During the First World War (1914–1918), the Dervish leader Mohammed Abdullah Hassan received support for a time from the Ottoman Empire and the Ethiopian emperor-designate Lij Iyasu.

Although nominally part of the Ottoman Empire, Yemen and the sahil, including Zeila, came progressively under the control of Muhammad Ali, Khedive of Egypt, between 1821 and 1841.

[6] After the Egyptians withdrew from the Yemeni seaboard in 1841, Haj Ali Shermerki, a successful and ambitious Somali merchant, purchased from them executive rights over Zeila.

Shermerki's governorship had an instant effect on the city, as he manoeuvred to monopolize as much of the regional trade as possible, with his sights set as far as Harar and the Ogaden.

[10] When the Egyptian garrison in Harar was eventually evacuated in 1885, Zeila became caught up in the competition between the Tadjoura-based French and the British for control of the strategic Gulf of Aden littoral.

In signing the agreements, the rulers also hoped to exploit the rival objectives of the European imperial powers so as to more effectively assure the continued independence of their territories.

[13] An Anglo-Italian border protocol was later signed on 5 May 1894, followed by an agreement in 1906 between Cavalier Pestalozza and General Swaine acknowledging that Buraan fell under the Majeerteen Sultanate's administration.

"[15] Lt-Col. Alexander Cobbe of 1st (Central Africa) Battalion, King's African Rifles, was awarded the Victoria Cross for his action at Erego, on 6 October 1902.

An Italian naval commander off Hobyo feared "that the expedition will end in a fiasco; the Mad Mullah will become a myth for the British, who will never come across him, and a serious worry for ... our sphere of influence.

[19] In May, the British Foreign Office realised the error, and had Kenadid's son appointed regent, just in time to forestall an attack in Mudug by the Sultan's army.

[21] With 1,200–1,500 rifles, 4,000 ponies and some spearmen, he occupied the Nugal Valley from Halin in the British protectorate to Ilig (or Illig) on the Italian-held coast.

Following extensive preparations, he united his field force at Bacaadweeyn (Badwein) on 9 January 1904 and defeated the Haroun at Jidballi the next day.

On 16 April, three ships of the East Indies Station under Rear Admiral George Atkinson-Willes left Berbera planning to capture Ilig in cooperation with an advance overland.