Page "Zeila" Paragraph 13

Beginning in 1630, the city became a dependency of the ruler of Mocha, who, for a small sum, leased the port to one of the office-holders of Mocha.

The latter in return collected a toll on its trade.

Zeila was subsequently ruled by an Emir, whom Mordechai Abir suggested had " some vague claim to authority over all of the sahil, but whose real authority did not extend very far beyond the walls of the town.

" Assisted by cannons and a few mercenaries armed with matchlocks, the governor succeeded in fending off incursions by both the disunited nomads of the interior, who had penetrated the area, as well as brigands in the Gulf of Aden.

By the first half of the nineteenth century, Zeila was a shadow of its former self, having been reduced to " a large village surrounded by a low mud wall, with a population that varied according to the season from 1, 000 to 3, 000 people.

" The city continued to serve as the principal maritime outlet for Harar and beyond it in Shewa.

However, the opening of a new sea route between Tadjoura and Shewa cut further into Zeila's historic position as the main regional port.