Abba Bahrey (Ge'ez: ባሕርይ bāḥriy, "pearl") was a late 16th-century Ethiopian monk, historian, and ethnographer, from the southern region of Gamo. He is best known for his 1593 work on the history of the Oromo and their migrations in the 16th century, the "History of the Galla" ("Galla" being a historical and now pejorative term for the Oromo; ዜናሁ ፡ ለጋላ zēnāhū lagāllā). This short work is considered the ultimate source for information on the sixteenth century history of the Oromo: Manuel de Almeida borrowed heavily from Bahrey in writing his history of Ethiopia, and Hiob Ludolf derived much of his information on the Oromo from Baltazar Téllez's abridgment of Almeida's work.
Bahrey may also have been the author of Emperor Sarsa Dengel's chronicle, "The History of King Sarsa Dengel.
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Ethiopia is one of the oldest countries in Africa; the emergence of Ethiopian civilization dates back thousands of years. Abyssinia or rather "Ze Etiyopia" was ruled by the Semitic Abyssinians (Habesha) composed mainly of the Amhara and Tigray, the Cushitic Agaw. In the Eastern escarpment of the Ethiopian highlands and more so the lowlands was the home of the Arab-descended Harari that founded Sultanates such as Ifat and Adal and the Afars. In the central and south were found the ancient Sidama and Semitic Gurage, among otheres.
The Oromo Invasions were a series of expansions in the 16th and 17th centuries by the Boorana starting from 48-64 kilometers east of Lake Abaya and around the Bale Mountains. Over the centuries due to many factors, mostly the wars against foreign forces and internal conflicts which preoccupied Ethiopia, would further encourage the numerous Oromo tribes to expand towards central Ethiopia. Because the Oromo did not keep a written record of the expansion, this article must refer to Ethiopian, Portuguese and Arabic sources for the reasons behind the expansion.