Yusuf of Berbera (737-10 September 774) was the King of the Kingdom of Berbera from 769 to 774, preceding Muhammad I of Berbera. Yusuf, a sayyid descended from Husayn ibn Ali, was the ancestor of the Hussainids, a dynasty of Afro-Arabs that ruled over East Africa and Yemen for many generations as a major Muslim dynasty. It was Berbera that would spread Islam to the Sudan and Ethiopia after conquering Abyssinia and the various Nubian states, and after Yusuf's death, the Berberan Empire would be formed.
Biography[]
Early life
Yusuf was born in the city of Berbera in present-day Somalia, the son of an Arab merchant and a Somali wife. Yusuf was descended from Husayn ibn Ali through his father, and his family was known as the "Hussainids" to honor their status as sadah. Yusuf's father Hadi al-Hussaini was a merchant ruler of Berbera, and Yusuf was given a classical Muslim education, becoming a faqih educated in Islamic jurisprudence as well as a hafiz who memorized the whole Quran. A devout Muslim, Yusuf wanted to spread Islam to the rest of East Africa one day. In 769, he was elected as the new King of Berbera by other merchants due to his intelligence and his descent from Muhammad, hoping that he could lead Islam forwards in East Africa.
Early reign[]
Upon becoming the ruler of Berbera, Yusuf decided to start his own dynasty by marrying three Somali courtiers: Basr, Waris, and Fathia. Yusuf sought to unify the Somali states under a common dynasty, so in 769 he conquered Zeila from the rival Shirazid Emirate before proceeding to seize Harer a few months later. He granted his vassal Ali the County of Zeila, and on 23 October 769 he made preparations to go on the hajj as his spymaster Hamid served as regent. On 14 March 770, he destroyed the Shirazids, and he fought against King Oda Gosh of Abyssinia, capturing Tadjoura from him. Yusuf granted the County of Busaso to his newly-born son, the future Muhammad I of Berbera, in 770 and had Baron Talha of Las Anod - now a vassal of Muhammad and therefore not at Yusuf's court - replaced by Count Baraka of Harer, a noble whom he had enfeoffed upon coming to the county penniless. In 771, he began a campaign against Emir Yusuf of Arwadid Emirate with the goal of conquering Yemen like Caleb of Abyssinia had done two centuries before, and he seized Aden from the Arwadids in 772 as the Abyssinians also invaded Yemen. In 774, he conquered Ta'izz, the last part of Yemen that he was able to acquire before Abyssinia took over the rest of the region. Yusuf died of poor health on 10 September 774 at the age of 37, and his four-year-old firstborn son Muhammad I became the new king with his mother Basr as regent. His son Ibrahim was born on 21 November after his death.
Family[]
Wives and Children[]
- Queen Basr of Berbera (753-), 769-
- Muhammad I of Berbera (16 December 769-)
- Count Abbas of Massawa (16 July 771-)
- Count Husayn of Aksum (16 February 774-)
- Queen Waris of Berbera (753-), 769-
- Queen Fathia of Berbera (753-), 769-
- Omar of Shewa (13 July 771-)
- Chief Ibrahim of Gojjam (21 November 774-)