to both the earlier dynasty that ruled Ennarea, as well as a Portuguese soldier from Cristóvão da Gama's army who had come to live in Ennarea. Abir also notes that another tradition states that this marriage was a political union between two rival clans, the Sapera and the Sigaro. In either case, due to this Portuguese influence, the kings of Limmu-Ennarea called themselves supera, unlike the other Gibe kings who used the Oromo word "Moti" which originally indicated the office of the war leader (also called Abba Dula) during the cycle of his Gadaa. In 1825, Bofu abdicated in favor of his son, Abba Bagibo, under whose rule Limmu-Ennarea reached the peak of its existence. Due to wars in neighboring Jimmu, merchants used the trade route through his kingdom to gain access to Kaffa. Abba Bagibo made a concerted effort to promote this trade, both with beneficial policies (e.g., offering security from bandits to traders, and lower tariffs) and with coercive ones (requiring merchants from Gondar, Adwa, Derita and Dawe to meet their counterparts from Kaffa and further south at Saqqa). During Abba Bagibo's reign, the Kingdom of Limmu-Ennarea adopted Islam as the state religion. When Catholic missionaries later opened a mission in the kingdom in 1846, the king told them that "had you come thirty years ago, not only I but all my countrymen might have embraced your religion, but now it is impossible." Jimma's eventual success at conquering the Badi-Folla in 1847 reopened the trade route between Kaffa and Shewa, which merchants found to be a much better route. This also brought an end to Limmu-Ennarea prosperity, despite Abba Bagido's later actions. On his death in 1861, Abba Bagido was succeeded by his "untalented and fanatic Muslim son", who hastened the kingdom's decline. Limmu-Ennarea was secured for Shewa by Ras Gobana Dacche following the decisive Battle of Embabo, without a single blow being struck; however, when Ras Gobana fell from power a few years later in the mid-1880s, the entire Gibe region erupted in revolt. Dejazmach Wolde Giyorgis then re-conquered the kingdom by force; the Dejazmach afterwards built a church dedicated to St Marqos near the royal palace. Abba Bagibo, the son of the last king, Abba Gomoli, converted to Christianity for political advantages, changed his name to Gabra Selassie, and became a Fitawrari in the Ethiopian Empire. See also Rulers of the Gibe State of Limu-'Enarya Notes