Amélie Chekroun * Harar as the capital city of the Barr Saʿd ad-Dı ˉn (frst half of the 16 th century): from its emergence to its fortifcation Abstract This article traces the history of the city of Harar prior to the mid-16 th century until the end of the Barr Saʿd ad-Dı ˉn Sultanate. The research for this article is based on the few mentions of the city that exist in the medieval literature and on recent archaeological data. It shows that, contrary to what has been proposed by oral traditions since the late 19 th century and by the archaeological data and interpretation proposed by Insoll in 2017, Harar did not become an urban, economic, and religious center until the early 16 th century when the city became the new capital of Barr Saʿd ad-Dı ˉn. Until then and since the establishment of the sultanate in the early 15 th century, the sultans’ power was centered in Dakar. The reasons for relocating the capital of the sultanate in 1520 are not known, but instability in the sultanate in years prior may shed light on why Harar emerged as the new heart of the sultanate. Finally, this article provides further evidence for the construction of the city walls in the mid-16 th century by Emir Nu ˉ r. Sources from this period tend to show that this fortifcation of the city was part of a general policy followed by the sultanate as they tried to defend themselves against attacks from the newly arrived Oromo populations in the region. Keywords: Harar, History, Barr Saʿd ad-Dı ˉn, Written sources, Ar- chaeology Résumé Cet article tente de retracer l’histoire de la ville de Harar avant le milieu du xvi e siècle et la fn du sultanat du Barr Saʿd ad-Dı ˉn. L’étude s’appuie sur les rares mentions de la ville dans la documentation médiévale et sur les données archéologiques récentes. Elle montre que, contrairement * Institut de recherches et d’études sur les mondes arabes et musulmans, Aix-en-Provence. Contact: amelie.chekroun@cnrs.fr. Annales d’Éthiopie, 2022, 34, 23-44