Pathways to Statehood: Authority, legitimacy and Social Diversity in the Horn of Africa (11th-16th centuries)

Project Information

StateHorn

Grant agreement ID: 853390

DOI

10.3030/853390

Project closed

EC signature date 8 April 2020

Start date 1 June 2020

End date 31 May 2026

Funded under

• EXCELLENT SCIENCE - European Research Council (ERC)

Total cost

€ 1 499 848,00

EU contribution

€ 1 499 848,00

Coordinated by

AGENCIA ESTATAL CONSEJO SUPERIOR DE INVESTIGACIONES CIENTIFICAS
Spain

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Links to deliverables and publications from FP7 projects, as well as links to some specific result types such as dataset and software, are dynamically retrieved from OpenAIRE .

Publications

Conference proceedings (4)

Pots, settlements and state. The medieval potteries from a region of the Horn of Africa (Acta Belgrado 2024)

Author(s): Mario Llorente García
Published in: Proceedings of the Belgrade Conference on Archaeological Pottery, Issue In press, to be released in 2026, 2026, Page(s) Available upon publication
Publisher: University of Belgrado

The Meeting Ground: Mosques in the Horn of Africa during the Medieval Period

Author(s): Jorge de Torres, Carolina Cornax-Gómez
Published in: Proceedings of the Ethiopian Art and Architecture: Recent Studies with Focus on the 16th to the 18th Centuries. Rassegna di Studi Etiopici,, Issue 7 (3ª serie, LIV), 2023, Page(s) 249–288, ISSN 0390-0096
Publisher: "Dipartimento Asia, Africa e Mediterraneo, Università degli Studi di Napoli ""L'Orientale"""

New evidence of long-distance trade in Somaliland in Antiquity: Imported materials from the 2018-2019 field seasons at Xiis (Heis), first to third centuries AD

Author(s): Fernández, A.; González-Ruibal, A. y de Torres, J.
Published in: Networked Spaces: The spatiality of networks in the Red Sea and Western Indian Ocean., 2022, Page(s) 607-626, ISBN 978-2-35668-164-5
Publisher: MOM Éditions (Maison de l'Orient et de la Méditerranée – Jean Pouilloux)

Collapse? The end of the settlements in the Horn of Africa

Author(s): Mario Llorente García
Published in: Actas de las Jornadas de Jóvenes Investigación en Arqueología (JIA), Issue In press, 2026
Publisher: University of Granada

Peer reviewed articles (13)

Nomads Trading with Empires: Intercultural Trade in Ancient Somaliland in the First to Seventh Centuries CE

Author(s): Alfredo González-Ruibal, Jorge de Torres, Candela Martínez Barrio, Manuel Antonio Franco Fernández, Adolfo Fernández Fernández, Pablo Gutiérrez de León Juberías, José Yravedra Sainz de los Terreros, Michela Gaudiello, Ahmed Jama Dualeh
Published in: American Journal of Archaeology, Issue 126, 2024, Page(s) 103-138, ISSN 0002-9114
Publisher: Archaeological Institute of America
DOI: 10.1086/718184

Gone with the wind. Urbanization and deurbanization processes in the medieval Muslim Horn of Africa: the case of Handoga (Djibouti)

Author(s): Jorge Rouco Collazo, Jorge de Torres Rodríguez
Published in: World Archaeology, Issue 57, 2026, Page(s) 46-64, ISSN 0043-8243
Publisher: Routledge
DOI: 10.1080/00438243.2025.2545180

Entanglements, ontologies, and grinding stones at the medieval site of Handoga (Djibouti)

Author(s): Jorge de Torres Rodríguez, Valeria Franco Salvi
Published in: World Archaeology, Issue 56, 2025, Page(s) 237-252, ISSN 0043-8243
Publisher: Routledge
DOI: 10.1080/00438243.2024.2407323

From cairns to graves: funerary transformations in medieval sedentary communities in the Islamic Horn of Africa

Author(s): Carolina Cornax-Gómez, Jorge de Torres Rodríguez
Published in: Azania: Archaeological Research in Africa, Issue 60, 2025, Page(s) 105-139, ISSN 0067-270X
Publisher: Routledge
DOI: 10.1080/0067270x.2025.2455899

Urban mosques in the Horn of Africa during the medieval period

Author(s): Carolina Cornax-Gómez, Jorge de Torres Rodríguez
Published in: Revue des mondes musulmans et de la Méditerranée, Issue 153, 2026, Page(s) 37-64, ISSN 0997-1327
Publisher: Edisud Publishers
DOI: 10.4000/remmm.19266

Kola’s Kingdom: The Territory of Abasa (Western Somaliland) during the Medieval Period

Author(s): Jorge de Torres Rodríguez
Published in: International Journal of Historical Archaeology, Issue 28, 2024, Page(s) 545-575, ISSN 1092-7697
Publisher: Plenum Publishers
DOI: 10.1007/s10761-023-00721-7

Asia in the Horn. The Indian Ocean trade in Somaliland

Author(s): Alfredo González-Ruibal, Jorge de Torres, Manuel Antonio Franco Fernández, Candela Martínez Barrio, Pablo Gutiérrez de León Juberías
Published in: Archaeological Research in Asia, Issue 27, 2025, Page(s) 100289, ISSN 2352-2267
Publisher: Elsevier BV
DOI: 10.1016/j.ara.2021.100289

Borderland ceramics: Characterisation and contextualization of the archaeological potteries from the western Somaliland-Ethiopian border

Author(s): Mario Llorente García
Published in: Azania: Archaoeological Research in Africa, Issue In press, to be released in 2026, 2026, Page(s) Available upon publication, ISSN 1945-5534
Publisher: Taylor & Francis

City of Traders: Urbanization, Social Change, and Territorial Control in Medieval Fardowsa (Central Somaliland)

Author(s): Jorge de Torres Rodríguez, Alfredo González-Ruibal, Manuel Antonio Franco Fernández, Adrián de la Torre García, José Yravedra Sainz de los Terreros, Josephine Lesur
Published in: Journal of African Archaeology, Issue 22, 2024, Page(s) 86-114, ISSN 1612-1651
Publisher: Africa Magna Verlag
DOI: 10.1163/21915784-bja10038

The Guiding Sky. Funerary Orientations and Nomadic Movements in Somaliland during Antiquity

Author(s): Carolina Cornax Gómez, A. César González-García, Jorge de Torres Rodriguez
Published in: Journal of Skyscape Archaeology, Issue 8 (1), 2022, Page(s) 36-65, ISSN 2055-348X
Publisher: Equinox Publishing
DOI: 10.1558/jsa.19238

The medieval town of Handoga (Djibouti). A report of the 2021 field season.

Author(s): Torres, J. de, Ruibal González, A., Franco Fernández, M.A., Martínez Barrio, C.; Gutiérrez de León Juberías, P.; Cornax Gómez, C.; Minguito Palomares, A.; Abdi, S. and Osman, I.
Published in: Journal of Global Archaeology, Issue 2023, 2023, Page(s) 204-237, ISSN 2701-5572
Publisher: Deutsches Archäologisches Institut
DOI: 10.34780/6i7g-e2fi

EL CUERNO VIRTUAL: ESTRATEGIAS DIGITALES PARA LA DOCUMENTACIÓN Y DIFUSIÓN DE LA ARQUEOLOGÍA DEL CUERNO DE ÁFRICA

Author(s): Jorge De Torres Rodríguez, Manuel Antonio Franco Fernández, Pablo Aparicio Resco, Jorge Rouco Collazo
Published in: Cuadernos de Prehistoria y Arqueología de la Universidad de Granada, Issue 34, 2024, Page(s) 207-240, ISSN 2659-9295
Publisher: Editorial de la Universidad de Granada
DOI: 10.30827/cpag.v34i0.29401

Breaking Borders: The Medieval Archaeology of the Ethiopian-Somaliland Borderland

Author(s): Jorge de Torres Rodríguez, Jorge Rouco Collazo, Valeria Leticia Franco Salvi, Manuel Antonio Franco Fernández, Mohamed Abdi Allamagen, Carolina Cornax Gómez, Mario Llorente García, Mesfin Getachew, Adrián de la Torre García, Juan Montegú, Worku Derara, Álvaro Minguito Palomares, Khalid Abdilahi Abdi
Published in: African Archaeological Review, Issue 2026, 2026, Page(s) 1-42, ISSN 0263-0338
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
DOI: 10.1007/s10437-026-09660-0

Non-peer reviewed articles (7)

A Chinese coin found in the medieval town of Handoga (Djibouti)

Author(s): Cribb, J. and Torres Rodriguez, J. de
Published in: Journal of the Oriental Numismatic Society, Issue 254, 2023, Page(s) 10-13, ISSN 1818-1252
Publisher: Oriental Numismatic Society

The 2023 archaeological survey in the AwBare region (Somali Region, Ethiopia).

Author(s): Torres Rodríguez, J.; Franco Fernández, M.A.; Cornax Gómez, C.; Gete, M.; Derara, W.; Allamagen, M.; Minguito, A.; Shafi, A, and Yasine, M.
Published in: Nyame Akuma, Issue 100, 2023, Page(s) 28-35, ISSN 0713-5815
Publisher: Society of Africanist Archaeologists

The medieval occupation of the Gebiley region: Documenting the archaeology of Central Somaliland

Author(s): Mohamed Abdi Allamagen, Jorge de Torres Rodríguez, Khalid Abdillahi Abdi, Jorge Rouco Collazo, Manuel Antonio Franco Fernández, Carolina Cornax-Gómez, Mario Llorente García, Adrián de la Torre García, and Juan Montegú
Published in: Nyame Akuma, Issue 104, 2025, Page(s) 47-54, ISSN 0713-5815
Publisher: Society of Africanist Archaeologists

The Medieval site of Dameraqad (Somaliland)

Author(s): Cornax Gómez, Carolina
Published in: Nyame Akuma, Issue 99, 2023, Page(s) 65-74, ISSN 0713-5815
Publisher: Society of Africanist Archaeologists

Built on diversity: Statehood in Medieval Somaliland (12th-16th centuries AD)

Author(s): Torres, J. de
Published in: Anejos de Nailos, Issue 6, 2020, Page(s) 159-185, ISSN 2341-3573
Publisher: Asociación de Profesionales Independientes de la Arqueología de Asturias (APIAA)

The Spanish Archaeological Mission in Somaliland

Author(s): Jorge de Torres Rodríguez
Published in: Bildhaan: An International Journal of Somali Studies, Issue 22 (5), 2022, Page(s) 39-68, ISSN 1528-6258
Publisher: University of Macalester

The 2020 field season at the medieval settlement of Fardowsa (Somaliland)

Author(s): Torres, J. de; González-Ruibal, A.; Franco, M.A.; Gutiérrez, P.; Martínez, C.; Minguito, A. and Dualeh, A.
Published in: Nyame Akuma, Issue 93, 2020, Page(s) 28-35, ISSN 0713-5815
Publisher: Society of Africanist Archaeologists

Book chapters (2)

Towns in a sea of nomads: territory and trade in Central Somaliland during the Medieval period

Author(s): Jorge de Torres Rodríguez, Alfredo González-Ruibal, Manuel Antonio Franco Fernández, Candela Martínez Barrio and Pablo Gutiérrez de León Juberías
Published in: Shaping Cultural Landcapes. Connecting Agriculture, Crafts, Construction, Transport, and Resilience Strategies, 2022, Page(s) 255-274, ISBN 9789464260953
Publisher: Sidestone Press

The Medieval Archaeology of Somaliland

Author(s): Jorge de Torres Rodriguez
Published in: Oxford Research Encyclopedia of Anthropology, Issue 1, 2026, Page(s) 1-26, ISSN 2630-4651
Publisher: Oxford University Press
DOI: 10.1093/acrefore/9780190854584.013.566

Other (1)

The StateHorn Project: Authority, Legitimacy and Social Diversity in the Horn of Africa (11th-16th centuries)

Author(s): de Torres Rodríguez, J.
Published in: The Bulletin of the International Association for the Study of Arabia, Issue 26, 2021, Page(s) 48-49
Publisher: International Association for the Study of Arabia (IASA)