Foundation of Addis Ababa and the Emergence of Safars

The main purpose of this study was to reveal the impact of the eviction of the Oromo from their hereditary land of Finfinne and their possession by Menilek in the late 19th century. The study deals with the history of the transformation of Finfinne to Addis Ababa and the eviction of the Oromo from the area which followed by the emergence of different Safars. In this study, the socio-economic and political conditions of Finfinne Oromo and the surrounding are explored. After the eviction of the Oromo from Finfinne area, the settlement of different ethnic groups in the areas was also discussed. In this study the researcher attempted to employ both primary and secondary sources. The secondary data sources were collected through a brief review of related literatures by assessing published materials. The primary and unpublished data sources were collected through oral interview based on focused group and questionnaire. All these data were carefully analyzed and critically interpreted qualitatively according to the standardized rules and disciplines of social sciences. Even though some earlier attempts have been made by scholars to write the history of Finfinne, most of the areas have received only very minimal attention. Therefore, this article is an attempt to fill the gap that has been created so far by other scholars and something to contribute to the history of the foundation of Safars in Addis Ababa. The study, hence, tried to highlight the history of the foundation of different Safars until the dawn fall of the imperial regime. Certainly this study is far from being exhaustive. However, the researcher hopes it can at least serve as an introduction to give clue to the study of Finfinne history and the eviction of Oromo from the area which later on its name was changed by the imperial rule unjustifiably to Addis Ababa “New Flower”.