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.[1] It was converted to Islam by missionaries from Emirate of 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."[2] Limmu-Ennarea's capital was at Saqqa.
The location of this former kingdom has a north to south central elevation between 1,500 and over 2,000 metres (5,000 to over 6,500 feet), and is covered with forests. The population of this kingdom was estimated in 1880 to have been about 40,000, including slaves.[3] However, this was after an epidemic of plague in the late 1840s, and Mordechai Abir estimates the population before that calamity to have been around 100,000.[4]
History
The kingdom of Limmu-Ennarea was a continuation of the older kingdom of Ennarea, which for many decades successfully resisted the Oromo, who had overrun other kingdoms tributary to the Ethiopian Emperor including Bizamo and Konch. Despite this, as Mohammed Hassen observes, Ennarea eventually drifted into an extended period of civil war and by "the middle of the second half of the seventeenth century, Ennarya not only lacked a single leadership, but also her feuding leaders probably fought more with each other than with their common enemy."[5] In 1704, when Emperor Iyasu the Great campaigned south of the Abay River, and reached Gonga, the stronghold of Ennarea on the Gibe River, he was met by two rival leaders of the crumbling kingdom. In the years following the Emperor's expedition to Ennarea, the warring potentates gradually fled south to the Kingdom of Kaffa. The remaining Sidamo population was absorbed by the Oromo, who as a practice made no distinction in ethnic ancestry for inclusion into their society.[6]
Eventually a powerful war leader, Bofo the son of Boku, came to dominate the Limmu Oromo by his military prowess and charisma; Mohammed Hassen dates this development between 1800 and 1802.[7] He formed a dynastic bond with the daughter of Abba Rebu, who traced his ancestry to both the earlier dynasty that ruled Ennarea, as well as a Portuguese soldier from Cristóvão da Gama's army who had come to live in Ennarea. Abir also notes that another tradition states that this marriage was a political union between two rival clans, the Sapera and the Sigaro. In either case, due to this Portuguese influence, the kings of Limmu-Ennarea called themselves supera, unlike the other Gibe kings who used the Oromo word[citation needed] "Moti" which originally indicated the office of the war leader (also called Abba Dula) during the cycle of his Gadaa.
In 1825, Bofu abdicated in favor of his son, Abba Bagibo, under whose rule Limmu-Ennarea reached the peak of its existence. Due to wars in neighboring Jimmu, merchants used the trade route through his kingdom to gain access to Kaffa. Abba Bagibo made a concerted effort to promote this trade, both with beneficial policies (e.g., offering security from bandits to traders, and lower tariffs) and with coercive ones (requiring merchants from Gondar, Adwa, Derita and Dawe to meet their counterparts from Kaffa and further south at Saqqa).
During Abba Bagibo's reign, the Kingdom of Limmu-Ennarea adopted Islam as the state religion. When Catholic missionaries later opened a mission in the kingdom in 1846, the king told them that "had you come thirty years ago, not only I but all my countrymen might have embraced your religion, but now it is impossible."[8]
Jimma's eventual success at conquering the Badi-Folla in 1847 reopened the trade route between Kaffa and Shewa, which merchants found to be a much better route. This also brought an end to Limmu-Ennarea prosperity, despite Abba Bagido's later actions. On his death in 1861, Abba Bagido was succeeded by his "untalented and fanatic Muslim son", who hastened the kingdom's decline.[9]
Limmu-Ennarea was secured for Shewa by RasGobana Dacche following the decisive Battle of Embabo, without a single blow being struck; however, when Ras Gobana fell from power a few years later in the mid-1880s, the entire Gibe region erupted in revolt.[10]DejazmachWolde Giyorgis then re-conquered the kingdom by force; the Dejazmach afterwards built a church dedicated to St Marqos near the royal palace. Abba Bagibo, the son of the last king, Abba Gomoli, converted to Christianity for political advantages, changed his name to Gabra Selassie, and became a Fitawrari in the Ethiopian Empire.[11]
↑ Mordechai Abir, The era of the princes: the challenge of Islam and the re-unification of the Christian empire, 1769-1855. (London: Longmans, 1968), p. 81
Arnaud-Michel d'Abbadie d'Arrast, listed in the Chambers Biographical Dictionary as Michel Arnaud d'Abbadie was an Irish-born French and Basque explorer known for his travels in Ethiopia with his elder brother Antoine d'Abbadie d'Arrast. Arnaud was a geographer, ethnologist, linguist, familiar with the Abyssinian polemarch and an active witness to their battles and the life of their courts. The general account of the travels of the two brothers was published by Arnaud in 1868 under the title Douze ans de séjour dans la Haute-Ethiopie. The book has been translated into English.
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.
Jimma is the largest city in southwestern Oromia Region, Ethiopia. It is a special zone of the Oromia Region and is surrounded by Jimma Zone. It has a latitude and longitude of 7°40′N36°50′E. Prior to the 2007 census, Jimma was reorganized administratively as a special Zone.
MotiAbba Jifar I was the first king of the Gibe Kingdom of Jimma.
MotiAbba Jifar II was King of the Gibe Kingdom of Jimma.
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 Gomma was a kingdom in the Gibe region of Ethiopia that emerged in the 18th century. It was based in Agaro.
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 Yamma was a small kingdom located in what is now Ethiopia. It lay in the angle formed by the Omo and the Jimma Gibe Rivers; to the west lay the Kingdom of Jimma and to the south the Kingdom of Garo. Three mountains — Mount Bor Ama, Mount Azulu and Mount Toba — all distinguish the location of the former kingdom.
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.
Jimma is a zone in Oromia Region of Ethiopia. Jimma is named after former Kingdom of Jimma, which was absorbed into the former province of Kaffa in 1932. Jimma is bordered on the south by the Southern Nations, Nationalities and Peoples Region, the northwest by Illubabor Zone, on the north by East Welega Zone and on the northeast by West Shewa Zone; part of the boundary with West Shewa Zone is defined by the Gibe River. The highest point in this zone is Mount Maigudo. Towns and cities in Jimma include Agaro, Limmu Inariya and Saqqa. The town of Jimma was separated from Jimma Zone and is a special zone now.
Limmu Sakka is one of the woredas in the Oromia Region of Ethiopia. It is named in part after the former kingdom of Limmu-Ennarea, whose territories included the area this woreda now covers. Part of the Jimma Zone, Limmu Sakka is bordered on the southwest by the Didessa River which separates it from the Illubabor Zone, on the northwest by the Misraq Welega Zone, on the northeast by the Gibe River which separates it from the Mirab Shewa Zone, and on the southeast by Limmu Kosa. The administrative center of the woreda is Atnago; other towns include Saqqa, the capital of the former kingdom of Limmu-Ennarea.
The Battle of Embabo was fought 6 June 1882, between the Shewan forces of Negus Menelik and the Gojjame forces of Negus Tekle Haymanot. The forces fought to gain control over the Oromo areas south of the Gibe River. The Gojjame forces under Tekle Haymanot were defeated. This is one of the three battles which Donald Donham lists that led to Shewan supremacy over the rest of Ethiopia.
Saqqa is a town in south-western Ethiopia, and capital of the former Kingdom of Limmu-Ennarea. Located in the Jimma Zone of the Oromia Region, this town has a latitude and longitude of 08°12′N36°56′E.
RasGobena Dache was an Oromo military commander for and during Menelik II's reign. He is known for campaigning against Oromo territory to incorporate more lands into the Ethiopian Empire in the late 19th century.
The Oromo Invasions also known as the Galla Invasions were a series of expansions in the 16th and 17th centuries by the Oromo. Prior to their great expansion in the 16th century, the Oromo inhabited only the area of what is now modern-day southern Ethiopia and northern Kenya. Over the centuries due to many factors, mostly the wars between Adal Sultanate and Ethiopia would further encourage the numerous Oromo tribes to expand towards central and eastern modern Ethiopia.
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.
Menelik's Invasions was a series of wars and conquests carried out by Menelik II of Shewa to expand the Ethiopian Empire.
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