Obock Region (Obock)
In the mid-19th century and earlier, Obock was ruled by Afar Sultans, local authorities with whom France signed various treaties between 1883 and 1887 to first gain a foothold in the region. The March 11, 1862 agreement the Afar sultan, Raieta Dini Ahmet signed in Paris was a treaty where the Afars sold the territory of Obock for 10,000 thalaris, around 55,000 francs. The French developed Obock as a colonial port, while the Italians maintained a port to the north of Obock at Assab.
Obock region became a separate administrative entity in 1927, with Michel Azenor appointed as chief.
Map - Obock Region (Obock)
Map
Country - Djibouti
Flag of Djibouti |
In antiquity, the territory, together with Ethiopia, Eritrea and Somaliland, was part of the Land of Punt. Nearby Zeila, now in Somaliland, was the seat of the medieval Adal and Ifat Sultanates. In the late 19th century, the colony of French Somaliland was established after the ruling Dir Somali sultans signed treaties with the French, and its railroad to Dire Dawa (and later Addis Ababa) allowed it to quickly supersede Zeila as the port for southern Ethiopia and the Ogaden. It was renamed the French Territory of the Afars and the Issas in 1967. A decade later, the Djiboutian people voted for independence. This officially marked the establishment of the Republic of Djibouti, named after its capital city. The new state joined the United Nations. In the early 1990s, tensions over government representation led to armed conflict, which ended in a power-sharing agreement in 2000 between the ruling party and the opposition.
Currency / Language
ISO | Currency | Symbol | Significant figures |
---|---|---|---|
DJF | Djiboutian franc | Fr | 0 |
ISO | Language |
---|---|
AA | Afar language |
AR | Arabic language |
FR | French language |
SO | Somali language |