The Republic of Somalia (Somali: Jamhuuriyadda Soomaaliya, Arabic: جمهورية الصومال Jumhūriyyat aṣ-Ṣūmāl), formerly known as the Somali Democratic Republic, is a country located on the Horn of Africa. It is bordered by Djibouti to the northwest, Kenya to the southwest, the Gulf of Aden with Yemen to the north, the Indian Ocean to the east, and Ethiopia to the west. In antiquity, Somalia was an important center for commerce with the rest of the ancient world. Its sailors and merchants were the main suppliers of frankincense, myrrh and spices, items which were considered valuable luxuries by the Ancient Egyptians, Phoenicians, Myceneans and Babylonians with whom the Somali people traded.[1][2] According to most scholars, Somalia is also where the ancient Kingdom of Punt was situated.[3][4][5][6] The ancient Puntites were a nation of people that had close relations with Pharoanic Egypt during the times of Pharoah Sahure and Queen Hatshepsut. The pyramidical structures, temples and ancient houses of dressed stone littered around Somalia are said to date from this period.[7] In the classical era, several ancient city-states such as Opone, Mosyllon and Malao that competed with the Sabaeans, Parthians and Axumites for the wealthy Indo-Greco-Roman trade also flourished in Somalia.[8] Somalia was never formally colonized.[9][10][11] The Dervish State successfully repulsed the British empire four times and forced it to retreat to the coastal region.[12] As a result of its fame in the Middle east and Europe, the Dervish state was recognized as an ally by the Ottoman Empire and the German empire,[13][14] and remained throughout World War I the only independent Muslim power on the continent. After a quarter of a century holding the British at bay, the Dervishes were finally defeated in 1920 when Britain for the first time in Africa used aeroplanes when it bombed the Dervish capital of Taleh. As a result of this bombardment, former Dervish territories were turned into a protectorate of Britain. Italy similary faced the same opposition from Somali Sultans and armies and did not acquire full control of parts of modern Somalia until the Fascist era in late 1927. This occupation lasted till 1941 and was replaced by a British military administration. Northern Somalia would remain a protectorate while southern Somalia became a trusteeship. The Union of the two regions in 1960 formed the Somali Democratic Republic. Due to its ancient brotherly ties with the Arab world, Somalia was accepted in 1974 as a member of the Arab League. To strengthen its relationship with the rest of the African continent, Somalia joined other African nations when it founded the African Union, and began to support the ANC in South Africa against the apartheid regime[15] and the Eritrean secessionists in Ethiopia during the Eritrean War of Independence.[16] A Muslim country, Somalia is one of the founding members of the Organisation of the Islamic Conference and is also a member of the UN and NAM. Despite suffering from civil strife and instability, Somalia has also managed to sustain a freemarket economy which, according to the UN, outperforms those of many other countries in Africa.[17] [edit] General reference  An enlargeable basic map of Somalia [edit] Geography of Somalia  An enlargeable topographic map of Somalia -
 Djibouti 58 km Ethiopia 1,600 km Kenya 682 km [edit] Environment of Somalia  An enlargeable satellite image of Somalia [edit] Natural geographic features of Somalia [edit] Regions of Somalia - Main article: Regions of Somalia
[edit] Ecoregions of Somalia - Main article: Ecoregions in Somalia
[edit] Administrative divisions of Somalia - Main article: Administrative divisions of Somalia
[edit] Regions of Somalia [edit] Demography of Somalia - Main article: Demographics of Somalia
[edit] Government and politics of Somalia - Main article: Government of Somalia and Politics of Somalia
[edit] Branches of the government of Somalia [edit] Executive branch of the government of Somalia [edit] Legislative branch of the government of Somalia [edit] Judicial branch of the government of Somalia [edit] Foreign relations of Somalia [edit] International organization membership The Republic of Somalia is a member of: [19] [edit] Law and order in Somalia - Main article: Law of Somalia
[edit] Military of Somalia - Main article: Military of Somalia
[edit] Local government in Somalia [edit] History of Somalia - Main article: History of Somalia, Timeline of the history of Somalia, and Current events of Somalia
[edit] Culture of Somalia - Main article: Culture of Somalia
[edit] Art in Somalia [edit] Sports in Somalia - Main article: Sports in Somalia
[edit] Economy of Somalia - Main article: Economy of Somalia
[edit] Education in Somalia - Main article: Education in Somalia
[edit] Infrastructure of Somalia [edit] See also [edit] References - ^ Phoenicia pg 199
- ^ The Aromatherapy Book by Jeanne Rose and John Hulburd pg 94
- ^ Egypt: 3000 Years of Civilization Brought to Life By Christine El Mahdy
- ^ Ancient perspectives on Egypt By Roger Matthews, Cornelia Roemer, University College, London.
- ^ Africa's legacies of urbanization: unfolding saga of a continent By Stefan Goodwin
- ^ Civilizations: Culture, Ambition, and the Transformation of Nature By Felipe Armesto Fernandez
- ^ Man, God and Civilization pg 216
- ^ Oman in history By Peter Vine Page 324
- ^ Politics, language, and thought: the Somali experience - Page 135
- ^ Africa report pg 69
- ^ Essentials of geography and development: concepts and processes By Don R. Hoy, Leonard Berry pg 305
- ^ Encyclopedia of African history - Page 1406
- ^ The modern history of Somaliland: from nation to state - Page 78
- ^ Historical dictionary of Ethiopia - Page 405
- ^ http://www.anc.org.za/ancdocs/anctoday/2007/text/at01.txt
- ^ Superpower diplomacy in the Horn of Africa - Page 22
- ^ http://www.un.org/apps/news/story.asp?NewsID=25433&Cr=Somalia&Cr1=
- ^ [iahs.info/redbooks/a126/iahs_126_0197.pdf Proceedings of the Riederalp Workshop, September 1978; Actes de l'Atelier de Riederalp, septembre 1978): IAHS-AISH Publ. no. 126, 1980.]
- ^ "Somalia". The World Factbook. United States Central Intelligence Agency. July 3, 2009. https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/so.html. Retrieved July 23, 2009.
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