Haqq ad-Din I
Encyclopedia
Haqq ad-Din I (flourished 1328) was an Emir
of Ifat and the son of Nahwi b. Mansur b. Umar Walashma. According to I.M. Lewis, Emir Haqq "turned the sporadic and disjointed forays of his predecessors into a full-scale war of aggression, and apparently for the first time, couched his call to arms in the form of a religious war
against the Abyssinian 'infidel
'".
Al-Nasir Muhammad
of Egypt
to attack Ethiopia
. Emir Haqq captured an envoy
of the Emperor of Ethiopia
, Amda Seyon
, returning from Cairo
, whom he attempted to forcibly convert to Islam
, and when this failed killed the man.
According to the Royal Chronicle of Amda Seyon, news of this outrage so angered the Emperor that he immediately rode off to Ifat with only seven other horsemen. The chronicler claims that once he arrived there, the Emperor slaughtered large numbers of Haqq ad-Din's men, and when a part of Amda Seyon's army caught up with them, they sacked the capital of Ifat and hauled away a considerable amount of gold, silver, bronze and lead, as well as considerable garments.
He was later defeated in battle by Emperor Amda Seyon in 1328.
Emir
Emir , meaning "commander", "general", or "prince"; also transliterated as Amir, Aamir or Ameer) is a title of high office, used throughout the Muslim world...
of Ifat and the son of Nahwi b. Mansur b. Umar Walashma. According to I.M. Lewis, Emir Haqq "turned the sporadic and disjointed forays of his predecessors into a full-scale war of aggression, and apparently for the first time, couched his call to arms in the form of a religious war
Jihad
Jihad , an Islamic term, is a religious duty of Muslims. In Arabic, the word jihād translates as a noun meaning "struggle". Jihad appears 41 times in the Quran and frequently in the idiomatic expression "striving in the way of God ". A person engaged in jihad is called a mujahid; the plural is...
against the Abyssinian 'infidel
Infidel
An infidel is one who has no religious beliefs, or who doubts or rejects the central tenets of a particular religion – especially in reference to Christianity or Islam....
'".
Reign
Haqq ad-Din I was encouraged by SultanSultan
Sultan is a title with several historical meanings. Originally, it was an Arabic language abstract noun meaning "strength", "authority", "rulership", and "dictatorship", derived from the masdar سلطة , meaning "authority" or "power". Later, it came to be used as the title of certain rulers who...
Al-Nasir Muhammad
Al-Nasir Muhammad
Al-Nasir Muhammad b. Cairo 1285, d...
of Egypt
Egypt
Egypt , officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, Arabic: , is a country mainly in North Africa, with the Sinai Peninsula forming a land bridge in Southwest Asia. Egypt is thus a transcontinental country, and a major power in Africa, the Mediterranean Basin, the Middle East and the Muslim world...
to attack Ethiopia
Ethiopia
Ethiopia , officially known as the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, is a country located in the Horn of Africa. It is the second-most populous nation in Africa, with over 82 million inhabitants, and the tenth-largest by area, occupying 1,100,000 km2...
. Emir Haqq captured an envoy
Diplomacy
Diplomacy is the art and practice of conducting negotiations between representatives of groups or states...
of the Emperor of Ethiopia
Emperor of Ethiopia
The Emperor of Ethiopia was the hereditary ruler of Ethiopia until the abolition of the monarchy in 1974. The Emperor was the head of state and head of government, with ultimate executive, judicial and legislative power in that country...
, Amda Seyon
Amda Seyon I
Amda Seyon was Emperor of Ethiopia , and a member of the Solomonic dynasty...
, returning from Cairo
Cairo
Cairo , is the capital of Egypt and the largest city in the Arab world and Africa, and the 16th largest metropolitan area in the world. Nicknamed "The City of a Thousand Minarets" for its preponderance of Islamic architecture, Cairo has long been a centre of the region's political and cultural life...
, whom he attempted to forcibly convert to Islam
Islam
Islam . The most common are and . : Arabic pronunciation varies regionally. The first vowel ranges from ~~. The second vowel ranges from ~~~...
, and when this failed killed the man.
According to the Royal Chronicle of Amda Seyon, news of this outrage so angered the Emperor that he immediately rode off to Ifat with only seven other horsemen. The chronicler claims that once he arrived there, the Emperor slaughtered large numbers of Haqq ad-Din's men, and when a part of Amda Seyon's army caught up with them, they sacked the capital of Ifat and hauled away a considerable amount of gold, silver, bronze and lead, as well as considerable garments.
He was later defeated in battle by Emperor Amda Seyon in 1328.