The Sa'ad Musa have a rich mercantile history largely due to their possession of the major Somali port of Berbera, which was the chief port and settlement of the wider Habr Awal clan during the early modern period. The clan had strong ties to the Emirate of Harar and Emirs would hold Habr Awal merchants in their court with high esteem with Richard Burton noting their influence in Emir Ahmad III ibn Abu Bakr's court and discussions with the Vizier Mohammed.[14]