WI: Christian Somalia

[Abu Adnan]

The cities and kingdoms of the Somali people have had a long history of maritime trade stretching back to perhaps even the Bronze Age. During the period of late antiquity, the Somalis were organised into several coastal city-states which were dominant players in the Red Sea/Indian Ocean trade, trading with the Persians, Romans, Indians, Axumites, and the Chinese. This was also the time when Christianity was becoming a prominent religion across the Roman Empire and beyond.

What if, instead of Frumentius being enslaved and sold to the king of Axum, he is instead sold to the king of Mosylon (present day Bosaso), which was the most prominent and thriving Somali city-state. Similar to his experience in OTL in the court of the Axumite king, the king of Mosylon takes a liking to him and he gains great influence, culminating in the baptism of the ruler of Mosylon and the establishment of Christianity as the state religion. The Patriarch of Alexandria consecrates him as a Bishop and he establishes his episcopal see at Mosylon, from which he sends mostly Egyptian missionaries to evangelise and establish monasteries around northern Somalia and the Haud and Ogaden regions. Perhaps this newfound religious/cultural importance and the goal spreading Christianity gives Mosylon a boost, and it begins to conquer nearby cities and establish its sovereignty over the many walled towns of the interior that ancient semi-nomadic pastoralist Somalis lived in, giving them authority over the scattered settlements and wells of the Haud as well as the tribes who lived therein.

Maybe as Mosylon grows more powerful in the north, Christianity's spread outpaces its expansion, hopping down the coast to the southern cities of Sarapion, Gondal, and Nikon. I dont think Christianity would have that much of an issue expanding across the whole Somali peninsula as the religion of the Somalis was already henotheistic if not monotheistic and featured some familiar concepts to the Abrahamic faiths, so it meshed well with the most basic tenants of monotheism, angels, demons etc. Perhaps as missionaries traders continue to spread the gospel, the more forward thinking rulers of one of the powerful cities of the south see the success of Mosylon and decide that converting is their best bet for emulating that, setting the stage for new Christian kingdoms to be established in southern Somalia, in a similar process of conversion and consolidation that the Mosylon kingdom went through. Maybe Sarapion (modern Mogadishu) is the city which accomplishes this.

Anyways, what do you guys think of the timeline I came up with for a Christian Somalia? How do yall think such a scenario might come about and play out? What do you think the long term consequences of his might be?

 

[Ymo]

Are they going to be coptic or orthodox?

 

[Abu Adnan]

Are they going to be coptic or orthodox?

That's an interesting question. I think eventually something related to Coptic Christianity would become the dominant trend in the Somali church under the Bishop of Mosylon/Bosaso just because firstly, thats what happened with the Ethiopian church and why that happened ties into my second reason which is, Frumentius got his bishopric from Athanasius, the Patriarch of Alexandria, with whom the Ethiopian church was in communion. In the TL I set up, Frumentius is still the person who brings Christianity to Mosylon and he still goes to Athanasius to establish a bishopric.

 

[Ymo]

There has been

That's an interesting question. I think eventually, something related to Coptic Christianity would become the dominant trend in the Somali church under the Bishop of Mosylon/Bosaso just because, firstly, thats what happened with the Ethiopian church and why that happened ties into my second reason, which is, Frumentius got his bishopric from Athanasius, the Patriarch of Alexandria, with whom the Ethiopian church was in communion. In the TL I set up, Frumentius is still the person who brings Christianity to Mosylon and he still goes to Athanasius to establish a bishopric.

There has been a close relationship between Egypt and Somalia pre-Abrahamic era, so this furthers the relationship. I believe a Christian Somalia can act as a deterrent to the rising Arab Muslims as they can raid trade and coastal cities, which would help secure the Levant longer.

 

[Abu Adnan]

There has been

There has been a close relationship between Egypt and Somalia pre-Abrahamic era, so this furthers the relationship. I believe a Christian Somalia can act as a deterrent to the rising Arab Muslims as they can raid trade and coastal cities, which would help secure the Levant longer.

Thats an interesting possibility, especially when considering that a Levant and Egypt under Roman or at least Christian rule would mean that this alternate Chritian Somalia wouldn't have Ethiopia's problem of relative isolation from the rest of Christendom as in OTL after the Arab conquests created a barrier. What might that mean for not only the theology of Christian Somalia but also the whole Coptic church under the Patriarch of Alexandria.

IOTL Ethiopia has a relatively unique form of Christianity and it has been developing that ever since Ethiopia became Christian. Some of that has to do with the influence Ethiopia's historic Jewish population from before Christianity. There has been a fair amount of archeological evidence showing that Somalia did indeed have an ancient Jewish population who were around during the time period of this ATL. So there still could definitely be some influence in the ATL somali church, while still being in communion with the Patriarch of Alexandria.

The really interesting question tho is to what degree will prolonged Roman rule over Egypt have an effect on the beliefs of Egyptian Christians and the church in Alexandria and how that could in turn effect the Somali church

 

[ramones1986]

Given that the ATL Somali Church would be Miaphysite just like the rest of Oriental Orthodoxy, could Molyson/Bosaso be the de facto episcopal seat or there would be other location(s) across the region?

 

[Arkenfolm]

Thats an interesting possibility, especially when considering that a Levant and Egypt under Roman or at least Christian rule would mean that this alternate Chritian Somalia wouldn't have Ethiopia's problem of relative isolation from the rest of Christendom as in OTL after the Arab conquests created a barrier. What might that mean for not only the theology of Christian Somalia but also the whole Coptic church under the Patriarch of Alexandria.

It goes way beyond that. If there is a Christian Somalia, that would likely mean a larger presence of Christianity in the Indian Ocean trade routes. I could see there being a larger St. Thomas Christian community in India, probably there would be Christian Swahili city-states, and I think the Maldives stands a good chance at converting to Christianity as well. Possibly Madagascar too, since Muslims were fairly influential in the era before the Merina kingdom.

If you still have Islam, then you will have a huge rivalry between the Somalis and the Islamic trading nations like the various states in modern Yemen, and this may also spill out into the broader Indian Ocean. I think for a recognisable Islam, the early Caliphate still has to conquer Persia and the Levant, so in that case the Somalis would be at a disadvantage outside of the ports of Africa further south.

Malaysia/Indonesia might be too far since to my knowledge, Africans were fairly rare anywhere east of India and even there Arabs and Persians were dominant--most voyages were to Africa after all. So they probably won't convert to Christianity as a result of a Christian Somalia.

 

[Ymo]

It goes way beyond that. If there is a Christian Somalia, that would likely mean a larger presence of Christianity in the Indian Ocean trade routes. I could see there being a larger St. Thomas Christian community in India, probably there would be Christian Swahili city-states, and I think the Maldives stands a good chance at converting to Christianity as well. Possibly Madagascar too, since Muslims were fairly influential in the era before the Merina kingdom.

If you still have Islam, then you will have a huge rivalry between the Somalis and the Islamic trading nations like the various states in modern Yemen, and this may also spill out into the broader Indian Ocean. I think for a recognisable Islam, the early Caliphate still has to conquer Persia and the Levant, so in that case the Somalis would be at a disadvantage outside of the ports of Africa further south.

Malaysia/Indonesia might be too far since to my knowledge, Africans were fairly rare anywhere east of India and even there Arabs and Persians were dominant--most voyages were to Africa after all. So they probably won't convert to Christianity as a result of a Christian Somalia.

Maybe not exactly missionaries from somalia to East asia but travelling tradesmen be it directly from somalia or indirectly other converted foreign tradesmen. Indonesia became Muslim from tradesmen. Also, to further add about the st Thomas community becoming larger due to this new timeline can then travel to South East Asia via trade or missionaries paths.

 

[Evil Crusader]

I still think that if the Arabs rise as per schedule, this additional seat of Christianity is going to suffer. Muslim traders will eventually fight the Christian ones, leading to invasions and conversions without much help from Christian powers - at least before 1550.

 

[Arkenfolm]

Maybe not exactly missionaries from somalia to East asia but travelling tradesmen be it directly from somalia or indirectly other converted foreign tradesmen. Indonesia became Muslim from tradesmen. Also, to further add about the st Thomas community becoming larger due to this new timeline can then travel to South East Asia via trade or missionaries paths.

But they weren't Somali Muslims from Africa. Those who converted Southeast Asia to Islam were Arabs and Persians. To my knowledge, the Somalis themselves would not travel much further than maybe Madagascar and India. So East Africa would by itself not a major factor in the affairs of nations on the other side of the Indian Ocean like those in modern day Malaysia/Indonesia.

Basically I think you need Christian Persia or a Christian state in the southern Arabian peninsula to survive like Aksum's protectorate in modern Yemen (which maybe becomes its own independent Christian state).

I still think that if the Arabs rise as per schedule, this additional seat of Christianity is going to suffer. Muslim traders will eventually fight the Christian ones, leading to invasions and conversions without much help from Christian powers - at least before 1550.

In the 13th century, the Crusaders considered even the relatively insignificant Nubian kingdoms as potential allies and as late as the early 14th century there were Italian merchants active in Makuria. Somalia will be wealthier and a perfect partner for the Italian merchant republics. I could see such a state uniting with Ethiopia or just straight up conquering them like Ahmad Gragn nearly did OTL. In that case, they'll be both quite sturdy and also fodder for the Prestor John myth in Europe.

 

[Evil Crusader]

In the 13th century, the Crusaders considered even the relatively insignificant Nubian kingdoms as potential allies and as late as the early 14th century there were Italian merchants active in Makuria. Somalia will be wealthier and a perfect partner for the Italian merchant republics. I could see such a state uniting with Ethiopia or just straight up conquering them like Ahmad Gragn nearly did OTL. In that case, they'll be both quite sturdy and also fodder for the Prestor John myth in Europe.

And what came of it? Virtually nothing. It's a nice idea in theory, but in practice, it doesn't really seem to map out well.

 

[Arkenfolm]

And what came of it? Virtually nothing. It's a nice idea in theory, but in practice, it doesn't really seem to map out well.

True, but an obscure landlocked kingdom south of Egypt is a little different than a kingdom that controls a lot of sea trade. One could imagine the Crusaders would desire this kingdom's naval strength and muscle to attack Egypt from the south or launch an expedition against Mecca or Medina as the Crusaders proposed. Considering Portugal's interest in Ethiopia in later centuries, I don't think it's too unreasonable.

 

[Evil Crusader]

True, but an obscure landlocked kingdom south of Egypt is a little different than a kingdom that controls a lot of sea trade. One could imagine the Crusaders would desire this kingdom's naval strength and muscle to attack Egypt from the south or launch an expedition against Mecca or Medina as the Crusaders proposed. Considering Portugal's interest in Ethiopia in later centuries, I don't think it's too unreasonable.

Which is precisely my earlier post's point; before 1550, they are much more likely to be requested help from than to be given help to. Still, it's not really in their interest to jump in the fray, as simply put unless a Crusaders wank their power doesn't project that far South.

 

[EMT]

This is a really cool idea OP. I can't help but imagine (baselessly) that this OTL Somalia would be akin to the Manchu were to China; conquering their way into being subsumed by the larger, older, more prestigious entity(Ethiopia). There's so many butterflies that who can really say how things would turn out but if we get an Adal Sultanate analogue but Christian, then IMO it's far more likely that Ethiopia crumbles, gets conquered, and perhaps even reinvigorated by this Somali Christian coastal state that moves Ethiopia's administrative and economic centers of gravity to the coasts by virtue of its biggest geopolitical threats being coastal. That's an enormous butterfly IMO.

I don't know how tribalism would develop(or undevelop) in Somalia in such a scenario; I always thought that tribalism was something that was bolstered by Islam which also has a lot of history/tolerance for tribalism. Without it, would the trend towards centralization be stronger in the Horn of Africa? A Somali state is still trapped by the reality of geography which IMO encourages tribalism in the region. Probably even fair to argue that it's the other way around

So I think odds are good that barring significant reforms in how this state is managed/lack of imagination on my part on its ability to project power, I think it'd be lightning in a bottle, a target of many what-ifs, but between constant Islamic hostility and the region's inherent enabling of factionalism, I think it will ultimately not persist into the era of post-Westphalian states and fail to de facto reestablish state continuity with Axum/leave institutional legacies for successor states to build on. But I think what'd follow has so much potential, even just with respect to implications for Europe, trade, and the Ottoman Empire assuming no extreme butterflies change these respective things to be unrecognizable

 

[Kurd Gossemer]

But they weren't Somali Muslims from Africa. Those who converted Southeast Asia to Islam were Arabs and Persians. To my knowledge, the Somalis themselves would not travel much further than maybe Madagascar and India. So East Africa would by itself not a major factor in the affairs of nations on the other side of the Indian Ocean like those in modern day Malaysia/Indonesia.

Basically I think you need Christian Persia or a Christian state in the southern Arabian peninsula to survive like Aksum's protectorate in modern Yemen (which maybe becomes its own independent Christian state).

In the 13th century, the Crusaders considered even the relatively insignificant Nubian kingdoms as potential allies and as late as the early 14th century there were Italian merchants active in Makuria. Somalia will be wealthier and a perfect partner for the Italian merchant republics. I could see such a state uniting with Ethiopia or just straight up conquering them like Ahmad Gragn nearly did OTL. In that case, they'll be both quite sturdy and also fodder for the Prestor John myth in Europe.

Expanding on this, having a powerful Christian kingdom on the east coast will be a major thing, basically preventing Muslim penetration into Africa outside of the North as well as having fierce rivals in trading with India, I could easily see the whole of Eastern Africa being coptic Christian with their own bishops and missionaries setting up monasteries in places like Congo, South Africa, Sudan, the Great Lakes region and so forth.

This has big butterflies from things like preventing the Arab states of Yemem and Oman having their own empires in the region towards something like that if Somalia and Ethiopia manage to stay united via shared religion and governments for long it means they would could see themselves as one nation and be the big boy players in northeastern Africa towards something even like, we assume the age of exploration still happens, the Portuguese and other empires meeting with the Christian kingdoms and allying with them against the Muslims.

 

[HyperMuscularDemon]

I can see the Ethiopians/Axumites during the fifth century to sixth century AD sending missionaries to convert the Somali people, which could enjoy quite a bit of success. If that happens, then a possibility might be the St. Thomas Christian Community Church in India is larger, which in turn could send out missionary efforts to South East Asia, spreading Christianity to Indonesia, Malaysia, and maybe even the Philippines and mainland South East Asia.