The family of Imam Ahmed ibn Ibrahim Al Ghazi (locally known as Gragné)
In the early 16th century, the kingdom of Adel was in dissarray. It had been split between three parties, a party at Zeila led by Abu Bakr of the house of Walashma, a party in Harar led by Mahfuz, and the kings of Hobat led by the family of Gragné.
After 7 years of Garad Abun who ruled the kingdom of Adel, his nephew Gragné came into the scene to avenge his murder at the hands of Abu Bakr. Gragné or simply Grañ, went on to marry the daughter of Mahfuz of Harar - said to be a son of Garad Muhammad bin Garad Adas and also a nephew of Garad Abun.
Here we take a look at the extended family of Grañ, whose geneaology is said to have come from the Karanle Hawiye, according to scholars in Ethiopia.
È tradizione che Sehaule sposò la figlia di Chidir e cioè sua nipote. Questa chiese ed ottenne per suo figlio il diritto di primogenitura, che spettava veramente ad Absciale, primogenito di Chidir, primo figlio di Caranle, col titolo di Garad, furono da allora sempre nominati tra i descendenti di Sehaule; i quali anche oggi hanno quei poteri magici che la credenze Somale attribuisco ai Capi hereditari.1
It is by tradition that the eldest son of Sehaule married the daughter of Chidir. This obtained for her son the right of birthright, which really belonged to Absciale, eldest son of Chidir, first son of Caranle, with the title of Garad, they were from then always named among the descendants of Sehaule; who even today have those magical powers that Somali beliefs attribute to the hereditary leaders.
After the revival of Adal, Amir Mahfuz embarked on several campaigns to weaken the Ethiopians, scoring victories not seen since the days of Ifat. The Emperors of Abyssinia had threatened Grañ in letters, informing him that neither his fathers, uncles nor brothers nor the forefathers of Sa’dudin (Adal) could ever accomplish a great feat in capturing the heart of Abyssinians. Grañ went down in history as the first Conqueror of modern Ethiopia, only to be stopped by Portugese musketeers, the strongest Christian ally of and power of Europe.
Grañ joins the great hall of fame of legendary figures from Somalia who led an expansion into Ethiopia such as Abadir Fiqi Umar Al Rida who founded Harar and Sheikh Nur Hussein who founded Bale. His descendants and relatives, such as Wazir Abbas, Amir Talha, Gerad Jibril, Sultan Mohamed Ibrahim (his brother) and Imam Mohamed Al Qazi (later ruler of Harar) had all gone on to carry the flames of war in Aussa and Harar, modern day Eritrea, Sudan and Ethiopia.