Hobyo is an ancient harbor city in the Mudugh region of Somalia. Hobyo means "has water", and the plentiful fresh water to be had from the wells in and around Hobyo (a rarity in that region of the world) has been the driving force behind Hobyo's ancient status as a favorite port-of-call for sailors. Location of Mudug in Somalia Mudug (Somali: Mudug; Arabic: ‎ ) is an administrative region (gobolka) in central Somalia. ...

Other spellings and pronunciations are Obbia and Hobyaa.

Hobyo's Origins (12th century to 15th century)

Hobyo's history began as a place for sailors and caravans to get fresh water, thus its name. It only became a town of importance when the Moslem pilgrims departing for Mecca on their Hajj and the sea captains who would take them there began favoring the town as a point of departure because of its fresh water. This sea and land traffic soon led to Hobyo becoming something of a commercial centre. Opone, the once-great entrepot which had been the center of commerce, began its decline into obscurity. (11th century - 12th century - 13th century - other centuries) As a means of recording the passage of time, the 12th century was that century which lasted from 1101 to 1200. ... (14th century - 15th century - 16th century - other centuries) As a means of recording the passage of time, the 15th century was that century which lasted from 1401 to 1500. ... Caravans comprise land-based trading convoys, often utilising the camel as a beast of burden, and generally associated with crossing deserts in Asia or Africa. ... A Muslim is a believer in or follower of Islam. ... Pilgrims is the name commonly applied to early settlers of the Plymouth Colony. ... This article is about the city in Saudi Arabia. ... The Hajj (Arabic: ‎, translit: ; Turkish: ; Ottoman Turkish: حاج, Hāc; Malay: ) is the Pilgrimage to Mecca in Islam. ... Hafun (Xaafuun) is a small low-lying peninsula in the Bari region of northern Somalia. ... An entrepôt is a trading centre, or simply a warehouse, where merchandise can be imported and re-exported without paying import duties. ...

The increasing importance and rapid settlement of cities further south (such as Mogadishu, Mombasa, Malindi and Kilwa Kisiwani) further increased the prosperity of Hobyo as more and more ships made their way down the East African coast and stopped in Hobyo to trade and replenish their water. Mogadishus location in Somalia Mogadishu (Somali: Muqdisho, popularly Xamar; Arabic: ‎ ; Italian: ), is the largest city in Somalia, and its nominal capital. ... Mombasa is the second largest city in Kenya, lying on the Indian Ocean. ... Malindi is a city in Kenya that has been a Swahili settlement since the 14th century. ... Kilwa Kisiwani is an Islamic community on an island off the coast of East Africa, in present day Tanzania. ...  Eastern Africa (UN subregion)  East African Community  Central African Federation (defunct)  geographic, including above East Africa or Eastern Africa is the easternmost region of the African continent, variably defined by geography or geopolitics. ...

Hobyo in the Medieval World (15th century to 17th century)

Hobyo was the commercial centre of the Ajuran Sultanate, based in Qalafo (modern Ethiopia). Commercial goods harvested along the Shabelle river (especially around the agricultural centers of Harardheere and El-Dheer) were brought to Hobyo for trade, as Hobyo remained the active mercantile port of earlier times. The Ajuraan rulers collected their tribute from the town in the form of sorghum (durra), and the port of Hobyo was very profitable and important for the Ajuran sultans. (14th century - 15th century - 16th century - other centuries) As a means of recording the passage of time, the 15th century was that century which lasted from 1401 to 1500. ... (16th century - 17th century - 18th century - more centuries) As a means of recording the passage of time, the 17th century was that century which lasted from 1601-1700. ... The Ajuran (also Ajuuraan or Ujuuraan) is a Somali clan. ... The Shebelle River (with numerous spelling variations, including Shabele and Shabell, sometimes with Wabe or Webi prepended, Shabeelle in Somalia) begins in the highlands of Ethiopia, and then flows southeast into Somalia towards Mogadishu. ... Species About 30 species, see text Sorghum is a genus of about 20 species of grasses, native to tropical and subtropical regions of Eastern Africa, with one species native to Mexico. ...

Hobyo's Ajuuraan rulers were allies of the Mogadishu Sultanate, and trade between Hobyo and the Banaadir coast flourished for some time. So vital was Hobyo to the prosperity of the Ajuran Sultanate that when the Hiraab, a lineage of closely related Hawiye clans, successfully revolted against the Ajuran and established an independent Hiraab Imamate, they included Hobyo. This was not the only fragmentation of the Ajuran state, as the Majerteen also broke away to form their own sultanate in the north, and the Warsangeli Sultanate shook off centuries of Ajuran hegemony. The Ajuran remained in their power base in Qalafo, but were a shadow of their former power, and were conquered along with the rest of Ogaden by the Ethiopians two centuries later. The Majeerteen or Majerteen(Mohamed bin Harti bin Amaleh bin Abdi bin Mohammed bin Abdirahman al-Jaberti) is a Somali clan, part of the Harti group of the Darod clan. ... Ogaden (pronounced and often spelled Ogadēn) is a part of the Somali Region in Ethiopia. ...

Hobyo in the Colonial Era (17th century to 20th century)

A Majerteen pretender to the throne, Yusuf Ali Kenadid, who had been exiled to Arabia by sultan Boqor Isman Mahamud after a failed coup d'etat, returned from Arabia and invaded Hobyo with an army of mercenaries from Hadramut in 1878. After conquering Hobyo from the Hiraab Imamate, he established himself as the Sultan of Hobyo. (16th century - 17th century - 18th century - more centuries) As a means of recording the passage of time, the 17th century was that century which lasted from 1601-1700. ... (19th century - 20th century - 21st century - more centuries) Decades: 1900s 1910s 1920s 1930s 1940s 1950s 1960s 1970s 1980s 1990s As a means of recording the passage of time, the 20th century was that century which lasted from 1901–2000 in the sense of the Gregorian calendar (1900–1999... A coup détat, or simply a coup, is the sudden overthrow of a government, usually done by a small group that just replaces the top power figures. ... Hadhramaut or Hadramawt (Arabic: حضرموت [Ḥaḍramawt]) is a governorate of the Republic of Yemen and a wider historical region of the south Arabian peninsula along the Gulf of Aden in the Arabian Sea, extending eastwards from Yemen (proper) to the Dhofar region of Oman. ... 1878 (MDCCCLXXVIII) was a common year starting on Tuesday (see link for calendar). ... The Sultanate of Hobyo was carved out of the former Hawiye Imamate of Hobyo by a Majerteen pretender to the throne by the name of Yuusuf Ali Keenadid. ...

The Hiraab Imam had become too involved in the politics and conflicts with other Hawiye clans, with the Sultan of Oman and with the Portugese, which had drawn his attention south to Mogadishu, and little resistance to Yusuf Ali Kenadid could be mustered.

The rest of the Hiraab Imamate was rapidly snapped up by the Italians, though the Imam remained a powerful force due to his influence over Hiraab communities, and plays an important part in politics right up to the present day.

The people in and around Hobyo grew mainly sorghum and beans as their staple foods, supplementing this with herds of camels, cattle, goats and sheep. Livestock, hides and skin, aromatic woods and raisins were the primary exports, while rice, other foodstuffs and clothes were imported. Merchants looking for exotic goods came to Hobyo to buy textiles, precious metals and pearls. This article is on the plant. ... For other uses, see Camel (disambiguation). ... Binomial name Bos taurus Linnaeus, 1758 Cattle (often called cows in vernacular and contemporary usage, or kye as the Scots plural of cou) are domesticated ungulates, a member of the subfamily Bovinae of the family Bovidae. ... Species See Species and subspecies The goat is a mammal in the genus Capra, which consists of nine species: the Ibex, the West Caucasian Tur, the East Caucasian Tur, the Markhor, and the Wild Goat. ... Species See text. ... Alternate uses: Raisin (disambiguation) A Raisin is a sun-dried or artificially dried grape, used in cooking and baking. ... Species Oryza glaberrima Oryza sativa Rice is two species of grass (Oryza sativa and Oryza glaberrima) native to tropical and subtropical southern & southeastern Asia and in Africa. ... Food from plant sources Food is any substance normally eaten or drunk by living organisms. ... This article is about the type of fabric. ... A precious metal is a rare metallic element of high, durable economic value. ... For other things called pearl, see pearl (disambiguation). ...

Modern Hobyo (20th century to the present day)

With the defeat of the Sultanate of Hobyo at the hands of Fascist Italy 50 years later, Hobyo was annexed into Italian East Africa. (19th century - 20th century - 21st century - more centuries) Decades: 1900s 1910s 1920s 1930s 1940s 1950s 1960s 1970s 1980s 1990s As a means of recording the passage of time, the 20th century was that century which lasted from 1901–2000 in the sense of the Gregorian calendar (1900–1999... Benito Mussolini and Adolf Hitler Fascism (in Italian, fascismo), capitalized, refers to the right-wing authoritarian political movement which ruled Italy from 1922 to 1943 under the leadership of Benito Mussolini. ... Italian East Africa (Italian: Africa Orientale Italiana) was an Italian colony in Africa. ...

After its annexation by Italy, Hobyo's lifeblood, the trade routes that had passed through the town for 10 centuries, moved permanently south to Mogadishu. The town never recovered. The majority of the populace, who had been involved in said mercantile activities, followed the trade down to Mogadishu, establishing the link between these cities that has existed to this day, and the town has played no major role in any of the ensuing conflicts with Ethiopia either as part of Italian East Africa or independent Somalia. The governments of both have actively encouraged the town's decline in fact, as they increasingly centralized Hobyo's historical roles within Mogadishu. Hobyo is a shadow of its former importance and wealth. Italian East Africa (Italian: Africa Orientale Italiana) was an Italian colony in Africa. ...

Hobyo was captured by the Islamic Court Union on August 16th 2006, after several days negotiation with leading figures in the town. ICU armed pickup trucks, or "Technicals" surrounded the town several days before, and sent in delegates to negotiate Hobyo's surrender. The city was apparently taken without firing a shot, as the unnamed warlord of Hobyo had fled days earlier upon hearing of the ICU's approach. The Islamic Court Union (ICU, Arabic: اتحاد المحاكم الإسلامية) also known as the Joint Islamic Courts, is a group of Islamic leaders banded together in a self-appointed court system with Sheikh Sharif Ahmed as overall leader. ...

The ICU had taken the town in order to fulfill its promise to end piracy on the Benadir Coast, and Hobyo was the last remaining major port south of Puntland (which, being a coherent state, had a handle on piracy on their coast).

Hobyo chose to join the newly formed Galmudug State as an alternative to annexation by the ICU, creating a buffer between the ICU and Puntland, but with the rise in conflict between Galmudug and the ICU, ICU forces took the city again on November 1st. Galmudug is an unrecognized self-declared state in Somalia, based in the southern half of the city and district of Galcayo. ...

See also

See also: Galmudug Galmudug is an unrecognized self-declared state in Somalia, based in the southern half of the city and district of Galcayo. ...

Coordinates: 5°21′N 48°32′E Map of Earth showing lines of latitude (horizontally) and longitude (vertically), Eckert VI projection; large version (pdf, 1. ...