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89-667: The Horn of Africa ( HoA ), also known as the Somali Peninsula , is a large peninsula and geopolitical region in East Africa . Located on the easternmost part of the African mainland, it is the fourth largest peninsula in the world. It is composed of Somalia (including the de facto independent Somaliland and Puntland ), Djibouti , Ethiopia , and Eritrea . Although not common, broader definitions include parts or all of Kenya and Sudan . It has been described as

178-585: A referendum was held in the territory to decide whether to join the Somali Republic or to remain with France. The referendum favoured continued association with France, partly due to a combined yes vote by the sizable Afar ethnic group and resident Europeans. There was also reports of widespread vote rigging , with the French expelling thousands of Somalis before the polls. The majority of those who voted no were Somalis who were strongly in favour of joining

267-552: A series of protests against the long-serving government, which were associated with the larger Arab Spring demonstrations. The unrest eventually subsided by April of the year, and Djibouti's ruling People's Rally for Progress party was re-elected to office. The Dervish existed for 25 years, from 1895 until 1920. The Turks named Hassan Emir of the Somali nation, and the Germans promised to officially recognize any territories

356-724: A European country began in 1508 with Portugal under Emperor Lebna Dengel , who had just inherited the throne from his father. This proved to be an important development, for when Abyssinia was subjected to the attacks of the Adal Sultanate General and Imam Ahmad ibn Ibrahim al-Ghazi (called " Gurey " or " Grañ ", both meaning "the Left-handed"), Portugal assisted the Ethiopian emperor by sending weapons and four hundred men, who helped his son Gelawdewos defeat Ahmad and re-establish his rule. This Ethiopian–Adal War

445-646: A UN-supervised referendum in Eritrea (dubbed UNOVER ) in which the Eritrean people overwhelmingly voted for independence, Eritrea declared its independence and gained international recognition in 1993. In 1998, a border dispute with Ethiopia led to the Eritrean-Ethiopian War . From 1862 until 1894, the land to the north of the Gulf of Tadjoura situated in modern-day Djibouti was called Obock and

534-471: A clear central area. Many are known from Japan and the southeastern United States, and at least one from South America. The word is of Scandinavian via Middle English derivation (from early Scandinavian; Danish: mødding , Swedish regional: mödding ). The word "midden" is still in everyday use in Scotland and has come by extension to refer to anything that is a mess, a muddle, or chaos. The word

623-458: A colony of Italy . In 1896 further Italian incursion into the horn was decisively halted by Ethiopian forces. By 1936 however, Eritrea became a province of Italian East Africa (Africa Orientale Italiana), along with Ethiopia and Italian Somaliland . By 1941, Eritrea had about 760,000 inhabitants, including 70,000 Italians. The Commonwealth armed forces, along with the Ethiopian patriotic resistance, expelled those of Italy in 1941, and took over

712-453: A house in the village. Each household would dump its garbage directly outside the house. In all cases, shell middens are extremely complex and very difficult to excavate fully and exactly. The fact that they contain a detailed record of what food was eaten or processed and many fragments of stone tools and household goods makes them invaluable objects of archaeological study. Shells have a high calcium carbonate content, which tends to make

801-670: A long period between the 6th millennium BCE and the beginning of European colonisation. European shell middens are primarily found along the Atlantic seaboard and in Denmark and primarily date to the 5th millennium BCE ( Ertebølle and Early Funnel Beaker cultures), containing the remains of the earliest Neolithisation process (pottery, cereals and domestic animals). Younger shell middens are found in Latvia (associated with Comb Ware ceramics), Sweden (associated with Pitted Ware ceramics),

890-606: A national charter that functioned as a transitional constitution, was then set up. The first free and democratic election took place later in 1995, when Ethiopia's longest-serving Prime Minister Meles Zenawi was elected to office. As with other nations in the Horn region, Ethiopia maintained its historically close relations with countries in the Middle East during this period of change. Zenawi died in 2012, but his Ethiopian People's Revolutionary Democratic Front (EPRDF) party remains

979-737: A number of lakes formed by lava flows that dammed up several valleys. Among these are Lake Asale (116 m below sea level) and Lake Giuletti/Afrera (80 m below sea level), both of which possess cryptodepressions in the Danakil Depression . The Afrera contains many active volcanoes, including the Maraho, Dabbahu , Afdera and Erta Ale . In Somalia, there is not much seasonal variation in climate. Hot conditions prevail year-round along with periodic monsoon winds and irregular rainfall. Mean daily maximum temperatures range from 28 to 43 °C (82 to 109 °F), except at higher elevations along

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1068-715: A one-party communist state , which was called the People's Democratic Republic of Ethiopia . In July 1977, the Ogaden War broke out after the Somalia government of Siad Barre sought to incorporate the predominantly Somali-inhabited Ogaden region into a Pan-Somali Greater Somalia . By September 1977, the Somali army controlled 90 percent of the Ogaden, but was later forced to withdraw after Ethiopia's Derg received assistance from

1157-546: A region of geopolitical and strategic importance, since it is situated along the southern boundary of the Red Sea ; extending hundreds of kilometres into the Gulf of Aden , Guardafui Channel , and Indian Ocean , it also shares a maritime border with the Arabian Peninsula . This peninsula has been known by various names. Ancient Greeks and Romans referred to it as Regio Aromatica or Regio Cinnamonifora due to

1246-488: A style of pottery described as "cord-marked", translated as " Jōmon ", which came to be used to refer to the early period of Japanese history when this style of pottery was produced. Shell middens were studied in Denmark in the latter half of the 19th century. The Danish word køkkenmødding (kitchen mound) is now used internationally. The English word "midden" (waste mound) derives from the same Old Norse word that produced

1335-549: A united Somalia, as had been proposed by Mahmoud Harbi , Vice President of the Government Council. Harbi was killed in a plane crash two years later. Djibouti finally gained its independence from France in 1977. Hassan Gouled Aptidon , a Somali politician who had campaigned for a yes vote in the referendum of 1958, became the nation's first president (1977–1999). In early 2011, the Djiboutian citizenry took part in

1424-425: A useful resource for archaeologists who wish to study the diets and habits of past societies. Middens with damp, anaerobic conditions can even preserve organic remains in deposits as the debris of daily life are tossed on the pile. Each individual toss will contribute a different mix of materials depending upon the activity associated with that particular toss. During the course of deposition sedimentary material

1513-594: A worldwide figure and 1935's Time magazine Man of the Year . Following the entry of Italy into World War II, British Empire forces, together with patriot Ethiopian fighters, liberated Ethiopia during the East African Campaign in 1941. Haile Selassie's reign came to an end in 1974, when a Soviet-backed Marxist-Leninist military junta , the Derg led by Mengistu Haile Mariam , deposed him, and established

1602-537: Is deposited as well. Different mechanisms, from wind and water to animal digs, create a matrix which can also be analysed to provide seasonal and climatic information. In some middens individual dumps of material can be discerned and analysed. A shell midden or shell mound is an archaeological feature consisting mainly of mollusc shells. The Danish term køkkenmøddinger (plural) was first used by Japetus Steenstrup to describe shell heaps and continues to be used by some researchers. A midden, by definition, contains

1691-482: Is over 9 metres (30 ft) deep and spans over 10,000 years of continuous occupation. Shell middens created in coastal regions of Australia by Indigenous Australians exist in Australia today. Middens provide evidence of prior occupation and are generally protected from mining and other developments. One must exercise caution in deciding whether one is examining a midden or a beach mound. There are good examples on

1780-406: Is sometimes used to be inclusive of neighbouring southeast African countries to distinguish the broader geopolitical definition of the Horn of Africa from narrower peninsular definitions. The name Horn of Africa is sometimes shortened to HoA . Quite commonly it is referred to simply as "the Horn", while inhabitants are sometimes colloquially termed Horn Africans or Horners . Regional studies on

1869-805: Is the Aden Ridge along the coast of Saudi Arabia . The eastern boundary is the Central Indian Ridge , the northern portion of which is also known as the Carlsberg Ridge . The southern boundary is the Southwest Indian Ridge . Extensive glaciers once covered the Simien and Bale Mountains but melted at the beginning of the Holocene . The mountains descend in a huge escarpment to the Red Sea and more steadily to

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1958-650: Is used by farmers in Britain to describe the place where farm yard manure from cows or other animals is collected. Grants are sometimes available to protect these from rain to avoid runoff and pollution . In the animal kingdom, some species establish ground burrows , also known as middens, that are used mostly for food storage. For example, the North American red squirrel ( Tamiasciurus hudsonicus ) usually has one large active midden in each territory with perhaps an inactive or auxiliary midden. A midden may be

2047-415: Is usually sunny and dry, but the short ( belg ) rains occur from February to April and the big ( meher ) rains from mid-June to mid-September. The Danakil Desert stretches across 100,000 km of arid terrain in northeast Ethiopia, southern Eritrea, and northwestern Djibouti. The area is known for its volcanoes and extreme heat, with daily temperatures over 45 °C and often surpassing 50 °C. It has

2136-964: The Barbara civilization . The city of Mogadishu came to be known as the "City of Islam" and controlled the East African gold trade for several centuries. During the Middle Ages , several powerful empires dominated the regional trade in the Horn, including the Adal Sultanate , the Ajuran Sultanate , the Ethiopian Empire , the Zagwe dynasty , and the Sultanate of the Geledi . The Sultanate of Showa , established in 896,

2225-591: The Ancient Egyptians , Phoenicians , Mycenaeans , Babylonians and Romans . The Romans consequently began to refer to the region as Regio Aromatica . In the classical era , several flourishing Somali city-states such as Opone , Mosylon and Malao also competed with the Sabaeans , Parthians and Axumites for the rich Indo - Greco-Roman trade. The birth of Islam opposite the Horn's Red Sea coast meant that local merchants and sailors living on

2314-529: The Arabian Peninsula gradually came under the influence of the new religion through their converted Arab Muslim trading partners. With the migration of Muslim families from the Islamic world to the Horn in the early centuries of Islam, and the peaceful conversion of the local population by Muslim scholars in the following centuries, the ancient city-states eventually transformed into Islamic Mogadishu , Berbera , Zeila , Barawa and Merka , which were part of

2403-788: The Banu Hashim clan, in modern-day Somaliland and Ethiopia . The sultanate was governed by the Reer Guled branch of the Eidagale sub-clan established by the first sultan, Sultan Guled Abdi . The sultanate is the pre-colonial predecessor to the modern Somaliland . According to oral tradition, prior to the Guled dynasty the Isaaq clan-family were ruled by a dynasty of the Tolje'lo branch starting from, descendants of Ahmed nicknamed Tol Je'lo,

2492-788: The Dreamtime , such as those of the Anbarra group of the Burarra people of Arnhem Land . The Ohlone and Coast Miwok peoples built over 425 shell mounds in the San Francisco Bay Area. These mounds were used as: The mounds were constructed over thousands of years. They were often discovered by accident during construction, mining, or farming. Some of the largest mounds in the Bay Area include: Emeryville Shellmound Located between Oakland and Berkeley, this mound

2581-669: The Ethiopian Empire . In 1270, the Amhara nobleman Yekuno Amlak , who claimed descent from the last Aksumite king and ultimately the Queen of Sheba , overthrew the Agaw Zagwe dynasty at the Battle of Ansata , ushering his reign as Emperor of Ethiopia . While initially a rather small and politically unstable entity, the empire managed to expand significantly during the crusades of Amda Seyon I (1314–1344) and his successors, becoming

2670-453: The Fascist era in late 1927. This occupation lasted until 1941, and was replaced by a British military administration . Former British Somaliland would remain, along with Italian Somaliland, a trusteeship of Italy, between 1950 and 1960. The Union of the two countries in 1960 formed the Somali Republic. A civilian government was formed, and on 20 July 1961, through a popular referendum ,

2759-674: The Freycinet Peninsula in Tasmania where wave action currently is combining charcoal from forest fire debris with a mix of shells into masses that storms deposit above high-water mark. Shell mounds near Weipa in far north Queensland that are mostly less than 2 metres (6.6 ft) high (although ranging up to 10 metres (33 ft) high) and a few tens of metres long are claimed to be middens, but are in fact shell cheniers (beach ridges) re-worked by nest mound-building birds. Some shell middens are regarded as sacred sites, linked to

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2848-560: The Habr Awal with whom they still mostly live. The Majeerteen Sultanate (Migiurtinia) was another prominent Somali sultanate based in the Horn region. Ruled by King Osman Mahamuud during its golden age, it controlled much of northeastern and central Somalia in the 19th and early 20th centuries. The polity had all of the organs of an integrated modern state and maintained a robust trading network. It also entered into treaties with foreign powers and exerted strong centralized authority on

2937-729: The Herto skull (from ca. 160,000 ago) have been found in the region, both in Ethiopia. The findings of the Earliest Stone Tipped Projectiles from the Ethiopian Rift dated to more than 279,000 years ago "in combination with the existing archaeological, fossil and genetic evidence, isolate East Africa as a source of modern cultures and biology." According to the Southern Dispersal scenario,

3026-588: The House of Gareen , also expanded its territories and established its hegemonic rule through a skillful combination of warfare, trade linkages and alliances. The Zagwe dynasty ruled many parts of modern Ethiopia and Eritrea from approximately 1137 to 1270. The name of the dynasty comes from the Cushitic -speaking Agaw people of northern Ethiopia. From 1270 onwards for many centuries, the Solomonic dynasty ruled

3115-718: The Indian Ocean . Socotra is a small island in the Indian Ocean off the coast of Somalia. Its size is 3,600 km (1,400 sq mi) and it is a territory of Yemen. The lowlands of the Horn are generally arid in spite of their proximity to the equator. This is because the winds of the tropical monsoons that give seasonal rains to the Sahel and the Sudan blow from the west. Consequently, they lose their moisture before reaching Djibouti and northern part of Somalia, with

3204-500: The Red Sea coast of Eritrea and Sudan is considered the most likely location of the land known to the ancient Egyptians as Punt (or "Ta Netjeru", meaning god's land), whose first mention dates to the 25th century BCE. Dʿmt was a kingdom located in Eritrea and northern Ethiopia , which existed during the 8th and 7th centuries BCE. With its capital probably at Yeha , the kingdom developed irrigation schemes, used plows , grew millet , and made iron tools and weapons. After

3293-571: The Somali wild ass , the desert warthog , the hamadryas baboon , the Somali pygmy gerbil , the ammodile , and the Speke's pectinator . The Grevy's zebra is the unique wild equid of the region. There are predators such as spotted hyena , striped hyena and African leopard . The endangered painted hunting dog had populations in the Horn of Africa, but pressures from human exploitation of habitat along with warfare have reduced or extirpated this canid in this region. Some important bird species of

3382-652: The USSR , Cuba , South Yemen , East Germany and North Korea , including around 15,000 Cuban combat troops. In 1989, the Tigrayan Peoples' Liberation Front (TPLF) merged with other ethnically based opposition movements to form the Ethiopian Peoples' Revolutionary Democratic Front (EPRDF), and eventually managed to overthrow Mengistu's dictatorial regime in 1991. A transitional government, composed of an 87-member Council of Representatives and guided by

3471-643: The Yejju Oromo tribe as well as Wollo and Raya Oromo. The Sultanate of the Geledi was a Somali kingdom administered by the Gobroon dynasty, which ruled parts of the Horn of Africa during the 18th and 19th centuries. It was established by the Ajuran soldier Ibrahim Adeer , who had defeated various vassals of the Ajuran Empire and established the House of Gobroon . The dynasty reached its apex under

3560-704: The constitution drafted in 1960 was ratified. Due to its longstanding ties with the Arab world , the Somali Republic was accepted in 1974 as a member of the Arab League . During the same year, the nation's former socialist administration also chaired the Organization of African Unity , the predecessor of the African Union . In 1991, the Somali Civil War broke out, which saw the dissolving of

3649-437: The Dervishes were to acquire. After a quarter of a century of holding the British at bay, the Dervishes were finally defeated in 1920 as a direct consequence of Britain's new policy of aerial bombardment . As a result of this bombardment, former Dervish territories were turned into a protectorate of Britain. Italy faced similar opposition from Somali Sultans and armies, and did not acquire full control of modern Somalia until

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3738-400: The Ethiopians. The early 20th century in Ethiopia was marked by the reign of Emperor Haile Selassie I , who came to power after Iyasu V was deposed. In 1935, Haile Selassie's troops fought and lost the Second Italo-Abyssinian War , after which Italy annexed Ethiopia to Italian East Africa . Haile Selassie subsequently appealed to the League of Nations , delivering an address that made him

3827-493: The Horn are the black boubou , the golden-winged grosbeak , the Warsangli linnet , and the Djibouti spurfowl . Peninsula The word peninsula derives from Latin paeninsula , from paene  'almost' and insula  'island'. The word entered English in the 16th century. A peninsula is generally defined as a piece of land surrounded on most sides by water. A peninsula may be bordered by more than one body of water, and

3916-413: The Horn of Africa are carried out in fields of Ethiopian studies and Somali studies . This peninsula has been known by various names. Ancient Greeks and Romans referred to it as Regio Aromatica or Regio Cinnamonifora due to the aromatic plants or as Regio Incognita owing to its uncharted territory. Some of the earliest Homo sapiens fossils, the Omo remains (from ca. 233,000 years ago) and

4005-480: The Horn of Africa as a source of a genetic marker " M35 / 215 " Y-chromosome lineage for a significant population component which moved north from that region into Egypt and the Levant. Ehret argued that this genetic distribution paralleled the spread of the Afrasian language family with the movement of people from the Horn of Africa into Egypt and added a new demic component to the existing population of Egypt 17,000 years ago. The area comprising Somalia , Djibouti ,

4094-400: The Netherlands (associated with Corded Ware ceramics) and Schleswig-Holstein ( Late Neolithic and Iron Age ). All these are examples where communities practised a mixed farming and hunting/gathering economy. On Canada 's west coast, there are shell middens that run for more than 1 kilometre (0.6 mi) along the coast and are several meters deep. The midden in Namu, British Columbia

4183-441: The Rift Valley. Geologically, the Horn and Yemen once formed a single landmass around 18 million years ago, before the Gulf of Aden rifted and separated the Horn region from the Arabian Peninsula . The Somali Plate is bounded on the west by the East African Rift, which stretches south from the triple junction in the Afar Depression , and an undersea continuation of the rift extending southward offshore. The northern boundary

4272-480: The Southern route of the Out of Africa migration occurred in the Horn of Africa through the Bab el Mandeb . Today at the Bab-el-Mandeb straits, the Red Sea is about 12 miles (19 kilometres) wide, but 50,000 years ago it was much narrower and sea levels were 70 meters lower. Though the straits were never completely closed, there may have been islands in between which could be reached using simple rafts. Shell middens 125,000 years old have been found in Eritrea, indicating

4361-424: The ancient and early medieval periods of Somali maritime enterprise were also strengthened or re-established, and the state left behind an extensive architectural legacy . Many of the hundreds of ruined castles and fortresses that dot the landscape of Somalia today are attributed to Ajuran engineers, including a lot of the pillar tomb fields, necropolises and ruined cities built during that era. The royal family,

4450-434: The area's administration. The British continued to administer the territory under a UN Mandate until 1951, when Eritrea was federated with Ethiopia, per UN resolution 390 A (V) adopted December 1950. The strategic importance of Eritrea, due to its Red Sea coastline and mineral resources, was the main cause for the federation with Ethiopia, which in turn led to Eritrea's annexation as Ethiopia's 14th province in 1962 . This

4539-601: The aromatic plants found there, or as Regio Incognita owing to its uncharted territory. In ancient and medieval times, the Horn of Africa was referred to as the Bilad al Barbar ("Land of the Berbers"). It is also known as the Somali Peninsula, or in the Somali language as Geeska Afrika or Jasiiradda Soomaali . In other local languages it is called "Horn of Africa" or the "African Horn", in Amharic የአፍሪካ ቀንድ yäafrika qänd, in Arabic القرن الأفريقي al-qarn al-'afrīqī , in Oromo Gaanfaa Afrikaa , and in Tigrinya ቀርኒ ኣፍሪቃ q'ärnī afīrīqa . The Horn of Africa Region consists of

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4628-643: The body of water does not have to be an ocean or a sea. A piece of land on a very tight river bend or one between two rivers is sometimes said to form a peninsula, for example in the New Barbadoes Neck in New Jersey , United States. A peninsula may be connected to the mainland via an isthmus , for example, in the Isthmus of Corinth which connects to the Peloponnese peninsula. Peninsulas can be formed from continental drift , glacial erosion , glacial meltwater , glacial deposition , marine sediment , marine transgressions , volcanoes, divergent boundaries or river sedimentation. More than one factor may play into

4717-405: The commerce between the Roman Empire and Ancient India , Aksum's rulers facilitated trade by minting their own currency . The state also established its hegemony over the declining Kingdom of Kush and regularly entered the politics of the kingdoms on the Arabian Peninsula , eventually extending its rule over the region with the conquest of the Himyarite Kingdom . Under Ezana (fl. 320–360),

4806-495: The creation of tropical hardwood hammocks , one example being the Otter Mound Preserve in Florida , where shell deposits from Calusa natives provided flood free high areas in otherwise large watered areas. There are instances in which shell middens may have doubled as areas of ceremonial construction or ritual significance. The Woodland period Crystal River site provides an example of this phenomenon. Some shell mounds, known as shell rings , are circular or open arcs with

4895-413: The debris of human activity, and should not be confused with wind- or tide-created beach mounds. Some shell middens are processing remains: areas where aquatic resources were processed directly after harvest and prior to use or storage in a distant location. Some shell middens are directly associated with villages, as a designated village dump site. In other middens, the material is directly associated with

4984-432: The diet of early humans included seafood obtained by beachcombing . Ethiopian and Eritrean agriculture established the earliest known use of the seed grass teff ( Poa abyssinica ) between 4000 and 1000 BCE. Teff is used to make the flatbread injera /taita. Coffee also originated in Ethiopia and has since spread to become a worldwide beverage. Historian Christopher Ehret , cited genetic evidence which had identified

5073-433: The domestic front. Much of the Sultanate's former domain is today coextensive with the autonomous Puntland region in northern Somalia. The Sultanate of Hobyo was a 19th-century Somali kingdom founded by Sultan Yusuf Ali Kenadid . Initially, Kenadid's goal was to seize control of the neighboring Majeerteen Sultanate, which was then ruled by his cousin Boqor Osman Mahamuud. However, he was unsuccessful in this endeavor, and

5162-432: The dominant force in East Africa . In the early 15th century, Ethiopia sought to make diplomatic contact with European kingdoms for the first time since Aksumite times. A letter from King Henry IV of England to the Emperor of Abyssinia survives. In 1428, the Emperor Yeshaq sent two emissaries to Alfonso V of Aragon , who sent return emissaries who failed to complete the return trip. The first continuous relations with

5251-474: The eastern coast, a strong upwelling and the fact that the winds blow parallel to the coast means annual rainfall can be as low as 50 mm (2.0 in). The climate in Ethiopia varies considerably between regions. It is generally hotter in the lowlands and temperate on the plateau. At Addis Ababa , which ranges from 2,200 to 2,600 m (7,218 to 8,530 ft), maximum temperature is 26 °C (78.8 °F) and minimum 4 °C (39.2 °F). The weather

5340-442: The eastern seaboard, where the effects of a cold offshore current can be felt. Somalia has only two permanent rivers, the Jubba and the Shabele , both of which begin in the Ethiopian Highlands . About 220 mammals are found in the Horn of Africa. Among threatened species of the region, there are several antelopes such as the beira , the dibatag , the silver dikdik and the Speke's gazelle . Other remarkable species include

5429-412: The eldest son of Sheikh Ishaaq 's Harari wife. There were eight Tolje'lo rulers in total, starting with Boqor Harun ( Somali : Boqor Haaruun ) who ruled the Isaaq Sultanate for centuries starting from the 13th century. The last Tolje'lo ruler Garad Dhuh Barar ( Somali : Dhuux Baraar ) was overthrown by a coalition of Isaaq clans. The once strong Tolje'lo clan were scattered and took refuge amongst

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5518-432: The fall of Dʿmt in the 5th century BCE, the plateau came to be dominated by smaller successor kingdoms, until the rise of one of these kingdoms during the 1st century, the Aksumite Kingdom , which was able to reunite the area. The Kingdom of Aksum (also known as the Aksumite Empire) was an ancient state located in the Eritrea and Ethiopian highlands , which thrived between the 1st and 7th centuries CE. A major player in

5607-428: The formation of a peninsula. For example, in the case of Florida , continental drift, marine sediment, and marine transgressions were all contributing factors to its shape. In the case of formation from glaciers (e.g., the Antarctic Peninsula or Cape Cod ), peninsulas can be created due to glacial erosion , meltwater or deposition . If erosion formed the peninsula, softer and harder rocks were present, and since

5696-406: The glacier only erodes softer rock, it formed a basin . This may create peninsulas, and occurred for example in the Keweenaw Peninsula . In the case of formation from meltwater, melting glaciers deposit sediment and form moraines , which act as dams for the meltwater. This may create bodies of water that surround the land, forming peninsulas. If deposition formed the peninsula, the peninsula

5785-434: The historic cities in the region, such as Amud , Maduna , Abasa , Berbera , Zeila and Harar , flourished during the kingdom's golden age. This period that left behind numerous courtyard houses , mosques , shrines and walled enclosures . Under the leadership of rulers such as Sabr ad-Din II , Mansur ad-Din , Jamal ad-Din II , Shams ad-Din , General Mahfuz and Ahmad ibn Ibrahim al-Ghazi , Adalite armies continued

5874-466: The internationally recognized countries of Djibouti , Eritrea , Ethiopia , and Somalia . Geographically the protruding shape that resembles a "Horn" consists of the "Somali peninsula" and eastern part of Ethiopia. But the region encompasses also the rest of Ethiopia, Eritrea and Djibouti. Broader definitions include Kenya and Sudan . The term Greater Horn Region (GHR) can additionally include South Sudan and Uganda . The term Greater Horn of Africa

5963-430: The kingdom of Aksum became the first major empire to adopt Christianity , and was named by Mani as one of the four great powers of his time, along with Persia , Rome and China . Somalia was an important link in the Horn, connecting the region's commerce with the rest of the ancient world. Somali sailors and merchants were the main suppliers of frankincense , myrrh and spices, all of which were valuable luxuries to

6052-401: The middens alkaline . This slows the normal rate of decay caused by soil acidity, leaving a relatively high proportion of organic material (food remnants, organic tools, clothing, human remains) available for archaeologists to find. Edward Sylvester Morse conducted one of the first archaeological excavations of the Omori Shell Mounds in Tokyo, Japan in 1877, which led to the discovery of

6141-472: The modern Danish one. Shell middens are found in coastal or lakeshore zones all over the world. Consisting mostly of mollusc shells, they are interpreted as being the waste products of meals eaten by nomadic groups or hunting parties. Some are small examples relating to meals had by a handful of individuals, others are many metres in length and width and represent centuries of shell deposition. In Brazil , they are known as sambaquis , having been created over

6230-454: The north and expansion in the east and south toward its present borders, owing to several migrations, commercial integration, treaties as well as conquests, particularly by Emperor Menelik II and Ras Gobena . From the central province of Shoa, Menelik set off to subjugate and incorporate 'the lands and people of the South, East and West into an empire.' He did this with the help of Ras Gobena's Shewan Oromo militia, began expanding his kingdom to

6319-558: The result that most of the Horn receives little rainfall during the monsoon season. In the mountains of Ethiopia, many areas receive over 2,000 mm (79 in) per year, and even Asmara receives an average of 570 mm (22 in). This rainfall is the sole source of water for many areas outside Ethiopia, including Egypt . In the winter, the northeasterly trade winds do not provide any moisture except in mountainous areas of northern Somalia, where rainfall in late autumn can produce annual totals as high as 500 mm (20 in). On

6408-666: The ruling political coalition in Ethiopia. The Horn of Africa is almost equidistant from the equator and the Tropic of Cancer . It consists chiefly of mountains uplifted through the formation of the Great Rift Valley , a fissure in the Earth's crust extending from Turkey to Mozambique and marking the separation of the African and Arabian tectonic plates . Mostly mountainous, the region arose through faults resulting from

6497-468: The sediment is deposited, forming a delta peninsula. Marine transgressions (changes in sea level) may form peninsulas, but also may affect existing peninsulas. For example, the water level may change, which causes a peninsula to become an island during high water levels. Similarly, wet weather causing higher water levels make peninsulas appear smaller, while dry weather make them appear larger. Sea level rise from global warming will permanently reduce

6586-580: The size of some peninsulas over time. Peninsulas are noted for their use as shelter for humans and Neanderthals . The landform is advantageous because it gives hunting access to both land and sea animals. They can also serve as markers of a nation's borders. Midden A midden is an old dump for domestic waste . It may consist of animal bones , human excrement , botanical material, mollusc shells , potsherds , lithics (especially debitage ), and other artifacts and ecofacts associated with past human occupation. These features provide

6675-542: The south and east, expanding into areas that had not been held since the invasion of Ahmad ibn Ibrihim al-Ghazi , and other areas that had never been under his rule, resulting in the borders of Ethiopia of today. Menelik had signed the Treaty of Wichale with Italy in May 1889, in which Italy would recognize Ethiopia's sovereignty so long as Italy could control a small area of northern Tigray (part of modern Eritrea). In return, Italy

6764-690: The state religion to again be Ethiopian Orthodox Christianity , and expelled the Jesuit missionaries and other Europeans. During the end of 18th and the beginning of 19th century the Yejju dynasty (more specifically, the Warasek) ruled north Ethiopia changing the official language of Amhara people to Afaan Oromo, including inside the court of Gondar which was capital of the empire. Founded by Ali I of Yejju several successive descendants of him and Abba Seru Gwangul ruled with their army coming from mainly their clan

6853-613: The struggle against the Solomonic dynasty , a campaign historically known as the Conquest of Abyssinia or Futuh al Habash . Through a strong centralized administration and an aggressive military stance towards invaders, the Ajuran Sultanate successfully resisted an Oromo invasion from the west and a Portuguese incursion from the east during the Gaal Madow and the Ajuran-Portuguese wars . Trading routes dating from

6942-527: The successive reigns of Sultan Yusuf Mahamud Ibrahim , who successfully consolidated Gobroon power during the Bardera wars , and Sultan Ahmed Yusuf , who forced regional powers such as the Omani Empire to submit tribute . The Isaaq Sultanate was a Somali kingdom that ruled parts of the Horn of Africa during the 18th and 19th centuries. It spanned the territories of the Isaaq clan, descendants of

7031-474: The union and Somaliland regaining its independence, along with the collapse of the central government and the emergence of numerous autonomous polities, including the Puntland administration in the north. Somalia's inhabitants subsequently reverted to local forms of conflict resolution, either secular , Islamic or customary law , with a provision for appeal of all sentences. A Transitional Federal Government

7120-497: The volcano erupts near shallow water. Marine sediment may form peninsulas by the creation of limestone . A rift peninsula may form as a result of a divergent boundary in plate tectonics (e.g. the Arabian Peninsula ), while a convergent boundary may also form peninsulas (e.g. Gibraltar or the Indian subcontinent ). Peninsulas can also form due to sedimentation in rivers. When a river carrying sediment flows into an ocean,

7209-525: Was also one of the first proxy wars in the region as the Ottoman Empire , and Portugal took sides in the conflict. When Emperor Susenyos converted to Roman Catholicism in 1624, years of revolt and civil unrest followed resulting in thousands of deaths. The Jesuit missionaries had offended the Orthodox faith of the local Ethiopians. On 25 June 1632, Susenyos's son, Emperor Fasilides , declared

7298-546: Was composed of sedimentary rock , which was created from a large deposit of glacial drift . The hill of drift becomes a peninsula if the hill formed near water but was still connected to the mainland, for example during the formation of Cape Cod about 23,000 years ago. In the case of formation from volcanoes, when a volcano erupts magma near water, it may form a peninsula (e.g., the Alaskan Peninsula ). Peninsulas formed from volcanoes are especially common when

7387-514: Was estimated to be 60 feet high and 350 feet in diameter. It was demolished in 1924. Huichuin Located in Berkeley, this mound was 20 feet high and was the site of the first human settlement on the shores of San Francisco Bay. West Berkeley and Ellis Landing These mounds measured almost 200 meters in diameter and rose 9 meters above the shoreline. Shell mounds are also credited with

7476-778: Was eventually forced into exile in Yemen . A decade later, in the 1870s, Kenadid returned from the Arabian Peninsula with a band of Hadhrami musketeers and a group of devoted lieutenants. With their assistance, he managed to establish the kingdom of Hobyo, which would rule much of northern and central Somalia during the early modern period. In the period following the opening of the Suez Canal in 1869, when European powers scrambled for territory in Africa and tried to establish coaling stations for their ships, Italy invaded and occupied Eritrea . On 1 January 1890, Eritrea officially became

7565-549: Was one of the oldest local Islamic states. It was centered in the former Shewa province in central Ethiopia. The polity was succeeded by the Sultanate of Ifat around 1285. Ifat was governed from its capital at Zeila in Somaliland and was the easternmost district of the former Shewa Sultanate. The Adal Sultanate was a medieval multi-ethnic Muslim state centered in the Horn region. At its height, it controlled large parts of Somalia, Ethiopia, Djibouti and Eritrea. Many of

7654-443: Was ruled by Somali and Afar Sultans , local authorities with whom France signed various treaties between 1883 and 1887 to first gain a foothold in the region. In 1894, Léonce Lagarde established a permanent French administration in the city of Djibouti and named the region Côte française des Somalis ( French Somaliland ), a name which continued until 1967. In 1958, on the eve of neighboring Somalia 's independence in 1960,

7743-489: Was subsequently created in 2004. The Federal Government of Somalia was established on 20 August 2012, concurrent with the end of the TFG's interim mandate. It represents the first permanent central government in the country since the start of the civil war. The Federal Parliament of Somalia serves as the government's legislative branch. Modern Ethiopia and its current borders are a result of significant territorial reduction in

7832-456: Was the culmination of a gradual process of takeover by the Ethiopian authorities, a process which included a 1959 edict establishing the compulsory teaching of Amharic , the main language of Ethiopia, in all Eritrean schools. The lack of regard for the Eritrean population led to the formation of an independence movement in the early 1960s (1961), which erupted into a 30-year war against successive Ethiopian governments that ended in 1991. Following

7921-594: Was to provide Menelik with arms and support him as emperor. The Italians used the time between the signing of the treaty and its ratification by the Italian government to further expand their territorial claims. Italy began a state funded program of resettlement for landless Italians in Eritrea, which increased tensions between the Eritrean peasants and the Italians. This conflict erupted in the Battle of Adwa on 1 March 1896, in which Italy's colonial forces were defeated by

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