Hadiya (historical region)

Hadiya (also known as Adea, Hadia, or Hadya) was a medieval Muslim state in the southern part of its realm located south of Shewa and west of Sharkha regions of the Ethiopian Empire.

The Hadiya Muslim state mainly composed of Cushitic Hadiyya proper, Halaba, Kebena people as well as Semitic Sil'te and other tongues related to Harari language.

Hadiya was historically a vassal state of the Adal federation and then became an autonomous province of Abyssinia in the fourteenth century while still remaining a member of the Zeila union.

[9] Another early mention is in a manuscript written on the island monastery of Lake Hayq, which states that after conquering Damot, Emperor Amda Seyon I proceeded to Hadiya and brought it under his control using Gura armies from modern Eritrea which would later become Gurage region.

[5] In the fourteenth century according to professor Lapiso Delebo, the Hadiya state which he designates as "Hadiya-Harla Sultanate" maintained one of the largest armies in the region, consisting of 80,000 infantry and 40,000 cavalry.

[14] During the reign of Zara Yaqob, the Garad or Sultan of Hadiya, Mahiko, the son of Garaad Mehmad, repeated his predecessor's actions and refused to pay tribute to the Ethiopian Emperor.

[16] Adal attempted to invade Ethiopia in response, however the campaign was a disaster and led to the death of Sultan Badlay ibn Sa'ad ad-Din at the Battle of Gomit.

[18] The next time Hadiya is mentioned is in the sixteenth century Adal texts written by Arab Faqīh called the Futuh al-Habasa, the history of the conquests of Imam Ahmad ibn Ibrahim al-Ghazi.

[23] In 1751 Czech missionary Remedius Prutky upon his visit to Abyssinia mentions the Kingdom of Hadiya being located to its south and confined by Adal's western border.

[27] Soldiers that fought under Hassan's Hadiya army such as Balcha Safo and Habte Giyorgis Dinagde would later switch allegiance, and become part of the Abyssinian aristocracy.

[28] The Halaba Hadiya under their chief Barre Kagaw continued to resist until 1893 when the Abyssinians took advantage of the famine that had struck the region and led a conquest into their territory.

[29] Historical definition of Hadiya people includes a number of Ethiopian ethnic groups currently known by other names according to ethnologist Ulrich Braukämper, who lived in various parts of southern-central Ethiopia for over four years during his research.