| Oromo expansions |
|---|
The Borana on the left (expanded westward), the Barento on the right (expanded eastward), and the Luba in the middle (elders, rulers, or sorcerers). |
| Time | 16th and 17th centuries (greatest estimate) |
|---|
| Place | Horn of Africa |
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| Event | Oromo conquests of various kingdoms, empires, and principalities |
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The Oromo expansions or the Oromo invasions (in older historiography, Galla invasions), were a series of expansions in the 16th and 17th centuries by the Oromo primarily documented by the Gamo monk Bahrey, but also mentioned in other Christian, Muslim and Portuguese records. 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, many factors – mostly the wars between the Adal Sultanate and the Ethiopian Empire – would further encourage the numerous Oromo tribes to expand towards what is now central and eastern Ethiopia.