Abba Jifar II
   HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

''Moti'' Abba Jifar II (; 1861 – 1932) was
King King is a royal title given to a male monarch. A king is an Absolute monarchy, absolute monarch if he holds unrestricted Government, governmental power or exercises full sovereignty over a nation. Conversely, he is a Constitutional monarchy, ...
of the Gibe
Kingdom of Jimma The Kingdom of Jimma () was an Oromo Muslim 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 f ...
(r. 1878–1932).


Reign

Abba Jifar II was king of
Jimma 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 . Prior to the 2007 census, Jimma was reorganized administrativ ...
, and the son of Abba Gomol and Queen Gumiti. He had several wives: Queen Limmiti, who was the daughter of the King of Limmu-Ennarea; Queen Minjo, the daughter of the King of Kaffa; and Queen Sapertiti, also from Limmu-Ennarea. During Abba Jifar II reign there were
Sufi Sufism ( or ) is a mysticism, mystic body of religious practice found within Islam which is characterized by a focus on Islamic Tazkiyah, purification, spirituality, ritualism, and Asceticism#Islam, asceticism. Practitioners of Sufism are r ...
saints who supported his rule. One of them is Sadati Of Bure (who is a sayyid from sadeqa village and Head of Alsadat family), who later migrated to Illubabor. In the 1880s, Abba Jifar II conquered a portion of the Kingdom of Janjero, which lay east of Jimma, along the Omo River, and incorporated it into his kingdom. Due to the advice of his mother Queen Gumiti, to avoid the detriments of war, he agreed to submit to
Menelik II Menelik II ( ; horse name Aba Dagnew (Amharic: አባ ዳኘው ''abba daññäw''); 17 August 1844 – 12 December 1913), baptised as Sahle Maryam (ሣህለ ማርያም ''sahlä maryam'') was king of Shewa from 1866 to 1889 and Emperor of Et ...
, ''negus'' of
Shewa Shewa (; ; Somali: Shawa; , ), formerly romanized as Shua, Shoa, Showa, Shuwa, is a historical region of Ethiopia which was formerly an autonomous kingdom within the Ethiopian Empire. The modern Ethiopian capital Addis Ababa is located at it ...
in 1884. In 1886, Abba Jifar II paid peace offerings consisting of "slaves (including
eunuchs A eunuch ( , ) is a male who has been castration, castrated. Throughout history, castration often served a specific social function. The earliest records for intentional castration to produce eunuchs are from the Sumerian city of Lagash in the 2 ...
), ivory, bamboo internodes filled with
civet A civet () is a small, lean, mostly nocturnal mammal native to tropical Asia and Africa, especially the tropical forests. The term ''civet'' applies to over a dozen different species, mostly from the family Viverridae. Most of the species's div ...
, jars of honey, locally made cloth, spears, shields ornamented with silver plates, and objects of wood (including stools)." Because of these "shrewd politics", which included providing military assistance to Menelik in conquering the neighboring kingdoms of Kullo (1889), Walamo (1894), and Kaffa (1897), he was able to preserve the autonomy of Jimma until his death. On the other hand, Alexander Bulatovich states that, when Jimma was annexed to Ethiopia, Emperor Menelik imprisoned Aba Jifar "for inspiring excessive enthusiasm in his own standing army and trying to entice Abyssinian soldiers to his own service" in
Ankober Ankober (), formerly known as Ankobar, is a town in central Ethiopia. Located in the North Shewa Zone (Amhara), North Shewa Zone of the Amhara Region, it's perched on the eastern escarpment of the Ethiopian Highlands at an elevation of about . ...
for a year. "When he was freed," Bulatovich continues, "Aba Jefar again received the throne of Jimma from Menelik.""With the Armies of Menelik II, emperor of Ethiopia"
, translated by Richard Seltzer
Historian
Enrico Cerulli Enrico Cerulli (15 February 1898 – 19 August 1988)Enrico Cerulli
''Worldcat''. Retrieved 27 Oct 20 ...
however states that Abba Jifar was detained for 26 weeks due to his refusal to hand over Hadiya rebel leader Hassan Enjamo. Queen Gumiti also advised him to expand the cultivation of
coffee Coffee is a beverage brewed from roasted, ground coffee beans. Darkly colored, bitter, and slightly acidic, coffee has a stimulating effect on humans, primarily due to its caffeine content, but decaffeinated coffee is also commercially a ...
in his kingdom, which provided increased revenue for him and his subjects. In January 1898, as part of a
Red Cross The organized International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement is a Humanitarianism, humanitarian movement with approximately 16million volunteering, volunteers, members, and staff worldwide. It was founded to protect human life and health, to ...
mission to southwestern Ethiopia, Bulatovich visited Jimma, and was the guest of Abba Jifar. While in Jeren, Bulatovich treated the Queen Mother for "a little bronchitis". He left the following description of the king:
Aba Jefar is still a young man -- handsome, well-built, and somewhat in his prime. He has a typical face: a straight thin nose; bright, handsome eyes which shift suspiciously from side to side; a thick black beard; and black, short-cropped, curly hair. His hands are graceful. He wears large gold rings on all his fingers. Dressed in a white shirt and trousers, he has draped over his shoulders the thinnest white shamma. His feet are also very small and handsome, clad in leather sandals.
Towards his later years, Abba Jifar II succumbed to senility. His grandson Abba Jobir attempted to take control and re-assert Jimma's independence. However, Emperor
Haile Selassie Haile Selassie I (born Tafari Makonnen or ''Ethiopian aristocratic and court titles#Lij, Lij'' Tafari; 23 July 189227 August 1975) was Emperor of Ethiopia from 1930 to 1974. He rose to power as the Ethiopian aristocratic and court titles, Rege ...
responded quickly and sent military forces against Abba Jobir. The soldiers brought Abba Jobir back to
Addis Ababa Addis Ababa (; ,) is the capital city of Ethiopia, as well as the regional state of Oromia. With an estimated population of 2,739,551 inhabitants as of the 2007 census, it is the largest city in the country and the List of cities in Africa b ...
, where he was imprisoned.Paul B. Henze, ''Layers of Time, A History of Ethiopia'' (New York: Palgrave, 2000), p. 208. In 1930, Haile Selassie removed an enfeebled Abba Jifar II from power and installed his son-in-law, ''Ras''
Desta Damtew ''Ras'' Desta Damtew KBE (Amharic: ደስታ ዳምጠው; ''c.'' 1892 – 24 February 1937) was an Ethiopian noble, army commander and a son-in-law of Emperor Haile Selassie I. He is known for his leadership in the Ethiopian Army during the ...
, in his place. Desta Damtew ruled as Governor (''Shum'') of Jimma, while Abba Jifar II was allowed to remain as King (''Negus'') as titular head. When Abba Jifar II died in 1932, the Kingdom of Jimma was officially ruled directly by the Emperor.


Notes

{{DEFAULTSORT:Jifar, Abba, Ii 1861 births 1932 deaths Jifar II 19th-century births 19th-century monarchs in Africa