Kingdom of Gomma | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| c. 1780 – 1886 | |||||||
 The five Oromo kingdoms of the Gibe region | |||||||
| Capital | Agaro | ||||||
| Religion | Sunni Islam | ||||||
| Government | Monarchy | ||||||
| History | |||||||
• Established | 18th century | ||||||
• Annexed by Ethiopian Empire | 1886 | ||||||
| |||||||
The Kingdom of Gomma was a kingdom in the Gibe region of Ethiopia that emerged in the 18th century. It was based in Agaro.
Gomma shared its northern border with Limmu-Ennarea, its western border with Gumma, its southern border with Gera, and its eastern border with Jimma. Its capital was Agaro.
This former kingdom was mostly located in an undulating valley, with a population estimated in 1880 of about 15,000-16,000; its extent is roughly the same as the modern woreda of Gomma. Beckingham and Huntingford considered Gomma, along with Gumma, was the least economically developed of the Gibe kingdoms; [1] however Mohammed Hassen writes that "the people of Gomma devoted themselves to farming, earning a reputation for a high degree of civilization. [2]
Also located in the kingdom of Gomma were two hills, Sinka and Bemba (the last was also called Kella Egdu Biya, or "Gate of the Watching of the Land"), which were sacred to the Oromo. They were inhabited by prophets who lived with large snakes; descendants of these snakes are offered beer and goats' blood by Oromos to allieve their illnesses. [3]
Mohammed Hassen notes that "the written information on the early history of Gomma is limited, and confused." [4] Beckingham and Huntingford trace the foundation of Gomma to a miracle-worker who was named Nur Husain or Wariko, said to have come from Mogadishu. Although they speculate that this semi-legendary figure might have been confused with the better-known Sheikh Husein, whose tomb is located near the Shebelle River, they note that Antonio Cecchi reports that Wariko's tomb is located on the banks of the Didessa River, and was an object of veneration. [5]
Hassen explains the tradition around Nur Husain as reflecting the fact that "Gomma was the first state in the Gibe region where Islam became the religion of the whole people." [4] Trimingham states that Gomma was the first of the Gibe kingdoms to convert to Islam, quoting Major G.W. Harris as writing that by 1841 "in Goma the Moslem faith is universal." [6]
Hassen states that the first King of Gomma was Abba Boke, although Beckingham and Huntingford state his son, Abba Manno, had this honor. Abba Boke had gained control over all of Gomma, between Yacci and Dogaye, except for a region named Qattu. Abba Manno was later able to annex Qattu during his reign (c. 1820 - 1840), and promoted Islam by patronizing Muslim religious teachers, as well as enhancing the activities of the Qadiriya order. [7]
In 1886, Gomma was conquered by Beshua Abue on behalf of Emperor Menelik II.
This is a list of monarchies of Ethiopia that existed throughout the nation's history. It is divided into kingdoms that were subdivisions of Ethiopia, and kingdoms that were later conquered by Ethiopia. Ancient kingdoms fall into neither category.
The Kingdom of Jimma was an 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 Sidamo Kingdom of Janjero, and was separated from the Kingdom of Kaffa to the south by the Gojeb River. Jimma was considered the most powerful militarily of the Gibe kingdoms.
The Kingdom of Gera was a kingdom in the Gibe region of Ethiopia that emerged in the late 19th century. It shared its northern border with the Kingdom of Gumma, its eastern border with the Kingdom of Gomma, and was separated from the Kingdom of Kaffa to the south by the Gojeb River. With its capital at Chala, the Gera kingdom's territory corresponds approximately with the modern woreda of Gera.
The Gibe region was a historic region in modern southwestern Ethiopia, to the west of the Gibe and Omo Rivers, and north of the Gojeb. It was the location of the former Oromo and Sidama kingdoms of Gera, Gomma, Garo, Gumma, Jimma, and Limmu-Ennarea.
The Kingdom of Gumma was a kingdom in the Gibe region of Ethiopia that emerged in the 18th century. Its eastern border was formed by the bend of the Didessa River, which separated it from Limmu-Ennarea to the northeast, and the kingdoms of Gomma and Gera to the south. Beyond its northern border were various Macha Oromo groups, and to the west Sidamo groups. Its territory corresponds approximately with the modern woredas of Gechi, Borecha, and Didessa.
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 with the Kingdom of Gumma. Beyond its northern border lay tribes of the Macha Oromo. Jimma was considered the most civilized of the Gibe kingdoms, which had a population in the 1880s between 10,000 and 12,000. It was converted to Islam by missionaries from Harar in the first half of the 19th century; C.T. Beke, writing in 1841, reported that its "king and most of his subjects are Mohammedan." Limmu-Ennarea's capital was at Saqqa.
The Kingdom of Garo, also known as Bosha after its ruling dynasty, was an Oromo-Sidama kingdom in the Horn of Africa. Established by the Sidama people, it was situated on the periphery of the Gibe region of Ethiopia.
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 Kullo peoples lay between Kaffa and the Omo River; to the south numerous subgroups of the Gimira people, and to the west lay the Majangir people. The native language, also known as Kaffa, is one of the Omotic group of languages.
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Ennarea, also known as E(n)narya or In(n)arya, was a kingdom in the Gibe region in what is now western Ethiopia. It became independent from the kingdom of Damot in the 14th century and would be the most powerful kingdom in the region until its decline in the 17th century. Being located on the southwestern periphery of the Ethiopian Empire, Ennarea was its tributary throughout much of its history, supplying the emperor with gold and slaves. The culmination of this relationship was the Christianization of the Ennarean elite in the late 1580s. From the late 16th century the kingdom came under increasing pressure by the Oromo, who finally conquered Ennarea in around 1710.
Selale was a province of the Ethiopian Empire located in or around Grarya and associated with Bulga prior to the Oromo expansion, after which it became a awrajja, or sub-province, of Shewa. The region was home to the important Debre Libanos monastery built by Saint Tekle Haymanot. Also known as Selalle, an Oromo subgroup inhabiting the West Shewa Zone, north Shewa Zone and East Shewa Zone of Oromo Region, Ethiopia, are named after the original region. They have a population of approximately 2 million. The famous saint Tekle Haymanot was born in Zorare, a district in Selale which lied on the eastern edge of Shewa, to a Christian Amhara family.
Wej was a province established in the 10th-century and located in the southwest of what is now Ethiopia.
The Battle of Hazalo was fought between the forces of Adal Sultanate led by Nur ibn Mujahid, and Oromo of Gada Michelle in 1559. Nur and his troops were returning from a victory at the Battle of Fatagar against the Ethiopian Imperial army, when they were ambushed sustaining heavy casualties. Adal's elite soldiers the Malassay were killed in large number effectively ending the Harari states regional superiority.
Hubat, also known as Hobat, or Kubat was a historical Muslim state located in present-day eastern Ethiopia. Historically part of the Adal region alongside Gidaya and Hargaya states on the Harar plateau. Hubat is today within a district known as Adare Qadima which includes Garamuelta and its surroundings in Oromia region. The area is 30 km north west of Harar city at Hubeta, according to historian George Huntingford. Trimingham locates it as the region between Harar and Jaldessa. Archaeologist Timothy Insoll considers Harla town to be Hubat the capital of the now defunct Harla Kingdom.
