History of Somalia History of Somalia Somalia (; ), officially the Federal Republic of Somalia (, ) and formerly known as the Somali Democratic Republic, is a country located in the Horn of Africa. Somalia was an important centre for commerce with the rest of the ancient world, and according to most scholars, it is among the most probable locations of the fabled ancient Land of Punt. During the Middle Ages, several powerful Somali empires dominated the regional trade, including the Ajuran Sultanate, the Adal Sultanate, the Warsangali Sultanate, the Sultanate of the Geledi and the Majeerteen Sultanate. In the late 19th century,
Piracy in the Atlantic World tongue. A "great mosque" was also mentioned by Defoe as well as an illustration of the City of Magadoxa rather than Magadoxa being described as a country or an island like Madagascar. A mosque would be practically expected in a region with Islamic influence and proximity to the Red and Arabian Sea. Captain Beavis was also said to have gotten lost in the higher Ethiopia, which borders present-day Somalia . The correlations of the descriptions given make a better case of Magadoxa being Somalia rather than Madagascar, and illustrate pirate influence in a region of Africa in close to connection