SHOA  , the

southern of the three principal provinces of the Abyssinian empire . Shoa from about the middle of the loth century till nearly the close of the 13th century was the residence of the Abyssinian sovereigns, who had been driven out of Mum, their former capital . About 1528 Shoa was conquered by Mahommedan invaders and was for over a century afterwards a prey to Galla raiders . In 1682 it was reconquered by an Abyssinian chief, but remained independent of northern Abyssinia until 1855 when the emperor Theodore reduced it to sub-mission . In 1889 Menelek II., king of Shoa, on the death of the emperor John, made himself master of the whole of Abyssinia . The capital, Adis Ababa (q.v.), is the seat of government for the whole empire (see ABYSSINIA) .