Puntland

Puntland, officially the Puntland State of Somalia, is a semi-autonomous state that considers itself to be part of Somalia, despite not accepting the legitimacy of Somalia's current governing administration. It was formed in 1998, and is a federal member state of Somalia. Puntland is located in northeast of Somalia. Its capital is the city of Garoowe in the Nugal region. The region had a population of 4,334,633 in 2016.

Puntland is bordered by Somaliland to its west, the Gulf of Aden in the north, the Guardafui Channel in the northeast, the Indian Ocean, Galmudug State in the south, and Ethiopia in the southwest. There are several major geographical apexes in Puntland, including the Cape Guardafui, which forms the tip of the Horn of Africa, Ras Hafun the easternmost place on the entire African continent, and the beginning of the Karkaar mountain range.

The name "Puntland" is derived from the Land of Punt mentioned in ancient Egyptian sources, although the exact location of the fabled territory is still a mystery. Many studies suggest that the Land of Punt was located in present-day Somalia, whereas others propose that it was situated elsewhere.

On 31 March 2024, following changes due to the constitutional crisis in Somalia, the government of Puntland stated that it no longer recognizes the authority of the Somali federal government and would no longer participate in Somali federal institutions. It has declared that it will "act independently", or "exercise powers of an independent state", until there is a federal government with a constitution agreed upon in a referendum in which Puntland participates.

The Majeerteen Sultanate (Migiurtinia) was founded in the mid-18th century. It rose to prominence the following century, under the reign of the resourceful Boqor (King) Osman Mahamuud. Centred in Alula, it controlled much of northern and central Somalia in the 19th and early 20th centuries. Boqor Osman was one of the prominent Darood clan chiefs who ruled the ancient towns of Alula, Bargaal, Bosaso and Hafun and subsequently emerged as a powerful traditional elder who fully controlled areas under his rule. The polity maintained a robust trading network, entered into treaties with foreign powers, and exerted strong centralized authority on the domestic front.

The Majeerteen Sultanate was nearly destroyed in the mid-1800s by a power struggle between Boqor Osman and his ambitious cousin, Yusuf Ali Kenadid. After almost five years of battle, the young upstart was finally forced into exile in Yemen. A decade later, in the 1870s, Kenadid returned from the Arabian Peninsula with a band of Hadhrami musketeers and a group of devoted lieutenants. With their assistance, he managed to overpower the local clans and establish the Sultanate of Hobyo in 1878.

In late 1889, Boqor Osman entered into a treaty with Italy, making his realm an Italian protectorate. His rival Sultan Kenadid had signed a similar agreement vis-a-vis his own Sultanate the year before. Both rulers had signed the protectorate treaties to advance their own expansionist objectives, with Boqor Osman looking to use Italy's support in his ongoing power struggle with Kenadid over the Majeerteen Sultanate. Boqor Osman and Sultan Kenadid also hoped to exploit the conflicting interests among the European imperial powers that were then looking to control the Somali peninsula, so as to avoid direct occupation of their territories by force.

With the gradual extension into northern Somalia of European colonial rule, all three sultanates were annexed to Italian Somaliland in the early 20th century.