Ancient Somalia

ancient kingdom on the northern coast of the Horn of Africa

trade road that connects Mediterranean ports to India via Africa and Arabia

historic international commerce

Xeer (pronounced ) is the traditional legal system used by Somalis in Djibouti, Somalia, Somaliland, Somali Region of Ethiopia, and the North Eastern Province in Kenya. It is one of the three systems from which formal Somali law draws its inspiration, the others being civil law and Islamic law. It is believed to pre-date Islam. However, Islam influenced it, with Xeer incorporating many Islamic legal principles. Under this system, the elders, known as the , serve as mediator judges and help settle court cases, taking precedent and custom into account. Xeer is polycentric in that different group

{| class="toccolours" border="1" cellpadding="2" cellspacing="2" style="float: right; margin: 0 0 1em 1em; width: 250px; border-collapse: collapse; font-size: 95%;" |- | colspan="2" style="margin-left: inherit; background:#DEB887; text-align:center; font-size: medium;" |AncientOpone |- align="center" | colspan="2" | 250px|. |- style="vertical-align: top;" | Location |Hafun, Somalia |- style="vertical-align: top;" | City-state existed: | 1st millennium BC–500 AD |- style="vertical-align: top;" |} Opone () was an ancient seaport and emporium located in present-day Somalia. It is primarily know

Gondershe, also known as Gandershe (, ; or El Torreh Al-Toureh , ; Swahili: Gonderashe ), is an archaeological site on the Somali Sea. It was at one point one of the most important districts of the Geledi Sultanate. Residents were largely from the Gendershe clan in the Lower Shabelle region of Southwest State of Somalia. Gondershe today is noted for its citadel and other various historical structures.

Ancient Reigons in Northeast Africa

beliefs, legends and folktales of the Somalis

thumb|Model of a Somali beden

{| class="toccolours" border="1" cellpadding="2" cellspacing="2" style="float: right; margin: 0 0 1em 1em; width: 250px; border-collapse: collapse; font-size: 95%;" |- | colspan="2" style="margin-left: inherit; background:#DEB887; text-align:center; font-size: medium;" |AncientSarapion |- align="center" | colspan="2" | 250px|. |- style="vertical-align: top;" | Location | Mogadishu, Somalia |- style="vertical-align: top;" | City-state existed: | 1st century AD |- style="vertical-align: top;" |- align="center" | colspan="2" | |- style="vertical-align: top;" |} Sarapion (, also spelled Serapi