The Oromo and the Christian Kingdom 1300−1700 has had an unusually long gestation period. It was originally conceived as part of the Oromo democracy project, initiated by five scholars: Abas Haji Gnamo, Asmarom Legesse, Belletech Deressa, Lemmu Bassia and myself. The project expanded beyond the scope of a single edited volume. Asmarom Legesse's contribution developed into a magnificent book that, with remarkable erudition and eloquence, discusses the Oromo democratic heritage, ‘a rich source of ideas that can inspire and inform constitutional makers in Africa’. Belletech Deressa's exploratory essay developed into an important book on the role women played in Oromo and Ethiopian history. Belletech identifies Oromo women leaders ‘who made significant contributions to the survival of the Oromo nation’ as well as the survival of the imperial state. My original exploratory essay on the Oromo in Ethiopian historiography developed into a book manuscript that will be published separately. The Oromo and the Christian Kingdom, 1300−1700 is the fourth volume of the Oromo democracy project series. Its completion was hampered for years by other commitments coupled with a combination of factors beyond my control. Another volume in the Oromo democracy project series is in its final stage of completion.

The single largest national group in Ethiopia, the Oromo constitute about 40 per cent of the population. Oromia, the Oromo regional state in central and southern Ethiopia, is the largest, most densely populated and richest part of Ethiopia. Oromia forms the backbone of the Ethiopian economy. More than 50 per cent of Ethiopia's export items and the Ethiopian government's annual revenue comes from Oromia. As a result, the survival of Ethiopia as a united and prosperous country will depend on integrating the history of the Oromo into Ethiopian historiography and treating the Oromo today as equal citizens of the country.

Considered as people without history, the Oromo were supposed not to have been in Ethiopia before the first half of the sixteenth century. However, this book will demonstrate the existence of a long-ignored relationship between the Christian Amhara society and the Oromo communities in and south of the region of Shawa at least since the fourteenth century.