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''Bitwoded'' Alimirah Hanfare ((アファル語:Amyota ''Qali Mirac Canfaxe)''; 1921 - 24 April 2011) was Sultan of Aussa from 1944 until his death in 2011. He ascended to the throne after his predecessor and uncle, Mohammad Yayyo, was removed for his collaboration with the Italian occupiers. As a loyal suzerain of Emperor Haile Selassie I, Alimirah possessed only moderate governing authority as Sultan, but was highly influential as a landowner and as the senior spiritual and cultural leader of the Afar people. Under his rule, significant progress was made towards modernising agriculture amongst the pastoral Afar; attracting foreign investment, organising access to credit, and promoting infrastructural development.〔 After the overthrow of the Ethiopian monarchy by the Derg, Sultan Alimirah was targeted by the new socialist regime for his influence, status as a landowner, and support for the deposed emperor. In 1971 the Sultan was forced to flee the country when the Derg attempted to capture him in a bloody raid on Asaita, and proceeded to establish the Afar Liberation Front to resist the government and defend the Afar's rights to their land.〔 Upon the Derg's overthrow in 1991 the Sultan returned to Ethiopia, where he initially supported the efforts of the Ethiopian People's Revolutionary Democratic Front led by Meles Zenawi. Relations quickly soured, however, over the issue of Afars in Eritrea, whom the Sultan wanted to remain part of an autonomous Afar region within Ethiopia. This, amongst other disputes, led to the Sultan's marginalisation from the politics of the new Afar Region.〔 Sultan Alimirah died on 24 April 2011 and was succeeded by his son, Hanfare Alimirah. Alimirah was not only considered a leader of the Afar people, but was admired by many Ethiopians for his patriotism, resistance to the Derg, and support for Ethiopian unity. ==Early life== Alimirah Hanfere was born in area the village of Fursi, which is today divided between the Amhara Region and the Afar Region. He was said to have been born around 1921, but at his death was said to be 95 years old, suggesting he was born earlier. A member of the Aussa Mudaito Dynasty, and the youngest of three children, with two older sisters, Fatima and Medina, his father was Hanfare Aydahis and mother was Hawy Omar. His grandfather, Mahammad ibn Hanfere, was himself Sultan of Aussa from 1862 to 1902, who declared his loyalty to Emperor Menelik II and defeated an Egyptian force led by Werner Munzinger attempting to invade Ethiopia in 1875.〔Edward Ullendorff, ''The Ethiopians: An Introduction to Country and People'', second edition (London: Oxford University Press, 1965), p. 90. ISBN 0-19-285061-X.〕 His father was killed while his mother was pregnant with Alimirah, and she herself died when Alimirah was young, leaving him to be raised by his eldest sister, Fatima. Fatima married ''Fitawrari'' Yayyo Hamadu, an important leader of the Aussa, second only to the Sultan, Mohammad Yayyo. Yayyo Hamadu was entrusted with the transport of goods between the port of Assab and the capital Addis Ababa by camel caravans, making him wealthy and also facilitating a close friendship with ''Ras'' Tafari Makonnen, the future Haile Selassie I.〔 When Italy invaded Ethiopia in 1935, Sultan Muhammad agreed to not resist the Italians in exchange for being allowed their autonomy. When the Aussas made a visit to Rome in 1939, Yayyo and Alimirah, his son-in-law, visited the imprisoned ''Leul Ras'' Imru Haile Selassie, whom they helped financially and pleaded (unsuccessfully) to be released. Upon Ethiopia's liberation in 1941, Yayyo and Alimirah captured nearly a thousand Italian soldiers and brought them to Addis Ababa to commemorate the Emperor's return.〔〔 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Alimirah Hanfare」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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