Saturday, August 19, 2023

2023: Ali - 'Ali Golom

 



Ali
Ali. Sultan of Johor (r.1855-1877).  He was the eldest son of Sultan Hussein of Singapore and Johor (d. 1835) and the last of his line to hold a royal title.  His claim to the office of sultan of Johor was not recognized until 1855, by which time the Temenggongs had assumed solid control of the government there and brought in Chinese settlers.  In 1855, he signed a controversial treaty with Temenggong Ibrahim and Governor W. J. Butterworth of Singapore in which he was recognized as his father’s successor, but by which he also recognized the Temenggong as “the sole and absolute sovereign of Johor.”  He retained control over only the small territory between the Kessang and Muar rivers (approximately 260 square miles), but even this was absorbed into Johor after his death.

Sultan Ali Iskandar Shah ibni Hussein Muazzam Shah was the 19th Sultan of Johor.  He succeeded his father, Sultan Hussein, after Sultan Hussein died of natural causes in 1835. Over the next twenty years, Sultan Ali's claims to the office of Sultan of Johor were only recognised by some merchants and a few Malays. Like his father, Sultan Ali was mostly a puppet monarch and played a very minimal role in the administrative affairs of the state, which came under the control of the Temenggong and the British. In 1855, Sultan Ali ceded the sovereignty rights of Johor (except Muar) to Temenggong Daing Ibrahim, in exchange for a formal recognition as the "Sultan of Johor" by the British and a monthly allowance. Following the secession of Johor, Sultan Ali was granted administrative charge over Muar until his death in 1877, and in most administrative matters, was often styled as the "Sultan of Muar".

Tengku Ali succeeded his father in 1835 as the Sultan of Johor, but was not recognised as the Sultan of Johor for the first few years of his reign. A proclamation by the British colonial government in September 1840 granted him the right as the legitimate heir as his father's successor, but the proclamation did not amount to a formal recognition as the Sultan of Johor.

In the 1840s, Johor began to receive the first Chinese settlers (mainly immigrants from Swatow and Chaozhou), the young Temenggong, Tun Daeng Ibrahim took up the administrative tasks of the state. He imposed taxes upon these settlers, which went to the Temenggong's charge. However, unlike the Temenggong, Sultan Ali was unwilling to involve himself with the affairs of the state but at the same time complained of receiving insufficient allowance from the British. He was well-known for his penchant for an extravagant lifestyle, and was chalking up considerable debts by the 1850s.

Meanwhile, loyalty among the local Malays in Johor to the ruling classes became increasingly divided between the royalty and the nobility.

Nevertheless, there was no major hostility as a result of the division of loyalty between the royalty and the nobility. In 1852, an English merchant, W.H. Read, controlled Sultan Ali's royal seal in exchange for a promise to liquidate his debts. Read had been an active supporter of Sultan Ali's claims for recognition as the legitimate ruler of Johor and the states' revenue, with the Temenggong as his vassal. As a result of economic and political pressure from these traders, the Governor did consider granting a formal recognition to Sultan Ali as the legitimate ruler of Johor, but in the process, he received a strong protest from the Temenggong and his young son, Abu Bakar.

By the early 1850s, Johor was effectively under the control of the Temenggong; followers who attempted to act in Sultan Ali's interests were quickly expelled by force by the Temenggong's followers.

A series of negotiations between Sultan Ali and the Temenggong ensued with the British colonial government acting as the intermediary, after Sultan Ali had questioned the Temenggong's rights of keeping the state revenue to himself. Initially, the Temenggong proposed to split the trade revenue of Johor on condition that Sultan Ali surrendered his claims of sovereignty over Johor. The term was declined by Sultan Ali. Both parties agreed to seek the direct intervention of the British government, among which, the British Governor of the Straits Settlement, Colonel William Butterworth, and his successor, Edmund Blundell were brought in to act as meditators.

The British favored the prospect of the Temenggong in taking over the administration of Johor from the Sultan. Sultan Ali's claims to sovereignty were quickly refuted by the British and the Temenggong, who was quick to point out that the Sultan's late father, Sultan Hussein had never pursued active claims to his sovereignty rights over Johor in spite of his recognition by the British in the 1824 Anglo-Dutch Treaty. At that time, Johor came under the effective charge of the Temenggong's late father, Abdul Rahman, as with Pahang, which was under the control of the Bendahara. Further documents revealed that if Johor were to be under the control of a monarch, de jure sovereignty would have been laid under the charge of the Sultan of Lingga, Sultan Mahmud Muzaffar Shah and not with Sultan Ali.

The Temenggong and Sultan Ali submitted their proposals to the British Governor in April 1854. The Temenggong agreed to the Sultan's request of his titular recognition as the Sultan of Johor, but was adamant at maintaining absolute charge over the whole of Johor. On the other hand, Sultan Ali had expressed his wish to the governor that the Kesang territory (around Muar) should be directly governed by him, citing reasons that some of his ancestors were buried there. The British persuaded the Temenggong to concede to Sultan Ali's request.

A treaty was concluded on 10 March 1855, in which Sultan Ali formally ceded his sovereignty rights of Johor to the Temenggong permanently with the exception of the Kesang territory (around Muar). In exchange, Sultan Ali was guaranteed the recognition to the title of "Sultan" by the Temenggong and the British government and received a lump sum of $5000 as compensation. Sultan Ali was also promised a further incentive of a monthly allowance of $500 from the Temenggong, under the pressure of Governor Edmund Blundell (the British Governor of Singapore), who hoped to put an end to Sultan Ali's financial complaints and problems.

Sultan Ali delegated the administrative affairs of Muar to the Temenggong Paduka Tuan of Muar and spent most of his time in Malacca. Muar was sparsely populated in 1855 with a population of about 800 and had no formal structure of government. In 1860, Sultan Ali reportedly borrowed $53,600 from a Chettiar money lender, Kavana Chana Shellapah. Sultan Ali signed an agreement with Shellapah to contribute a portion of his monthly allowance to repay his debt. However, Sultan Ali found himself unable to pay or settle his debts in time, and an angry Shellapah wrote to the British government in 1866. Pressured to liquidate his debts in time, Sultan Ali granted Shellapah the right to trade off Muar to the Temenggong of Johor as mortage if he was unable to pay off his debts in time.

His relations with Temenggong Daing Ibrahim remained strained. In 1860, Sultan Ali allowed a Bugis adventurer, Suliwatang, the chiefs of Rembau and Sungei Ujong to settle in Muar and prepare themselves for an attack on Johor. Such bad blood between the Sultan and Temenggong Daing Ibrahim passed down to the Temenggong's son, Abu Bakar, who succeeded his father after the former died in 1862. Shortly after Abu Bakar became the Temenggong of Johor, he sent a letter to Sultan Ali to reassert Johor's sovereignty over Segamat. Continued disputes over the sovereignty of Segamat led to an outbreak of a war between the Temenggong's men with the Sultan's. Eleven years later in 1873, attempts made by Suliwatang to collect custom taxes from inhabitants at the Muar estuary led to further conflict with Abu Bakar (who became Maharaja in 1868).

During the remaining years of Sultan Ali's reign, there was no visible economic activity in Muar. Nevertheless, he delegated the duty of collecting Muar's revenues to Suliwatang and his agents, all of whom were later poisoned and killed by the Temenggong Paduka Tuan of Muar. In 1868, Sultan Ali appointed Babu Ramasamy, a Tamil schoolmaster the duty to collect the Muar revenues. A European miner approached Sultan Ali in 1872, and was granted exclusive mining rights over the entire Kessang territory for five years. Three years later, an American trader approached the Sultan, and the Sultan gave the American the concessionary grant of purchasing 45 square miles of land within the Kessang territory.

Sultan Ali spent his last years in Umbai, Malacca, and supported himself with a small monthly stipend which the British East India Company had granted him. He built a palace for himself and lived with his third wife, Cik' Sembuk, until his death in June 1877, and was buried in a Mausoleum within the confines of the Umbai mosque. Shortly before his death, Sultan Ali willed the Kessang territory to him shortly before his death. His decision was met with considerable disapproval among the Malays in Singapore.  The Malays of Singapore felt that Tengku Alam should be the heir to the Kessang territory as he was the oldest son, along with Daing Siti, who was the daughter of a Bugis nobleman. At the time of Sultan Ali's death, custody of the Kessang territory lay in the hands of Ungku Jalil, Sultan Ali's elder brother. Ungku Jalil handed over the custodianship of the Kessang territory to Maharaja Abu Bakar, after the British government held an election for the Temenggong Paduka Tuan of Muar and the territory's chieftains to decide on the destiny of the Kessang territory.  The Temenggong Paduka Tuan of Muar and the territory's chieftains voted unanimously for Maharaja Abu Bakar as their leader. The British Governor handed over administrative charge of the Kessang territory to the Maharaja. This transfer upset Tengku Alam and many of his supporters. Their continued claims to the Kessang territory led to the instigation of the Jementah Civil War in 1879.
 
Ali Iskandar Shah ibni Hussein Muazzam Shah see Ali.


‘Ali
‘Ali (Hajj ‘Ali) (d.c. 1684). Ruler of the Kanuri state of Bornu (r. 1654-1684).  His long reign began at the death of his father and predecessor, ‘Umar.  At that moment, the Tuareg were pressing Bornu from the north and the Kwararafa from the south, but he defeated them both (c. 1668) and also put down an internal rebellion.  Bornu became so secure during his rule that he made the pilgrimage to Mecca three times.  He turned his capital into an Islamic intellectual center, able to support four large mosques.  Bornu’s commercial situation remained favorable during his rule because of his control of the trans-Saharan trade routes, but the benefits were largely offset by the first of a series of famines which continued to plague Bornu after his death.  He spent the last four years of his life in effective retirement, with his son and successor, Idris, controlling the affairs of state.


Hajj ‘Ali see ‘Ali

Aliabadi, Shirin
Shirin Aliabadi (b. March 10, 1973, Tehran, Iran – d. October 1, 2018, Tehran, Iran) was an Iranian  contemporary multidisciplinary visual artist whose work focused on women's issues, gender representation, and the beauty industry. She is best known for depiction of rebellious Iranian women in her Girls in Cars and Miss Hybrid series of photographs.

Aliabadi was born in Tehran, Iran in 1973 to Maymanat and Iraj Aliabadi. Her mother, Maymanat was an artist and taught at Tehran University. Her father, Iraj, was a poet who worked for an insurance company. She was also mentored by an older brother who coached her on art, music, and pop culture. Aliabadi grew up surrounded by artists and intellectuals, and the standard of living for the family was high until the Iranian Revolution in 1979. Her parents lost their jobs, but were still able to send her to study in Paris. Aliabadi studied art history at the University of Paris, where she also earned a master's degree in art history.

Aliabadi married Farhad Moshiri, another artist in 1993. She commuted between Paris and Tehran for most of her career, but was primarily based in Tehran where she was represented by The Third Line gallery in Dubai for more than ten years.

The work of Aliabadi has appeared in solo exhibitions in Dubai, Tehran, London Switzerland and Denmark and in group exhibitions at the Institut des cultures d'Islam in Paris, the Gallery of Modern Art in Glasgow, at Frieze New York, and at the Chelsea Art Museum.  Her work has also been shown in Monaco, Rio de Janeiro, Copenhagen, Italy, Norway, Estonia, Germany, Switzerland, and Spain.  Her work is held in the collections of Deutsche Bank AG in Germany, the Bristol City Museum and Art Gallery and the Farjam Collection in Dubai.

Shirin Aliabadi died on October 1, 2018, from cancer, in Tehran, Iran.


'Ali Ahmad
'Ali Ahmad (1883-1929).  Known as the Wali (the Governor) of Kabul under King Amanullah.  He was proclaimed “king” by Afghan tribes in Nangarhar after the abdication of Amanullah in January 1919.  Born in 1883, the son of Loinab Khushdil Khan, he was educated in India and served as chamberlain, shahghasi mulki, of Amir Habibullah.  He was president of the Afghan Peace Delegation at Rawalpindi in 1919 and was successful as a commander in the Mangal Revolt in 1924 and the Shinwari rebellion in 1928.  He fought Habibullah Kalakani and was defeated.  Subsequently, he was brought to Kabul in chains.   'Ali Ahmad defiantly kissed the cannon by which he was executed in July 1929.


Ahmad, 'Ali see 'Ali Ahmad


'Ali, Ahmad
'Ali, Ahmad (b. July 1, 1910, in Delhi, India -  d. January 14, 1994, in Karachi, Pakistan).  Pakistani writer.  Ahmad 'Ali first attracted attention in the 1930s as a writer of Urdu short stories strongly socialist in tone.  However, most of his subsequent work has been in English.  Among Ahmad 'Ali’s notable works are Twilight in Delhi and The Falcon and the Hunted Bird.  The novel, Twilight in Delhi, was published in 1940.  Twilight in Delhi provides a portrayal of Muslim domestic life in Delhi at the beginning of the present century, tinged with a bitter awareness of the decline of Muslim fortunes in India.  The Falcon and the Hunted Bird is a 1950 collection of English verse translations of the classical Urdu poets.


Ahmad 'Ali see 'Ali, Ahmad


‘Ali al-Hadi
‘Ali al-Hadi (Abu 'l-Hassani ‘Ali ibn Muhammad) (March 5, 826 - June 27, 868).   Tenth imam of the Twelver Shi‘a Islam (r. 833-868).  He was born in Medina to a Moroccan slave called Samana (Sumanah).  Like his father, Muhammad at-Taqi, he was only seven when he received the imamate.  ‘Ali al-Hadi was his honorary title, meaning “the guided”.  His other title was ‘an-Naqiyy, meaning “the distinguished”. At the beginning, conditions were fairly good for the  Shi‘a, but, like so many times before, their fortunes took a dramatic down turn.  Brought to Samarra by the Caliph Mutawakkil in 848, ‘Ali al-Hadi was to spend the rest of his life under house arrest in the military district of Samarra.  He and his son, Hassan are known as Askari because of the military (in Arabic, askar) quarter in which they lived.  During this period the Shi‘a were severely persecuted and communication was limited severely between the imam and his followers.   ‘Ali al-Hadi was succeeded by Hassan al-Askari.

‘Alī al-Hādī, also known as ‘Alī an-Naqī, was the tenth of the Twelve Imams. He was born ‘Alī ibn Muhammad ibn ‘Alī in Medina to the ninth Shī‘ah Imām, Muhammad al-Taqi, and Lady Sumānah. He was seven years old when his father died and he was appointed the Imām. During the remaining years of the Caliphate of al-Mu‘tasim and the five year Caliphate of al-Wāthiq, al-Hādī and the Shī‘ah community of Medina lived in relative peace, with al-Hādī mostly engaged in teaching.

In 848, during the caliphate of Al-Mutawakkil, he was summoned to Baghdad and put under house arrest in Samarra, along with his son Hasan al-Askari. His time in prison was a time of great persecution against the Shi'a. The quarter of the city where al-Hadi lived was known as al-Askar since it was chiefly occupied by the army (askar) and, therefore, al-Hadi and his son Hasan are both referred to as 'Askari or together as 'Askariyayn (the two 'Askaris). According to twelvers, it is reported that at least once al-Mutawakkil attempted to kill al-Hadi but was frustrated by a miracle.

In Twelver Shi'a Islam, he is described as being endowed with the knowledge of the languages of the Persians, Slavs, Indians, and Nabateans in addition to foreknowing unexpected storms and as accurately prophesying deaths and other events. He is reported to have correctly predicted Mutawakkil's death within three days after the caliph had either humiliated him or had him imprisoned. In the presence of Mutawakkil, he unmasked a woman falsely claiming to be Zaynab, the daughter of Ali, by descending into a lions' den in order to prove that lions do not harm true descendants of Ali (a similar miracle is also attributed to his grandfather, Ali al-Rida). A theological treatise on human free will and some other short texts and statements ascribed to al-Hadi are quoted by Ibn So'ba Harrani.

'Ali al-Hadi lived out his life under house arrest until, pursuant to the orders of al-Mu‘taz, he was poisoned. Thereafter, al-Hādī was buried at his house in Samarra by his son, who was also the only person to attend his funeral. His burial spot is now the al-‘Askarī Mosque, one of the holiest Shī‘a shrines.

On February 22, 2006, a bomb attack in Iraq badly damaged the shrine of Askari, the burial place of Imam Ali al-Hadi and his son Imam Hasan al-Askari, another attack was executed on June 13, 2007 which led to the destruction of the two minarets of the shrine, both attacks were made by Wahabi/Sunni militants.

The descendants of 'Ali al-Hadi are called Naqvi's (also spelled Naqhavi or Naqavi in Iran and the Arab world respectively). They primarily reside in Pakistan as well as a small but prominent minority in India.

Abu 'l-Hassani ‘Ali ibn Muhammad see ‘Ali al-Hadi
Hadi, 'Ali al- see ‘Ali al-Hadi
“the guided” see ‘Ali al-Hadi
‘an-Naqiyy see ‘Ali al-Hadi
'Ali ibn Muhammad ibn 'Ali see ‘Ali al-Hadi
'Ali an-Naqi see ‘Ali al-Hadi


‘Ali al-Rida
‘Ali al-Rida ('Ali ibn Musa al-Rida) ('Ali ar-Ridha) (Ali Reza) (c. December 29, 765 - August 23, 818).  Eighth Imam of the Twelver Shi‘a (r. 799-818).  He was born in Medina and was summoned from a quiet, scholarly life by the reigning Abbasid caliph al-Ma’mun to accept appointment as heir apparent, with the title al-Rida.

‘Ali al-Rida’s imamate coincided with a great reversal of fortune for the Shi‘a.  He attained the imamate at the age of 35 after the brutal persecution and martyrdom of this father, Musa al-Kazim, at the hands of the Caliph Harun ar-Rashid.  After Harun’s death, however, events rapidly evolved.  After a civil war between Harun’s sons Amin and Ma’mun ended in Ma’mun’s victory, ‘Ali al-Rida was summoned to Ma’mun’s capital at Merv (Marv) in northeastern Iran.

 ‘Ali al-Rida, as the head of the house of 'Ali and, therefore, leader of the Shi‘a, could bring a vast claim of potential support for the cause of whoever made an alliance with him.  The caliph brought him to Transoxiana, named him the heir apparent, and replaced the black insignias of the ruling 'Abbasids with those of 'Alid green.  This strange episode ended soon, however, when ‘Ali al-Rida died while traveling with Ma’mun from Merv back to Baghdad. The Shi‘a, doubting the honesty of the caliph’s motives in the first place, believe that he had ‘Ali al-Rida poisoned.  ‘Ali al-Rida was interred at Tus by Ma’mun in a mausoleum already containing the remains of Ma’mun’s father Harun al-Rashid, the Abbasid caliph of Arabian Nights fame.  The spot soon grew in significance because of the presence there of the 'Alid imam.  Its name was changed to Masshad (literally, “shrine” or “sanctuary”).  It became one of the most important centers for Shi‘a pilgrimage and is now at the center of Iran’s third largest city, to which it gives its name.   

Alī ibn Mūsā al-Ridā was the seventh descendant of the Islamic prophet Muhammad and the eighth of the Twelve Imams. His given name was ‘Alī ibn Mūsā ibn Ja‘far.
 
On the eleventh of Dhu al-Qi'dah, 148 AH (December 29, 765), Ali ibn Musa al-Rida was born in the house of Imam Musa al-Kadhim (the seventh Imam of Islam) in Medina. He was named Ali and titled al-Ridha. He was born one month after the death of his grandfather, Ja'far as-Sādiq. The mother of Ali al-Ridha was Najmah, a former slave purchased and freed by Hamidah Khatun, wife of Imam Ja'far al-Sadiq.

During his childhood, Ali al-Ridha accompanied his father, Musa al-Kadhim, who repeatedly used to tell his friends, "Ali al-Ridha shall be the Imam after me." Since an extreme choking atmosphere and pressure prevailed in the period of Musa al-Kadhim, he added, "What I said must remain (restricted) up to you and do not reproduce it to anybody unless you know he is one of our friends and companions."

Ali al-Ridha’s father was martyred in 799, when Ali al-Ridha was 35, and he was given the responsibility of the Imamate. Ali al-Ridha was not looked upon favorably by Hārūn Rashīd, and the people of Medina were disallowed from visiting Ali al-Ridha and learning from him. Harun attempted to kill him but was unsuccessful.

After the death of Hārūn Rashīd, Hārūn's two sons began fighting for control of the Abbāsid Empire. One son, Al-Amin, had an Arab mother and thus had the support of Arabs, while his half-brother Al-Ma'mun had a Persian mother and the support of Persia. Al-Ma'mun believed that Persia was sympathetic to the Hashemites and asked for Ali al-Rida to meet him in Persia. Ali al-Rida left his only son, Muħammad at-Taqī, and his wife and set out for Merv.

After defeating his brother, al-Ma'mun named Ali al-Ridha his successor. He hoped to win Shī'a support through this move, but the passage of caliphate would occur only if Ali al-Rida outlived al-Ma'mun (as with all promises of succession). Al-Ma'mun even changed the black Abbāsid flags to green, the traditional color of the house of Alī ibn Abī-Tālib, the first Shī'a imam.

Ali al-Ridha did not outlive al-Ma'mun.  He was killed in Persia while accompanying al-Ma'mun at Tus. Most scholars agree he was poisoned by al-Ma'mun but it's impossible to verify it. Ali al-Ridha is buried within Imam Ridha Mosque, in Mashhad, Iran.

Rida, 'Ali al- see ‘Ali al-Rida
'Ali ibn Musa al-Rida see ‘Ali al-Rida
'Ali ar-Ridha see ‘Ali al-Rida
Ali Reza see ‘Ali al-Rida
'Ali ibn Musa ibn Ja'far see ‘Ali al-Rida


Ali-Baba
Ali-Baba.  Child-god worshipped by Muslim slaves in Brazil.


'Ali Bey
'Ali Bey (Ali Bey al-Kabir) (1728 - May 8, 1773).  Mameluke ruler of Egypt, born in Abkhasia, in the Caucasus.  In his youth, he was carried off to Egypt as a slave.  However, by 1766, he had become one of the Mameluke beys, or governors, of Egypt.  Gaining followers in the next five years, he slaughtered the other beys, proclaimed Egypt independent of Turkey, and took the title of sultan.  He conquered Syria and part of Arabia, but one of his sons-in-law turned against him and defeated him in battle near Cairo in 1773.

Ali Bey was a politician and general and the Mameluke Sultan of Egypt from 1760 to 1772. He was born in 1728, in Western Georgia (Abkhazia). His father was a Georgian monk. In 1741 he was kidnapped by Turkish soldiers.

In 1743 he was purchased in Cairo and gradually rose in influence, winning the top office of sheikh al-balad (chief of the country) in 1760. In 1768, Ali Bey deposed the Ottoman governor and assumed the post of acting governor. He stopped the annual tribute to Istanbul and in an unprecedented usurpation of the Ottoman Sultan's privileges had his name struck on local coins in 1769 (alongside the sultan's emblem), effectively declaring Egypt's independence from Ottoman rule. In 1770 he gained control of the Hijaz and a year later temporarily occupied Syria, thereby reconstituting the Mameluke state that had disappeared in 1517. However, in June 1771, the commander of his troops in Syria, Abu al-Dhahab, refused to continue to fight against the Ottomans, and turned against Ali Bey. As a result, Ali Bey lost power in 1772.

Ali Bey was killed in 1773, in Cairo.


Ali Bey al-Kabir see 'Ali Bey


‘Ali Duuh
‘Ali Duuh (b. probably mid-19th century- d. shortly before World War II).  Somali oral poet.  Some of his poems have been written down by Somali private collectors, and one has been published with English translation and notes.  He is renowned for his wit, invective and forcefulness.  As one of the elders of his clan, he was involved in various interclan disputes and intrigues and used his poetry powerfully as propaganda.


Duuh, 'Ali see ‘Ali Duuh


‘Ali Eisami
‘Ali Eisami (William Harding) (b. c. 1788).  Kanuri citizen of Bornu captured and sold as a slave.  Freed by the British at Freetown, he later gave an account of the wars at Bornu and of his travels.  The son of an Islamic teacher, he received an Arabic education.  When the Fula overran Bornu he was enslaved and taken to the Hausa states of Kano and Katsina, and the Yoruba state of Ilorin which was in the process of toppling the Oyo empire.  In 1818, he was sold to European slavers at Porto Novo.   En route to the New World, he was captured by a British squadron, which freed him in Sierra Leone.  There he took the name William Harding.  He recounted his life and travels to Sigismund Wilhelm Koelle, a German linguist working in Freetown, who published the narrative in a book African Native Literature (1854), parts of which have since been reprinted.  The account is most important as social history, demonstrating how the common man was affected by revolutionary changes in nineteenth century West Africa.  


Eisami, 'Ali see ‘Ali Eisami
Harding, William see ‘Ali Eisami


‘Ali Gaji
‘Ali Gaji (d. c. 1503).  Ruler of the Kanuri state of Bornu (r. c. 1470-c.1503).  He is regarded as one of the three greatest rulers of the thousand year Sefawa dynasty of Kanem-Bornu.  During his reign, he ended a period of internecine strife in the empire.  The Sefawa dynasty had earlier split into two houses which held the kingship alternately.  But this system gave way to warfare and intrigue.  In the twenty to thirty years before ‘Ali’s reign began, nine mai (kings) had ascended the throne.  He was immediately challenged by a candidate from the rival house, whom he defeated and killed in battle.  ‘Ali then restricted the power of potential challengers from the opposing house.  ‘Ali then faced Bornu’s chief external threat, the Bulala nomads who had driven his people from Kanem to Bornu in the 14th century, during the reign of ‘Umar ibn Idris.  They too were defeated.  ‘Ali’s third major accomplishment was the founding of a new capital, Birni Gazargamu, in a location distant from Bornu’s chief antagonists, but close enough to the Hausa states to extract tribute.  His successors ruled from there for the next three centuries.  


Gaji, 'Ali see ‘Ali Gaji


‘Ali Golom
‘Ali Golom.  Founder of the Sunni dynasty of rulers of Songhay.  During the thirteenth century, Songhay was under the rule of the Mali empire.  According to the Ta’rikhs, ‘Ali Golom was either a prince of Songhay living in Mali as a hostage, or a Malian official.  He secured Songhay’s independence for a brief period.  Songhay was back under the control of Mali by the time of the rule of Mansa Musa (1312-1337).  ‘Ali Golom’s descendants continued to rule Songhay under the dynastic name of Sunni (or Shi); one of them, Sunni ‘Ali, created the Songhay empire at the end of the fifteenth century.


Golom, 'Ali see ‘Ali Golom.

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