It was governed by the Rer Guled Eidagale branch of the Garhajis clan[3] and is the pre-colonial predecessor to the Republic of Somaliland.

His eldest son Roble Guled, who was due to be crowned, was advised by his brother Du'ale to raid and capture livestock belonging to the Ogaden so as to serve the Isaaq sultans and dignitaries who would attend, as part of a plot to discredit the would-be sultan and usurp the throne.

[21] When a British vessel named the Mary Anne attempted to dock in Berbera's port in 1825 it was attacked and multiple members of the crew were massacred by the Garhajis.

[22][4] In 1827 two years later the British arrived and extended an offer to relieve the blockade which had halted Berbera's lucrative trade in exchange for indemnity.

[24] This would not materialize as Sultan Saqr was incapacitated by prior Persian Gulf campaign of 1819 and was unable to send aid to Berbera.

[25] They had numerous commercial ties with the Somalis, leading vessels from Ras Al Khaimah and the Persian Gulf to regularly attend trade fairs in the large ports of Berbera and Zeila and were very familiar with the Isaaq Sultanate respectively.

Caravans would pass through Hargeisa and the Sultan would collect tribute and taxes from traders before they would be allowed to continue onwards to the coast.

On a paper yet carefully preserved in the tomb, and bearing the sign-manual of Belat [Bilal], the slave of one [of] the early khaleefehs, fresh oaths of lasting friendship and lasting alliances are made...In the season of 1846 this relic was brought to Berbera in charge of the Haber Gerhajis, and on it the rival tribes of Aial Ahmed and Aial Yunus swore to bury all animosity and live as brethren.

[30][31] The split was noticeable and Lieutenant C.P Rigby in the year 1848 writes about the two Sultans and the capital of the Isaaq at Toon.

[2]During the reign of the last ruler of the Isaaq Sultanate Deria Hassan tensions were high between his Rer Guled and another subclan of Eidagale.

The legendary Eidagale warrior and poet Hussein Hasan (Somali: Xuseen Xassan) who hailed from the Rer Guled was prideful and urged them to continue the conflict.

Sultan Deria ruled that blood payment or mag was sufficient for both parties to exchange at the shir with the Rer Guled losing six and the Abdi Bari six as well.

[32] Lix nin oo mankiyo shaalka iyo midhaha Guuleed ah Oo wada ma dhaafta ah raggii ugu maloongeeyey Inaan waliba maal ugu daraa waa masalo dhaafe Waligeed markaha looma culin magannu soocnaaye Waa waxaanay dhagahaygu maqal maanta ka horoowe Inaanaan cayuun soo madhayn mudhayo dhaadheer leh Haddaynu Reer Mataan nahay sidaa waydun maan garane Six men who are the buds, the shawl and the fruit (youth) of Guuleed Who together were the best, most excellent of men That I add wealth to that is beyond the pale We'll never purify the vessel with blood compensation which we have separated off This is something my ears have never heard before today That we empty [our hands] of very tall camels If we are Reer Mataan you will follow my thinking Sultan Deria responded by sending Hussein away to Berbera and then resuming the shir.

Absiyeh was made to swear a solemn oath not to recite a gabay following the Sultan's decision but he could not resist, especially since Hussein was away.

Although they did not control northern Somaliland for long they did build lighthouses, piers, improved coastal ports, and promoted Islam.

He described the Habr Awal as a friendly people who lived between Harar, and Berbera, and that they supported the Egyptian capture of many towns.

[39] During the withdrawal period officer Hunters was more concerned on Berbera as rumour spread about the Mahdiyya of Sudan.

[40] Hunter also writes that the Emir of Zeila, Abu Bakr was possibly planning an invasion of Berbera.

[45] Composing this poem entitled The Limits of Submission Farah speaks of the conflict and intolerance to the subordinate status to the Sultan.

[47] The Sultanate had a robust economy and trade was significant at the main port of Berbera but also eastwards along the coast.

The Berbera trade fair was the major commercial event of the year with tens of thousands descending on the town.

This long drawn out market handled immense quantities of coffee, gum Arabic, myrrh and other commodities.

These goods in the early nineteenth century were almost exclusively handled by Somalis who, Salt says, had "a kind of navigation act by which they exclude the Arab vessels from their ports and bring the produce of their country either to Aden or Mocha in their own dows.

[50] In addition the sultanate produced ghee, myrrh, ivory and gum arabic, which would then be exported to Yemen.

[51] The Sultan of the Isaaq often called for shirs or regular meetings where he would be informed and advised by leading elders or religious figures on what decisions to make.

In the case of the Dervish movement Sultan Deria Hassan had chosen not to join after receiving counsel from Sheikh Madar.

He addressed early tensions between the Saad Musa and Eidagale upon the former's settlement into the growing town of Hargeisa in the late 19th century.

In the 1870s there was a famous meeting between Sheikh Madar and Sultan Deria proclaimed that hunting and tree cutting in the vicinity of Hargeisa would be banned [54] The holy relics from Aw Barkhadle would be brought and the Isaaqs would swear oaths upon it in presence of the Sultan whenever fierce internal combat broke out.

The Isaaq Sultanate has ten rulers in total, five prior to the creation of British Somaliland in 1884 in addition to five afterwards.

[2] Amongst the Isaaq the traditional institution and leadership of the clan survived the British Somaliland period into present times.