without a precise date

For the death of the Lord of Mogadishu

-in which died the Lord of Mogadishu, Ali bin Yusuf bin Omar bin Ahmed Al-Moayad bin Muzaffar bin Mansour Shahab.

A single specimen of this ruler was reported by Freeman Grenville from Kisimani Mafia in NC 1957. Since then, H. N. Chittick has found four further specimens on the beach at the same place.

Apart from a single specimen of al-Dibr (The Lion), reported also from there by Dr. John Walker in 1936,? these are the only coins which appear to be local to Mogadishu and the neighbouring country to have been found outside that area. In the case of ‘Ali ibn Yusuf, a total of 5,965 pieces (including 5,800 from the Anonymous Collection) from the Mogadishu area would seem to establish him as a ruler of Mogadishu beyond reasonable doubt.