Abba Jifar was the son of
Abba Magal, 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 Bagibo the King of
Limmu-Ennarea over the district of Badi-Folla. The area was important for control of the
caravan route between the
Kingdom of Kaffa on the one hand, and the provinces of
Gojjam and
Shewa 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 Bagibo'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, owing his conversion in 1830 to Abdul Hakim, an
Amhara trader from
Gondar. Lewis notes that as of 1960, Abdul Hakim's tomb in
Jiren was still a venerated site. ==References==