''Moti'' Abba Jifar I (r. 1830–1855) was the first king of the
Gibe Kingdom of Jimma
The Kingdom of Jimma ( om, Mootummaa Jimmaa) was an Oromo people, Oromo kingdom in the Gibe region of Ethiopia that emerged in the 18th century. It shared its western border with Limmu-Ennarea, its eastern border with the Sidama people, Sidamo K ...
.
Reign
Abba Jifar was the son of
Abba Magal Abba Magal () was a leader of the Diggo Oromo, and the father of Abba Jifar I.
Previously, the Diggo, based in the area of Mana, had conquered the nearby town of Hirmata that was home to the Lalo people. This victory gave Abba Magal enough wealt ...
, who was a leader of the Diggo
Oromo. He built upon the political and military base his father had provided him, and created the Kingdom of Jimma. Consequently, Jimma was no longer referred to as ''Jimma Kaka'' in common parlance, but as Jimma Abba Jifar.
Herbert S. Lewis credits Abba Jifar with having initiated "many administrative and political innovations", despite the lack of specific historical evidence. According to oral tradition, Abba Jifar claimed the right to the extensive areas of the newly conquered land as well as virgin or unused land, which he both kept for himself and used to reward his family, followers and favorites. He reportedly constructed at least five palaces in different parts of Jimma.
The historian Mordechai Abir notes that between the years 1839 and 1841 of his reign, Abba Jifar fought with Abba Bagido the King of
Limmu-Ennarea
The Kingdom of Limmu-Ennarea was one of the kingdoms in the Gibe region of Ethiopia that emerged in the 19th century. It shared its eastern border with the Kingdom of Jimma, its southern border with the Kingdom of Gomma and its western border wit ...
over the district of Badi-Folla. The area was important for control of the
caravan
Caravan or caravans may refer to:
Transport and travel
*Caravan (travellers), a group of travellers journeying together
**Caravanserai, a place where a caravan could stop
*Camel train, a convoy using camels as pack animals
*Convoy, a group of veh ...
route between the
Kingdom of Kaffa
The Kingdom of Kaffa was a kingdom located in what is now Ethiopia from 1390 to 1897, with its first capital at Bonga. The Gojeb River formed its northern border, beyond which lay the Gibe kingdoms; to the east the territory of the Konta and Kul ...
on the one hand, and the provinces of
Gojjam
Gojjam ( ''gōjjām'', originally ጐዛም ''gʷazzam'', later ጐዣም ''gʷažžām'', ጎዣም ''gōžžām'') is a historical province in northwestern Ethiopia, with its capital city at Debre Marqos.
Gojjam's earliest western boundary ex ...
and
Shewa
Shewa ( am, ሸዋ; , om, Shawaa), formerly romanized as Shua, Shoa, Showa, Shuwa (''Scioà'' in Italian language, Italian), is a historical region of Ethiopia which was formerly an autonomous monarchy, kingdom within the Ethiopian Empire. The ...
on the other. While the two Kings negotiated a peace in 1841, and sealed the treaty with the marriage of Abba Jifar's daughter to Abba Bagido's son Abba Dula, the Jimma King eventually conquered Badi-Folla (1847) and secured control over this important caravan route.
Abba Jifar was also the first king of Jimma to embrace
Islam
Islam (; ar, ۘالِإسلَام, , ) is an Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic Monotheism#Islam, monotheistic religion centred primarily around the Quran, a religious text considered by Muslims to be the direct word of God in Islam, God (or ...
, owing his conversion in 1830 to Abdul Hakim, a trader from
Gondar
Gondar, also spelled Gonder (Amharic: ጎንደር, ''Gonder'' or ''Gondär''; formerly , ''Gʷandar'' or ''Gʷender''), is a city and woreda in Ethiopia. Located in the North Gondar Zone of the Amhara Region, Gondar is north of Lake Tana on t ...
. Lewis notes that as of 1960, Abdul Hakim's tomb in
Jiren was still a venerated site.
[Lewis, ''A Galla Monarchy'', p. 41]
References
Jifar I
Converts to Islam
Ethiopian Muslims
19th-century monarchs in Africa
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