Dakkar (
Harari: ደከር Däkkär ,
Somali: Doggor), also known as Dakar, or Deker, was a historical
Muslim town located in present-day eastern
Ethiopia. It served as the first capital of the
Adal Sultanate after its founding in the early 15th century by
Sabr ad-Din III.[1]
The exact location of the town remains unknown and several locations have been suggested, but it is generally agreed that the town was somewhere in the Harar plateau. The city was established in the early 15th century by
Sabr ad-Din III after he returned from his exile in
Yemen. The town sat along the trade route to
Zeila and served as the royal seat of the
Walashma sultans.[11] However, in 1471 Emir Laday Usman marched to Dakkar and seized power. But Usman did not dismiss the Sultan from office, and instead gave him a ceremonial position while retaining the real power for himself. Adal now came under the leadership of the powerful regional aristocracy who governed from the palace of a nominal Sultan.[12][13][14]
In 1478, the Ethiopian Emperor
Eskender invaded Adal and marched towards Dakkar where he burnt the town to the ground. All of its mosques and buildings were looted and destroyed by the Abyssinians which caused great damage to the town.[15] The city was also sacked during emperor
Lebna Dengel's raids on
Adal subsequently laying waste to Sultan
Muhammad ibn Azhar ad-Din's residence.[16]
After the death of
Mahfuz, Adal would fall into a succession crisis and Sultan
Abu Bakr ibn Muhammad would rise to power. Sultan Abu Bakr then relocated the capital of Adal to
Harar in 1520.[17][18] Dakkar was reportedly surrounded by ramparts by the late sixteenth century.[19] According to
Harari records during the
Oromo invasions, Dakkar was destroyed alongside other states such as
Gidaya and
Hargaya.[20][21]Antoine d'Abbadie notes that the
Barento Oromo had occupied Dakkar from the
Bursuuk which they had integrated in their mythology.[22][23]