Hädjdjl ‘Ali Shermerki emerged as a major Somali commercial and political actor after Egypt withdrew from the Zeila area in 1841. He purchased the governorship of Zeila, converting commercial wealth into formal authority over a strategic Gulf of Aden port. His position placed him at the intersection of inland caravan networks and maritime trade.

Shermerki sought to monopolize commerce across the region. He seized Berbera and encouraged Issa groups from the interior to attack caravans bound for Tadjurah, attempting to redirect or control the movement of goods between the Somali coast, Harar, and the Afar lowlands. These actions threatened both established coastal interests and inland political authorities.

The amir of Harar encouraged the Haber Awal Somali to oppose Shermerki’s occupation of Berbera. Shermerki retaliated by inciting other Somali groups to close the route to Berbera and depose the amir, but the Haber Awal drove his men from the port in 1852. British pressure from Aden forced him to abandon a blockade, and Ottoman authorities arrested him at Mecca in 1855.