Merca is a port

Port

A port is a location on a coast or shore containing one or more harbors where ships can dock and transfer people or cargo to or from land....

 city on the coast of southern Somalia

Somalia

Somalia , officially the Somali Republic and formerly known as the Somali Democratic Republic under Socialist rule, is a country located in the Horn of Africa. Since the outbreak of the Somali Civil War in 1991 there has been no central government control over most of the country's territory...

, facing the Indian Ocean

Indian Ocean

The Indian Ocean is the third largest of the world's oceanic divisions, covering approximately 20% of the water on the Earth's surface. It is bounded on the north by the Indian Subcontinent and Arabian Peninsula ; on the west by eastern Africa; on the east by Indochina, the Sunda Islands, and...

. It is the main town in the Shabeellaha Hoose

Shabeellaha Hoose

Lower Shebelle is an administrative region in southern Somalia.-Overview:It is bordered by the Somalian regions of Banadir, Middle Shebelle, Hiran, Bay and Middle Juba, and the Indian Ocean...

 region, and is located approximately 70 km (43.5 mi) southwest of the nation's capital, Mogadishu

Mogadishu

Mogadishu , popularly known as Xamar, is the largest city in Somalia and the nation's capital. Located in the coastal Benadir region on the Indian Ocean, the city has served as an important port for centuries....

.
Merca was established in the 5th century by the Biyomaal

Dir (clan)

The Dir , or Theyr bin Abdalla as mentioned in the book "Futuh al-Habasha", is a Somali clan. Its members mostly live in northwestern Somalia and Djibouti, in addition to southern and central Somalia and the Ogaden....

 clan. The first Somalis

Somali people

Somalis are an ethnic group located in the Horn of Africa, also known as the Somali Peninsula. The overwhelming majority of Somalis speak the Somali language, which is part of the Cushitic branch of the Afro-Asiatic language family...

 arrived in the city in the 3rd century BC and gained control of the area and the local trade. The city of Merka was one of several prominent administrative centers in the Ajuuraan Empire.

The Biyomaal and the Ashraaf

Ashraaf

Ashraaf comes from Arabic and is the plural form of Sharif or Shareef , which literally means "noble" or "privileged". In some countries it used as a term to denote descendants of Muhammed . Among South Asian Muslims it used as a term for the Muslim gentry in South Asia, usually claiming Arab or...

 of Merca fought against the Italian colonialists of Italian Somaliland

Italian Somaliland

Italian Somaliland , also known as Italian Somalia, was a colony of the Kingdom of Italy from the 1880s until 1936 in the region of modern-day Somalia. Ruled in the 19th century by the Somali Sultanate of Hobyo and the Majeerteen Sultanate, the territory was later acquired by Italy through various...

 in a twenty-year war known as the Biyomaal and Ashraaf Revolt in which many of their warriors assassinated several Italian governors.