Queen Amina of Zazzau: the Great Hausa Warrior born to Rule

Today, I would like to tell you approximately yet another splendid queen of Africa, Queen Amina of Zazzau. Much like Amanishakheto of Nubia, Nzingha of Angola, or Ranavalona I of Madagascar, Amina become a robust queen who cherished her human beings and absolutely marked her nation forever. 

Queen Amina of Zazzau become born round 1533 within the province of Zazzau, in present day-day Nigeria. Zazzau refers to the Zaria emirate which is a conventional kingdom with headquarters within the city of Zaria in Kaduna state in Nigeria. Zazzau became one of the seven Hausa metropolis-states which ruled the subsaharan trade after the disintegration of the Songhai Empire on the stop of the sixteenth century. Its wealth changed into because of the commerce of leather, textile, horses, salt, kola, fabric, and metals imported from the East.

As a toddler, Amina was already attending state enterprise on her grandfather, the king’s laps. At the age of sixteen, Amina became seen as a potential contender to her mother’s throne (Magajiya), the queen Bakwa of Turunku. Amina commenced analyzing the responsibilities of a queen from her mom: taking element in every day assemblies with high dignitaries of the dominion. Despite the fact that her mom’s reign was considered one of peace and prosperity, Amina chose to examine military competencies from the warriors. 

Queen Bakwa died around 1566, and the Zazzau kingdom was ruled via her youngest brother Karama. at some stage in the reign of her brother, Amina emerged as foremost warrior of the dominion’s cavalry. Her navy successes brought her wealth and power. Whilst her brother died after ten years of reign, Amina turned into crowned queen of Zazzau in 1576. All through her reign, which lasted 34 years, she accelerated her nation’s obstacles right down to the Atlantic coast, she founded several towns, and individually led an military of 20,000 infantrymen to severa battles. However, her recognition turned into now not on annexation of neighboring lands, however on forcing nearby rulers to just accept vassal popularity and permit Hausa investors secure passage. 

At some stage in her reign, she commanded the construction of a defensive mural round each navy camp that she hooked up. Later, the ones camps advanced into prosperous cities inside the ones walls, and a few can nevertheless be seen today in northern Nigeria. Those towns are called walls ‘ganuwar of Amina’ or ‘Amina’s partitions‘. it's far believed that Amina died inside the town of Altagara in 1610. Nowadays, Amina is remembered in Nigeria as ‘Amina, rana de Yar Bakwa ta San’ (Amina, daughter of Nikatau, female as capable as a man). The creation of kola nuts into the area is often attributed to Amina. Amina is well known across the Hausaland as an amazing warrior queen who becomes born to rule, and led hundreds of soldiers to war. To study more, take a look at our Black history heroes, history, and girls, as well as the ebook African Princess which dedicates a chapter to this wonderful queen. Amina’s achievement becomes the nearest that any ruler had come in bringing the area now referred to as Nigeria below an unmarried authority. Enjoy the video under of tremendous African queens which includes Amina.