Somalia

The country is today officially known as the Republic of Somalia (جمهورية الصومال‎). During the classical period many city states arose along the coast, inviting trade from Phoenicia, Egypt, Greece, Persia, Saba, Nabataea and the Roman Empire. Islam began to influence Somali culture in the 7th century, with Mogadishu becoming the Islamic cultural center of East Africa. Yet the region remained a scattered collection of city states and minor kingdoms well into the 16th century, when dynasties such as the Gerad, Bari and Gobroon began carving out larger territories to govern. During the 19th century, as various European powers began the "Scramble for Africa," Britain, Italy and Ethiopia were all competing for control of what would eventually become Somalia. This prompted the creation of the Dervish State (established by Somali religious leader Muhammad Abdullah Hassan), which successfully repelled several British incursions and would eventually be recognized as an ally by Germany and the Ottoman Empire during the First Wworld War.